DR. ROBERT THORNTON P.S.

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1 DR. ROBERT THORNTON P.S. PRINCIPAL: N. Dindar VICE-PRINCIPAL: J.Clark ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: S. Waite Administrators Message WINTER 2017 December is a wonderful, and very busy, time of the school year as we prepare for all of the upcoming holiday festivities and celebrations. It is also a sign of the coming end of the calendar year, which is a time for reflection on the events of the year and for looking forward to what the future holds. These last few months at Thornton have been filled with amazing learning opportunities! We have started to make many great memories! We all have much to be proud of. On the pages of this newsletter, you ll get a glimpse at some of the fun and innovative activities that have been happening at Thornton this fall, through pictures and short articles and paragraphs written by some of our students. Together, we have embarked on an exciting Learning Journey. We hope you ll join us on our journey..! Website: thornton/ Follow us on 101 Hazelwood Dr. Whitby, Ontario L1N 3L4 Safe Arrival Line Report Absences before 8:55am by calling: After 8:55am call the school (905) ext. 2 Please note the school will be closed from Monday, December 25th to Friday, January 5th. It will be a regular dismissal on Friday, December 22nd. To our families who have been recognizing Hannukah, we hope you had the time to celebrate and recognize this special time. To all of our families who recognize Christmas, we wish you a very Merry Christmas. Finally to all our Thornton families we wish you all a very safe and happy holiday and a very Happy New Year. We hope that you have time to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends and are able to refuel for what we know will be an exciting 2018 here at Dr. Robert Thornton! Mrs. Clark and Ms. Dindar

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3 December 2017 Page 3 INCLEMENT WEATHER During inclement weather, the Durham District School Board attempts to keep schools open. It is the parents responsibility to decide if conditions are safe for their children to walk to and from school. Be sure to call Safe Arrival if your child will not attending. In the case of extreme weather, please listen to one of the local radio/tv news stations listed below for notices of transportation cancellations and school closures: CP NEWS 24, KX96-FM 95.9, CFRB-AM 1010, 680-AM News, CBC/CBL 99.1, Q107-FM 107.1, CHFI-FM 98.1, CHUM FM 104.5, Y92-FM 91.9, EZ ROCK 97.3, CICX Our weather zone is Zone 4 please visit the board website for more information. Decisions on when to go outside Please remember that during the school day students are outside for two 15 minute recesses and one 40 minute lunch break. In cases of extreme cold and based on Environment Canada guidelines we may choose to keep them inside or shorten recess breaks, however when sending them in the morning to school make sure that they are appropriately dressed for the outdoors. Typically, -25 with or without windchill tends to be the magic number, but we also factor in whether the sun is out as well as the wind speed and direction. Outdoor play during the winter months can be very fun and great for kids but often the difference between them enjoying being outside and finding the time outside miserable is how they are dressed. Playing in the snow: Children love to play in the snow and we love watching them play. However, because of the number of students we have on the yard at a given time and to ensure safe play we do have a few rules in place: Snow is not to be thrown. While we all love a good snowball fight once in a while, schools are not appropriate places for this to happen. I know that often students don't throw snow to hurt anyone, but unfortunately without meaning to this often happens. Snow can get quite icy and sting when thrown and so often the students that get hit are the students walking by and not the students who are playing together. Because of this we have a rule that snow is not to be thrown at all. Build away in the snow...but don't destroy: We strongly encourage students to build in the snow (snowmen, forts) and it is great to see what amazing things they often build together. We do have a rule though that you are only allowed to knock down something you made. Students are not to destroy other people's forts or creations. We talk to them about showing respect to others and for all the work they put into their creations. Also, students need to know that they don t own any of the snow or areas outside. They play one recess and if by the next recess someone else is using the area they played in that is okay and they may need to find another part of the yard to play in. Sliding down hills We are very fortunate here at Thornton, to have some great hills to slide or toboggan down. However, we only allow this as a supervised activity (gym, by classroom teacher) and not during recess breaks. Once again this is to ensure the safety of our students because of the number of students we have on the yard during these breaks.

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6 December 2017 Page 6 Dear Principal Road Safety Reminder It has been brought to our attention that drivers are not complying with the law that came into effect last year (January 1, 2017). This new province wide law applies to all pedestrian crossovers, school crossings and all intersections where a school crossing guard is present. The new regulations stipulate that drivers and cyclists must stop and yield the whole roadway at: pedestrian crossovers; and, at school crossings where there is a crossing guard displaying a school crossing stop sign. Drivers and cyclist can proceed only when all children, pedestrians and the school crossing guard(s) have completely crossed the road and are safely on the sidewalk. These rules apply at pedestrian crossovers identified with specific signs, road markings and lights. The new rules do not apply to pedestrian crosswalks at intersections with stop signs or traffic signals, unless a school crossing guard is present. Please note that there are currently no pedestrian crossover within the Town of Whitby Drivers and cyclist may be fined $150-$500 and 3 demerit points for offences at pedestrian crossing, school crossings and at crosswalks where there are traffic signals. Fine may be doubled in Community Safety Zones. Thank you. John Babatunde Community Transportation Safety Coordinator Public Works Department Transportation & Parking Services Division 575 Rossland Road East Whitby, ON L1N 2M8

