Principal: L. Pitt~ Head Teacher: J. Cipparrone ~ Secretary: B. Walters
SafeWelcomeResponsible
Bulletin #10April11, 2017
Dates to Remember …
April gymnastics equipment all month
Wednesday, April 12PAC Meeting, 6:30 - 8:30 pm – All parents are welcome to attend!
Thursday, April 132:10 dismissal
Friday, April 14Good Friday
Monday, April 17Easter Monday
Tuesday, April 18Gr. 6/7 Track Meet
Wednesday, April 19PAC Pizza Day
Thursday, April 20Div. 3, 4, 5 Swimming
Gr. 4/5 Track Meet
Monday, April 24District Professional Development Day
Tuesday, April 25Hold & Secure Drill
Internet Safety Parent Event at Brantford Elementary School, 7:00 pm
Wednesday, April 26Assembly, 1:00
Thursday, April 27Jeans Day
Div. 3, 4, 5 Swimming
Don’t forget:
Thursday, April 13th all students will be dismissed at 2:10 pm.
School Goals
Later this month I will be meeting with a District Team to discuss Morley’s progress towards our School Growth Plan goals. As this is my first year at Morley, my professional growth has been to learn about this community, its culture, and lead the staff and community towards growth. One of our goals in the School Growth Plan is: To improve the reading comprehension for all students in grades 1-7.
Before I came to Morley, and this year, the staff have worked hard on maintaining a number of programs and instructional practices to improve the reading comprehension of students at Morley. At Morley we are very fortunate to have our Learning Support teachers trained in Reading Recovery, and we also have a District Reading Recovery teacher, Teresa Toth, who works with some of our children. Reading Recovery is a proven research based reading intervention program targeting students in Grade 1. Aside from Reading Recovery, our LSS teachers are able to provide small group reading instruction using another research-based reading program called Levelled Literacy Intervention and Fast ForWord to support our struggling readers. Also, our teachers are focusing on reading comprehension by teaching students about the “thinking” part of reading. Students may be strong in fluency and decoding, but are they able to think about what they just read? Are they able to make connections between the text and their own experiences or knowledge of the world? Are they able to make an inference and explain why a character may have reacted a certain way, or why an event may have taken place using their own thinking and clues from the book? Are they able to ask questions or predict questions that might be answered by reading the book? Are they able to identify the main idea of a piece of text and the most important facts? Are they able to identify important themes in their book, lessons about friendship, or conflict, or courage, or perseverance? Are they able to identify stereotypes, or biases, and take a different viewpoint? Are they able to form opinions about a book, what the author did well, what they liked about the text, and possibly how they would change the text to be even better?
As parents, how can you help your child improve his or her reading comprehension? The most important thing parents can do is to ensure that children turn off the electronic devices and read every single day. Model reading in your home. Read the same book as your child and talk about the books you are reading. Join the Morley Reading Club and celebrate successful reading. Ensure your child is reading a variety of literature: poetry, non-fiction, newspaper articles, recipes, how to manuals, instructions. Visit the public library. Find out what your child will be learning about in Term 3 and take out books to build their prior knowledge. If English is your second language, read in your home language. We may argue that there is not enough time, but even spending 15 minutes to read a story before bedtime can make a difference! We hope that you too will support this goal at home and help students think about what they read!
~ Mrs. Pitt
Fundraising at Morley
Our Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is a small group of parents who work very hard to raise money to provide extra-curricular opportunities for all students at Morley, and to support the purchasing of equipment for the school. Most recently, the PAC is funding a swimming program called “Swim to Survive.”All students in Grades 3, 5 and 7 will get three lessons in this program that will teach them how to survive should they fall into water. Each summer, BC experiences water related fatalities and the PAC would like to ensure that every child at our school will know what to do should they fall into one of our many bodies of water in our province. On behalf of the Morley community, I would like to thank the PAC for providing inspiration and the funds, and Ms. Cipparrone for working so hard to coordinate with Edmonds Community Center to ensure that our students receive the program this year.
New Fundraiser at Morley!
