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1 4 1 J o h n B u tt o n B l v d | M a r k h a m , O N | L 3 R 9 C 2

W e b s i t e : w w w . b u tt o n v i l l e . p s . y r d s b . c a

E m a i l : b u tt o n v i l l e . p s @ y r d s b . c a

B U T T O N V I L L E B A N N E R N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 9

PRINCIPAL

Asha Rathod

VICE-PRINCIPAL

Tricia Frolic

SUPERINTENDENT

Becky Green

TRUSTEE

Ron Lynn

SCHOOL DAY TIMES

8:30 am

Entry Bell

8:35am-9:15am

Learning Block

9:15am-10:15am

Learning Block

10:15am-10:45am

Recess

10:45am-11:25am

Learning Block

11:25am-12:25pm

Learning Block

12:25pm-1:25pm

Lunch

1:25pm-2:05pm

Learning Block

2:05pm-3:05pm

Learning Block

3:05pm

Dismissal

A Message from the Administrative Team

October was a very busy month for our students. Our grade 7 students went on a team-

building overnight trip to Camp Muskoka. The Scholastic Book Fair was a success with

proceeds going to the school library. Our emergency preparedness drills continued includ-

ing fire drills and bus evacuation training. Many extracurricular activities are in full force,

including Intermediate Boys and Girls Volleyball teams and Great to be Girls and Boys. A

special thanks to our Buttonville staff offering these opportunities to our students. As we

move into November, the Ministry has set this as a time when formal communication

occurs between teachers and parents through the Elementary Progress Report Card. The

purpose of this report card is to communicate the progress your child has been making

since the beginning of the school year. The progress report also indicates how well your

child is demonstrating the various learning skills and work habits and identifies areas

where you may be able to support your child in achieving success this year. This report is

not an evaluation or a record of achievement levels. It reflects preliminary observations of

your child’s learning to date.

It is our hope that this report will serve as a central part of rich discussions between home

and school.

This year's Remembrance Day marks the date and time when fighting stopped on Novem-

ber 11th at 11:00 a.m. in 1918 (the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh

month). Thank you to our staff who have been working with our students in order to pre-

pare for our Remembrance Day Service. On November 11th, we will honour our veterans

and those who continue to serve and protect our country. This is a time for our students to

make connections between global events and their own lives by promoting peace within

our school community. Though we would like to include all of our parents for this im-

portant service, due to fire code regulations we are unable to accommodate additional

people in the gym.

Thank you to our School Council for continuing to organize and run lunches and cookies

and popcorn sales!

Principal Vice-Principal Asha Rathod Tricia Frolic

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It is hard to believe that the students are in their third month of the school year! Our school lunches started last

month and will continue this month with Swiss Chalet Nov. 5, Astoria Greek Nov. 12, Mr. Sub Nov. 19, and Mother’s

Deli Pasta Nov. 26. Popcorn & cookie sales have also begun and they are continuing during lunch on Thursday

November 14th &21st for $1.50 each. They will be for sale upstairs and downstairs. Many of our grade 8 students

have volunteered to help sell them. We are planning to sell spirit wear again this year so students, staff and parents

can all show their Buttonville pride. Stay tuned for further information. If you have not donated to Investment in

Education, please do so! The benefits of all our fundraising will allow the school to purchase technology and other

items in the School Improvement Plan. Our next meeting is scheduled for November 27 at 6:30 p.m. All are wel-

come!

Sincerely,

Neely Noticewala & Imma Petrou

Council Co-Chairs

Parent / Teacher Interviews - Nov. 14th & 15th

A reminder to all parents that Parent-Teacher Interview scheduling will be done through Edsby (online parent en-

gagement tool) this year. Please make sure you create your Edsby account . Only parents who have Edsby accounts

will be able to book interviews through Edsby. PTI Schedule will open to parents for booking on Nov. 5th at 4 p.m.

Interview/Conference schedule closes at 3:30 p.m. on Nov. 13th.

A Message from School Council

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on twitter @ButtonvillePS to keep up to date with the learning that is happening at the

school!

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GRADES 5 to 8—The University of Waterloo Beaver Computing Challenge Contest week of Nov. 4

EDSBY ONLINE ABSENCE REPORTING

Parents/guardians can now report student absences online.

Regular and punctual attendance affects school success and is expected of all students. It is important that students, families and school staff work together to ensure regular attendance. You are expected to notify the school as soon as possible if your child will be absent or late.

Reporting an absence online is now available through Edsby. If you have activated your Edsby account, you can login to Edsby and report your child’s absence online. You can access an online video tutorial to learn more (bit.ly/edsbyabsence) about how to do this.