7 December 2017 Page 7 AV Club and Bands at Thornton The Concert Band and Pop Rocks groups are congratulated on fantastic performances on Remembrance Day and at the Winter Concert..! Monday instrumental practice club is growing each week and we look forward to Dale Russel and the SASS program every Wed. starting in the new year. AV club has shown their responsibility and tech knowledge as they set up and ran all of our school gatherings, including our winter concert! We would like to thank Mr. Watson and Mr. Hruska for their time and hard work with the students in these activities. Holiday Basket Raffle Once again this year, the SCC put together many fantastic baskets that were raffled off during the week of the Holiday Concert. The sale of raffle tickets raised more than $1000, all of which will go back into school programs. Thank you to the members of the SCC for their work in soliciting donations for the baskets and in putting them together so beautifully..! Congratulations to all of the winners!

8 December 2017 Page 8 Dr. Robert Thornton Holiday Concert At Dr. Robert Thornton on December 12th, there was a Holiday concert. At the concert, each class did a performance. Some classes sang, some classes did drama plays and some classes played musical instruments, and our school s concert band played their instruments. They played Heathens and In The Air Tonight. In the front foyer there were carolers playing their instruments, and when you were entering the gym there were raffles where you buy tickets, and someone will pull a ticket from the bin, and if it was your ticket you would win one of several baskets. Also there was a game. What you had to do was guess how much candy was in the jar and the closest guess would win the jar and the candy. At the school a few days before the concert there were tickets handed out to each student. If you bought a ticket you would be entered in a contest for V.I.P. seats and parking. When you enter the school you will enter the gym and all the raffles will be there and you will be handed a program telling what each class is doing, your child will go to their class and when it is time for them to perform the runners will come and get their class. There are also M.C. s telling what act is coming next and entertaining you in between performances. That s just one of the activities at Dr. Robert Thornton and, it s really fun, all the students, teachers and parents enjoy it. Annie and Abby

9 December 2017 Page 9 Dr. Robert Thornton students loved the movie Wonder! After reading the book, the students went to see the movie in November. I really liked the field trip to watch Wonder on November 20,2017.This trip was for Grades 6-8. The trip was a really good field trip in my opinion. We went to Landmark Cinemas and watched Wonder.This experience was so good and I rate this movie 5 stars out of 5 stars.i would recommend this type of field trip in the future for younger grades who didn t get to go to the field trip so they could get the experience I had. -Hashir Who: our intermediate classes What: Wonder movie When: November Where: Landmark cinemas Why: It was fantastic because it was inspiring! On November 2017, the intermediate classes of Dr. Robert Thornton went to Landmark Cinemas to see the movie version of Wonder. The movie, although with some differences present, was good. I don t want to spoil much, but the movie is about August Pullman who is starting school for the first time but he has a facial deformation and he is afraid he won't make any friends. The accommodations at the theater were very good! We had lots of room and we sat in recliners! -Jack I went to watch Wonder with my friends. Wonder was really good and the moral of the movie was really interesting. I liked Auggie s acting in the movie. I went to the movie after coming from my home and we went to the Landmark Cinema in the morning. It was so great because I bought a cold drink and popcorn and sat with my best friend Ilija. That why I enjoyed the movie. Ibrahim

10 December 2017 Page 10 Caption describing picture or graphic. Treetop Trekking at Trillium Trails Ms. Chivers class went to Treetop Trekking at the end of September. We went to Treetop Trekking for zip lining and obstacle courses in the trees. It was very fun because there were 3 types of courses (Easy, Medium, and Hard) and you could challenge yourself to do all of the courses. Also, at the end, there was a huge zip line called the Big Zip that started in the tallest tree and landed on a platform a couple of feet off the ground. It was fantastic because it was high off the ground and you got to experience a high obstacle course! -Maya and Riley On September 19th, the Grade 6/7s in Mrs. Chivers class and Mrs. To catch the reader's attention, place an Smedley s class went to Trillium Trails. Trillium Trails is an outdoor obstacle interesting sentence or quote from the story here. course and there are super fast ziplines there! There is a beginner course, which is still fun and a little challenging. You cross shaky bridges and big nets in the trees!then you have to go down your first zip line. In the intermediate course there is a giant tarzan swing and there is a tightrope. Then you go down the zip line. After that there is a big barrel you have to go through. A little later on, you go on these ropes that shake you high up in the air. Then you cross a giant bridge. The last course is the expert course, which is very high up in the air! All the bridges are very shaky and it is very hard. There are two zip lines! After the expert course you can go on the big zip! It is 180 feet tall! It is very fast and very long and you zip through the trees and the big zip is my personal favourite part there. I recommend you go to Trillium Trails. It is very fun and thrilling! -Jaiden One Caption of the fun things we did describing this fall was when we went to picture or Treetop Trekking in late September. It was the most fun graphic. field trip I ve ever gone on! We started by going on a training course, which was super fun. At Trillium Trails they had three courses of different difficulty levels. After we did the training course we went to the easiest course and it was so fun. After a little walk, some people, including me, got to the second course. We did that and it was more fun. Then we went to the Big Zip, and it was a 750m long straight zip line which was super fun. That was my favourite field trip! -Nathan

