December 2007.pub (Read-Only) - Teston Village Public School

Teston Village Public School
80 Murray Farm Lane, Maple, Ontario L6A 3G1
Tel: (905) 417-0555 Fax: (905) 417-8368
E-mail: teston.village.ps@yrdsb.edu.on.ca
Website: www.testonvillage.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca
Principal
Mr. David Nimmo
Vice Principal
Mrs. Mary Oppedisano
Superintendent of
Schools
Mr. Robert Dunn
(905) 764-6830
Trustee
Ms. Anna DeBartolo
60 Wellington Street
West, Aurora, Ontario
L4G 3H2
(905)727-0022
Ext. 2829
Inside this issue:
Baythorn Arts Program 2
Message from our
Trustee
Cold Weather is Here!! 2
Literacy Corner 3
Character Corner 3
Maple Library 3
Bus Cancellation 4
Important Dates 5
Faith Days 5
Health News 5
Teston News 6
School Council 7
Calendar 8
2
Message from the office:
Get ready for winter! It seems the weather folks at Environment Canada are suggesting that we get
used to this kind of weather this winter! It is important that your children come to school dressed for
winter. That means making sure they leave home with the following:
A hat
Mitts or gloves
A scarf
Boots
Snow pants for the younger children
We check the Environment Canada web site everyday before sending the children out for recess. Only
if there is a severe Wind Chill do we keep the children in for recess.
If you are driving your children to school please understand that the yellow lines painted on the driveway
mean NO PARKING! This is a fire route and when you park in this location you are putting the lives
of staff and students at risk. Please be respectful and obey the NO PARKING signs. It is also not
good for our children or the environment to leave the car or van idling over 3 minutes.
Report Cards have been sent home, and Student Led Conferences have taken place. As parents you
should have a clear picture of your child’s progress. It is our hope that you have a better understanding
of your child’s strengths and areas to improve. With this information it will be important to set some
realistic goals for your children to attain. We appreciate the efforts parents are making to ensure we
improve student achievement.
Attendance and Lates:
We need your help! Many of our students are arriving late for school. We do not have O Canada and
the announcements at the beginning of the day. We begin instruction as soon as the students enter
class.
Attendance is directly related to success in school and in life. Loss of classroom time, especially in the
early years, can affect a child’s social, emotional and educational needs and may lead to problems such
as worrying about school work and not getting along with other children.
Lateness impinges on instructional time, disrupts the classroom routine and may impact on a student’s
academic performance.
Your child needs to be at school by 8:10 a.m.
Punctuality from the very beginning ensures that your child has a better opportunity to develop
skills and positive attitudes toward learning.
Donations Needed
December, 2007
• We are asking families to donate any winter clothing; jackets, snow pants, and boots that their
children have out grown. We have some students who are not properly dressed for the winter.
If you can help it would be greatly appreciated.
• Kindergarten teachers are requesting outdoor toys for our playground during recess. Please
ensure that toys are in good condition.

Page 2
ARTS @ BAYTHORN PROGRAM
INFORMATION EVENINING
Does your child enjoy learning through the Arts?
All grade four, five students interested in learning
through the arts (Drama, Dance, Music, Visual
Arts) are invited to audition for the Integrated
Arts Program at Baythorn Public School located
in Thornhill. Please join us at our Arts Information
Evening on Thursday, January 17, 2008 at
7:00 p.m. in the Gym at Baythorn Public
School. Application will be available on our school
website at www.baythorn.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca
(beginning January 18 th 2008).
Information regarding the audition process will
be distributed at the information evening.
Auditions for qualified students will be held in
February 2008.
Please call us at Baythorn Public School if you
have any questions at 905-889-7992.
Partners in Education,
Brian Stone
Principal
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Message from our trustee
Teston Village Public School
The first half of the school year certainly seems to be whizzing
by. Many school activities are now well underway
thanks to the involvement of students, staff, parents and
community volunteers.
As a trustee, I had the opportunity to attend the school council
orientation sessions and meet with school council chairs
and treasurers along with their school administrators and
superintendents. It was a pleasure to have enthusiastic parents
participating in such important roles.
From November 14-16, 2007, the Board’s Quest Conference
took place. This conference, co-sponsored with the province’s
Literacy Secretariat, was the culminating event after
months of preparation. The focus of this year’s conference
is Dare to Dream: The Quest for Leading Edge Learning. It
included exciting partnerships with Microsoft, Apple, Hewlett
Packard and Rogers who provided innovative strategies
that delved more deeply into the student-learning environment.
Participants included York Region parents, staff and
community members as well as national and international
delegations.
Thank you to staff and parents for ensuring a nurturing,
positive, learning environment for our students.
I wish you all a safe and restful holiday break.
Sincerely,
Anna De Bartolo
Trustee
COLD WEATHER IS COMING!!!!!
A reminder that ALL students are expected to go outside for recess. Please
ensure that your child(ren) is/are dressed appropriately for Canadian winter.
If your child is not well enough to be out at recess, he/she is probably too ill
to be at school.
A change of clothes would be helpful for primary children should they get wet during the day.
Please make sure all items are labeled with your child’s name. Our “Lost and Found” bin gets
filled up quickly and belongings often go unclaimed.
Please make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes for school.

