Bowmore Bulletin

Bowmore Bulletin: January 19, 2024 Featured Article

Wednesday, January 24, 2024 08:46 AM

BOWMORE RD BULLETIN

Friday, January 19, 2024

80 Bowmore Rd Toronto, ON M4L 3J3 Tel: (416) 393-9450

Principal: Georgia Chatzis - Georgia.Chatzis@tdsb.on.ca,

Vice-Principal: Jacquie Neveu - Jacqueline.Neveu@tdsb.on.ca

Vice-Principal: Kosta Flegas - Konstantinos.Flegas@tdsb.on.ca

Visit the Bowmore School Website for more information about our programs and events: https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/bowmore/

Dear Bowmore Families,

This week our teachers (K-5 English and French) and parents came together to work on our School Improvement Plan. Discussions about Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy and Foundational Language Skills were identified as key pedagogical frameworks needed in our Bowmore’s classrooms. In the upcoming week, this work will continue with our Grades 6-8 English and French teachers.

On Monday Jan.15, 2024 we had the honour of an Author presentation for Unpacking the Holocaust: A Playwrights Journey from Emil Sher https://emilsher.com/ in our library. Emil Sher adapted the book Hana’s Suitcase into a play and discussed the process of producing a script from a novel. Emil discussed the challenges, choices, considerations when history is to be both honoured and dramatized on stage. We would like to thank the Bowmore School Council for making this presentation possible from Emil Sher to Bowmore Grade 6 Students.

REMINDER: NO DOGS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY

A gentle reminder that dogs are not permitted on school property. We ask that parents and community members avoid bringing dogs onto school’s property. Both dogs and children are unpredictable, and young children don’t always know appropriate ways to approach dogs. Thank you for helping us keep the schoolyard free from dogs so our students can play in a safe and clean environment.

REMINDER -CELL PHONE POLICY AT BOWMORE

On Wed. Jan. 17, 2024, the Toronto District School Board trustees have voted in favour of developing a policy to limit cell phone use in classrooms. The school board's governance and policy committee approved a motion calling for a new policy on cellphone and mobile device use. We will provide more details as soon as the policy is created. Until then we will continue with the current Bowmore school policy:

ALL personal communication devices (cell phones, headphones, Apple watches etc.) shall be out of sight and turned off during classroom instructional time. Students have access to a TDSB Chromebook at Bowmore and this is the only device students should be using in class to complete work.

Personal items like cell phones may be confiscated by the staff if deemed a barrier to student achievement. At the teacher’s discretion, the phone may be returned at the end of class or may be taken to the office and returned at the end of the day. Repeated offenses may require a parent/guardian/caregiver to come to pick up the device. Please review this policy with your child so that we can work together to reduce the inappropriate and unauthorized use of cell phones in the school.

In 2024, we will implement an increased effort to have cell phones turned off and put away in backpacks or lockers during classroom instructional time. Student refusal to do so will result in phone calls home by teachers and administrators. A reminder that in Emergency situations, parents are able to contact their child(ren) at any time by calling the Main Office. Staff will call into the classroom to have your child come to the Main Office to deal with the Emergency situation. Non-emergency information should be shared with your child only during lunchtime or after school, not during instructional time. Please help us to help your child reduce their dependence on their cell phone. Thank you in advance.

BOWMORE PS CARING AND SAFE SCHOOL COMMITTEE

As a means of creating a safe and caring learning environment at Bowmore, we have created a committee of students, teachers, administrators and parent/ guardian/ caregivers. Thank you to all the parents who responded to the anonymous survey in December. We have only met once formally with each section of the committee to summarize the survey's findings. We will be meeting at the end of February to brainstorm ideas, suggestions and strategies about our collective concerns. More details will be shared about the concerns by each stakeholder.

PIZZA LUNCH

FRIDAY JANUARY 26TH is PIZZA LUNCH!

School Cash Online (https://www.schoolcashonline.com) is now available to order Pizza Lunch. Ordering is closed on Sunday January 21st at end of day.

Please do not forget! The only way to get pizza lunch is through School Cash Online. We do not accept cash or late orders.

$3 per cheese slice with all money raised going to fundraising for the Parent Council. Dairy free and Gluten Free options available.

Registering for School Cash Online - First Time Users Only

STEP 1:

· Go to: https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/.

· Click the Register option.

· You'll be redirected to the User Registration page

· Fill in the User Registration form.

o Tip: Your password must contain at least 8 characters, one upper case letter, one lower case letter, and one number. Note: A red x indicates an error with the information entered. Edit all fields that do not have a blue and white check mark on the right-hand side.

· Select Continue.

· You'll be redirected to the Confirmation Email page.

STEP 2:

· Check your email inbox for an email from noreply@schoolcashonline.com.

· Click on the Registration Confirmation link.

· A new tab will open, advising you that your registration was successful.

Message from the Bowmore Library:The Book Fair is coming! Jan 22-26th 2024

Mark your calendars as we are going to be hosting a Book Fair in the library the week of January 22-26th. All classes will visit the book fair throughout the week to create wish lists. With the money that we raise through the fair, we can purchase more beautiful books for our library. Thank you to Ellaminnow Children's bookstore https://ellaminnow.ca/ for hosting the Book Fair with us. Families are welcome to visit the book fair before school (Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri) from 9:00-9:15 and after school (Mon, Tues, and Thurs) from 3:45-4:00. *Please note the book fair closes on Friday at noon. We will also be open late on Wednesday, Jan. 24, until 7:00. We take cash, debit and credit cards. Thank you for supporting our library.

