A. A. Martin Monthly Messages#WeInspire

March/April 2020

Key Dates:

- March 9th: Immunization Clinic Gr 7 & 8

-March 16-20th: March Break

-March 30 & 31: BRAVE

-April 9th: Immunization Clinic Gr 7 & 8

-April 16th: Community Engagement Evening (PRO Grant

-April 20 - 24th Education Week

School Trustee/Chair of PDSB

Mr. J. Marchant

(905) 599-5646

Superintendent of Education

Mr. P. da Silva

(905) 366-8800

1390 Ogden Ave, Mississauga, ON L5E 2H8

http://schools.peelschools.org/1223/Pages/default.aspx

Jennifer Fowler, Principal

Julie Christensen, Vice Principal

P: (905) 278-6104

Welcome to the second edition of our amazing new Student Created Newsletter! This month’s team has done a remarkable job of highlighting many of our in-school events from the past two months! We are incredibly proud of the hard work and dedication shown and appreciate the leadership of our Newsletter Editor - Harjosh! Be sure to read on!

February was a special month as we recognized Valentine’s day with our second annual Cookie Day! This event saw each our our students (there are over 500 of them!) cycling through the staff room to decorate (and enjoy) their very own frosted and sprinkled cookies. Special thanks to everyone who helped with the baking and organization of the day, it was a fun event!

Education Week celebrations will take place during the week of April 20 - 24th, 2020. Our school is in the process of nominating some special staff, parents and students for Awards of Distinction and we will be holding some special events (e.g., Tree Planting in honour of Earth Day). Just prior to Education Week, we are excited to host a special student and parent night. Organized by the Allan A. Martin School Council, this evening event will feature a variety of activities for families. Special thanks to Sandy Smith for her leadership and application to the Ministry for funding (Parents Reaching Out - PRO) for this evening. We are looking forward to sharing further details through a flyer in an upcoming Thursday Message! Be sure to save the date: April 16th from 6:30 - 8:30 pm!

The month of April is also busy as our Grade 7 IBT classes host Food Truck Days on Fridays in April (4th, 11th and 18th)! Students have been working hard to create and promote their products and we are all looking forward to enjoying the delicious food options. This year there is a focus on healthy selections including vegan and vegetarian too!

Lots of great activities and learning here at AAM! As you may have noticed from our Twitter feed @AllanAMartinPS we are actively engaged in our learning! Collaboration, Communication, Creativity are integral to our school success. Ms. Christensen and I visit

classrooms as often as possible and enjoy sharing posts that are re-tweeted by the school. We encourage everyone to follow along to see all of the action! If Twitter isn’t your thing, we are pleased to introduce our new @aamartinpdsb Instagram account! We have some student volunteers helping us with the photos and together we will begin to share through this Social Media platform too! Thanks to Mr. Ali for setting this account up for us!

Sincerely, Jennifer Fowler, Proud Principal of Allan A. Martin Sr. PS

Drug Free World Presentation - Vismayaa and Zoey

During the Drug Free World presentation, the audience learned about the brutally honest truth about drugs. Although medical drugs are healthy, you can only have them when prescribed by the doctor, only have the prescribed amount. An overdose of medications can result in death and the types of drugs we discussed were alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana.

Word From Our Grade 6’s

Alcohol is a highly addictive drug. Sometimes, individuals can begin experimenting with alcohol around the age of 14. The most common reason for experimenting as a young person; is peer pressure and wanting to “fit in”. Consumption of alcohol can cause you to do wild things, in which you will not remember. Another reason for having alcohol is to escape reality. Normally, they go high, but being high can numb their feeling. As most of us are aware, alcohol cannot help problems, although it can worsen them. If you are buying alcohol, and using it in excessive amounts it can wreck your chances of having a stable life.

Cigarettes are bad for your lungs, and they can cause both death and lung cancer. Much like alcohol, people want to escape their problems, so they smoke cigarettes. Hoping to run away from the madness in their lives, they smoke, affecting their lungs and people around them! Second-hand smoking is also harmful as you are inhaling the nicotine in the air! Smoking, along with other drugs, are harmful to you and the people around you.

Marijuana is now legal in Canada, but why? Most people think that the government wants to make money, while that may be true, Trudeau says otherwise. "Our country should let our citizens make their own decisions" he states. But several news articles say the contrary acknowledging that, "This way, we'll make more money". Marijuana can be used in baked goods (e.g., brownies) and many teens are getting access to these baked products. While no one knows the effects it will have on each person we do know it can be dangerous and harmful.

