Golf Road Gazette - June 28, 2024
Issue 2 • Volume
“End of the School Year” edition
Principal’s Message page 2 Important Information page 3
School Happenings page 7
Parent Information page 13
Parent Council Corner page 17
Upcoming Dates page 19
TDSB Social Media page 20
Golf Road Junior P.S. Administrative Staff:
Principal A. Morgan
Office Administrator D. Bowman
Superintendent H. Ghuman
Trustee Z. Patel
Table of Contents
Principal’s Message
Hello everyone,
It is hard to believe that we are at the end of the school year! As always, June is an eventful month, so we have been very busy this month, and in May, learning and growing together and then getting the year all wrapped up so we can prepare for the next school year.
This week has been filled with special days as we had Golf Road’s Track and Field Day/Jump Rope on the 25th, Grade 6 Grad on the 26th, and Playday on the afternoon of the 27th. However, please find throughout this newsletter, other events from the past couple of months like: the planting of our Three Sisters Garden at the front of the school, Math and Literacy Night in May, our Parent Council Fun Fair in June, etc.
As you look through the newsletter you will also see the announcement about staff changes for the next school year. Four beloved members of our staff are retiring this year: Ms Bowman, our office administrator, teachers Ms Connor and Ms Katsuragi, and one of our lunchroom supervisors, Ms Warren. All four ladies have been at Golf Road for a long time, and while we will miss them, we wish them all the best on their next great adventure in life. Please see page 3 and 4 for more information about outgoing and incoming staff to Golf Road.
As we all prepare for a well-earned summer break, I want to take this opportunity to thank you, our families, for your support throughout the year. The learning we have done this year about Indigenous Education, Equity, and the basics of language, math, social studies, science, etc. would not have been possible without your efforts and encouragement at home. To those of you who have children who graduated from grade 6, we will miss having you as part of our community but look forward to hearing how your children are doing. To our incoming families with children entering into JK in September, we welcome you and look forward to working with you next September. In the interim, on behalf of the staff we wish you a wonderful summer break. Remember to wear sunscreen and a hat, and most of all, enjoy the sun! See you in September!
Sincerely,
Ms Morgan, Principal
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Staff Changes
As Shakespeare says “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” Not only are we saying goodbye to our fabulous class of grade 6 students, but also key staff members here at Golf Road: Ms Bowman, Ms Connor, Ms Katsuragi and Ms Warren. However, we are saying goodbye for the best of reasons - they are all retiring and getting ready for fabulous adventures in the very near future.
Ms Bowman has been the Office Administrator here at Golf Road for eight years, and came to us, originally from our neighbouring school, Willow Park. I know many students, past and present, will be sorry to see Ms Bowman go as she always had a bandaid ready for cuts and a ready ear for children who were hurt.
Ms Katsuragi has been teaching at Golf Road for over 20 years. She originally came to Golf Road as a Special Education teacher, but stayed on and carved a spot in our Junior Division. Listening to our Junior students you can tell that they loved being in her classroom and remember grade 4 with her fondly.
Ms Connor has also been teacher at Golf Road for over 20 years and is also remembered fondly by former students who were in her Grade 1 or 2 classes. It is always interesting to see students, all grown up, come back to find Ms Connor and reminisce about their time with her with love and appreciation.
Finally, Ms Warren, or Ms Mona as she is affectionately called by the students, is also retiring as one of our lunchroom supervisors. Ms Warren started off at Golf Road as a parent, volunteering in our school, and has, over the past two decades, become a key figure at Golf Road. Ms Mona is always so diligent about student safety, knows all of our students (and quite a few Tecumseh students) by name, and her presence at lunchtime will be greatly missed by staff and students.
Please see the next page for more information about our incoming and more outgoing staff.
