Another personal note...

...Happy New Year! I hope 2010 brings you all you wish for yourselves and for your families.

On a personal note...

...merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Holiday concert

Wasn't last week's holiday concert wonderful? It was such fun to see the students in their holiday best, proudly showing the results of their hard work and practice.

The evening kicked off with introductions from our emcees Alisha, Bailey, Cindy, Sabrina and Jahmeika, who explained that many different cultures mark the importance of light in their celebrations at this time of year. At various breaks in the performance, they informed us of the role of light in Diwali, Eid, Hanukah, Christmas and Kwanzaa.


The first performance was from Mme Fahim's SK class, who treated us to "Quel Matin," swaying back and forth in their beautiful party dresses with remarkably good rhythm. After a brief curtain close (during which we saw an animated post-mortem discussion between two of the kids), the same class danced to "Quand le Pere Noel." All the pairs were very light on their feet, with an especially animated performance from the group of three boys.

Next was Mrs. Pires's JK/SK class with an animated rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." The girls looked beautiful in their party dresses, and Umar was very handsome in a three-piece suit. My personal favourite of course was my very own Simon, who spotted his Dad and kept pointing and making faces.

The Grade 8 Band followed with an impressive four-song Holiday Melody conducted by Mr. Wallace. The audience was impressed by the beautiful harmonies in Jingle Bells and the smoothness of the playing in We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

Mme Volokhova and Mme Speed's Grade 1 classes were next with a joint performance of "J'ai une petite lumiere," sung beautifully with excellent rhythm and projection. We were especially moved by the crescendo and diminuendo at the finale.

After that it was time for a little theatre, with Ms. Vincent's Grade 7 class performing a scene from Romeo and Juliet. With 14 Juliets and 8 Romeos, this was an impressive performance, each reciting a line (or several) with passion and energy. There can be little doubt that the Juliets took the prize for style, and the Romeos for dramatic flair.

The Recorder Club, led my Mr. Landry, performed four Holiday Favourites with nary a note out of place. They closed with a haunting rendition of Silent Night made even lovelier by a beautiful saxophone solo.

Next up, Mme Gidaris and Mme Dungo's Grade 2 class sang a peace canon entitled "La paix au monde," accompanied by no less than eight xylophones and two triangles. It was a wonderful combination of sounds.

Ms. Hawkins' Grade 5 class treated us to an energetic, Bollywood-style performance of "Jai Ho" (May you be victorious). This beautifully choreographed dance was imaginative, energetic and so memorable that my two little spectators have been repeating the performance at home ever since.

Last came the Dance Team's performance of "Up on the Housetop" by the Jackson Five. Their bright smiles and snappy moves were a great way to end this fantastic concert. All the performances were wonderful. Thank you for putting on a great show!

The School Council would also like to thank all the families that contributed items to the holiday baskets that were auctioned off at the concert. These raised more than $1,000 for programs at the school. The students also raised more than $100 for Free the Children through the snack table. 


Only those classes that performed in the concert were asked to contribute to baskets. The others will be asked to contribute to baskets for the spring concert. (Ideas and suggestions welcome!)


Finally, special thanks to SATEC for hosting us and to the teachers who worked so hard to choreograph the performances and support the production: all those mentioned above as well as Mr. Church, Mr. Knierim, Mr. Mitkovski, Miss Lowen, Mme Demeter for the beautiful art display and of course the incomparable Mme Park.  

No meeting this month

Just in case anyone's wondering, there is no School Council meeting this month. We'll meet again January 20.

Snipping off buttons

The most fun I had all week was snipping off buttons.

I usually read once a week with the children in my son's grade one classroom. Yesterday I arrived early, so the teacher asked if I'd help her by snipping buttons off their cardboard backing.

I sat at the back of the class and snipped while watching the children learn. It was truly fascinating to observe the intricacies of the classroom, the answers the students gave and the way they responded to one another and to their teacher. I'm now able to ask more probing questions to find out about my son's day. I also have a better sense of what he's learning and how, and of what's expected in the classroom.

