Wednesday 15 October 2014

News from around Brown - October 2014

MUSIC NEWS
Junior Choir is in full swing with our rehearsals on Days 2 and 5. Grade 4 to 6 students are still welcome to join as we prepare for our November 11th assembly and Winterfest on December 11 at 9AM.

After four ukulele class is starting on Thursday, October 30 from 3:20PM to 4:20PM in Room 29. We have ordered all of our ukuleles. Students who are interested in joining the ukulele class can see Ms. Turner for more information and prices for the lessons and instrument.

All Grades 4-6 students will need a recorder again this year for music class with Ms. Turner.  Grade 4 students and new students to Brown may purchase a recorder from Ms. Turner for $3.00.

LIBRARY NEWS
Here’s how you can connect to the TDSB Virtual Library.
Connect to your TDSB Virtual Library in school or outside to find online resources (news/magazine/journal articles, e-books, pictures/videos, helpful web sites/tools).
How to connect from outside of TDSB:

1. http://aw.tdsb.on.ca – sign in with student/employee number and network password –locate my home tab (top navigation bar) – Virtual Library (left navigation bar)
2. http://www.tdsb.on.ca – locate find your school (top navigation bar) – school name – Virtual Library link (left navigation bar)

Types of Resources:
Use the home page of the Virtual Library (left navigation bar) to choose the type of resource to meet your needs.
1. An Encyclopedia is a good starting place to find background information that can be read online.
2. An eBook is an online version of a print book that can be read online.
3. An Online database is a large collection of news/magazine/journal articles, book chapters, images and more.  You can cover a lot of ground quickly using databases. Most have read-a-loud and translation features.
4. Images & Media provide streamed video, images, and music to use in projects, for homework and for personal interest.

User Names and Passwords: Some resources need user names and passwords when outside of TDSB. Login and Password card Info will be sent with your child this week.

Enjoy all the great resources.

Marie-France Gagnon

WORLD CHANGERS
World Changers have had a busy start to the year. Our mission as a group remains the same - to raise awareness amongst our group and the student body at Brown about challenges faced by children in our own community and abroad and to look for ways to educate, empower and encourage our members to make a difference. Many of World Changers' initiatives follow the curriculum proffered by Free The Children but we engage in independent initiatives as well.

The structure of our meetings has changed to accommodate different lunch hours so we have both a primary and a junior contingent now. On October 1, four Brown students were invited to attend Free The Children's Evening of Champions honouring our achievement in raising both funds and awareness for various Free The Children initiatives. On October 2, 13 students joined Mme Breslin at We Day, one of Free The Children's global events focused on youth empowerment featuring various speakers such as Colonel Chris Hadfield, Katie Couric and Kweku Mandela. Students who attended these events are now speaking about their experience and sharing their learnings with the other World Changers. You cannot purchase a ticket to We Day, you have to earn it so congratulations to Brown once again for creating this opportunity.

We are now gearing up for our We Scare Hunger campaign and will be running a food drive to support the Daily Bread Food Bank from October 20 - November 3. Each student will be given a brown paper bag to fill with non-perishable items and we will be filling bins outside of the school office. Last year we raised a record-breaking 3000+ pounds of food - let's try to break that record this year! World Changers superheroes will be swooping around the school to spread the word and we are trying to coordinate a visit to a food bank for the kids as well.

Here are some other initiatives World Changers will be working on this year:
November/December - Warm Clothing drive plus our Holiday Hamper initiative November 24 - December 5
February - We Are Love
March - We Stand Together
April - We Are Silent
May - We Create Change

As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact the co-chairs, Allison Fortier <allisonfortier@rogers.com> and Laura Finch <laura.finch@me.com>.

QSP MAGAZINE DRIVE
Support Your School!
ATTENTION PARENTS: The QSP MAGAZINE DRIVE has been EXTENDED! Please help us  reach our fundraising goals. You can still turn in orders until:  FRIDAY OCT 17 and your child will still be eligible to receive their awesome awards. Please visit the QSP Magazine Drive page on the Brown School website for more information about how to order.
Don’t delay, do it today!