I wanted to take some time to wish all members of the Titan Family the very best for this holiday season and for a fantastic 2016.
2015 has been very busy and stressful for many of our Titan Family members. With the closure of schools in our area, the awkwardness of being in a new building with many new faces, the added confusion of political action, and the physical limitations of 'living' in 'portable city', our community has had a ton to deal with. I'm so proud of our students, staff and parents for their flexibility, understanding and cooperation during all of these situations. By 'living' through this together, we are building up a strong and resilient school community.
I have thoroughly enjoyed working with our Titans this fall. I've seen so much growth from our students and I can't wait to see what is in store in 2016.
Please take some time over the next couple of weeks to enjoy the company of friends and family and the spirit of the season. Enjoy the amazing opportunities that come from living in such a wonderful community and rest up for a busy new year.
See you in 2016 everyone!!!
Monday 14 December 2015
Sunday 6 December 2015
Community "Impact"
As I indicated in my last posting, the intent of our day-to-day work with students is to ensure that their learning has long-lasting "impact".
In the last few days, I've seen some really nice examples of this in our building.
Our "RAK" (Random Acts of Kindness) Team, decided to run an event called, "BRINGO". In this event, students bring in non-perishable food items in an effort to fill our "Canoewatin" (we have a large canoe in our front foyer that we've fondly labelled the "Canoewatin)"). This food will then be distributed to needy families in our communities.
As students bring in items, they are given a "BRINGO" card with numbers and grids, much like the game "BINGO". Each morning, as part of our announcements, numbers are drawn so that students can try to fill in their "BRINGO" cards. Outside of the fun that the game provides our students, the "impact" can be clearly seen in our front foyer. From my office window, I can literally and figuratively see the outpouring of support that our students have given to this initiative. What a caring and giving community we have here at Tay Shores! When students can actually 'see' the difference they are making, their learning has "impact".
On Friday, we had the pleasure of having Legion members from the Waubaushene, Victoria Harbour and Port McNicoll branches join us at our Spirit Assembly. They were here to honour the students who had "impacted" their membership during the annual Remembrance Day Poster, Poetry and Essay contest. We had numerous students win awards and money for their drawings, poetry and essay writing. Because they were working and learning for an authentic reason and audience, our students' work had "impact". Legion members were moved by their work, other students were inspired by their work and the award winners themselves understood firsthand how their work has meaning - it's not just a job assigned by teachers or parents.
Just a couple of examples from a very proud principal!!!
In the last few days, I've seen some really nice examples of this in our building.
Our "RAK" (Random Acts of Kindness) Team, decided to run an event called, "BRINGO". In this event, students bring in non-perishable food items in an effort to fill our "Canoewatin" (we have a large canoe in our front foyer that we've fondly labelled the "Canoewatin)"). This food will then be distributed to needy families in our communities.
As students bring in items, they are given a "BRINGO" card with numbers and grids, much like the game "BINGO". Each morning, as part of our announcements, numbers are drawn so that students can try to fill in their "BRINGO" cards. Outside of the fun that the game provides our students, the "impact" can be clearly seen in our front foyer. From my office window, I can literally and figuratively see the outpouring of support that our students have given to this initiative. What a caring and giving community we have here at Tay Shores! When students can actually 'see' the difference they are making, their learning has "impact".
On Friday, we had the pleasure of having Legion members from the Waubaushene, Victoria Harbour and Port McNicoll branches join us at our Spirit Assembly. They were here to honour the students who had "impacted" their membership during the annual Remembrance Day Poster, Poetry and Essay contest. We had numerous students win awards and money for their drawings, poetry and essay writing. Because they were working and learning for an authentic reason and audience, our students' work had "impact". Legion members were moved by their work, other students were inspired by their work and the award winners themselves understood firsthand how their work has meaning - it's not just a job assigned by teachers or parents.
Just a couple of examples from a very proud principal!!!
Friday 27 November 2015
"A School of Inquiry, Innovation and Impact"
Tay Shores PS is "a school of inquiry, innovation and impact". This is the statement that will guide our learning and teaching at our school for years to come. I can't take credit for coming up with this slogan. I came across it during my research. It is the slogan for the Mount Vernon Institute for Innovation. I couldn't put what we are trying to accomplish at Tay Shores PS in any simpler language. I hope that they don't mind that we are borrowing it as our slogan?
This is a powerful statement. It encompasses exactly what it means to learn and to teach in the 21st century.
Knowledge acquisition is pretty simple in this day and age. Quite literally, all that mankind has ever learned is available in the palm of our hands. We have instant access to knowledge, data, learning aids and teaching aids. If this is indeed true, why do our children need to attend Tay Shores PS?
