April 2009.pub - Parliament Oak Public School - District School ...

PARLIAMENT OAK SCHOOL
PRIDE, OPPORTUNITY, SUCCESS
Volume 8, Issue 1
April 2009
Pause to Play
TV Free Week
Monday, April 27 to
Sunday, May 3rd.
1.Try your best to
be screen-free for
one week. This
means turning off
your TV, video
games, computers
(except for homework).
2. Be active during
your free time
everyday. Plan
an activity each
day that the
whole family can
enjoy together.
3. Use the “student
tracker” (It will be
posted on the
website) to keep
track of your
screen time and
physical activities.
Aim for 60-
90 minutes of
physical activity
everyday.
4. Return the
tracker to school
to your teacher.
5. Look for your
name in the May
newsletter!!
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE...
Education Week - Monday, April 27 to Friday May 1st. “Energizing Young Minds”
focusing on Environmental Education for students. A HUGE thank you goes out to our
Green Team and Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. DiVincenzo and Mrs. Inglis for their work on our Eco
School Project this year. They have worked very hard to get our binder ready for submission
- this outlines our progress this year! We will keep you posted as to our “status”!
Our NARROW FOCUS for instruction is “making deeper connections” when reading!
We have included “inferencing” and “evaluating text”. Making connections is about
extending the meaning of text by connecting it to self, other texts and the world. Inferencing
moves from making predictions based on text in JK to Grade 2 to Grade 3/4 connecting
background knowledge and text clues to make an inference based on evidence from the
text on to Grade 5/6 where students construct meaning about the text and support interpretations
of the text to finally in Grade 7/8 where students are able to develop and explain inferences
about the text. Please drop by our bulletin board near the parking lot and read
about our narrow focus. Talk to teachers about the different strategies that are being used
and how you can support “developing deeper connections” at home!
JOIN OUR SCHOOL COUNCIL!
This past month council has seen the 6+1 Writing Traits volunteer program
get up and running and is getting positive feedback all around. If you
have a child in grades 1-6 and you are looking for something to help out
with on a volunteer basis we would love to get you involved in this great program
which is developed to enhance what the kids are learning in class but
in a one-on-one setting.
We had a discussion at our last meeting about lunch waste and are going to
be making extra efforts to get students to dispose of all lunch waste appropriately.
Organic wastes bins are already in classrooms ready to go!
The new Conduct Code was also discussed at our last meeting. If you have
any questions or concerns on that front please feel free to ask a council
member.
We continue to be updated on many aspects of instruction focus in classrooms
and help gain an understanding for current programming and teaching
methods… It is so different from when we parents were in elementary
school!!
As always we encourage you to come and join our discussions on the last
Tuesday of each month. Next Meeting: Tuesday, April 28, 2009. 7 p.m.
Child Care is always available in Miss Masson’s Room.
Have a great month of April!
Toby Simmonds and Heather Davis (Co-Chairs)

Page 2
JK/SK - Miss Masson/Mrs. Inglis
Matthew Hawthorne and Christina Talaiporos
Grade 1 - Maddie Caughill and Olivia Krieger
STUDENT OF THE MONTH— March
HONESTY! CONGRATULATIONS!!
Grade 4 - Kiara Nestor and Sean Papadimitriou
Grade 5/6 - Malcolm Harper
Grade 2 - Beth de Boer and Alex Gibson
Grade 6/7 - Weston Miller and Aidan Daniels
Grade 3 - Diego Sancho and Nathan Zalepa
Grade 7/8 - Claire Sanders and Gabrielle Glatt
April 2009 - Trustworthiness
Panther Paws - JK/SK , Grade 7/8, Grade 3, Grade 1
Golden Dust Pan - Grade 3 is IN THE LEAD...stay TUNED!
JK /SK Miss Masson/Mrs. Inglis -
Keagan Quinn, Nickolas Karpetas, Brendan
Gillard
IMPROVEMENT AWARDS
Grade 4 - Jake Eadie and Jackson Maves
Grade 1 - Olivia Krieger, Sadie Williams,
Nick Simmonds, Maggie Burns
Grade 2 - Cort Day and Spencer McGuire
Grade 3 - Julia Bains, Edwin Chu,
Diego Sancho, Ben Simmonds,
Paige Tribe Sherlock
Grade 5/6 - Isabella Carone and Landon
Vandelaar
Grade 6/7 - Teddy Blakeman
Grade 7/8 - David Picek, Merek Beaudry,
Gabe Lupia, Jack Bowron, Kayla Vanberlo,
Kaitlyn Goodine-McMillan, Liam Matheson,
Brad McClure
Milk Prizes
Juanita Ayerbe
Ciaran Morgan
Newsletter Draw:
Genny and Ethan Moncion

