January 2015
Shirley Street Junior Public School
Principal: Sheena Matheson
Principal’s Message:
Welcome back to a new school term!
•Recess at Winter
time
• Character
Corner
• School
Activities
• Concert DVD
 Kindergarten
Registration
•Upcoming Dates
January and February are especially productive months with many
planned events: A Lion Dance presentation by the students of AMG in
celebration of the Lunar New Year, Scientists in the School, 100th day
of school activities, Valentine’s Day celebrations, Fire Prevention
sessions and so much more. The Elementary Provincial Report Card
1 will be sent home on February 12th.
With the arrival of snow and cold weather, we have reminded all
students that ‘snow stays on the ground’. Students have been advised
that there is to be no snowball throwing or kicking of snow etc. Also,
some areas of the field are icy. Students are asked to stay away from
all icy spots. Please take this opportunity to discuss these behaviours.
It is an expectation that students come prepared to be outside every day.
Please ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for
winter weather including, hat, mittens, boots, snow pants etc.
Finally, I appreciate the ongoing support from our parents and
guardians. Shirley St. PS is truly a wonderful place to be!
Sheena Matheson
Character Development
Our theme for January is Teamwork!
It took a lot of teamwork for the Holiday Concert to be such a huge success.
Thank you to all the teachers, Jo-Ann and Sanja our ECEs, to Ms. Bennett our
producer and director and Biljana, Glenn, Daniel and Elana, Paulina, Rabia and
Suzanne and to our wonderful students for working so well together to put on a
great show! Thank you to the Shirley St. School Advisory Council chaired by
Alison Bates and Natascha Swyrydenko and parent volunteers who worked
tirelessly to raise funds for the school through the bake sale, silent auction, hot
dog sales and photo booth. Huge thanks to all who donated to our Silent Auction!
Finally, thank you to all the families in our Shirley St. PS community. Your
support is appreciated and makes us want to work even harder for our students!
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and IPADS!
The students in grade 1 are using the new iPADS and teacher Brent Ching has
been helping them explore the APPS and learn using this engaging new
technology.
The Kindergartens also have IPADS and teacher Mr. Welsh and Kindy teachers
Ms. Ferreira and Ms. Turco have been helping students use the IPADS to learn
letters, numbers and much more!
Milk for lunch
Did you know that students can purchase chocolate or white milk for lunch?
The cost is 75 cents a carton.
Recess during Cold Weather, Brrrrrrrr!
Elementary school students are kept indoors for recess and lunch times for a
number of weather conditions such as rain, lightning in the area, extreme
winds and extreme cold. When temperature and wind chill measure -28C or
lower, students are kept indoors. Recesses and lunch hour may be shortened
if the temperature and wind chill reading is between -28C and -20C.
Anti – Bullying Magic Show
We laughed and learned at the Anti-Bullying Magic Show on Wednesday,
January 14. Some of us are still trying to figure out “How was that done”!
We learned the 4 Secrets to overcome bullying: Anything is
Possible, Believe in Yourself, You’re not Alone and Find Your
Magic!
School Happenings!
It’s been a jam-packed few months with lots of events and field trips. There
was a trip to the Chocolate Factory (Yum!), Scientists in the School, The
Dufflebag Theatre’s production of Cinderella, and rehearsals for our Holiday
Concert.
The Concert honoured all of the festivals and special days that occur in the
fall and winter time with displays about Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah, Christmas, St.
Lucia, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year and more.
Every year the concert is so great that I don’t think we can top it and every
year the teachers and students prove me wrong! This year the performances
were fantastic and there was so much variety and creativity.
Our Strings group under the leadership of teacher Eric Watson played
beautifully. Very impressive considering that many of those students in
grades 5/6 had never played before!
Our Band under the leadership of teacher Jorge Viera was wonderful. All
those practices and classes are paying off!
The DVD of the Holiday Concert is a Bargain at $5!