In addition to the presentation, they also gave us two booklets to take home and read. One booklet was about smoking and vaping and jules too. Inside it talks about a lot of real facts that you never knew before and is probably good to know. The second was about alcohol. In this booklet, it gave so many facts. You would never have known so many things without the Drug Free World Presentations and those 2 booklets. They have taught us a lot of new things we never knew before and information for all of us to make more informed decisions!

The point of this presentation was to tell kids about drugs and their harm. We had 2 presenters tell us all about drugs: when we know better, we should do better!

Basketball intramurals - Mustafa M

Basketball intramurals involve picking a team of your choice and playing against other teams. It’s super fun since you’re playing with your friends and it’s always the battle of which team is the best. It’s always a place to show your talent or your passion for basketball. You always leave the gym knowing how much better you are from being not so good to really good. You feel the energy through your body even if you’re not the biggest fan of basketball!

Cookie Day - Darshpreet & Joanne

Cookie Day took place on Feb 14, or what you might also call Valentine’s day. Cookie day was especially fun because every class got to go down and receive a cookie shaped like a heart. Then, we had an opportunity to decorate it with the frosting colour of your choice. We had an option of pink, purple, white and red! After we put frosting on it we could put an infinite amount of sprinkles. There were so many colours of sprinkles: white, purple, pink, red. We also were provided with red and pink coloured smarties on it. The whole event turned out pretty well because we all got to have a sugary treat! We left feeling the love of a warm cookie that was decorated to our liking. What a great way to end the week and celebrate love and friendship Day!

Word From Our Grade 6’s

The Forest of Reading 2020 at AAM! - Akalya G & Annie F

Have you ever wanted to read a book that was amazing? With variety and a nomination to win an award? Similar to past years, Allan A Martin is providing students with an amazing club: the Forest of Reading! This program includes books from Silver Birch Express, Silver Birch Fiction and Red Maple. They are all with amazing selections, encouraging young readers. These books inform students about situations today and have a variety of diversity, with authors of multiple races, experiences and perspectives. These amazing selections are even written by Canadian authors! We have loved these books, and it’s fun and inspiring to connect over the love of reading.

This is what students need to do. During their first meeting, students receive a passport, in which they will briefly describe the book they have read, and collect signatures from our book experts! We have about 10 weeks to complete this program. The programs include Silver Birch, Silver Birch Express and Red Maple. By the end of the program, students must have read and collected signatures for 5 books to vote for the winner!

Some of our amazing books include Inkling, Anyone’s Game, Wings of Olympus, Oculum, A Royal Guide to Monster Slaying and so many more selections! An enjoyable book that I recommend would be Inkling written by Kenneth Oppel. The book was filled with adventure and mystery. It’s an amazing choice for everybody! Inkling highlights a boy named Ethan whose father is an artist. He is not very talented at drawing, or so he says. But one day, a magical blob of ink appeared on his father’s sketchbook. This is Inkling. A project that involves drawing and gives Ethan an idea. He uses Inkling to draw these pictures for the project. Along the way, riddled with chaos, they make fun and long-lasting memories. But this doesn’t last for long. One day, Inkling fought off another creature of his kind. Will Inkling survive? Read Inkling now!

I personally loved these books as it’s a fun challenge to see how many books you can finish. There are different levels and plenty of variety as well. Students enjoy these books so much! There are always new and exciting selections of books each year. On the Forest of Reading celebration Field Trip, students will see the Silver Birch/Silver Birch Express/Red Maple book winners! Explore our endless selections available in our school library

Word From Our Grade 6’s

Skilled Trades Presentation - Pranav 6-2

At the start of February, The Ontario Skilled Trades came in to talk about their program to certain classes. They came in and taught us about different jobs the Skilled Trades had to offer, how it is possible to get in or get admitted by a scholarship or an apprenticeship, and the yearly payment and income. There are many different jobs that fall into the Skilled Trades like woodworking, construction, graphic designing and surprisingly even baking. They said that most people get a higher paycheck in the Skilled Trades than in most regular jobs. There are three ways to get enrolled into the Skilled Trades: You can get in by going to a special school and getting an apprenticeship by an instructor, you can go to college and get a diploma in the Skilled Trades or you can go to university and get a degree or scholarship in The Skilled Trades. We appreciated learning about all the important jobs that are needed and highly respected!

