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.
Topics Covered in This Newsletter
The Third Path
Healthy Relationships Week
Remembrance Day
Book Fair
Date Knight
PIzza Lunch
Cookie Dough Fundraiser
French Immersion Application Timelines
Home and School Meetings
Healthy ECO PALS Textile Drive - Bag2School
High School Open House Evenings @ Secondary Schools
Winter Concerts - Save the NEW Dates!
Program Area Review Team (PART) Update
Policy Consultations
Trustee Corner
The Third Path
At Northlea, we are working hard to create the conditions for all learners to thrive. In the book, The Third Path, Dr. David Tranter, Lori Carson and Tom Boland emphasize the conditions required for academic success and well-being. A core principle of their work is about connecting with one another.
The work we do with Global Competencies, OPAL, clubs and teams, community-building in classrooms, learning skills, academic curriculum, along with restorative problem-solving and progressive discipline are important ingredients for academic success and social-emotional well-being.
Consider the intersecting social and academic skills students develop when engaged in learning that supports the Global Competencies:
OPAL is also fertile ground for growing a range of skills:
In an effort to bring this work to life, we are also critically examining our environment. We have updated our main office with refreshed literacy resources. This work is happening in classrooms and in the library as well.
As we move through the year, we hope to join together on this "Third Path" in support of all students at Northlea.
Healthy Relationships Week @ Northlea
This week, Ontario marks Bullying Prevention and Awareness Week. At Northlea we are shining a light on healthy relationships as well as noticing, naming and interrupting harmful bullying and unkind interactions.
This week's theme is in keeping with the work we are doing all year long to support equity, well-being and an overall positive school climate.
Our school wide theme this year is: CONNECTION. As the year unfolds, we are excited to explore this theme through community building experiences and academic opportunities.
Students from Ms. Roccasalvo's class, Ms. Zaharia's class and Mme Loares' class are preparing posters, songs and videos for Knights TV and a kindness campaign. Our learning buddies will also be working together. As well, we have something special planned for each day of the week:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18th :
Grade 7/8 student leaders are going to a TDSB Mental Health and Well-Being Student Leadership Symposium. This Symposium will provide opportunities for students to:
enhance and strengthen student leadership, voice and advocacy;
increase engagement and awareness of mental health & well-being; and
learn more about being leaders/champions of mental health and well-being in their schools.
- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th
We are welcoming comic artists to meet with students in Grades 2-5 to share their experiences using this artform as a form of personal expression.
We are also very honoured to have been invited to the 14th Annual Holland Bloorview Research Institute Symposium. 'The theme is At the Forefront of Radical Change: Transformational discoveries in childhood disability research. This year's theme is an opportunity to showcase the leaps and bounds that Canadian research has made in advancing the field of childhood disability globally through ground-breaking research, discovery, innovation, family engagement, and action. It will feature research talks by experts and leaders in the field, and unearth current issues, challenges and opportunities for the future of childhood disability across the globe.' This conference is an ideal match with Northlea's commitment to fostering learning that promotes accessible and sustainable innovation. We are proud of our students' work and are very excited for our student representatives to have the opportunity to learn from leaders in the world of childhood disability research.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20th
We are excited to welcome back Unity Charity for Grades 5 & 6. Students will participate in an assembly showcasing expression through the arts. Then, our Grade 6 students will rotate through workshops on Spoken Word, Breakdancing, Graffiti Arts and Beatboxing.
Ms. Capes and the Glitter Squad are participating in the Envision Conference. The theme of this year's conference is: Mental Health and Well-Being.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21st
We are taking a group of students in Grades 6-8 to the TDSB-wide Young Women on the Move conference. 'In recognition of Women’s History Month and International Day of the Girl, we celebrate girls and continue the journey to remove barriers and achieve gender parity. We are working alongside all girls to expand existing learning opportunities, chart new pathways and calling on the global community to rethink how to prepare them for a successful transition into the world of work. The girls will participate in a variety of activities that will focus on using their voice, uncovering their strengths and mobilizing their agency.'
We will be having an OPAL extended loose parts play at our unstructured times.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd
To close out our week, we invite everyone to wear pajamas to school on Friday for our 'Put Bullying to Bed Pajama Day'
Student Voice Symposium on site for Primary/Junior students.
