Parkway Public School, 24 Duncan Bull Dr
Parkway Press
Parkway Public School, 24 Duncan Bull Dr.
Brampton , Ontario L6W 1H4
Tel: (905) 451-8440
October 2016
S. Kissoon-Singh,
D. Wong, Vice Principal (acting)905-451-8440 x 403
H. Mason, Superintendent905-451-2862
Kathy McDonald, Trustee905 796 8163
Dear Parkway Families,
Good weather, smiling faces, keen students … and school is off to an excellent start this school year at Parkway. Our boys and girls are very excited to be in school! Our teachers have started with interesting and engaging learning activities. With the good weather even our recess times are special too!
Here are a few items of interest at our school:
Re-organization Day: Our enrolment at school is close to what was projected. We do not have a change in staff numbers. We have been able to adjust our class sizes to meet Ministry’s and Board’s guidelines. In most of our primary classes (Grade 1 to Grade 3), the class size is 20 students or less. We will continue with 2 split classes – a Grade 3/4 and a Grade4/5. At the Kindergarten level,our class sizes meet Board guidelines, so no changes there. Together these changes create better conditions for students learning and success. We are pleased that all changes went smoothly.
Program: All of our programs e.g. Library, Physical Education, French, Music, and Computer classes have started. Students are enjoying these programs!
The EQAO results for 2016 have been released. The students at Parkway have done their best. At the Grade 3 level, our school performance continues at a high level.The percentages of our students who have performed at the provincial standard or higher are in Reading – 78%, Writing– 78 % and Mathematics – 51 %. This result reflects the hard work of our staff, our students and our parents. Congratulations to all!
Looking at our EQAO results, mathematics or numeracy is the area in which we need to focus more of our time and resources. We will do all that we can to get better in this area. In this area, our staff will examine and use ‘new’ strategies to strengthen our students’ level of performance. This year, the core goalfor our school is: - to improve the numeracy skills of all of our studentsin allgrades from Kindergarten to Grade 5. At all grade levels, we will findways to help each child succeed.
Safety: We held our Safety Assembly on September12th. We reviewed many of the safety practices at our school with all of our students. Some of our junior students worked with teachers and presented ‘short skits’ to highlight the school values. We also talked about our student leadership opportunities and our PALS program. During our morning announcements, we highlight our school rules and our school values. Each day, we remind our students to be safe, friendly and respectful. Safety at school requires a team effort. Weinvite and encourage each parent/guardian to support our safety practices.
School Council Meeting: Each parent/guardian is invited to join our School Council. This is an excellent opportunity for you to work alongside with the Principal, Vice Principal and the staff at our school. This is one way we strengthen our home-school partnership. Our first meeting and elections were held on September 21st. Generally, we meet on the 3rdWednesday of the month.
This year, I will continue with Wednesdayevenings as my community outreach evenings. On Wednesdays, I will be in school into the late evening especially for the purpose of meeting with parents/guardians. You could reach me at the school on these evenings. Remember, good things happen for our school when we work together!
S. Kissoon-Singh, Principal
Results of School Council Elections for 2016-2017
Co-Chair persons: Ms. Kimberly Taylor LaFrance and Mrs. Ann Schmidt
Co-Secretaries: Mrs. Katie Allen and Mrs. Teresa Jankowski
Co-Treasurers: Mrs. Jennifer Hanshaw and Mrs. Kelly West
This year is off to a fine start with so many parents interested in helping out through our School Council. We look forward to a very pleasant year, as we work alongside these ‘elected’ parents and all other parents, as we do good things for our school and school community!
School Council Chocolate Fundraiser Campaign
This year our School Council will be doing a Fall Fundraiser at Parkway. These are some important dates for easy reference:
Fundraiser Kick-off Assembly – September 30th
Distribution of Chocolates – October 3rd
Start of weekly draw for prizes – October 12th
End of Fundraising Campaign – October 21st
Final Returns of all monies and chocolates – October 28th
Grand Prize Draw – November 24th
Hallowe’en Celebrations
At Parkway, we celebrate Halloween on October 31st each year with a costume parade. Students look forward to this opportunity to showcase their creativity and imagination.
When planning your child’s costume, some important considerations:
- Students are not permitted to wear masks (please do not send masks to school)
- Students asked not to wear costumes that are overly frightening (remember that all students including our youngest learners in junior kindergarten take part in the Parade)
- Replica weapons of any sort are not permitted (please do not send these items to school)
In keeping with our Food & Beverage Policy, families are reminded not to send food items to school on Hallowe’en. If you wish to send a treat to share with the class, please consider non-food items.
If your family does not recognize Hallowe’en, please let your child’s classroom teacher know and an alternate supervised activity will be offered during the Parade.