Dear Parents/Guardians:

We’d like to begin this month’s newsletter by congratulating the many students who were recognized for

demonstrating co-operation, our character attribute for April, participated in the many sports, Rm 9 and

their efforts with the Humbolt Hockey tournament that raised $807.20, International Day of Pink, and

Brushamania just to mention a few. It has been busy but we are very proud of the students for their

leadership such as Mental Health Ambassadors that culminated in a fantastic Mental Health Day Fair.

Thanks to the school staff and parent community for all the support throughout the month.

Presteign Heights recently participated in the TDSB International Day of Pink at the East York Memorial

Arena. For all of Gr 5 students, it was a fantastic experience. Eric Radford, gold medallist in the winter

Olympic games spoke along with Marissa Papaconstantinou, a Paralympic athlete. Every moment

generated goosebumps due to the powerful messages relayed about inclusion, acceptance and tolerance.

The pinnacle moment was when all the students got onto the ice skating together from our 3 neighbouring

schools. Geez, that was a sight to behold. Students were holding hands, supporting each other hand over

hand and chaperoning others that needed support on their skates. It was truly a magical moment. I will

remember it for a long time. Our parent in Ms. Grassi’s class, Ms. Ward arranged for Eric to speak to us!

We had an incredible concert performance that took place as our primary staff and students took center

stage. Thank you parents for coming out to support this great event and to our staff and students for all

their hard work to make this a success!

The month of April also featured our annual School Clean-Up Day and we are most proud of the

environmental leadership among our young students and the great role modeling by staff. While days and

events such as this go a long way to keep our school and community clean, we hope we can do even better

collectively on a daily basis. Thanks to Janet Bewers for partnering with the school to donate tree seedlings

for all the students to take home. Wow!

It’s truly an honour to serve the students, staff and community at Presteign Heights.

Sincerely, Peppi Kondilis-Minos

Asian Heritage Month Jewish Heritage Month Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month 1 Beltane* Wicca/Pagan 1 Nisfu Shaban 2 Twelfth Day of Ridvan Baha’i TBA Sukyamuni Buddha’s Enlighment Buddism 3 Vaisakhi Puja (Buddha’s Birthday) Buddhism 10 Wesak or Vesak (Buddha’s Birthday) Tibetan Buddhism 10 Ascension Day 11 Crescent Town Cultural Exchange Assembly 1:00pm 15 International Day of Families UN 16 – Jun 14 Ramadan 17 International Day Against Homophobia Grassroots LGBTQ And Transphobia 17 Pizza Lunch (Jersey Day) 17 International Family Visibility Day Grass Roots LGBTQ 21 Queen Victoria Day Public Holiday 24 Kindergarten Orientation 1pm 23 Declaration of the Ba'b* Baha’i 25 African Liberation Day Rastafari 26 School Fair 11-2pm 29 The Ascension of Baha’u’llah* Baha’i 29 Tibetan Buddha’s Enlightenment Buddhism (Saga Dawa) 29 Wesak or Vesak (Buddha’s Birthday) 31 World No Tobacco Day WHO

May 2018

Presteign Heights Elementary School Proud to be a Platinum Eco-School 2570 St. Clair Ave. East, Toronto, Ontario M4B 1M3

T:416.396.2430 F:416.396.2347

Peppi Kondilis-Minos, Principal

Lucy Giannotta, Superintendent

Sheila Cary-Meagher, Trustee

Email: Presteign@tdsb.on.ca

School website:

http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/presteign/

The Mindful Yoga Club 2018

We have had yet another successful

running of The Mindful Yoga Club this year!

Let’s set the scene: a slightly darkened

library brimming with students on yoga mats, while

calming music plays in the background. Sitting in

Easy Pose, the chime rings as we close our eyes

and listen to its sound gently disappear. We begin

creating a wide variety of poses including, “Owl”,

“Tree” and “Unicorn” (some of our favourites). We

always end in the “Do Nothing” pose while listening

to relaxing beach sounds as scarves float above us

like waves in the sea.

How refreshing! Another big thank you

goes out to all the students who attended The

Mindful Yoga Club this year. Namaste everyone!

Sincerely,

Ms. Koheil, Ms. Freris and Ms. Ramphal

Elementary Summer School

Elementary summer programs increase engagement and build self-

confidence in our students. This summer, from July 4 – 27, we are

opening schools across the city to help build reading, writing and math

skills in students from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Visit

www.tdsb.on.ca/summer for a complete list of participating schools.

@TDSB_ConEd

Track and Field team competing at Birchmount on May 16

Many students will be representing our school at the meet at

Birchmount Stadium. This will come after several weeks of

commitment and practice and we are very proud of each of our

students for participating. Our students will represent our

school with great pride and will put forward their best effort.

Gooooooo Presteign Panthers!!!!

TDSB Celebrates Jewish Heritage Month

In April 2012 the Ontario Parliament unanimously passed

legislation naming May as Jewish Heritage Month. This month is

an opportunity to build understanding and awareness of notable

Ontarians of Jewish heritage and identify how they have

contributed to our City, Province and Country. Across the board,

schools will also participate in activities, research, and

discussions about the Jewish culture, identity, history and

heritage.