Page 3
ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
GUIDELINES
Our School Bell rings at 8:45 a.m.
If you arrive at school before the bell
rings, please go to the back and come inside
with your class. Parents are
encouraged to wait outside in the back
for their children . Students will be dismissed
at 3:15 p.m.
We will be having a LOCKDOWN DRILL
on April 17th. If you would like to see this
procedure, please contact Mrs. Voth. We
need to do this once per year . We completed
our first successful drill last April.
OUR PLEDGE
At Parliament Oak we’re here to learn,
Following instructions and taking our turn,
Helping the environment and doing our
share,
I’ll be a proud Panther and show I care!
PALS PROGRAM
Thanks to Miss Walker and
our Youth Connection Nurse
for setting up this program
where older students are
trained to lead games and
activities on the playground for younger
children.
Congratulations to Georgia Bains, Rachel
Bannerman, Victoria Beale, Lauren Cain,
Isabella Carone, Andrew Dickson, Makenna
Kuhn, Aidan Matheson, Katarina Martins,
Mary Claire Pietras, Tait Robinson, Chloe
Tribe-Sherlock, Mariana van Berkum, Kennedy
Vandelaar, Gregg Walton, Victoria
McNaughton, and Landon Vandelaar who
have been
accepted to be
Playground Pals at
Parliament Oak
School!
“Nut Aware” Policy
Please DO NOT send food to school that contains nuts. We have several students with
life threatening allergies. It is our policy that students DO NOT exchange or share food!
Thank you for your co-operation in making our community a safe place for everyone!
SPRING IS HERE!
Everyone under the age of 18 is required by law to wear a
helmet when riding a bicycle. WEAR A HELMET and STAY SAFE!
Please review this with your children!
PLEASE PAY CAREFUL ATTENTION WHEN
DRIVING! Children are “out and about” more
now that the weather is getting warmer! SLOW
DOWN and WATCH FOR CHILDREN!

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Page 4
F UND RAISING
Dance-a-thon
Thank you for your generous
contributions to this event. We raised $1800.
Thank you to Mr. McNaughton and the Grade
7/8 class for their hard work in planning this event!
APRIL ART SALE
All students will be creating a piece of art that will be laminated
and framed. These pieces of art will be for sale at our International
Dance Review on Thursday, April 23rd. Please plan to
come out and purchase some Parliament Oak “originals”. Art
prices will be a donation from the buyer.
Easter Bake Sale
The Eco team will be hosting a Easter bake sale on Wednesday. APRIL 8 and Thursday.
APRIL 9, from 10:30- 11:30 and 12:45 - 1:35. Contributions of cupcakes or other
baked goods are needed and greatly appreciated. Please let us know at the office or by
e-mail f you are able to contribute and how much. Baked goods can be brought to the
school before dismissal on April 7th.
All proceeds going to the Niagara-on-the-Lake First Ever Eco Conference, to be held on
April 16th at NDSS. Students are encouraged to bring their money and support this event!!
Please continue to
drop your bottles on
the benches near
the gym.
We will continue this
recycling/fundraising
effort until the end
of the school year.
We have raised over
$200 to date. Thank
you for your support!
Proceeds to
go to Camp Olympia
trip for Grade 7/8
students.
Graduation
Fundraiser
Friday, May 8th
Track and Field
BBQ
Water, Juice, Ice
Cream, Chips and
Hotdogs will be
available to students
for $1 each.
Make Change for Children April 20-24
In a community as prosperous as Niagara, it's hard to
fathom that some children still come to school on empty
stomachs, poorly clothed and inadequately equipped to
face the school day. Recent research indicates for about
10,000 Niagara children in our community, roughly one
in six, poverty is the reality they live every day. This
year Parliament Oak has decided to support the Education
Foundation of Niagara(EFN) and help raise funds to
support kids in need. All funds raised through this
week-long event will go directly to the Poverty and
Emergency Relief Fund set up by EFN. Each class will
be collecting change and if our school can
raise over $500 then the students will earn
an extra 1/2 hour of recess time outdoors.
This is a great cause to contribute. Let's
show our school spirit and bring in that
change.