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Teston Village Public School
Our School Focus at Teston Village is Improving Reading Comprehension …
Predicting is our focus this month. Please reinforce this strategy at home when reading with your child.
Predicting involves previewing the text to anticipate what will happen next. We make predictions ALL THE TIME! By making predictions, readers
are using prior knowledge, thinking on a literal and inferential level, adding to their knowledge base, making connections, and filling the gaps in the
author's writing.
Before reading, good readers make predictions about what they are going to read. Students should be encouraged to look at the front cover of
books. Subheadings, illustrations and captions, as well as graphics and charts in informational text. Students should make logical predictions
based on what they have seen. Asking students, "Based on the information you have seen, what do you think you will learn?" Ask: "What
in the text makes you think this way?" "Did you use any other information aside from the text to formulate your prediction?" This is a
skill that all students must have. They must be able to provide evidence from the text, and they must be able to explain their thinking.
During reading, good readers gather evidence about their predictions; revising, leaving out, or creating new predictions based on what they are
reading. Students should be asking themselves, "Does the text support this prediction?" If evidence to support their prediction is not in
the text, should the prediction be revised or left out?
After reading, good readers assess their predictions and their thinking that happened during reading and they think about the author’s message
and ideas.
BORN TO READ
Tuesdays, 1:30 p.m.
Join us for an interactive program for parents and
caregivers with infants up to 18 months. We will share stories,
songs, rhymes and early literacy activities that you can continue
to enjoy at home! Please drop in!
TODDLING TO READ
Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.
This program features stories, songs, and action
rhymes for toddlers ages 18 months to 3 years,
with their parents and caregivers. Toddlers will enjoy
lots of stimulation and activity. Please drop in.
MAPLE PUBLIC LIBRARY PROGRAMS—NOVEMBER
10190 Keele Street, Maple ON, L6A 3G1
905-653-READ (7323)
WRITE LETTERS TO SANTA
Saturday, December 1, 2-3:00 p.m.
Make sure you get in touch with Santa before
Christmas – write him a letter and you’ll get one back! Younger
children are welcome to send Santa a drawing.
Parents will need to assist younger children.
For ages 3 and up. Please pre-register at the Information
Desk.
CHANUKAH CELEBRATION STORYTIME
Monday, December 3, 7:00 p.m.
Celebrate the Festival of Lights with Chanukah stories and
songs at the library! For children of all ages, with a parent or
caregiver. Please drop in.
READY TO READ
Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.
Join us for a half-hour of stories, fingerplays and
activities for children aged 5 years and under and their parents
and caregivers. Come share great ideas for developing
early literacy skills and a love of
reading. Please drop in.
COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS
Thursday, December 20, 7:00 p.m.
Join us for a fun-filled Story time featuring songs,
activities and finger plays as we get ready for
Christmas! For all ages. Please drop in.
CREATURES OF MYTH AND LEGEND
Wednesday, January 2, 2-3:00 p.m.
Join us on a fantastic journey to explore mysterious
worlds and magical creatures of myth and legend.
For ages 6 and up. Please drop in.
RED CROSS BABYSITTING TRAINING
Saturday, January 5, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Let the Canadian Red Cross prepare you for your first babysitting
job. For ages 11-16 years. Admission is $47.00. Registration
closes one week before course date. Please preregister
at the Check-Out Desk.

