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Journal
May 2017
Vol. 1 No. 9
3251 The Credit Woodlands, Mississauga, ON L5C 2J7
Telephone: (905) 279-7950 ● Fax: (905) 279-8098 ● Safe Arrival: 1 (855) 209-6155
Principal: Robert Stancu ● Vice-Principal: Kim Daries ● Office Manager: Cindy Knebel
Superintendent: Jamie Robertson ● Trustees: Robert Crocker & Janet McDougald
Principal’s Message
May is now here with the promise of warmer weather, and we
carry with us fond memories of the spectacular Junior Musical
performances by our children. I know that the outstanding
work of our Junior boys and girls will be recalled by all of us
for many years to come. I know that all of you share my
anticipation for the next Musical planned by Mr. Martin and
Ms. Hill for the next school year. Stay tuned!
On the School Success front, our teachers have been working
hard to embed Spatial Reasoning components into their
Mathematics learning activities planned for our children. You
will recall that Spatial Reasoning is foundational to the
understanding of Math concepts, and encompasses skills like:
comparing objects; mentally rotating and transforming
objects; creating and reading maps, graphs and other visual
data; and imagining objects or amounts as proportionally
larger or smaller. See p. 5 of this newsletter for more details.
At the same time, our teachers have been involved in Class
Data Wall tracking. This involves the development of a class
data spreadsheet by each teacher based on their students’
achievement in a Mathematics pre-test. Teachers meet in their
grade teams to moderate the student results from the pre-test
(i.e., ensuring that they follow common assessment criteria),
then plot the results on their class data wall spreadsheet, and
determine who are the ‘students to watch’ (i.e., those children
whose achievement on the test indicated that they are
struggling with the concepts covered). After several months of
teaching using strategies and activities also geared toward
meeting the needs of these struggling learners, our teachers
conducted a check-in assessment task and met with me to
share the results and how the ‘students to watch’, as well as all
the other students, have fared. In my meetings, it was clear
that most of the ‘students to watch’, as well as most other
students, had been able to make gains in their understanding
and application of the Math concepts covered. These
discussions with teachers about their Class Data Walls have
been crucial since they have provided a forum for these
teachers to reflect on their teaching practice and consider next
steps to support their students even further with the intention
of bolstering their students’ understanding and application of
Math concepts.
Yours in Education,
Robert Stancu
Creative Playground
Update
Our dream of installing a brand new Creative Playground
apparatus is now very close to fruition. Thanks to Mo
Snobar, a local real estate agent who has kindly donated
$21,000 toward the cost of the new playground, we are now
very close to being able to initiate the installation. Also, a
huge thank you goes out to everyone in our Springfield
community who have made donations during our Move-athon fundraiser, and who have dropped by our school to
make individual generous donations. With the collective
efforts of Mo Snobar, our Springfield School Council, so
many families and friends within our Springfield
community, as well as our Superintendent of Education
Jamie Robertson, we are on target for an anticipated grand
unveiling of the new Creative Playground in mid to late June.
Stay tuned for more details as they arise!
The proposed playground structure has been enhanced to
ensure that all age levels of children will find it exciting and
worthwhile. Extra length and height has been added to one
end of the main apparatus, along with extra climbing options
as well as a very exciting extra slide. In order to
accommodate the significant extra cost for these additions,
we have opted to forego the additional separate climbing
dome for this year, but have included an additional large
stand alone climbing device called a ‘Space Station’. The
final resulting playground should look similar to the
computer generated image seen below:
Library News
Forest of Reading 2017 was a big success! Special thanks to all our staff and student
Blue Spruce Mystery Readers for bringing this year's picture books to life. All of our
primary students voted for their favourite book, and results will be announced soon!
Our Silver Birch readers worked hard to qualify in time to vote. We have 36 students
joining us this year on our trip to the Powerade Centre for the Peel Forest of Reading
celebration on May 18.
Spring Book Fair is here! The Happy Camper Book Fair will run during the week of
May 8 to 12 and will be open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during school
hours. It will also be open after school on Thursday, May 11th until 4:30. Let's have
"S'more Fun with Books!"
