McCordic Monthly

Number 1 October, 2018

Produced by the staff of W.J. McCordic; Edited by Deborah; Printed by Cathy Learning about the past to make a better future

By Colin during their residential school experiences. The offi- cial date for Orange Shirt day – Sept. 30th – was cho- On Friday, Sept. 28, we encouraged our students and sen because this was the time of year that Indigenous staff to wear orange shirts to school to show support children were often taken away from their families for the victims of residential schools in Canada. and sent to school. Along with wearing orange shirts, students created art pieces in the Work Ed. Program. The school also gathered in the Open Area to watch a video presenta- tion.

Orange Shirt Day grew out of Phyllis’ story. Phyllis was a young girl at St. Joseph Mission School in BC who had her orange shirt taken away upon arrival at her school. The orange shirt came to symbolize all the things that were taken away from Indigenous students

Inside this issue of McCordic Monthly

The wheels on the bus go 'round “Music gives a soul to the uni- and 'round, all through the verse, wings to the mind, flight to town! ...2 the imagination and life to every- Upward and Onward for Everyone thing” ...8 in 207!...3 Many sites and sounds for the students in Room 207...3 senses...9 Morning Exercises...3 Snack?...that will be Hey! Is that me in that book?!?...4 one dollar, please...10-11 Room 208: Busy and Bustling...5 Math is Fun!...11 Upcoming events...5 A Message from the Principal and Autumn Stories...6 Vice-Principal...11 Did you know?...7-8 So much to see and do at the Fair...11

The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round, all through the town!

By Tirzah Just in time for Thanksgiving, room 109 went to Pine Farms Orchard with room 209 and 110. We drove to King City, to pick apples and enjoy the beau- tiful leaves starting to change. The trees were just the right height for us to pick the Courtland, Gala, Macintosh, Ambrosia and so many other apple varieties. We walked and wheeled up and down the beautiful hills, eating some of the apples and enjoying lunch underneath the shade of a tree. The next day, we enjoyed a piece of apple pie that we bought at the farm bakery and we planned to bring some of our apples home to our families. Happy Thanksgiving!

Below, Here, a student is picking from a Courtland Apple tree. It's just the right height!

Above, Here is the entrance to Pine Farms Orchard where you get your apples weighed and you can buy all of their yummy baked goods. Below, In this picture, our students and staff are enjoying some apple pie from the farm!

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 2 Upward and Onward for Everyone in 207!

By Colin with support from staff. Our class has had a great start to the 2018-19 school Highlights of the school year thus far include: year! The students and staff were all very happy to Field Trip to Markham Fair see all the familiar faces, as well as the addition of a Terry Fox Walk new student and staff member. The students quickly Orange Shirt Day got back into their familiar routines and individualized programs. We are all looking forward to more great events around the school and in the community throughout The students are regularly provided with opportunities this school year! to further develop communication and self-help skills Morning Exercises

By Deborah morning exercises as an au- Students in Room 214 take an active thentic cue to get up retrieve part in morning exercises, as so much their flag and stand by their about education at McCordic is about tables. building independence into routines. The morning exercises start Our students’ way of participating in with an acknowledgement that the Morning Exercises is by getting a our school is situated on the flag from the designated spot in the traditional territories of indige- room and holding it during the playing nous people. Next, our nation- of our national anthem, O Canada. A student gets his flag when he hears that al anthem, is announced. For many of our students, this is We started the year with an art activity O Canada is going to be played. where the students painted the flags the cue, to get up and get their that they would use during the playing of the national flag. For other stu- dents, a prompt is anthem. required to go get After the students painted the flags, the flags were their flag and stand laminated and by their desk. then mounted on- to a stick. We continue to be impressed with the The morning ex- growing independ- ercises at ence that our stu- McCordic begin A student paints dents demonstrate at 9:20 am. This a flag which will in following this predictable time be used during routine with re- really helps our A student holds up her the playing of duced prompts. class to use the flag during the playing of O Canada. O Canada McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 3 Hey! Is that me in that book?!?

By Helen The lite (free) version allows you to make one book, This year in the library and the paid version ($6.99 on one device) allows you we started to use an app to make unlimited books. called Book Creator. It Other ideas for using this app: helps us to make our own customized books Procedural retell by using our own au- Recounting personal experience thentic pictures, photos, videos, audio and captions. Social stories Students can see themselves and their peers being See below for a few pages that we have created so far. represented in the book and also learn to read the sim- ple captions.

