Attention Parents of Gr. 8 students!

Please join us at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28th in our own gym for a personalized Question and Answer session on Gr. 9 course selection!  The staff of Stephen Lewis S.S. will join TWPS intermediate teachers  to answer all your questions and to provide you with essential information. Gr. 8 students are welcome to join their parents at this!

January Library Update

News from Mrs. Wagman and the…

Thank You

I would like to thank all students and staff for being so patient during the library closure due to our renovations.  A special thank you goes to our caretakers who had the daunting task of getting the library in tip-top shape.

Did You Know?

While the library was closed, purchasing, processing and shelving of new books continued. There have been many additions to our already extensive collection. We have many new series, beautiful and engaging picture books, as well as hot-off-the-press new releases for fiction, non-fiction, and young adult selections.

Primary and Junior library orientations have been completed, library schedules arranged, and students are back eagerly visiting the library and borrowing books.  All classes have a scheduled library period with Kindergarten to Grade 5 students visiting the library weekly, and Grades 6 to 8 visiting bi-weekly.  Kindergarten and grade one students must return their library books in the provided book bag weekly. All chapter books are checked out to students for a two-week loan period.  The library is open every recess for Junior and Intermediate book exchanges. Please ensure that you check your child’s agenda or classroom newsletter/calendar for their scheduled library day.

Book exchange is a great opportunity for your child to demonstrate responsibility. Please assist your child to return their library books on time and in good condition. Misplaced, lost and damaged books will be subject to a replacement cost.

Take a look at our Thornhill Woods Library website, where you and your child can view our library catalogue, access the Vaughan Public Library and several YRDSB online resources including Bookflix literacy resource, Encyclopedia Britannica and other wonderful homework research supports. I will also be regularly updating the Library website so keep checking for new entries.

You can access the Thornhill Woods library website at: www.thornhillwoods.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/library  

Forest of Reading Program

At Thornhill Woods we will be taking part in the Blue Spruce Reading Program for Grades One and Two. The Forest of Reading program is Canada’s largest recreational reading program run by the Ontario Library Association. The main objectives of the program are to encourage a love of reading and to introduce students to high quality Canadian picture books. Students will hear 10 selected picture books and vote for their favourite selection. You and your family can obtain more information on the Forest of Reading Programs by visiting the Ontario Library Association website at: www.accessola.org/forestofreading

Family Literacy Day

January 27, 2015 is Family Literacy Day. The initiative was first created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999, and has been embraced by literacy organizations, schools, and libraries all across the country.

For literacy activity ideas that you can do as a family at home, check the Family Literacy Day website at:

http://abclifeliteracy.ca

In honour of Family Literacy Day, we will once again be celebrating our Character Storybook Dress Up Day. Students in grades Kindergarten to Grade Three are invited to dress up as their favourite storybook character. The Kindergarten classes will participate in a parade by visiting the Grades 1-3 classrooms to share their costumes. The classroom with the most participants will win a game for their class. Please remember that your child’s outfit must be appropriate for a busy day at school and outdoor recess. It may also not be accompanied by toy weapons or similar props.

Book Fairs

The Title Wave Book Fair is coming to our school January 19th to the 22nd.   Your entire family is invited to participate by purchasing the latest and greatest in children’s books. The support of this literacy fundraiser will help us purchase new books and resources for our library. Cheques and credit cards are accepted.

Students will have a chance to browse through the books, making a wish list with their classroom teachers.

Our big Scholastic Book Fair will take place in April to coincide with Boutique night. More details will follow in the coming months.

Come Visit the Library

If you have not had a chance to visit our beautiful Thornhill Woods Library/Learning Commons, please feel free to come in and take a peek. Make sure you take a look at the back room! It is also not too late to volunteer in the library! Volunteers can help in the library by shelving and preparing books for circulation. Training will be provided and volunteers are a great help and addition to our school community.

Please contact me at Ext. 126 if you are interested.

Finally, be a reading role model for your child. Surround your home with reading materials such as books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Cuddle up with a good book and you’ll model how reading can be one of the best parts of your day.

Happy Reading to All!

Marilyn Wagman

Teacher Librarian

Thornhill Woods P.S.

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

to staff, students and the community!  We are thrilled to inform you that our construction is almost 100% complete!  Our two Gr. 1 classes have moved from the library into their own classrooms and Mrs. Wagman will be opening the library on Monday, January 12th.  Staff and students are making good use of the gym, thanks to our amazing caretaking team for the work they did to prepare the gym in just a few days. The new Kindergarten fenced area is also ready for use and will be opened on Monday, January 12th. Kindergarten students in rooms 112 and 117 will be entering through the new area and will be dismissed there too. Parents of Kindergarten students were informed last week. 