Please also note that the final due date for all Library books is Friday, June 9th. Please
continue to encourage your child to demonstrate responsibility by returning books on
time.
SafeArrival: Reporting Absences and Lates
Every day counts—attendance matters!
Regular school attendance is an important factor in your child’s school success. Research shows that chronic
absenteeism (missing 2 days per month for a total of 20 days per year) can negatively impact your child’s
learning. Getting to class on time and avoiding absences are critical if your child is to get the most out of school.
In the event that your child won’t be attending school, please be sure to report your child(ren)’s absences prior to
the start of the school day. Late arrivals and/or early departures should be reported as soon as possible.
SafeArrival will allow you to report your child(ren)’s absences quickly and conveniently in one of three ways:
1. You can call into an automated, interactive telephone system via a toll free number—
1-855-209-6155.
2. You can log into a website, pdsb.schoolconnects.com, to access a SafeArrival Parent Portal.
An account can be set up to report absences.
3. You can download the SafeArrival mobile application for Apple and Android devices.
If your child’s absence is not reported in advance, the automated notification system will contact
parents/guardians at multiple contact numbers until one of the designated contacts is reached to verify the
absence. If our automated system is unable to reach a designated contact, office staff will follow up.
Please ensure you complete the reporting process by recording the confirmation number provided at
the end of your call. If you do not receive a confirmation number, the absence will not be recorded by
the automated system.
If you have any questions, please contact the school.
Excellent French Reading Programs for Use at Home
Many of our parents have expressed interest in accessing online supplemental French
Reading programs. There are a number of such programs available at no cost on line.
Some programs which are noteworthy for their engaging formats are:
Il etait une histoire (www.iletaitunehistoire.com)
Idello (www.idello.org)
A free App which reads aloud in a colourful French picture book format: Boukili
At Springfield, our English reading program is supplemented by the online resource
called Raz-Kids. In our quest to find a supplemental online French reading program of
comparable quality, we have been able to find an outstanding leveled online French
reading program called Lecture Enfant. Like Raz-Kids and the French programs listed
above, Lecture Enfant can be accessed by students at home. We plan to purchase
Lecture Enfant for Springfield use commencing in September of our upcoming 2017-18
school year.
Register today for Adult ESL or LINC classes
Do you know an adult that is interested in improving their English language skills for work, study or daily
life?
Through the Continuing & Adult Education department, the Peel District School Board offers a wide
variety of English language classes that help parents experience success in Canadian English in both
listening/speaking and reading/writing. Courses are designed for a range of basic, intermediate and
advanced English (Levels 1 to 7) as well as the more experienced learner needing to prepare for an IELTS
exam.
Classes are ongoing - Register anytime.
All learners that complete a session will earn a certificate of learning from the Peel District School Board.
Classes operate from six locations in Brampton and Mississauga with three specially designed adult
centres at:
 Bramalea - Adult Education Centre - 25 Kings Cross Road, Unit 3
 Brampton - Adult Education Centre - #300 - 7700 Hurontario Street
 Mississauga - Adult Education Centre - 100 Elm Drive West, Room 117
To learn more or to register, call 905-270-6000
Also, visit www.peelschools.org/adulteducation or follow us on Twitter: @PDSBLearnESL
Safety of our Students is our Top Priority
Throughout the school year, incidents in our school communities happen. Our staff take
precautions to emphasize street-proofing skills with your child. However, we feel that it is
important that you take an opportunity to review safety procedures with your child.
Peel Police have provided the following safety guidelines if your child encounters
a stranger:
 Tell your children to never go anywhere with a stranger, not to talk to strangers and never
take anything from them. You also have to teach them what a "safe stranger" is in case they
need help. A safe stranger includes a police officer, a cashier, a fire fighter, etc.
 Remind your child to never walk alone—always walk with a group.
 Develop a "what if" game for the kids to get them thinking of how they would respond if
they felt threatened or afraid.
 Know who your children play with and where they go. This includes keeping a list of their
friend's addresses and phone numbers.
