Administrators Message

To Parents/Guardians:

As 2016 comes to a close the staff of Pine Grove would like to thank the community for their generous support throughout the fall. Our students have demonstrated over and over what amazing, caring and compassionate individuals they are. Their efforts to help raise awareness and support for many initiatives including our local Food Bank and the Toy Drive fundraiser which gives us all a cause to be proud. While we have said it many times in the past that a strong school-home partnership is key in helping all children have a successful school experience, when we see such examples as students emptying out their piggy banks to donate money, or bringing in a canned food item or pledging to help foster an anti-bullying school environment it brings to life the true meaning of the mantra, “It takes a village to raise a child.”

To all those celebrating Christmas, we would like to wish you and your families a Merry Christmas.

To all those celebrating Kwanzaa, we would like to wish you and your families a joyful time of celebration.

To all those celebrating Hanukkah we would like to wish you and your families a Happy Hanukkah.

To all those celebrating New Year's Eve/Day, we would like to wish you and your families a Happy New Year!

To all those celebrating the Birth of Guru Gobind Singh, we would like to wish you and your families best wishes celebrating this festive occasion. 

We would also like to wish everyone a safe and happy Winter Break and look forward to seeing all of the Pine Grove students back at school on January 9, 2017.

Greg Brown                                                                         Rosanna Totino

Principal                                                                              Vice Principal

Arts Program at Baythorn

PG Learning Commons

School Council Cancelled

Parent Engagement Workshop (Mandarin & Cantonese)

Announcement

Trustee Greeting

December 2016 – Trustee Greetings 

Message From Our Trustee

As we near the end of 2016, I hope everyone has had a great school year so far and found opportunities to get involved with the life of the school. 

It is wonderful to have opportunities to see not only what our students are learning, but to see how they are learning – collaborating and problem solving, using technology in exciting new ways, and engaged in hands-on activities. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated staff members, students, families and community members across our Board.  Thanks to all of the great people we have in our system, we continue to advance student achievement and well-being.

Our Board continues to have a strong commitment to creating welcoming, inclusive learning environments that enable all of our students to thrive. Engaging families in your child’s education and the school community is in an important part of creating that environment.

There are resources for families available on our Board website at www.yrdsb.ca/parents, including information on Board programs and supports, and tips for parents to support your child’s learning at home and at school. 

Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful start to 2017. I hope you are able to enjoy time with family and friends.

Pine Grove Scholastic Book Fair

2016 Scholastic Book Fair Results

           
Thank you to the many parents, students and staff who volunteered and lent a helping hand to make our Pine Grove Scholastic Book Fair Literacy Event a huge success.  At our Book Fair, the Pine Grove community and families helped our school by purchasing $6995.25 in books – thank you!  By making purchases at the Scholastic Book Fair, our school will be able to purchase more books for our classrooms and for our Learning Commons.  Once again, this event helped promote literacy in our school by providing students with a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials at all levels and has allowed students to appreciate good quality literature. A JK student in Mrs. Panza’s class won the Family Night Event draw – she has won $25.00 worth of books for herself and $25.00 worth of books for her teacher and classroom – CONGRATULATIONS!

Enjoy your new books and happy reading Pine Grove!

Student Winter Dress

Extreme Weather Conditions–Winter

During the cold winter months it is important that students come to school dressed for the weather conditions. This includes: boots, hats, scarves, snow pants, warm coats and mittens or gloves. We also encourage packing an extra pair of socks and pants in case they get wet. All students are expected to go out for every recess and lunch hour, weather permitting. We monitor the weather throughout the day, including temperature, wind chill, sun/cloud conditions and wind velocity. In extreme weather conditions, such as ice pellets or extremely high wind chill factors, the principal may decide to shorten recess breaks or keep students indoors. Students with illnesses serious enough to prevent them from participating in recess or other outdoor activities should stay at home until their condition improves. This will also prevent the spread of illness to others.

A Message from York Region Public Health

Lunch Lady Information to Parents

Parenting Resources - Check this out!

The George Hull Center is a children's mental health centre located just off the 427. Most of the groups below are free and may be of interest to parents and students. 

International Baccalaureate Program Information Evening

International Baccalaureate Program Information Evening

The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is student-centred with a focus on developing intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills for students who live, learn and work in a rapidly changing world. The program emphasizes critical, compassionate thinking, community involvement and intercultural understanding. It is founded on international standards and assessment. Students who complete the program earn both an Ontario Secondary School Diploma and an IB Diploma.

We are pleased to announce the expansion of York Region District School Board’s IB Program offerings. In addition to Bayview Secondary School’s IB Program, YRDSB has four candidate school sites for the Diploma Program: 

• Alexander Mackenzie High School
• Dr. GW Williams Secondary School 
• Maple High School
• Milliken Mills High School

Current Grade 8 and Grade 9 students and families interested in YRDSB’s IB Program are invited to attend an information session to learn more about the program and application process. No registration is needed.

