Administrator Update
Northlea is Proud to be an OPAL School
Newsletter Updates
The Administrator Update & The Dates to Remember sections have been updated with new information.
Stay Connected with Northlea
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @NorthleaTDSB. You can also check out our website at www.northleaschool.ca.
Welcome Back
We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, March 18th 2019. We share Happy St. Patrick's Day wishes with all who celebrate. Thank you to our caretaking team for their work over the March Break. As we move into this portion of the year, there are many exciting events on the horizon. From our musical to Track and Field to our academic showcase - '7th Generation Innovation' - Northlea is bustling with energy and opportunity. Thank you, as always, for your pivotal roles as parents. We are tremendously appreciative of your ongoing partnership.
Tragic Events in Christchurch, New Zealand
As we welcome everyone back after March Break, we unfortuntely do so with a shadow of tragedy in our midst. Below is a message from Director Malloy and Chair Pilkey which seems most appropriate to share in this newsletter:
We were shocked and saddened to learn of the hateful acts of violence at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that happened overnight. Men, women and children were among the dozens killed for no other reason than they were practising their faith in a place where they should feel most safe.
Our thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy, their loved ones and the larger Muslim community. We can assure you that acts of hate and Islamophobia such as this only strengthen our resolve to engage our students and staff in important conversations about building a more inclusive and compassionate society.
As always, we remain committed to supporting our students and staff, some of whom may be experiencing feelings of vulnerability or insecurity following these attacks. Media coverage at times like this can also be very challenging for some students. Our Professional Support Services staff have assembled tips for parents that may help with discussions with children.
In memory of the those who lost their lives, flags at TDSB Education Centres will be lowered today and through the weekend.
John Malloy Robin Pilkey
Director Chair
Northlea is the City Champion!
Congratulations to our Grade 5/6 team. They are CITY CHAMPIONS! Shout out to the staff and parent coaches as well as all the parents who helped to coordinate transportation.
On March 29th, Northlea will be participating in a local Girls' Tournament. We are excited to participate again this year.
Pink Shirt Day - Wednesday, February 27th
Northlea celebrated Pink Shirt Day with pride. Check out the beautiful door decorations and the spirit shown by the Northlea community. Thank you to the Glitter Squad for their leadership.
Capes for Kids Week - Supporting Holland Bloorview
We were so touched when Holland Bloorview asked if they could launch their annual fundraising campaign - Capes for Kids - at Northlea. The launch was a huge success. We were so pleased to welcome Holland Bloorview client ambassadors, their families and staff members along with Trustee Chernos Lin and MP Rob Oliphant to Northlea.
Mr. Card, M. Lariviere, Ms. Andrew and Mme Resnick coordinated a morning of activities on the topics of inclusion, eliminating disability-related stigma and celebrating the many gifts we all bring to our communities. CBC was even on hand to document the event.
In the above photo you can see a large cape with many badges. Northlea gifted this cape to Holland Bloorivew. Classes at Northlea were invited to each create a special badge with a message of inclusion. Then M. Lariviere patiently sewed each badge onto the cape. Holland Bloorview was overjoyed to receive this gift and we took pride in the creation process and the sharing of this gift.
Then, on Tuesday, we hosted our student-led Super You Day. It was fantastic watching students come to school dressed as their favourite hobby. What a fabulous way to celebrate individuality and for us to learn more about our students' interests.
We were blown away by the generosity of our community. We doubled our fundraising goal and ended up sharing more than $3000.00 with Holland Bloorview. Thank you for your support.
OPAL Play Day - Take II - Friday, March 1st
Our OPAL Play Day was a lot of fun. Our Healthy ECO Pals are sharing feedback with the staff team and our OPAL staff team met to review the feedback. We were really pleased with the many smiling faces and the input that was shared was excellent. We are begining the process of bringing out loose parts at unstructured time.
Parenting Series: Raising Resilient Children - PRO Grant
Topic: HOW TO RAISE GRITTY KIDS - Tuesday, May 14 at 7pm - 8PM plus Q&A.
In this interactive talk with parenting expert Sarah Rosensweet, you will learn about resilience, why it’s
important, and how children develop ‘grit’. We will cover specific ways that you can support your child to foster resilience and the common mistakes that well-meaning parents make that hamper the development of grit.
Topic: HOLD ON AND LET GO: PARENTING YOUR TWEEN - Tuesday, June 4 at 7pm - 8PM plus Q&A.
In this interactive talk with parenting expert Sarah Rosensweet, you will learn strategies for connecting with your tween and establishing more freedom and responsibility for them while maintaining appropriate limits. The teen years can be wonderful! This presentation will help you get started on the right track.
Spring Chess Registration & Extracurricular Programs
A Reminder from Home and School:
Spring chess registration will be open until Monday, April 8. The Spring session begins on Wednesday, April 10. Stay tuned as registration becomes available online.