On April 15 to May 15th, the PAC has organized there to be a PosAbilities donation bin placed on our school site. PosAbilities is a charitable organization that supports people with developmental disabilities. What a great fundraiser in that you not only can support your school, but also individuals in our community! Morley community members are encouraged to donate clothing, books, toys, small household items, linens, and/or shoes. Please ensure that you place the items in a garbage bag and tie the bag closed. For every bag donated, the school will receive $2.50. So get in those closets and cupboards, do some spring cleaning, and bring your donations to the bin that will be placed on our school property for 1 month only! Oh, and tell your family and neighbours too.
Internet Safety (Information for Parents)
One of our neighbouring schools, Brantford, and their PAC are generously inviting our school community to a special event being held in their schoolgymnasium at no charge on Tuesday, April 25th at 7:00 pm. Darren Laur from Personal Protection Systems Inc. (aka the White Hatter) will be covering topics such as:
·What are Chat Rooms, Instant Messaging, and SMS/MMS texting and how to stay safe while using them
·Cell phone/ Smart Phone and Web Cam safety
·What is your "digital dossier" and how students are placing their reputation and privacy at risk when on-line
·The good and bad of Social Networks such as "Facebook", "Twitter", "Skype", Tumblr", "Instagram", "Snapchat", "Vine" and“Ask.fm"
·Why students need to consider that everything they do on-line is public, permanent and searchable no matter what their privacy settings
·What is Cyber Bullying/Digital Peer Aggression and what can be done to control it
His award winning program clearly outlines the dangers associated with accessing online content and promotes responsible digital citizenship. If your child is in upper intermediate (Grades 5-7) or you have high school children as well, who may have a cell phone, or you know he/she has access to these social media sites, and you are not aware of the dangers, please try to attend this information session. Arrive at Brantford before 7:00 pm to ensure you get a good seat, and thank you to Brantford Elementary for inviting Morley parents to this event.
New Phone Number
Our new phone number is 604-296-9024. Our fax number is 604-296-9069. Please make a note of the changes
Thursday, April 13 – 2:10 pm Early Dismissal
Students will be dismissed early on Thursday, April 13 so that teachers can work on class-building information for September 2017. This extra non-instructional time for teachers is based on a district-wide agreement with the BTA on the allocation of prep time due to the two week Spring Break.
Second Term Honour Roll
Congratulations to the students who have received Second Term Honour Roll. This accomplishment is for students who have received up to 11 “G’s” for individual effort. It means that they have had all assignments turned in on time; the student is ready to work and learn; they work well with other students and teachers and they are a self-directed learner who takes appropriate initiative. Job well done!
Division 1: Calum, Jacob, Charlize, Syahira, Ljubica, Jewel, Sadin, Aston, Rafeel, Lucy, Mia, Breanne L., Jane, Matias, Arjel Division 2: Zachary, Madison, Emma, Sally, Loraine, Amanda C., Alezza, Sophia, Danie, Jasmina Division 3: Ali Salmon, Ourael, Christiana, Myles, Samuel, Kelly, Janell, Madeline, Renee, Lloyd, Garvey
Division 4: Sienna, Lauren, Evan, Lulyana, Roko, Kalaya, Shaza, Ryan, Asma, Lexi, Mina, Joshua S., Caleb
Division 5: Mannah, Muzhda, Shahla, Jovana G., Beatrice, Thajubhan, Sisu, Murooj, Bianca, Jeffery, Ann, Antonia, Thai, Grace, Sheanne Division 6: Omar, Ghena, Hadya, Liezel, Acacia, Catherine, Angela, Tiffany, Miguel, Moaz, Lyndie Zoe, Jubi, Sarder, Zandren, William, Avril Division 7: Kylie
Professional Development Days for the 2017-2018 school year:
September 29, 2017Morley day
October 20, 2018Proposed common day
October 23, 2017Proposed curriculum implementation day
November 24, 2017Proposed common day
February 16, 2018Proposed common day
April 23, 2018Proposed common day
June 4, 2018Morley day
Welcome to Kindergarten
Students born in 2012 who have registered for school at Morley are welcome to join us for our Welcome to Kindergarten information session on Friday, May 26, 2017, 1:15 -2:45 pm. Along with giving you information about the gradual entry program, we will be offering resources and strategies for families in support of children and early learning. If you haven’t done so already, please register at the school office.
SUMMER SCHOOL @ MORLEY!