Word From Our Grade 6’s

Black History Month - Katia A

Black History Month is an annual observance originating in the United States, where it is also known as African - American History Month. It has received official recognition from governments in the United States and Canada. It began as a way of remembering important people and events in the history of the African Diaspora. It is celebrated in February in the United States and Canada. Allan A. Martin celebrates Black History Month by ordering books for us to read and learn more about Black History Month. We shared daily announcements about the accomplishments of Black individuals, bulletin boards that highlight the power and influence these individuals have had on our society and “Read Ins with Ms. Jackson and Ms Trikha to share the knowledge and understanding of the importance of these individuals to making our world a better place!

Black History Month - Anirudh V & Nihara T.P.

February is a special month in multiple countries, like, Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, etc. February is Black History Month. It’s a month where today’s people come together to celebrate the works of people of colour. We look back at them and admire their work that changed our world for the better and proved that the impossible could be accomplished. This year, our students are creating works of art to honour them, and their contributions. The IBT 7th graders used their knowledge of technology and art skills to create a digital portrait. The digital portrait is created using Google Drawings. This year, the focus is on famous Black Canadians who took the world by storm and created a positive impact on Canada and the rest of the globe. Some of the many honoured include Donovan Bailey, RJ Barrett, Lincoln Alexander, Anthony Bennett, Drake, and Oscar Peterson. We would like to thank those who take the time to appreciate the people who helped make our world what it is today.

Word From Our Grade 7’sForest of Reading - Anonymous

An annual reading event called Forest of Reading began on January 10th of this year. In this event, you get to read many award-winning books! Grade 7’s and 8’s can read from both Silver Birch and Red Maple, but grade 6’s can only read Silver Birch (Red Maple includes more mature content). When you finish reading a book, you have to write a summary in your Red Maple passport / Silver Birch passport and meet with the teacher who’s hosting the book. They’ll read your summary and sign your passport to prove you actually read the book. Once you have read at least 5 books in either Silver Birch or Red Maple, you can vote for your favourite book. You also get to enter a draw, and if your name gets chosen you get a prize. If you read all the books in one category, you enter a grand draw for a grand prize.

Word From Our Grade 7’sFood Truck - Anirudh Vangara

The IBT grade 7s annually hold an event in the Allan A Martin Community. In this event, apply all of their business skills and the design process to get their end-of-the-year project done. Starting from Day 1 of school, till the last week of March, they work hard and use every bit of knowledge and creativity that have into this. That event is called Food Truck. Food Truck has been running since 1994 and has always been a success. It only is a success due to the IBT student's time and effort they implement to get good results. This year, at the moment, the IBT grade 7 students have been testing out their food truck products. In December, they had focus groups with the grade 8s to inform them of their products. Luckily, there weren’t many problems that were faced! After the focus groups, using the data they had collected from the grade 8s, they confirmed their food truck products! In January, they brought in their Food Truck prototypes and tested them out with the teachers! Mr.Bell, Ms.Miller, and Ms.Cull had tasted the foods and had given their opinions to the groups. Many of the products were good. It was only a few that needed improvement. At the time you’re reading this, the grade 7’s recently, completed their business presentations, where they show the class their product, brand, company, and what’s their doing for the event. The grade 7s are making tremendous progress towards event day. The event will be in April 2020. Stay tuned for more information about the event!

3 on 3 Basketball Intramural - Harjosh V

The 3 on 3 basketball was a fun experience for everyone. There were a variety of skill groups and we included everyone to have a fun and inclusive game. The game itself was also reffed by volunteering students from the Athletic Council who kept a positive environment when the players were playing. When refs disagreed with each other or thought there was a biased call, there was a easy way for a solution through multiple teachers supervising the games. The students played in a round robin tournament style and strived to come in first place, although due to the WorkToRule Strikes cutting extracurriculars, the students were unable to finish their tournament. Like 3 on 3 basketball, there are many other intramurals coming up in Allan A. Martin, so make sure to keep up with the announcements and the sport board!

Word From Our Grade 8’s

Renaming of “The Pit” - Harjosh V

Now that “The Pit” has been renovated, we have decided to set a different name, one that can be more inviting and represents the new room. Posters have been placed around the school with a QR code that leads you to a form in which you can list as many names as you can think of! Add as many as you would like until March 31st and have a chance for your name to be picked and replace “The Pit”. The contest ends March 31st so go enter now: forms.gle/ZZ6BkCtM4qExscaS9.Good Luck!

Bus cancellation and closing schools due to bad weather

During the winter months, we may need to cancel buses or close schools because of inclement weather.

