Administrator Update
Northlea is Proud to be an OPAL School
Newsletter Updates
The Administrator Update and 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.
Northlea Pride
Check out this amazing, student-initiated, time lapse video prepared by Ryan T. in our Intermediate program. We are thrilled Ryan shared this with us and we have some special plans in store for him to share more of his art with our school
Topics Covered in This Newsletter
Greetings from the Administration
PJ Day - Friday, December 20, 2019
Snowflake Festival
Book Fair
Winter Concerts
Snowsuit Collection
Holiday Hampers
Deep Learning Through Technology
Spotlight on Building Relationships Through Play: OPAL & Best Buddies
Therapy Animal Program - New Addition!
Forest of Reading
Staff Appreciation Breakfast - Thank you to the Home and School
Athletics Update
Exemption Procedure from Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction, Grades 1-8
Optional Attendance
Junior Extended French Application
Home and School Meetings
Trustee Corner
Greetings from the Administration
As 2019 comes to a close, we are reflecting on the important work done at Northlea. We hope that the Northlea experience offers students a well-rounded and inclusive approach to learning. We feel such gratitude to work in the Northlea community, with your children, you and the stellar staff team. We share best wishes for a restorative Winter Break and we can't wait to see everyone back at school on January 6, 2020.
Merry Christmas
Joyeux Noël
Happy Hanukkah
Joyous Kwanzaa
Happy Winter Solstice
Season’s Greetings
Happy New Year
PJ DAY - Friday, December 20, 2019
We made it! But boy are we pooped! It's time to conjure the power of cozy. Roll on out of bed and make your way to Northlea in your coziest pajamas this Friday.
Snowflake Festival
A special thank you to our wonderful Intermediate students and staff for leading the annual Snowflake Festival. It is a highlight of the season. It makes us so proud to see our upper grades take on this leadership opportunity and bring joy to our primary students. We loved the origami community tree, where every participant shared their name, the other handmade crafts and the classroom story reading visits.
Book Fair
The Book Fair was a huge success. Thank you to Ms. Ivancic and all the parent volunteers and staff supporters. Again this year, we will use the return proceeds to grow classroom libraries based on student interests. Classroom teachers have been asked to engage their students in the book selection process.
Winter Concerts
The Kindergarten concert was a joy. We loved welcoming families and watching our youngest students shine.
The concerts last week were superb. It is wonderful to listen to our students perform. We were so pleased that Leaside High School was able to join for the afternoon concert. We share special appreciation with our staff team, led by Natalie Sommers, for offering this program. Events like this happen because of the staff, student and parent commitment. Check out one of the early morning rehearsals:
At the concert, we were very excited to welcome MPP Wynne and Trustee Chernos Lin to our concert. Below is a short video.
Snowsuit Collection
Northlea is collecting snowsuit donations on behalf of the Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy. The Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy is located right in our backyard, Thorncliffe Park, and services over 600 kindergarten aged students, provides an onsite child care and community spaces. We are hoping to collect 20 kindergarten aged size snowsuits to donate. Please donate your snowsuits in the OPAL bins outside of the office until winter break. Thank you for your support!
Me to We - Holiday Hampers
Thank you for generously contributing to the Holiday Hamper program in partnership with the YWCA. We were proud to support numerous local families and engage our students in community building.
Deep Learning Through Technology
We are proud to be growing our capacity with technology at Northlea. Our staff are modelling life-long learning and students are exploring varied experiences with technology. From coding to GSuite, Northlea's technology inventory and skill set are growing.
We were really proud to have Northlea represented at the First Lego League competition on Saturday, December 14th, 2019. Thank you to Isaac Simms and Kendra Dunlop for their leadership. Thank you also to our numerous graduates who came back to mentor our team. Our team was full of smiles and determination and we had a blast watching them thrive. Bravo to this hard working team!
Below is a little video showing a taste of technology at Northlea:
Spotlight on Building Relationships Through Play: OPAL & Best Buddies
OPAL
Our OPAL program offers students enormous benefits including physical literacy, creativity, problem-solving and social skills. 2019 is the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Play is an important aspect of a well-rounded childhood and, at Northlea, we are proud to centre play as an integral part of our programming. Check out this article about the importance of play. In this article, it notes:
A recent position statement on active outdoor play, endorsed by the Canadian Council of Chief Medical Officers of Health, concluded:
“Access to active play in nature and outdoors — with its risks — is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings — at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.”
Check out this wonderful video which shows students who created an obstacle course together.
Our OPAL student leaders are always keen to lend a hand. They decided they wanted special identifying markers when they are helping at recess. Together with Ms. Ivancic and Ms. Berger, our Healthy ECO PALS made ECO PAL sashes using re-purposed fabrics we had at school.
