"Sharing Our Stories, Shaping Our Dreams"
APRIL 2012 – Volume 8
Stanley Mills P.S.
286 Sunny Meadow Blvd.
Brampton, ON
L6R 3C3
(905) 789-0925
Mr. Paul Fiorini – Acting Principal
Mrs. Elizabeth England – Vice-Principal
Mrs. Leanne Hope-Godfrey – Office Manager
Mrs. Mary Bayaborda – Office Assistant
website: http://schools.peelschools.org/1487
S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. Theme of the Month: Nurturing
You may be familiar with the saying, “April
sun and showers, bring spring flowers”, and it
clearly applies to the wonderful weather we
have experienced throughout the month of
March! As we enter into April, our staff and
students at Stanley Mills are excited about the
promise of Spring and are eager to continue to
achieve great things on a daily basis. Spring
brings with it the feeling of new beginnings,
the uplifting energy encouraged by longer
sunny days and the excitement of knowing
that summer is on its way!
During the month of April we are celebrating
the S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. character theme of
“Nurturing”. As members of our Stanley
Mills learning community, we are all
encouraged to nurture our positive
relationships, through respect, caring and
compassion for one another.
It was once written to each one of us,
friendship has a different meaning. For all of
us, it is a gift. Friendship needs to be
cherished and nurtured. It needs to be
cultivated on a daily basis. Then only shall it
germinate and yield its fruit, its spring flowers
and its lifelong memories. I encourage all of
us to continue to value each other’s gifts and
talents and nurture in our children and in
ourselves the spirit of giving and the belief
that “Yes We Can!” in all we do.
During the month of March, we have added
two new staff members to our Stanley Mills
Family. We would like to welcome back
Mrs. Gibson who will be teaching on our
Grade Five team as well as Ms Nelson who
has joined our Grade One teaching team. We
would also like to wish Mr. Hinsperger much
success as he pursues additional teaching
opportunities and Mrs. Gill who is preparing
for the upcoming birth of her baby! Both
teachers are thanked for their contributions
and wished much success in the future!
In celebrating the character attribute of
nurturing, the following activities are planned
for the month of April:
S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. Awards Assembly on
April 3rd scheduled for 1:30p.m. at Stanley
Mills P.S. Please join us to recognize our
students who have made a difference through
their character!
Coffee with the Principal on Wednesday
April 25th at 8:20 a.m.: With a hope of
enhancing communication with our
community, Coffee with the Principal
provides an opportunity for our community to
meet and discuss school and community
issues with the administration of Stanley
Mills P.S.
This session will feature a representative from
Brampton’s Parks and Recreation
Department, providing information on
activities offered for students in our
community.
Education Week between April 16-27: The
following activities will be included during
Education Week celebrations:
Monday April 16th Dressing up comically ~
Wear clothes inside-out/backwards
Tuesday April 17th Kindergarten Family
Literacy Reading with Mr. Fiorini (am + pm)
Wednesday April 18th Show your Smile!
Thursday April 19th and Friday April 20th:
Earth Day Activities Brampton Clean City
Campaign – 3R’s Presentations
Bhangra Dance Presentation
demonstrations of Honesty throughout our
school and introducing March’s theme of
Inclusion. Students Natania and Sukhman
from Mr. Stockden’s class were amazing
M.C.’s for our audience!
We started off the morning with Mrs. Morgan
accompanying the school in the singing of “O
Canada” and with the morning
announcements. Then came the awarding of
the Spirit Day Trophy. Ms Phillips presented
the spirit trophy to the class who had
demonstrated the most spirit by wearing their
best set of shades for Sunglasses Day in
February. It was a tight race! After all, who
wouldn’t want a reminder of the balmy
temperatures of June in the dead of winter?
Ms Smallfield’s class was the grand winner
for the month! Congratulations!
Monday April 23rd - 26th Book Fair
Teachers read their favourite funny story to
their class
Wednesday April 25th Coffee with the
Principal 8:20 a.m.
Thursday April 26th Spring Concert “Swing
into Spring” 8:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
performances
Friday April 27th Education Week Wrap-up
assembly at 1:20 pm
From the article, “Friendship Matters” Dr.
Ronald Bissell writes, “True friendship is
seen through the heart, not through the eyes.”
I encourage our entire learning community to
build, honour and nurture healthy
relationships in our school, homes and
community. I strongly believe when parents
nurture hope in their children and praise their
efforts in improving skills and talents, great
things can be accomplished!
For March’s spirit day, many staff and
students were wearing the outfits of their
favourite story book characters for this
assembly. There were some little pigs, big
bad wolves, little girls with red hoods, and a
whole other array of wonderful costumes! In
fact, I think I saw Junie B. Jones and Fancy
Nancy in the audience too! I wonder who the
winner will be for the next Spirit Day
Trophy?
You are all wished a wonderful Spring!
Sincerely,
Mr. Paul Fiorini
Acting Principal
On the morning of March 2nd, we held our
S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. assembly, celebrating the
The S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. awards were next on
the program and Mr. Fiorini and Mrs.
England were pleased to present the awards to
the students in each class who best
exemplified Honesty throughout the month.