TDSB Celebrates Asian Heritage Month

The month of May is Asian Heritage Month – a month that acknowledges the

rich history of Asian Canadians and their contributions to Canada. Asian

Heritage Month is an opportunity for all to celebrate the beauty and wisdom of

various Asian cultures. Since its inaugural celebration in Toronto in 1993, and

the official passing of the motion in The Senate of Canada, cities across the

nation including Halifax, Montréal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, have

been holding annual festivities during the month of May to recognize Asian

Heritage Month.

The S.T.E.M Challenge is coming up on June 5th!!! Save the

date! Don’t forget to submit your ticket to win a Lego Land

Family Gift Certificate

I really would love to tell you about our exciting school-wide

S.T.E.M challenge. The students from kindergarten to gr.5 are

participating in this challenge. Some of us are learning how to

design and build a prototype shelter while others are learning

about the effects of materials that are sustainable. We are

learning what materials will withstand the wolf blowing down the

houses in the story of “The Three Little Pigs”. We are

researching about wolves and then plan what kind of shelter is

eco-friendly to build. All of our classes have collected a LOT of

recycled materials to build with. Let’s see what everybody creates

to address our inquiry questions. We are building our structures

and thinking about it.

You can drop off your ticket to win the gift certificate in the main

office inside the orange draw box.

Good luck!

Yoga at Presteign Heights!

Healthy Hikes – May 2nd – October 31st

Healthy Hikes is an annual health and wellness initiative of

Conservation Ontario. Each year, families in Ontario are encouraged

to boost their health by stepping into nature at any one of Ontario’s

Conservation Areas from May to October. Visit the events calendar at

http://healthyhikes.ca/events-calendar to join a guided nature walk in

one of our local Conservation Areas.

May 28 - June 1, Bike to School Week at the TDSB Let’s get rolling! Join students and teachers across the province in celebrating Bike to School Week. Schools participate in Bike to School Week by encouraging their students to walk and roll to school, and by holding events both inside and outside the classroom to promote the benefits of active transportation. For more information and resources, please visit our Bike to School Week web page www.tdsb.on.ca/ecoschools. Pedestrian Safety - Safety Tips for Parents Children under nine should be accompanied by adults or older children when crossing the street. At this age, their judgment and perceptual skills are still immature, yet they often eagerly try to cross streets on their own in order to demonstrate some independence. Teach your children the rules of the road - start when they're young. Think of it as gradually training your children about safety until all the connections are in place. By the time your child reaches age nine and can act independently, the road safety rules will be second nature. With the nicer weather there are more pedestrians! - Teach children how to cross the street safely. Teach them to stop (before stepping onto the road), look left, right and left again, and listen for traffic before stepping out into the street. Teach children to wait until the street is clear and to keep looking until they have crossed the street. They should also look the driver in the eye before crossing. - Teach children to recognize pedestrian crossing signals but not rely on them. Before crossing, children should also be sure the traffic has stopped. Remind them to continue across if the light changes to "Don't Walk" while they are in the crosswalk. - Teach children to be extra alert when crossing at a corner with no traffic lights. - Teach your children to stop at driveways, alleys and areas without curbs and to never run out onto the street. - Teach children about the dangers of crossing the street between parked cars or when not at a corner. Children should cross only at corners and pedestrian crosswalks, not diagonally or between parked cars. - Teach children to respect the role of the crossing guard and to understand his/her signals. - Teach children that wherever possible they should walk on the sidewalk. In areas without sidewalks, teach children to walk as far away from the road as possible, facing approaching traffic (when there is no choice but to walk on the road). - Teach children that playing games at railway crossings or around trains can be deadly. Teach children that the only way to cross railway tracks is to use designated railway crossings. Let’s all be supportive and be good role models to ensure student safety.

May is Get Outside Month at the TDSB

May is Get Outside Month at the TDSB and this

year, teachers are introducing theme-based,

curriculum-connected activities for each day of the

month. These lessons, designed to support

teachers teaching in the outdoors, will focus on

inquiry, active citizenship, and making connections

to the real world that are ideal for our school

grounds.

Stay connected and follow @TOES_TDSB on

Twitter. Families can also get a daily dose of nature

in May by joining the Suzuki Foundation’s 30x30

Nature Challenge at http://30x30.davidsuzuki.org/.

Get outside to a neighbourhood park, garden, trail,

ravine, or beach for 30 minutes a day for 30 days in

May and spend time in nature!

Earth Day Clean Up at Presteign!

We celebrated Earth Day on Monday April 23rd.

Everybody was outside and responsible for cleaning up

certain areas of the grounds to ensure all the areas were

covered. We had a great time be eco stewards of the

environment. We collected nearly 50 bags of organic

matter and then at least a dozen bags of garbage.

Presteign Heights ES

Our annual Presteign Heights Spring Fair is Saturday, May 26th from 11:00am to 2:00pm, rain or shine.

We are in desperate need of volunteers to help make this event a success. You can sign up on our easy online sign up

volunteer system - choosing the time and activity that suits you! Click on this link to sign up

now: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/2291463/false#/invitation

If you prefer to sign up the traditional way, fill out the form sent home with your student this week and submit it to the

Presteign office.

Bake Sale sign up sheet is posted on the front doors.

We are still accepting silent auction items. Please email us at presteignhs@gmail.com

Home and School Nominations for the 2018-2019 school year will take place at our next Home and School Meeting on

Monday, June 18th in the library. There are many ways you can help out from helping organize an event to providing

input and feedback as to how we can better support our school!! We’d love to see you there!!

H&S

Home and School Association