Top to Bottom: School sign saying farewell to our retiring staff, Ms Bowman, Ms Katsuragi, Ms Connor and Ms Warren, with well wishes.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Staff Changes
We are also saying goodbye, for now, to Ms Samuel Rajan, Ms Zheng, Ms Liao, Ms Thavarajah and Ms Sharma, our five long-term occasional teachers, Ms Jo, our Early Childhood Educator in room 11 and Ms Ashworth, our long-term occasional Child and Youth Worker. We thank them all for their hard work, commitment and dedication to the students, during the time they were with us. However, we hope to see them all again very soon at Golf Road. We have loved having all of you on staff this school year.
While we are going to greatly miss our leaving staff, change is also exciting as it means something new is coming. All staff appointments have not been finalized as of yet, but please see below for some known staff changes for next school year:
Ms Khakwani will be joining us as a new Early Childhood Educator in September. Ms Khakwani is very experienced and has worked in Kindergarten classrooms in many different schools, including our sister school, Cornell JPS! Welcome to the Kindergarten team Ms Khakwani!
Ms Erlich, formerly our Grade 2-4 Autism ISP teacher, will now also be joining our Kindergarten team as one of three Kindergarten teachers next year. We are excited for her new placement and know her students this year will be happy to see her around the school. Welcome to the Kindergarten team as well Ms Erlich!
Replacing Ms Erlich as our new Grade 2-4 Autism ISP teacher is Ms Ibazebo. Ms Ibazebo comes to us from Wexford Ps and is a very experienced Special Education and French teacher with a lot of experience working with students who have Autism. We welcome her to the Golf Road team and look forward to working with her in September.
Finally, one of our new Primary teachers next year is Ms Khan. Ms Khan comes to us from Sloane JPS in North York, and has a special connection to our school - her husband attended Golf Road as a student! Ms Khan will be teaching our grade ½ class and has a lot of experience teaching students in the Primary division. We look forward to working with Ms Khan as well in September.
During the summer we will be hiring three additional educators, so more new faces will be a part of Golf Road in September!
Above Top Row: Ms Samuel Rajan, Ms Zheng, Ms Liao
Middle Row: Ms Thavarajah, Ms Sharma, Ms Jo, Ms Ashworth, Ms Erlich, Ms Ibazebo
Bottom Rows: Ms Khakwani, Ms Khan
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Bussing in Sept.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Immunizations
The Toronto Student Transportation Group (TSTG) will once again be implementing a phased-in start for the 2024-25 school year. Starting Tuesday, September 3, transportation will begin for students with special education needs (excluding those in the gifted program) who travel to school on minibuses, minivans, taxis and wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Bussing for all other eligible students will begin on Monday, September 9, pending driver availability.
All parents/guardians/caregivers with children who take the bus to school are encouraged to sign up for the Student Transportation Parent Portal to access important information and updates. Note: You must register for the portal with the email address on file at your child’s school. Please contact support@torontoschoolbus.org for any issues with the registration process.
Above: Logo for the TSTG group. Click the link to go to the website.
Toronto Public Health continues their work of assessing who is fully vaccinated and in compliance with the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA). Students born is 2016 onward are being looked at, and if immunization records are not up-to-date, Toronto Public Health will be home a follow-up letter urging parents to get their child(ren) vaccinated.
If your child is fully vaccinated, please report this online at: toronto.ca/StudentVaccines. This online portal is fast, easy-to-use and secure. If your child is not fully vaccinated, please visit your family doctor, primary care provider or a walk-in clinic that offers vaccinations, then visit toronto.ca/StudentVaccines to update their records. Your child(ren) can also get vaccinated at a Toronto Public Health community clinic by booking an appointment at TPHbookings.ca.
Please note though that students who are not vaccinated as per ISPA, or do not have a valid exemption, will be suspended in the fall. You are encouraged to call the school if you have any further questions.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Resources for Supporting Student Mental Health
Resources for Supporting Student Mental Health Throughout The Year:
Tips For Managing Test and Exam Stress: A resource from School Mental Health Ontario to support students and families as we approach the end of the school year.
Navigating the Transition from Secondary School: For those students (and families) approaching graduation, we recognize the transition from secondary school can bring both excitement and challenges. We encourage you to review the following School Mental Health Ontario resources to support you during this time:
Easy and Fun Mental Health Activities for Home: A series from School Mental Health Ontario of 12 mental health activities designed for parents and families to try at home, with each activity connected to the six areas of social-emotional learning.
