June is a time of many celebrations: School Picnic, Award Presentations, Talent Show, Tie Ceremony, and of course, Graduation! For those students who will be moving on to new schools in the Fall, we wish you all the very best in your studies and in life. You will be fondly remembered by all of us at Glenburnie School. Parents of students in Grades 3 to 8 will be advised of their child’s C.T.B.S. test scores shortly. Please remember that these results report on student performance ‘on a day in time’ and must be viewed as part of the whole continuum or ‘story’ of your child’s achievement profile. Please inform your child’s teacher how you wish to receive the C.T.B.S. results. Parents are welcome to arrange a meeting, phone call, or receive the results via email. The partnership between school, parent, and child is essential.

On behalf of all of our staff and students, I would like to thank all parents who helped in so many ways to make this school year such a success. Whether you were a class parent or a committee event volunteer, your efforts, individually and collectively, have been greatly appreciated by all. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank each and every one of our parents for allowing us the privilege of working with your children. The memories created in elementary school are ones that will last a lifetime!

All of us at Glenburnie School, wish our families a safe and happy summer vacation. See you in September!

Lights, Camera, Action!  After months of auditions, rehearsals, set construction and painting, costume creations and fittings, and much more, our musical production, The Little Mermaid Jr. is set to open on Wednesday, May 1^st.  It is sure to be a tremendous musical success!  I would personally like to thank the many staff members, in particular, Ms. Bowman, Mrs. Harvey, Miss Hewitt, Mrs. Churchill, Mrs. Gorrie, Mr. McCammon, and Mr. Caputo, and the dedicated parent volunteers and Glenburnie graduates who devoted their time and skills to help prepare for this tremendous production.  What a wonderful collaboration of artistic talent and creativity we have to celebrate at Glenburnie School!

 Glenburnie School’s Mini We Day was a resounding success! Thank you to Mrs. Ivany, Ms. Johnston, and the We Team for organizing such a spectacular day.  Our amazing guest speakers left the audience with an unforgettable message which called upon each of us to find the potential within ourselves to achieve greatness; that being any goal to which we set our minds to achieve.  The message was clear: one person can indeed make a difference in the lives of others.  For the remainder of the day, students participated in team building and class/group activities which educated and further demonstrated our school’s Me to We initiatives.

 In Athletics, I would like to congratulate our Floor Hockey teams and their coaches for their continued commitment to excellence and fine sportsmanship in their recent tournaments. 

I am very proud of Glenburnie’s Chess Team, coached by Mrs. Hodges and Mrs. Kendall, who recently competed with students from other Oakville Independent schools.  They represented our school with pride and we congratulate them on their group and individual successes.   

 Glenburnie School was pleased to again host the Oakville Regional Spelling Bee of Canada. C-O-N-G-R-A-T-U-L-A-T-I-O-N-S to all of our competitors!  You should be so pleased with your personal achievements.  Special thanks to Mrs. Sauro for overseeing this wonderful event. 

 This month at Glenburnie, students in Grades 3 to 8 will be writing their Canadian Tests of Basic Skills.  Please note that there is no preparation required. We simply ask that the students have a good night’s sleep, a healthy breakfast, and arrive at school on time each day. In addition, our Grades 7 and 8 students will be studying for, and writing, their final exams later this month. This experience will serve them well as they prepare for high school.

Our annual School Picnic is a month away and I look forward to sharing this special family day of fun and games with all of you.

If you plan to enrol your child/ren in our popular Summer Camp, please do so without delay as spots are filling up quickly.  Ms. Roy, Summer Camp Registrar, will be happy to assist you with registration.

Please join me in welcoming back Mrs. Dey from her recent maternity leave.  Mrs. Dey will be assisting with classroom coverages and special projects for the remainder of this school year.  We are also pleased to welcome Miss O’Rourke who will be assisting with the preparation of the Annual School Picnic, Summer Camp, and other projects.

As the end of this academic school year is fast approaching, please encourage your child to continue to put forth his/her best effort.  Feel free to schedule an appointment to discuss your child’s academic and social progress with your child’s homeroom teacher or myself anytime.

Every successul individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together. ~ Paul Ryan

Glenburnie School has been proactive in this area, and has taken a multi-grade approach to engaging students in this field and introducing the world of programming in Computer Technology classes.

Formal instruction begins in Grades 1 and 2 when students are introduced to BeeBot and Roamer, robots that uses the LOGO programming language to move around the floor.  Instruction continues in Grade 3 when students learn to utilize software which replicates their foundation knowledge, as well as building on additional coding skills, such as how to repeat lines of code.

