"Sharing Our Stories, Shaping Our Dreams"
For April, 2011 – Volume 8
Stanley Mills P.S.
286 Sunny Meadow Blvd.
Brampton, ON
L6R 3C3
(905) 789-0925
Ms Patrice Ward – Principal
Ms April Zeleny – 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
Happy springtime, one and all.
With the arrival of this season, our thoughts
turn naturally to new life sprouting in the
natural world. This is a perfect time to
reinforce the importance of nurturing
throughout our learning community.
In my role as Principal, I have found that,
although management is about organizing,
real leadership is about the nurturing that
best takes place in the context of
relationships. For educators, who do not
always have a tangible product to show for
their investment in nurturing young minds, the
affirmation and support of those around us is
itself highly nurturing.
As parents and teachers, many of us are
concerned about increasing patterns of
aggression and violence in our society. One
of the strategies that research identifies as
preventing the cycle of violence is the
teaching of nurturing skills in children and
youth.
Empathy and caring for others are crucial
ingredients in the development of good
character and positive social skills that allow
young people to work out differences
appropriately. Feelings of worth—our own and
others'—can flourish only in an atmosphere
where individual differences are appreciated,
risk-taking is encouraged, communication is
open, and systems are negotiable—the kind of
atmosphere found in a nurturing family and a
caring community.
Looking after our fellow creatures is one of the
main themes in our upcoming spring musical,
"Creature Comforts." I hope that performers
and audience alike will reflect on the messages
about the importance of nurturing that I have
woven throughout the play.
Amidst the arrival of spring and the anticipation
of the exciting events that are part of Education
Week at our school, we hope that you will
discuss with your children what they are
discovering about the importance of nurturing.
Patrice Ward
Principal
Our March S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. Assembly-INCLUSION
Our S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. assembly for the
month of March was held on Friday, March
4th, in the afternoon. Student hosts Sharmi
and Amrit from Mrs. Carvalho’s class did a
great job of introducing each special
presentation.
At Stanley Mills we build an inclusive
environment by celebrating the different
cultures and heritages of our students.
February was Black History month and so, as
a wrap-up, Ms Calbert and Ms Hernandez
organized two very special presentations for
us. First, Alesandra and Ahmed spoke
about the music of Michael Jackson and
shared the latest version of his video “Hold
My Hand,” featuring Akon. Next, we watched
some grade four and five students (TeAndra,
Prabhjivan, Lauryn, Urvi, Damanpreet,
Isha, and D.J.) performing a powerful
interpretative dance based on combined
African and Salsa music.
March's spirit theme was Look-Alike Day, and
Ms Ward and Ms Zeleny, dressed as twins,
presented the S.T.A.R.S.H.I.N.E. awards for
the previous month’s theme of Healthy Living.
Congratulations to our healthy “liv-ers” who
had most consistently exemplified this trait
throughout the month of February!
1A
1B
1C
1D
2A
2B
2C
2D
3A
3B
3C
3D
3/4
4A
4B
4C
4D
5A
5B
5C
5D
Bhamby
Gill
Decker
Seehra
Calbert
Lukacs
Hernandez
Singh
Williams
Salter
Carvalho
Smallfield
Phillips
Quinlan
Tulk
Zolis
Ghosh
Galea
Stockden
Royer
Dutkiewicz
Ajitpartap
Gureak
Reah
Kiran
Simran
Jordan
Kiranjit
Jessica
Robert
Callie
Akshvir
Daanyal
Damanpreet
Isha
Christina
Christine
Esha
Eeshaan
Parvinder
Hamein
Riya
Mrs. Tulk’s class introduced the theme of
Inclusion with a series of skits about how
there is always room for one more! Her
students shared excellent strategies such as
letting everyone join, listening to all ideas,
respecting others, and not being bossy.
Mr. Williams’s class then performed a
riveting original rap entitled “It’s The Future
We Want.” The class portrayed a group of
robots who were leaving one in isolation. By
the end of the song, with singers Gurnidhi,
Elizabeth, and Mahalia leading the rap, all
the robots were working together.
Mr. Stockden’s class once again shared their
song “Someone to Love,” in preparation for
their upcoming performance in the Literacy
and Values through the Arts program at the
Living Arts Centre on the evening of April
14th. The importance of inclusion was also
reinforced by Mrs. Carvalho’s class in their
read-aloud of the story Be Good to Eddie
Lee, by Virginia Fleming, and a group of
students from Ms Phillips’s class
dramatizing different colours who realize that
they are all important and, together, create a
rainbow.
Mrs. Lukacs presented the Spirit Day trophy
to Mrs. Carvalho’s class for having 100%
participation in February’s Athletic Clothing
day. Ms Henry also had a very important
honour; she shared a very creative
Powerpoint presentation to announce the
House Points winner for the Winter Term.
Congratulations to the members of Neptune!
In celebration of their victory, students
received a chocolaty treat and an evening
without homework.
Congratulations to all award recipients, and
warm thanks to our receptive and enthusiastic
audience, including the parents and other
family members who joined us.
Education Week Events at Stanley Mills
Along with the arrival of spring and the signs of
renewal in nature, comes Education Week,
celebrating public education in Peel schools.
This year's theme is "Share the Smile," and we
hope to see a lot of that going on! Our
Education Week Committee, headed by Ms
Royer, is continuing to finalize our
celebrations, but they will include sharing