Page 5
ARTS AND SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES REPORT
CHESS CLUB
Congratulations to the Chess Team for their outstanding participation
in the Tournament On April 2nd. Julia Bains received
a medal for 1st place and she will go on to represent
our school on April 8th at the Regional Tournament. Thanks
to Samantha Corvino, Zachery Pietras, Varun
Mehrotra and Landon Vandelaar for representing
our school. They showed great school spirit
and are congratulated for their efforts!
Thanks, Miss Walker
Senior Badminton
Practices
Tuesday, April 7 at 8 a.m.
Thursday, April 9th at 12:45 p.m.
April 14 and 16 at 3:30 p.m.
April 22 at 12:45 p.m.
April 24 at 12:45 p.m.
April 27 and 29 at 3:30 p.m.
Tournament on May 1st at Virgil School!
Thanks, Mrs. Burton and Mrs. Voth
Running Club
(Thanks, Mrs. Bereczky!)
Skipping Club
(Thanks, Mrs. Voth)
Math Club
Thursdays from 3:30 - 4:30
Grade 5-6
(Mrs. Andrews)
Go Girls!!
(Thanks, Mrs.
Hamdani)
Junior Basketball
Boys - Ethan Shulman, Josh Lupia, Malcolm Harper, Gareth Rollason, Aidan Daniels, Tait Robinson,
Ciaran Morgan, Weston Miller, Aidan Mummery, Jackson Maves, Christoffer Huisman, Jake Eadie,
Lucas Abruzzi and Zachery Pietras …...Thanks, Miss Davidson and Mrs. Krause
Girls - Rachel Bannerman, Victoria Beale, Emily Day, Mariana van Berkum, Holly
Schaaf, Cynthia Burrows, Kennedy Vandelaar, Katarina Martins, Samantha Corvino,
Chloe Tribe-Sherlock, Isabella Carone, Lauren Cain, Makenna Kuhn …..Thanks, Mrs.
Burton and Mrs. Voth

MARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Page 6

LIBRARY AND COMPUTER NEWS …
Page 7
BIRTHDAY BOOK CLUB
• Danielle the Daisy Fairy and Runaway Rascal was
donated in honour of Jessie Jones! Happy 8th
Birthday! You make us so proud! Love , Mom
and Dad.
Primary - Math Adventures
Junior and Intermediate
Sea Sums by Joy N. Hulm
Mission Addition by Loreen Leedy
The Grapes of Math by Greg Tang
Big Numbers by Edward Packard
We Can Make Graphs by R.L. Wiliams
The Best of Times by Greg Tang
I See Patterns by Linda Benton
Land and Sea Tales
The Days Work
Kim
Just So Stories
Captain Courageous
The Jungle Book
The Second Jungle Book
I See Shapes by Marcia Fries
RESOURCES FOR OUR LIBRARY
Thanks to funds from the Ministry of Education ($3000) and the District School Board of
Niagara ($1000) and our school community ($1300 from our Book Fair Profits) we have been able
to purchase $5000+ worth of NEW books for our library. The DSBN has provided teams of Library
Technicians and Teacher Librarians to help us get our libraries ready for the new resources
and process the new books so they quickly “hit the shelves”. We have purchased everything
from Graphic Novels (Bone Books, etc. ) to books about sports,
nutrition, Social Studies and Science topics to those that support
6+1 Write Traits and Math concepts. Thanks to Mrs. Bereczky
who has worked very hard to organize our leveled books and
mentor texts. Mentor texts are those that are purchased specifically
to teach certain expectations (i.e. making connections when
reading, voice in writing, etc.). Leveled books allow students to
read and understand in small groups at their own level during
Guided Reading.

