MAY: INTEGRITY

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's

going to know whether you did it or not.

- Oprah Winfrey

Islington Junior Middle

School

Monthly Newsletter May Edition May 2017

Principal’s Message

Peek inside for a view of all

the exciting initiatives at

Islington JMS!

It is unbelievable that time has already brought us to the month of May! We have so many exciting things happening at the school in the coming months. We hope you take the time to read this newsletter thoroughly so that you can be a part of the fun. With the warmer weather comes a reminder to all of our students to continue to dress appropriately.

May 2017

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Islington JMS Newsletter

EQAO GRADE 3 AND 6 Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) testing will begin on May 23, 2017 through to June 5, 2017. Grade 3 and grade 6 students will be writing the test in Math, Reading and Writing. During this time period, we will minimize school interruptions to ensure that students have a focused and calm environment in which to work. If your child is in Grade 3 or 6, please ensure that they are getting a good night’s rest, particularly during this time and that they are eating regularly and healthily. For more information on EQAO, visit the website using the link provided below: http://www.eqao.com/Pages/launch.aspx

As a place of learning we consider short shorts, short skirts, halter and spaghetti strap tops, shirts and tops that do not reach one’s bottoms, pants that hang far below the waist and tattered or slashed jeans to be inappropriate. We continue to remind students that we all represent Islington Junior Middle School and that the broader community judges us by our dress, grooming and behaviour. We trust that all students will continue to uphold and build a fine image of our school within the community. April was a lovely month at the school. Among some of the action, we had a community clean up day on April 21, where students, parents, officers from 22 Division and representatives from Councillor DiCiano’s office all worked hard together to clean up our school and community grounds. The day was a huge success and we look forward to doing it again soon! Loretta Penny also presented on April 20

th for all our grades on the

importance of conservation for the future of our planet. Students were highly engaged in the message that we all have a part to play in environmental action. I would like to also take this opportunity to invite all of our parents/caregivers to our annual STEAM night on May 11

th. More details

regarding this evening are included in the newsletter. Wishing you all a safe and productive month of May.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY Children under nine should be accompanied by adults or older children when crossing the street. Teach your children the rules of the road - start when they're young: - Teach children how to cross the street safely. Teach them to stop (before stepping onto the road), look left, right and left again, and listen for traffic before stepping out into the street. Teach children to wait until the street is clear and to keep looking until they have crossed the street. They should also look the driver in the eye before crossing

- Teach children to recognize pedestrian crossing signals but not rely on them. Before crossing, children should also be sure the traffic has stopped. Remind them to continue across if the light changes to "Don't Walk" while they are in the crosswalk. - Teach your children to stop at driveways, alleys and areas without curbs and to never run out onto the street.

Continued...next page

Islington JMS Newsletter May 2017

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LUNCH TIME at Islington JMS JK/SK-B Room 3 Varsha Koneri/Dina Guzova JK/SK-C Room 2 Tanya Galluzzo/ Silvina Machulec JK/SK-D Room 4 Heather Heanning/Sue Ieriti FSK-A Room 8 Xuan Hue Vuong/ Khaddouji Kotb FSK-B Room 1 Katya Teixeira, C/ Pasqal Fulginiti FI1 Room 5-2 Vicky Simard FI2 Room 9-4 Mamadou Sanogo 1 Room 5-3 Joan Kim 1/2 Room 5-4 Tracy Caudle 2/3 Room 9-1 Jennifer Chang 3 Room 9-2 Mary Lou Morgan 3/4 Room 9-3 Lois Gadway 4 Room 10 Deborah Welsh 5 Room 19-2 Tsetan Dolma 5/6 Room 19-3 Lisbeth Paisley-Smith 6A Room 17 David Zayachkowski 7 Room 16 Phil Trigiani 7/8 Room 19-4 Lori Pidgeon 7/8A Room 15 Lidia, Kyprianou 8 Room 20 Dalia Mukherjee ISP-Autism Room 18 Stephanie Porteous/Brandy Horvat Leap Rm.5-5 Ann Woomart Leap-A Rm.9-5 Janet McCarrol-Spiers Prep./Resource/STEAM Rm 11 Greg Karout Jr French/Music Rm 14 Maria Giannantonio Int French/ESL res. Rm 19-1 Ana Marinovic Music/IMI Band Rm 12 Library Library Angela Sakkalis Jr.Sr ESL Cong. Rm 19-1 Ana Marinovic Jr.Sr. HSP/Resource Rm 19-5 Netta Stambolic MART/Sp. Ed. Rm 1 Angela Sakkalis Guidance Rm 6-1 Leigh Doucet Reading Recovery/Prep Rm 6-2 Lata Iyer Phys. Ed Girls Office Monika Watters Phys. Ed/Res Boys Office Ana Jimenez Instrumental Music Sml/lrg lunchrm Early Childhood Educators (ECE) Kamilia Seredocha, Dina Guzova,Sue Ieriti, Silvana

Machulec, Pasqal Fulginiti Khaddouji Kotb Educational Assistant (EA) Sujata Bhatia, S.N.A. Janet Rait Caretakers Alex Grech, Gladys Fleet, Elizabeta Malkowsua Lunchroom Fadwa Ghanem, Ms. Mahadale, M. Bahrani, Danielle