Once these skills have been mastered in the early grades, students in Grades 4 to 8 are introduced to Scratch, a software program developed by MIT, which can be used to create interactive art, stories, and games.

Introduction of programming skills in Computer Technology classes is another way that Glenburnie School effectively prepares students to confidently meet the challenges and opportunities they will face in our rapidly changing world.

There are many exciting events planned for the weeks ahead. From our upcoming Earth Day activities, our Mini- We Day, countdown to The Little Mermaid production, our ongoing academic cross-curricular learning opportunities, projects, debates, Speech Festivals, and more; we have so many ways to celebrate our creative learning.

To our Grade 8 students: Graduation photos will be taken on Tuesday, April 9th. As you near the end of your academic experience at Glenburnie, please continue to work hard, study hard, and put forth as much effort into your final exams as possible. The rewards of your efforts will follow.

Individual student recognition is ongoing at Glenburnie School. Within the classroom, students are recognized for their day-to-day academic and individual accomplishments. At our monthly assemblies, we are proud to celebrate the many school-wide sporting, music, and thematic initiatives which students have been involved, and welcome them to share individual philanthropic endeavours.

Our Star and Student of the Month programmes recognize students who have worked toward achieving a goal or have further developed their personal integrity in keeping with our school-wide theme of Leadership and Pride. Students are nominated by homeroom, rotary and division teachers. Global Awareness recognition is awarded to students who have initiated community leadership and awareness.

In Grade 7 and 8, students are encouraged to spread their community spirit by finding a way to share their passion while they volunteer within the school or within their community. Students are awarded with milestone recognition pins to thank them for their contributions.

We are looking forward to the warm, sunny weather which is on the way. Have you started to make plans for the summer? Be sure to stop by our Main Lobby and learn more about the wide variety of summer camps which are being offered this year at Glenburnie School. As we delve into the final semester of study for this academic school year, I encourage each and every student to make the most of every day.

Life is a learning process, and changes can be wonderful opportunities for growth. Don’t be afraid of change! Embrace it and grow! ~ Nishan Panwar

Through family involvement in recreational activities, there are many opportunities for open-ended discussions, creativity, and exploration of new ideas, whereby a child can express their insights, opinions, and growing passions. Although many families are unable to get away on a formal vacation, there are still many interesting activities that families may wish to consider. All are fun, inexpensive, and educational. They include:

Day Trips
Using a road map, plan some day trips to neighbouring towns with your child. Together, search the internet for information, local history, and points of interest. Plan the route, calculating the time and miles, and together decide on places you and your child would like to visit. Bring along a camera, and if the weather is nice, a picnic lunch. Your child may want to bring along a travel game to play in the car as well. Pamphlets and brochures that are collected along the journey can be included in a future memory album of the week’s adventures.

Put on your Tourist Hat
As a family, choose some local tourist sites to visit such as the African Lion Safari, Dundurn Castle, the Niagara region, the Elora Gorge, Museums of Art and History, or one of the many areas of interest in Toronto.

Learn Something New
Have a family discussion to decide on a special project of interest. The sky’s the limit on project ideas! Some ideas include: chocolate making, setting up a vegetable garden, building a bird feeder or a backyard deck, ceramic or pottery making, or learning a new sport such as bowling, badminton, or how to play a board game such as backgammon or chess.

Become Experts
As a family, choose a country to focus on and learn more about. Search the web, the local library or museum, bookstores, and even movies. Plan a family dinner featuring food from the country, and encourage everyone to share their new knowledge. This is an excellent opportunity on modelling how to become a life-long learner.

Renew Old Friendships
Plan to visit relatives and friends that you haven’t seen in a while or invite them over. Play family games, review old photo albums, and update family histories. Take plenty of photos to add to the March Break memory album.

Spend the Week with Relatives
For working parents, there are several local March Break camp experiences that may be of interest to your child. Alternately, your child may wish to spend some quality time with a special aunt, uncle, or their grandparents. Time away can provide parents and their child with a fresh perspective and an opportunity to develop more worldly views into how other people organize their lives and priorities.

The most important thing about making March Break plans is to show your child that their ideas are important and valued, that you love and appreciate them for who they are, that you listen to and hear them, and you support their budding passions. Whatever you decide, enjoy this special time together and have fun as you create magical and memorable memories with your family.

Linda Sweet M.S. Ed.
Founder and Director, Glenburnie School
Providing a progressive, innovative private school education
www.glenburnieschool.com
www.lindasweet.ca/blog

The new year is a wonderful time for families to discuss their own family values and ways of making a difference in other peoples’ lives. These discussions will set the tone for effective communication throughout the new year.