Congratulations to our amazing winners! Mr.
Fiorini also encouraged all our Stanley Mills
students to believe in themselves and to try to
be the best they can be, because “Yes, they
can”! We can all try to be the best that we
can be every day.
To introduce the month’s theme of Inclusion,
Natania and Sukhman challenged everyone in
the school to find someone new to include in
their activities each day. The PALS leaders
also emphasized this message and presented a
skit on how to include others outside at
recess. Mr. Stockden then read a book called
“Violet” by Tania Duprey – Stehlik which
focused on liking others for who they are, not
for what they look like or the colour of their
skin.
Continuing with the theme of inclusion, Ms
Quinlan’s class presented a skit on what
inclusivity looks like. They shared the
message that inclusion is being there when
someone needs you and to listen and
understand others. Ms Ghosh’s and Ms
Zolis’s class sang a beautiful song about the
importance of friends. The main message of
their song was that everyone needs friends
and that there is nothing better than friends!
Too true!
The ever-creative maestro Mr. Williams and
his class presented a Character Attributes rap!
The message of the rap was to care for each
and every friend you have! The dancing
superheroes made this a very catchy number,
and also stressed that it is “super” to be
respectful, kind, and inclusive with our
friends!
Our Black History Month slide show by Ms
Hernandez’s class was inspired by Martin
Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The
class shared their dreams, which included the
themes of a peaceful world where everyone
could be friends. Ms Hernandez also
highlighted Black History Month with a
showcase of dance club numbers from
different grade levels. Students wowed us
with the best conga line ever, Hip Hop,
Calypso, Reggae and Soca!
Mr. Macri announced the Sideline Soccer
Champions of 2012! It was the CUBS!! They
worked hard as a team to win the title,
showing exemplary team work, perseverance,
positivity and good sportsmanship! Mr.
Macri also acknowledged the wonderful
participation of all of the fantastic players!
To update the school on who the House
Points leader was for the Month of February,
Ms Henry presented some very humorous
jokes about the planets that left the audience
in stitches. Ms Henry’s favourite joke is:
What kind of songs do the planets like to
sing? Nep-tunes!!!
This all led up to the big reveal of the House
Points winner for February – MARS!!!
The staff, students and parents who attended
were happy to have celebrated the
accomplishments of many Stanley Mills
students and to have learned a little more
about honesty, which we have been working
on this month at our school!
Please join us on Tuesday, April 3rd at 1:30
p.m. for our next assembly! See you there!!
S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E AWARDS WINNERS
1A
1B
1C
1D
2A
2B
2C
2D
3A
3B
3C
3D
4A
4B
4C
4/5
5A
5B
5C
5D
Gill
Bhamby
Fong
Seehra
Hernandez
Bursey
Chadha
Smallfield
Salter
Williams
Phillips
Carvalho
Ghosh
Quinlan
Zolis
Tulk
Hinsperger
Dutkiewicz
Powell
Stockden
Jasmine
Gurleen
Tanraj
Arshdeep
Mithulan
Angad
Moshe
Meghna
Ahmed
Meera
Arsh
Jaiden
Kevin
Esha
Arshdeep
Christina
Razia
Natheeshan
Rahim
Manvir
Book Fair
From April 23rd to 26th., there will be a
Scholastic Book Fair in our library. Students
will have the opportunity to visit the book
sale throughout the week. Parents, please
note that the Book Fair will be open for
browsing and buying before the evening
Spring Concert, from 5:30-6:15 p.m.
When you visit the Scholastic Book Fair,
please consider donating a book to your
child’s classroom library. Such books will
enrich the education of children for years to
come. We’ve asked teachers to fill out a
Classroom Wish List so you’ll know which
books they think will add to their students'
knowledge and imagination. Books you give
will become a permanent part of the
classroom library. Every gift will be
recognized with a bookplate identifying your
family or child as the donor. Please look for
the Classroom Wish List display at the Book
Fair. Your generosity can make a classroom
more exciting and stimulating to young
minds.
See you at the Fair!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Ardila, Book Fair Chairperson
Help us create the mission, vision and
values of the Peel District School Board
The trustees of the Peel District School Board
approved the revision of the board’s mission,
vision and values (MVV). Part of this process
is the creation of a working group—called
Mission: Refresh—which includes
representatives of senior administration,
school administrators, trustees and a student
trustee.
The goal of the Mission: Refresh Working
Group is to seek input, review and revise the
existing MVV, and return to board with the
results of that work before the end of this
school year. The working group will:
 review the board’s current MVV
 respect the original effort to develop the
MVV, but to look at the statements in
light of more recent system work
including the consultation to develop the
logo and character attributes, the Report
Card for Student Success and School
Success Planning
 ensure alignment with the board’s Equity
and Inclusion Policy #54
 draw on the expertise and talent within the
system to help with the process
 benchmark similar statements in Peel
board schools, and in public and private
sector organizations
 ensure the revised statement accurately
reflects the current language and future
direction of the Peel board
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As part of its mandate, the working group
has identified ways for internal and
external stakeholders to provide input to
the process of determining what the MVV
should say about the organization. This
consultation process includes the
gathering of input from parents, staff,
students and community members through
an online survey.
for the Peel District School Board. The
revised MVV respect the original effort to
develop the board’s existing MVV, but also
look at the statements in light of more recent
system work including the consultation to
develop the logo and character attributes, the
Report Card for Student Success, the board’s
strategic plan, and School Success Planning.
