October 18, 2019
Dear Parkdale Families,
It’s been a quick four day week and it feels like fall is definitely here to stay. We held our Student Votes mock election yesterday for grades 3-8 and are will only know the results after the federal election on Monday. We will share these results and do some comparisons to the rest of Canada.
School Improvement Plan
On last Friday’s PA day, the Parkdale staff worked through three different professional development sessions to examine areas for our school improvement plan. One session focused on Achievement, where we looked at school data from both report cards and EQAO and determined that math will be our focus this year. Next, we looked at why some students are not making the mathematical connections to show understanding and how the educators can better identify the gaps and once identified, determine what to do next. In addition, we talked about the need for more practice with mental math. Each classroom will be implementing daily mental math practice. This is something that parents can easily reinforce at home using flashcards with number facts.
For the Well Being foci, we further examined the Zones of Regulation and discussed strategies to help our students when they are not in the “Green Zone” (see this Chart for descriptions of the different zones)
Lastly for the Equity goal, staff began this session briefly learning about their own cultural identity. This led to more time spent on identifying identity groups that exist in our own school (race, language, social class, gender, etc.) and determining the groups that may currently be underserved and/or under-represented. This will lead to more work around promoting student voice in our school.
Soccer, Track & Field, Touch Football
It was a challenging, yet memorable week of inter school sports at Parkdale. Our girls soccer team braved the cold and rain on Wednesday, competing in a soccer tournament at Carleton Village. Although we did not score more goals than our opponents, the girls had an amazing time and played their hearts out.
The South West Qualifying Cross Country meet was held on Thursday, where 12 athletes from Parkdale participated. Amidst howling winds and cold, our students did great. In fact, two students (and it could have easily been 4) have qualified for the city finals taking place next week!
The Boys Soccer team played their playoff game vs. Annette Street today. It was a hard fought game; Parkdale was behind, came back, but couldn't find a way to win. Mr. Khayat was very proud of both the boy's play and teamwork!
The boys Touch Football team had their tournament rescheduled for next week. This has been a new experience for these boys which they have really enjoyed.
OPAL
Outdoor Play and Learn is a TDSB initiative that was brought to Parkdale two years ago. Loose Parts are the upcycled objects that students use and find creative ways to play with. Since the start of the year, the loose parts mainly used are the tires that are out in the yard. However, things are about to change. We have been collecting many “new” loose parts, and been training OPAL Rangers to help with bringing items in and out, including tons of kitchen items that students will be using in the sand area. Please see this poster advertising objects that we are currently seeking for our program. If you have anything to donate, there are bins outside the office for drop off.
Halloween Costume Drive
Great news. The rack in the front hall is active with families leaving and taking used costumes. We will leave the rack out until the end of the month. This is a need a costume, take a costume,
Dates to Remember
- November 5 - Photo Retake Day
- November 6 - School Council
- November 12 - Progress Report Goes Home
- November 14-15 Parent Teacher Interviews
- November 15 - PA Day
Please visit our WEBSITE for our school calendar and lots more information: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/parkdaleps/
Follow us on Twitter @ParkdalePS