Please review guidelines and expectations with your children for safe computer usage within the home.  Many children now have their own hand-held wireless devices with Internet and social media networking capabilities.  We offer words of caution to parents, as some students have remarked that they interact using their own devices well into the night when their parents are asleep. To eliminate this activity, parents may want to consider establishing a central location within the home where all electronics can be stored for the night, and ‘charged’.

As always, the month of January will be a busy one at Glenburnie! Each class will explore new units where thought-provoking studies will enrich the minds of all students. We will continue to enrich the learning experience for all by extending the studies beyond the classroom. Extensions include ‘travelling back in time’ in history class, holding in-class debates, participating in class literacy activities, oral presentations, furthering computer skills through inter-related project work, hands-on experiments, field trips and guest speakers.

On Friday, January 18^th, Glenburnie will be hosting our first ever Economics Fair.  Each grade and division will be hosting and showcasing how economics concepts are used in every day learning and lives.

Rehearsals are underway for this year’s school musical, The Little Mermaid; and our Varsity sports teams, Concert and GBS Bands, and Primary Enriched and Junior/Intermediate Choirs continue to represent Glenburnie School in the highest manner. 

We continue to enjoy working with you, and your children, and invite you to schedule an appointment any time to meet with your child’s homeroom and/or rotary teachers, or myself, to discuss your child’s individual needs and/or educational programme.  

Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.  ~ Joseph Campbell

1) Set up and equip a homework station before school begins with tools and materials their child will need when working on projects and assignments. Shopping and choosing new materials can be fun and gets a child off to a good start. This preparation can reduce a child’s frustration and eliminate time lost if there are sufficient pens, pencils, markers, crayons, rulers, and staplers at their fingertips. Idea: Consider including a little sand timer, a calendar, pads of paper, and a supply of Post‐it notes.

2) Lights out!  The week prior to the first day of school, discuss and negotiate rules and timeframes for bedtime, lights out, and wake‐up time. Include your child in the decision making regarding lunch preparation, clothing for the next day, the amount of evening media permitted (computer and TV).

3) When planning extra‐curricular evening activities, a good rule of thumb is to select one activity for the week and to do this one well. With all good intentions, parents often schedule too many after school activities for their child. Please remember, like adults, children need time to destress and ‘to play’ after a challenging day at school. Teachers find that children who have busy evening schedules often arrive at school tired, and have difficulty focusing on their lessons.

4) Healthy Meals and Snacks provide the best ‘fuel’ for growing bodies. Empty foods which are genetically altered, sugar‐laden, and processed contain very little nutritional value. Feed your child’s mind with organic foods, and fresh vegetables and fruits. Have a variety of fresh veggies available in the fridge for fast, nutritious snacks for home and to pack in school lunch bags.

5) Organize the household for a restful night’s sleep.  Set your child up for a good night’s sleep by encouraging your child to ‘disconnect’ from all electronics, including computers and TV watching an hour and a half before bedtime. In addition, a calm, harmonious home environment will help to ensure that your child will experience a restful and peaceful sleep.

When parents are proactive and organize their home for a successful start for each school day, your child’s teachers will also be more successful in their role as educators and in helping to guide their students to achieve to their very best potential. Children who approach each school day well prepared and rested are set for success. A supportive home environment provides a wonderful foundation for a child’s development, and enables children to develop greater self‐esteem and confidence when meeting the challenges that come their way.

Linda Sweet M.S. Ed.
Founder and Director, Glenburnie School
Pre‐School to Grade 8
Providing a progressive and innovative private school education
www.glenburnieschool.com
www.lindasweet.ca/blog

The following points will be instrumental in helping to get your child off to a great start this September:

Reflection – Reflection and goal setting discussions provide parents and their children with an excellent foundation for approaching the new school year. Review with your child the following points: What worked best for you last year? What were your greatest successes? What were your greatest challenges? What can we do to help you achieve at your personal best level? What ‘at home’ materials do you need to do your homework and projects?

Goal Setting – Help your child to set personal and academic goals for the new school year. Goal setting could include improved study habits or organizational skills, aiming for specific achievements or awards, and making new friends. Helping or guiding your child to establish realistic goals or objectives will go a long way to determining his/her future success. It will also ensure that your child knows that they have your complete support. When students have an influence on the direction they take, they assume greater ownership on how they choose to meet the challenges the school year will bring.

In addition, it is always important to have your child’s eyes and ears checked as an undiagnosed sight or hearing deficit can lead to undue stress and needless delays in academic skill development. Daily reading practice and review of math facts will help to dust off the cobwebs of the mind and bring your child up to speed for the first classes in September.

