April 2021
Good Day Mount Royal Families:
With three months to go for this school year, there is so much work to still do. Part of this work is to ensure student success is at the forefront of all decision making. This whole academic school year has been trying for staff, students, and our community. Through all of this, Mount Royal made it their mission to stay connected to families, provide you with the best possible education for your children, continue to attend to your personal needs and most of all provide compassion for everyone.
In the month of April, the Peel District School Board honours Sikh Heritage Month. On April 9, 2019, as part of the board’s commitment to equity and inclusion, the Peel board approved a motion to recognize and celebrate Sikh Heritage Month in April. The month of April was declared Sikh Heritage Month in Canada after a Member of Parliament brought forward a bill, which was unanimously passed and received royal assent from the Governor General. Ontario was the first province to declare the month of April as Sikh Heritage Month in 2013.Throughout the month of April, we encourage staff, students, families and our communities to spend some time learning about the rich heritage, history, culture and contributions of Sikh Canadians and Sikh communities throughout the world. Please feel free to share your heritage with your classroom teachers.
In addition to this, the month of April is also committed to providing education around Autism Acceptance. During the month of April Mount Royal will continue our efforts to spread awareness, promote acceptance and ignite change. Together we CELEBRATE DIFFERENCES. We encourage you to celebrate differences and become more inclusive of individuals with autism. Our Educational Assistants have been working diligently with our students to raise awareness and develop an understanding of individual student needs.
On April 6th, 2021 at 7 PM, we are having a virtual school council meeting. We are asking families to come together and help us develop a parental survey that will serve our community. We want to hear from you and need your voice to be a part of our meeting. Please join us as we collectively develop a community survey to be shared with the Mount Royal community. On April 7th, we are launching a Student Survey for grades 4-8 students to gather data from the voices of our students. The grades 7 and 8 students were given an opportunity to be a part of a board wide Student Equity Committee to ensure students have a vehicle to provide meaningful input into school and system improvement and to fulfill the Ministry of Education’s Review of the Peel District School Board. The purpose of the committee is to ensure that a broad cross-section of student voice informs the strategies to eliminate anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, and other forms of discrimination in schools and improve student learning and engagement. I had the honour of visiting classrooms virtually and sharing that their MUSTANG voice needs to be heard. Please encourage your students to be a part of this committee.
As we continue to live through this pandemic, let us not forget the importance of staying humble and kind.
Sincerely,
Mr. Aamer Zuberi
Principal – Mount Royal Public School
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FIVE ($ for FAMILIES
Dear Mount Royal Families,
Unfortunately, we were unable to run our annual food drive, mittens campaign or other traditional fundraisers this year. However, of course, the need for support for families in Peel has increased in light of Covid 19.
With this in mind, Mount Royal, and specifically, our Grade 8 students, have partnered with the Peel Learning Foundation. Here is the initiative in our Grade 8 students’ words:
At Mount Royal Public School, we try to host several fundraising events each year to help those in need and, thanks to you, we have helped so many families over the years. This year, to continue the spirit of giving at our school, we would like to present the ‘$5 for Families’ campaign to raise funds for the Peel Learning Foundation.
We found out that the Peel Learning Foundation provides financial support and basic necessities (i.e. food, clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies) to families right here in Peel.
More than 27,000 students in the Peel board face challenges that prevent them from achieving their full potential in school. Therefore, the Peel Learning Foundation’s goal is to break down these barriers, support student success wherever possible, and create brighter tomorrows for students and their families today. Moreover, with the pandemic, they have received more than four times as many requests for support as compared to last year during this time. Please help us to support our community and assist those in need during these difficult times.
Our ‘Five for Families’ initiative and the generosity of our Mount Royal families can lend a helping hand. Please support families in Peel by donating $5.00 to the Peel Learning Foundation website. Due to COVID-19, in-school fundraising is not possible, so we have been asked to make online donations only. We have set a goal of $500, and with your help, we know we can reach it!
If you would like to donate, please visit the Canadahelps.org website, which is affiliated with the Peel Learning Foundation. In the ‘Notes’ section, you are welcome to mention your child’s/children’s class — if enough parents do so, we may be able to have a friendly competition for the most funds donated by a class.