Inquiry: With all that is available around us, we need to develop skills in our children to question, investigate, explore, probe and research. These are extremely important skills in this day and age. These inquiries require the development of what we are calling the 6 C's. The 6 C's are Critical Thinking, Communicating, Creating, Collaborating, Citizenship and Character. These 6 C's have been developed and discussed in multiple dialogues of educational discourse. Most commonly, it can be found in the work of Michael Fullan and his international NPDL Project. Our teachers will be embedded in ongoing professional development at our school, and at the board level, related to how we can implement these skills in our daily work with students. Not only will our students be involved in inquiries, our teachers will be as well.
Innovation: One of the highest forms of learning is the ability to take what we've learned to make changes, remodel, break new ground, be a pioneer. We are focused on providing our students with multiple opportunities to be creative with their learning. Allowing students to demonstrate their understanding of the world in multiple ways/forums will promote innovation and creativity and will allow students to work with their strengths. To help with this, the newly renovated Tay Shores PS will have a state of the art "Maker Space" embedded in its library. This maker space will include a robotics lab, video production space, a green screen for shooting video, wiring for multiple digital technologies, easily re-configurable furniture for multiple purposes, all within a glassed in room. It truly will be one of the most interesting rooms in any public school in Simcoe County. This year, our teachers will be embedded in multiple projects around our school and board in how to promote, engage and implement these innovative programs.
Impact: Not only will our work at Tay Shores PS be innovative and inquiry-based, we will strive to embed citizenship and character into all that we do. One of our main goals is to ensure that our learning and teaching is based on solving real-world problems. When our learning is based on the real-world, it has the potential to have a real impact on our children, our local communities and even globally. Our teachers will be heavily involved in Professional Learning Communities which will study and investigate how we can intentionally plan on having our students solve real-world problems, that will have an impact on themselves and others.
This is very heavy work - but it is necessary. If we are to have our students prepared for the world that they live in now and the one that they will be running in the future, we owe it to them to do this heavy work.
Look for exciting things to happen in your child's classroom this year and in the years to come at Tay Shores PS. We really are "a school of inquiry, innovation and impact".
This is a powerful statement. It encompasses exactly what it means to learn and to teach in the 21st century.
Knowledge acquisition is pretty simple in this day and age. Quite literally, all that mankind has ever learned is available in the palm of our hands. We have instant access to knowledge, data, learning aids and teaching aids. If this is indeed true, why do our children need to attend Tay Shores PS?
Inquiry: With all that is available around us, we need to develop skills in our children to question, investigate, explore, probe and research. These are extremely important skills in this day and age. These inquiries require the development of what we are calling the 6 C's. The 6 C's are Critical Thinking, Communicating, Creating, Collaborating, Citizenship and Character. These 6 C's have been developed and discussed in multiple dialogues of educational discourse. Most commonly, it can be found in the work of Michael Fullan and his international NPDL Project. Our teachers will be embedded in ongoing professional development at our school, and at the board level, related to how we can implement these skills in our daily work with students. Not only will our students be involved in inquiries, our teachers will be as well.
Innovation: One of the highest forms of learning is the ability to take what we've learned to make changes, remodel, break new ground, be a pioneer. We are focused on providing our students with multiple opportunities to be creative with their learning. Allowing students to demonstrate their understanding of the world in multiple ways/forums will promote innovation and creativity and will allow students to work with their strengths. To help with this, the newly renovated Tay Shores PS will have a state of the art "Maker Space" embedded in its library. This maker space will include a robotics lab, video production space, a green screen for shooting video, wiring for multiple digital technologies, easily re-configurable furniture for multiple purposes, all within a glassed in room. It truly will be one of the most interesting rooms in any public school in Simcoe County. This year, our teachers will be embedded in multiple projects around our school and board in how to promote, engage and implement these innovative programs.
Impact: Not only will our work at Tay Shores PS be innovative and inquiry-based, we will strive to embed citizenship and character into all that we do. One of our main goals is to ensure that our learning and teaching is based on solving real-world problems. When our learning is based on the real-world, it has the potential to have a real impact on our children, our local communities and even globally. Our teachers will be heavily involved in Professional Learning Communities which will study and investigate how we can intentionally plan on having our students solve real-world problems, that will have an impact on themselves and others.
This is very heavy work - but it is necessary. If we are to have our students prepared for the world that they live in now and the one that they will be running in the future, we owe it to them to do this heavy work.
Look for exciting things to happen in your child's classroom this year and in the years to come at Tay Shores PS. We really are "a school of inquiry, innovation and impact".
Sunday 22 November 2015
Our First Get Together
Well, it only took us 3 months, but Tay Shores PS finally had an after-school event that was open to all families.
It was great to see so many families visit our school on Friday night to take part in our 1st ever Vendor Fair. From candles and teas, to crafts and tasty treats, there was something for all Christmas shoppers to see and buy. We even had a silent auction and our amazing new Spirit Wear was available for orders.