A student

A student

A student

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 4 Room 208: Busy and Bustling By Matthew Below, Looking at some exhibits

Above, walking around the fair

Room 208 has been busy and bus- tling so far this year. We had a field Above, Glueing orange paper to make a pumpkin trip to Markham Fair where we got Left, Watching a sample pumpkin being made to walk around the grounds, eat lunch and see many exhibits. Re- Left bottom, putting orange paper on a pumpkin cently we started a pumpkin unit and have worked on decorating pumpkins. Upcoming Great work everyone!

Below, Using a dabber to make a pumpkin Events

Monthly Dance and Orange Day— October 31 November 9—Grad Photo/Photo Re-take November 11—Remembrance Day Assembly November 12—Report Cards go home November 24—Monthly Dance December 5—Raptors 905 Game

Check out our website at:

http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/williamjmccordic Follow us on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/WJMcCordic

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 5 Autumn Stories

By Laura It’s been a busy Fall for us here in 104 and 107. We’ve worked on many projects including Red Apples, Terry Fox Day, Orange Shirt Day, Thanksgiving Turkeys as well as Autumn Leaves. And now, we are embarking on a ‘Secret Path’ journey and are curious to see where it will lead us! Although we did not go on an apple picking trip this year, our nurse Lucy did and she came back with exciting photos to share. She let us know what her favorite apple was; Red Delicious. We sampled some apples in our classroom and voted that the Jersey Mac and the Liberty apples tied in first place. Last week we were excited to participate in the annual Terry Fox walk. Just before we departed the school we read some inspiring quotes by Terry Fox and our favorite was: “...Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.” An amazing thing happened just as we left the school gate to go on the walk. A student’s wheel decided to pop off and we had to cut our walk short. Upon returning to school, we reflected again on Terry’s quote and were sure pleased that all our McCordic friends kept on go- ing ahead despite our wheelchair set back. We also celebrated orange shirt day by creating orange beaded t-shirts for art and by attending a school wide assembly which focussed on the significance of Orange Shirt Day. Big thank you to all the parents for supporting this day by sending their children to school wearing orange shirts! Our class believes in Inclusive Design whereby the students enter the “circle” from wherever they are. With this mindset, we’re looking forward to our school-wide initiative of the ‘Secret Path’ which explores the story of Chanie Wenjack.

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 6 Did you know? McCordic goes back in time By Anthony Green ger on C deck discovered smoke coming from under a locked linen closet. He alerted a bellboy Did you know that the SS Noronic was one of and several attempts were made to extinguish the largest passenger steamships that ever the fire, but the crew realized that the fire was out sailed the and made more than a of control. thousand voyages during her 37 years of ser- vice? On that fateful night, 118 passengers perished. th There were many heroic attempts to save the In the early 20 century, sailing the Great Lakes passengers who were trapped in the inferno. was the fashionable way to travel. Many luxury Firemen and volunteers worked feverishly to vessels sailed the waters of the Great Lakes of- saved those who could be saved. By mid- fering one to two week cruises. One of these morning the fire was under control, and the grue- vessels was the SS Noronic, known as the some task of removing the bodies from the “Queen of the Lakes.” It’s size and complexity wreckage began, the majority being American. was astounding. She was 362 feet in length, had The Horticultual Building at the Exhibi- five decks and her wooden interior was com- tion was put into use for as a morgue so that posed of teak, cherry and oak. She had a ball- friends and relatives could room, library, beauty salon and full orchestra to identify family, friends and Continued on page 8 entertain 600 passengers. relatives. The 6,905 ton vessel was launched on June 2, 1913 from Port Arthur, Ontario. Originally, she was owned by the Northern Navigation Compa- ny, then was later sold to , becoming their flagship. In 1949, the SS Noronic was still considered to be the finest ship of her kind afloat on the Great Lakes. In the summer of 1949, her itinerary was a seven days voyage starting at Windsor/. Her port of calls included , Toronto, the Thou- sand Islands and Prescott. On September 14, SS Noronic set sail to Lake Erie and Cleveland to take on passengers, then through the Welland Canal and to with 524 passengers and 171 crew. On Friday September 16, the SS Noronic docked at Toron- to’s famous Pier 9. Many passengers and crew had gone ashore to spend an evening dining and sightseeing while other passengers and crew re- mained on board. Captain WM Taylor went ashore, returning at 2 am. At 2:30 am, a passen-

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 7 “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything” ― Plato

By Helen Eddy, who is studying to become a music therapist, We are fortunate to have Eddy Fan, a student from is doing a placement at York University/Seneca Collage, with us for three McCordic. months. Eddy charms the students with his singing, as well as piano and guitar playing.