I'm telling you this because sometimes I think parents don't quite know whether they're welcome in their children's classroom, or what they would do if they were to spend the morning there. So when you're having your parent-teacher interviews this week, ask the teacher if it would be ok for you to visit sometime, and help in some way. I'm sure the response will vary from grade to grade and from teacher to teacher, but if you are interested in being there, it doesn't hurt to ask. Have a conversation with the teacher to find a convenient time.

If you're working full time, you might not have time to volunteer on a regular basis...but even if you go just once, there might be some little task to keep you busy while you observe the classroom in action. Becoming more engaged in your child's education is more than worth the effort. (Classroom volunteers will require a police check.)

By the way, I'm pretty sure the buttons are for math. These days math is taught using grouping, patterning and logic, and sorting buttons is one way for visually-oriented kids to learn. And it happens to be way more fun than memorizing times-tables, like in my day. (I'm still not very good at the 7 times table; I must have been sick that day.)

December newsletter & holiday concert info

The December newsletter is now online. It contains a list of classes that will be performing at the Holiday Concert (Dec 10). The other classes will perform at the Spring Concert.

Days shift twice next week

Since today is a PA Day, Monday will be a Day 1. Also, Wednesday has been blocked off as a practice day for the holiday concert, so it's a Day 0. That means the days shift again and Thursday will be Day 3. (See December calendar at right.)

A couple of other reminders:

• The concert is Thursday Dec 10, 6:30pm at SATEC. Students are asked to arrive by 6:15pm.
• Gift baskets will be auctioned at the concert. Each student is asked to bring in a $5 item that fits with their class's theme, which should be listed at the bottom of the green notice that came home. These items are due on Monday, please.
• Items for the holiday food drive are being collected in the classrooms.

The Student Leadership team has a blog now too.

Dec 2 - Ward 18 Forum

On Wednesday, Chris Spence, the TDSB's Director of Education, will speak at the Ward 18 Meeting at Birchmount C.I. at 7pm. This is a rare opportunity to learn about the TDSB's vision for our children's education. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. (Details in the poster below.)

Swimming lessons at SATEC / WA Porter

As part of the effort to keep the SATEC pool open, the aquatics team at West Scarborough Neighbourhood Community Centre will now be offering Red Cross-based swimming lessons at SATEC (WA Porter) in addition to their existing programs at WSNCC. Here's the winter program. Contact aquatics coordinator Simon Easton for more information.

EQAO: What can parents do to help?

As parents, we all know that we have a huge role to play in supporting our children’s learning. But what specifically can we do? Here’s some advice from Mr. Frenette:

• Encourage and support our children as they’re doing their homework
• Set aside focused time for reading. Have fun with it.
• Show children the value of reading for a purpose: to explore an interest, to find out information.
• Expose your children to household math: clocks, recipes, finances, counting, etc.
• Advocate for your children. Become engaged.
• Communicate with their teachers. Use the school agenda, read the classroom blog if there is one, send the teacher a note or ask for an appointment. Open communication and trust are key to success.
• Teach your children the concept of time and the importance of punctuality.
• Demonstrate your interest in school. Have a meaningful dialogue about what they’re learning.
• Use weekends and breaks to expose your children to new places, ideas and experiences.

And finally, says Mr. Frenette, parents, teachers and administrators alike must keep the big picture in mind. What is our vision for these children? It's that they'll become responsible, respectful, productive and happy adults.

I, for one, continue to be confident that Clairlea is setting our children’s feet firmly on that path.

EQAO: Clairlea's action plan

As I reported in yesterday's post on Clairlea's EQAO results, Mr. Frenette has every confidence in Clairlea students’ ability to succeed. The school is putting several programs into place to give students the resources and support they need.

As Ms. Persaud told the school in a letter when the results came out, "Student results on EQAO assessments are an important source of information about student strengths and areas needing improvement. As a school community, we use them along with other information to guide our own school improvement initiatives and instructional programs. The result of this work benefits not only your child but all students in the school. The testing results are also used by our school board and the Ministry of Education to direct attention and support where they are needed."

