Aldergrove News, April 17, 2026

Message from Admin 

Dear Aldergrove Families,

This week was regularly busy and nicely balanced, filled with meaningful learning experiences and the extracurricular opportunities that enrich student life beyond the classroom. The rain continued to keep us off the field but we were able to get outside on the tarmac for fresh air. We are hoping for both warmth and sunshine as we look ahead to next week!

McMichael Art Gallery - Voices Program

Early this year, some of our classes had the opportunity to participate in the McMichael Art Gallery VOICES program. As a culmination to the program, scholars were able to create original artworks which are now on display. Please visit this link to see the wonderful creations by our Aldergrove Artists.

Junior Cricket

Some of our Junior students participated in another cricket session, continuing to build their skills and confidence.

• These sessions emphasize:
  • Teamwork and cooperation
  • Physical fitness
  • Learning and refining new techniques
• It has been great to see students actively engaged and enjoying the game while representing our school spirit.

Kindergarten Space Station Visit

Our Kindergarten classes visited the Space Station, sparking curiosity and excitement.

• This experience supported learning in:
  • Science and inquiry
  • Exploration and imagination
• Hands‑on opportunities like this help make learning memorable for our youngest students.

Badminton Exhibition Games

Our Badminton team competed in a series of exhibition games this week.

• These matches gave students the chance to:
  • Apply skills learned in practice
  • Demonstrate sportsmanship
  • Compete in a positive and supportive environment
• We are proud of how our students represented themselves and our school.

Virtual Author Visit: Dav Pilkey

Students enjoyed a virtual author visit from Dav Pilkey, author of the Dog Man series of books, which was both engaging and inspiring.

• During the visit, students:
  • Learned about the writing process
  • Explored the importance of creativity
  • Were encouraged to develop a love of reading and storytelling
• Experiences like this help bring literacy to life for students.

Grade 8 Graduation Photos

Our Grade 8 students had their graduation photos taken, marking an important milestone.

• This moment provided an opportunity to:
  • Reflect on their growth and achievements
  • Celebrate the journey so far
  • Begin looking ahead to secondary school
  • Kicks-off the graduation events for the remainder of the year
• It was wonderful to see our students step into this moment with pride.

Theme of the Week

Growth Through Opportunity

Quote of the Week

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
— William Butler Yeats

Warm regards,

Mr. Louca                         Mr. Pamayah

Principal                           Vice Principal

Safety Reminder!!
A reminder to all that when dropping off students in our Kiss-and-Ride at any time, it is extremely important to exercise extreme caution. Driving slowly is a requirement when entering school property. Also, please ensure that you are always watching for our children as you drive through in case something unexpected occurs and you need to stop. Ensuring student safety is our top priority and we appreciate your support and cooperation in this matter.

E-Bikes and E-Scooters
YRDSB continues to encourage families to use safe transportation to and from school. We encourage students to use active school travel whenever possible. Active travel refers to any form of human-powered transportation, including walking, cycling, rollerblading, skateboarding, and scootering.

School Property

Students using any transportation device, whether electronic or not-electronic, must dismount before arriving on school property. This includes all sidewalks, pathways, and walkways on school grounds. Please note that the school is not responsible for lost or damaged equipment.

Provincial Regulations

These modes of travel offer many physical, mental, and community benefits. Please visit the Ontario website for a full list of regulations. Every cyclist under 18 must wear a properly fitting bike helmet. Some students may also choose to use electronically assisted devices, such as e‑scooters or e‑bikes. In Ontario, you must be 16 or older to ride an e-scooter or e-bike. When riding e‑scooters or e‑bikes, it is important that students follow all applicable municipal regulations to ensure their safety and the safety of others.

Municipal Regulations

Before riding any device, it is important for students and families to be aware of the regulations set by their local municipality. These may include minimum age requirements for operating electric devices, helmet laws, and other safety guidelines.

Respectful Riding

Pedestrians always have the right of way. Students are expected to ride with caution by slowing down, using a bell when approaching others, and passing on the left. Wearing reflective clothing is encouraged to increase visibility and promote safer travel.

For more information, parents are encouraged to visit:

www.yrp.ca/bikesafety 

https://www.ontario.ca/page/bicycle-safety

https://www.ontario.ca/page/riding-e-bike#section-0

Thank you for your cooperation.

2026-2027 Kindergarten Registration

Bright Beginnings, Endless Possibilities

Kindergarten Registration Opens January 16, 2026

Is your child turning 4 or 5 in 2026? Or do you know someone who is? 