bracelets with positive messages throughout
the week, playing songs that make us smile,
exchanging funny stories, and cleaning up
our yard in recognition of the approach of
Earth Day. To start things off in merry style,
we invite everyone to participate in dressing
up comically on Monday, April 11th, such as
by wearing clothes inside out and/or
backwards, or colours that clash.
Later in the week, some of our grade 5 classes
will exchange smiles with our community by
visiting Leisureworld, a local seniors’
caregiving centre, and sharing stories and
songs. An event that we hope that many of
you will enjoy firsthand will be the performance
by Mr. Stockden’s grade 5 class of their
original song, “Someone to Love,” at the
Living Arts Centre on the evening of Thursday,
April 14th as part of the Literacy and Values
through Music project.
On Friday, April 15th, we invite members of our
community to join us for a special assembly at
8:30 a.m., when we will celebrate, along with
other highlights of Education Week, the
completion of many of the All-Star Murals
being created throughout our school. Many
are still works in progress, but we are proud to
showcase the many that will have been
completed by this date. Come along and enjoy
our guided tour of staff- and studentcreated masterpieces with all of their inspiring
“Star” messages!
Coming Soon, our newest Spring Musical:
“Creature Comforts”
students whose speeches were deemed the
winners by the judges:
 1st place—Jothi, on the topic of "Video
Game Violence”
 2nd place—Sabreena, on “Facing Your
Fears”
 3rd place—Roha, on “Women’s
Equality.”
Preparations for another Stanley Mills musical
have been underway since January. This
new and original show, with story and songs
written by Principal Patrice Ward,
dramatizes a crisis involving a neighbourhood
pet shop. The musical features a cast of
twenty-four, the Stanley Mills Choir, and
twelve classes from Kindergarten to grade
five, and will be presented on Thursday, May
5th.
Our winner will go on to participate in the north
region's junior division semi-finals competition,
hosted here at Stanley Mills on Thursday,
March 31st. Break a leg (but not violently!),
Jothi!
As is our Stanley Mills tradition, we will be
offering two performances of our production,
one to be held during the day, at 8:45 a.m.,
and the other in the evening, starting at 7:00
p.m. Watch for more information, including
the process of ordering tickets, coming soon
after the Easter weekend. Tickets will be
made available first to families of students
who are performing in the musical, and then
opened up to the entire school community.
Because of growth in our school population
and the large number of students performing,
please make every effort to attend our
daytime performance, as seating available
for the evening performance will be much
more limited.
Excellence in Eloquence
On Thursday, March 24th, each of our grades
4 and 5 classes had one representative who
participated in the school finals of the
Excellence in Eloquence public speaking
competition. The audience was very
impressed by the quality of all the finalists'
speeches. Congratulations to the three
Safety First--Fire Drill and Lockdown
Practice
We wish to advise our community that, as part
of our ongoing emphasis on safety and
security, we will be conducting a fire drill on the
morning of and a lockdown practice on the
afternoon of Thursday, April 7th.
Sign Language Club
The Grade Two Sign Language Club is in full
swing! Members meet every Day 1 at 2nd Nutrition
Break to learn how to communicate, using Sign
Language. The club is currently working on a song
called “Little Trees,” by Canadian singer and
songwriter Michael Mitchell.
Sign Language
Earth Week – April 16 to 22, 2011
Nutritious Lunch Helps Your Child Learn
Earth Week encompasses the international
celebration of Earth Day on April 22. This is
the most celebrated environmental event
worldwide. Initiated in 1970, this event has
been considered the birth of the
environmental movement.
Good nutrition comes from eating a balanced
diet chosen from each of the four food groups
in Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating:
grain products, vegetables and fruits, milk
products, and meat and alternatives. Children
need to eat a variety of foods every day to be
healthy. With a little creativity and planning,
you can make lunch fun for your child, while
still meeting nutritional needs. Here are a few
tips to get you started:
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.

Try to give your child some choice about
what she takes for lunch, and if
possible, involve her in preparing her
own lunch.

Plan ahead. Think through the lunches
you will prepare for the next week. Make
a shopping list to get all the items you'll
need.

Give your child as much variety as
possible. Keeping your child interested
in lunch is the first step to making sure it
is eaten.

Make the food easy to eat. If it will take
your child a few minutes to unwrap his
sandwich, he may skip it.

Resist the temptation to routinely send
sweets, pop, chips, and cookies in your
child's lunch. Save treats for special
occasions.

Try to avoid sending pre-packaged,
convenience lunches, which are often
high in salt and fat.
Here are some ways that you can celebrate
earth week with your family:

create a backyard or schoolyard
habitat

plant a garden or tree

start a recycling program at home

organize a carpooling campaign in
your neighborhood 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.
By focusing on foods from the four food groups
and limiting less nutritious foods, you can help
your child get the nutrients and energy she
needs to have a successful school day.