Did you know?...continued from page 7 The Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance rallied to assist the victims, exhausted doctors and nurses who worked tirelessly throughout the night treating the badly burned and injured passengers. Wounded survivors were taken to several local hospitals for treatment and the uninjured survivors were welcomed by the Royal York and King Edward Hotels. A court inquiry was held on September 29 to determine the cause of the tragedy. In the report it stated, “the loss of the SS Noronic and the loss of life was caused by the wrongful default of the owners and the Master.” Captain Taylor’s certificate was suspended for one year and Canada Steamship Lines was ordered to pay court costs and three million dollars to relatives of the deceased passengers. On October 29, 1949, the SS Noronic was taken to Hamilton Shipyard. Her legacy was noted in history as being the ship that sustained the worst loss of life on the Great Lakes. Captain William Taylor ended his days working as a hotel night clerk, passing away in 1965.The devastating fire changed the course of the luxury ship building industry. Future ships were built for safety first and luxury second.

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 8 Many sites and sounds for the senses Staff: Vana, Christine, Grace and Hazel

The beginning of the school year has been great for our classroom. Two new students have joined our class and they are wonder- ful additions. We have been active both in and outside of our school. Our class participated in the Markham Fair and Pine Farms Orchard trips. The students had so much fun!!

Top left, Aathavan plays the guitar at Markham Fair. Top centre, This horse loves Ava!! Top right, Aaliyah enjoys watch- ing the turkey. Middle left, Aathavan picks apples. Middle centre, Tanisha relaxes in the beautiful orchard. Middle right, Aaliyah and her Mom, Amanda pose for a picture. Bottom left, Hafsah uses the IWB wand to move her picture down. Bottom centre, Aathavan uses a sentence strip to request water. Bottom right, Aaliyah feeds her- self with a fork.

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 9 Snack?...that will be one dollar, please

By Deborah We plan to lengthen the time After an inspiring workshop on using math in the between receiv- classroom by ing their money McCordic teach- and snacktime ers, Vana and Ni- incrementally to cole, staff from delay the gratifi- Room 214 were cation, an im- inspired to bring portant cognitive money sense into skill to develop. an everyday au- thentic experi- ence...snack.

Everyone in Room 214 looks Above, a student is forward to snack ready with his coin to making it an ex- make his purchase. cellent motivator. Above, a student receives two loonies which he will use to purchase a snack. At the beginning Once the students Below, a student waits patiently with of snack, we give have practiced this his coin ready to make a purchase. each student two skill, we will intro- loonies. One is for duce the iPad to a drink and the promote the use of Above, a student makes a selection for other is for an edi- complete sentenc- snack after paying with her loonie. ble. es. Below, a student eats his snack To reinforce Classroom choice making, we practicing of give the students a money for few selections of food, will edibles on a tray to eventually choose from. Af- migrate to ter they choose, the real they give one of world when the coins in exchange for the snack. After they re- we visit Tim ceive their cup of water, they give their other coin. Continued on In addition to giving the coin, they also say please and page 10 thank you verbally or using ASL.

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 10 Math is Fun! Snack?...continued from page 10 By Diane Horton’s in a few months and make Creating pictures use of our skills using geometric at making pur- shapes is funda- chases. mental to compos- ing a drawing. When students en- Top right, a student gage in composi- says please using tions using geo- ASL. metric shapes they exercise their math and visual arts skills. Below right, A student says A student in Room thank you 203 enjoys creat- using ASL. ing geometric pic- tures. Here, he is using a template to match geometric shapes to create a picture.

Message from the Principal So much to see and do at the Fair and Vice-Principal The Markham Fair is one of the oldest fairs in Cana- da, established in 1844. About 80,000 people attend Happy Autumn! this fair annually. Three students and two staff from Please complete the parent survey that was sent home. Room 214 attended the fair along with several other It is on our website if you prefer to do it electronical- classes from McCordic. ly. Follow the link: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/ The fair pro- williamjmccordic/Parents vides many You can also check out our website for information opportunities about our school such as our school calendar, family such as see- resources, library and our digital copies of our news- ing farm ani- letters. mals, pro- We can also be found on Twitter @WjMcCordic duce and arts Please join us for our November ‘Get Together’ date and crafts to be determined. Your input in the survey will help displays. us to plan the event. It is wonderful for your family to meet our family at W.J. McCordic School.

McCordic Monthly October, 2018 Page 11