Wishing all our Families and Students a Safe and Happy Summer

On behalf of all JVPS staff, I want to wish all of our families and students a safe and happy summer break!

We have enjoyed working with you and your children this year and are very proud of what we have accomplished together.

We would like to thank the families of the Johnsview Community who participated in our Parent Engagement Survey that was sent out on the Blog.  The results of the survey will guide the Staff and School Council in determining how we will move the school forward in the coming school year.  For example parents indicated that they would be interested in their children participating  in lunch time programs and that parents would like to  have the opportunity to participate in  a workshop about the school system and a family science night over the coming school year.  Details about these initiatives will be forthcoming when we return to school.

I would like to also thank our School Council who have worked very hard this year and provided our students  the wonderful learning opportunity of Scientists in the School.  Our first meeting of the new school year will be on October 6^th.  Please mark that on your calendars.  We look forward to seeing many of you at our Council meetings.

We have a vibrant Before and After Care program that is run independently and school staff appreciates their support  in ensuring that our students have a seamless day.   I was informed of some recent changes to staffing in this program that were made very carefully by the Before and After Care Supervisors with the best interests of the students and the program at heart.  The staff at the Before and After Care program will work to support the parents through this transition.

The school office will close as of June 30 and will reopen on August 29.  Our first day of school will be on September 6, 2016 at 9:00 with supervision starting at 8:45.  All students are to meet on the back tarmac and will be informed of their class placement and meet their teacher before entering the school.  Please read our end of year newsletter  for more detailed instructions.

Have a wonderful, safe and happy summer!!!

We look forward to seeing everyone in September!!!

Have a great summer!!!!

Early Dismissal Reminder June 29

As has been our practice in the past, students will attend school during the morning of Wednesday, June 29th, 2016 only.  

Students will be dismissed early that day at 12:00 noon. 

Arrangements will be made to ensure that students who are normally bused to and from school will receive transportation at this time.  

Parents/guardians whose children attend after school child care should make appropriate arrangements to address this change in schedule.

Learning Commons Survey for Primary Students

We would like to invite our primary students and their parents to have a voice in shaping our new Learning Commons.  As you know we are transitioning from a traditional library into a more modern learning commons.  In our learning commons we hope to have:

• spaces for students to gather
• a refreshed primary area
• a makerspace area
• a greenscreen for making movies
• more computers
• up to date shelving
• new books

Our students in grades 4 to 8 have already completed a survey in school and we would like to capture the voices and thoughts of our younger students.

Parents can work through the survey with each child and then submit the survey.  You can do one survey for each child you have at Johnsview Village who are currently in grades JK to 3. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

The survey can be found at the link below:

http://bit.ly/learningcommonsprimary

Johnsview Village School Age Before and After Care

Johnsview School Age Program is open Monday to Friday from 7:00 am (school start and school finish) to 6:00 pm from September to June including PA days.  

Before & After School Programs are offered full-time as well as on a part-time basis when possible. The program supports children JK/SK to 12 years old. Our Child Care Programs are fully licensed with the Ministry of Education.    

For more information or to register for please call 647-883-1414 or email us at:

johnsview.banda@socialenterprise.ca

Subsidized spaces are available through a Purchase of Service Agreement with the Region of York.

The Week Ahead June 27 to June 29

Mrs. Kingston is Retiring!!!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish Mrs. Kingston a fond farewell as she retires this year after a wonderful career with York Region District School Board.  

 Mrs. Kingston has spent 25 years at Johnsview Village P.S.  She has taught in every division and was a homeroom teacher in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.  She has worked for 10 principals and she was the ELL teacher for around 20 years.  Mrs. Kingston had the original Demonstration ELL Classroom for many years where teachers and administrators visited to observe modeling of newest strategies for ELL. One highlight of her career was when she was invited as guest lecturer at York University to teach education students about ELL.

Mrs. Kingston has held many roles here at Johnsview and in the Board.  For example she acted as the:

·       Positive Student Behaviour Lead

·       Primary Division Lead                                                           

·       Principal Designate

·       Adjunct Professor – Host Teacher for teacher candidates

·       Tragic Response Team - Area West team member

·       School Council teacher representative

She has enjoyed participating in Extra Curricular activities at the school such as:  the Art Club, designing backdrops for school plays; participating in the before school Breakfast Program; acting as the teacher representative for the Millennial Project of founding the Peace Garden; and coaching Together We’re Better student groups.

In her spare time Mrs. Kingston is a wife, a mother of two sons, a grandmother of two granddaughters.  She is an active member of National Council of Jewish Women; a Book Club member; an avid traveler; and she enjoys going to the theatre, movies, the symphony and the opera.

We wish you all the best in your retirement and we thank you very much for your years of service and dedication to Johnsview Village P.S. and the Johnsview Community.

Class Placements

As our school looks ahead at organizing classes for September 2016, it is valuable for parents to understand the procedure used in student placement decisions. The ultimate goal in all our efforts at Johnsview Village P.S. is to enhance student learning. 

