Week 24 @ EMPS - Friday, February 27, 2026

Congratulations! Intermediate Boys Win the Basketball Area Tournament!

Congratulations to the Intermediate Boys Basketball Team! Through hard work, determination, and teamwork, the team won the Area Tournament. They will now advance to the Regional Tournament next week.

Thank you to the coaches, the athletes, and the families for their continued support. Well done, team!

First Term Report Card – YRDSB Communication to Families

Your child’s February 2026 YRDSB Elementary Provincial Report Card is now available to view through the Family Dashboard at Family.yrdsb.ca. It will be available to view until March 5, 2026. Students in Grades 4-8 will also receive a link through their GAPPS account.

Report Card

The first term report card shows your child’s achievement of curriculum expectations introduced and developed from September to the end of January of this school year, as well as your child’s development of the learning skills and work habits during this period.

How to Access the Report Card

Log in to Family.yrdsb.ca. If you don’t have an account or have questions, visit Family Resources > Family Dashboard on the Board website and click Need Help for instructions and FAQs.
Click your child’s name to see the Report Card icon.
Click the Report Card icon and select the file you want to view.
Enter your child’s birthdate as the password in this format: YYYYMMDD (e.g., for March 1, 2010, enter 20100301).
View, download or print the report card.

Please note:

A printed copy can be requested from the school office.
Families with multiple children will receive separate emails for each child.
If you’re unsure who your child’s subject teachers are, you can find this information in Edsby. Log in and go to your child’s profile to view their current teacher assignments.

Please contact your child’s school if you have questions.

Hot Lunch Update - XPress BBQ

The make-up date for the XPress BBQ lunch that was missed on Wednesday, February 18 due to inclement weather will take place on Wednesday, March 4.

Please note that March 4 will also be the final XPress BBQ delivery for this session. The ordering option will reopen for the Spring Session on School Cash Online during March Break.

Thank you for your continued support!

YRDSB's Monthly Math Newsletter - February 2026 - Sparking Joy through Representing in Math

Sparking Joy through Representing in Math

This month, we’re exploring how math connects to our everyday lives with a focus on representing our thinking and making math visible. When children use drawings, models, numbers, and words to show their thinking, they deepen their understanding and build confidence as mathematicians.

By encouraging children to explain their reasoning, try different strategies, and visualize their ideas, we help them see math as a creative, meaningful, and joyful part of everyday life

Connecting it Back to the Classroom

In Ontario’s math curriculum, one of the key Mathematical Process expectations is “representing”—showing our thinking in different ways to help us understand and communicate mathematical ideas. In classrooms, students might represent their thinking using drawings, diagrams, models, number lines, graphs, equations, or words. These different forms of representation help make their thinking visible, support deeper understanding, and allow others to follow and respond to their ideas.

When students represent their thinking, they learn that there’s more than one way to solve a problem and build confidence in sharing their strategies. It also helps them make meaningful connections between math concepts. At home, you can support this by asking, “Can you show me how you figured that out?” or “Can you draw or model it a different way?” Representing isn’t just about the answer—it’s about thinking clearly and communicating ideas with understanding.

Engaging in Representations at Home

Encouraging different representations at home doesn’t have to involve fancy materials—everyday items and simple strategies can go a long way. Here are some easy and meaningful ways you can support math representation at home:

Encourage Drawing and Sketching: Invite students to draw pictures, number lines, or bar models to explain their thinking when solving a math problem. Keep scrap paper, a notebook, or a whiteboard handy to make it routine.

Use Household Items as Math Tools: Items like buttons, pasta, coins, socks, rocks, or paper can be used for grouping, counting, comparing, building arrays, fair sharing or patterns. Folding paper is a great way to model fractions. These tools help students represent their thinking concretely before moving to abstract strategies.

Talk About More Than the Answer: Ask open-ended questions like, “How do you know?”, “Can you show it a different way?” “Can you explain your thinking using words or pictures?” These prompts invite children to make their thinking visible and consider other strategies.

Try Journaling or Math Chats: Have students write or talk about how they solved a problem—this could be a few sentences, a picture, or a step-by-step list. Representing in words helps reinforce their understanding and gives insight into their process.

By inviting children to show, explain, and reflect, families help build the habit of thinking deeply about math—not just getting to an answer. These small moments at home make a big impact on mathematical confidence and understanding.

A Fantastic Resource for Families : Polypad

Digital tools like Polypad ( https://polypad.amplify.com/p#numbers) offer powerful ways for students to make their math thinking visual at home. With virtual manipulatives like number tiles, fraction bars, algebra tiles, and geometric tools, students can explore math concepts, test out ideas, and represent their thinking in interactive ways. Using digital tools encourages creativity, flexibility, and experimentation—helping students see patterns, connections, and relationships they might not notice with pencil and paper alone. Best of all, tools like Polypad are free and accessible online, making it easy for families to support rich, visual math learning from home.

Take some time this month to encourage students to represent their thinking and make math visual, we can empower them to see math as a creative, meaningful process—and help them build the confidence to share, explore, and grow as mathematicians!

Families planning to move or students not returning in September

As we begin our planning for the 2025-2026 school year, we kindly ask you to inform the school office if your family has plans to move over the summer, or if your children will not be returning in September for any reason. This information helps us to ensure a smooth transition for all students and to make necessary staffing arrangements for the upcoming academic year.

Your cooperation is greatly appreciated and helps us in planning effectively for the new school year. Thank you for your support.

Yearbook

Staff and students are collaborating to create a 64-page, full-colour yearbook filled with highlights and memories from the school year. Yearbooks are $32.00 and are now available for purchase through School Cash Online.

Yearbook Photos - Consent

Yearbooks chronicle the activities of the school and student body. They are produced for sale (hard copy or digital) to students and the school community. School yearbooks may be placed in the school library in hardcopy or electronic format.

Class photos, photos of your child's participation in school clubs, activities and events, work products by your child, and your child's achievements may be published in the yearbook along with their grade and full name.

Please complete and submit this form if you DO NOT CONSENT to your child's photo and/or name being published in the yearbook. Complete a separate form for each child. Submit by March 27, 2026.

Student Personal Information Consent Form

School Spirit Wear

The online store is 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

School Council

Visit the School Council pages on the website for upcoming dates and events: https://eldersmills-ps.yrdsb.ca/school-council

The next School Council meeting this Monday, March 2, 2026. All parents/guardians are invited to attend. Meetings are hosted in the school staffroom and remotely via meet link. The link will be emailed on the afternoon of the meeting. Childminding will be available for families wishing to attend in person.

We look forward to seeing you!

IMPORTANT REMINDER:

ELDER'S MILLS IS A SCENT-FREE/FRAGRANCE FREE LEARNING AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT.

International Women's Day- March 8

International Women's Day has been recognized for over a century, with the first IWD gathering of over a million people in 1911. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution calling on member states to proclaim a day for women's rights and gender parity. Following the United Nations' lead, Canada declared March 8 as International Women's Day. To achieve a gender equal world, it is essential to notice and name the existing inequality and examine and challenge unconscious biases and harmful gender-based stereotypes through collective and reciprocal action. The International Women's Day 2026 campaign exemplifies this commitment through the theme of Give to Gain.