Remembrance Day Ceremony:
On Tuesday, November 11, staff and students at EMPS will be observing Remembrance day with an assembly. The presentation is for staff and students only. We invite students to wear black, red and/or white on this day if they choose. The focus of our assembly will include messages about peace and hope and reflect the diversity of our communities.
The school morning recess time will be adjusted such that the school will be assembled in the gym at 11h00. Morning recess will start at 9:55 - 10:25, thirty minutes earlier than the regular schedule.
Next week, we will be collecting donations for the Poppy Campaign. The Poppy Campaign is one of the Royal Canadian Legion’s most important programs. The money raised from donations provides direct assistance for Veterans. At school, each student will be given a poppy sticker to wear for the assembly and its significance and symbolism will be shared. Thank you for your support.
Progress Report Conferences:
The schedule for booking Progress Report Conferences is open.
Edsby is the online tool supported for scheduling elementary interviews/conferences. To access the schedule, log into your Edsby account. An invitation to book appointments has been sent to your Edsby account and a notification sent to your email. Instructions for signing up for interview slots are available at this link: http://www.yrdsb.ca/boarddocs/Pages/Parent-Teacher-Interviews-Edsby.aspx
Progress Report Conferences will be held at the school on Thursday, November 20 and Friday, November 21 . You will have an opportunity to meet with your child’s homeroom teacher.
Please note that the schedule for these conferences are with your child's homeroom teacher. If you would like to connect with any of your child's other teachers, please reach out to them to make a request.
This schedule will close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 11.
If you have any challenges with meeting in-person on the scheduled days, please contact your child’s teacher.
If you have any questions about this process please contact our main office for support.
We thank you for your patience, flexibility and understanding. We are looking forward to the ongoing collaboration these conferences will inspire.
Our Scholastic Book Fair is Coming!
We’re excited to welcome the Scholastic Book Fair from November 17–21! This year’s Fair will feature French-language books only.
Students will have a chance to browse during their class library visits, but purchases can only be made:
- Evening of Wednesday, November 20
- During the day on Thursday, November 21
Please note: No purchases will be made during the school day.
All sales help our school earn new learning resources—thank you for your support!
Visitor entry to school:
Parents/guardians, caregivers, and volunteers are welcome at Elder’s Mills PS.
Please be reminded of the school and Board safety protocols when you arrive; you are visitors to the school.
Visitors must enter the building only from the main entrance at the front of the school. This is expected at any time before, during and after school.
Upon arrival, if you need to enter the school building, come to the front entrance and ring the doorbell . A member of the office team will check in and you will be ‘buzzed in’ to the building. Upon entering, begin your visit at the main office.
Thank you for your attention and adherence to these protocols.
School Spirit Wear
The online store is now open. Merchandise ordered will be delivered to the school every 3 weeks. All proceeds will fund school enhancements and programs. Shop online by following this link: https://stores.inksoft.com/eldersmills/shop/home
Our next School Council meeting is planned for Monday, December 1, 2025. Details and a virtual meet link for families who wish to join virtually will be shared as the date approaches.
Lunch Clubs Are Coming!
Our School Council volunteers will be starting a variety of lunch clubs in the coming weeks! Several activities are planned to begin this week, with more details to come soon. Some of the clubs being considered include Reading Club, Creative Club, Chess Club, Running Club, Yoga Club, and Soccer Club, with more to follow!
Students are encouraged to listen to morning announcements for information about activities that interest them and to sign up when opportunities are shared.
Volunteering at Our School
We truly value the time and support our volunteers bring to our school community! A reminder that all volunteers are required to have a current Vulnerable Sector Screening (VSS) completed through York Region Police services before volunteering in the school or on school trips. This requirement helps ensure a safe and caring environment for all students. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact the school office for information on how to obtain or update your screening.
Coming Soon….
Parent Connections: A Coffee Chat Series
We are pleased to share our Parent Connections: Coffee Chat series; an informal and welcoming space to connect with parents, school admin, sharing and exchanging ideas. Each session will include time for focused discussion on specific topics (shared in advance) as well as opportunities for conversation and connection.
Our first Coffee Chat in the series of three will be hosted on Thursday, December 4 from 11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. Come prepared to discuss and exchange ideas on the following topics:
- Building Smoother Morning Routines
- Managing Screen Time
Stay tuned for details on how to RSVP as the date approaches.
Future Coffee Chat dates:
Tuesday, April 7, 2026
Friday, June 12, 2026
If you wish to connect with School Council, please email elders.mills.ps@sc.yrdsb.ca
Winter Weather
With winter weather here, we want to share a few important reminders.
Students should come dressed appropriately for the weather and for outdoor play. Students can stay warm by wearing layers of loose-fitting clothing, a hat, scarf, jackets, snow pants and mittens or gloves. Students may also want to bring extra pants and socks in case they get wet.
Recess
If students are well enough to come to school, they are expected to go outside for recess. Our students benefit from spending time outside and being active. We monitor weather conditions throughout the day. If there are extreme weather conditions, we may consider a shortened or indoor recess.
When an extreme cold or inclement weather day is declared, school transportation (including buses and taxis) is cancelled in the morning and afternoon. Schools will remain open. Please notify the school if your child will not be attending school on those days. Students will not be penalized for missing school on these days.
There may be rare instances when emergency weather events occur and we need to close all schools and Board locations. Please take the time to make plans in the event of an emergency school closure. Information about transportation cancellations and Board closures will be shared through local media, board and school websites and on X @YRDSB.
Our process for extreme cold, inclement weather and emergency weather days is outlined in the board’s Severe Weather policy.
