Sikh Heritage Month

April is Sikh Heritage Month.

Students have been enjoying reading the book My Name is Saajin Singh on our bulletin board outside the library. Saajin loves his name—he loves it so much that he sees it spelled out in the world around him in his snacks, in the sky and sometimes he even sings it aloud. On his first day of school, Saajin is excited to meet his new classmates, but things take a turn when the teacher mispronounces his name as Say-jin and he is not sure how—or if he should—correct her. After trying to live with the different version of his name for a while and some thoughtful conversations with his family about the meaning behind it, Saajin realizes the importance of reclaiming his name and embracing his identity. 

Everyone's name tells a story and everyone's story deserves to be heard. 

Jr. Girls Basketball - Area Champions!

On Wednesday, April 24th, the Junior Girls Basketball Team represented Aurora Grove at the Area Tournament. The girls played extremely well and demonstrated great skill and sportsmanship. 

They took 1st place!! We are so proud of them!

Shout out to Ms. Currie and Mr. Cuello for all their hard work coaching the team. Go Grove!

Spotlight: Mr. O'Reilly's Class

Mr. O'Reilly's class is learning about Black History by reading about transformative figures and the ways they helped others. With each lesson, they added to their poster, aiming to spread the values of kindness and respect for all.

 

Happy Passover!

This week, our Jewish community is celebrating Passover (Pesach). It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. To help deepen our understanding of this holiday, please view the Pesach/Passover video produced by the YRDSB.

Over the last couple of weeks, students have been invited to stop and read a beautiful bulletin board display showcasing a Seder dinner table. The display includes explanations of the different foods, songs, and traditions that take place during a Seder.  

To all those who begin celebrating Passover this evening, we wish you a very happy celebration. Chag Pesach Sameach!

 

Spotlight: Ms. Meyers & Ms. Walkley's Kindergarten Class

In honour of Earth Day, Ms. Meyers' & Ms. Walkley's Kindergarten class made paper mache Earths. 

They promised to take care of our home, the Earth!

Aurora Grove Talent Show!

On Thursday, April 25^th we will be hosting the 2024 Aurora Grove Talent Show. 

The show will take place in our gymnasium and begin promptly at 6pm (doors open at 5:30pm).

Our students have been practicing for weeks and are excited to share to share their talents with the community! There will also be performances from the AGPS Band and Choir. 

Refreshments will be sold including water, popcorn, and cookies for $2. 

Admission is free. 

Sikh Trails In Canadian Landscapes

 

2 Events for Parents/Caregivers

Parent/caregiver series supporting learning about mental health

The YRDSB Central Mental Health Team is proud to be offering the Learning about Mental Health Presentation Series (LAMPS). The objective of the series is to promote and enhance mental health literacy. The second session is “Technology Use and Mental Health, a Presentation for Parents and Caregivers” and will occur virtually on May 29th from 6 - 7 p.m. The presentation will focus on the characteristics of anxiety, and some general strategies that may be beneficial in supporting your children and their anxiety. 

These sessions are offered to any parent/guardian. Translation will be provided in a limited number of  languages.  If your preferred language is not offered, we recommend watching with a friend or family member who is able to translate.

To register please visit this link. 

Please Register by May 28th, 2024

Understanding the Ontario Education Systems

Warm Weather Reminders

We are very excited to see the sun appearing more often and the warm weather returning!

Due to allergies, spray sunscreen should not be sent to school and teachers are not permitted to apply sunscreen to students.

When sending your children to school, please remember to:

• apply sunscreen before they leave in the morning.
• consider sending them with sunscreen in a ziplock bag to keep in their bag in case they need to reapply themselves.
• keep a spare set of clothes (pants,socks, underwear, t-shirt) at school.
• We have many kids visiting the office with muddy clothes as the field still has wet areas.
• When the spare is used, please send a replacement.
• bring a reusable filled water bottle to school.
• label all clothing, especially hats and jackets!
• Optional: For a fun way to label your child’s belongings (as well as to support our school’s ongoing fundraising efforts), please visit:  https://mabelslabels.ca/en-CA/fundraising/support and search for Aurora Grove P.S. 

April is Sikh Heritage Month

April was specifically chosen given its importance for Sikhs, as it is in April that Sikh Canadians celebrate Vaisakhi (April 13th), which marks the formalization of the Khalsa and the Sikh articles of faith. Sikh Heritage Month is an opportunity to remember, celebrate and educate our future generations and society at large about Sikh Canadians and the important role that they play in communities across Ontario.
Source

To all those who celebrated Vaisakhi this past weekend, we hope you and your families had a very happy celebration.

Boomerang Lunches Starting April 15

Aurora Grove P.S. is committed to doing our part in helping our environment! In the past few months, we have been focusing on recycling responsibly in the classrooms. Our next step will be to take on a waste-free lunch challenge with BOOMERANG LUNCHES! This will begin on Monday, April 15, 2024. 

HOW IT WORKS: All waste from your child’s snacks/lunches will be returned home in their lunch bags. This includes all packaging, uneaten food and leftovers. 

