May 2016

Westwood Update

994 Carlaw Ave

Hello Westwood Families,

We had difficulty finding space in this month’s newsletter

to include all the activities, events and items we had to

share. This is an indication of how busy we have been. Our

school musical, Hairspray, Track and Field Day, Mental

Health Week, Soccer tournaments, fundraisers are only a

few of the many activities that have had us on the go all

month. Just today our girls grade 7/8 soccer team is play-

ing the quarter finals here at Westwood, and, with results

just in, they are advancing to the semi-finals!

May is also the beginning of grade 6 EQAO testing. Stu-

dents from all grade 6 classes have been writing the

EQAO test this week. We know our students will do their

best to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of

the concepts shared and the skills to be successful. EQAO

testing ends on June 6th.

As we approach the end of this school year, there are some

important house keeping items that we would like to re-

mind you of. Please ensure that all school materials are re-

turned to the school by the final week of June ( library

books, text books, musical instruments etc). Please remind

your child to clear out lockers and remove all items at the

end of the year. A stop at the “”lost and found” is advised.

Our grade 8 students are graduating on June 28th . The

ceremony will begin in gym A at 5pm. There is a limit of 2

tickets per family. If you wish to have more ,you can add

your name to the wait list in the school office.

We wish you a wonderful June!

Mr. Sprack and Mrs. Kim

COMING UP

School Council

Staff Appreciation

Luncheon– June 2

EQAO– May 31 to

June 6

PA Day– June 10

Spring Concert–

June 15 @7pm

Grade 6/7 Locker

Clean Out– June 17

Grade 8 Locker

Clean Out– June

24

Grade 8 Gradua-

tion– June 28

@5pm

Last Day of School

– June 29th

Reports go home–

June 29

Westwood’s Musical

Westwood

Students Learn Financial

Literacy

On May 25th, financial experts

visited classrooms for the day

to share strategies for manag-

ing money, investing in the

stock market , case scenarios

and other topics involving re-

sponsible ways to manage fi-

nances.

Special thanks to Ms Fay for

organizing this valuable oppor-

tunity for learning.

“Helping others in need is not only a responsibility of life; it is what gives meaning to life”. - Mollie Mart-

The Westwood Ultimate team had a great and tremendous season. Even though there were some rough patches, we managed to move on to the playoffs with our wonderful teamwork. Throughout the series of games, we worked hard and never gave up on each other even if the team messed up, and we wouldn’t have done it without our coach, Mr.Houzer. Mr.Houzer was a very optimistic and encouraging coach that never put us down, and without him we wouldn’t have gone as far as we thought. We also want to give some shout-outs to a few of our fellow team-mates. First off, we would like to give a shout out to the captains, Chris P. and Brianna B., who showed great lead-ership towards our team. Another shout out goes out to Reid with his amazing throwing skills, and Erika T. who never gave up on trying after she sadly got injured. Also, we can’t forget the rest of the team who were phenomenal and hard-working. In conclusion, we hope that we’ve in-spired you to come out next year and join the Ultimate Fris-bee family. Written By: Chiara and Nicole

Westwood Supports Fort McMurray

Ultimate Frisbee Team

Through the initiative taken by the members of West-wood's Student Council, a bake sale and freezie sale was launched with the goal of rais-ing funds for the thousands displaced by the forest fires in Fort McMurray. In total, $600 was raised and donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross. With the government matching funds raised and the Alberta government also matching funds raised, West-

wood Middle School students will be contributing a grand total of $1800 for Fort McMurray. We thank our Westwood students and fami-lies who donated baked goods for the bake sale and thank everyone for all their generous contributions to help the thou-sands affected by the fires in Fort McMurray. We are so proud of our generous, caring school community. Thank you!

2

WESTWOOD MUSICAL– A HUGE SUCCESS

On May 25th and 26th our Westwood Musical cast of Hairspray

performed to a packed house in the gym. From the opening num-

ber, “Good Morning Baltimore” through to the final dance num-

ber the audience was in awe of this talented group. Under the

musical direction of our brilliant Mr. Grieco, and the choreogra-

phy of our spirited Mr. Pantioras with the help of Anastasia Ed-

wards, this talented cast and crew exceeded all expectations and

gave us all a fond memory to behold.

It takes the dedication and countless hours of hard work by each

person who was part of this musical production. From early Jan-

uary, when the auditions first took place, and every lunch hour

and after school rehearsal and practice that took place, the dedi-

cation and hard work to produce a high calibre performance and

to give their very best was evident and unwavering.

Hairspray would not have had such a visual impact and a sense

of being transported in time , back to the 60s, if not for the spot-

on costume design. Thank you to our in –house costume design-

er, Ms Webster, for all her creative touches for the costumes,

sewing and refitting into the wee hours of the night. In addition ,

a special thanks to our amazing school council, Ms Gillespie, Ms.

McLellan and Ms Escobar, for their incredible dedication to sup-

porting and organizing our Silent Auction.

Ping Pong Craze!

Many students en-

joyed a month of

playing ping pong in

the Alumnae Hall.