If you have not yet created an Edsby account, please contact the school.

Families can still continue to report absences by phone.

As part of the grades 5 to 8 Learning Expectations - Science and Computers, the students will have the

opportunity to partake in The University of Waterloo Beaver Computing Challenge Contest introduces

computer science to students. It is designed to get students with little or no previous experience excited about computing. The contest is on week of November 4, 2019. * Grades 5 and 6 - November 5, 11:25 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. * Grades 7 and 8 - November 7, 1:35 to 2:35 p.m.

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INDOOR SHOES

Please make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes for school. With wet and slushy weather, outdoor shoes track in mud into the hallways and classrooms. If the students are able to change into indoor shoes when they are in the building it will contribute to a cleaner school environment for us all.

EQAO has designated May 19 to June 1, 2020 as the period during which Primary and

Junior Division Provincial Assessments are to occur. We would kindly ask parents

and guardians of students in Grade 3 and Grade 6 to avoid booking any appointments

or trips during this period. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact

the office.

EQAO ASSESSMENT DATES 2019—2020

PLAYGROUND SUPERVISION

Playground supervision begins at 8:20 a.m. Students are supervised outside during morning and lunch recesses and

after school during bus departure. If you are picking up your child(ren), please arrange to meet him/her/them at

their proper dismissal door. Please try to avoid picking up your child early. If you must, please check-in at the office

and we will call your child(ren) from class.

SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR

We have just completed another successful Buttonville Scholastic Book Fair. Of course we sold lots of book this year, as well as pens, posters, diaries and assorted cool toys. Book Fair was largely staffed by students who organized the books and other items in beautiful displays, helped our younger students with their purchases, managed the sales area and oversaw the flow of students in and out of the shopping area of the library. In short, with some teacher sup-port, (thank you Ms. Vyriotes and Ms. Gregoriou!), they ran the book fair. What a wonderful application of real life learning in support of building the library collection. Thank you to all our students, staff and families whose participation allows us to get so many additional and

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Thank-you to all families who purchased cupcakes during Secret Path Week. Every dollar will be donated to the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. The DWF is a non-profit charity organization that aims to build a better Canada by building cultural understanding and create a path towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. DWF’s work centres around improving the lives of Indigenous people by building awareness,

education, and connections between all Canadians.

At Buttonville, we are committed to Do Something by contributing meaningful actions that moves reconciliation

forward. These meaningful actions are called ReconciliACTIONs. We want to help raise further awareness and help improve the lives of Indigenous people and improve the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. ReconciliACTIONs act as the catalyst for important conversations and meaningful change, recognizing that change starts with every one of us and each person can make an impact.

To learn more about the Downie & Wenjack Fund and the Legacy Schools Program, please visit

https://downiewenjack.ca/

Secret Path Week at Buttonville P.S.

TERRY FOX RUN

This year's Terry Fox run was a great success! The weather cooperated, and the students were enthusiastic and showed perseverance and determination for the duration of the run. Our fundraising goal this year was set at $6,000.00 and we are pleased to announce that the Buttonville Community raised $6,865.45! Thanks to everyone who donated, participated and organized the event! A big Buttonville clap to all!

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ART PACKAGE PERFORMANCES 2019-2020

At Buttonville Public School, we strive to build a culture of inclusion and acceptance while integrating modern learn-ing into our daily educational practice. Therefore, we have created an Arts Package for each division which allows

students to view a variety of age appropriate and engaging presentations. Themes of the presentations include

character traits such as respect, empathy and perseverance and will be demonstrated with dance, music, spoken word and drama.

Up to now, our Grade 7 and 8 students have seen an incredibly impactful presentation from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, all students have enjoyed the magic of Brent and Sarah's Magic Show, which included a healthy dose of char-acter driven, anti-bullying messages and students in Kindergarten to Grade 5 will thrill to Electric Moon's presenta-tion of Junie P Jones. Additionally, 4 more performances include beat dancing, story tellers, dramatic fairy tails and musical performances with equity based messages.

The opportunity to engage in these high quality performances as audience

members, enhances understanding and achievement of our students as they participate in their own curriculum based arts activities.

This year, Remembrance Day is on Monday, Nov 11. We will observe the day with an assembly at 10:45-11:45. As we do each year, the assembly is designed to honour those who gave of themselves so that we could live in the Canada we know today. Students are encouraged to donate a loonie for their poppy and to solemnly consider the sacrifices of young men and women, many of whom died in the service of our country and the liberty we now enjoy.