IB Information Evening – Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Location: Le Parc 

8432 Leslie Street, Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7M6

Hall: to be announced

Times:

Families living EAST of Yonge St.         6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Families living WEST of Yonge St.       8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Students eligible for Grade 9 and Grade 10 in September 2017 may apply.

Assessment Dates – Saturday, November 19 or Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Admission to the York Region District School Board IB programs includes an assessment. At the time of application, students will select to write in either the a.m. or p.m. on Saturday, November 19 or in the evening on Tuesday, November 22.

There is a $35 fee to apply to this program.

For additional information, please visit www.yrdsb.ca/IB.

Important Bussing Information

Holiday Food and Toy Drive

Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair @ Pine Grove Learning Commons

Looking for “Just Right Books” for your child to read?

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming to our school and we are thrilled to offer this literacy event to our Pine Grove Families.  Please check your child’s backpack for more details about the Book Fair.  

Book Fair Dates for Students:

Friday, November 18th - Thursday November 24th, 2016

Location: 

Pine Grove Public School - Library Stage

Family Event Night:         

Thursday, November 24th, 2016, from 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

If you have any questions about the Scholastic Book Fair, please contact Mrs. Meleca. 

Author Visit by Alessia Dickson

Pathways to Opportunity

A message from our High School Colleagues - 

Emily Carr Secondary School in partnership with Woodbridge College and Tommy Douglas S.S., presents a PATHWAYS TO OPPORTUNITY evening taking place on Thursday, November 10th from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm.  This is an extremely well attended event, we have many students and their families from our Family of Schools attend.

This is an opportunity for students and their parents/guardians to meet with representatives from over 50 universities and colleges, as well as numerous other post-secondary institutions, in order to learn more about the different programs they offer. 

This event will help your students reflect upon their Individual Pathway Plan.  A list of current confirmed attendees can be found on the attached poster. Hard copies of the poster were provided to you at our TOKTHS event. 

We look forward to seeing students and families from Pine Grove P.S. attend.   

Miriam Laundry Author Visit

Parents' Support Group

Pierre Berton Resource Library

Pierre Berton Resource Library Leadership Program

“Kids Are Leaders Too”

On Friday October 28^th from 10am-4pm, students aged 11-13 may attend a free program at the Pierre Berton Resource Library.

The program teaches team building, leadership, public speaking, and community building through a variety of activities and games. Registration is required and space is limited. Students need to bring peanut and nut free snacks and a lunch. 

Upcoming Events and Information

Here is some information for upcoming school events. Some events are specific to certain grades while other events are for the entire school community.

For our school calendar please visit - http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/pinegrove.ps/Pages/default.aspx

Monday Oct 24, 2016 -  Skills Canada will be visiting our gr. 7 & 8 students. The presentation will include "Skills Work!^® What’s Out There in the Skilled Trades and Technologies?” program. Topics that are covered include: apprenticeship and college training, profiling careers in the skilled trades, essential skills in the workplace, and how students can get involved now and in years to come in career exploration and apprenticeship training.

More information can be found at: http://www.skillsontario.com/in-school-presentations

Wednesday, October 26 - I Can Presentation by Miriam Laundry on to all grades.

Thursday Oct. 27 - Picture Day 

                             - School Council at 7pm in the library

Friday Oct. 28 - PA Day - no school for students

Monday Oct. 31 - Halloween - students may dress up for Halloween if they prefer to. Please remember that costumes with masks are allowed but masks can only be worn during the Halloween parade that occurs through the hallways just prior to morning recess. Please remember no costume accessories that may be confused as weapons are allowed at school, i.e., swords, toy guns, lightsabers, etc. 

Wednesday Nov. 2 - Take Our Kids to High School Day is happening for our gr. 8 students. They will visit Emily Carr and/or Woodbridge College. On this day the students, along with their teachers, will be visiting four of the five following classes: Mathematics, English, Science, French, and/or Geography.  In terms of Health and Physical Education, the gymnasium is open during lunch for all grade 8 students to participate in basketball and/or badminton.  Please ask all participating students to wear or bring appropriate footwear for this activity.  The focus is on the core subject areas so that students, along with their teachers, can select the most appropriate course stream, and have the opportunity to ask questions of the subject teachers. 

Personal Safety Reminder

As Halloween approaches and the days become shorter with the changing of seasons it is a good opportunity to remind your children about staying safe. Below is a communication from YRDSB and YRP with some useful parent reminders. 