Five tables were set

up and pairs of stu-

dents challenged

each other in match-

es. This new club at-

tracted countless stu-

dents and many ap-

preciated the chal-

lenge of learning a

new sport. All the

practice ended in a

day long tournament

where the final battle

for the top was be-

tween Lance Quan,

Tamara Cvijan and

Ty Bowman.

Cast from Hairspray checking their microphones .

3

Sun Safe

Behaviour

Getting your child out-

side and active is good

for their health but too

much sun can have se-

rious side-effects, in-

cluding burns, eye

damage, premature

aging of the skin and

skin cancer. We en-

courage all students to

practice “sun safety.”

What exactly does sun

safe behaviour look

like?

• Cover up: Even on

days with a moderate

UV index students

should wear a hat and

sunglasses, especially if

they'll be outside for

over 30 minutes.

• Stay cool: Students

should stay in shady

areas, particularly at

midday when the sun is

strongest.

• Use sunscreen:

Choose sunscreens

with SPF 15 or higher

that include protection

from both UVA and

UVB rays.

Screening Process for Grade 3 Students

Universal Screening Process

for Grade 3 Students

Effective September 2016,

the Toronto District School

Board (TDSB) will be intro-

ducing a universal screening

process for all grade 3 stu-

dents across the TDSB. The

purpose of this universal

screening test is to:

- Provide information to

classroom teachers about

the strengths and learning

needs of each student in or-

der to better support teach-

ers in programming for stu-

dents;

- Help teachers to know

when to bring a student for-

ward to In School Team

(IST) or School Support

Team (SST) for program-

ming suggestions;

- Improve equity of access

for all students to differenti-

ated programming includ-

ing the potential identifica-

tion of students with a gift-

ed exceptionality.

More information will also

be provided to parents in

the Fall or visit http://

www.tdsb.on.ca/

specialeducation.

COPS FOR KIDS PROGRAM

4

Westwood’s partnership with the local police encourage girls to be leaders

and develop fitness skills devoted to helping our girls succeed.

https://www.copsforkids.org/

On May 3rd all students from Westwood participated in our annual

Track and Field Day. Thanks to Mr. Dwyer, Mr. Harris, Mr. Graber

and the rest of the Westwood staff for organizing this incredible

event. Students jumped into the pits, threw javelins in the field and

raced on the track for the entire day. It was amazing to see our tal-

ented athletes persevere with endurance and enthusiastically cheer

each other on to the finish line. This day was one of our days in recog-

nition of Mental Health Week. Students and staff enjoyed a healthy

treat at the end of a long day and enjoyed the beautiful weather that

helped to make the day such a success. Students who won their

events went on to represent Westwood at the regional track and field

meets.

Now that the warmer weather

has approached us children

will be participating in many

outdoor activities like bike rid-

ing. The Toronto District

School Board and Toronto

Public Health want kids to be

safe while playing outdoors

this summer. Parents and

caregivers can "stay a step

ahead" by protecting children

when they ride.

Here's how:

1.An adult should always su-

pervise children 10 years of

age or younger when they are

using a bicycle or other

wheeled sports equipment.

Even older children may need

on-going supervision when

riding near the road.

2.Make sure children wear the

correct helmet properly when

they ride. Ontario's bike hel-

met law requires all children

and youth under age 18 to

wear an approved bike helmet

when riding a bicycle.

3. Keep children away from

traffic when they use wheeled

sports equipment. Make sure

they ride in a safe place.

4. Teach children how

to:

a. steer, brake and

ride in a straight line

b. wear the right safe-

ty gear, and

c. do a safety check

every time they ride a

bicycle, scooter, skate-

board, use in-line

skates or wear shoes

with wheels.

5 Always walk a bicy-

cle, scooter or skate-

board across a street intersec-

tion, instead of riding across.

6. Be a good role model

TRACK AND FIELD DAY A WESTWOOD

Bicycle Safety

5

Mental Health Week (May 2-6)

The GSA at Westwood took leadership for our

Mental Health Week with a Kick-Off Assembly that

included an informative powerpoint presentation

for the whole school about the importance of being

aware of mental health issues and understand ways

in which people are affected. The importance of

physical well-being and an active lifestyle as part of

Mental Health was highlighted with our Track and

Field Day, organized down to every detail by Mr.

Dwyer, in which every one of our students signed

up and participated in at least 3 events. Not only

was the weather outstanding, but we were all so

proud of our Westwood students who supported

one another in the different events by cheering

each other on and being one another’s biggest sup-

porters. The Much Music Video Dance and Mind-

fulness Activities capped off an eventful Mental

Health Week. Thank you to Ms. Arruda, Mr.

Blake, and Ms. Tidgwell, and our entire GSA for all

their hard work planning and organizing the week-

long Mental Health Week. PLEASE

PLACE

STAMP

HERE

Westwood

Middle School

994 Carlaw Ave

Toronto

M4K 3M6

Tel: (416) 396-2480

Fax: (416) 396-2254

Westwood Girls Soccer Team brings victory in Quarter Finals

against Alexander Muir Gladstone.