Administrators’ Message..

“Achievement, Equity & Innovation”

DONALD COUSENS P.S.

By Phone: (905) 202-8120 Principal: Tracey Cox Vice Principal: Robin Cockburn

By E-mail: donald.cousens@yrdsb.ca Administrative Team: Anne Beare/Louisa Lee/Daisy Shen

By Fax: (905)202-8121 Superintendent: Dan Wu (905) 940-7800

On the Web: http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/donaldcousens.ps Trustee: Billy

April 2015

315 Mingay Ave. Markham, Ontario. L6E 1T5

Spring is finally here and we welcome the longer days and warmer weather here at school. We

continue to encourage our students to walk to school. Increased physical activity is beneficial

for good health and also improves learning and concentration when students are active before

coming to class. We would like to thank all families for your ongoing commitment to safety in

our Kiss and Ride area. Drop off and pick up times are the busiest times of the day at Donald

Cousens. Duty staff are in our Kiss and Ride at 7:55 a.m. to support a safe drop off. While mov-

ing through the parking lot and near the school, please give right of way to those crossing.

Thank you for ensuring the safety of all members of our community.

A reminder that at this time of year we are planning our 2015-2016 school year. If you are plan-

ning to move between now and September, please inform the school office as we try to have

accurate student enrolment projections to get ready for next year.

Yours in Education,

Tracey Cox Robin Cockburn

Principal Vice Principal

April is Autism Awareness Month

Wednesday April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day, and to celebrate, the staff and students

were asked to wear blue to support Autism Awareness.

Apr. 9 - School Council

6:30

Apr. 13 - Immunization Gr.

7 & Gr. 8 girls

Apr. 16 - Family Badminton

Night

Apr. 20 - Chai & Chat 9:30 -

10:30

Apr. 22 - Earth Day

Apr. 22 - 30 - Gr. 2, 4 & 7 to Milne Outdoor Education

Center

Apr. 23 Family Math Night

Apr. 24 - Together We’re

Better Conference

May 1 - Character Assem-

bly a.m.

Upcoming Events

For April

Registration for the 2015-2016 school year is now open. Children who turn 4 or 5

years old during 2015 are eligible to register. We require proof of age and proof of address at

the time of registration. For more information and links to forms, visit http://www.yrdsb.ca/

schools/Kindergarten/Pages/default.aspx or call the office at 905-202-8120.

Mark your calendar:

Welcome to Kindergarten (new JKs and parents/caregivers) on May 14 – Daytime

Are you moving before the start of the new school year?

Please let the school office know as soon as possible.

YORK REGION SKILLS COMPETITION

On May 3rd 2015 ten grade 8 DCPS students competed at the York Re-

gion Skills Competition that was held at the Newnham Seneca College

Campus. There were over 3,000 competitors from all over York Region

between grades 4 and 12 who competed in over 30 different events.

Our students competed in the green energy and TV video production challenges. In the green

energy challenge students needed to design and build a water wheel that produced electrical

energy by turning a generator. DCPS entered two teams of four that competed in this chal-

lenge and they placed a respectable fourth and fifth. In the TV video production challenge,

students had to design, shoot and edit a video about bullying. We had one

team of two compete in this challenge and they placed first in the competi-

tion! This team of two will be moving on to compete in the Ontario Skills Com-

petition on May 4th in Kitchener Ontario where they will compete against stu-

dents who have qualified from all over Ontario. We wish the best of luck to

our competitors who are moving on and thank all of them for their hard work

and dedication.

Congratulations to all of the students who have stuck to their book club commitment and continue to read and review books to be able to vote for Canada’s best books of 2015. Voting will take place during the second last week of April. April 23rd marks World Book Day, and we are hoping to celebrate this occasion with a small celebration of our reading successes during voting day! Way to go readers!

Earth day is April 22nd

...How will you choose to make a difference?

Join us in the library this month as we explore and celebrate the spring season and learn more about how we can be kind to the earth. Here are some resources worth exploring at home:

Earth Day Canada http://www.earthday.ca information and

resources about earth day

Ecokids http://www.ecokids.ca eco games and

activities for kids

Although it hasn’t felt very spring like, we are starting to celebrate the season in the library! Check out the excerpt below from Almanac.com for interesting information about how we determine when spring is supposed to happen: http://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-spring-vernal-equinox

Easter falls in April this year (April 8th). It is considered the most important religious holiday for Christians. In the Christian faith, Good Friday and Easter Sunday commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is the second most popular holiday after Christmas. Did you know… eggs became a symbol of Easter because

they represents new life the word "breakfast" originates from

"breaking the fast" after a 40 day lent period preceding Easter

chocolate sales in Canada are expected to reach $3.2 billion by 2019!