Here's what children need to know:

• Their name, age, telephone number, address, city and province.  This can be done through rhyme or song.
• How to contact their parents at any time, by memorizing cell or work numbers.
• How and under what circumstances to call 911.
• To never approach or enter a stranger's vehicle.  A responsible adult would never ask a child for directions or any other question for that matter.
• Make sure they know they have a right to say "no" to an adult, especially when the adult is asking them to do something they have been taught is wrong or feels uncomfortable.  Reminding children of this right is important because children are taught from a young age to respect adults.
• To always tell parents where they will be and to never enter someone's home without their parent's permission.
• If home alone, never admit it when answering the phone. Never answer a knock at the door or speak through it.  Adults can be very persuasive.  Teach your child to call you if there is a knock at the door and if they fear for their safety, teach them to call 911.  Make sure they know that police officers are there to help them and would not get mad if it were a false alarm.
• If they think they are being followed or are in danger they should run home or to a public place.  If someone grabs them, they should try to get away, yelling and screaming while doing so.
• It is important to play in safe areas, never take shortcuts and stick with a buddy whenever possible.

It is never too early or too late to teach children the importance of personal safety.  Common sense, communication and consistency are the keys. Remind children to alert a responsible adult if something strange happens that makes them feel uncomfortable. Remember, crime prevention is everyone's responsibility.

For more information on this subject, visit www.yrp.ca.

Parent Workshop

Here is a great opportunity for parents that are looking for additional resources to support their children in developing skills to succeed in school and life. Please note that this is an adult only presentation at Julliard P.S.

Bill Crothers Information Session

Parent Workshop

Meet the Teacher Night & Information

Safety Week

Safety Week – September 23, 2016 – Friday, September 30, 2016

Throughout the week of September 23 – 30, 2016, students at Pine Grove P.S. and in schools across York Region will engage in various activities such as fire drills, lockdown drills or hold and secure drills to ensure a safe and successful school year.  The importance of safety is also continuously highlighted throughout the school year such as through bus evacuation training, anti-bullying initiatives, the deployment of school assistants, health and safety annual inspections etc.  Please feel free to peruse the following sites for more information or activities connected to safety:

Elementarysafety.com

http://www.safekid.org/en/

School Reorganization

Important Information

School Paperwork - This is just a friendly reminder to quickly process the School Start-Up package of forms that went home the first week of school and return them to your child's teacher ASAP. We appreciate your attention to help us stay organized.

Bussing - At times, parents and guardians may have questions about bus routes and pick up times. Please reference - www.schoolbuscity.com for information related to buses. If there are questions or concerns about safety or student behaviour on school buses, please contact the main office at 905-850-0672 and ask to speak with Mrs. Totino or Mr. Brown. 

Primary Class Size (PCS) Compliance date is Monday, September 26, 2016 as determined by the Ministry of Education. Primary classes need to be organized up to 20 students maximum and junior/intermediate classes to an acceptable class size. If your child will be moving to a new classroom, we will inform you by Friday, September 23, 2016 by a letter home.

School Council - Our first School Council meeting will take place in the evening of September 27 at 7 pm. We hope to see many new and familiar faces join us. Future council meeting dates are determined on the 27 for the 2016-2017 school year. 

Meet the Teacher - Our Meet the Teacher Night is back and will take place on October 6 from 6 to 8 pm. Please reserve the date. More details to follow.

Trustee Greeting

Message from our Trustee

As we start another school year, we are very pleased to welcome all of our new and returning families. I hope you all enjoyed the hot summer months and are looking forward to the start of school.

There is a lot to look forward to in the months ahead and many ways for families to engage with their child’s learning.  There is a strong connection between parent and family engagement and student achievement and well-being, and I hope that you will find opportunities to get involved. 

In the coming year, trustees will continue to focus on the priorities that we set out in our Multi-Year Plan: student achievement and well-being; the delivery of effective and sustainable educational programs; and the responsible stewardship of Board resources.  

We know that partnerships with parents and families are essential to achieving these goals. However you choose to get involved, know that you are making a difference to your child’s learning.

I wish you all the best for the upcoming school year.

From the Pine Grove Learning Commons...

Library Orientation for Pine Grove Students

All Pine Grove Students are given the opportunity to visit our school library.  Please ensure that you ask your child about the books they are choosing for their classroom reading program or for their enjoyment.  Orientation to the library system and the way libraries work is an important skill for students at all levels. 

All kindergarten and grade one to three students are encouraged to exchange or renew their borrowed books weekly and grades four to eight are encouraged to exchange or renew their books bi-weekly.  If you would like to view some of the selections in our school library please visit the following website www.pinegrove.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/library/ .  During library orientation, students are encouraged to visit this virtual site from home to search for books, read online books and access a variety of databases.  