There are a number of great classes being offered at Morley this summer.All classes will take place at Morley School, July 10 - 27, 9:00 am – 12:15 pm.Please note that students MUST attend ALL classes. We cannot accept your registration if your son/daughter will not be present for all 14 school days. Classes are free but students can only take ONE course.Please pick up a registration form at the school office.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to division 6 students who will have their collaborative artwork on display at the Burnaby Art Gallery, April 18 – May 21!
COMMUNITY INFORMATION
ELMACON - Join us on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at the University of British Columbia for ELMACON, Vancouver’s elementary math contest for grades 5-7 students. This gives students the opportunity to experience math as an exciting sport! Register at 222.elmacon.org by April 7. Fee: $25.00. Location: UBC Earth Sciences Building, 2207 Main Mall, UBC. For more details visit
Play to Learn Open Houses for Parents of 3-5 year olds: - Join us for a fun and interactive session exploring a variety of learning activities, and enjoy a performance. Talk with staff from Burnaby Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services, Burnaby Public Library, YMCA Child Care Resources & Referral, and Fraser Health. Meet early childhood education experts and connect with the school community and other families. Drop in and bring the kids. It’s all free!April 12, 9:30 – 11:30 @ Forest Grove Elementary School; Wednesday, April 19, 9:30 – 11:30 @ Maywood Community School; Friday, April 28, 9:30 – 11:30 @ Gilmore Community School.
2017 BFL Kid’s Challenge - Saturday, June 10, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm @ Morley elementary School.Burnaby Family Life, a local charity supporting the vulnerable population in the community, will be hosting the 6th annual Kid’s Challenge to raise money for their programs. Enjoy a Saturday with lots of fun activities and entertainment for everyone. There will be door prizes, food and raffle tickets up for sale. Don’t miss out on the fun and show up for a good cause! Visit their Facebook event page:
Are you missing out on FREE government money for your child’s future education?Now all BC kids born in 2006 or later can get the provincial BC Training & Education Savings Grant at age 6, 7, or 8. Over 250,000 kids in BC also may be able to access money for their post-secondary education savings through the federal government’s Canada Learning Bond. Yes, it’s FREE MONEY for families to get savings started, even when they have no money of their own to contribute. You only need to set up a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) account to apply for and receive the money. Without an RESP. kids miss out on the federal and provincial education savings incentives they are entitled to receive from the government. Start your child’s higher education savings today! BC families can open a no-fee, zero required contribution Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) and receive free government money for their kids’ higher education. All you need to start is the social insurance number (SIN), name and date of birth of the child who this is for; and the parent/guardian’s SIN and contact information. Visit the United Way of the Lower Mainland’s website to access this easy, step-by-step process:
Balloholics Youth Basketball - Balloholics provides classes for kindergarten (age 5) to grade 9’s in a year round program where students learn the FUNdamentals of basketball in a modified games format. The program is designed to follow the LTAD model for sport in Canada. Classes are held in a number of elementary and secondary schools in Burnaby. The program is designed to follow the LTAD model for sport in Canada. Spring Session begins April 10th and will feature both instructional classes and Spring Leagues for boys U11/U13/U15. There also be a new class for boys U10-13 offered at Cariboo Hill Secondary that will cover basketball fundamentals. For further details or to register online visit email
Family Fun Run - Enjoy a Friday evening run with the whole family followed by fun and games, a band, and a full meal while supporting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Elementary age track and field. The run takes place at UBC on Friday, June 16th and follows a scenic loop of the campus. Children can choose to run the Kid’s Mile or 5K and adults can choose between a 5K and 10k run.The fun starts at 6:30pm with the Subway Commit to Fit Kid’s Mile, and the Blueshore Financial 5k and 10K at 6:45pm and 7:00pm respectively.Information and registration are available at: or at any Running Room store.
Kindergarten Eye Exams - School-age children’s eyes are constantly in use in the classroom and at play so it’s important to ensure they are working their best. Your child may not realize they have a vision problem – they may simply assume everyone sees the way they do.
Eye See … Eye Learn is a program that provides free eye exams and eyeglasses if necessary to Kindergarten children by a BC Doctor of Optometry. Visit to book your child’s eye exam with a participating doctor.
Sprouting Chefs Society Fundraiser – Saturday, May 27, 2017. School Garden Symposium for Teachers: 9:30 – 12:30 pm. Guest Speaker: Joanne Bays, Farm to School Canada. Fundraiser/BBQ Event: 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Please go to for further information.