 Remind your children not to take short cuts through parks, ravines, or other secluded
areas.
 Your child's body is private. Tell your child that no one may touch the area their bathing
suit covers. If someone does or tries to touch them, they should advise you immediately.
 Teach your children to talk to you immediately when someone does anything that makes
them feel strange or uncomfortable. Listen when your children are trying to tell you about
something that bothers them and provide them with support and understanding.
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Tips for riding the bus:
Take a seat as quickly as possible, put belongings under the seat and stay seated.
Never stick anything out of the window, including part of your body.
Refrain from eating on the bus. If a choking incident occurs, the driver may not be able to
help immediately.
Wait until the school bus stops before standing up to exit the vehicle.
Tips for exiting the bus:
When getting off the bus, take two large steps away from bus. If you have to walk in front
of the bus, do so at least three metres (10 giant steps) away from the bus.
The driver must be able to see students exiting the bus and will give a signal when it is safe
to cross. If more than one student is crossing in front of the bus at the same time, they
should cross in single file.
Children must never reach for something that is under the bus without the driver’s
permission. Let the driver know that something is under the bus or wait until the bus
moves out of the way.
Tips for walking to school:
 Help your child establish a safe, direct route to school. Avoid potential safety hazards such
as train tracks, busy intersections, and reinforce what safety precautions to follow.
 Stay on sidewalks whenever possible. If there is no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the
road and walk facing traffic.
 Cross streets at intersections and at crosswalks and learn to look to the left, the right, and
the left again before proceeding.
The
Wait
until trafficof
comes
to aReasoning
stop before crossing. Make sure drivers see you before you
Importance
Spatial
cross. Don't assume the driver will stop for you.
It's Time to Register Children
The Importance of Spatial Reasoning
Spatial Reasoning involves the location and movement of objects and ourselves, either mentally or physically, in space.
It is not a single ability or process but actually refers to a number of concepts, tools and processes. (National Research
Council, 2006)
Spatial reasoning involves an understanding of relationships within and between spatial structures and, through a wide
variety of possible representations (from drawings to computer models), involves the means to communicate about them.
When a child rotates a rectangular prism to fit into the castle she is building at the block centre in Kindergarten, she is
employing spatial reasoning, just as is the student who uses a diagram of a rectangle to prove that the formula for finding
the area of a triangle is ½ b x h. Spatial reasoning informs our ability to investigate and solve problems, especially nonroutine or new problems, in Mathematics.
The Ontario curriculum combines spatial sense and geometry into one strand (as do many curricula around the world)
because spatial sense and geometry are inherently linked. Geometry deals directly with measuring and moving objects in
space. Geometry is the foundation of mathematics as we know it today; it was developed to explain phenomena and
solve problems that bore directly on daily life, such as how to measure time or navigate across the sea. Spatial thinking
gave birth to the earliest forms of sophisticated mathematical thinking. And yet, despite its importance, research has
shown that, in North America, geometry receives the least amount of time compared with other strands in classroom
instruction.
We are just beginning to understand the interplay between spatial reasoning and mathematics learning. We know that by
focusing on spatial thinking, we can tap into a diversity of student strengths. A focus on spatial thinking allows
mathematics to become more visual, and connects with what “real” mathematicians do when they are exploring patterns
in the world and making discoveries. By exploring the spatial aspects of mathematics, we make it more accessible, more
engaging and more relevant. Albert Einstein conceived his theory of relativity, which produced possibly the most
familiar equation of all time (E = mc²), by visualizing himself riding a beam of light. Stephen Hawking has explained
that “by losing the finer dexterity of my hands, I was forced to travel the universe in my mind, and try to visualize the
ways in which it worked”. We need to continually foster students’ creative engagement in mathematics, and paying
attention to spatial thinking is a key to doing so.