WHY WE NEED THIS PROGRAM: Most lunch trash comes from disposable packaging of single use food items, plastic bags and foil. It’s estimated that the average school age child using a disposable lunch produces 67 pounds of lunch waste per school year! Using reusable containers, thermos bottles and bringing the right amount of food will let children know they can be part of the solution to our waste problems. 

BOOMERANG LUNCH GOALS:

• Enable parents to see what their children are actually eating during the day

• Reduce the amount of wasted food

• Reduce the amount of overall waste produced

• Encourage healthy eating

• Promote the use of reusable containers

WASTE FREE SNACK/ LUNCH TIPS:

1. Use reusable lunch carriers and containers. Try to avoid plastic bags.

2. If you use single-use containers, provide a resealable bag for the empty containers (yogurt, apple sauce, juice boxes) to be returned home. 

3. Use reusable drinks, bottles, or thermoses.

4. Use a cloth napkin to wash and reuse.

5. Use reusable utensils.

6. Get your children to help pack their snacks/lunches with healthy foods.

7. Pack only as much food as your child will eat.

8. Label* all containers with your child’s name, initial, or a special symbol. 

Thank you for your cooperation!

*Optional: For a fun way to label your child’s belongings (as well as to support our school’s ongoing fundraising efforts), please visit:  https://mabelslabels.ca/en-CA/fundraising/support and search for Aurora Grove P.S. 

NOTE: Students who have ordered lunch through SchoolCash Online will be able to discard their lunch waste at school.

Autism Acceptance Month

April is no longer Autism Awareness month. 

Now it is Autism Acceptance Month! 

What's the difference?

"Autism Awareness" centers the experiences of non autistic people and how they feel about autism and disability. "Awareness" is based on fear, pity, and furthers stigma against autistic people. "Awareness" hurts autistic people.

"Autism Acceptance" centers the voices of autistic people. It celebrates autistic culture, and tells others that autistic people are valuable to their families, their communities, and to the world exactly as they are. Acceptance is creating a better, fairer, and more inclusive world for all of autistic people.

- taken from neurodiversitylibrary.org

Housing Services Fair

Reminder About Early Dismissal on April 8, 2024

Dear Families, 

 

As was communicated on February 13, 2024, on Monday, April 8, 2024, a full solar eclipse will occur, which will block the sun’s light in some areas. 

 

The effects of the eclipse will occur in York Region between roughly 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., which coincides with the regular dismissal times for our schools. 

 

Out of concern for student safety, all students in elementary and secondary schools will be dismissed early on the afternoon of April 8, 2024. 

 

Transportation services such as busing and taxis have been adjusted to coincide with the early dismissal on April 8, 2024. Transportation services will return to their regular schedule on April 9, 2024. Please contact the main office at your school if you have any questions about transportation services.

 

If you have any questions about child care services for that day, please contact your child care provider directly. 

 

The Government of Canada website has additional information related to solar eclipses that you may review. 

 

Please know that this decision was made with student safety at its centre. 

Parent/caregiver series supporting students of Chinese heritage

The YRDSB Community Care Social Work series will provide a number of parent/caregiver virtual events to build community, support mental health, and promote healing.

The first session in the series is offered for any parent/guardian of students of Chinese heritage. Parents/caregivers are invited to join this workshop and engage in meaningful conversations that help students thrive at school. Tips on ways that help strengthen family relationships and emotional well-being will be shared. This will be a free virtual event.

Keep the Door Open (Repeated Session): Understand Your Child’s Inner World 

April 23, 2024 at 6:00pm-7:00pm Mandarin Session
Registration for Mandarin Session  

April 23,  2024 at 7:00pm-8:00pm Cantonese Session
Registration for Cantonese Session 

Please email charmaine.tong@yrdsb.ca if you have any questions or difficulties in accessing the registration link.

Summer School Gr 6-8 & Gr 8 Reach Ahead Program

We had shared last month about the Summer Institute Program (details linked) available for students entering Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8.

The board has now shared details about upcoming Grade 6, 7 and 8 Summer School (In-Person and Remote Learning). This 15-day literacy and numeracy program is designed to reinforce curriculum and is not an acceleration opportunity. Students must register in the program for their current school grade. (For example, a grade 7 student would register for the grade 7 program as it reinforces grade 7 content.) Additional resources are being added to this program to support student success in de-streamed Grade 9 programs. This program will be offered both in-person and through remote learning. Students must select their preference of learning model at the time of registration.  The program will operate from July 8 to July 26, 2024 (8:45 am - 3:25 pm).

For more information, including registration information, see the linked 2024 Elementary Summer School landing page.

Grade 8 Reach Ahead Program

The York Region District School Board will once again be offering Grade 8 Reach Ahead programs where students can earn a high school credit! This course is for students who are currently completing Grade 8 and entering Grade 9 this Fall.

These 18-day acceleration courses start Wednesday, July 3 and end Friday, July 26.

Students are required to attend class from 8:45 a.m. to 3:33 p.m., with two 15-minute scheduled breaks and a 40-minute lunch period.

Register early to avoid disappointment. Decisions to run courses are based on sufficient enrolment and teacher availability.