In support of our relationship with the environment and our broader community members, we will send off the donations from our Bag2School Clothing Drive. Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting this initiative.
Remembrance Day
Thank you to everyone who made our assemblies so impactful. Ms. Sommers and the students in the Band and Choir worked very hard to prepare beautiful performances. We were especially moved by the choir's rendition of Ella Martin Gladstone's "Remember" song. Ella Martin Gladstone composed a song honouring vetrans struggling with PTSD after reading about the invisible wounds many veterans suffer once they return home from service. Thank you to MP Rob Oliphant and Trustee Chernos Lin for joining us.
Our Grade 7 and 8 leaders spent the afternoon learning about iconic Canadian leaders and further developing their visions of themselves as leaders. We are proud of our students and their significant contributions to Northlea.
Book Fair
Last year, the success of our fair allowed us to purchase $200 worth of books for each homeroom, as well as adding new titles and resources to our school library. We hope that our fair is successful again this year, as we continue to promote the love of reading in our school!
Date Knight
A note from Home and School:
We are less than a week away from our biggest Northlea parent fundraiser. Now is a great time to get your ticket’s to Northlea’s Date Knight.
Here’s what you can expect when you purchase your ticket:
- A friendly Ping Pong Tournament with big prizes!
- An awesome Silent Auction.
- A tasting experience and signature drink presented by Grey Goose
- Neal Brothers delicious treats and a late night snack from Conspiracy Pizza
- Northlea’s very own MC Bonde and an amazing DJ spinning tunes
- A chance to have fun and strengthen our Northlea Community!
The big event is on Friday, November 22nd – Doors open 7:30pm at Amsterdam Brewery.
Buy your tickets HERE.
Tickets are $65 each. This is a school fundraiser and all proceeds benefit the students of Northlea.
Pizza Lunch
Friendly reminder that Pizza Lunch is this Thursday, November 21st, 2019. Shout out to our awesome pizza lunch parent crew!
Cookie Dough Fundraiser
Need a delicious treat for the holidays…or before?? Well you’re in luck, its time for the Cookie Dough Fundraiser! Families can order delicious cookie dough and support fundraising efforts at Northlea.
The company we are using is Nut Free Gourmet and all dough is made with all natural quality ingredients and is 100% peanut and tree nut free. They have 6 different varieties including ginger snap and shortbread which are perfect for the holidays. The dough can be purchased by the roll or in a larger tub and kept frozen for up to 6 months. The best part is that $5 from every tub and $3 from every roll will be donated to the school!
– orders are due by Mondy, November 18th, 2019
– payment by cheque only
– extra copies of the order forms are in the office
– please return order forms to your child’s homeroom teacher or drop them off in the labelled box in the office
If you have any questions please contact Allison Maselli or Alison Dixon
Thank you for your support.
French Immersion Application Timelines
For families interested in the Toronto District School Board's French Immersion or Extended French programs, TDSB uses an online process.
At this time, TDSB guarantees an offer of placement in the program (not a specific school) to all on-time applicants. The timelines for applying for these programs for September 2020 are:
• Applications for Early French Immersion which begins in SK (for a Junior Kindergarten aged child), must be completed online between November 4, 2019 and November 29, 2019.
• 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.
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 note that families with an older sibling currently in a French program are still required to complete an online application for the new student.
Please also note that transportation for French programming is currently being reviewed and there may be reduced bussing offered for all in French programming from 2020 and onward. Please note there may be uncertainty at the time of the application.
For further information about French as a Second Language programs, the application process and important dates, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/french.
Early French Immersion Parent/Guardian Information Sessions
This year, there will be two virtual (online webchat) information sessions for parents/guardians interested in the Early French Immersion (SK entry) application process. For more information on dates/times for each virtual online webchat session, please visit https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Elementary-School/School-Choices/French-Programs website or click on Information Sessions.
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.
Heathly ECO PALS Textiles Drive - Bag2School
Our Healthy ECO PALS are back in action and, just like Me to We, they are working to address textile waste. Below is a description of the Bag2School initiative. We will share more details soon. For now, we invite you to look through your homes to see what you may be able to share.
Please share textiles you wish to donate until Friday, November 22nd, 2019. Textiles will be collected in each class and the ECO PALS will pick up donations from each class. The class that collects the most will win a prize.