Mark your calendars and follow these simple steps. 

1. Find your home school. 

Use our school finder to find your home school - the school in your neighbourhood. 

2 .Register for Kindergarten. 

You can register online, in person, or by phone or email.

Visit www.yrdsb.ca/kindergarten to access the online registration portal or download the registration form. Once you have completed your application, the school will contact you to make an appointment to review and verify the required documents. 

3. Register early for Before and After Care 

All schools offer before and after-care programs. Check your school’s website or our before and after care directory for details. Contact providers early to secure your spot. 

4. Explore and Prepare for Kindergarten

Kindergarten is where big dreams start small. Learn how Kindergarten helps children develop the academic and social skills they need to thrive in Grade 1 and beyond. Our skilled and caring teams of certified teachers and early childhood educators work together to support every child in a welcoming, inclusive environment.

Ready to Begin?

Start your journey at www.yrdsb.ca/kindergarten.  

In the Library Learning Commons, April 6-17

Mrs. Hopper’s class was in the Learning Commons last week, experimenting with forces acting on structures. They built a house out of popsicle sticks to withstand the blow from the “Big Bad Wolf” (aka - a fan).  They learned about earthquakes, measuring on a Richter scale, and potential damage to buildings and other structures in a community.  They played Jenga Quake, built 40-cm-tall Lego structures that were subjected to “earthquakes” (aka Mrs. Szonda shaking the table at different intensities), and, using Microbits and MakeCode, designed an earthquake detection system.  A group also designed a rope bridge using popsicle sticks and rope only and tested its durability with an eclectic car driving over it (it was a success!!). They experimented with marshmallows to observe what happens to materials under compression, and they built a catapult to launch marshmallows with varying force strengths.  Some students even tried to make a structure using ONLY toothpicks (a near impossible feat) and a card house (also, near impossible).  Lastly, some students learned about gravitational force and chose materials to assist with shock absorption to protect an egg dropped from two different heights. It was a FORCEFUL week of FUN!

This week, Mrs. Ghafouri’s class came in and engaged in centers focused about Space and Forces.  Grade 6 students were given artistic opportunities to paint a planet night light or, after learning about constellations, to create their own that represented their identity in some way.  Students also learned about the solar system by naming and ordering planets, learning fun facts about our solar system, and engaging in scale activities using mathematical conversions of Astronomical Units and Kilometres to Centimetres for demonstrating the distance of planets or the size of planets. They also got to experiment with Ozobot, a colour coding robot, that they were able to code through “Mars” to find an alien, a crater, and a Mars rock, as well as using Block code to make DASH move through Space to rescue a lost astronaut. They explored the impact of asteroids or meteors when they make contact with a solid surface by dropping various objects onto the “Moon” (aka - a bucket of flour) and measuring the diameter and depth of the crater made by each object.  Lastly, students made straw rockets inspired by NASA’s activity and measured the distance that their rockets travelled in cm or m.  Grade 5 students got an incredible opportunity to make a sublimated bookmark noting how electrical energy was transformed into heat to make the image melt into the plastic made with Mrs. Charters. They also had the opportunity to experiment with potential and kinetic energy while making a marble run, a Rube Goldberg machine, and a roller coaster.  They also got to build and test a car made from popsicle sticks that is driven by elastic, using stored potential energy as the elastic is wound. They also got to test the effect of surfaces and friction on speed. They tried their hand at coding using a Microbit and turned it into a step counter to measure mechanical energy. Lastly, students built a solar oven using various materials to reflect sunlight and trap heat. They will test them on a cool day and wait to test them again in June on a warmer day, and compare the cooking results of each test, noting the variables. 

On April 16, students in Grades 4-5 had the opportunity to engage with a virtual watch party via Storyvoice with Dav Pilkey, author of many books but most famous for Dog Man and Captain Underpants, as well as author Lauren Tarshis, known for the I Survived series of novels and graphic novels.  Dav did a very lively read-aloud from one of his Dog Man books, as well as did a drawing tutorial. He also spread the news that Captain Underpants is coming out with a Manga version in the spring, and there is a new Dog Man being released in November 2026! It was a very exciting opportunity to get to see these two amazing and influential authors!

It’s been a messy and fun couple of weeks in the Learning Commons!

Literacy at Home

These activities are designed to be fun, functional, and fast, helping your child build big skills through small, everyday moments.

The Family "Menu" Designer: * Activity: 

Have your child write the "Dinner Menu" for the night. They can draw the food and write the names (e.g., "Chicken," "Rice," "Apple").

