|
NEWSLETTER - January 23, 2006
Virtues
The virtues covered in the first term were Respect,
Co-operation, Orderliness and Compassion. We congratulate
all the virtue award winners who have made us
proud by demonstrating the virtue of the month.
The next assembly for the virtues of Compassion
and Excellence will be held on 25 January 2006
at 10:00 a.m. Parents are welcome to attend.
Science Program-Grade 3&4
In our quest for giving our students the best,
we are piloting a new science program for grades
3 and 4. As most of you know, we always bring
at least one new innovative program to the school
in each school year. This year in addition to
the Science is a new math program for grade 4.
If the pilot is successful then we roll it out
completely in the following year. This is a distinct
advantage of Royal Academia. We update our programs
based on research and use the programs which are
most successful in helping students learn.
Winter Concert
Thanks to the support of students, staff and
parents, our annual winter concert held on December
20, 2005 was a success. Students showcased their
talents in various events such as singing, dancing,
acting and recital of musical instruments including
the keyboards, cello and the Korean harp. We thank
all the parents who took time off to join us and
make the evening a grand success.
Upcoming Events
Lunch Program
We have a new lunch program that will begin operation
from January 30, 2006. We encourage you to try
out this new program as we have found it to be
superior.
Pancake Breakfast
Pancake Breakfast will be held on Feb 08, 2006.
Forms will be sent out later this week. All parents
are invited to join us and make this family event
a success.
Gauss Contest
Our Grade 7&8 students are encouraged to join
our Gauss Contest group to prepare for the Contest
in May. We will have free practise activities
on Wednesdays (3:30- 4:00p.m.) in the Math Room
to prepare for this competition.
Baby Talk
Congratulations to our Vice-Principal, Ms Gilda
Couto, on her second baby boy, Christian Giancola
and Ms Celia Kim on her baby girl Chloe Kira-Faith
Kim.
School Review
Recently, Royal Academia went under the microscope.
Our school was reviewed by the Ontario Federation
of Independent Schools. This review is not mandatory
but we voluntarily submitted to the review for
its many benefits to our families. The review
identifies weaknesses and recommends improvements.
It is also an objective confirmation of the school's
strengths. It benefits parents and students as
it gives you third party evidence of the quality
of the school (if the school passes). Our review
was done by two school Principals who have over
40 year's experience in running successful schools.
They looked at our mission statement and our policies
and procedures. They also visited our classrooms
to ensure that policies were being followed and
that our school mission was being carried out
as we stated.
Royal Academia passed the School Review process
and now a nice certificate is displayed on Mr.
Cheong's wall. This is a very prestigious certificate
and we are all proud of it. Initially, the Executive
Director of the Ontario Federation of Independent
Schools expressed some surprise that a school
as young as ours (less than 10 years old) would
volunteer for a School Review. Given our success,
that internal confidence was warranted. Congratulations
to the staff, students and parents of this school
!
Parent Council
Our parent council meets regularly every 6-8
weeks. Our next parent council meeting will be
on Thursday, January 26, 2006. All parents are
welcome to attend. If you would like to bring
items to the agenda please make suggestions to
the office or a parent council representative.
Please only bring forward items of a school-wide
nature i.e. certain items can be addressed directly
with the office or your child's teacher.
Our parent council is Sandra Armstrong, Jacqueline
Ho, Maneck Khambatta, Beata Gomez and Tracey Sharma.
Mr. Cheong and Ms. Lankes are the staff representatives.
We would like to thank the Parent Council who
volunteer their time for the good of all parents
and students at Royal Academia.
Student Council Activities
Royal Academia's Student Council has been very
active and triumphant throughout Term 1. As you
know, the Bake Sale and Pumpkin Carving Contest
were quite successful. In the month of December,
the Student Council organized a Winter Dance.
The staff and students who participated in the
Dance enjoyed themselves greatly with musical
chairs, 'freeze', popcorn, and lots of dancing!
During the last week of school before the Winter
Holidays, all classes were given a 'Wish List',
where students listed items needed for their classrooms
(up to $50). The Student Council 'elves' visited
each and every classroom, handing out the requested
gifts with good spirit. The appreciation from
the classes was very evident and welcomed by the
Student Council.
In addition to activities held for Royal Academia's
population, the Student Council has also been
focusing on giving back to the community. Thanks
to all the kind-hearted donators, the Toy/Food
Drive held by the Student Council was a winner.
The many items donated were handed to charities.
In addition, our Grade 7 and 8 students volunteered
their time and effort for the CHUM City Christmas
Wish, helping sort toys for needy children.
The hard-working individuals who are behind these
events are:
Catherine Ho (President)
Ryan Chin (Vice-President)
Vijay Joshi (Secretary)
Stephanie Tsang (Treasurer)
Shubeedsha Balamurali (Grade 1 Representative)
Juwan Armstrong (Grade 2 Representative)
Linette Godley (Grade 3 Representative)
Jason Writer (Grade 6 Representative)
Jonathan Ravindran (Grade 7 Representative)
Bobby Karmakar (Grade 8 Representative)
Ms. Lankes (Staff Advisor)
Ms. Bannon (Staff Advisor)
The Student Council has many more fun activities
planned for Term 2, especially for Valentine's
Day! Thank-you for a terrific Term 1!
School Choice
School choice should be a fundamental right of
parents. We would never accept being told that
we must send our children to a Doctor because
they happens to have an office closest to our
house. Yet we accept this with our children's
education. In the latest survey by Children First
the following findings were found from its parents.
Percentage noting significant academic improvement
over Public school **74%
Percentage noting some academic improvement over
Public School***17%
Overall 91% finding some or significant improvement
in academics
Percentage noting significant improvement in
social skills****54%
Percentage noting some improvement in social skills*****32%
Overall 86% finding some or significant improvement
in social skills.
This highlights the importance of school choice.
Please contact your Member of Provincial Parliament
if you believe in School Choice. Currently, the
Minister of Education believes that there is no
need or demand for School Choice.
Children First Grant
Children First Grants is Canada's first privately
funded program to help Ontario families improve
their educational choices. Children First offers
tuition assistance grants, so that parents who
could not otherwise afford it can choose an independent
elementary school for their children. The program
will fund up to 50% of tuition costs for children
from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 based solely
on financial need. You can find out details at
www.childrenfirstgrants.ca. Further information
is also available at the office.
Thought for the day
"Knowledge is a process of piling up facts;
wisdom lies in their simplification."
**- Martin H. Fischer
|
