FROM THE ADMINISTRATION As we enter in the month of March, I am hoping that we begin to see signs that our extremely cold win- ter is coming to an end. There have been quite a number of cold weather alerts, resulting in many early morning entries and indoor recesses. The past month has been very busy at Michael Cranny; both inside and outside the classroom. Inside all classrooms, students continue working diligently in all areas of the curriculum, as they strive to meet their academic goals for the second term. In all homerooms, I am happy to report that math inquiry and the use of mini-lessons continues to be part of regular classroom practice. As students work through math problems, I have noticed an increased level of student engagement. With increased engagement, I believe that students will be able to retain knowledge and more importantly apply their understanding of a particular concept/skill to other math problems. Beyond the classroom walls, our students engaged in some outdoor winter fun. Our grade four to eight students took part in two days of Winter Electives, where students chose to downhill ski, snow tube or participate in a stay-back program which involved various activities linked to the Ontario Curriculum. In addition, we held a Winter Olympics Days, where our intermediate students led our students in vari- ous Olympic-style activities. These events truly engage students in some physical fitness and fun! For those parents with children in grades 3 and/or 6, please note that your child will be participating in the grade 3 and 6 standards based assessment, known as EQAO. This year, grade 3 students will be participating in the assessment between May 26th to 30th, while the grade 6 students will be participat- ing between June 2nd to 5th. Please ensure that you don’t book any family holidays and/or medical appointments during this time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school. As many parents and educators are aware, EQAO assessments are used in schools to plan for continuous student improvement in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The school based results assist in develop- ing goals for improvement, namely by targeting areas in the curriculum which may require additional focus. At Michael Cranny, we continue to demonstrate improvement in our academic performance! As reported by the Fraser Institute, we achieved a score of 8.8 out of 10, which places our school in 89 th out of 3030 Ontario Schools. This is quite an accomplishment! Bravo! You can access more informa- tion at www.fraserinstitute.org/report-cards/school-performance/overview.aspx . Our School Council and their fundraising efforts continue to raise money to support student learning and well-being. During this month, please consider ordering a magazine subscription from our QSP Magazine Fundraiser that will be launched on March 26 th. All monies raised will go towards the pur- chase of additional books for our library and math resources to support our students. The staffing process for the 2014-2015 school year is well underway. As part of this planning process, it is very important that you communicate with your child’s teacher and the office if you plan to move, resulting in a possible change of school. Staffing of schools is based on specific numbers of students expected to attend. This includes students registering for Kindergarten. As a result, if you are aware of a family friend and/or neighbour that reside in our enrolment area, please encourage them to register at Michael Cranny for the Full Day Every day Kindergarten Program. Parents with a child born in 2010 are encouraged to register as soon as possible for Junior Kindergarten starting in September. As a reminder, March Break begins on Monday, March 10th. The first day back is Monday, March 17 th . On behalf of the staff, we hope that you and your family have a safe, relaxing and fun-filled break. Sincerely, Dennis Rossi Principal Dennis Rossi Head Secretary Anne Kaufmann Secretary A Shari Kimel Caretaking Team Renato D’Andrea Doug Mclean Dave Willis Superintendent of Schools Susan Logue (905) 764-6830 Trustee Anna DeBartolo (416) 898-9653 155 MELVILLE AVE. MAPLE, ON L6A 1Y2 TEL: 905.832.4922 FAX: 905.832.0807 EMAIL: [email protected]WEB: www. yrdsb.ca/schools/ michaelcranny.es
Transcript
FROM THE ADMINISTRATION
As we enter in the month of March, I am hoping that we begin to see signs that our extremely cold win-
ter is coming to an end. There have been quite a number of cold weather alerts, resulting in many early
morning entries and indoor recesses.
The past month has been very busy at Michael Cranny; both inside and outside the classroom. Inside all
classrooms, students continue working diligently in all areas of the curriculum, as they strive to meet
their academic goals for the second term. In all homerooms, I am happy to report that math inquiry and
the use of mini-lessons continues to be part of regular classroom practice. As students work through
math problems, I have noticed an increased level of student engagement. With increased engagement, I
believe that students will be able to retain knowledge and more importantly apply their understanding
of a particular concept/skill to other math problems.
Beyond the classroom walls, our students engaged in some outdoor winter fun. Our grade four to eight
students took part in two days of Winter Electives, where students chose to downhill ski, snow tube or
participate in a stay-back program which involved various activities linked to the Ontario Curriculum.
In addition, we held a Winter Olympics Days, where our intermediate students led our students in vari-
ous Olympic-style activities. These events truly engage students in some physical fitness and fun!