What that means is that Clairlea has a school improvement plan. It is too complicated and multi-faceted for me to explain here, but certain programs have already been put in place and there's more to come. Mr. Frenette reports on the plan at School Council meetings and everyone is welcome to attend (whether or not you are a voting member of Council) to learn more and to pose your questions.

Mr. Frenette also shared his views on what parents can do to support our children in the learning process. More on that in tomorrow's post.

EQAO: How did Clairlea do?

This is the second of four posts on the EQAO program. In this post, we look at Clairlea's results from 2008-09.

From the graph below, you can see that in grade 6, Clairlea is pretty close to average by most measures. You can find more detailed numbers in the school’s report – see page 10 and 11 for grade 6.

Grade 3 paints a bit of a different picture. It’s important to view these results in context, and here’s what Mr. Frenette told me.

Since only the English stream does the reading and writing tests, the total number of participants is quite low – just 23 students in grade 3 reading and writing. That means that a small number of children having difficulty can greatly affect the numbers. As you can see, Clairlea’s grade 3 mathematics score (with 53 students participating) is closer to the provincial average, though still below it.

While the school takes the results seriously and is acting on them, Mr. Frenette cautions against becoming overly concerned. He emphasizes that the EQAO test is merely a snapshot, taken at a single point in time, and that it is one of many ways of measuring student achievement at Clairlea.

In addition to the low participant numbers, Mr. Frenette acknowledges that there were certain factors last year and the previous year that may have resulted in lower scores in 2008-09. In my next post, I’ll tell you about the school’s action plan to ensure that all students at Clairlea are able to learn successfully.

“I have all the confidence in the world in our students,” Mr. Frenette concludes. “They are in good hands. Our job is to give them hope, and the resources they need to succeed.”

In the next post: Clairlea's action plan.

EQAO: The basics

As you probably already know, our school's full EQAO results are available online, but this 31-page document is difficult to interpret and hard to put into context. Clairlea vice-principal Mr. Frenette recently spent some time with me explaining Clairlea's results and its action plan.

I'll summarize that conversation over the next couple of posts. But first, some basics.

What is EQAO?

EQAO stands for Education Quality and Accountability Office. It is the province of Ontario's standardized testing program for grade 3 and grade 6. It offers a snapshot of students' abilities in reading, writing and mathematics. The test is mandatory, although exemptions are sometimes given.

Is there a different test for French immersion students?

Both French immersion and English students take the test. However, grade 3 French immersion students only take the math test, and that test is given in French. In grade 6, French immersion students do all three tests in English, just like the English stream.

See EQAO's Parent’s Guide for more information on how and when the tests are administered.

How are the tests scored?

Based on their answers, each student is assigned a level in reading, writing and math. Here’s what the levels mean:

· Level 1: Falls much below the provincial standard. (The student has demonstrated some of the required knowledge and skills in limited ways.)

· Level 2: Approaches the provincial standard. (The student has demonstrated some of the required knowledge and skills.)

· Level 3: At the provincial standard. (The student has demonstrated most of the required knowledge and skills.)

· Level 4: Surpasses the provincial standard. (The student has demonstrated the required knowledge and skills.)

In my next post: how did Clairlea do?

Parent-Teacher Interview Tips

Our School Council chair and vice-chair recently attended a conference given by People for Education. The conference organizers shared a series of useful tip sheets, which we'll reprint here from time to time. As Clairlea's parent-teacher interviews are coming up soon, we thought we'd start with this one.

(Click on image for a larger version, or on your language for versions in English, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Punjabi, Russian,Somali, Spanish, Tamil, or Urdu.)

Questions, concerns?

Here's a step-by-step guide from the Toronto District School Board on who to turn to with any questions or concerns about school or the school system. Thanks to Tami for the link!