11 December 2017 Page 11 Culture of Peace at Dr. Robert Thornton Dr. Robert Thornton s Culture of Peace Club is a great way to solve problems through the school. The club was started at the beginning of the year and is run by Ms. Close and Ms. Smedley. The Culture of Peace Team has been all around the community volunteering at different places. Some of the places we have been are: WE Day, volunteering at a clothing drive and many more. We have also done a food drive for Hurricane Irma, and many fundraisers for different places. The Culture of Peace Club is a great way to get in touch with your community and the world. -Charlotte Thornton Junior Girls Basketball Team Coming soon... I am writing about the Thornton Junior Girls basketball team because I was on the team last year and had a great first experience. The Thornton Junior Girls basketball team is a very inclusive and co-operative team. I was on the team last year and I had an amazing time playing with them. The 2 coaches are Ms.Smedley and Mr.Kimura. The tryouts are around end of January or beginning of February. The basketball team is probably the longest sports season here at Thornton. We usually had some practices in the morning at 8:00 am and at lunch recess too. We usually had about 3 practices a week and around 2 games a week. It was really fun during our home games, because almost everyone from our school that I know was there to support us. I had a really fun time playing with everyone last year and I can t wait for this year and next year to play with everyone, and hopefully we win the finals game this year. I wanted to write about the Thornton Junior Girls basketball team because it was my first time being on the team and I think I had an awesome year with all the girls. I am looking forward to next year with them too. -Maya

12 December 2017 Page 12 Some Dates of Significance for Winter January: Tamil Heritage Month 1st New Year s Day Islam 5th Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Ji Sikhism 6th Epiphany Christian 6th Orthodox Christmas Eve Orthodox 6th Nativity of Christ Orthodox Christian 7th Orthodox Christmas Day Orthodox 15th Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr USA/Canada 15th Martin Luther King Day USA/Canada 21st Lincoln Alexander Day Canada 27th International Day of the Commemoration of the Victims of the Holocaust UNESCO February: Black History Month 13th Shrove Tuesday Christian 14th Valentine s Day UNESCO 14th Ash Wednesday-Lent Beings Christian 16th Chinese New Year Chinese, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism 19th Family Day Ontario 20th World Social Justice Day UN 28th Pink Shirt Day Canada 28th-1st Purism Judaism March: 1st Purim Judaism 1st-2nd Holi Christian 2nd Women s World Day of Prayer WDPIC 8th International Women s Day UN 17th St. Patrick s Day Christian 20th-21st Naw-Ruz Baha I 21st International Day for the Elimination Of Racial Discrimination UN 25th International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery & the Transatlantic Slave Trade UN 25th Palm Sunday Christian 29th Holy Thursday Christian 30th Good Friday All Christian 30th-7th Pesach (Passover 1st two days) Judaism Dates to Remember Jan First Day Back Jan. 7-8.T.A.M.I. Training Gr. 7/8 Jan. 16..Author Visit Chad Solomon Gr. K-4 2 p.m. Jan. 17..T.A.M.I. Training Gr. 7/8 Jan PA Day (no classes for students) Jan. 22.Sinclair visit for some Gr. 8 (a.m.) Jan. 31.Anderson visit for some Gr. 8 (a.m.) Feb 2..Chuck E Cheese Mouse Visit (2 p.m.) Feb 2.Thornton Night at Chuck E Cheese (3-9 p.m.) Feb. 9.visit t o Anderson CI for some Gr.8 (p.m.) Feb. 14..Dental Screening FDK/GR.2/Modified Feb. 14. Term One Report Cards home Feb Family Day (no classes for students) Mar March Break (no classes for students) Mar Gr.8 Grad Photos Mar Good Friday (no classes for students) Apr. 2...Easter Monday (no classes for students) Pizza will be sold every Thursday for $2.00 per slice We are looking for volunteers between 11:30 and 12:30 to help with distributing Pizza. If you are interested, please see Mrs. Waite in the office. Thank you! SUPERINTENDENT OF ANDERSON C.V.I FAMILY OF SCHOOLS Anne Marie Laginski ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER Stephen Nevills WHITBY TRUSTEES Christine Winters or christine1.wintersferet@ddsb.ca Kim Zeppieri or kimberly.zeppieri@ddsb.ca