REMEMBRANCE DAY at BUTTONVILLE

The Buttonville tech team is preparing 2 performance events as well as supporting classrooms to engage with our maker space resources, including lego, robotics and circuitry. These students will work with their peers to learn

coding, have competitions and meet the challenges of using technology in creative educational ways. This is a new initiative at Buttonville and we have high hopes for it, since we know that our incredibly talented and devoted tech team is up to the challenge!

TECH TEAM @ BPS

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Halloween - Pumpkin Carving Contest

In what has become a Buttonville tradition, the grade 8's created an amazing array of carved Halloween jack o lan-terns. The entire school had the opportunity to see the pumpkins and vote on their favourite. Special shout out to Ms. Matsuoka's students who conducted the electronic vote. Our grade 8's stepped up and the competition was fierce and gory, but much fun was had by all. I think the Primary students can't wait till it's their turn!

ORANGE SHIRT ASSEMBLY @ BPS

This year, we observed Orange Shirt Day with 2 divisional assemblies, both created and led by our Equity Stu-dent leadership team, composed of students from grades 4 to 8. These students created a power point presentation,

a choral piece with slides, (Thanks to Ms. Resendes class!), an activity to illustrate the impact of Residential Schools on generations of First Nations people, and facilitated conversations about next steps. All classes will participate in

reconcili"action" and do an action in support of those affected by the horrors of Residential schools. Our students are learning that they have the power to improve the world as stakeholders in their own communities, province and coun-try. Buttonville is now a Downie Wenjack Legacy School, which means that we will continue to educate ourselves

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Mrs. Pabla's Class and Mrs. Vyriotes’ grade 5s visited the Ontario Science Centre…

Ontario Science Centre offers hands-on experiences and engaging workshops. These workshops ignite scientific

curiosity in children through inquiry-based science and children learn through discoveries and connect scientific

knowledge to their world in a meaningful way.

Through the Light and Sound workshop Gr. 4s from Ms. Pabla’s class investigated the principles of light and sound

energy. Experimented with sound waves and vibrations, energize a light bulb with their body and stole their shadow!

Explored how light and sound behave through engaging demonstrations on pitch, frequency, reflection, absorption

and vibration.

Through the Body Works workshop Gr. 5s from Ms. Pabla’s and Ms. Vyriotes’ class explored the respiratory, circulato-

ry and digestive systems of the human body by observing real organs and working models. Inflated a real pair of pig

lungs, stretch horse intestines and listen to the sound of a student’s beating heart.

ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE—GR 5’s

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Gr 7’s @ Camp Muskoka

Early this month many of our Grade 7 students went to Camp Muskoka on a 3 day trip. The purpose of participating in this ad-venture away from home is to forge friendships, face challenges, learn about nature and engage in team building activities that will enhance their social emotional academic experience throughout the year. To that end, they went on high and low rope activities, zip-lined, participated in archery, learned how to build a fire, hiked through the forest, and ate together. The staff who participate are always amazed by the difference in the students from the beginning of the camp experience to the end. We see students helping each other, listening to concerns and ideas, supporting each other through the challenging moments and cheering everyones success. It's a special opportunity for staff and students alike, and we are grateful that the Buttonville school community pulls together, allowing this trip to happen annually. We were also pretty happy to return home and sleep in our own quiet beds!

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ECO THEME FOR MONTH OF NOVEMBER

Bag2School

Buttonville Public School Bag2School was a great success! Thank you to our students, parents and the community for all the donations!! We could not have done it without your support.

Thank you so much for your continued support and

participation!

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BPS CELL PHONE / TECHNOLOGY POLICY

It is important to us that we provide a caring, safe and inclusive environment in our school that supports the academic achieve-

ment and well-being of all students. To support this environment, the Ontario Ministry of Education has revised the provincial

Code of Conduct (Policy/Program Memorandum No. 128) to include a restriction on the use of personal mobile devices during

instructional time as of November 4, 2019.

The revision states that the use of personal mobile devices (i.e. cell phones) during instructional time is not permitted unless

under the following circumstances:

for educational purposes, as directed by an educator;

for health and medical purposes;

to support special education needs and/or English-Language Learners.

We recognize that learning can be enhanced by technology and we have created opportunities in our classrooms to leverage

digital tools to enhance teaching, learning and communication. Each school has its own guidelines about mobile devices.

At Buttonville PS:

We are aware that many of our students are bringing cell phones and other personal communication devices with them to

school. We would like to remind all students of our electronic device policy at Buttonville PS. Please review the following infor-

mation:

Cell phones and other personal communication devices must be turned off and kept out of sight during all instructional

periods, except with the clear permission of the classroom teacher.