We attempt to place students in the most positive learning environment possible given each individual pupil’s skills, knowledge, attitudes, and work and social habits. A great deal of time is spent ensuring that each student’s academic and social needs are met. We use the following criteria in order to determine class placment:

· Class sizes consistent with Ministry and Board guidelines

  · A gender balance in each class

  · A range of performance levels within each class

  · Matching pupil leaning styles with teaching strategies wherever possible 

· Promoting positive social relationships while minimizing unproductive associations 

Please be aware that staffing is unclear at this point due to enrollment fluctuations, teacher transfers, leaves, and reallocation of teachers to different grade levels. As we near the end of the school year, decisions will be made based on the aforementioned criteria. It is important to recognize that while we try to place each child in the optimum learning environment, all final decisions regarding pupil placements remain the responsibility of the school principal. If you have any information about your child that you feel would be pertinent in the placement process (conflict with other students, learning styles, twins’ placements), please inform your child’s teacher.  Please note that we cannot accept requests for individual teachers.

All students will find out their classroom placements on the first day of school, Tuesday September 6, 2016.

Happy National Aboriginal Day

The Week Ahead June 20 to 24

Johnsview is on Twitter!!!

We are happy to announce that Johnsview Village P.S. is now on Twitter @JohnsviewVPS. The account will be managed by school staff and you will be able to view our Twitter feed on our school website page very shortly.

If you follow us, you can expect posts about the following:

• New content on our website or blog
• Special school events
• Classroom and school activities
• Important reminders

Availability

We will update and monitor our Twitter account during regular office hours, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Staff may tweet beyond the hours listed when necessary.

Feedback

We welcome feedback and ideas from all our followers, and will endeavour to join the conversation when possible. However, we may not be able to reply individually to all messages received on Twitter. The school will not respond with details regarding identifiable individuals, including students and staff. Families looking to resolve individual concerns regarding their children are asked to contact the school office.

To learn more about YRDSB’s Twitter protocol please visit the YRDSB website.

We look forward to engaging with our parent community on Twitter!!!

The Week Ahead June 13 to 17

Field Trip to Thornlea Secondary School

Our students watching the plays at Thornlea Secondary School

Our grade 4 to 7 students had the wonderful opportunity to sit in a theatre and watch two plays performed by the students at Thornlea Secondary School.   The plays were entitled, "Not so Dumb" and "Weird Kid".   

Play Programme

Our students enjoyed the experience of live theatre, especially performed by students and our students had the chance to debrief the plays and what they meant to them upon their return to Johnsview.

Jump Rope for Heart

One of the activities offered for Jump Rope

Thank you to all of our staff for organizing Jump Rope for Heart and to our students for participating in this heart healthy activity to support a worthy cause.  Thank you to our families and friends of our families for supporting your children in this worthwhile endeavour.  The students had a wonderful afternoon jumping rope and shooting hoops on a sunny afternoon, to ensure that they and others have a healthy lifestyle.  

Our Healthy Schools Action Team, headed by Mrs. Nayir, organized the different activities of the afternoon and the students went around to each classroom to explain to the students how they could participate in all of he activities.

Students skipping

Welcome to Kindergarten Session

We had a wonderful evening meeting our newest students to the Johnsview Village family.  The Welcome to Kindergarten evening was a huge success  and we would like to thank our Kindergarten Team, our Community Partners and our School Council for organizing and participating in the evening.  

Our future students engaged in hands-on activities such as letter recognition, play-dough, reading and  cutting and pasting.

Here are some highlights:

Our Early Years Partners to Support our Youngest Learners

Our School Council Members

Settlement Workers to Support New Canadians

Our Public Health Nurse

Children exploring the play dough centre

Scientists in the School

We would like to thank our School Council for funding the scientists in the school workshops.  

This week three classes participated in engaging and hands-on workshops in science.  Each workshop related directly to a science strand in the curriculum.

Here are some highlights:

Grade 1/2 students learning about structures

Grade 1 students learning about energy

Grade 6/7 students learning about electricity

The Week Ahead June 6 to 10

Grade 3/4 Literacy Unit

Over that last few weeks the Grade 3/4 students in Ms. Basian's class have been delving into the magical world of Willy Wonka. Following our visual novel study, the students:

• invented their own candy bars, 
• designed three-course gym flavours, 
• role-played characters from the novel in the form of a news broadcast, 
• and wrote their own epilogues to the story. 

The students had a lot of fun with this Literacy unit and got to show off their creativity and imagination while developing critical literacy skills.

Wednesday, June 29th, 2016 Early Dismissal in Elementary Schools

All schools in the York Region District School Board are committed to improving student achievement and well-being.  On Wednesday, June 29th, 2016 an early release day will take place to allow elementary teachers and support staff to take part in meetings during the afternoon of that day.  These meetings will allow for school staff to engage in culminating activities regarding the review and revision of the School’s Improvement Plan as well as year-end and transition activities that support student success. 

As has been our practice in the past, students will attend school during the morning of Wednesday, June 29th, 2016 only.  Students will be dismissed early that day at 12:00 noon.  Arrangements will be made to ensure that students who are normally bused to and from school will receive transportation at this time.  Parents/guardians whose children attend after school child care should make appropriate arrangements to address this change in schedule.