Reminders for this Week:
- This is our FINAL WEEK for hot lunches before the Winter Break. No hot lunches will be delivered during the week of December 18-22.
- Dufflebag Theatre Performance at LAPS for students in Kindergarten to Grade 4 is Friday, December 15th. Please pay for your child on SchoolCash Online by Thursday, December 14.
- Please sign and return the media consent for our LAPS Yearbook ASAP.
- Warm in Winter Drive – Week of December 18 – please see more information below.
- No parking in the school parking lot – parking spots are for LAPS and YRDSB staff and YRDSB or registered visitors only. Parents/guardians/caregivers must park in designated parking spaces on the streets surrounding the school.
Thank you to our LAPS community for your generous donations!
Thank you to our amazing community for helping those in need in Markham by bringing in donations for the Markham Food Bank. The total number of items donated as of December 6th was 591!!
Did you know…
- A study published in 2022 by the York Region Food Network found that over half (52%) of renters and almost 30% of owner households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. As a result, many York Region residents are placed in precarious and insecure financial positions, often forcing them to choose between paying for housing or purchasing food.
- “It’s so hidden,” said Kate Greavette, executive director at York Region Food Network. “We have so many million-dollar homes and there’s great employment opportunities here, but huge inequities as well. People in precarious work, people working minimum wage. I think we all know minimum wage is just not enough to afford to live in York Region. “When rent and utilities are fixed expenses, food becomes a discretionary expense, Greavette says”. (Source: https://fbyr.ca/wp-content/uploads/YorkRegionHungerReport2021.pdf)
- Food bank demand trends have continued through 2023. Although that data is not included in the 2022 report, Food Bank of York Region said it has distributed $8 million of food so far this year, an increase of 62 per cent from 2022. (Nov 15, 2023, https://www.newmarkettoday.ca/local-news/food-bank-of-york-region-highlights-spiking-demand-urges-government-action-7836760#:~:text=Food%20bank%20demand%20trends%20have,62%20per%20cent%20from%202022 )
Oh, What a Night!
This past week the Primary and Intermediate students had the opportunity to share their performance skills with the LAPS community. Thank you to all who came out to support our youngest and oldest students as they celebrated their talents with smiles and confidence.
A successful evening like this does not happen without the amazing talent and commitment of our staff as well. A big thank you goes out to our teachers, support staff, and caretakers for all of their hard work and support.
Welcome Session for Newcomer Families
We invite all new families to LAPS to join us in the school library on Thursday, December 14 from 3:00 – 4:00pm for an opportunity to meet our School Settlement Worker: Jean Wang, our MLL Teachers: Debbie Dasios & Feroz Nana, and our Administrators: Shelley Anand & Joanne Trim.
The agenda for the session includes the following:
- Support for our Multilingual Language Learners (MLLs)
- School Calendar/Important Dates/School Timetable
- Assessment: Report Cards/Learning Skills/Accommodation vs Modification
- Homework Policy
- Technology Policy
- Communication between school and home (Blog, Edsby, Agendas, Social Media, Google Classroom)
- Safety
- School Cash Online
- Edsby
- Google Classroom
- Bus Information
- School / Extra-Curricular Activities
Warm in Winter Drive
Staff and students are encouraged to help contribute winter clothing to elementary aged students in need (new hats, mitts, gloves, jackets, scarves) during the week of December. 18th – 22nd. All items will be donated to children in the GTA area.
Arts@Baythorn Registration
Dear Families of Grade 4 and 5 students,
The Arts@Baythorn is a full time, enriched school program for student who have an affinity for the Arts. Integration and Collaboration are the focus at Arts@Baythorn, where the curriculum is learned while incorporating Visual Arts, Dance, Drama or Music into curriculum subjects like Language, Math, Science and Social Studies.
The Arts@Baythorn Application process begins January 15, 2024 – January 29, 2024. If you think your child may be interested in this full time, enriched school program, please visit our website for more information at http://www.yrdsb.ca/schools/baythorn.ps/arts/Pages/default.aspx
Thank you, The Arts@Baythorn Staff
Extreme Cold Weather and Inclement Weather Days
An extreme cold weather day is declared when roads are clear but extreme cold temperatures make it difficult for buses to operate reliably, posing a safety risk to students.
An inclement weather day is declared when road or weather conditions make it impossible to operate a school bus safely.
When extreme cold or inclement weather days are called, school transportation, including buses and taxis, are cancelled in the morning and afternoon. Schools will remain open.
The decision to declare an extreme cold or inclement weather day and to cancel transportation is made by 6:00 a.m. For more information, including how to check if buses are cancelled, please visit the School Transportation webpage.
Important things to note on designated extreme cold and inclement weather days:
- Students will not be penalized for missing school. If you have concerns about how an extreme cold or inclement weather day will affect your coursework, please speak to your school principal or teacher.
- Any lunch service arrangements made by the school, special lunches or special events/field trips will be cancelled. If you have made lunch arrangements directly with a third party provider please check with them directly, otherwise parents should send a lunch with their child.
- If your child does not take the bus, you need to inform the school office if their child will not be attending on extreme cold and inclement weather days, otherwise the school’s safe arrival procedure will apply.
- If transportation is cancelled in the morning, it will also be cancelled in the afternoon. If students do go to school, families will need to arrange to pick up their children.
- Parents should use their best judgment to decide whether to send their children to school, understanding that if they choose to send their child, that the child should remain at school for the day and must be picked up at the end of the day.
For more information, please visit the Severe Weather Conditions page on the YRDSB website.
Emergency Weather Days
There may be rare occasions when emergency weather conditions occur and YRDSB may need to close all schools and Board locations. Closures will be considered when facilities may not be safe for students and staff members to attend school for the full day. This may include events that significantly limit school operations such as a significant snowfall or ice storm that restricts access to the school site, causes widespread or prolonged power failures or downs power lines.
In keeping with our current practice, we will continue to keep our schools open as much as possible. However, it is important that families have alternate child care arrangements planned for the rare occasions when schools may be closed. Before and after care programs will also not operate if schools are closed. Please ensure that you take the time to make plans in the event of an emergency school closure.
Decisions about student transportation and school closures will be made as early as possible and no later than 6:00 a.m.
Save the Dates:
- Family Movie Nights – January 24th & 31st (more information to come soon)
New Items Added to Documents Page:
- Important immunization information from York Region Public Health
- Arts@Baythorn Information (for students currently in grades 4 & 5)
- Dufflebag Theatre information (Kindergarten to Grade 4 students)
- BFCN Scholarship Application Workshop
- Mabel’s Labels information
The Lincoln Link 