Important Dates Dec 22: Winter Concert 6pm; WE Club Craft Sale, School Council Auction 5:00-5:45 Dec 23: Recognition Assembly and Sports Awards; Pajama Day Dec 23: Last Day Before Break Dec 26-Jan 6: Winter Break– Happy Holidays! Jan 9: Welcome Back to School! Jan 18: Grade 8 Visit to Bloor CI Jan 20: PA Day (no school)

BROCK BULLETIN December 2016

School Website: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/brock

Follow us on Twitter: @TDSB_BrockPS

@BrockPS_Library

Victor Tran

Principal

Liza Grindlay

Office Administrator

Shannon Kohlmeier

Cecile Farnum

Parent Council Chair(s)

Jane Phillips-Long

WR7 Superintendent

Marit Stiles

Trustee, Ward 9

A Safe, Caring, and Inclusive Learning Environment

Supervision begins at 8:37am and ends after school at 3:45pm.

Students are strongly encouraged to arrive at school before 8:45am so as not to miss important information and learning.

Please keep the office up to date on how to best get a hold of you.

Doors are locked at 8:00am until 3:45pm. Visitors to Brock are asked to use the buzzer at

the main doors, then check in at the office. The north doors are for daycare visitors only.

Lunch drop off is available in the office. Please bring any late lunches by 11:30am.

The office will deliver important messages and materials to your child. Please do not go to

the classrooms on your own.

Starting January 2017,

The Newsletter is Going Eco-Friendly!

As a certified Eco School and in an effort to re-

duce our carbon footprint, starting next month,

we will only be posting our newsletter online at

http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/brock/newsletters. We endeavor to

have the newsletters finished by the third week of each month

and sometimes write a double issue (e.g. a March/April edition).

If you would like a hard copy, please have

your child come pick one up in the office.

Thank you for your support of our new ini-

tiative. We hope you continue to read and

enjoy the news.

On behalf of all the staff at Brock, we wish you and your fami-

lies a safe and fun-filled holiday season! See you on January 9!

December’s Theme:

Kindness and Caring

By Zayne

Kindness and Caring is:

Helping someone when

they are feeling sad.

When you see someone

left out, try to include

them in your game.

Showing you can be a

good friend and a car-

ing friend.

Quotes:

“No one is useless in the

world who lightens the

burden of others.”

(Charles Dickens)

“One kind word can warm

three winter months.”

(Japanese Proverb)

“Don’t wait for people to

be kind, show them how.”

(Author unknown)

“We are not put on this

earth for ourselves, but

are placed here for each

other. If you are there

always for others, then in

times of need, someone

will be there for you.”

(Jeff Warner)

December Birthdays

By Olivia

Everyone is growing up so fast! Hope you have a good birthday

JK– Milo, Xander

SK- Arham, Sigrid, Lior

GR.1– Max, Hugo

GR.3– Kate, Aubrey, Lizzy

GR.4– Elliot, Mason, Gaby, Emily

GR.5– Brigid, Ana

GR.6– Rayan, Margo

GR.7– Roxana, Marcus, Mackenzie, Brandon A.,

Kaelan, Lillian

GR.8- Elijahh, Raj, Elisabeth, Emily

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Breakfast Club

By Makenna Breakfast Club is one of the many privileges at our school that stu-dents can enjoy. Everyday of the week, and all year round, students can come and enjoy food that’s ready at 8:00am by our wonderful

coordinator, Ms. Vicky.

There are tasty, homemade foods such as, chocolate, carrot, or plain muffins, pancakes, waffles, mini pizzas on English muf-fins, toast, and cereal and fruit everyday on the side. Afterwards students are dismissed outside at 8:30. If you are intrigued, then come and check it out. Everyone is welcome and it is only $10 a month!

Inclement Weather Policy

As a policy, students are given as much outdoor time as possible. However, sometimes we need to stay indoors for the safety of students and staff. Below

are situations outlined by the TDSB where students will be inside for all or some of the regularly scheduled outdoor time.

Rain, thunderstorms, lightning, hail, extreme winds, and extreme cold

Cold weather: students will remain indoors or recesses may be shortened when temperatures and/or wind chill factors indicate –20°C to –28°C.

During the above situations, morning supervision and kin-dergarten entry will be in the basement hall starting at 8:35am. Please line up by class as usual.

Humidity, Heat, and Smog Alerts: From May to September, the City of Toronto issues heat alerts and emergencies based on the daily forecast. You may view alerts at www.toronto.ca/health or by calling 416-338-7600. On heat alert days, staff and students should be vigilant about their level of activity and should take frequent breaks for

water in order to remain hydrated.

