Teacher Appreciation Lunch - cooks needed!

On March 10, the parents of Clairlea will be hosting lunch for the staff as thanks for all the extra things they do to create a happy, fun and supportive place for our children to be! 


We need your help! Please join us in a thank you for the Sports teams, Clubs, Homework groups and activities that are offered to our students. If you can make a dish for this potluck and drop it off that morning please call or email Ginnie. 416-522-8174 scatoule@rogers.com

Updates

Phew! Am I ever behind on blogging. Can you believe it's almost March Break?

I have a few notes from the February School Council meeting to share with you. And wasn't Fenetre Ouverte terrific? Many teachers and parents put a tremendous amount of effort into the day, and from what I heard the kids all felt it was fantastic. The goal of the entire day was to celebrate French and recognize all the students - both core French and immersion - for making the effort to speak the language. The highlight of my evening was the djembe drums lesson in Mme Park's class. Thank you to the young gentlemen who were such excellent teachers! I also loved the opportunity to drop in on the guitar club - and it was great to hear that they are now able to bring their guitars home thanks to the cases School Council funded in the fall.

Speaking of drums, did your kids tell you about the Mystic Drumz assembly a few weeks ago? Mine were raving about it for days. This program was initiated by one of the teachers (Mme Park too, I think), and funded by the School Council - so thank you to everyone who organized or participated in our fundraisers. You can see that the funds are being put to good use.

More very soon. -Catharine.

Pizza orders due on Wednesday

Pizza lunch order forms should be coming home today. I am sorry they are late this month; an issue with the copier prevented me from getting them out last week. Please note that they must be returned to the school by this Wednesday, Feb 16!

Mr. Laderman

I had a chance to meet our new principal, Mr. Laderman, today. He is a (formerly) retired principal who has 36 years experience in the school system, and has been hired back to serve at Clairlea during the search for a permanent principal.

His door was open when I happened to be in the office, so I introduced myself. He asked me to sit, and invited me to ask him anything. Of course, I asked if he would be with us until the end of the school year. That turned out to be the one question he couldn't answer, although he understands how much this matters to parents and teachers alike. He assured me that he would ensure we are kept informed as decisions are made. He emphasized his goal to minimize the impact on students of the change in principals.

He has already visited all the classrooms and enjoyed seeing the grade 8 kids at their Valentine's dance. His manner was open, friendly and relaxed, and my impression is that he will lead with enthusiasm and positivity.

Welcome to Clairlea, Mr. Laderman!

Movie Night! Friday Feb 25

Clairlea is having a movie night on Friday Feb 25! The movie is Megamind.
$2 per person, BYOBlanket. 7pm. Popcorn and drinks will be available to purchase.

School's closed today

From the Toronto District School Board's web site:


Weather Alert
"Due to the snow storm, all TDSB schools and offices are closed to staff and students for Wednesday, February 2. All after-school and evening activities are also cancelled. The safety and welfare of students and staff is a priority during these severe weather conditions. Please visit http://www.tdsb.on.ca/index.asp for the latest information."

Notes from last week's School Council meeting

For those who weren't there, here are some notes from last week's School Council meeting.

Ginnie presented the Treasurer's report on Ann's behalf. In a nutshell, we have $12,679 in the bank, of which about $8,000 is committed to various projects already approved.

Nadira presented her final report as our principal. She extended her heartfelt thanks to the school community for everyone's support and hard work over her time at Clairlea. She mentioned that her new role is an interim one but that she is looking forward to continuing to be closely connected with Clairlea.

She recommends installing a buzzer for the front door of the school. Since the office has a direct line of sight to the front door, this buzzer would not automatically be funded; it needs to come out of the school's own budget. However, it is impossible for the office staff to have their eyes constantly on the door and so for security reasons, it would be preferable to have that door locked and accessible by intercom.

Freddy's vice-principal report touched on the following items:

• Safety. A bus safety presentation took place in January. A community police officer will be visiting the school several times in March, discussing different topics with different grades. Kindergarten: traffic safety. Grade 2 - personal safety. Grade 4 - Internet safety. Grade 6 (two visits) - drugs and substance abuse; criminal offences.
• Report cards go home Feb 14; interviews Feb 18. 
• Winter Activity Day (grades 4+) and a Girls' Conference took place at the school last Friday. 

Ms. Rule presented the Teachers' report, touching on these topics: 

• Halloween Howl. As you may recall, half the proceeds of the Halloween Howl were returned directly to the teachers for use in their classrooms. A sample of how the funds have been put to use: 
• Mme. Volakhova purchased abacus-like math devices for her classroom. 
• Mme Pare is building a listening centre in her SK FI class. 
• Ms. Rule is continuing her camera reach program
• Ms. Hawkins purchased primary dictionaries for her classroom. 
• Mr. Knierim and Ms. Braithwaite extend their thanks for the screen and projector that Council funded earlier this year. They are being used primarily in the portable. 
• The laptop computer is also being put to good use. 
• Ms. Braithwaite leads a girls' gathering every Thursday at lunch for girls in grades 5 and 6. This week, they have a Chinese New Years tea planned. 
• The Heritage Assembly (for Black History Month) will be March 4 in the afternoon - approximately but not exactly 1pm. 
• The Fenetre Ouvert festival will be on February 23, with activities for the kids throughout the day (parent volunteers are needed!) and a presentation for parents that evening - this is for parents of students in both core French and French Immersion.
• The Math Pathway has begun. This is a professional development program within the school that involves co-planning, co-teaching and moderated marking, with a goal of improving student achievement in mathematics. 

Ginnie reported on Cafe Francais / Fenetre Ouvert. This is a day-long, school-wide celebration of French language and culture. In recent weeks, students (including those in the English stream) have been collecting tickets each time a teacher notices them speaking French, and those tickets can be exchanged for various items at the Cafe Francais. Parent volunteers are needed throughout the day to make & serve pancakes and help with various activities. Also needed - electric griddles for making pancakes! Please contact Ginnie if you can volunteer or if you have a griddle that you can lend for the day. 

Thanks, Katy, for the photo!

The meeting closed with a presentation of flowers and a card for Ms. Persaud. Nadira, we will miss you greatly and we thank you for everything that you have done for Clairlea.