Mystery Bag Clues:

Hide an object in a paper bag. Have your child write three "clues" (e.g., It is red. It is round. It is a fruit.). You can also have them add descriptive adjectives as well.  Have someone guess what is in the bag after hearing the clues.

Invisible Ink Messages: 

Use a white crayon to write a secret word (like a word they learned in Science) on white paper. Have your child paint over it with watercolor paint or a marker to "reveal" the secret.

The "Post-It" Takeover: 

Give your child a stack of Post-it notes. Their job is to label 10 things in the house.

Encourage Dual-Labeling. Write "Chair" and in your first language (for example "椅子" (Yǐzi)). Seeing both languages side-by-side helps the brain connect the new English word to the known concept.

The Collaborative Story (Pass-the-Paper):

Start a story with one sentence (e.g., "The cat opened the fridge..."). Pass the paper to the next person, who writes the next sentence. Keep going until the page is full.

The "Pitch":

If your child wants something (a new game, a later bedtime, a specific snack), tell them they must "pitch" it in writing. They need a Topic Sentence, Three Pieces of Evidence, and a Conclusion.

Product Reviewers:

After eating a new snack or watching a movie, have your child write a "1-star" or "5-star" review.

The "Memory Jar"

Keep a jar on the counter with scraps of paper. Whenever something funny or good happens, someone writes it down (in English, or in your first language) and drops it in. At the end of the month, read them together.

It removes the pressure of "perfect" writing and focuses on sharing memories.

The most important "activity" is modelling. If your child sees you writing—whether it’s a grocery list or an email  in your first language or in English—they learn that writing has a purpose.

Fire Safety

A Special Visit from the Markham Fire Department!

Our Grade 2 students had some very important visitors this week! Members of the Markham Fire Department stopped by the school to teach our young learners about fire safety and emergency preparedness.

The firefighters shared life-saving tips that we encourage all families to discuss and practice together at home. Here are the "Fire Safety Essentials" our students learned:

• Knowing What’s an Emergency: We discussed how to identify a real emergency and the importance of calling 9-1-1 only when immediate help is needed from the police, fire department, or ambulance.
• Monthly Alarm Checks: Smoke alarms save lives, but only if they work! Please test your smoke alarms once a month by pressing the test button.
• Ensure your home is protected by having both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed on every level of your house, especially near sleeping areas.
• The Great Escape: Does your family have a plan? The firefighters suggest:
  • Practicing a Home Escape Plan so everyone knows what to do.
  • Identifying two ways out of every room.
  • Designating a Meeting Place outside (like a specific tree or the mailbox) where everyone gathers once they are safe.

Coming Up!

April

• Apr 21: Ridvan (Significant Faith Day).
• Apr 22: Spirit Day: Earth Day
• Apr 27: Cricket for Grade 5-6

May

• May 4: Women's Conference (Gr 7); Intermediate Badminton Areas
• May 6: Cricket for Grade 5-6
• May 7: Making a Difference Program
• May 8: Markham Concert Band Performance & Workshop (9:00 AM–11:30 AM).
• May 10: Mother’s Day.
• May 12: Making a Difference Program
• May 14: Aldergrove Show: Dreams 1:30 PM. Families invited
• May 15: Spirit Day: Count On Me (Wear numbers for Mental Health Month)
• May 18: Victoria Day (Holiday - No School).
• May 19: Immunization Clinic for Grade 7.
• May 20: Grade 6 EQAO Day 1; Gauss Contest for Grade 7&8
• May 21: Regionals Intermediate Badminton; Grade 6 EQAO Day 2.
• May 22: Grade 6 EQAO Catch-Up; Cricket for Grade 5-6
• May 25–26: Grade 3 EQAO (Days 1 & 2).
• May 27: Eid-ul-Adha (Significant Faith Day); Grade 3 EQAO Catch-Up.
• May 29: Grade 1 Field Trip to Space Center; Pride Flag Raising Ceremony (12:40 PM).

June 

• Jun 1: Ontario Day; Cricket for Grade 5-6;
• Jun 2: Junior Track and Field Day
• Jun 3: Intermediate Track and Field Day
• Jun 9: Grade 8 Grad Trip to Wonderland.
• Jun 12: Junior Badminton Areas.
• Jun 15: Junior Track and Field Areas (at Stouffville Arena).
• Jun 21: Father's Day & National Indigenous Peoples Day.
• Jun 25: Last Day of School for Students/ Early Dismissal &.PA Day
• Jun 26: PA Day