School Mental Health Ontario as a number of parent/caregiver resources at: https://smho-smso.ca/parents-and-caregivers/ . Please also consider clicking the poster to the right for tips and activities about mindfulness.
School Happenings:
Three Sisters Garden
In addition to May being Education month, I always feel that May is Planting month. In spirit of planting, and to support our creation of personal land acknowledgements, we worked with the staff of Alter Eden to create a Three Sisters Garden.
Through the efforts of our Junior students, we planted corn, beans and squash from seeds, and then transplanted our seedlings into bigger pots to start growing together. On May 15th, after a smudging ceremony and learning about Indigenous history with the use of artefacts like a wampum belt, we got hard to work!
Currently our garden can be located at the front of the school by our hallway with the large picture window. We have lots of squash flowers already out and are crossing fingers with consistent watering and loving care, vegetables will grow to share in October!
Top to Bottom: our gardening space before planting began; looking at a wampum belt, Ms Morton’s class learning in our outdoor classroom, moving the pots outside, planting the seedlings, our garden space now and the AlterEden staff.
School Happenings:
Taiko Drumming - RAW
In keeping with our School Improvement Plan (SIP), and May being Asian Heritage month our teachers, led by Ms Adlys, created a grant proposal that we were successful with. The grant was to bring in a Taiko Drumming group named RAW to support our SIP in removing biases about marginalized groups (i.e., female, queer)
Taiko drumming is a style of drumming that originated in Japan, and was dominated by male performers for many years (and still is). RAW as a group is special because they are an all female Taiko drumming group, based here in Toronto. We invite you to visit their website at https://www.rawtaiko.ca/ and to learn more about Taiko drumming at https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20231020-japans-ancient-art-of-taiko-drumming Please also see a short YouTube video below and Golf Road pics and a short video clip of our performance on the right.
Left: YouTube video about Taiko drumming basics.
Right Top to Bottom: Pictures from the RAW school performance in May, and a short video clip of the beginning of the performance here at Golf Road.
School Happenings:
Math and Literacy Night
On May 16th, we had a parent evening to showcase Math and Language Learning at Golf Road. Activity stations in the form of math and language games were led by Junior students, under the supervision of Ms Katsuragi and Mr. Chan, and fun was had by all. Parents who participated in 4 out of our 6 games were then able to enter a draw for literacy prizes.
We also had a Used Bookfair in the library during the night, sponsored by our Grade 6 Mastermind club, under the supervision of Ms Budd. All money made from the bookfair was combined with our Student Council Freezie sale money to purchase large scale games (i.e., Jenga, Snakes and Ladders, etc.) for Playday as well as pay for free henna decorating at our Fun Fair in June. The aim of the Mastermind Club and Student Council is to create free fun opportunities for the students at the school.
Last but not least, we raffled off a bike!
Top to Bottom: Used Booksale setup in the library, parents at our Math and Literacy Night, the passport, winning a bike at our end of Night raffle!
School Happenings:
Butterflies in the Primary Classroom
Our Kindergarten and Primary classrooms have all hosted caterpillars in the school, observing the life cycle of Painted Lady butterflies. Students engaged in creating observation journals in Kindergarten and life cycle diagrams and discussing living versus non-living things in Grade 1 and 2. Once the butterflies emerged from their chrysalis, we then set them free!
Above Left to Right: video of one of our Painted Lady butterflies before release, a chrysalis, a Painted Lady butterfly resting on the mesh of the cage, a butterfly in a student’s hands, and a butterfly in a cage resting while being observed by our students.
School Happenings:
Parent Council Fun Fair
Did you attend our Fun Fair? I hope you did! On June 11th our Golf Road Parent Council hosted a Summer Fun Fair after school and we were thrilled with the turnout!