Please bear in mind weather conditions change throughout the day. When necessary and if the weather is questionable, the principal will consult Environment Canada’s website (www.weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca) or Toronto Public Health for further direction. If weather is very severe, the Director of Edu-cation may decide to close schools. Information about such closures will be posed on the TDSB website (www.tdsb.on.ca)

and on the TDSB social media sites.

November Character Recognition Assembly– Empathy

By Kayla

On December 1st we had our recognition assembly for empathy. On that day Ms.

Pringle’s class performed “Walk a Mile in your Shoes” with Ms. Yannopoulos playing

the piano. Nico in Ms. Pringle’s class said ”what the song meant to me is that I think

everyone should be empathetic.” Max said “ if one of my friends were sad, I would

try to cheer them up.” They all sounded amazing!

The winners of the character recognition assembly are: Ms. Bettencourt– Weston

and Karina, Ms. Christian– Beatrice and Ivy, Ms. Evelyn– Lesya and Ariela, Ms. Pringle– Nathan and Olive, Mr.

Crifo– Oliver and Daniel, Ms. Moreiro– Rhumaur and Thomas SB, Mr. Hong– Jessica and Jahmar, Ms. Smith–

Elizabeth and Evelyn, Ms. Givelos– Ema and Veronica, Ms. da Silva– Tishiyah and

Sowarima, Mr. Bryers– Aberdeen and Drishti, Ms. Papel– Erjon and Vennila, Ms.

Barbier– Rhumaur and Jett, Mr. Malolos– Joshua and Amir, Ms. Samuel– Tay-

tum and Jahmar, Ms. Yannopoulos– Emily R and Vennila.

Congratulations to all the winners!

Move-a-Thon

By Carmen

This year, Brock had

their 5th annual

Move-a-Thon! Every-

one had a fun and ex-

citing time. We

danced to the music

that the DJ played

and raised money for the school so that we can

buy new technology and equipment for the

school. The students were separated into

groups: K-3, 4-6 and 7-8.

Cory and Maxwell

liked the choice of music

the DJ put on, and Mi-

chael, in grade 5 liked go-

ing to the Move-a-Thon

because he didn’t have to

do work . Rayan said that

the conga line was fun

to make. Everyone had

a good time dancing

and singing. We can’t

wait for next year’s

Move-a-Thon!

Remembrance Day Poems

By Nevaeh

Remembrance Day Assembly

By Darryl

Remembrance Day is when you remem-

ber the brave soldiers who fought and

are still fighting for our country. They

risked their lives to protect us, World

War l ended on the 11th month on the

11th day at the 11th hour. So, on No-

vember 11th we reflect and remember.

On November 11, we had a Remembrance Day cere-

mony in the gym. Everyone was to be quiet and sit in a

row, A special guest, Cpl. Khan talked to us about her

experience in the army and why it’s important to re-

member. At 11:00am we all stood up in silence, re-

membering all the soldiers that fought for our country.

The classes also made a poppy wreath and we hung

them up in front of the stage. Then we sat down and

some different classes recited poems and did dramatic

readings. One of the poems

was “In Flanders Fields.” Our

whole school did an amazing

job at the ceremony honor-

ing the soldiers.

Remembrance Day

Thinking of you

Poppies lay

Just a few

Across the field

The weapons they wield

Kneel to the sky

And sing goodbye

Sadness shared amongst the pairs

Red stars shine

And the people

They all whine

Tears will fall

And the graves and memorials will stand tall

As my hands quiver

And legs shiver

I remember

November eleventh

Is the day where the poppies sway

Graves look dull

We won’t lose peace yet, lest we forget

Silence that us so loud

Gather around, it’s a crowd

Graves and grievers they are proud

Fight and fight

All of the night

Drop to the ground

Remember when it was safe and sound

Across the seas

Make me feel at ease

My heart grew fonder

And I knew they were stronger than me

I cry and cry

With the empty room in my house

And the chair that is never used

And how I’ll never feel amused

But the ceremonies give me hope, I’ll learn to cope

The sun will shine as bright as their smile

And once again, I’ll be okay for quite a while

Wellness Club Trainings from the

Youth Wellness Network

By Makenna

In November, students from grades 5-8 went to the library to learn more about youth wellness and leadership. Many things were talked about such as what beliefs were taught to us and what our

own beliefs are that no one else influenced.

We also learned about meditation and yoga. When these chosen students go to the library, they go

to become self aware. Next year the students will lead the school-wide wellness initiatives. They are in the progress of planning them now.