 

FEATURED ARTISTS FEATURED ARTISTS • Marcus JK Vardakas • Cynthia 5 Saxton • Athena SK Baig • Chloe 6 Burbidge • Matthew 1 Arjun • Hannah 6 Channa • Ethan 2 Ahmad • Ava 6 Iaboni • Meilly 2 Ahmad • Darrian 6 Ianboni • Rajiv 2 Ahmad • Brandon 6 Bilotta • Tathya 2 Ahmad • Donna 7 Bilotta • Jenna 4 Ducheck • Dhiva 8 Russell • Maximus 4 Ducheck • Eric 8 Russell • Rachael 4 Ducheck • Shrill 8 Russell • George 5 Forrest •

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THIS MONTH’S FEATURED ARTISTS!

Save the date!

Family Math Night Thursday, April 23rd

The DCPS Parent Council and Staff are pleased to be hosting a family math night. Invitations will go home closer to the event, but save the date if you would like some ideas about how to incorporate math in ways that are fun for the whole family!

In order to prepare for the evening, we are asking families to please send in the following items over the next few weeks instead of recycling them at home:

Large pop or juice bottles (emptied and rinsed out)

Take-out chopsticks

Empty egg cartons

gal lery

February Family Fun Night

On Wednesday February 4th, D.C.P.S

hosted its first ever dance focused

Family Fun Night! The primary and

junior families really showed us who

has the rhythm with a great showing

as they tore up the dance floor! It

was so wonderful to see families

dance the night away together

while being active.

For those who wanted to rest their feet, board games were also available in

our library for everyone to enjoy! Remember, families are always welcome to

borrow our school games. Our next Family Fun Night will be on April 13th and

we will be playing Badminton, so be sure to come with your spirit and good

character!

A special thank you goes out to Ms Norris and her friend Alessia for teaching us

some amazing dance moves! J

By: Healthy Schools Committee

DCPS Eco club is tweeting!

Follow us @DCPSEco to follow our progress towards Platinum rating and to get some great Eco tips and reminders.

Donald Cousens Public School will start its after-school

Homework Club to assist students with homework help

and study skills. This homework club will take place on

Wednesdays from 2:40 to 3:30, beginning on Wednesday,

April 8th, to May 27th, 2015.

Parents must fill out a permission slip in order for

their child to attend Homework Club.

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Breedon,

Ms. Cherbel, Mrs. Channa or Mrs. De Fry at 905-202 -

8120.

Social Justice Club needs you! This year, our contribution to our global community is to raise money so families in develop-

ing countries can purchase a goat. One goat can help provide a family with milk and income!

That’s right DCPS, you can help create change by bringing in your loonies and toonies dur-

ing the first 3 weeks of April.

Thanks for creating change in the world with your change!

For more information, visit:

http://www.freethechildren.com/get-involved/campaigns/we-create-change/

Spring Cleaning to Help Out Others

-Social Justice Book Drive-

The DCPS Social Justice Committee works hard to help out people in need, both locally and globally, as we support initiatives launched by the Free the Children Organization. Free the Children is an international charity that works closely with schools to help assist and empower all people throughout the world.

This year we have been collecting AA batteries, to help with the Zinc Changes Lives initiative. So far, DCPS has collected almost 300 batteries. Each battery makes enough zinc pills to assist 6 people. Please keep sending in any used AA batteries.

Now we are asking for help to support the Brick by Brick campaign. Please bring in any gently used, appro-priate children’s books to donate to our campaign. We will sell the books towards the end of April, in a $1 book sale. All money raised through the book sale will be given back to the Free the Children organization. So, you get to tidy your book shelves of no longer needed books, and get to know that you are doing some-thing good to help others.

Please drop off gently used, donated children’s books in the front hall. Look for more information about the book sale coming soon!

Sincerely,

The Social Justice Committee.

Twin Day

On March 12th D.C.P.S held its first Twin Day of the

year! The spirit day was a big hit, and many students

paired up with someone showing great school spirit.

The student council team is pleased to present this

year’s winners…. Ms. Currie, Mrs. Vejin, Mrs.