Information regarding details of cancellations or closures will be announced on radio, television stations and will also be available on Twitter @Peelschools, Facebook at www.facebook.com/peelschools, www.peelschools.org, Twitter @STOPRinfo and www.stopr.ca or by calling 905-890-1010 or 1-800-668-1146.

One of the following messages will be announced:

Peel District School Board buses are cancelledThis means that schools remain open for students and staff, but buses are cancelled. Bus cancellations could occur in all or parts of municipalities. Buses will remain cancelled all day. All activities that require busing will also be cancelled. Permits, night school classes, child care and other activities in schools will operate as usual.

All Peel District School Board schools and board offices are closedThis means that all schools and Peel board offices are closed to students and staff. All activities in schools and board offices are also cancelled, including child care, night school and permits.

All evening programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelledThis means that all activities in schools and Peel board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed.

All weekend programs and permits at the Peel District School Board are cancelledThis means that all activities in schools and Peel board offices are cancelled, including continuing education courses and events. The buildings will be closed.

Parent resources help you support your child’s learning

At the Peel board, our mission is to inspire success, confidence and hope in each child. There is no doubt that families play a vital role in helping us achieve this goal. As our partner in education, we hope you'll stay connected to your child's learning throughout his or her entire school experience.

Visit www.peelschools.org/parents/helpyourchild to explore all resources available to parents. There you will find easy-to-navigate buttons that connect families to tip sheets and web pages on a number of different topics, including math, homework, special education, EQAO and mental health.

Lunchroom Supervisors Appreciation Day on March 6

In 2017, the board of trustees declared the first Friday in March as Lunchroom Supervisors Appreciation Day. This year, the recognition day falls on Friday, March 6, 2020. Take this opportunity to thank the important work of lunchroom supervisors, and their support and commitment to helping to ensure that students are safe and secure.

Peel Public Health shares tips to help prevent the flu

It’s flu season and we want to make sure students stay as healthy as possible this year! Influenza (flu) spreads easily from one person to another and Peel Public Health has some tips to help reduce the risk of catching the flu and spreading it:

● Get your annual flu shot: The flu shot is your best defence against the flu. There are many

locations across Peel where you can get your flu shots:

▪ Family Doctors’ offices

▪ Walk-in clinics

▪ Pharmacies

● Keep children home when they’re sick: If your child develops flu-like signs and symptoms (fever,

cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue), keep them home from school.

Contact your health care provider if symptoms are severe.

● Practice good hygiene: Help your child get into the habit of covering their nose and mouth with

a tissue when they cough or sneeze and throw tissues in the trash. Cough or sneeze into a sleeve

or elbow, if they don’t have a tissue. They should also avoid touching their eyes, nose or mouth.

This is how germs are spread.

● Wash your hands: Encourage your child to wash their hands often with soap and water or use

hand sanitizer, especially after they cough or sneeze.

For more information, call Peel Public Health at 905-799-7700 or visit www.peelregion.ca/flu.

Report your child’s immunizations to the Region of Peel online

When registering for school for the first time, parents and guardians are required to provide up-to-date immunization information for their children. This includes registering for kindergarten.

You can update your child’s immunizations online. The online immunization tool allows you to attach a photo of the immunization record. When reporting online, an Ontario Health Card is required.

Report immunizations online at: www.peelregion.ca/immunize

After you report your immunizations online you will be given a reference number. Keep this number for your records. You will need to give this number to your child’s school when registering.

If you do not have online access or your child does not have an Ontario Health Card, take a copy of the immunization record to the school. Make sure your child’s name and date of birth are visible on the record.

Call Peel Public Health at 905-799-7700 if your child does not have an immunization record or if you have any questions about immunization exemptions.

For more information, visit www.peelregion.ca/immunize

Using social media safely

With the growing number of social media sites, it is no surprise that social media is the most common form of communication for children and teenagers. Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets and texts have become a regular part of their lives. While there are many positive benefits to using social media, including staying connected with friends and expressing your interests, students must be cautious in their use of these networks.

Among the most popular social media platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp Messenger. Many of these platforms are free and are available on smartphones and other electronic devices. These platforms are easy to navigate and often allow information to be shared instantly, not only with friends, but with strangers. On social media, it is important to remember that the world is watching.

Here are some tips, provided by the Canadian Safe School Network and GetSafeOnline.org, to keep your children safe and help them make smart choices when using social media:

● Set some boundaries for your child before they get their first ‘connected device’ (mobile, tablet, laptop or games console). Once they have it, it can be more difficult to change the way they use it or the settings.

