We are excited to inform you that our school will be participating in The Forest of Reading Program. This is a popular reading program for students of all ages. Reading is an important part of a Balanced Literacy program in all our classrooms and we enjoy bringing this enrichment program to our school.
The Forest of Reading programs are designed to promote reading for enjoyment, to increase awareness of quality Canadian literature, to enhance student skills in evaluating books, and to provide students the opportunity to engage in discussions about books at school or at home. Last year, over 250,000 participants across the country read and voted for their favourite books in various categories.
How the program works:
Participants read the 10 Canadian titles on the list, and then vote for their favourite (must read a minimum of five to be eligible to vote). Based on voting across the province, the best book is announced and the author is honoured with an award at the Festival of Trees™ in Toronto during the month of May.
Battle of the Books for the Grade 5s and 6s
The Grade 5 and 6 students are invited and encouraged to participate in The Battle of the Books. Students may choose to team up and read at least five of the 10 nominated books on the shortlists. In order to complete as many books as possible, students are encouraged to read at school, as well as at home. After March Break, we will ask each team to compete in a Jeopardy-like game. The winning team will be awarded with books from the Forest of Reading titles.
Volunteers are always needed to help us with this fun program. Parents/guardians who are able to volunteer for The Battle of the Books are asked to read a book and offer some questions and answers relating to the book they have read. We hope you will consider helping us with this program at Brown Public School.
Marie-France Gagnon
Teacher Librarian
MUSIC NEWS
Ms. Turner, M. Paré, Ms. Merenda and Ms. Mankiewicz would like to say a big congratulations to the Junior Choir. On Tuesday, March 3rd, the choir travelled to Etobicoke Collegiate Institute to participate in the annual TDSB music festival. They performed two songs, one was "Flying Free" choice and one was a "set piece" called Doraji (a Korean folksong), which all of the choirs performed.
There were three other choirs in the festival (for our time slot and day) including Charles G. Fraser, Montrose and John Wanless schools. Our adjudicator was Zimfira Poloz, a celebrated children's choir conductor. The Junior Choir did a wonderful job, singing beautifully and communicating with the audience.
A special thanks goes out to Channing Huang, our amazing parent volunteer who accompanied us on the piano. His weekly attendance at rehearsals makes the success of our choir possible. Brown Public School should be very proud of this amazing group of singers who continue to bring artistry and dedication to rehearsal week after week. Our next projects include our spring concert and Massey Hall.
Ms. Turner
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
On March 24, students from Mme Clouthier and Mr. McNeilly's class will be performing plays that they have written and directed themselves. English students will see Mme Clouthier's performances at 9:05 AM and French students will see Mr. McNeilly's performances at 12:35 PM. Both are scheduled to be performed in the gym but may be moved to the library. Parents are welcome to attend.
Ms. Holland
TENNIS AT BROWN P.S. - SPRING PROGRAM
Toronto Tennis Academy is gearing up to head outside and get their spring programs started. Last May and June, over 80 students participated in the lunchtime tennis program at Brown School. They will be running the program again this spring.
Please drop off the Registration Form and cheques to our Main Office.
WORLD CHANGERS UPDATE
World Changers continue to collect funds for our Ève la Chèvre campaign to provide needy families in India with goats. Our Bake Sale was a great success last month raising almost $1,500. To add to that total, we held a "guess the jellybeans in the jar" fundraiser at the beginning of March, as well as a school-wide beach themed day plus a dance for the junior students on March 12 where students can donate loose change in order to participate in a raffle for prizes.
As always, please feel free to direct any questions to the World Changers parent co-chairs, Allison Fortier <allisonfortier@rogers.com> and Laura Finch <laura.finch@me.com>.