Best Buddies
Our Best Buddies program is another approach we use to support relationship-building at Northlea. On a weekly basis, students from the large class settings and small class ISP settings come together to get to know one another and play together. We plan to have a few celebrations later in the year so stay tuned for more information.
Therapy Animal Program - New Addition!
We are very excited to welcome a 2nd dog and handler to Northlea. Andrea (Handler) and Kisha (beautiful doggy!) have joined the Northlea community. They are here once a week. Numerous classes have signed up to host the program. Teachers are leveraging this opportunity to promote community building, encourage students to share their language and math skills and, in general, to support student well-being. We are delighted to have two dogs in the school on a weekly basis.
Forest of Reading
One of our favorite programs is up and running. Students in Junior and Intermediate were invited to introductory book talks led by Ms. Horton and Ms. Ivancic. In January, staff will be running book clubs about each of the books. We love to watch our students dive into reading and we couldn't be prouder of our staff team for their high levels of engagement as well!
Staff Appreciation Breakfast
We share gratitude with the Home and School for putting together an amazing Staff Appreciation Breakfast. It was an unbelievable spread and our team was thrilled to join together for this special occasion. Thank you to Neggar Shafai for coordinating this event.
Athletics Update
Grade 5/6 Boys Volleyball: What an amazing season! The boys practiced on a daily basis and embodied enthusiasm and sportsmanship. They lost a very close Quarter Final match that went to a third set. Thank you to M. Shapiro and Jaime Purvis for all of their guidance and leadership.
Grade 5/6 Girls Basketball: After practicing during lunches for about a month, the girls showed grit and determination during their qualifying tournament. They were very close to qualifying for the playoffs after winning a game in their tournament, but narrowly missed out. A big thank you to Ms. Cioban and Ms. Zaharia for their coaching. Great season girls!!
Grade 7/8 Boys Volleyball: The boys entered the Semi-Finals with a 13-1 record. They showed a great deal of energy and determination during their Semi-Final match but lost by a very thin margin. The boys should be commended for their commitment to the team. They always practiced hard and deserve a lot of credit for battling back in games that they were behind in. Thank you to Mr. Luthra and Sandra King for co-coaching this team. Awesome season boys!
Grade 7/8 Girls Basketball: A big thank you to Mr. Ellis and Eran Gilady on being such amazing coaches. The girls practiced 3 times a week to prepare themselves for the Basketball season. They won their Quarter Final match and lost a very close contest in the Semi-Finals. You had an amazing season girls and deserve a significant amount of recognition for your commitment and fight during your games.
Cross Country: The 2019 Cross Country season is officially completed! A big thank you goes out to all of the parent volunteers for their support and commitment during the Cross Country season. Thank you especially to Megan and Alexis for all of their energy and for organizing the Pizza Lunch celebration.
Ice Hockey: The teams are set and have already began practicing! The 5/6 and 7/8 teams are getting ready for the upcoming Leaside Cup. They have one more practice in the new year and numerous League games during January.
Please ensure you check the website for timely and relevant details:
http://sites.google.com/tdsb.on.ca/wearenorthlea
Up Next: Girls Volleyball, Boys Basketball, Swimming
Exemption Procedure from Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction, Grades 1 to 8
The TDSB has developed an Exemption Procedure from Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction, Grades 1 to 8 to comply with the direction set out in the Ministry of Education’s Policy/Program Memorandum (PPM) No. 162. This PPM requires school boards to develop a policy or procedure that allows for students to be exempted, at the request of their parents/guardians, from instruction related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations found in Strand D of the Ontario Curriculum: Health and Physical Education, Grades 1-8, 2019. The report can be found here.
That said, the TDSB continues to acknowledge the importance of a student’s understanding of human development and sexual health and remains committed to building positive school cultures that support the mental health and overall well-being (physical, cognitive, social, emotional and spiritual) of all students. Staff will continue to create inclusive environments where all students’ identities and lived experiences are respected.
Optional Attendance
Students who reside within the City of Toronto have the right to attend a school which is designated to serve their residential address. The "Find Your School" section of the website identifies the designated schools for each residential address.
Students also have the opportunity to access schools outside of the school that is designated to serve their residential address by applying on optional attendance. Acceptance at these schools is subject to space availability and program suitability. The procedures, conditions and timelines relating to optional attendance are described in the Optional Attendance Policy and the Optional Attendance Operational Procedure
Each year in December, schools are classified as limited or closed to optional attendance based on the space they have available for the upcoming school year. A school classified as limited can accept students on optional attendance. A limited school is not obliged to accept all students who apply on optional attendance. Acceptance is conditional upon space being available in the appropriate grade and program. A school classified as closed cannot accept any students on optional attendance. Only students residing within the school's attendance area will be accepted. If a school is classified as limited, and you are interested in applying to that school, please contact the school's principal.