High School Open House Evenings @ Secondary Schools
Please follow the TDSB website and our 8-9 Transition-specific section in this newsletter for detailed information and timelines.
To help you make an informed decision when choosing a school, TDSB schools host open houses and information nights for parents and students each year between October and January. Learn everything you need to know about our incredible variety of schools, programs and courses. Please click here for the schedule https://www.tdsb.on.ca/OpenHouse. If you have questions about a specific school or open house, please contact the school directly for more information.
Please note that not all programs/schools are open to Optional Attendance if you do not live in the school's catchment area. 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.
In particular, we draw your attention to Leaside High School's Information Evening:
Winter Concerts - Save the NEW Dates!
Grade 4, the Grade 5/6 Choir and the Grade 8 Honour Band will be performing at the two Winter Concerts on Tuesday, December 10th in the afternoon and the evening. Please note that we have changed the date from December 11th to December 10th.
Grade 3 classes will perform in the Spring Concert in celebration of Music Monday. We are delighted that they will also be able to share some of their learnings with the Ghanian Drumming instrument set. Grades 1 & 2 perform in the springtime and the Grade 7 Band will perform later in the year as well.
Our Kindergarten students will perform at the their Winter Concert on site in our South Gym on Wednesday, December 18th between 1:45 pm -3:00 pm.
Program Area Review Team (PART) Update
Please see attachment below for an important update about the PART that began last year.
Policy Consultations
The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is committed to open and inclusive policy decision-making and values community input and participation through consultation. Consultation is a two-way communication process between the Board and external participants, including students and their parents/guardians, school councils, advisory committees, community members, different levels of government, service agencies, professional organizations and union partners. 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.
Current Policy Review Schedule - https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/PolicyReviewSchedule.pdf
Attendance at Schools Outside of Designated Attendance Area (formerly Optional Attendance) (P013) As per the Secondary Programs Review and the TDSB Policy Review Schedule, the Optional Attendance Policy is currently being reviewed. We are asking all members of the TDSB community for feedback on the proposed draft.
Closes - February 03, 2020
Draft Policy - https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/docs/Draft%20-%20P013%20-%20Post%20for%20Consultation.docx
Survey - https://surveys.tdsb.on.ca/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=556612&lang=en
Email: secondaryreview@tdsb.on.ca
Objective: To provide policy direction about access to schools outside a student’s designated attendance area. The Optional Attendance policy allows students to apply to schools other than their designated school by home address. This is possible because there is excess capacity at some schools across the system. This has afforded students choice of school and program as well as enabled students to remain with cohorts if a family changes residence. However, optional attendance has prevented equity of access and has created an imbalance of enrolment in our secondary schools (under and over-utilized schools). It has also created an environment where schools are forced to compete with each other to attract more students in hopes of increasing their enrolment.
Note: Please note that in the Review Work Plan that was approved in June 2019, it was recommended to separate and clarify provisions related to requests for Regular Schools vs. Specialized Schools/Programs. This working draft Policy would only apply to Regular Schools and schools with French programs. A separate draft Policy on Specialized Programs will be developed and posted in the coming months for feedback and comment.
Priorities in new Draft Policy:
6.1.7. If sufficient space is available at the requested school, spaces will be filled by grade according to the admission priorities below. For each of the admission priorities (in priority order), the school principal will conduct a lottery if the number of applications exceeds available spaces:
- Priority 1: Students who are attending another school as an Out-of-Area student at and who wish to return to their designated school by address.
- Priority 2: Secondary students whose child/children is/are enrolled in a child care centre in the designated attendance area of the secondary school.
- Priority 3: Students who have siblings currently attending the requested school and the siblings are expected to be at the requested school for the next school year.
- Priority 4: Students currently attending a feeder school of the requested school.
- Priority 5: Children enrolled after January 1 in the school-based child care pre-school program of the requested school (see 6.1.6).
- Priority 6: Children attending child care programs in the designated attendance area of the requested school.
- Priority 7: Current TDSB students.
- Priority 8: Other students residing in the City of Toronto.
- Priority 9: Students residing outside the City of Toronto.
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 here:
Ward Forum Meeting
Please join Trustee Chernos-Lin at a Ward Forum on Wednesday, November 20th, 2019 at York Mills Collegiate at 7pm.
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!
- January 15, 2020 at 9:15am