Happy Holidays!

What a wonderful time of year to spend with family and friends. On behalf of our entire staff at Blue Willow, we wish you a safe, memorable, and happy holiday.

See you on January 4, 2016! 

Blue Willow Holiday Toy Drive

Thank you to all of our families who have contributed to the Blue Willow Spirit Club's Holiday Toy Drive. The response has been overwhelming!

Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service Officers came to our school today to load the toys and prepare for their special deliveries! What a wonderful way to demonstrate such positive character and leadership traits, which will undoubtedly bring a smile to the faces of so many children in our community.  

A little love goes a long way...

Ready for Success Tutoring Program - Community Support

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR SCHOOL CASH ONLINE!

York Regional Police Advisory and Safety Tips

The attached community alert was sent to us by York Regional Police with a request to distribute the information to our school communities. In accordance with the Police-Board Protocol, we are sending you the press release along with the following tips to remind your children about personal safety.

Here's what children need to know:

• Their name, age, telephone number, address, city and province.  This can be done through rhyme or song.
• How to contact their parents at any time, by memorizing cell or work numbers.
• How and under what circumstances to call 911.
• To never approach or enter a stranger's vehicle.  A responsible adult would never ask a child for directions or any other question for that matter.
• Make sure they know they have a right to say "no" to an adult, especially when the adult is asking them to do something they have been taught is wrong or feels uncomfortable.  Reminding children of this right is important because children are taught from a young age to respect adults.
• To always tell parents where they will be and to never enter someone's home without their parent's permission.
• If home alone, never admit it when answering the phone. Never answer a knock at the door or speak through it.  Adults can be very persuasive.  Teach your child to call you if there is a knock at the door and if they fear for their safety, teach them to call 911.  Make sure they know that police officers are there to help them and would not get mad if it were a false alarm.
• If they think they are being followed or are in danger they should run home or to a public place.  If someone grabs them, they should try to get away, yelling and screaming while doing so.
• It is important to play in safe areas, never take shortcuts and stick with a buddy whenever possible.

 

It is never too early or too late to teach children the importance of personal safety.  Common sense, communication and consistency are the keys. Remind children to alert a responsible adult if something strange happens that makes them feel uncomfortable. Remember, crime prevention is everyone's responsibility.

For more information on this subject, visit www.yrp.ca.

Lunch Time Permissions

This is a reminder to parents and guardians that if your child has your permission to leave school property for lunch, the school must be notified in writing.
Thank you to those that have submitted permissions for the year.

If you haven't already done so and are thinking of allowing your child to leave on certain days, we require written permission before he/she signs out of the office.  Please be reminded that students who sign out are notifying the office that he/she will be away for the duration of the lunch hour (12:05-1:05 p.m.).

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Safe Pick Up and Drop Off – Parking Lot Areas

The parking lot area around our school is a very busy place during pick up and drop off times. As you are aware, school parking lots have limited spaces which must remain clear for student safety, school transportation, and emergency services.

Many students travel through this area and the volume of traffic, especially during inclement weather, may create a hazard for them.

Please be reminded that vehicles cannot be parked along the curb of our emergency entry/exit doors. This creates a dangerous situation for all.


The safety of our students is our first priority.

Thank you for your support in this matter.

York Region Public Health Immunization Clinic

Dear parents of female Grade 8 students and parents of all Grade 7 students:

This is a reminder of the upcoming  immunization clinic planned for our school.

York Region Public Health will be visiting Blue Willow on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 to offer immunization against meningococcal disease (grade 7 students) and HPV human papillomavirus (grade 8 female students) as part of their school immunization clinic program. If you would like your child to be immunized, ensure York Region Public Health has your completed consent form on or before the day of the clinic.  If you have not already mailed in a completed consent form to York Region Public Health, you can download and print an immunization consent form from the School Immunization Clinics page on york.ca. The completed  consent form can be sent to school with your child the day of the clinic.