Please note that the optional attendance status is updated every December for admission in September of the coming school year. Many schools that are limited have their available spaces filled in the spring. Please confirm if a limited school has space available by calling the school directly.
Please Note the Following:
1. Priority of placement in the requested school will be based on a lottery if applications exceed the space available at the requested school.
2. If admitted, a student is expected to continue at the requested school until graduation.
IMPORTANT DATES FOR SCHOOL ADMISSION BEGINNING SEPTEMBER 2020
ELEMENTARY Form
Applications must be received by Friday, 14 February 2020.
A lottery, if necessary, will be held to determine the successful applicants.
Parents/guardians will be informed of acceptance or non-acceptance no later than March 6, 2020.
Parents/guardians must inform the requested school of their acceptance of the offer by Friday, 20 March 2019.
SECONDARY Form
Applications must be received by Friday, 31 January 2020.
A lottery, if necessary, will be held to determine the successful applicants.
Parents/guardians or students 18 years of age or older will be informed of acceptance or non-acceptance prior to Friday, 14 February 2020.
Parents/guardians or students 18 years of age or older must confirm the offer of admission by completing a course selection sheet by Friday, 28 February 2020.
No student will be admitted into all secondary grade levels through optional attendance after Friday, 28 February 2020 unless the student does not have a timetable at another school.
Note: It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to deliver the application to the school or schools of choice.
Junior Extended French Application
While admission to the Early French Immersion (SK entry)/Junior Extended French (Grade 4 entry) program is guaranteed at the entry points to all on time applicants, admission to a specific school is not guaranteed if the school reaches capacity.
Please Note: At the November Board Meeting, the Board of Trustees approved to leave transportation status quo for the 2020-2021 school year. Therefore, there will be no service changes for transportation in K-8 in French Immersion/Extended French programs for the 2020-2021 school year.
The application for Early Immersion has closed. Applications for Junior Extended French which begins in Grade 4 must be completed online between January 6, 2020 and January 31, 2020. Please note that this will be the last entry class for this program as it will be transitioning out - Grade 4 Immersion Program will continue. Northlea does not host the Junior Extended French Program.
Offers of placement within your chosen program will be made to all on-time applicants in the weeks following the close of the application window. Please click here for more information -https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Elementary-School/School-Choices/French-Programs.
Home and School Meetings
Below please find our list of Home and School meetings for this school year:
- November 6th - 6:30 PM @ Northlea in the School Library
- November 8th - 9:00 AM @ Northlea in the School Library - ISP Program Parent Roundtable
- November 13th - 8:45 AM - post bus departure - Discussion with French Immersion parents who bus their children to Northlea hosted @ Thorncliffe Park School
- November 25th - 6:30 PM @Northlea in the School Library
- February 6th - 2:30 PM @ Northlea in the School Library
- April 6th - 8:35 AM @ Northlea in the School Library
- May - Date TBD - 6:30 PM @ Northlea in the School Library
- Annual General Meeting - Time TBD - Post or pre volunteer breakfast perhaps.
We are working to ensure that there are many parents able to participate in these discussions. You will notice that we are introducing a few new meeting times (8:35 am and 2:30 pm) and even certain thematic meetings. We hope this approach will open up new opportunities for parent perspectives to be shared.
A special thank you to the Home and School for their diligent efforts with the funding proposals. Thank you as well to everyone who shared proposals and joined the proposal meeting. The generous contributions directly relate to our school improvement plan priorities.
Trustee Corner
Please visit Trustee Chernos Lin's website for updates about Ward 11: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/ward11/
You can also find the latest newsletter in full here:
Community Coffee Meetings . . . A Message from Trustee Chernos-Lin
"Community Coffee" meetings are informal gatherings where parents and constituents are invited for a round table-style discussion of information sharing, best practices and interesting conversation related to education in our ward. We often have superintendents and sometimes even principals who drop by, so these are fun and engaging events. These meetings are usually held at Longo's Leaside (93 Laird Drive), unless stated otherwise. I hope you can join us at one of upcoming dates below!
JOINT WARD FORUM
Guest Speaker, TDSB Director, Dr. John Malloy
Thursday, February 6th, 2019 6:30 pm - 8:30pm @ North Toronto Collegiate
Please join me for my next ward forum coming up on February 6th from 6:30-8:30pm at North Toronto Collegiate. Trustee Shelley Laskin and I will be hosting a joint ward forum with special guest, TDSB Director of Education, Dr. John Malloy. Mr. Malloy will speak on a variety of current topics including the Secondary Review, French programming, and the Multi-Year Strategic Plan and there will be plenty of time for questions and answers with the Director and Trustees. Please see the flyer below, or click on this link, for more information on parking, child care and more. We hope you will be able to join us!