YRDSB’s NOVEMBER MATH NEWSLETTER
Sparking Joy through Number Sense and Numeracy
Welcome, families! This month, we're diving into the exciting world of Number Sense and Numeracy. Number Sense and Numeracy is about helping students conceptually understand how numbers work and how we use them in everyday life. It includes learning to count, add, subtract, multiply, and divide, as well as working with fractions, decimals, and money. These skills help students solve problems, make sense of the world around them, and build confidence in math.
There are many opportunities to create joyful moments and meaningful conversations with children around numbers
Some ideas to try:
- Ask open-ended questions: Instead of "What's 2 + 3?". Try "How many different ways can you make 5?"
- Connecting math to real life: Point out numbers on bus routes or count socks while folding laundry. Math is everywhere!
- Focusing on "how" and "why": Understanding the process is just as important as getting the answer. Let students experiment with different ways to solve a problem, and have them explain their thinking. The journey is where the real learning happens.
Connecting it Back to the Classroom
Children begin developing number sense from a very young age. When families talk about math at home—whether it's counting objects, comparing amounts, or noticing numbers in daily life—children deepen their understanding of how numbers work. These conversations help them see how numbers relate to one another, represent quantities, and how each digit in a number has a value depending on its place. As children talk about numbers and practice using them, they start to build their own strategies, helping them become more confident, flexible, and fluent with math.
Engaging in Number Conversations at Home
We can use everyday items to engage in math conversations at home. Using concrete objects helps children visualize and understand mathematical concepts at home. Here are some ways you can do this together:
- Counting Collections: Gather larger collections of items (e.g., rocks, paperclips, LEGO pieces). Ask your child to estimate the total before counting, then count efficiently by grouping (e.g., by 10s, 25s, 50s, 100s). Challenge them to express the total in multiplication sentences (e.g., "I had 7 groups of 25, so 7 × 25 = 175").
- Some other questions to ask could be :
- “If we split this into equal groups of 8, how many would be in each group?”
- “What if we wanted to share this collection equally between 3 people—how many would each person get? Would there be any left over?”
- Money Matters: Use real or play money to set up a small store. Give your child a budget and a flyer, or create a menu of items with prices. Ask them to:
- Find multiple combinations to spend exactly $5.00 or stay under a budget
- Calculate discounts (e.g., “This item is 20% off—what’s the sale price?”)
- Add sales tax and figure out the total cost
- Compare prices to find a better deal
- Building with Blocks: Use blocks or building materials to explore volume, perimeter, and patterns.
Try these tasks:- Build a tower. Ask: Can you build a tower that is bigger? Build a tower that is smaller?
- Build a tower 15 blocks tall, then increase its height by 25%. How tall is it now?
- Build a rectangular prism with dimensions (length, width, height). Ask: “What’s the volume? How would it change if we doubled the height?”
- Create and extend patterns using colours or shapes. Ask: “What’s the rule for your pattern? What would the 10th or 20th item look like?”
A Fantastic Resource for Families: THE RESOURCE
A super fun resource to highlight this month is "SPLAT!" https://stevewyborney.com/2017/02/splat/ You may have heard of this activity from the classrooms; it's incredibly easy to play at home with items you already have. The idea is to give the student the total number of items, and then cover a group of the objects with a “splat” and then ask children to figure out how many are hidden. This simple concept provides rich opportunities for children to recognize the number of objects in a small group without counting, create (compose) numbers and break into parts (decompose) numbers, in a hands-on engaging way!
DIY "SPLAT!":
What you need: A small towel and a collection of everyday objects (e.g., buttons, dry pasta, small toys).
How to play:
"SPLAT!" (Early Learners): Place a small number of objects (e.g., 5-10) on the table for all to see. Determine how many there are. Ask all players to close their eyes while you "splat" (cover) some of the objects with the small towel. Ask: "How many did I start with? How many can you see? How many are hiding under the blanket?" Encourage students to explain their thinking.
"SPLAT!" (Primary Learners): Place a number of objects (e.g., 20 or more) on the table for all to see. Determine how many there are. Ask all players to close their eyes while you "splat" (cover) some of the objects with the small towel. Ask: "How many did I start with? How many can you see? How many are hiding under the blanket?" Encourage students to explain their thinking.
"SPLAT!" (Junior Learners): Place a number of objects (e.g, include half or quarter pieces) on the table for all to see. Determine how many there are. Ask all players to close their eyes while you "splat" (cover) some of the objects with the small towel. Ask: "How many did I start with? How many can you see? How many are hiding under the blanket?" Encourage students to explain their thinking.
"SPLAT!" (Intermediate Learners): Place a number of objects on the table for all to see. Determine how many there are. Ask all players to close their eyes while you "splat" (cover) the same number of objects with example 2 or 3 small towels. Ask: "How many did I start with? How many can you see? What equation might represent what you see? (e.g. 3x + 4=16) How many are hiding under the blanket?" Encourage students to explain their thinking.
"SPLAT!" encourages flexible thinking and deepens understanding of number relationships, all while feeling like a game!
Remember, the goal is not perfection. It is to participate and have a positive experience. Every time you engage in a math conversation or play a math-related game, you're building a student's confidence and showing them that math is fun, relevant, and a natural part of the world around them.
Happy math exploring this November!
On the Horizon:
La Justice
November is Hindu Heritage Month, Lebanese Heritage Month
11 Remembrance Day
12 - Dec 4 EMPS Holiday Heroes Campaign
13 Intermediate Boys Volleyball Tournament
13 Photo Retake Day
14 Intermediate Girls Volleyball Tournament
19 Progress Reports sent home
20 Progress Report Conferences
21 PA Day - No classes for students - Progress Report Conferences
24 - 5 Dec - Grade 3 Gifted Screening Window - details to be shared with Grade 3 families coming soon