Stay tuned!

Sports Update By Hollis

Reptilia

By Sowarima

On November 25th, Brock Public School had a special visit from Reptilia. Reptilia is a place where people come to learn about reptiles, their habitats and jaw-dropping facts about them. Sometimes, Reptilia comes to schools for special visits to show, talk about, and even let students touch the animals. When Reptilia came to Brock, they let us touch a lot of special reptiles like a turtle, a snake, a leopard gecko, and much more. They also brought a rose-haired tarantula but we could-

n’t touch it because the tarantula could spit hairs into us that would make us very itchy.

Carmen in grade 7 said that her favourite part was touching the turtle because it was small and gentle. Thanks to Reptilia , we made a lot of new friends and learned a lot about them. We hope that Reptilia can come for another exciting visit!

Intermediate Boys Volleyball

On November 23rd, the Interme-diate Boys’ volley-ball team travelled to Jessie Ketchum Public School to play four games against Lansdowne, AMG and Jessie Ketchum Public Schools, and once again with Lansdowne in the finals.

“I think that we did pretty well! At first we were nervous, but when we got into the heat of the game, we were getting better and better,” stated Zayne. “It was really fun,” explained Rubesh, “and I think we did well! We won one game against AMG and I think we could do a bit better next year.”

This was definitely a very exciting sea-son for the Int. Boys Volleyball team!

Junior Girls Basketball

On November 25, not only did we have the Move-a-Thon and Reptil-

ia, the Junior Girls Basketball team also trav-elled to Annette PS to play three games against Dovercourt, Church St., and Parkdale Public Schools. The girls has a very fun day!

“The tournament was very exciting, “ stated Esther. “We won two out of three games, and our team had a very strong sisterhood.” Jor-dayne said that “it was a good sportsman-ship.”

One thing we can all agree on is that the Junior Girls Basketball team represented our school terrifically!

Intermediate Girls Basketball

On November 30, the Interme-diate Girls Bas-ketball team went to Queen

Victoria Public School to play three games against Queen Victoria, Ryerson, and Annette Public Schools.

“The tournament was very fun and I loved letting out my energy in a game of basketball.” said Tishiyah. “Even though we didn’t make it to the finals, we still had fun and helped other teams with their game plans,” explained Cathy.

It certainly was a fantastic day!

Thank you to all the coaches for all the sports for all their hard work!

Student Council Update

By Chompel

This year, Student Council has prepared

many fun and exciting days to come. This month we had

Pizza Day, where many kids bought pizza. Remember,

money we raise is a donation to our school so we can

buy supplies and equipment. If you missed this one,

don’t worry because we have one every month!

Student Council also decided on their Spirit Days for the

year. The first one, Pyjama Day will occur on December

23, 2016. We also have our Giving Tree in December.

Please bring donations of new, warm clothes such as

mittens, scarves and hats for those in need. Please put

donations on the Giving Tree that is now placed in the

main hall.

Student Council will also be selling Candy Grams. If you

want to buy a Candy Gram December

12-16, it will be 25 cents for one. Stu-

dent Council will be delivering your

small treat to the person you sent it to.

Get ready for many more events to

come this year from Student Council!

Library Update

By Edward This month Ms. Kondo hosted the Book Fair and Bookmark contest. The Book Fair was from November 15-18,

2016. A lot of people were coming in and buying books. There were also 30 student Book Fair helpers. I was a Book Fair helper, and my job was the Book Beautifier. We met our goal, and earned over $1000 to buy new books for the library. There will be another Book Fair in February. Hope to see you there!

The Bookmark Contest had more than 60 entries. The theme was Winter or Winter Holidays. The winners were June in Mr. Crifo’s class, Amy in Ms. Pringle’s class, Meghan and Leslie in Ms. Moreiro’s class, Elliot in Mr. Hong’s class, Julie in Ms. Smith’s class, Sowarima in Ms. da Silva’s class and the person with the most votes in the entire contest, Kelly in Ms. Papel’s class. Congratulations to all of the con-testants! All participants worked hard to make colourful and fantastic bookmarks! Starting December 12, you can come get the winners bookmarks in the library and every-one else will have their own designs made into book-marks for them. If you missed this contest, there will be more this year!

Also, over the break, please look for any library books that may be lost!

Grade 1/2 Seussical Trip

By Lillian

On November 22, Mr. Crifo and Ms. Pringle’s classes went on a field trip to the Young People`s Theater to see the Seussical Musical. It was a combination of some Dr. Seuss books that they

had read. During the play, it switched between stories. There was even a disco ball that both of the classes liked.