A big "thank-you" goes out to our wonderful School Council (especially Mrs. Hunter) for organizing this event. I'd to also thank all of the vendors who came to our school with their assorted goods. Members of our Shore Squad Leadership Team should also be thanked for giving up their Friday night to help out at various tables. It was a fun event and I'm sure it won't be our last one.
It was great to see so many families visit our school on Friday night to take part in our 1st ever Vendor Fair. From candles and teas, to crafts and tasty treats, there was something for all Christmas shoppers to see and buy. We even had a silent auction and our amazing new Spirit Wear was available for orders.
A big "thank-you" goes out to our wonderful School Council (especially Mrs. Hunter) for organizing this event. I'd to also thank all of the vendors who came to our school with their assorted goods. Members of our Shore Squad Leadership Team should also be thanked for giving up their Friday night to help out at various tables. It was a fun event and I'm sure it won't be our last one.
Thursday 12 November 2015
Remembrance Day!
It is with much pride that I write this post.
Yesterday, Tay Shores PS hosted its first ever Remembrance Day service. Under normal circumstances, we would love to gather our entire student body in the gym to take part in the ceremony and pay our respects. However, due to our incredibly large student body and our very small gymnasium, we weren't able to do that.
Instead, our students remained in their classrooms to take part in a presentation created by our Librarian, Mrs. Gray. After watching this presentation, the students silently made their way through the light drizzle to our backyard and assembled for the traditional laying of the wreaths, The Last Post, a minute of silence, and Revellee.
Our Titans were amazing. Despite having our public address system fail just prior to the ceremony, our students remained silent and attentive during the entire presentation. Each one of our classroom wreaths were beautiful, handmade, and created with care. Our wreath presenters were amazing and showed so much respect to our veterans.
Finally, we had two speeches delivered by members of our local Legions. These speeches were inspiring and heartfelt. Their message was so powerful and well received by our students. Following the ceremony many of our students came up to speak to the veterans and to shake their hands and say their own 'thank-you's. This display of respect was not planned and it definitely did not go unnoticed. More than one of our guests had tears in their eyes and every one of our veterans commented positively about our amazing students.
Way to go, Titans - I'm extremely proud of you!!!
Yesterday, Tay Shores PS hosted its first ever Remembrance Day service. Under normal circumstances, we would love to gather our entire student body in the gym to take part in the ceremony and pay our respects. However, due to our incredibly large student body and our very small gymnasium, we weren't able to do that.
Instead, our students remained in their classrooms to take part in a presentation created by our Librarian, Mrs. Gray. After watching this presentation, the students silently made their way through the light drizzle to our backyard and assembled for the traditional laying of the wreaths, The Last Post, a minute of silence, and Revellee.
Our Titans were amazing. Despite having our public address system fail just prior to the ceremony, our students remained silent and attentive during the entire presentation. Each one of our classroom wreaths were beautiful, handmade, and created with care. Our wreath presenters were amazing and showed so much respect to our veterans.
Finally, we had two speeches delivered by members of our local Legions. These speeches were inspiring and heartfelt. Their message was so powerful and well received by our students. Following the ceremony many of our students came up to speak to the veterans and to shake their hands and say their own 'thank-you's. This display of respect was not planned and it definitely did not go unnoticed. More than one of our guests had tears in their eyes and every one of our veterans commented positively about our amazing students.
Way to go, Titans - I'm extremely proud of you!!!
Wednesday 4 November 2015
You've Been "RAK"d!!
I was so proud of our Titans today. Especially those students who have given up their time to join our Shore Squad "RAK" Team. The RAK Team stands for "Random Acts of Kindness".
Today, on an abnormally warm November day, these students came to school armed with rakes, gloves, bags and enthusiasm. A few of our Titans, who know the community really well, scouted the area and found two homes that were occupied by elderly people who may have difficulty raking their lawns. All afternoon, these 16 students raked the lawns for these two elderly members of our community.
Twenty-two bags and 2 hours later, we arrived back at the school, completely exhausted and thirsty, but filled with amazing community and school spirit.
Way to go RAK Team - you've helped make our school and community a better place!!
I can't wait to see you on your next adventure.
Today, on an abnormally warm November day, these students came to school armed with rakes, gloves, bags and enthusiasm. A few of our Titans, who know the community really well, scouted the area and found two homes that were occupied by elderly people who may have difficulty raking their lawns. All afternoon, these 16 students raked the lawns for these two elderly members of our community.
Twenty-two bags and 2 hours later, we arrived back at the school, completely exhausted and thirsty, but filled with amazing community and school spirit.
Way to go RAK Team - you've helped make our school and community a better place!!
I can't wait to see you on your next adventure.
Monday 26 October 2015
Collaboration and Fun
From my office window, I had a front row seat to some amazing fun today. Some of our Junior and Senior Kindergarten students had gathered at the tables in our front foyer. On the tables were small pumpkins of various shapes. Alongside the pumpkins and our young learners, were some wonderful older students who were there to assist in the cleaning and carving of the pumpkins. I got to witness, first hand, the collaboration, the laughter, the teamwork, and the sharing of ideas as these two groups worked together. The results were really cool - I hope that they'll let us use some of the pumpkins as decorations for our Hallowe'en Dance on Friday.
