A reminder to all of our families that Monday, February 19th is Family Day. There will be no school. We wish you all a wonderful day of relaxation enjoying time with family and friends.

It’s time to remind children about being safe in our community – It’s a good time for parents to remind children about personal safety. Here’s what children need to know:

• Their name, age, telephone number, address, city and province. This can be done through rhyme or song.
• How to contact their parents at any time, by memorizing cell or work numbers.
• How and under what circumstances to call 911.
• To never approach or enter a stranger’s vehicle. A responsible adult would never ask a child for directions or any other question for that matter.
• Make sure they know they have a right to say “no” to an adult, especially when the adult is asking them to do something they have been taught is wrong or feels uncomfortable. Reminding children of this right is important because children are taught from a young age to respect adults.
• To always tell parents where they will be and to never enter someone’s home without their parent’s permission.
• If home alone, never admit it when answering the phone. Never answer a knock at the door or speak through it. Adults can be very persuasive. Teach your child to call you if there is a knock at the door and if they fear for their safety, teach them to call 911. Make sure they know that police officers are there to help them and would not get mad if it were a false alarm.
• If they think they are being followed or are in danger they should run home or to a public place. If someone grabs them, they should try to get away, yelling and screaming while doing so.
• It is important to play in safe areas, never take shortcuts and stick with a buddy whenever possible.

It is never too early or too late to teach children the importance of personal safety. Common sense, communication and consistency are the keys. Remind children to alert a responsible adult if something strange happens that makes them feel uncomfortable. Remember, crime prevention is everyone’s responsibility.  For more information on this subject, visit the York Regional Police website.

The library will be having a Scholastic Book Fair this week. The fair begins on Tuesday and runs until Friday morning. The Book Fair is open throughout the school day from 8:30-4:00 every day, and will also be open during first and second recess. All students in the school will have an opportunity to browse the Book Fair and students may come home with a wish list of items that they would like to purchase. A portion of all sales at the Book Fair goes directly back to the library to purchase new materials. All students will also have an opportunity to win the Book Fair Door Prize which is 25 dollars for them and 25 dollars for their homeroom teacher to spend at the Book Fair. Special thank you goes out to the parent volunteers and student volunteers that help to make the Book Fair successful and possible.

The Junior Division is proud to present, “Jukebox Time Machine” for our Junior Concert. The show is about music through the decades. To ensure the safety of all students and guests, as well as being compliant with fire regulations, we have a maximum capacity of 170 guests per show. There will be two shows on March 8th: one starting at 6:00 pm and the other at 7:15 pm.  Each junior student will be allotted 2 tickets in total. A form will be going home on Wednesday, February 21st with information on the concert. Please indicate on the form the time slot that works best for you and return the form back to your child’s teacher by Thursday, March 1st.

Parkview’s Student Book Exchange is underway! Thank you for your donations as we have received almost 2000 books!! Organized by School Council’s Environment Committee and supported by Parkview staff, one student’s used book becomes a “new” book for another. Participating students will be able to trade in their vouchers and choose from the selection of books and magazines donated from Tuesday, February 13th to Friday, February 16th. Students will be able to visit the Book Exchange more than once, if they wish. Thank you for your participation!

Our Lunar New Year Celebration, hosted by School Council, will be held on March 1, 2018. Please save the date!! More details to follow.

Parkview’s Parent Tea will be held on February 22, 2018 from 9-10am. Parents, guardians and caregivers are welcome to attend and learn more about The ZONES of Regulation Program that is being used at Parkview. The ZONES of Regulation is a thinking framework which support students with self-regulation and problem solving strategies. If you are interested in attending this session or if you require a translator please email the school.

The Annual Parkview School Council BBQ & Fun Fair will take place on Wednesday, June 6^th, 2018 from 3:15 pm to 6:00 pm.  Save the date!! The first meeting of the Parkview School Council BBQ Committee will be on Monday, February 26^th from 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm at the school. Everyone is welcome to attend the Parkview School Council BBQ Committee meetings and help plan this fun event. If you would like any additional information, please feel free to contact the Chair of the Parkview School Council BBQ Committee,  Julie Sellery

Our school-wide focus for the Month of February is Random Acts of Kindness. We are encouraging all of our students to think of kind acts to share with those around them in an effort to make someone else happy.

Traffic Signs at Parkview  – The City of Markham has added and made some changes to the traffic signs to address the congestion on the street at pick-up and drop off times and to increase the safety during this time. There will be enforcement officers present to support these new traffic rules. Please remember that children should not be crossing the street in front of the school. The Bus Loop Using the bus loop effectively can support us to alleviate traffic.

Settlement and Education Partnership in York Region (SEPYR)  – SEPYR provides settlement services in many languages for newcomer students and their families in their local schools. We have a settlement worker who can speak Mandarin, at Parkview Public School on Monday mornings to support you. You can contact Ms. Julie Zhang @ 416.567.4026 or by email: jzhang@ccsyr.org

We would like to remind all of our families that our goal is to work together to support the well-being of all our students. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to working in partnership with our Parkview Community.

Our next School Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 20th @ 7:00pm.

Please visit our School Website for all up-to-date school information.