Extracurricular registration will begin on Friday, March 22. Classes will start the week of April 8th and run for 8 weeks. Stay tuned as more information becomes available online
Kiss & Ride
All dates after March Break need your help. Please consider volunteering 15 minutes of your time weekly/biweekly to keep the Spring program running smoothly at Northlea! You can sign up to volunteer by clicking here.
Spring Fling - Save the Date
The Northlea Home and School Council is moving Family Fun Night from February to Thursday, May 30th. It's going to be called "The Spring Fling" and it will be a fabulous community-building event. We can't wait to see you there and please stay tuned for more information.
STEM Equity Conference
Northlea was very pleased to secure admission to the TDSB STEM Equity Conference. We were able to send a delegation of students in Grades 7 & 8. They spent the day learning about coding, robotics and other exciting STEM-related topics. They also shared their STEM leadership with others at the conference. They showcased their work at Northlea with First Lego League, Northlea video announcements using green screen technology and their work with the Hackergal program.
Student Selected Classroom Libraries
Our newest batch of student-selected classroom library books has arrived. Infusing student voice into our resource acquision is an important part of our focus on literacy.
7th Generation Innovation
Please save the following date: Thursday, April 11th at 6:00 PM
Our teachers have begun planning for this year's 7th Generation Innovation design thinking initiative. Our theme this year is SUSTAINABILITY. We are drawing upon both the wisdom of the Seventh Generation Principle from many Indigenous communities and the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals to frame our problem based learning.
Walk & Roll to School Wednesdays - March Golden Shoe Winners
We love to see Northlea walking and rolling to school. You've been doing a great job! Congratulations to the top classes in March:
MOST IMPROVED: Mme Kaziev's class
TOP KINDERGARTEN PARTICIPATION: Ms. Lanktree's class
TOP PRIMARY PARTICIPATION: Ms. Caldarones' class
TOP JUNIOR PARTICIPATION: Mr. Shizas' class
TOP INTERMEDIATE PARTICIPATION: Mme Gardner's class
Way to go!
Please mark your calendar for our upcoming dates:
Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019
Wednesday, May 1st, 2019
Wednesday, June 5th, 2019
Parents as Partners Conference
The TDSB Parents as Partners conference is on Saturday, March 30, 2019. There is an incredible range of workshops to attend. Please visit https://www.parentsaspartners.ca/ for more information.
Summer Camp Opportunities
Below please find a PDF document with numerous adaptive and therapeutic camp options. A number of the camps focus on an inclusive model and are wonderful options for students of all learning profiles.
Yearbook Photo Submissions & Art and Poetry Contest
We invite you to share photo submissions with the yearbook. The online link is: https://www.northleaschool.ca/upload-pictures-201819-yearbook/
Yearbook Art and Poetry Contest (All Grades) - Contest closes Friday, April 5
Yearbook Club needs Yearbook Cover Artwork as well as Yearbook General Artwork and Poems. Students need to have their full name and grade on the back. The Yearbook Art and Poetry contest closes on Friday, April 5. Please submit all entries to the Northlea office where students will find boxes labeled for each piece. With March Break here, everyone has a bit of extra time on their hands, so let's be creative and poetic Northlea!
Cover Artwork
- Complete on standard paper size, 8 1/2 x 11 vertical (not horizontal).
- Write NORTHLEA and 2018/19 somewhere on your cover artwork.
General Artwork and Poems
- Looking for fun and creative artwork and poems to include throughout the Yearbook.
My Life Online - Parent Webinar
MY LIFE ONLINE WEBINAR: Teaching Kids to be Safe, Smart & Kind Online
Thank you to everyone who joined the webinar. It was great to test our the webinar co-learning format on such a snowy day. The online parent turnout was fabulous. If you'd like to view the webinar, the link will be live until the end of the school year.
Thank you to Home and School for this opporutnity and special apprecation is shared with Shelagh Cummins for her leadership wiht this initiavitee.
More information can be found in this package:
Trustee Corner
Below please find a link to Trustee Chernos Lin's latest newsletter:
Please visit Trustee Chernos Lin's website for updates about Ward 11: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/ward11/
TDSB Policy Consultations
From the TDSB Website - We Want to Hear From You - The objective of consultation is to gather public input regarding options, alternative courses of action, as well as to identify unintended effects for various participants and to find solutions. We would like to know your thoughts about our policy decisions by inviting you to our policy consultations. Please click on the policy of your interest to see the current draft. You are welcome to provide your comments, including suggestions on the wording and provisions of the draft policies, questions or recommendations using the contact information below.
Home Instruction Policy (P060) - To establish the Board's commitment to providing home instruction services for all eligible pupils in accordance with the requirements of Ontario Regulation 298, Operation of Schools – General under the Education Act. Draft Policy Closes March 15, 2019 Contact ron.felsen@tdsb.on.ca
School Cash Online
We use an online payment system for school related items such as field trips. You can register at: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ .