Greensborough P.S.
Newsletter
“A Living School”
Greensborough Public School
JK-8
905-472-3474
www.greensborough.ps.yrdsb.ca
January 2016
From the Administrators:
We hope everyone has adjusted back into the routines of school life. the staff and students at Greensborough are right
back into the swing of things. Our basketball coaches have already been planning both home and away tournaments.
The staff and students have also been busy planning and implementing field trips, teachers versus student volleyball
games, a Scholastic Book Fair, a Trip to Ottawa (Gr. 8) and a trip to Lake St. George (Gr. 7).
Thank you to our parent community and our School Council for your continued partnership and support. Our holiday
concerts, put on by our Kindergarten and Primary students and staff were fantastic and well attended by parents. From
the Comfy Couch raffle, we collected money and filled many boxes of food, which were sent to the Markham Food
Bank. We continue to encourage everyone to become active participants in your children’s education. Whether you
come to a School Council Meeting, participate as a volunteer or come to school events, we value your presence and
what you have to offer.
An another note, all students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 are expected to go out for every recess unless we
decide that weather conditions are so poor that it would be detrimental for students to be outside. Students are to come
to school ready for winter and prepared to be outside for 40 minutes after lunch. We always monitor the weather and
in extreme conditions (e.g. wind chill) we keep the students indoors or shorten the recess breaks.
Please make sure that your children are dressed properly for our invigorating winter days. Boots, hats, mittens/gloves
and snowpants will help make recess an enjoyable time. It is advisable for students to bring extra pants and socks. A
change is often necessary due to the wet and cold weather of the winter months. To avoid adding to our clothing collection in the Lost and Found, please be sure to label all articles of clothing.
We often receive requests from parents asking us to keep their children indoors during the recess times because they
are not feeling well. Unfortunately, we do not have the staff or facilities to supervise students who are sick or still recovering from an illness. Students with colds which are serious enough to prevent them form participating in physical
education or recess, should remain at home until their condition improves. This will likely benefit the students concerned and prevent the spread of their illness.
Sincerely,
Mr. Jim Spiers
Principal
Ms. Carolyn Brndiar
Vice Principal
Character Matters Theme for January
Fairness
We are sensitive to the needs of each individual. We treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves. We interact with
others without stereotyping, prejudice or discrimination. We stand up for human rights.
Principal: Mr. J. Spiers
Superintendent of Schools: Mr. Dan Wu
Vice-Principal: Ms. C. Brndiar
Trustee: Mr. Allen Tam
Admin. Support: Mrs. P. Soman
Admin. Support: Ms. P. Targa
School Council Co-Chairs: Tina Sharma & Charles Herriott
School Council Vice-Chair: Barbara Peters
Kindergarten Registration to Commence January 15, 2016
Kindergarten registration will commence on January 15, 2016 for the 2016-17
school year. Registration forms are available on YRDSB’s website: www.yrdsb.ca.
Children who were born in 2012, 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.
When you come to register your child, please bring with you:
 Your child’s Birth Certificate, proof of citizenship or Landed Immigration Documents for child
and parent