Now, I'll cross my fingers that tomorrow they will decide to cook up all of those tasty seeds and let me have some samples.
Now, I'll cross my fingers that tomorrow they will decide to cook up all of those tasty seeds and let me have some samples.
Friday 23 October 2015
Volunteers
As I reflect on the past few days at Tay Shores, one thing keeps on appearing on my radar - our volunteers.
I have seen so many wonderful volunteers in our school over the past few days and weeks.
In order to run our Pizza Days, we require a number of parents to come in and collect money, take orders, count money, deliver pizza and clean up pizza messes. We have a number of amazing parents who have stepped up to help us with this program each Wednesday. There is NO way that this program would run without their support.
This is also true with our Breakfast Program. We have just started this program and we will be sending out more information in Wednesday's newsletter. In order to provide tasty, fresh and healthy breakfasts to our students we require a ton of volunteer support. From preparing the food, to setting up tables, serving students, cleaning up messes and washing dishes, our volunteers provide wonderful support to our students each morning.
In our office each day, Mrs. Morphett is helped by generous volunteers who help run our Safe Arrival Program. Following up on our daily attendance is a HUGE job and we thank our parents for assisting us with this task.
Our first School Council Fundraiser (Little Caesar's Kits) just wrapped up. This was entirely run by our parent volunteers.
As the week winds down and I see how great Tay Shores PS is, I just can't help but thank our Parent Volunteers for their support and generosity. It truly takes a lot of collaboration with various stakeholders to successfully run a school - thanks, parents, for helping us make Tay Shores the best school in Simcoe County.
I have seen so many wonderful volunteers in our school over the past few days and weeks.
In order to run our Pizza Days, we require a number of parents to come in and collect money, take orders, count money, deliver pizza and clean up pizza messes. We have a number of amazing parents who have stepped up to help us with this program each Wednesday. There is NO way that this program would run without their support.
This is also true with our Breakfast Program. We have just started this program and we will be sending out more information in Wednesday's newsletter. In order to provide tasty, fresh and healthy breakfasts to our students we require a ton of volunteer support. From preparing the food, to setting up tables, serving students, cleaning up messes and washing dishes, our volunteers provide wonderful support to our students each morning.
In our office each day, Mrs. Morphett is helped by generous volunteers who help run our Safe Arrival Program. Following up on our daily attendance is a HUGE job and we thank our parents for assisting us with this task.
Our first School Council Fundraiser (Little Caesar's Kits) just wrapped up. This was entirely run by our parent volunteers.
As the week winds down and I see how great Tay Shores PS is, I just can't help but thank our Parent Volunteers for their support and generosity. It truly takes a lot of collaboration with various stakeholders to successfully run a school - thanks, parents, for helping us make Tay Shores the best school in Simcoe County.
Friday 16 October 2015
Character Building
Every morning we start our day off with O'Canada, followed by our Tay Shores Pledge. The pledge goes like this:
I pledge to do my part to make Tay Shores a better place.
I pledge that I will not tease, exlude or harm any member of our school community
and that I will treat all members with respect and compassion.
I pledge that if I see anyone at my school being teased, excluded or harmed,
I will stand up for them and let them know that they are not alone.
I am the change.
This is my favourite part of the day. The pledge is read by a different student, each day, over the announcements and I really love hearing the different voices repeating these important words. I also enjoy hearing students solving problems around the school using these phrases.
Whenever we 'catch' students in our building trying to make our school a better place, we give them a yellow ticket (which earns them House Points and gets them into our weekly prize draw). Over the past two weeks, we have been overwhelmed by the amount of yellow tickets being brought down to our office. Both weeks there were over 100 tickets in the draw, which means that over 20% of our students are being 'caught' doing amazing things around our school to make it fun and safe. And this is just the students that are being caught - I'm quite sure that there are even more students doing equally wonderful things and have just gone under the radar.
What a great school we've got here at Tay Shores PS. It definitely makes me love coming to school when it is filled with such exceptional children!!
I pledge to do my part to make Tay Shores a better place.
I pledge that I will not tease, exlude or harm any member of our school community
and that I will treat all members with respect and compassion.
I pledge that if I see anyone at my school being teased, excluded or harmed,
I will stand up for them and let them know that they are not alone.
I am the change.
This is my favourite part of the day. The pledge is read by a different student, each day, over the announcements and I really love hearing the different voices repeating these important words. I also enjoy hearing students solving problems around the school using these phrases.