Thanks to our community partners, Toronto Public Health, Toronto Police and SAAAC (South Asian Autism Awareness Centre), we had games and giveaways, Student Council paid for free henna tattoos for the students, Parent Council paid for free face painting, and we had a lot of food option (i.e., samosas, freezies, water, popcorn). We also had music, and some dancing as well.
On behalf of Parent Council, we thank you for coming out to support our Fun Fair and look forward to doing another one early in the next school year. It was a great community building event!
Clockwise: Henna painting, Parent Council members in action giving out food, games with SAAAC and Toronto Public Health, and having fun together.
School Happenings:
Wet and Wild Playday
Top: Beach Volleyball in the gym
Middle: Wet and Wild water fun - Water Towel relay and Sprinklers
Bottom: Large Snakes and Ladders game, Musical Chairs with sprinklers
We had this week our annual Wet and Wild Playday, and it was a huge success. While Wet and Wild Playday suggests only water games, we had plenty of dry options as well (i.e., Tug of War, Just Dance, Quiet Colouring, Volleyball, etc.). However, the students in general loved getting as wet as possible, playing relay games with water, or Musical Chairs, or just running through the sprinklers.
We hope your child had as much fun as the majority of students seemed to have, and changed out accordingly at the end into the dry clothing we requested, so they could enjoy their end of day freezie in comfort.
Thank you to Mme Savage for organizing Playday, and our teachers and troupe of volunteers for running the games and providing the students with an afternoon of fun!
PARENT INFORMATION:
National Indigenous History Month
June is National Indigenous History Month and June 21st was National Indigenous Peoples Day. It is a time to celebrate and learn from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples’ diverse cultures, histories, experiences, creations, perspectives, and achievements. Join the Urban Indigenous Education Centre (UIEC) throughout the month of June for opportunities for staff and students to engage with Indigenous artists, authors, and speakers through various virtual workshops and panel discussions. Learn more here. Here at Golf Road, all students engaged in writing a personal land acknowledgement, stating how we are related to the land, who was originally here, and what our action plan is, moving forward, to take care of the Earth and to also learn more about Indigenous history and culture to promote truth and reconciliation.
Some additional information about National Indigenous History Month and Two-Spirited Indiqueer Month can be found below:
We invite you to review these resources, with your child, as this learning is very essential for all Canadians as we work towards fulfilling the Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. For a lot of Canadians, this is also new learning, which is why National Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day is so important to acknowledge, not only at school, but nationwide. Please also see https://nctr.ca/records/reports/ to see the progress the country has made this year with the Calls to Action, as well as other historical reports.
Above: Poster from the UIEC acknowledging National Indigenous History Month.
Below: Logo for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission website. Please click the logo to be taken to the full website that is full of additional links and information.
PARENT INFORMATION:
Portuguese-Speaking Heritage Month
PARENT INFORMATION:
Italian Heritage Month
Portuguese-Speaking Heritage Month is proudly recognized during the month of June at the TDSB and has been since 2011. The Province of Ontario passed the Celebration of Portuguese Heritage Act in 2001.
This year our theme is Unidos/United!
The contributions of the Portuguese-speaking community to Canada are significant as they include the arts, sports, music, culinary arts, and many professional contributions to education and medicine. Canadians, along with all TDSB students, staff, and its communities all enjoy the energetic and vibrant traditions that are shared through the customs of the Portuguese-speaking community. Over 1,400 TDSB students speak Portuguese as their mother tongue or as a primary language. Internationally, there are 250 million Portuguese-speaking people, making it the fifth-most spoken language in the world.
Above: Click the logo to be taken to the X account for Portuguese-Speaking Heritage Month.
The Toronto District School Board is proud to recognize June as Italian Heritage Month. During this month, the TDSB celebrates the spirited culture and traditions of the Italian community with students, staff and the entire TDSB community.
The TDSB is joined by the Province of Ontario in recognizing Italian Heritage Month since June 2010 when the Italian Heritage Month Act was passed. This Act recognizes the important contributions that immigrants made in building Ontario's communities and the economic, political, social and cultural achievements of Italian Canadians throughout the province. Italian Canadian immigrants have played a prominent role in supporting Canada's post-war boom and Toronto's emergence as a diverse, vibrant world-class city.