Kindergarten registration for 2015-16 begins at 9:30 a.m. on the P.A. day this Friday, January 16th and continues throughout the year.  

In partnership with the staff of Stephen Lewis S.S., we will be hosting an information evening  for the parents of Gr. 8 students in our gym on January 28th at 7:00 p.m. This is an additional information evening for just the parents of Gr. 8's at TWPS and does not replace the general information night to be held at Stephen Lewis.

Lunch programs begin the first week in February, except for Act One, which begins on January 26th.  

Please remember to check our website regularly at http://thornhillwoods.ps.yrdsb.ca/

Arts Baythorn Information Night

Would your child enjoy learning the Ontario curriculum through the Arts?

If so, the York Region District School Board offers an elementary integrated Arts Program at Baythorn Public School. Students currently in grades four and five may apply for the arts@baythorn Program, where they will have the opportunity to explore the disciplines of Dance, Drama, Visual Arts, and Music while meeting the expectations of the Ontario Curriculum for grades five, six, seven and eight.

To learn more about the arts@baythorn program, students and their families are invited to attend an information evening at Baythorn Public School on Thursday, January 15, 2015 at 6:30 p.m.

Applications will be online via the school website and available after January 16, 2015.

If you require further information, please call us at Baythorn Public School: (905) 889-7992.

   

Kate Kurek​	Jennifer Rosenberg ​
Principal​	​Vice-Principal

December news and updates!

Our school took part in the annual CTV Toy Mountain toy drive.  Thanks to very generous donations by School Council, Student Council and the staff of TWPS, we made a substantial and exciting display.  We were fleetingly featured on the 6:00 p.m. news!

Our students also collected more than 2,000 items of non-perishable food for our food drive.  One Gr. 2 class and the Gr. 4 students, their teachers and our caretakers loaded a large school bus with the donations. 

The Lions Club gratefully picked up our coat donations and the jeans donated during our Timberwolf art project will soon find a home. 

Please remind your children to check our "Lost and Found" display on the tables outside the library - two tables are laden with lost items and clothing!


TWPS Staff wish our students, parents and the community a safe and enjoyable winter break.  School re-opens January 5th, 2015.

                                               

Kindergarten Registration and French Immersion News!

Kindergarten Registration to Commence January 16, 2015

Kindergarten registration will commence on January 16, 2015 for the 2015-16 school year. Registration forms are available on YRDSB’s website: www.yrdsb.ca. Children who turn four or five years old during 2015, live within the school boundary and whose parents are public school tax supporters will be eligible to register for kindergarten. A kindergarten information session for parents is being planned for this spring. For more information please visit the YRDSB website or contact your local school. 

French Immersion Information Sessions and RegistrationsInformation sessions for the French Immersion (FI) program will take place at Ventura Park P.S. (121 Worth Blvd., Thornhill, ON L4J 7V5) on January 15, 2015 at 7 p.m. FI registration will begin January 16, 2015. 

In order to streamline the registration process, parents or guardians of Senior Kindergarten students entering Grade 1 in 2015, and wishing to enrol in the FI Program, can visit or call the school office and request an Office Index Card - short version. The Office Index Card must be signed by the principal of the home school. Parents or guardians then take this form, along with one piece of identification showing their address to Ventura Park P.S. to register between January 16 and February 13, 2015. This eliminates the need to provide duplicate enrollment information or to pre-register.

YRDSB’s FI Accommodation Plan provides long-term consistency and equity of access to all students in York Region and will enable YRDSB to continue to offer the FI program to all who wish to enrol. The FI program will be offered in Dual Track or Single Track settings, in a variety of configurations. In order to meet community needs and optimize available space in our schools, a community's Grade 1-8 FI program may be provided over more than one school during the course of a student's FI education. This will allow flexibility in addressing community needs and the opportunity to use existing space in schools. More information is available on the Board’s website: www.yrdsb.ca. Please note: Some of the FI accommodation plans will require facility modifications or the development of new schools and will require short-term transition plans that might include overflow while we work toward the long-term vision. Overflow refers to situations in which the Board directs students to attend a school other than their community school or optional program for a specific period of time, as defined in Policy #108.

To the parents/guardians of Gr. 8 students:  

Please add this important date to your calendars!