Whenever we 'catch' students in our building trying to make our school a better place, we give them a yellow ticket (which earns them House Points and gets them into our weekly prize draw). Over the past two weeks, we have been overwhelmed by the amount of yellow tickets being brought down to our office. Both weeks there were over 100 tickets in the draw, which means that over 20% of our students are being 'caught' doing amazing things around our school to make it fun and safe. And this is just the students that are being caught - I'm quite sure that there are even more students doing equally wonderful things and have just gone under the radar.
What a great school we've got here at Tay Shores PS. It definitely makes me love coming to school when it is filled with such exceptional children!!
Tuesday 13 October 2015
Titan Athletics
I just finished watching our Intermediate Girl's Basketball Team as they had a shoot-around in preparation for tonight's game against St. Ann's.
Thanks to our staff members who have decided to give up their time to support the athletic program at Tay Shores.
Last week, our Titans had their first ever victory as a school. Our Intermediate Girl's Cross Country Team won their division at the Area Meet.
Tonight our Girl's Basketball Team will compete and later this week our Intermediate Boy's Volleyball Team will be in action at home against Bayview PS.
It's so exciting to see our athletes gearing up for their various seasons. Now, all we need are some cool uniforms!!
Good Luck Titans!!!!
Thanks to our staff members who have decided to give up their time to support the athletic program at Tay Shores.
Last week, our Titans had their first ever victory as a school. Our Intermediate Girl's Cross Country Team won their division at the Area Meet.
Tonight our Girl's Basketball Team will compete and later this week our Intermediate Boy's Volleyball Team will be in action at home against Bayview PS.
It's so exciting to see our athletes gearing up for their various seasons. Now, all we need are some cool uniforms!!
Good Luck Titans!!!!
Friday 9 October 2015
Happy Thanksgiving
I'd like to wish all of our Titan families a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I hope that everyone enjoys the time off with friends and family and that you stay safe.
We had a great Spirit Assembly this morning with our young Titans. It was great to hear the various cheers that the houses created at yesterday's House Rally. We also had our TSLT Spirit Team dancers take the stage to energize the students at each of our assemblies. They did a great job!
Both Mrs. Losch and I found ourselves overwhelmed this afternoon as the front hallway suddenly became filled with a bunch of 'turkeys' on the loose. Thanks to Mrs. Miron and Mrs. Robitaille's class for visiting us with their cute Thanksgiving outfits.
There were more students on the loose today, as Mr. Dubbin's Grade 7 class ran their math class as a fun version of "The Amazing Race". Solving problems, racing around the school and working collaboratively, his students seemed to enjoy this energized version of mathematics. Students from St. T's joined in on the fun as they volunteered to help out this afternoon. Thanks to those students for deciding to spend their PD day at Tay Shores!!
Once again, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Titans.
We had a great Spirit Assembly this morning with our young Titans. It was great to hear the various cheers that the houses created at yesterday's House Rally. We also had our TSLT Spirit Team dancers take the stage to energize the students at each of our assemblies. They did a great job!
Both Mrs. Losch and I found ourselves overwhelmed this afternoon as the front hallway suddenly became filled with a bunch of 'turkeys' on the loose. Thanks to Mrs. Miron and Mrs. Robitaille's class for visiting us with their cute Thanksgiving outfits.
There were more students on the loose today, as Mr. Dubbin's Grade 7 class ran their math class as a fun version of "The Amazing Race". Solving problems, racing around the school and working collaboratively, his students seemed to enjoy this energized version of mathematics. Students from St. T's joined in on the fun as they volunteered to help out this afternoon. Thanks to those students for deciding to spend their PD day at Tay Shores!!
Once again, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Titans.
Thursday 8 October 2015
House Rally
Today, all houses met for the first time.
Newly named for the elements that their colours represent, our four houses (Air, Fire, Earth and Water) gathered to come up with a house cheer and to choose their captains.
Our teachers and students were spread out all over our school grounds and the rumblings of various chants started to echo around Tay Shores PS. It was great for me to have the chance to see our school community coming together and celebrating their new Titan Spirit.
Tomorrow, during our Spirit Assembly, each house will present its new cheer and will introduce their new house captains. I can't wait to see what they've come up with.
On another note, please be aware that we have started our Little Caesar's Pizza Kit Fundraiser. Make sure you take this fundraiser with you when you visit relatives this Thanksgiving Weekend.
And, on yet another note, I'd like to congratulate our first Titan victors, the Intermediate Girl's Cross Country Team who captured first place at the Area 1 Meet. Good luck at the County Championships later this month, girls!!
Go Titans!!!!!
Newly named for the elements that their colours represent, our four houses (Air, Fire, Earth and Water) gathered to come up with a house cheer and to choose their captains.
Our teachers and students were spread out all over our school grounds and the rumblings of various chants started to echo around Tay Shores PS. It was great for me to have the chance to see our school community coming together and celebrating their new Titan Spirit.
Tomorrow, during our Spirit Assembly, each house will present its new cheer and will introduce their new house captains. I can't wait to see what they've come up with.