Ducheck, Ms. Saxton and Ms. Selvarajan classes!

They showed extraordinary spirit with these classes

coming down to a tie! Congratulations to all of these

classes! Remember, if your class did not win this

time, don’t worry, because there will be future spirit

days to look forward to!

By: Sahil (Student Council)

Perseverance Winners

Teacher Winner #1 Winner #2 Special Recognition to…

Jeyanayagam & Vaz Connie Austin

Mendoza & Lucadamo Maya Mariam Ava-Bella

Vardakas & Hamidi Derrick Issac

Baig & Zheng Athena Luca

Briggs Lucas Brandon Mabel

Arjun Matthew H Karthi Matthew H

Ahmad Suri Zanobia

Cianferro Rhys Eric

Currie Eric Jerry

Tzogas Manav Jeanette

Grant Madison

Ducheck Avani Sean Anjanee

Lyn Stephie Albert Jayden

Selvarajan Pranav Richard Jeffrey

Saxton Sarah Emma

Patmanathan Sivan Kerry

Mpindu Dominic Adam Sahil

Cherbel Amy Liam & Hayden

Burbidge Amar Emma

Forrest Larry Evan

Channa Courtney Ivy Tiffany Y

Tredree Matthia Joshua Kaden

Iaboni Alex G Alex W

Bilotta Mina Eddi Angela

Vejin/Mueller Sahil Aaliyaa

Russell Janai Kajal Eric

Bouroukis Simon Karis

MacDonald T.J.

Chen Zoheb

Virdie Shirley

DR. BETTE STEPHENSON CENTRE FOR LEARNING INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES PROGRAM

INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGES PROGRAM- SECONDARY CREDIT PROGRAM 2015-2016

Why Study International Languages at High School?

Language is our connection with our community and the world. Through language we identify the world around us, express our concerns and hopes, and share our experiences and ideas.

So what are you waiting for Grade 8’s?! Now is the time to take advantage of this opportunity and register for a Level 1 YRDSB International Language CREDIT course of your choice! We offer CREDIT courses in 13 languages at 4 high schools.

Learning another language…

can enhance intellectual functioning

strengthens first language skills and facilitates learning additional languages

creates pride in one’s own cultural background and better understanding of other cultures

enhances career options (source: http://www.ilea.ca 03/11/15)

COURSE Level 1 (Grade 9/10) SCHOOL LOCATION

MIDDLEFIELD C.I.

RICHMOND HILL H.S.

THORNLEA S.S.

UNIONVILLE H.S

CANTONESE LKC BD Saturday Saturday Tuesday

FARSI LYF BD Saturday

GREEK LBG BD Saturday

GUJARATI LIG BD Saturday

JAPANESE LKJ BD Saturday Tuesday

KOREAN LKK BD Saturday

MANDARIN SIMPLIFIED LKB BD Saturday Saturday Saturday Tuesday

MANDARIN TRADITIONAL LKM BD Saturday Saturday

MANDARIN SIMPLIFIED AP Grade 12 Course Only Saturday

PUNJABI LIP BD Saturday

RUSSIAN LRR BD Saturday

SPANISH LWS BD Saturday

TAMIL LIT BD Saturday

URDU LIU BD Saturday

SCHOOL LOCATION ADDRESS SUBMIT REGISTRATION FIRST CLASS OF CLASS

MIDDLEFIELD C.I. 525 Highglen Ave. September 19, 2015

South of 14th Ave., East of McCowan Rd. 8:45 am to 12:30 pm

RICHMOND HILL H.S. 201 Yorkland St. September 19, 2015

East of Yonge, North of Elgin Mills Road 8:45 am to 12:30 pm

THORNLEA S.S. 8075 Bayview Ave. September 19, 2015

South of Highway #7 8:45 am to 12:30 pm

UNIONVILLE H.S. 201 Town Centre Blvd. September 22, 2015 Warden Ave. & Highway #7 5:45 pm to 9:30 pm

Register online via Career Cruising commencing May 4th

, 2015.

See attached Career Cruising Tip Sheet for registration instructions

Once you have registered, print a sign-off sheet and get your parents to sign for parental approval

Students who have pre-registered will not need to register again in September

Attend the first class according to the above schedule and bring your signed Career Cruising Sign-off Sheet

Course schedules will be posted in the foyer of the International Languages school on the first day of class