Proof of residency (tax bill or purchase/lease agreement)
If you currently have a Junior Kindergarten student here at Greensborough and you live in the
Greensborough community, the student will automatically be placed on the Senior Kindergarten class
list for September 2016.
French Immersion Information Sessions and Registrations
Information sessions for the French Immersion (FI) program will take place at Fred Varley P.S. on January 14, 2016 at 7 p.m. FI registration will begin January 15, 2016. Parents or guardians of Senior Kindergarten stu‐
dents entering Grade 1 in 2016, and wishing to enroll 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 the designated FI program location to register between January 15 and February 12, 2016. 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 enroll.
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.
Have Fun with Literacy!
With the winter weather making an appearance this January, a
great way to keep your children busy indoors is with story telling. Take turns making up stories or create them together. This
helps children develop their oral communication skills, but also
helps them build a plot and develop characters without getting
stuck on the written aspect. With older children, have them
write, illustrate or even act out their story. This is a fun activity
that can help make a dreary winter day fly by!
Volleyball
The intermediate girls volleyball team had a short, but very productive season. The girls practiced hard and really came together to play
as a team. They were supportive of one another, and that support
came through on the court. Greensborough has a reputation of demonstrating strong sportsmanship, and this season was no different.
Although we did not come out on top overall at the area tournament,
the girls had a strong record of wins. Thank you for a great season
Gators!
The Intermediate Boys Volleyball Team was very successful this year!
They played extremely well throughout the short season. The team
played some tough teams during the preliminary games of the Area
Tournament and moved onto the semi finals. The boys battled hard and
were able to walk away with a third place finish! Congratulations boys!
Greensborough is very proud of the effort, sportsmanship and dedication that you have put forth this year!
Library Book Fair
Thank-you to all GPS families for coming out and supporting our first
Scholastic Fair of the year!! We were able to sell over $2,000.00 worth
of books to our families, which translates to MANY new books for our
GPS library and classrooms!!
Also, we want to congratulate Amin from Mrs. Maybury's class for winning the $25.00
draw!! Amin got to choose $25.00 worth of books for himself and so did his teacher!
We are looking forward to raising more money with our next Fair in
March, so watch for the signs!!
Congratulations to our December Empathy Award winners!
Teacher
Student Name
Mrs. Chomyn & Ms. Benamou
Hamzah B.
Mrs. Manohar & Ms. Mosgopoulos
Risha P.
Mrs. Qureshi & Ms. Dayal
Jace S.
Ms. Morris & Ms. Patel
Mia B.K.
Ms. Lawson
Kanimoli R.
Mrs. Semerdjian
Rahul D.
Mrs. Young
Suhnny L.
Mrs. Maybury
Mark M.
Mrs. Turner
Joanna L.
Mrs. Bayley
Vanessa P.
Mr. Primiani
Gabriella C.
Mr. Dienstmann
Gloria D.
Ms. Green
Asvitha S.
Ms. Alvi
Fatimah R.
Mr. Woods
Mandelina N.
Mr. Shanthakumar
Vishnu V.
Mrs. Kanhai
Sara H.
Mr. Schuck
Evan S.
Ms. Roveda
Chris H.
Ms. Schreiber
Mathura S.
Mr. Hambly
David L.
Mrs. MacGillivray
Hanaan A.
Mr. Quan
Yiannis Z.
Ms. Agnew
Lucas T.
Dress for Success – Winter Weather is here!
With the cold weather arriving, your child will be enjoying many daily winter
experiences such as outdoor physical education, recess, and Daily Physical Activities at school. Please make sure your child is dressed for success with:

Winter coat

Snow pants

Winter hat

Gloves or mittens

Winter boots
We look forward to continuing our learning outside this winter at Greensborough!
Building Gingerbread Houses
Congratulations, GPS, on raising $245 for "Habitat For Humanity GTA"
through the "Gingerbread House Build" in December! Thank you to staff,
We Change and Green Team for purchasing and decorating the gingerbread
houses and to all students who purchased tickets. Together we
helped families in need of housing in the GTA. Congratulations to our 5 lucky winners:
Vishwa, Jace, Eohjin, Azher and Natalie
Helping your child succeed in mathematics
Studies show that students perform better in school if
their parents or guardians are involved in their education. It is important to become familiar with the
mathematics curriculum to better understand what is
being taught in each grade and what your child is expected to learn. The mathematics curriculum document can be found here: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/
eng/curriculum/elementary/math18curr.pdf
The following are key things that you can do to help support your child at home.

Help to foster strong, positive attitudes about learning math by asking questions,
and engaging in meaningful conversations about math

Be enthusiastic, and acknowledge your child’s efforts

Take the time to discuss how math can be related to the real world
For example: at the grocery store, at the gas station, calculating and traveling distances, painting a room, participating in building projects

Help with your child’s homework and then ask him or her to explain their thinking

Make learning fun – play math games
(From Doing Mathematics with Your Child, Kindergarten to Grade 6, p. 2 & From the
Guide to Effective Instruction in Mathematics K-6, Volume 4, p. 39)
January
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
1
4
5
6
Back to School!
11
12
13
Milk Program Starts
18
20
Bur Oak visits Gr. 8
students
Boys’ BB Tournament at
Hoopdome
26
15
French Immersion Info.
Night @ Fred Varley P.S.
7:00p.m.
21
Pizza Day
27
Swim to Survive (Gr. 3’s)
8
Ukrainian Christmas
14
Pizza Day
19
25
7
Pizza Day
P.A. Day (No School)
JK Registration Begins
22
School Council Meeting
7:00pm
28
29
Pizza Day
Boys’ BB Tournament at
Greensborough
Girls’ BB Tournament at
Ashton Meadows
Wed
Thu
Looking ahead to February
Mon
1
Tue
2
3
P.A. Day (No School)
8
Swim to Survive (Gr. 3’s)
4
Pizza Day
9
10
Gregg Lerock Concert
(Gr. 4 - 10:15am)
Pizza Day
Gr. 8’s leave for Ottawa
Gr. 7’s leave for Lake St.
George
Fri
5
Girls’ BB Tournament at
Greensborough
11
12
Author visit Gr. 3-6
(Michael Wade)
Please visit our blog at
greensboroughgators.blogspot.ca
Gr. 8’s return from Ottawa
(approx. 6:00pm)
Gr. 7’s return from Lake
St. George (2:30p.m.)