Online Databases Are Waiting for You to and Explore!

Wonderful news! Pine Grove students have access to online databases!  Students can access these amazing resources from home or school.  Links to the various databases are accessible through our school’s website.  Placing these links on our school website ensures that students can access information anytime, anywhere.  Students can find these resources by accessing our school’s library page through the following link:  http://pinegrove.ps.yrdsb.ca/ .  Please check your child’s agenda for the passwords to our school’s databases or contact Mrs. Meleca if you have any questions.   

Engaging Readers With eBooks

EBooks are electronic books that can be used on hand-held learning devices, personal computers, laptops, and even mobile phones. Similarly to traditional paper books, writing and illustration are key to a book’s success with a child but the difference between the two formats is that while the traditional option is linear – i.e., a story that follows from one page to the next – eBooks have depth; readers can jump between chapters and, if connected to wireless internet, can explore topics further on the internet. The ability to whizz around an eBook instantly makes it a more interactive experience, showing different dimensions to reading.  When children begin to use and interact with eBooks independently, the possibilities of learning in the digital age become apparent.

New technology has an ever increasing presence in the lives of 21^st century students.  Our students are engaged in technology and enjoy learning using the “digital” format.  In order for students to be engaged in their learning, we attempt to ensure that our learning materials reflect students’ interests for learning.  We encourage the Pine Grove community to explore our set of eBooks for our students by following these instructions:

1.     Access our account by typing the following link into your browser:
             

  http://my.abdodigital.com/

2.     When asked for the username and password please use the following:                                        username: pgebooks

          password: pglibrary

We Are Looking for Library Volunteers

Are you interested in volunteering in our school library?  We are looking for some volunteers who can help us at Pine Grove by signing books in and out, shelving and preparing new books for circulation as the need arises.  Training will be provided and volunteers are a great help and addition to our school community!  Please contact Mrs. Meleca at (905) 850–0672 if you are interested in volunteering. 

School Organization at Pine Grove 2016-2017

Wow! The summer heat wave continued into our first week back which translated into a very hot humid school and a September start that was reminiscent of our summer heat wave. However, out students and staff have settled nicely into the routines of being back in the classroom and the learning that comes along with it. Parents and guardians, please continue to monitor temperatures for the upcoming week and help your children choose clothing that is suitable so that they can stay cool and comfortable. Please make sure to send your children with re-usable water bottles which can be filled at our water bottle filling station on the first floor and so they can stay well hydrated during these warmer days.

The list below outlines our current school organization and the names of teachers that teach those classes:

School Organization  2016-2017

Classroom and/or Position	Teacher Name
JK/SK	Mrs. Chang Ms. DiCarmine, Designated Early Childhood Educator(DECE)
JK/SK	Mrs. Israelsohn Mrs. Agnihotri (DECE)
JK/SK	Mrs. Panza (LTO) Casual DECE
GR. 1	Mrs. Wurtz
GR.1	Mrs. Fotheringham
GR.2	Mrs. Kurtzman
GR. 2/3	Mrs. Russo
GR. 3	Mrs. Omokhua
GR. 3/4	Ms. Mancuso
GR. 4	Mrs. Matheson
GR. 5/6	Mrs. DiCarlo
GR.5/6	Mrs. Sanghera
GR. 6	Mrs. Cook
GR. 7	Mrs. Sood
GR. 7	Mrs. Addesa
GR. 8	Mrs. Lakoseljac
GR. 8	Mrs. Fischer
Reading Recovery	Mrs. Giordano
Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT) & Junior. Student Support Centre (SSC)	Mrs. Grozelle
SERT & Intermediate SSC	Mrs. Paulino
Library, Literacy Teacher & Prep. Coverage.	Mrs. Meleca
Music & Prep. Coverage	Ms. Ho (LTO)
French & Prep. Coverage	Mme. Stacey
French & Prep. Coverage	Mme. Gillespie
English Language Learner (ELL) & Prep. Coverage	Mrs. Santilli
SERT, Prep. Coverage, ELL	Mr. Marasco
SERT Complex Needs	Mrs. Brooker
Intervention Service Worker (ISW)	Ms. O’Brien
Intervention Service Worker (ISW)	Ms. Caley
Educational Assistant (EA)	Mrs. Carpanzano
Child and Youth Worker	Ms. Stapleton

We would like to extend a special welcome to our new staff: Ms. Mancuso and Mr. Marasco are now permanent teachers at Pine Grove. We would also like to recognize Mrs. Agnihotri our new DECE in Kindergarten, and Ms. Ho and Mrs. Panza and their consistent contributions as Long Term Occasional Teachers at Pine Grove.

Sincerely,

Greg Brown                                                                   Rosanna Totino
Principal                                                                        Vice Principal