For those parents with children in grades 3 and/or 6, please note that your child will be participating in
the grade 3 and 6 standards based assessment, known as EQAO. This year, grade 3 students will be
participating in the assessment between May 26th to 30th, while the grade 6 students will be participat-
ing between June 2nd to 5th. Please ensure that you don’t book any family holidays and/or medical
appointments during this time. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school. As
many parents and educators are aware, EQAO assessments are used in schools to plan for continuous
student improvement in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy. The school based results assist in develop-
ing goals for improvement, namely by targeting areas in the curriculum which may require additional
focus. At Michael Cranny, we continue to demonstrate improvement in our academic performance! As
reported by the Fraser Institute, we achieved a score of 8.8 out of 10, which places our school in 89 th
out of 3030 Ontario Schools. This is quite an accomplishment! Bravo! You can access more informa-
tion at www.fraserinstitute.org/report-cards/school-performance/overview.aspx.
Our School Council and their fundraising efforts continue to raise money to support student learning
and well-being. During this month, please consider ordering a magazine subscription from our QSP
Magazine Fundraiser that will be launched on March 26th. All monies raised will go towards the pur-
chase of additional books for our library and math resources to support our students.
The staffing process for the 2014-2015 school year is well underway. As part of this planning process,
it is very important that you communicate with your child’s teacher and the office if you plan to move,
resulting in a possible change of school. Staffing of schools is based on specific numbers of students
expected to attend. This includes students registering for Kindergarten. As a result, if you are aware
of a family friend and/or neighbour that reside in our enrolment area, please encourage them to register
at Michael Cranny for the Full Day Every day Kindergarten Program. Parents with a child born in 2010
are encouraged to register as soon as possible for Junior Kindergarten starting in September.
As a reminder, March Break begins on Monday, March 10th. The first day back is Monday, March
17th. On behalf of the staff, we hope that you and your family have a safe, relaxing and fun-filled break.
Cranny is such an amazing school! We just did school wide winter Olympics Games and several spirit
weeks. But as a whole, we all need to be reminded that we are a non-bullying school and that we should be
caring for others! In the month of January, we wore the colour pink to show that we can stand up to bullying,
and we looked ridiculous by wearing our shirts inside out and backwards to show that we are proud to be dif-
ferent. Though that month we were sure that our school is a very supportive and a caring school. We did so
much more to make us want to care for others and we should keep it up! There is so much you can do to put
just a smile on someone’s face. It can be anywhere from standing up to a bully, to helping someone pick up
their dropped items to just holding a door open for someone and greeting them. Even though we haven’t had
any special events, there are posters all around the school to remind us to do the right thing. And if you really
want to be the most caring person, go to a local food drive and donate some non-perishable food items -like
what we did for our food drive in December- or find some loose change in your pockets and support Sick Kids
Hospital. Every penny counts! So get up on your feet and show that you care! Remember helping doesn't al-
ways mean donating, you can always try to make the world a green place. As caring as our school is, we are
also a very healthy school. We have reduced the consumption of junk food and tried to limit our meals from
all the four food groups. Healthy doesn’t always mean having a very good diet it also means exercise. Re-
cently, our school participated in JUMP FOR HEART to promote exercising and preventing heart attacks.
Hope our advice inspires you to continue your daily habits. We are making efforts to make this a very friendly
and a fun school. GO COBRAS!
- Hiya S., Sophia W. and the Cranny Cares Division of the Student Council
The Athletic Committee
So far in the year, the athletic committee has
made great progress in terms of satisfying the
students as well as the staff by getting everyone
involved and active. We are thriving to create
an active, healthy environment while making it
a fun process. This committee aims to leave a
positive impression on healthy living and en-
courages students to do so outside of school as
well. In fact, in the month of February, the ath-
letic committee scheduled a day to replicate the
Olympics, as well as a ski trip to Snow Valley.
Due to positive reactions from Cranny, we
would like to continue planning such activities
in the near future.
- Sara S. and the Athletic Committee
Division of the Student Council
Michael Cranny E.S. Page 5
Dear Members of the York Region District School Board Community:
As you may be aware, our current director of education will be retiring as of
July 31, 2014. The important responsibility of selecting his successor now becomes the task of the Board of Trustees.
We have engaged the services of Laverne Smith & Associates, a leading Canadian firm that has worked extensively with school boards and other public sector organizations across the country. Dr. Laverne Smith, our consultant, will be assisting us by gathering input from you, the educational com-munity.
Your input into the qualities and characteristics that you would like to see in the new director of edu-cation is critical. Please take a few minutes to complete the linked online survey which comprises four questions. The survey results will be submitted electronically directly to Laverne Smith & Asso-ciates. All responses will be held in strict confidence by the consultant.
Please submit your response by Tuesday March 18, 2014. If you require more time to complete the survey, responses will continue to be accepted after this deadline.
Thank you in advance for your time and input.
Yours truly,
Anna DeBartolo and Diane Giangrande
Co-Chairs of the Search Committee for Director of Education
York Region District School Board
Let’s All GO BANANAS!
QSP Magazine Fundraiser Coming March 27th!
Beginning March 27th, Michael Cranny students will be selling magazines from QSP. For
online orders, please visit www.qsp.ca and enter our school code 10081. A portion of all sales
will go towards our school and students will be able to earn prizes, such as
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