● Have a conversation about what is appropriate online behaviour and what actions could have huge

repercussions that could damage their reputation and be harmful to others.

● Talk to your child about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across something they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or social media.

● Discuss with your child what is safe and appropriate to post and share online. Written comments, photos and videos all form part of their ‘digital footprint’ and could be seen by anyone and available on the internet forever, even if it is subsequently deleted.

● Explain to your child that being online doesn’t give them anonymity or protection, and that they

shouldn’t do anything online that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. Users should only accept people

they know in order to protect themselves from spammers, strangers and others who may be using

social networking sites to commit crimes.

● Unlike when they’re meeting someone face-to-face, children don’t always know who they’re actually ‘talking’ to online, even if they think they do. Tell your children they must never email, chat, or text with strangers, and it’s never okay to meet a stranger in the real world.

● Ensure your children set their privacy settings appropriately. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your children’s favourite sites, and teach them how to control their privacy.

● Tell your children never to share personal and private information with anyone online. This

includes, but is not limited to, his or her full name, age, birth date, address, phone number, social

insurance number, credit card information and parents’ full names.

● Limit the amount of time that your children spend on social media platforms and talk about the

importance of healthy and appropriate use of technology.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

In the Peel District School Board, we #ChooseACTION each and every day to proactively eliminate racism in all forms and be inclusive in our school communities. We use an anti-oppressive stance to support and maintain a safe and positive Climate for Learning and Working for staff, students and community well-being. This important day, which we will recognize as a board on Tuesday, March 24th, will help lead the work we all do in our schools with our students in support of equity and inclusion.

History of the Day:On March 21st, 1960, Afrikaner police opened fire and killed 69 Indigenous South African people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa. They were protesting the apartheid "pass laws" that

severely restricted the movement and freedom of Indigenous South Africans. Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly of the United Nations called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

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Peel District School Board Focus:This year supports and resources focused on Anti-Black Racism and Islamophobia have been curated and provided to schools. Educators are encouraged to use this sampling of tools throughout the year in our schools and classrooms. Our goal is to proactively eliminate racial discrimination every day.

For more information and for activities to commemorate the day with your children please access the resources: www.peelschools.org/aboutus/equity

Talking With Children and Youth About Mental Health ConcernsFrom the PDSB Mental Health Resource Team

It can be challenging to talk about mental health concerns - especially to our own children! As parents (like others), we sometimes avoid the conversation because we don’t know how to start, or we worry that by expressing concerns, we will make the situation worse. However, it is important to remember that acknowledging and discussing worries, concerns, or changes in behaviour openly and honestly with our children is more likely to open up lines of communication rather than worsen the situation.

Here are some tips to consider if you want to talk to your child about mental health concerns:

● To begin the conversation, find a quiet time when you are unlikely to be interrupted.● Reassure your child that they can be open and honest, without you getting angry (even if you

become scared or worried by the information they disclose).● Describe the changes that you have noticed in your child’s mood, behaviour, or reactions. For

example, “I have noticed that you are crying more often since school started” or “I have noticed that you seem more frustrated recently.”

● Try to label or “name” your child’s emotions and thoughts. For example, “I wonder if you’re feeling sad about losing your friendship with Sam” or “I wonder if you are thinking that this cannot be fixed.”

● Allow your child time to reflect and respond. Silence is okay.● Be persistent. If your child responds with “nothing is wrong...leave me alone,” reassure your

child that you are there for them. Give your child some time and revisit the conversation again.● If your child tells you anything that makes you increasingly concerned, reassure them that you

are glad they told you, offer to help them find the right professional to talk to, and reinforce that you will be there for them throughout the journey.

Remember, for many children and youth, everyday loving support from caring adults will be enough to help them thrive.

However, some children and youth require additional help. Ask your child’s teacher or Principal about the mental health supports and services offered within schools. There are also community resources that provide mental health support to children, youth, and families.

● To access child and youth mental health services in the Region of Peel, visit wheretostart.ca.● The Mental Health Resource Team has also created a Peel Youth Mental Health Resources

handout that you can access here: bit.ly/PeelYouthResources.● Consider the Kids’ Help Phone Resources Around Me service (web: kidshelpphone.ca). ● Make an appointment with your family doctor or nurse practitioner to ask about additional

supports.

For updates and to follow along with the work of the PDSB Mental Health Resource Team, find them on Twitter @MHRTPeel.