Lacivita Lunchroom KDG Ye Yang, H. Khatun, S. Salman, I. Jahan, TBA Settlement Worker Warda Abdulsamed Rm 19-6 Parenting Centre Beth Hunter

Principal Rocco Coluccio

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY continued

- Teach children about the dangers of crossing the street between parked cars or when not at a corner. Children should cross only at corners and pedestrian crosswalks, not diagonally or between parked cars - Teach children to respect the role of the crossing guard and to understand his/her signals - Teach children that wherever possible they should walk on the sidewalk. In areas without sidewalks, teach children to walk as far away from the road as possible, facing approaching traffic (when there is no choice but to walk on the road) -Teach children that playing games at railway crossings or around trains can be deadly. Teach children that the only way to cross railway tracks is to use designated railway crossings - Follow the same rules that you want your child to follow. You may want to cut across the street in the middle of the block, but you want your child to learn to cross at the intersection. Be a good role model Reprinted with the permission of Safe Kids Canada. Visit www.safekidscanada.ca for more safety tips on keeping children safe

Equity and Wellbeing

Each year, Ontarians mark the first full week of May as Children's Mental Health Week. The week is about increasing awareness of the signs of child and youth mental health needs, decreasing stigma and understanding that help is available. This year, the TDSB is celebrating Children’s Mental Health Week, May 1 to 5 by focusing our efforts on a different theme each day of the week. School staffs, parents, government agencies and where appropriate, students themselves, can take the opportunity to talk about the impact of mental health issues on learning and personal wellness. Our Student Parliament at Islington JMS, in partnership with Toronto Public Health, has planned daily activities for the entire school that address physical, emotional, cognitive needs and promote healthy individuals. We also recognize that student mental health and wellbeing is founded on equity and inclusion of all our unique identities. Our staff this month has engaged in training and conversation around Special Education with the TDSB Autism team. We will also be working closely with the Gender Based Violence Prevention team to design our school road map to greater inclusion and respect for diversity.

May 2017

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Regular attendance is necessary to make progress at school. If your child is absent, the following actions need to be taken:

Attendance

If a student is to be excused during the school day, the parent or guardian should send a note to school with the student explaining the circumstance and the parent may telephone the

school.

If a student is absent from school the whole day or part of a day, the parent should telephone the school prior to 8:30 in the morning or 12:30 in the afternoon, thus ensuring safe arrival. The telephone

number is 416-394-7874. A note from a

parent communicating the child’s absence is also acceptable.

1

2

Students will not be excused

from school without parental

consent. Notes should include

date(s) of absence and parent’s

or guardian’s signature.

STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) at Islington JMS

STEAM is a large part of how and what we learn at Islington JMS. With a strong focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math, this approach to teaching focuses on inquiry, problem-based learning and design. Emphasis is placed largely on the PROCESS of discovery and innovation rather than just the solution. This fosters important skills that our students will need in the future. They include: COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, PROBLEM-SOLVING, CRITICAL THINKING, INNOVATION and ENTREPRENEURSHIP. On May 11, 2017, Islington JMS will host STEAM night for parents/caregivers. We invite you all to take part in the exciting learning that your children engage in daily. We promise a night of fun, challenges and discovery! We look forward to seeing you all there!

Islington JMS Newsletter May 2017

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INTERNATIONAL FOOD FAIR MAY 18, 2017

Our nutrition program will be hosting the International Food Fair on May 18th at lunch time in the large lunch room. For $5.00, students will get a samosa and chicken and rice plate. Sold separately, will be hotdogs for $2.00 and samosas for $1.00 each. All moneys raised will go to the school’s nutrition program. A flyer for the event will come home shortly. Be on the look-out for it!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ONGOING SUPPORT OF ISLINGTON JUNIOR MIDDLE

SCHOOL!

ECO NEWS

It takes a community....to clean a community! On April 21, 2017, Islington JMS students, community members and parents all partnered together to clean up our community. Over 50 bags of garbage were collected! As a school, we are also de-lamping some of our rooms in order conserve energy wherever possible. On May 1, 2017, our Eco-audit will take place! We hope that all of our environmental efforts, in addition to making our world a better place to live, will also result in Platinum certification for our school!

ATHLETICS

On April 20, our Junior Coed volleyball team participated in a tournament at Hollycrest PS and did a great job of representing our school! Spring is here and the Grade 7 and 8 boys and girls are getting ready for the outdoor Cricket tournament. Morning and evening they are polishing their batting and bowling skills. The boys and girls are tirelessly practising how to pitch the ball to a given target. They are focused to get their pitches on the correct line and length to knock the stumps off the wicket. It is amazing to see the enthusiastic learners improving every day in hitting boundaries and over-boundaries too. We are looking forward to another exciting cricket season.

UPCOMING DATES AND EVENTS

Date Event May 1, 2017 SAC at 6:30pm

May 1 – 5, 2017 Mental Health Week

May 4, 2017 Kindergarten Grad Photo Day

May 11, 2017 STEAM night at 6:00pm

May 18, 2017 International Food Fair at lunch

May 23 – June 5 EQAO

May 26, 2017 Student of the Month Assembly at 9:00am

Follow us on Twitter: tdsb_islington Website: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/islington/Home.asppx

Main Office – 416-394-7870

Student Absent Line (24 hours) – 416-394-7874