Thank you to our many parents who helped at the Holiday Concert and huge
thanks to Daf Palfrey who has made a fantastic DVD of all the performances
including some great behind-the-scenes footage!
Call the school or let your child’s teacher know if you wish to purchase a
Concert DVD. They make wonderful Grandparent gifts too! 
February is Kindergarten Registration Month
Kindergarten is the first step in a lifelong journey that will see your child
learn, grow, and succeed at the Toronto District School Board. We look
forward to sharing this journey with you and your child.
To attend Junior Kindergarten in September, children must be four-years-old
by December 31. For registration in Senior Kindergarten, children must be
five-years-old by December 31.
Please visit the school in February to register.
For more information, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/kindergarten
Shirley St. PS is one of the TDSB schools that offer the Full-Day Kindergarten
Program where students will attend Kindergarten for the entire school day.
This includes a morning and afternoon schedule and a lunch break. For more
information, be sure to visit the Kindergarten home page.
For before and after school day care please contact the YMCA Daycare at
Shirley St. PS 416 849 3644.
To register, visit the main office and bring information about your child's:
1. Proof of age (a birth certificate or baptismal record or passport)
2. Citizenship (a birth certificate, passport, or Record of Landing)
3. Address (two pieces of identification that show your address, such as your
phone bill)
4. Immunization (the card that shows a list of needles your child has
received)
5. Health Card
6. Proof of custody (where applicable)
If you have friends in the Shirley Street School area, please share
this information with them.
Basketball at Shirley St. PS
Teacher Brent Ching has been coaching Jr. Basketball. The students
practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tournament date will be finalized
later in the term. GO TEAM!
Reading Club
Teacher Mr. Lucia is starting a reading club for interested students in grades
2-4. They will meet on Wednesdays at lunchtime beginning on January 21.
English Language Learners Write about Winter
Our ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher is Ms. Alison
Dyson. Ms. Dyson’s students have been busy expanding their vocabulary related to
winter weather, winter sports and winter clothing. Students painted beautiful nighttime
winter scenes depicting a full moon, snowflakes and silhouettes of animals, trees,
people and buildings with accompanying poems. It has been a good winter for
inspiration!
Please enjoy this acrostic poem by Annie Nguyen:
WINTER
Windy weather
Ice is cold and slippery
New snowflakes falling
Tall Christmas tree
Elves shaking bells
Reindeer run in the sky
Dates to Note
January 27 – Vision Clinic
February 4 – Trip to watch
Toronto Marlies Game Room 307
February 11 – Report Cards go home
February 12 – Report Card Interviews
February 13 – PA day
February 16 – Family Day
February 20 – ROM Room 307
February 27 – Ontario Science Centre Rooms 201,202,203,204,301,307
March 12 – Bata Shoe Museum room 307
March 16-20 – March Break
April 3 – Good Friday
April 5 – Easter Monday
April 22 – Lights Out Canada – lights off for the environment
April 22 – Earth Day
April 23 – SK Kindergarten Grad photo day
May 18 – Victoria Day
June 5 – PA day – assessment and reporting
June 17 – Grade 6 Graduation
June 19 – Kindy Grad
June 25 – Last day of school for students
June 26 – PA day
38 Shirley Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 1S9
Phone:
416-393-9270
Fax:
416-393-9274
Principal:
Sheena Matheson
38 Shirley Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 1S9
Phone:
416-39338 Shirley Street
Toronto, Ontario
M6K 1S9
Phone:
416-393-9270
Fax:
416-393-9274
Principal:
Sheena Matheson
Office Administrator:
Toronto District School Board Website: www.tdsb.on.ca
-9270
Fax:
416-393-9274
Principal:
Sheena Matheson
Office Administrator:
Superintendent:
Curtis Ennis
Toronto District School Board Website: www.tdsb.on.ca
Toronto District School Board Website: www.tdsb.on.ca