Right: Poster for Italian Heritage Month. Please click the poster for more information.
PARENT INFORMATION:
Pride Month
PARENT INFORMATION:
Learn4Life Adult Classes
June is Pride Month at the TDSB! It's an opportunity to celebrate diversity and raise awareness among all staff and students about the rich culture and history of our LGBTQ2S+ community. Learn more about these activities and find out how you can get involved. Follow and join in the conversation on Twitter, #PrideTDSB!
Left: Please click the picture for more information from the TDSB Gender-Based Violence Protection office and Equitable and Inclusive Schools. We also invite you to watch the video explaining the meaning of the Progressive Pride flag.
Summer 2024 registration is now open for Learn4Life's Adult General Interest Program. Open to adults 18 years of age and seniors, the Learn4Life program offers a unique opportunity for individuals to pursue their interests, meet new friends, expand their knowledge, and keep active with a wide range of courses and activities designed to cater to diverse interests.
Just some of the courses offered this term include:
Visit Learn4Life’s program page for more information.
PARENT INFORMATION:
Adult ESL Summer Programs
PARENT INFORMATION:
International Languages Summer Program
Refugee claimants can improve their English this summer from July 2 to 26 with the Toronto District School Board's Adult ESL Summer Program! In-person classes are available at locations around the city, Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. A broad range of English as a Second Language classes are offered, from beginner to advanced levels.
For more information, visit our summer program website.
The International Languages Elementary and African Heritage (ILE-AH) Summer Program begins on July 2, offering Kindergarten to Grade 8 students the chance to learn over 20 languages and African heritage.
The International Languages Elementary Program combines language & culture learning with engaging language skill-focused activities like group writing, guided reading, games, songs, dance, storytelling, and arts. No language background knowledge is necessary.
In the African Heritage Program, students explore the history, culture, traditions, and contributions of people of African descent to Canada and the world.
For more information, please visit the summer program website. Please note that these programs are only available in person.
Parent Council Corner
Thank you to the 2023/2024 Parent Council for your support this year!
Parent Council Executive:
Monifa St. Hill (Co-Chair)
Danielle Mekonnen (Co-Chair))
Nectaria Sempos (Secretary)
Ismail Bawa (Treasurer)
We also thank the following parents for being Council members-at-large:
Vereen Marcano
(Safe and Caring Schools Parent Council rep)
Maria Kosanovich
George Kosanovich
Note: You can join our Parent Council meetings this year whether your child is here at Golf Road or is a Golf Road student attending the TDSB LC3 Virtual School.
Parent Council Corner
Our Next School Advisory Council is:
September 24th @ 6:30 pm.
Reminder: If you would like to join our meeting as an interested Parent, or volunteer for Council events, please email the principal at audra.morgan@tdsb.on.ca,
latest by September 20th at 4:00 p.m.
Our council usually meets on the first Tuesday of the month.
Our council meeting minutes will posted on the school website shortly at: https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/golfroad/School-Council
Also please check Trustee Patel’s website at https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Ward19/ for current information from the TDSB.
Note: You can join our Parent Council meetings this year whether your child is here at Golf Road or is a Golf Road student attending the TDSB LC3 Virtual School.
June 28 Last Day of the 2023/2024 School Year
July 1 Canada Day
August 5 Civic Holiday
September 2 Labour Day
September 3 First Day of the 2024/2025 School Year
Please mark these dates down in your family calendars!
TDSB Social Media
Join the conversations happening on TDSB’s social media communities. You will find the most up-to-date information about us on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts.
YouTube Channel
Please follow us on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC83dAGrLQn5ZC7za3k7NUoA
School Website
https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/golfroad/
Twitter@TDSB
http://facebook.com/toronto.dsb
Instagram@Torontodsb
https://www.instagram.com/torontodsb
Golf Road Jr. Public School
730 Scarborough Golf Club Road,
Scarborough, Ontario
416.396.6285
http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/golfroad