We will be holding special literacy activities that week in honour of Family Literacy Day. We will be hosting a Snuggle Up and Read event on Wednesday, Jan 24th from 4:45-6:30 for Grades FDK-Grade Two. More specific details to follow next week. We are very happy to welcome the award winning and New York Times best selling author S.K. Ali who will be sharing the author process of her picture books - The Proudest Blue and The Kindest Red at 5:00 and again at 5:30. https://skalibooks.com/

This will lead us into Bowmore's annual Read-a-Thon for the month of February. Stay tuned for more details!

Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions about Bowmore's Library. We are looking for one or two parent volunteers to help with the book fair during the week of January 22-26th. Please email Leah Jarvis if you are able to help out that week. leah.mcnabjarvis@tdsb.on.ca

NEW -CHINESE HERITAGE MONTH AT THE TDSB: CHINESE CANADIAN MEMORY MINUTE CHALLENGE

Chinese Heritage Month is proudly recognized by the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) in February. For this month, we invite all students and staff to submit a 1-minute video that answers one (or more) of the following guiding questions posed. Videos can be created individually or in pairs.

Guiding Questions:

● What does being a Chinese Canadian mean to you?

● What aspect of the lunar new year is most important or meaningful to you?

● What does the dragon symbolize for you?

● How has identifying as Chinese impacted you in your school and/or your community?

Eligibility: ● Open to all TDSB students and staff.

● Students must complete a Media Release Form (available on the submission google form - see attached).

Deadline: All entries must be received by Friday, January 26, 2024, by 4:00 pm. Please see the attachedChinese Canadian Memory Minute (2024) (1) (1).pdf for full details which includes submission information, video requirements, prize, and recognition facts.

SAVE THE DATE: Bowmore School Council is pleased to host a Caregiver Workshop on Social Networking and Online Safety.

Friday March 1st 2024 @ 6pm-7:30pm (Bowmore Senior Gym)

Paul Davis, an online safety educator, will speak to caregivers about social media, cyberbullying and smartphone ownership among other important and relevant topics to help us guide our children.

Please note that this caregiver session will deal with mature subject matter and will not be appropriate for children. To make things easier for all families to be able to attend, free childcare will be provided during the event.

Earlier in the day, Paul Davis will be doing assemblies for Bowmore students. There will be a session for Grades 4, 5 & 6 and also a separate session for Grades 7 & 8s.

MESSAGE FROM THE YEARBOOK COMMITTEE

Dear Grade 8 families,

The Yearbook Committee has EXTENDED DEADLINE TO FRIDAY JAN 26TH FOR GRADE 8 BABY PHOTOS for the grad section of the yearbook. The photo submissions must come from a parent or guardian and can be sent to bowmoreyearbook2024@gmail.com. Thank you to all the families that have already sent in their photos.

If you have any questions, please email bowmoreyearbook2024@gmail.com.

Also, the school has expressed an interest in possibly using the baby photos in a slideshow for grad (no names, just photos). If you prefer for your photo not to be included in the slide show, please just let us know in your email, otherwise consent will be assumed.

Thank you, The Yearbook Committee

Grade 8-9 Transition: Wondering about Grade 9?

LINK: TDSB Grade 8 Course Selection (myblueprint.ca)

Please visit our school website for more information about secondary school programs. https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/bowmore/

Go to the TDSB's Beyond Grade 8 Resources for Families webpage: https://www.tdsb.on.ca/High-School/Going-to-High-School/Beyond-8 or Visit our school website: https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/bowmore/

Go to the TDSB's Beyond Grade 8 Resources for Families webpage:

https://www.tdsb.on.ca/High-School/Going-to-High-School/Beyond-8

Course selection takes place in January. The information and links will assist Grade 8 students and families in planning:

Open Houses and Information Sessions
TDSB Beyond 8 website
Secondary Central Student Interest Program
Out-of-Area Admissions

Please note: There is a ‘Translate’ button at the top of the TDSB website that will translate the contents of the web pages to your preferred language.

Beyond 8 Website - contains information, resources, links and dates for the Grade 8 to 9 transition process.
Secondary Central Student Interest Program (CSIP) Website - contains program details and a CSIP Google calendar of Open Houses for schools with Central Student Interest Programs.

Elementary and Secondary Out of Area Admission applications

The online applications for Elementary and Secondary Out-of-Area Admissions will become available, Monday, January 8, 2024. For more information you can refer to the TDSB website:

Middle French Immersion Applications

Applications for Middle French Immersion (Grade 4) begin on January 8th.

Elementary Alternative Schools Applications

Elementary Alternative Schools - The online application for admission for September 2024 will be open from Monday, January 8, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. to Wednesday, January 31, 2024 at 4:00 p.m.

Virtual Learning for September 2024

New this year, students currently studying in person wishing to switch to Virtual Learning for September 2024 apply through Out-of-Area Admissions for either “Virtual Learning Elementary” or “Virtual Secondary School”. For more details about this process, please visit the Virtual Learning Q & A.More details, resources and timelines can be found on our Out-of-Area Admissions Internal website

Bowmore Lobby - Lost and Found OPEN during School Day