Cell phone camera functions are not permitted for use on school property without clear permission from the principal

or teacher.

Use of these electronic devices during unstructured times (i.e., recess, lunch time) is not permitted. School will

Follow through with progressive discipline.

The school is not responsible for personal items that go missing at the school.

If you need to contact your child, please call the school and let the office know. As well, if your child needs to contact their par-

ent during the school day we would ask that the student use the phone in the office. This will help us to monitor students and

their needs.

As shared in the Guide to the School Year 2019-20, it has always been our policy that cell phones and other personal communi-cation devices must be turned off and kept out of sight during all instructional periods, except with the clear permission of the principal or the classroom teacher. Additionally, camera and/or video functions on mobile devices are not permitted for use on school property without clear permission from the principal or teacher. At no time may mobile devices be used in washrooms or changerooms.

Infractions will be dealt with as student discipline, under Caring and Safe Schools Policy and its related procedures. Check with the school’s main office to find out if students may bring mobile devices into the classroom, use them in school, or if they must leave these items in their backpacks/lockers. Students are responsible for the care and security of their personal devices. The school is not responsible for any damage, loss or theft.

For more information on why the Ontario Ministry of Education is making this revision, please see their Cellphones and Other Personal Mobile Devices in Schools: Questions and Answers guide.

Thank you for helping us create a safe, respectful and inclusive school community. If you have any questions, please do not hesi-tate to contact the school’s administration.

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Buttonville We Scare Hunger Food Drive

Hunger is an issue that makes life harder for more than 305,000 Canadian children every month

Thirteen percent of Canadians are in a state of food insecurity, which means they are unable to ac-cess a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Without enough food, many people feel the effects of short-term hunger, like headaches, nausea and the inability to concentrate.

Each month, over 850,000 Canadians require help from food banks—more than one third of these individuals are children and youth. People seeking food assistance come from all walks of life.

A food package may make the difference for a family trying to get back on their feet after a crisis. It can mean that a child doesn’t go to bed hungry, or doesn’t get sick and miss school due to an im-mune system compromised by lack of adequate nutrition.

At Buttonville, we are collecting nutritious canned and non-perishable food, which will get donated to the Food Bank. Our food drive is for the next 2 weeks and on Halloween. Please do not donate expired foods or opened packages. Also, do not send Halloween candy.

Students need permission to participate under parent supervision, so if your family would like to col-lect food, please fill in the permission form and return it to your classroom teacher. Your child will get grocery bags to fill up and return to school. Of course, you can use your own grocery bags as well. Please return groceries by November 4.

Help us beat hunger!

Me to We Student leadership Team

We Scare Hunger Food Drive @ BUTTONVILLE P.S.

Our We/Equity student leaders have been busy educating their peers and all our students about the need for food support in our community as well communities around the world. They prepared and provided the bags for food collection, retrieved food from each classroom and packed it up in boxes, ready to be delivered to the Markham Food Bank in time for the holiday season. Our students prove that Halloween is not just about candy.

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Unionville High School—Open House, Nov. 7th

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Although the Board takes every precaution to provide a safe learning environment, student accidents can and do happen. Often when they do, not all medical, dental or other related expenses may be covered by OHIP or group in-surance plans.

While the Board does not provide student accident insurance, it has arranged voluntary insurance plans through Old Republic Insurance Company of Canada’s insuremykids® program. These plans are available to families of all students attending the York Region District School Board.

It is recommended that families consider purchasing a student accident insurance plan. Questions or concerns, please visit, www.insuremykids.com .

Student Insurance Plan

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ISLAMIC HERITAGE MONTH

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ARTS HURON SHOWCASE and INFORMATION NIGHT

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YORK REGION LABOUR MARKET INFO NIGHT

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Upcoming Dates/Events (Please check our school website for regular Calendar updates)

Nov. 5th Swiss Chalet Lunch

Nov. 6th Pizza Lunch

Nov. 11th Remembrance Day

Nov. 12th Astoria Lunch

Nov. 13th

Pizza Lunch

Report Cards Go Home

Nov. 14th

Nov. 15th

Nov. 19th

Nov. 20th

Nov. 21st

Nov 26th

Nov 27th

Popcorn & Cookie Sale

Parent / Teacher Interviews

PA DAY—NO SCHOOL

Parent / Teacher Interviews

Sub Lunch

Pizza Lunch

Photo Retake Day

Popcorn & Cookie Sale

Pasta Lunch

Pizza Lunch

School Council Meeting—6:30 p.m.