On another note, please be aware that we have started our Little Caesar's Pizza Kit Fundraiser. Make sure you take this fundraiser with you when you visit relatives this Thanksgiving Weekend.
And, on yet another note, I'd like to congratulate our first Titan victors, the Intermediate Girl's Cross Country Team who captured first place at the Area 1 Meet. Good luck at the County Championships later this month, girls!!
Go Titans!!!!!
Monday 5 October 2015
The Tay Shores Titans!!
After many, many submissions from students, parents and community members, our TSLT has finally settled on our new school nickname...
From this point on, we will be known as the Tay Shores Titans!!
Our school colours will reflect the colours found in the First Nations medicine wheel (white, yellow, red, black).
In choosing our colours and nickname, our students were inspired by the local native legend of Kitchikiwana, who was huge in size, strength and importance (the definition of a titan).
Our first sports event was held today. We had close to 100 students attend the Area 1 Cross Country Run at Little Lake Park in Midland, ON. This was our first opportunity to cheer on our Titans.
Hopefully, soon, we will be able to come up with some athletic wear for our sports teams that has our nickname and colours. Once that happens, we will really feel like a brand new team!!
From this point on, we will be known as the Tay Shores Titans!!
Our school colours will reflect the colours found in the First Nations medicine wheel (white, yellow, red, black).
In choosing our colours and nickname, our students were inspired by the local native legend of Kitchikiwana, who was huge in size, strength and importance (the definition of a titan).
Our first sports event was held today. We had close to 100 students attend the Area 1 Cross Country Run at Little Lake Park in Midland, ON. This was our first opportunity to cheer on our Titans.
Hopefully, soon, we will be able to come up with some athletic wear for our sports teams that has our nickname and colours. Once that happens, we will really feel like a brand new team!!
Monday 28 September 2015
OELC
It was great to go and visit our TSLT student leaders as they took part in leadership training at OELC. We were fortunate enough to have 18 of our wonderful grade 6 and 7 students attend this amazing camp on the shores of Lake Couchiching. They spent four days in intense training how to develop and enhance their leadership styles, which they will put to good use around Tay Shores PS.
Thanks, also, to the five staff members that escorted them on this trip. Our teacher leaders are amazing and I know that they, too, will benefit from this experience.
As you will see over the course of our first year together, we put a lot of emphasis on our TSLT team. These students are learning life-long lessons about leadership, getting involved, commitment and cooperation and they will be heavily involved in creating pride and spirit in our building.
One of my favourite parts of the week are when I get to work with these wonderful students. We're going to have a fantastic year together.
Thanks, also, to the five staff members that escorted them on this trip. Our teacher leaders are amazing and I know that they, too, will benefit from this experience.
As you will see over the course of our first year together, we put a lot of emphasis on our TSLT team. These students are learning life-long lessons about leadership, getting involved, commitment and cooperation and they will be heavily involved in creating pride and spirit in our building.
One of my favourite parts of the week are when I get to work with these wonderful students. We're going to have a fantastic year together.
Thursday 17 September 2015
Feeling "Groove"y
What a great day at Tay Shores!!
"Groove" came to our school to work with all of our students. The gym was transformed into a dance hall for the day, as students learned how to move, get fit, have fun and dance up a storm.
Thanks to our TSLT Publicity Team for getting some great shots and videos - we can't wait to see the show at our Recognition Assembly.
Today, I got some really nice letters from a couple of our young students. Thanks Chloe M and Sienna H for making a card for me and making me feel so welcome at Tay Shores.
"Groove" came to our school to work with all of our students. The gym was transformed into a dance hall for the day, as students learned how to move, get fit, have fun and dance up a storm.
Thanks to our TSLT Publicity Team for getting some great shots and videos - we can't wait to see the show at our Recognition Assembly.
Today, I got some really nice letters from a couple of our young students. Thanks Chloe M and Sienna H for making a card for me and making me feel so welcome at Tay Shores.
Thanks, also, to Asa for my new train picture. I'll have to find a spot in my office to display it.
Don't forget, everyone, that tomorrow is Wacky, Crazy Hair Day. Come to school in your craziest doo to earn House Points.
Have a great night.
Friday 11 September 2015
What A Blur!!
Wow, that was an incredibly busy week!! I think we packed two weeks of excitement into just four days.
It was great to see so many students take part in our first Spirit Day - Sunglasses Day. We certainly do have a bright future here at Tay Shores PS!!
Today, I invited any grade 5-8 student with an interest in Leadership to a TSLT meeting in our gym. I was overwhelmed by the turnout!! I had photocopied over 200 applications, and we needed to go back to the photocopier to print more. A wonderful mixture of boys, girls, young students and older students have decided to join our amazing team. We are going to become the greatest school in the SCDSB thanks to these great students.
Now, I'm going to take the next two days to sleep and rest up for another busy week.
