Online Resources

Please visit the school web site and click on the library tab to access a number of great resources available for our students.  Below is a screen shot of the page. At the bottom right of the page it says more.... where you will find a number of other great resources. If students want to access them from home the password is "york" - all lower case.

February 28th is Pink Shirt Day!!!

2018 FOCUS: CYBERBULLYING

In today’s digital world, it can be impossible to escape online bullying, whether it takes the shape of harassment, spreading rumours, sharing embarrassing information or threats. This year, Pink Shirt Day is encouraging others to combat cyberbullying by thinking twice before posting something negative, and instead using the internet to spread kindness - because we know that Nice Needs No Filter!

 WHAT IS BULLYING?

Information courtesy of Red Cross Canada

WHAT IS BULLYING?

Bullying is a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance; the person doing the bullying has power over the person being victimized. In additional to any physical trauma incurred, bullying can result in serious emotional problems, including anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression.

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TYPES OF BULLYING

• Physical bullying: using physical force or aggression against another person (e.g., hitting)
• Verbal bullying: using words to verbally attack someone (e.g., name-calling)
• Social/relational bullying: trying to hurt someone through excluding them, spreading rumours or ignoring them (e.g., gossiping)
• Cyberbullying: using electronic media to threaten, embarrass, intimidate, or exclude someone, or to damage their reputation (e.g., sending threatening text messages).

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BULLYING VS HARASSMENT

Bullying and harassment are similar, yet different:

• Harassment is similar to bullying because someone hurts another person through cruel, offensive and insulting behaviours.
• Harassment is different from bullying in that it is a form of discrimination.

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WHAT IS DISCRIMINATION?

Discrimination is treating someone differently or poorly based on certain characteristics or differences. Bullying turns into harassment when the behaviour goes against Canada’s Human Rights Laws and focuses on treating people differently because of:

• Age
• Race (skin colour, facial features)
• Ethnicity (culture, where they live, how they live, how they dress)
• Religion (religious beliefs)
• Sex Sexual orientation (if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual)
• Family status (if they are from a single parent family, adopted family, step family, foster family, non-biological gay or lesbian parent family)
• Marital status (if they are single, legally married, common-law spouse, widowed, or divorced)
• Physical and mental disability (if they have a mental illness, learning disability, use a wheelchair)

KINDNESS MONTH

This month at Silver Stream has been designated as "Kindness Month." Although we would like everyone at our school to be kind throughout the year, February has had a specific focus with daily reminders, a daily kindness thought for the day, "Random Acts of Kindness Day" last Friday, and a special "Kindness Tree" outside the library which students have created through acts of kindness. We will be having a targeted "Kindness Campaign Assembly" for girls in Grades 5-8 presented by an organization called Kind Campaign Canada on February 28th. Also, Wednesday, February 28th is Pink Shirt Day. This year's focus in on cyber-bullying. We will be encouraging students to combat cyber-bullying by thinking twice before posting something negative, and instead using the internet to spread kindness--because we know that Nice Needs No Filter! 

As Aesop famously said, "No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

Summer Institute

Summer Institute

Looking for summer learning and fun activities for students entering Senior Kindergarten to Grade 8? Summer Institute offers academic, recreational and athletic programs and activities with intentional links to the Ontario Curriculum.

The program runs for six weeks during July and August. It is offered at 11 school sites around York Region.

For more information on dates, programs and locations, please visit the Summer Institute page on www.yrdsb.ca.

Registration opens March 7.  Families can now register online, as well as in person or by mail. 

Contribute to Strategic Planning at YRDSB - Upcoming Town Halls

Lunar New Year Greetings!

Lunar New Year 

February 16, marks the Lunar New Year for members of the Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese communities.

Lunar New Year is a cultural and religious celebration for many Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese. This is the year of the Dog. People born in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2006 were also born in the year of the “Dog”. Many rituals are associated with this festive occasion. They include cleaning house, paying off debts, settling old arguments, and other means of making a "fresh start." To celebrate, people may light firecrackers, hang poetry, enjoy a family feast (oranges and apples are considered lucky fruits), exchange gifts (adults may give children laisee, red envelopes filled with money), and buy new clothes or new shoes.

We wish all staff, students and community celebrating Lunar New Year a happy and joyful celebration in the company of family and friends.

There WILL be Swiss Chalet Today!

We have had a number of parents asking if we will still be having Swiss Chalet today because of the snowy weather.  We have contact Swiss Chalet and they have confirmed that they will be delivering lunch as scheduled.

Tomorrow is Winter Walk Day!!!

February 7th is Winter Walk Day. We encourage all families to walk to school with their friends or families if possible. Get out and enjoy the snow! 

The Kind Campaign - Wednesday, February 7th

On Wednesday, February 7th Silver Stream will be participating in The Kind Campaign.  

The Kind Campaign is an internationally recognized nonprofit organization that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl bullying through their global movement, documentary film, in-school assemblies and educational curriculums. 

Every single female has encountered girl-against-girl bullying at some point in her life, but Kind Campaign isn’t about pointing the finger at anyone. We have all been on both sides of this issue, whether it be from the perspective of the “victim” or the “aggressor.” Physical fighting, name calling, gossip, power struggles, competition, manipulation, rumors, and ostracizing other girls all fall under the category of girl-against-girl “crime.”

What we often choose to ignore is the fact that these experiences frequently lead to depression, anxiety, loss of self-worth, eating disorders, drug abuse, alcoholism, attempted suicide, and actual suicide in millions of girls’ lives. In February 2009, while attending Pepperdine University, Kind Campaign co-founders Lauren Paul and Molly Thompson joined forces. Having both been affected by female bullying throughout their youth, the young women decided to create change by giving females a platform to speak out about this universal experience.

What began as an idea for a documentary about girl-against-girl bullying, ultimately became Kind Campaign, a multi-platform movement that has transformed hundreds of thousands of lives, friendships, classrooms and communities. Since it’s founding, Kind Campaign assemblies like this one have taken place in thousands of schools and communities across the country. With Kind Campaign’s documentary, in-school assemblies, Kind Clubs, Kind Kits, Kind Camps and their strong and supportive online community, Kind Campaign serves as the premiere anti-bullying movement for girls and has impacted millions of individuals across the globe. 

By attending and participating in this assembly, YOU are choosing to take a stand and help make girl world a more supportive and kinder place.