Please review the draft document before
completing the survey.
BACKGROUND
From 1989-1992, the Strategic Planning
Project of the Peel Board of Education
worked to develop a clear plan of action for
the board, and a new MVV. Launched in
1992, the mission—Lifelong Learning:
Striving to be the best—and the vision and
values were intended to “put into words the
beliefs that will guide our actions and
demonstrate our spirit.”
In the 30 years since the work of this group,
much has changed in terms of the form,
structure and language of mission, vision and
values statements. As well, our organization
has changed and we have developed our own
new structures and language. The 1992
strategic plan, for example, has been replaced
by the Report Card for Student Success. The
logo was replaced and consultation in the
development of the logo helped better define
our “brand”. The consultation and
development of our character attributes is a
key component of how we now build a
positive climate for learning and working
together. These are not reflected in the
existing MVV.
The survey results will help to guide the
efforts of the working group as they develop
the revised MVV which will be brought to
trustees for approval in the spring of 2012.
The revised MVV will be launched during the
2012-13 school year.
The survey will take less than five minutes to
complete. Please do not write your name
anywhere on the survey. There are no right or
wrong answers. We want your honest
opinions and input. Your answers will be
confidential and no questionnaires can be
identified. Everyone’s responses will be
summarized in a group report. The online
survey can be found at http://bit.ly/wnUFo8.
Thank you for participating in the survey. All
comments are welcome and your insight is
invaluable.
YOUR CHILD MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FREE
MONEY FOR EDUCATION. YES, REALLY!
Was your child born after 2004? Is your
family income less than $42,707 per year?
If you answered yes to both of these
questions, then your child is entitled to
receive $2,000 in FREE money provided by
the Government of Canada through the
Canada Learning Bond (CLB) - Registered
Education Savings Plan (RESP). Eligible
children will receive $500 at registration for
the RESP, and an additional $100 annually
until they reach 15 years of age. No parental
contribution is required.
The Peel Post-Secondary Strategy: Enrolled
By Six is a regional strategy to engage all
sectors and partners to enrol every child in
Peel for the CLB.
The survey – complete by March 30, 2012
The Mission: Refresh Working Group has
drafted a revised mission, vision and values
Visit us online at: www.pcyi.org, or call our
information line: 905-890-9432 (local), 905-
890-8089 (TTY), 1-888-836-5550 (long
distance) to learn more.
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Each year, more than 6 million
Canadians join 500 million people in
over 180 countries in staging events
and projects to address local
environmental issues. In Canada,
Earth Day has grown into Earth Week
and even Earth Month to
accommodate the profusion of events
and projects. Here are some ways that
you can celebrate earth week with
your family:
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create a backyard or schoolyard
habitat
plant a garden or tree
start a recycling program at home
organize a carpooling campaign in
your neighbourhood to reduce air
pollution
pick up trash in your neighbourhood
read a book about an endangered
species
make a visit to your local zoo,
aquarium or museum
visit a local park, wildlife area or farm
to provide a fun opportunity to learn
about the environment and life
Peel board celebrates public
education during Education Week
April 16 to 27
Peel public schools will host hundreds of
special activities and events to celebrate
Education Week 2012. To give schools plenty
of time to hold activities, this celebration of
education will be held for two weeks from
April 16 to 27. The theme for this year's focus
on education is You are the Smile.
In addition to inviting parents and community
residents to visit their classrooms during the
week, Peel schools are hosting open houses,
plays/musicals, storytelling, environmental
activities, awards assemblies, talent shows
and much more.
One of the highlights of Education Week is
the presentation of Awards of Excellence. The
award recipients are students, volunteers, staff
and community partners who have made
outstanding contributions to public education
in Peel. The awards will be presented to 30
deserving recipients at the Showcase of
Excellence ceremony on April 23rd. at 7:30
p.m. in the board room, HJA Brown
Education Centre, 5650 Hurontario St.,
Mississauga.
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Keeping children safe in and around storm
sewers, waterways
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Rising and fast moving water in lakes,
ponds and creeks is increasingly likely
during spring. Children playing in and
around storm sewers and
watercourses, entering storm sewers
through the outfalls, and entering
storm sewers through access covers is
dangerous. The following information
will help keep children safe:
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water flows in storm sewers and
watercourses are unpredictable and
may change quickly
toxic gases may be present in and
around storm sewers and watercourses
access is restricted, making rescue
attempts are difficult
tragic falls could take place
More than 1000 individuals will also be
honoured during Education Week with
Awards of Distinction for their contributions
to their school or workplace.
Earth Week – April 16 to 22, 2012
Earth Week encompasses the international
celebration of Earth Day on April 22nd. This is
the most celebrated environmental event
worldwide. Initiated in 1970, this event has
been considered the birth of the
environmental movement.
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