There was a lot going on at the Seussical Musical, but here are some highlights. Some kids said that they liked the sound effects and thought that it was super fun. When asked what their favourite part was they said that they liked that Horton never gave up to save the Hoots. After the field trip, the classes made posters for the play and took those fun memories back to school!

WE Club Update

By Sowarima

Tis the season to

be making and

selling hat key-

chains, mini snow-

men, and reindeer

soap! Brock’s WE

Club has been

working very hard for the past

month to make these handmade

items to sell at the Winter Con-

cert on December 22. The money

raised from selling these crafts

will go to the people of Haiti

who are in need after hurricanes

and other hardships.

Let’s show some holiday spirit

and spread the joy by buying some

awesome crafts made by students

and staff at Brock. Happy holi-

days, everyone!

Intermediate Book of the Month

By Cathy, with some assistance from a

secret author

This month’s intermediate book of the month is Red Maple nominated Fragile Bones by Lorna Schultz Ni-cholson. It is about two teen-agers names Harrison and Anna who are in a program called Best Buddies that pairs people with disabilities with a buddy. Harrison has

autism/Asperger's so he has trouble speaking to people, but Anna doesn’t mind.

The Best Buddies are planning a Halloween party, but Harrison and Anna have to learn how to be friends, deal with bullies, and figure out that being who they are is ok. They also almost lose each other!

Be sure to read this book to learn about being kind to others and accepting differences. It’s a great book!

Junior Book of the Month

By Ilija

This month’s junior book of the month goes

to Off the Crossbar by David Skuy. This

book is the first of a five book series. They

are all hockey books.

In Off the Crossbar, Charlie, the main char-

acter, has just moved to a new town for his

first year of high school. Charlie instantly

gets into an argument with Jake, the best

and toughest player on

his team about who's

going to get cut from

the team.

Charlie struggles to

show he's worthy of the

role. Find out if Jake

and Charlie will work

together by finding this

book in the library!

Primary Book of the Month

By Cathy

This month’s pri-mary book of the month is Katie and the Candy Cane Fairy by Tim Bug-bird. Katie and her sister are perform-ing in a Christmas show, and they have special candy

canes that are going to be in the show too. Then suddenly the candy cane stripes dis-appear.

Katie and her sister are shocked. The can-dy cane is the star of the show. Holly goes to the candy cane store to ask the owner if she has any striped candy canes but she is sold out. What will happen to the show? Will it be a disaster? You should check out the book to find out!

Graphic Novel of the Month

By Peial

Title: Johnny Boo Goes To The Moon

By: James Kochalka

Johnny Boo is a ghost and has a friend named

Squiggle. Together the two friends go on adven-

tures. In this book, the two friends decide to go

to the moon on a skateboard. A couple of stars

that are fans of Johnny Boo help him get to the

moon. The stars replace

the round skateboard

wheels with themselves.

Then Johnny Boo yells

“stars”, and it zooms

them to the moon. What

happens next? To find

out, read the book. There

are more Johnny Boo

books in the series so I

hope you enjoy them.

Pick a copy at the Brock library today!

Happy Holidays!

By Nevaeh

So as you may know, this is the month that is everybody’s

favourite! You get to wear your nicest pajamas and celebrate

the holidays! This month will be interesting and it’s a great time to learn about all

the traditions of December! It has started to snow and it’s gotten cold, and everyone

has turned on their festive music! On that note, Merry Christmas,

Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwaanza, and/or any other celebrations

you participate in! Get ready for 2017! See you on January 9!

Puzzles

By: Raquel

Find all the winter words to

complete the puzzle.

I F K S R R T P J N E M U A C

B O F R O Z E N H A H L R K S

C H R I S T M A S M F C F A S

G L O N U K R T L W S X R A W

Y T Z V A O P A T O S G N K A

Z L B O N M R G D N K T D H R

O O B E E U E J P S A U O E M

C I M S R R S N L Q T I I L W

O I C E D M E N T E E N R A Q

B J E L V N N W T S D D L O C

X C B W M E T L I E B I P S H

B C O Y U N S E E N N U E P Y

M N H D J H Y R A K T H X R Q

S O F W M Q G O O L Z E A G D

G G N I D D E L S A T C R E J

CHRISTMAS COLD COZY

DREIDEL ELF FROZEN

ICE MENORAH ORNAMENTS

PRESENTS REINDEER SANTA

SKATE SLEDDING SNOW

SNOWMAN WARM WINTER

Help Santa get to

his next house!