For questions regarding vaccines or the school immunization program you can call York Region Public Health’s Immunization Program at 1-877-464-9675 ext. 73452.

www.york.ca/immunizations

Progress Report Card

Mission: To advance student achievement and well-being through public education, which motivates learners, fosters inclusion, inspires innovation and builds community.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

On Friday, December 11, 2015, your child will be receiving his/her Elementary Progress Report Card. The purpose of this report card is to communicate the progress your child has been making since the beginning of the school year. The progress report also indicates how well your child is demonstrating the various learning skills and work habits, and identifies areas where you may be able to support your child in achieving success this year. 

This report is not an evaluation or a record of achievement levels. It reflects preliminary observations of your child’s learning to date. It is our hope that this report will serve as a central part of rich discussions between home and school.

This report card informs you of the progress your child is making in each subject. 

Progress is described as follows:

 Progressing with Difficulty: The student is currently demonstrating some learning in relation to the curriculum expectations and may not achieve the learning goals of the term. The student is being supported in achieving the learning goals.

 Progressing Well: The student is currently demonstrating sufficient learning in relation to the curriculum expectations and is likely to achieve the learning goals of the term.

 Progressing Very Well: The student is currently demonstrating significant learning in relation to the curriculum expectations and is expected to achieve the learning goals of the term.

While your child’s level of progress in each subject has been completed by the respective teacher, comments may not appear for every subject. Please direct any questions you may have about your child’s report to the specific subject teacher.

Ontario Ministry of Education - Elementary Progress Report Card December 2015

Lunch Assistant Wanted

Are you available to support Blue Willow between 12-1:15pm as a Lunch Assistant? 

Are you a conscientious community member who is committed to building a safe, happy, and healthy learning environment for our children? 

If you have answered YES! then please contact the office for more information at (905) 851-0043.

Grade 4s and 5s get all "FIRED UP" over Social Studies

As an extension of our Visual Arts and Social Studies units, our Grade 4 and 5 students engaged in creative pottery with Ms. Gifford from Burnt Offerings Studio.

Ms. Gifford lead our learning teams in creating kiln fired clay pots and masks which directly related to our unit study big ideas in our classrooms. Our students engaged in the process of creating original pieces of art from hand sculpted clay to painting their work in wonderful bright colours.  

As part of this experience, Ms. Gifford will take each creation back to the studio to be kiln fired, dipped in clear glaze and re-fired for a shiny watertight finish. In approximately two weeks, our students' creative projects will be returned to school, and displayed in our library showcase for the Blue Willow community to see and celebrate!

THE BOOK FAIR HAS ARRIVED TO BLUE WILLOW!!!

Come and visit us on Family Night: 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015 from 2:45 - 7:30 p.m.

Our library is filled with everything you need to encourage the love of learning!

Authors & Illustrators:  Famous authors, beloved books & more...

Awards & Honours:  A complete list of our award-winning titles

Family Fun!  Discover the latest titles in What's New?

Got Teens? Check out our Teen Reads section!

Encourage playtime and creative growth with Klutz books,                            Activities, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction and much more!

See you at Blue Willow on Wednesday, December 2nd from 2:45-7:30 p.m.!

Snuggle Up and Read Success!

Our Blue Willow “Snuggle up and Read Evening” was a great success!! 

This event was truly a collaborative effort by our Student Leadership team, Parent Council members, teachers, caretakers, and our extended business supporters. The excitement of the evening was palpable.

Each family received a Take Home Bag which included differentiated reading strategies, bookmarks, focus fidgets, a picture book, and a parent survey. The evening began with a very engaging and entertaining Reader’s Theatre by our creative students in our Junior ASD class.

Families then joined two Read Aloud breakout sessions of their choice, where teachers read books and encouraged our families to extend critical thinking through dialogue.

With over 300 people in attendance, the community engagement was evident. We received positive feedback from our community members, and we look forward to continuing to “build our future, one branch at a time.”