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Teston Village Public School
On occasion service cancellation due to inclement weather and/or poor road conditions may be
required. As a result, parents and students should develop alternate care arrangements in case
transportation services are cancelled.
The vast majority of buses transporting York Region students service multiple schools each morning
and afternoon. As these buses begin their service schedules by 7:00 a.m. or earlier, all cancellation
decisions must be made by 6:00 a.m. to ensure the safety of our students. Any cancellation
decisions will only be made after thorough consultation with school bus company representatives
servicing York Region. Decisions will be based on several factors including precipitation, air
temperature and road conditions.
A decision to cancel school bus transportation may be system wide (where all buses in York Region
are cancelled) or municipality specific (where buses in one or more municipalities are cancelled).
Please note if transportation in your municipality is cancelled but your child attends school
in another municipality where service is not cancelled, your child will not be transported to school.
Similarly if you live in a municipality where transportation is not cancelled, but your child attends
school in a municipality where transportation is cancelled, your child will not be transported to
school.
If buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not operate in the afternoon. Therefore students
transported to school by parents will require the same transportation home. Parents,
students and school staff are asked to access the following radio and television stations after 6:00
a.m. to receive bus cancellation information:
RADIO
640 AM 860 AM 92.5 FM 89.9 FM 95.9 FM
1010 AM 1050 AM 102.1 FM 94.1 FM 94.9 FM
1540 AM 107.1 FM 88.5 FM 590 AM 1580 AM
98.1 FM 99.1 FM 99.9 FM 680 AM 101.1 FM
104.5 FM 93.1 FM 100.7 FM 97.3 FM
TELEVISION
School Bus Cancellation Notice
CITY TV THE A-CHANNEL CFTO TV THE WEATHER NETWORK GLOBAL
NEWS
If you are experiencing bus delays in either pick-up or drop-off, know your route number and
call:
Route Number Bus Company Telephone Number
2191 Stock Transportation 905-883-6665
991 Langdons 905-833-5351

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Teston Village Public School
… Important Dates …
December - 5 - Maple High School Band visit
- 5 - Samosa Day
- 10 - Scientists in the School - Grade 1 JK /SK
- 11 - Scientists in the School - Grade 1
- 12 - Coffee & Chat (Parents are welcome) 10:30—11:30 in the conference room
- 13 - Gr. 6’s are filming for the CBC— Directors Cut
- 14 - Gr. 6’s are filming for the CBC— Directors Cut
- 18 - Holiday Family Night (Pot Luck Dinner) 5:00—7:00 p.m.
- 19 - Holiday Dress Up Day
- 19 - Samosa Day
- 21 - Pizza Day
- 21 - Holiday & Good News Assembly
- 21 - Red/Green & White Day
During the Week of the 17th there will be:
Holiday Caroling in the Gym every morning
Holiday Cookies will be sold at morning recess
FAITH DAYS
December 5th - Chanukah
December 20th - Eid-ul-Adha
December 25th - Christmas
December 26th - Kwanza
December
Packing safe lunches
Food poisoning, or food-borne illness, can happen to anyone. The main causes of food-borne
illness are Salmonella and other bacteria. While stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
are the most common symptoms, severe cases may require hospitalization. Prevent food-borne
illness when making your child’s lunch. Remember these safe food handling tips:
1. Clean – Wash your hands, the utensils, cooking surfaces, and all fruits and vegetables
before preparing or eating them
2. Separate - Do not allow raw or unwashed food to come into contact with ready-to-eat food
3. Store perishable food items (meat, eggs and dairy) out of the danger zone (between
4°C/40°F and 60°C/140°F)
o Keep cold food items cold by using an insulated lunch bag and freezer gel packs
o Keep hot food items hot by using preheated, insulated containers
Remind your children to wash their hands before and after eating and to throw out perishable
leftovers after lunch— freezer packs or insulated containers do not last all day. Wash and
sanitize reusable lunch bags before reusing.
For health-related information call York Region Health Services
Health Connection at 1-800-361-5653 or visit www.york.ca

