December 20, 2019 Principal’s Message What a wonderful month of celebrations, kindness and caring! Thank you to all for your generosity of contributions towards the food bank, and our toy drive. What a wonderful way to help our children understand the character traits of kindness and caring! A huge thank you to everyone who came out to both our Sloane Celebrations and Pancake Breakfast! They were wonderful community events and it was lovely to see so many families here, learning and eating together and enjoying each other’s company. We know this is a busy time of year so we appreciate you coming out to the school to take part. It is this sense of community that makes Sloane such a special place to be. It’s been a busy month for students as well. Our basketball team has been selected and they will begin practicing in the new year. We also have a girls’ volleyball team which will also begin practicing in the new year. Practices for both teams will be posted on the school website so you can keep up to date. Our Grade 3 Coding Club has now wrapped up and have enjoyed watching their progress through different challenges on Twitter. With the winter weather, we do notice an increase in the number of students arriving late to school. Please help your child come to school on time. Entering with their friends makes such a difference to their day and their sense of belonging. For many students, arriving late increases their anxiety and makes it much harder for them to settle and engage in the learning. The front doors are not to be used until the second bell has rung, at which point, the student is considered late. The kindergarten door between Ms. Chan’s room and Ms. Khan’s room, and Door 3 remain open until 8:45 so please use those doors until the second bell. A reminder that the school is closed for the next 2 weeks and will re-open for classes on January 6. EDP will operate during the second week of the break and information has been sent out regarding those hours. I hope that everyone has an enjoyable, fun-filled holiday with time for family and friends. I wish everyone the best for the upcoming year! Sincerely,

Karen Thomas

SLOANE SHARKSLOANE SHARK NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

UPCOMING DATES: January: 6: Welcome back! 17: PA Day—no school for stu-dents 23 Parent Council @ 6:30 pm 24 Pizza lunch 29 Sloane Shark Day—wear your Sloane spirit wear or our school colours of blue and white 31 Character Recognition Assembly @ 9:00 CONTACTS: Karen Thomas Principal Karen.thomas@tdsb.on.ca Heather Deeprose Office Administrator Fauzia Rahim/Jackie Panagakos School Council Co-Chairs Sloaneparentcouncil @gmail.com Marc Sprack Superintendent Trustee Trixie Doyle John Malloy Director of Education

Making the Best of Winter Weather Principals are often asked how we decide whether it's too cold to allow our students out in the schoolyard for recess. Fresh air and exercise are important for children. It keeps them physically fit, and helps them stay alert all through the school day. Parents can help by making sure their children come to school prepared to spend time outdoors. Hats, mitts, boots, snowpants and a warm jacket are important to keep students comfortable during lunch and recess. But extreme cold can be dangerous, and parents want to know that their children will be safe. When the temperature is predicted to drop below -15C, the City of Toronto may declare a cold weather alert. Schools are very sensitive to the needs of our students and pay close attention to the weather, especially when the windchill is below -20 C. The TDSB Severe Weather Protocol is flexible, so that every principal can make a decision that meets the needs of his or her school. It sets guidelines for when to allow students outside for recess, when to make outdoor breaks shorter, and when to keep students inside altogether. Canadian winters can be wonderful but when the weather is cold, school staff keep one eye on the thermometer and the other on the needs of our students - a perfect balance of fun and safety. Tamil Heritage Month

SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS Thank you to everyone who helped out with our pancake breakfast! Those who helped with set-up, clean-up, flipping pancakes, buying supplies and getting poinsettias, etc. We are so grateful. We are thrilled that so many families joined us for the breakfast and hope to see you at our next event. Our next council meeting will be January 23 at 6:30 pm. A reminder that child care is provided and this is the forum for parents to give their input and hear what is happening in our school. The Holidays and Screen Time Many parents and educators are becoming increasingly concerned about the amount of time children are spending in front of screens. This continues into middle and high school where issues with social media and phone use become a major distraction and can lead to much larger problems. The research on this supports reducing the amount of time children spend on devices and in front of screens. Helping your child manage their screen time as well as what they are viewing is really important when they are young. Set up clear routines as a family that will assist them as they get older and the pull to be on their phones gets much stronger. Think about having a family board game night where all devices are put away. Make sure all phones are charged in a central place (yes, including the parents’ phones) like the kitchen so children aren’t on devices late into the night. Children will follow what we model much more than what we say. Here is a link to an article that has 8 ways you can help your child decrease their screen time. https://www.screenagersmovie.com/tech-talk-tuesdays/which-of-these-8-hacks-decrease-screen-time-take-the-hack-challenge?utm_source=Indie+Streak&utm_campaign=38d5faa731-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_08_07_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3dc2dfef78-38d5faa731-160664633&mc_cid=38d5faa731&mc_eid=9aa36cb574 Continuing Education Registration for the Winter Learn4Life term is still open with classes starting Saturday, January 12, 2019. Keep up with your New Year's fitness goals, learn a language, or even learn to tango! Take up a new sport or get ready for income tax season. Register at www.learn4life.ca Facebook.com/TDSBLearn4Life @TDSB_ConEd

The TDSB is celebrating Tamil Heritage Month in January 2019 with the theme of "Remembrance. Resil-ience. Recognition." In October 2016, the House of Commons voted unani-mously to recognize every January as Tamil Heritage Month. This month was chosen as it coincides with one of the most important celebrations for Canadians of Tamil heritage, the Thai Pongal Harvest Festival. Millions of Tamil people around the world, irrespec-tive of their religion, celebrate Thai Pongal, and offer thanks for an abundant harvest. TDSB proudly marked Tamil Heritage Month for the first time in 2016. As Toronto has the largest Tamil populations outside of the South Asian subcontinent, this committee aims to ensure that the objectives of TDSB's January's Tam-il Heritage month are reflected in the curriculum and learning objectives for students. To explore these themes, the planning committee will be inviting stu-dents to learn about the rich culture of the Tamil herit-age and how their own respective ancestry can be used to shape their future through essays, original artwork and public speaking contests. The poster for the month was designed by committee member and Wexford CI student, Ganga, and has been shared with schools across the system.

Try Hockey!

Our ESL Class enjoying their first snowfall!

Pancake Breakfast

Sloane Celebrations!

Grade 1 Balance activities

Holiday pajama sing-a-long!

Kindergartens and parents

Grades 1-5

Grade 3 Coding Club

Diversity Club preparing for Sloane Celebrations

SLOANE SHARK AWARDS Each month, each teacher awards up to three students the Sloane Shark Award. The awards are for students who demonstrate the character trait for the month. Congratulations to our December Award recipients for KINDNESS & CARING: The award recipients for this month were: Ms Chan’s/Ms Irwin’s/Ms Yasmin’s class: Zain M., Inaara B., Azaan B. Ms Khan’s/Ms Deparnay’s/Ms Rasul’s class: Eliana K., Asher L., Peter K. Ms Goldberg’s/Ms Papadakis’ class: Giorgio C., Violet C., Eliana C. Mr. Dei’s / Ms Bond-Ennis’ class: Yashwitha G., Ibrar Z., Anaya S. Ms Masood’s class: Evangeline T., Shivankh J. Ms Chattergoon’s class: Lily S., Hadia AZ., Sermeen G. Ms. Torres’ class: Huxley M., Jana S., Ian M. Ms Dewar’s class: Sahana P., Otavio M. Ms Mullins’ class: Aleena A., Chakib G. Mr. Poole’s class: Albion D. Ms Daniel’s class: Johnny P., Likhita S., Thanasi P. Ms Kobric’s class: Haneshraj M., Christian P., Athina N. Ms. Lambert’s class: Saadiya A., Hareshram M., Markos S. Ms Procopio’s class: Zuweina A., Martin U., Imaan L., Sabrina L.

Congratulations to our award recipients!