Tay Shores PS Rocks!!!!!
It was great to see so many students take part in our first Spirit Day - Sunglasses Day. We certainly do have a bright future here at Tay Shores PS!!
Today, I invited any grade 5-8 student with an interest in Leadership to a TSLT meeting in our gym. I was overwhelmed by the turnout!! I had photocopied over 200 applications, and we needed to go back to the photocopier to print more. A wonderful mixture of boys, girls, young students and older students have decided to join our amazing team. We are going to become the greatest school in the SCDSB thanks to these great students.
Now, I'm going to take the next two days to sleep and rest up for another busy week.
Tay Shores PS Rocks!!!!!
Thursday 10 September 2015
4-Way Soccer
I'd like to thank our TSLT leaders for putting together today's House Challenge, "4-Way Soccer". We had well over 100 students who decided to take part and earn House Points.
Even though the field was still a little wet, the students participated with great enthusiasm!!
Congratulations to all of our JKs for a wonderful First Day!! I really enjoyed seeing their smiling faces and their look of amazement at finally being at school. You're going to love being at Tay Shores!!
Just a reminder to all students that tomorrow's Spirit Day is "Sunglasses". Wear your favourite shades to earn House Points.
Also, a final reminder to all of our potential grade 5-8 leaders. There is an important meeting tomorrow at first break in order to learn more about how you can help make Tay Shores PS the best school in SCDSB.
See you all tomorrow!
Even though the field was still a little wet, the students participated with great enthusiasm!!
Congratulations to all of our JKs for a wonderful First Day!! I really enjoyed seeing their smiling faces and their look of amazement at finally being at school. You're going to love being at Tay Shores!!
Just a reminder to all students that tomorrow's Spirit Day is "Sunglasses". Wear your favourite shades to earn House Points.
Also, a final reminder to all of our potential grade 5-8 leaders. There is an important meeting tomorrow at first break in order to learn more about how you can help make Tay Shores PS the best school in SCDSB.
See you all tomorrow!
Wednesday 9 September 2015
Names, Names, Names
Day Two and my head is spinning with so many names and faces.
I've barely memorized the names of our huge and amazing staff and now over 500 students are swarming our hallways and fields. I'm very glad that our Tay Shores students are so friendly and patient with me. I'd like to thank the many students who have had the courage to come forward on the yard or drop in to my office and introduce themselves. What a great group we have here!!!!
Speaking of our great students, it will be the students here at Tay Shores who will come up with a great mascot, school colours and motto. For those students who have awesome ideas, suggestion sheets are available in my office and are due back on September 18th. Our TSLT will be poring over the numerous suggestions to come up with something suitable for our school.
After two days of House Competitions, the standings are as follows:
House 1 = 34 points
House 2 = 47 points
House 3 = 40 points
House 4 = 40 points
Tomorrow's House Competition will be 4-Way Soccer. Come out and play to earn valuable House Points.
I've barely memorized the names of our huge and amazing staff and now over 500 students are swarming our hallways and fields. I'm very glad that our Tay Shores students are so friendly and patient with me. I'd like to thank the many students who have had the courage to come forward on the yard or drop in to my office and introduce themselves. What a great group we have here!!!!
Speaking of our great students, it will be the students here at Tay Shores who will come up with a great mascot, school colours and motto. For those students who have awesome ideas, suggestion sheets are available in my office and are due back on September 18th. Our TSLT will be poring over the numerous suggestions to come up with something suitable for our school.
After two days of House Competitions, the standings are as follows:
House 1 = 34 points
House 2 = 47 points
House 3 = 40 points
House 4 = 40 points
Tomorrow's House Competition will be 4-Way Soccer. Come out and play to earn valuable House Points.
Tuesday 8 September 2015
Amazing First Day
The very first day of Tay Shores PS is now in the history books.
The building is now silent after an amazing day of laughter, dancing, cheering, greeting, teaching and learning and I feel so blessed to have been a part of this piece of history.
Our TSLT leaders organized a fun-filled House Challenge of Dodgeball for our students. We managed to squeeze in two Spirit Assemblies, where the students got to meet their new 'housemates'. We danced to the Cha-Cha Slide, Macarana and Happy. Recesses would have been better, if the weather had cooperated, but the students and staff made the best of the damp situation.
While there were a couple of tears in the beginning, students quickly learned that we're an amazing new family and that Tay Shores is a great place to be.
As our custodial team cleans up after a hectic start, I can't wait to get up in the morning and see everyone again.
Don't forget, students. If you are in Grade 5-8 and you want to join our TSLT, please come to the meeting in the gym on Friday at first break. We would love to have you join us!!
Also, we are looking for input regarding our mascot and school colours. Please get an entry form from the office if you have cool ideas for us. We'll be collecting ideas until the 18th.
See you all tomorrow!!
The building is now silent after an amazing day of laughter, dancing, cheering, greeting, teaching and learning and I feel so blessed to have been a part of this piece of history.