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Teston Village Public School
STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
Madame Reid and Mr. Weisinger
have started Teston Village’s first Student
Leadership Council. The council is
made up of grade 7 and 8 students who
have an interest in developing their leadership
skills around the school. Some members of the
SLC will be attending the Together Were Better Anti
Racism conference, while others are attending a leadership
seminar at Maple High. The SLC will be doing fundraising
throughout the year to support student generated
initiatives around the school.
Congratulations go out to all those applicants
who were selected for the committee:
Wasef Ahmad
Maham Ahmad
Somal Chatha
Naila Manahil
Gevethan Nadesamoorthy Cindy Nguyen
Ali Irfan
Momal Chatha
Bushra Wadood
Hira Ahmad
Machelle Ahmad
TESTON SCHOOL BAND
Teston Village has been alive with music
this year. The intermediate band
has helped to supply the music for some
of the assemblies during the past
months. They have called themselves "The Juice Generation"
and have just been accepted into the York Region
Live concert, a benefit to raise funds for the
Stephen Lewis foundation, which fights AIDS in Africa.
This month we are having Maple High school and
their band visit our school to showcase their music program.
Grades JK/SK through eight will be invited to
take part in this presentation. There will be many exciting
events taking place in the new year and we look forward
to seeing you there.
TESTON TORNADOES SPORTS NEWS
Teston Sports – Go Tornadoes!!
Over the last few months, Teston students have
been involved in several sport teams. In October,
our cross country and football teams showed dedication and hard
work while competing in the regional events. In November, our
Senior Boys and Girls Volleyball Team improved their skills over the
short season, and achieved great results. We look forward to next
year for even greater success.
Currently, the Junior Volleyball Team tryouts are underway, and
they will have their area tournaments on January 31st. The Senior
Boys and Girls Basketball team are in the early stages of tryouts.
Good Luck to all the students who signed up!
The coaches would like to express their thanks to all the supportive
parents and fellow teachers.
Our hockey preseason has just begun for all Grade 4-
8 students that signed up for the intramural indoor
hockey league. Students are having a great time playing
hockey with their newly formed teams. We have
student referees and teachers working hard to ensure that safety
and good sportsmanship is demonstrated each game. This is a fun
way to be physically active during morning recess. Good luck to all
team members for the 2007-08 season!
CHARACTER CORNER
This month our focus is:
Responsibility
We are accountable for all our actions.
We follow through on our commitments.
Join us December 21st for our Holiday Good News Assembly!
Mr. Eakins
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Last week’s fundraiser went very well! THANK YOU!
We sold 300 raffle tickets and the students who won were
very excited to receive their prizes. We sold over $1,000
worth of books and we had 20 books donated to the library.
The profits will go towards reading materials and uniforms
for our school teams. Thank you to Nasly Granada for all
her help and support during the fundraiser. Also, thank you
to Mr. Gernstein for his donations.
Ms. Billard
HEALTH CORNER
Health Fact: BREAKFAST
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Eating breakfast has been proven to improve concentration, problem solving
ability, mental performance, memory, and mood
Snack of the month: APPLES
Apples are a source of fibre.
Apples contain nutrients such as potassium and Vitamin C.
Apples do not have sodium or cholesterol.

Page 7
Teston Village Public School
FROM YOUR SCHOOL COUNCIL
I am pleased to announce to you that the first Teston Village School Council
has been formed. The members of the council are as shown below. As
School council our goal is to help enhance the learning and teaching environment
of the school. We look forward to working with the administration,
teaching and non-teaching staff to achieve this goal. Though the Council has
been formed, we still need more hands to help support the school. Your expertise
and input will be appreciated. Together we can build a great school
for teaching and learning, a school where children have all the resources they
need to succeed. This is our community and this is our school, let’s make it
happen.
Here are some highlights regarding what is happening now:
A Fund Raising committee has been set up to plan activities to raise funds to
support our school.
A Constitutional Committee is also in place to draft a Constitution for the
Council.
Parent Engagement Committee.
In the near future, Council matters will be published in the school’s website to
inform you of events and activities.
Do come out and join us, bring a neighbor.
School Council Corner
Meeting Dates:
Tuesday January 15, 2008
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
In the school Library
7:00—8:00 p.m.
COUNCIL MEMBERS
James Tekyi-Annan
Chair
Saima Ahmad
Co-Chair
Amtil Shakoor Syed
Secretary
Sajed Muzaffar
Treasurer
Saadat Ahmad Joyia
Parent
Nasly Granada
Parent
Annie Saddiqi
Parent
Akbar Ahmad
Parent
Shahid Rabbani
Parent
David Vella
Parent
Diane Vella
Parent
Nadeem Mahmood
Parent
David Nimmo
Principal
Mary Oppedisano
Vice-Principal
Christina Papadakis
Administration
Katherine Billard
Teacher
Stacey McCabe
Teacher