Pizza Days
April 8
April 15
April 22
Yes, we have
an extra one this month!
Thanks,
Mrs. Shulman and
Stone Road
Grille To
Go-Go!
Eco Presentation
Lee Norton
April 9, 2009.
1:45 p.m.
Grade 5-8
International Dance
Revue and Art Sale
Thursday, April 23rd
7 p.m. in the Gym
Join us for an evening that will
take us around the world as we
“jive” to many
different styles of music and
appreciate the art of the
talented
students at
Parliament
Oak.
HISTORICA FAIR
On April 30th, 16 students from Parliament Oak will
be participating in the DSBN Historica Fair.
Aidan and Lachlan Matheson, Madeline
Kennedy, Victoria Crocco, Bianca Lupia,
Victoria McNaughton, Isabella Carone,
Aidan Daniels, Aidan Mummery, Willy
Cowling, Lucas Abruzzi, Ciaran Morgan, Kayla
Vanberlo, Tiana Dominick, Gabrielle Glatt,
Jordyn Mottola
OUR NEXT
PA DAY is on
Friday,
May 15, 2009.
There are NO
classes!!
International Luncheon
April 30, 2009. at NOON in the GYM
Watch for more information coming home soon!
JK/SK students will be
invited to join us with their parents. Students will be eating with their
Book Buddies! Families will be asked to contribute a dish that represents
their family’s culture or a special tradition.
OUR CELEBRATION ASSEMBLY FOR APRIL WILL BE HELD AT 9:30
A.M. on April 30th. Please join us!!!

Page 9
OUR COMMUNITY
Registrations for the 2009-2010 school year are being
accepted for ALL grades!! Help us out by registering early!!
Learners in Action at the DSBN Road Race
Lace up your running shoes and mark your
calendar for the 2008 DSBN Road Race on
Sunday, April 26th. Come on out and run either
the 1 km or 5 km and support Niagara Nutrition
Partners and the Education Foundation of Niagara.
For more information: www.dsbnroadrace.com
Please see Mrs. Bereczky for information and entry forms.
Mrs. Simmonds and Mrs. Bereczky will be starting a 5 km
Club to help you prepare for the DSBN Road Race and the
Rankin Cancer Run AND for just plain running!!!
A VISITOR FROM SCOTLAND by Andrew Dickson in Grade 6
At Parliament Oak we have been taking care of a very special visitor,
Wee Scotie Mac Boine, our pen pal teddy bear from Scotland. He
arrived at PO at Christmas time with news and stories of Symington
Elementary which is in the West Coast of Scotland. Following his 3
month visit to PO, he will be returning with me to Scotland in April
along with a presentation about Parliament Oak
and Canada. I will be pleased to represent
Parliament Oak to my old classmates and
teachers. I have been going around Niagara-onthe-Lake
getting the best photos to take back with
me.
News from NDSS
Intention sheets from Grade 8 students have been received, and we are beginning to
work on next year's schedule. We are looking forward to continuing to work
with Grade 8 students and their parents as we prepare for Grade 9 orientation
activities to be held in September. Watch for more information. Niagara
District is very excited to be hosting the Eco-Day on April 16. A team of
very dedicated teachers from all of our Family of Schools, led by Brad Digweed,
has been planning an exceptional event for students in grades 6- 12.