Spatial Reasoning Can Involve:
- moving one’s body in space
- creating or designing objects
- comparing objects
- manipulating objects
- imagining objects moving in space (mental rotation and transformations)
- locating objects and remembering locations of objects
- creating and reading maps, graphs, and other visual data
- diagramming (e.g., representing a 3-D object on a 2-D surface; representing a process, such as a flow chart, which
requires abstract visualization)
- scaling up or down (imagining objects or amounts as proportionally larger or smaller)
- visualizing
- perspective-taking (considering the perspective of someone who is in a different location, such as how his or her view
of an object might be different from your own)
- shifting dimensions (i.e., seeing connections between 3-D figures and 2-D representations)
- composing (i.e., physically or mentally combining shapes to make different shapes, such as two triangles joining to
make another triangle)
- decomposing (i.e., physically or mentally taking shapes apart, which involves seeing the shapes that may be embedded
within other shapes)
Born in 2013 for Kindergarten!
Register at Springfield Now!
We inspire success, confidence and hope in each student…and it all starts in kindergarten! If your child was born
in 2013, he or she can start kindergarten in September 2017. You can register your child for Kindergarten at
Springfield anytime during regular school hours – 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
What you will need to bring to registration
Proof of child's age
 Canadian birth certificate
 Canadian passport
 citizenship card/certificate
 Permanent Resident Card
 confirmation of permanent residence
 work permit
 refugee permit
Proof of address
 Ontario driver's license
 utility bill
 bank statement/client slip (directly from financial institution)
 credit card statement
 federal government forms (e.g. Social Insurance Number, Service Canada documents)
 purchase agreement
Proof of custody – children must live with their parent(s) unless provided documentation supports an alternate
living arrangement
Proof of immunization – proof that your child has been immunized/vaccinated
Extended-day program for kindergarten students
Families have the option of enrolling their child in before and after-school programs developed by the Ministry of
Education to complement the full-day kindergarten program. These programs are run by qualified, experienced
staff from our childcare partners. At registration, we will ask families to tell us whether they are interested in the
extended-day programs. The programs can only run if there is enough interest among families.
Important information about immunization
In order to attend school in Ontario, your child must have an up-to-date immunization record. When you register
your child for school, you will provide a copy of your child's immunization record and the school will send it to
Peel Health. After registration, keeping your child's records up to date is your responsibility. Peel Health reviews
immunization records regularly. Students who are not completely immunized and do not have a valid exemption
may not be allowed to attend school.
For information about immunization, or to get a copy of your child's record call Health Line Peel at 905-799-7700.
Translation services are available.
Springfield Public School
May 2017 (Updated)
Sunday
Monday
1
Day 6
Awards
Assembly
9:15 am
Tuesday
2
Day 7
Kindergarten
Concert
1:00 pm
Wednesday
3
Day 8
Spring Picture
Day
Thursday
4
Day 9
Friday
5
Gr. 5s to
Crawford Lake
Dinosaur
Club
Gr 1 – 6
11
12
Day 10
Saturday
6
Pizaa Day
7
14
8
Day 1
9
Day 2
Pizza Day
Spring
Book Fair
Spring
Book Fair
Gr. 2 Trip
to Mountsberg
Conservation Area
15
Day 6
16
10
Day 3
Spring
Book Fair
Day 7
Day 8
13
Day 10
20
Spring
Book Fair
School Council
6:30 pm
17
Day 5
Dinosaur
Club
Gr 1 – 6
Spring
Book Fair
Black History
French & English
Arts Presentations
Pizza Day
Day 4
18
Day 9
Forest of Reading
Trip to Powerade
Centre
19
Dinosaur
Club
Gr 1 – 6
FI Gr. 6s Visit
Homelands Sr.
10:00 – 1:00
Homelands FI Info
Night 6:30 pm
21
22
Day 0
23
Day 1
24
Day 2
EQAO Testing
Grade 3
Victoria Day
(No School)
25
Day 3
EQAO Testing
Grade 3
26
Day 4
Dinosaur
Club
Gr 1 – 6
EQAO Testing
Grade 3
28
29
Day 5
EQAO Testing
Grade 6
Pizza Day
30
Day 6
EQAO Testing
Grade 6
Shavuot
Begins
31
Day 7
EQAO Testing
Grade 6
Be a Reader-a-saurus!
Read for
15 to 20 min.
EVERY night!
27
Ramadan