At this time, we can only accept credit card donations. Thank you so much, we truly appreciate all of your support! From March 29 to April 2, Mount Royal will be promoting the ‘Five for Families’ fundraising campaign both in our virtual classrooms and within the school building. Below is a link to our Canadahelps.org website, which was created especially for Mount Royal. This website also features a brief video of how the Peel Learning Foundation supports Peel students.https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/5-for-families-mount-royal-ps-in-support-of-the-pe/
Again, thank you for helping us to support students and families in need in Peel!
Douglas Coggon (Grade 8 Teacher)
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Learning at Mount Royal is FUN!
Thoughts from Ms. Garcia’s Class – It would have been our regular March Break so to have some fun, we had spirit days each day (crazy hair, stuffed animal day, cultural clothing, and I made pizza in from the the students and we had lunch together).
Ms. Garcia’s class also had fun creating Leprechaun traps. They were able to complete this fun activity after Ms Garcia read them a story entitled “How to Catch a Leprechaun”. The students not only designed and created their own traps, they followed up with procedural writing so others can learn how to create a trap and then gave oral presentations to the class.
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Mount Royal goes pink on April 23
On Friday, April 23, 2021, Peel District School Board schools and worksites will recognize the International Day of Pink. Unlike Pink Shirt Day, which is meant to combat all forms of bullying, we celebrate International Day of Pink in Peel to specifically combat homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.
International Day of Pink began when a high school student in Cambridge, Nova Scotia, was bullied with homophobic language because he wore a pink shirt to school. The next day, hundreds of students at his school stood up to bullying and wore pink to school to show their support for equity and inclusion.
On this day, students, staff and families from across Peel may wear pink and participate in a number of activities. Here is a list of events happening at our school:
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Celebrate Administrative Professionals’ Day on Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Peel schools will pay tribute to administrative professionals on Administrative Professionals’ Day on April 28, 2021. The day will be celebrated with special activities and events that provide teachers, students and parents an opportunity to thank the administrative staff who help support student success each and every day.
The Peel board appreciates the important job administrative staff do each school day and April 28 provides an opportunity to give these individuals the recognition they deserve.
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April – Earth Month
Earth Month encompasses the international celebration of Earth Day on April 22, 2021. This is the most celebrated environmental event worldwide. Initiated in 1970, this event has been considered the birth of the environmental movement.
Each year, more than 6 million Canadians join 500 million people in over 180 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the profusion of events and projects. Here are some ways that you can celebrate earth week with your family:
· create a backyard or schoolyard habitat
· plant a garden or tree
· start a recycling program at home
· pick up trash in your neighbourhood
· read a book about an endangered species
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Keeping children safe in and around storm sewers, waterways
Rising and fast moving water in lakes, ponds and creeks is increasingly likely during spring. Melting snow combined with spring rainfall and frozen ground that is less able to absorb water can lead to higher and faster flowing water and unstable ice conditions. Children playing in and around storm sewers and watercourses, entering storm sewers through the outfalls, and entering storm sewers through access covers is dangerous.
The following information will help keep children safe:
· water flows in storm sewers and watercourses are unpredictable and may change quickly
· toxic gases may be present in and around storm sewers and watercourses
· access is restricted, making rescue attempts difficult
· tragic falls could take place
Be safe this spring and remember the following tips:
· Keep family and pets away from the edges of all waterways.
· Unless an area is officially sanctioned for it, avoid all recreational activities on or around water and ice, especially near ice jams.
· Do not attempt to walk on ice-covered water or drive through flooded roads or fast-moving water.
· If you live close to the water, move objects such as chairs or benches away from the water’s edge to avoid losing them if water levels rise.
· Avoid walking close to or across riverbanks, shorelines and ice-covered water to prevent falling through. Riverbanks and shorelines can be slippery and unstable due to snowmelt and erosion.
· Rescuing a person or pet from icy water is dangerous. If you see anyone that has fallen through the ice call 9-1-1 for help immediately.
Please review this information with your children and let them know how dangerous storms sewers and waterways are.
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Mount Royal Public School 