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Page 10
ECO CORNER - LIZA VANDELAAR
85% of the water Canadians use is water that has been treated. If we pause for a moment
and take a hard look at our own water usage we could easily draw the conclusion that the
water we’ve just flushed down the toilet will eventually be the same water we will brush our
teeth with. We need to appreciate how extremely fortunate Canada is to have clean, dependable
water resources. A recent publication from Environment Canada stated that Canadians
“are pushing our water cycle beyond it’s limits.” How many of us have watered our flowers
only to have it rain a few hours later Well, of course we can’t control the weather, but we
definitely can control our water quantity and quality. Water quantity obviously refers to how
long our showers are or letting the tap water get cold before we fill our glass. Water quality,
however; involves pouring chemicals or unused medications down the drain. Canadians average
329 L of water each per day. 30% is flushed. 35% is for showers or bathing. 20% is
for laundry and household cleaning. 10% for drinking, cooking and dishwashing. 5% is
miscellaneous. Did you know that steaming vegetables instead of boiling them uses less
water and is also healthier for us Please don’t use the toilet as a trash can by flushing
Kleenex or anything really other than that which it is intended for. A toilet that continues to
run for two minutes after it’s been flushed wastes 200 000 L of water a year. These are all
sobering yet necessary facts if we have any hope of ensuring a clean future!
ECO CONFERENCE NDSS THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2OO9.
NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE Youth ECO Conference 2009: Building a Sustainable Community
Keynote Speaker: Bill Andrews, Professor of Environmental Science at OISE
Workshops are being offered (21 in total) and students have picked their TOP 5 choices. Melissa
Hellwig will be presenting a workshop on “Planning Your Goals for a Sustainable Future” .
Lunch and bussing are provided through funds from each school. A T-shirt order form and flyer
has been sent home with students. Students have already signed up for workshops. Thanks to
Mrs. Andrews, Mrs. DiVincenzo, Weston Miller and Rachel Bannerman for their involvement in
this outstanding project.
T HE BOOMERANG SNACK MOVES TO THE RECYCLED SNACK
Step 1: Divide you snack in 1/2 (First Break and Second Break).
Step 2: Eat everything that you can - make sure that you eat some food at both
Breaks. DO NOT share or take snacks from others—this is dangerous be
cause there are food allergies in classrooms. Eat what is in your own
lunch and DON’T throw away food.
Step 3: Recycle plastic in the blue bin.
Step 4: Recycle paper napkins, apple cores, etc. in the compost bin.
Step 5: Take home re-usable containers and uneaten food.
Our Green Team will be visiting classrooms to review these updated
steps with students. Thank you for your co-operation in making us a
“Green School”!

PHENOMENAL FOOD FAIR
NUTRITION MONTH IS EVERY MONTH!
At our last Celebration Assembly, Briar Krieger helped us think and learn
about healthy choices. Look for more information about Healthy Eating coming
home with your child and posted on the website. We really appreciated
her presentation and thank Briar and Carrie for coming from Balance Fitness
Studio in Virgil. In order to keep us “thinking healthy”, our School Council
has sponsored a contest that is open to all Parliament Oak
Students. Prizes awarded to Best entry at Primary, Junior and
Intermediate Level.
Choose your favourite healthy food and write a poem, draw a
poster, share a recipe or sketch a cartoon! Be Creative!
Please hand in your entry to your classroom teacher or at the
school office by April 24 th .
CLASSROOM GOALS - TERM 3
Page 11
All classes set goals for each Term. Look for the Term 2 Goals “report” and the new Term 3
Goals that will be posted on classroom web pages!
Grade 1 Term 3 Goals
Academic Goal - Math -
Work well with a partner when solving a math puzzle.
Eco-Goal - Be Garden Helpers.
Community Building Goal - Make Grade One a Great Place to Be!
Grade 2 Term 3 Goals
Eco Goal -
To use both sides of the paper before we put it in the grey box.
Working Goal - Listen carefully to instructions, ignore distractions and stay focused on your
own work .
Friendly Goal - Stay out of other people’s personal space and that way we stay out of trouble.
Jamaica Project
Thanks to Jodie Godwin for including us in this
project! Many amazing resources were sent to
children in Jamaica from our community! Here
is a picture to celebrate this global partnership!

Page 12
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(Please complete and return to your child’s teacher)
Our family received and read April’s Newsletter.
Please e-mail a response or print and return this form to the school.
Student’s Name: __________________________
Room # _________
Parent’s Signature: _________________________
Comments:
______________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
What is something your family thought was great at Parliament Oak this month
__________________________________________________________________________
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