Our TSLT leaders organized a fun-filled House Challenge of Dodgeball for our students. We managed to squeeze in two Spirit Assemblies, where the students got to meet their new 'housemates'. We danced to the Cha-Cha Slide, Macarana and Happy. Recesses would have been better, if the weather had cooperated, but the students and staff made the best of the damp situation.
While there were a couple of tears in the beginning, students quickly learned that we're an amazing new family and that Tay Shores is a great place to be.
As our custodial team cleans up after a hectic start, I can't wait to get up in the morning and see everyone again.
Don't forget, students. If you are in Grade 5-8 and you want to join our TSLT, please come to the meeting in the gym on Friday at first break. We would love to have you join us!!
Also, we are looking for input regarding our mascot and school colours. Please get an entry form from the office if you have cool ideas for us. We'll be collecting ideas until the 18th.
See you all tomorrow!!
Friday 4 September 2015
Final Preparations
Over 50 staff members arrived this morning to make final preparations for our opening day on Tuesday. Our office was buzzing with the excitement of anxious teachers and anxious support workers, as they worked hard to prepare their classrooms for Tuesday's start. The rooms look fantastic, thanks to their hard work and the hard work of our amazing custodial staff.
There were even current and former students who came in today to help our staff. What a great way to start collecting your 40 hours of community service.
The Board personnel even got in on the action by attaching our new school sign to the building. Have a look at the picture below to see the results - it looks great!
While there are still some boxes to unpack and some technology to prepare, our school is ready for the 500+ students who will arrive on Tuesday. We can't wait to see their faces!!
Now, to get some rest over the weekend...
There were even current and former students who came in today to help our staff. What a great way to start collecting your 40 hours of community service.
The Board personnel even got in on the action by attaching our new school sign to the building. Have a look at the picture below to see the results - it looks great!
While there are still some boxes to unpack and some technology to prepare, our school is ready for the 500+ students who will arrive on Tuesday. We can't wait to see their faces!!
Now, to get some rest over the weekend...
Thursday 3 September 2015
Student Leadership Kickoff
What an exciting day today!
Today, we had close to 20 students volunteer to come in to our school to prepare the Spirit Events and Activities for the first week of school.
These students have formed the core of what is currently known as the TSLT (Tay Shores Leadership Team) and they spent today playing some leadership games, talking about leadership styles and organizing some fun events for all of the students at Tay Shores. They've also planned to make themselves available to help nervous, anxious students on the first day and escort our young students to their buses in the afternoon.
Fueled only on a couple of slices of pizza and a bottle of water, these students enthusiastically took part in these activities for four hours in the crazy heat and never complained once.
We are hoping that their enthusiasm and excitement for Tay Shores will be infectious, as the rest of the student body looks to start on Tuesday. If it does become infectious, Tay Shores PS will be the most exciting and fun school in Simcoe County.
I can't wait for the first day of school to arrive. Our students are awesome!!!!
Today, we had close to 20 students volunteer to come in to our school to prepare the Spirit Events and Activities for the first week of school.
These students have formed the core of what is currently known as the TSLT (Tay Shores Leadership Team) and they spent today playing some leadership games, talking about leadership styles and organizing some fun events for all of the students at Tay Shores. They've also planned to make themselves available to help nervous, anxious students on the first day and escort our young students to their buses in the afternoon.
Fueled only on a couple of slices of pizza and a bottle of water, these students enthusiastically took part in these activities for four hours in the crazy heat and never complained once.
We are hoping that their enthusiasm and excitement for Tay Shores will be infectious, as the rest of the student body looks to start on Tuesday. If it does become infectious, Tay Shores PS will be the most exciting and fun school in Simcoe County.
I can't wait for the first day of school to arrive. Our students are awesome!!!!
Thursday 18 June 2015
New Name Approved
After a lengthy process we have achieved Board approval to be named, "Tay Shores Public School". I hope that you'll agree with our committee that this name is very inclusive of the three communities that are amalgamating this fall.
Located along the shores of beautiful Georgian Bay in Tay Township, I intend to help make this the best school in the SCDSB.
Today, or tomorrow, all families will receive the first edition of "The Tay Shores Tribune" which is the name of our new newsletter. In that newsletter you should find some valuable information regarding our plans for the first week of school and the campaign to come up with a mascot, motto and school colours.
I hope that our Tay families are as excited as I am about our new school.
Located along the shores of beautiful Georgian Bay in Tay Township, I intend to help make this the best school in the SCDSB.
Today, or tomorrow, all families will receive the first edition of "The Tay Shores Tribune" which is the name of our new newsletter. In that newsletter you should find some valuable information regarding our plans for the first week of school and the campaign to come up with a mascot, motto and school colours.
I hope that our Tay families are as excited as I am about our new school.
(Here's my attempt at a logo. Let me know what you think!)
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