When you help your child to prepare for a new year of learning, the greatest message you are sending is that you love them, and will be there to support them. Children who arrive at school on the first day, secure with the knowledge that they are loved and supported by their parents, and are treated with dignity and respect by their new teacher, have all the fundamental foundations in place. The magic and excitement of learning can now begin!

Linda Sweet M.S. Ed.
Founder and Director, Glenburnie School
Pre-School to Grade 8
Providing an progressive and innovative private school education.
www.glenburnieschool.com

While the focus for the school year is on teaching and learning academic concepts and skills, social, organizational and self-esteem challenges are also important.  The degree to which a student is able to cope with these particular types of issues that arise, has a direct influence on their academic success. 

 Beyond the 3 R’s, school is all about friendships, how to develop and maintain friends,  how to meet challenges, how to make best choices, how to deal with mistakes, how to set and meet goals, how to be an effective member of the class community, and the list goes on. 

As parents and teachers, we want the very best for our children and it is natural to want to protect them.  In an effort to protect, a good number of parents succeed in only postponing the inevitable social and interpersonal lessons that every child needs to learn. Children must develop effective coping skills for interacting with a wide range of classmates – from the quiet ones, to the outgoing, to the jock, to the popular, to the studious, and even to the bullies.  Teachers are there to advise, guide, and to ensure fairness and safety.  Some parents demand that the problem or troublesome situation go away, and that the other child be removed so there can be greater peace and harmony at school, and subsequently at home.  

In their desire to solve a child’s problem, some parents are actually eliminating opportunities whereby a child could learn how to develop and practise interpersonal strategies for themselves.   The younger a child is when developing strong interpersonal strategies, the more effective and confident they will be in later life.   Postponing these valuable life and community experiences does not serve a child well, as the older the student is, the higher the stakes become.  Parents are advised to think twice before interfering, except, of course, when safety is a concern.  Teachers are excellent resources for advice and support.  Working together, both at school and at home, can provide consistent guidance and supportive language to help a child cope with social challenges.  There are also a number of  local community services and workshops available that offer professional expertise for parents and students. 

Being an effective parent often means taking the longer view.  Children are very fortunate when the significant adults in their lives provide support, counsel, love and understanding to help them continue to develop effective interpersonal skills which will last a lifetime.

Linda Sweet  M.S. Ed.
Founder and Director, Glenburnie School
Pre-School to Grade 8
Providing an progressive and innovative private school education. 
www.glenburnieschool.com

Bullying incidents usually result from fears and insecurities, or the need for power and and control, or can be a misguided attempt at leadership. Helping children understand the differences between leadership based on intimidation and coercion, and leadership based on empowerment, helps ‘the followers’ to better understand their role and choices when supporting a particular leader. Are they there because they choose to be, orbecause they do not want to be the one being excluded, teased or perhaps worse?

When the root motivations to bully are understood, clarified, and addressed, the bullying generally ceases. Bullies often have issues of poor self-esteem, and putting others down makes them feel more powerful. It can also be a cry for help from the bully as they may be having troubles themselves and need support. Bullying behaviour also can reflect poor adult role models at home, physical or mental abuse, real or imagined fears, lack of sleep, and even poor nutrition. Healthy bodies lead to healthy minds!

Victims of bullying also need to better understand their role when being picked on. They benefit from developing strategies such as: using stronger words of empowerment, and improved body language. Sometimes being the victim can be a form of self-abuse, i.e. putting oneself into situations that beg for trouble. With support and through roleplaying practices, the individual can develop their own tools of empowerment, of greater self-confidence in their own unique talents, and start to set firm boundaries for themselves for what is acceptable. They develop greater confidence to stand their ground when someone crosses the boundary into their space.

Parents and teachers quite often discover that a good number of children experience difficulty discriminating differences and changes in facial expressions and body language, or do not understand the feeling of empathy towards others. This can be apparent in either the bully or the victim, and can be the underlying cause of misunderstandings and conflicts. Visual based therapies, roleplaying, and counseling can be very helpful in these circumstances to expand one`s awareness and responses.

Followers of a bully, and bystanders, also need to understand their role and responsibility. Followers must realize that silence ‘is agreement’ and that they are really not being passive in their bystander role. They are actually making a choice to be a follower. Not making a choice to do something is still a choice. We need to congratulate the ‘reluctant leader’ who steps up to solve a problem or conflict when no one else is able or willing to do so.

It is critical that we treat each other with dignity and respect, and for adults to model this behaviour so our children will, in turn, model the same towards others.

Linda Sweet M.S. Ed.
Founder and Director, Glenburnie School
Pre-School to Grade 8
Providing a progressive and innovative private school education
www.glenburnieschool.com