School Council meets tonight - Nov 18

This is the agenda for tonight's School Council meeting. Unfortunately I cannot attend, but I'll post the minutes when they come out. City Councillor Adrian Heaps will be making a special appearance.

(Click on image for a larger version.)

Minutes from last month's meeting will be linked here as soon as they're online. **Here they are.

Put on your dancing shoes!

Is everyone looking forward to the Dance-a-thon on Wednesday?

This fundraiser is being organized by the School Council in support of the robotics program at Clairlea. This year, the program is being offered to grades 7 and 8, but with additional funds raised by Clairlea, it can be offered to younger grades too. The robotics program is known to increase literacy skills and build student confidence. It consists of classroom kits offered by Vex Robotics, which can be assembled by the students as part of the learning program.

Dance-a-thon pledge forms have already gone home; you can also donate online (Nov 18; Clairlea). Donations over $25 are eligible for a tax receipt, and Superintendent Dickinson has offered to match donations dollar for dollar.

Morning kindergarten, grades 1 and 2 will dance before morning recess; grades 3, 4 and 5 before lunch. After lunch we have afternoon kindergarten followed by grades 6, 7 and 8. There will be a videotron in the gym that will play videos; for the younger grades, the videos will have instructions so they'll learn some great dance moves. Parent volunteers will help to supervise.

The enthusiasm is exciting -we hope everyone will have fun. Don't forget your dancing shoes!

PA Day - and the days shift

A reminder that Friday November 13 is a PA Day. That means it's a "Day zero," meaning Monday will be Day 2.

Movie night, Nov 12

Movie night is next Thursday, Nov 12. 7pm in the gym. $2 per person, and the movie is Up.

See you there!

The growth mindset

Model Schools for Inner Cities hosted a seminar yesterday entitled "Raising Smarter Kids: how adults' attitudes can support -or undermine- children's achievement." (No pressure there, parents!)

This terrific session was given by Dona Matthews, a writer, researcher and educator.

Dr. Matthews draws a distinction between two types of mindsets that both parents and children have. The fixed mindset assumes (falsely, according to Matthews) that intelligence is fixed and stable. The fixed mindset is associated with lower achievement and lower self-esteem.*

The growth mindset sees intelligence as developing over time, with appropriately "scaffolded" opportunities to learn. The growth mindset is associated with greater confidence, risk-taking, and higher academic and career success over time.*

Dr. Matthews challenged some traditional thinking about children and intelligence. For example, she argues that people are not born smart; instead, their intelligence develops over time, with appropriate learning opportunities.

She also argues that parents should not praise their children's intelligence. This actually holds them back by making them afraid to take risks because they don't want to lose the "smart" label. Instead, we need to be praising their work, their achievements, their effort, persistence, strategies and results.

Dr. Matthews challenges our thinking regarding hard work, quick learning, failure and potential. Instead of labelling children "gifted" and putting them in segregated programs, she prefers to refer to children who have special learning needs because they are very advanced in a particular subject at a particular time. She believes those advanced needs are best met within the classroom rather than in segregated programs. She notes that any child can be advanced in a certain area at a certain time - not necessarily in all areas and not necessarily all the time.

What can parents do?

- Encourage our children to take risks

- Praise their effort and achievements, not their intelligence

- Talk to them about the concept of mindset, and the idea that their intelligence grows and changes over time

- Allow them to see failure as an opportunity to learn

- Expose them to as many different ideas, interests, activities and experiences as possible, and encourage them to pursue their interests

- Discourage perfectionism

For more information about these ideas, see Being Smart about Gifted Education by Dona Matthews and Joanne Foster (2009) and Mindsets by Carol Dweck (2006).

*Quoted from the handouts at the session.

November newsletter

The November school newsletter is now available online.

Summary of Oct 21 School Council meeting

**Updated Nov 19: here's a link to the official minutes.

My apologies for taking so long to type up a summary of the Oct 21 School Council meeting. Here are my recollections of the meeting, in a nutshell. Please send me an email with anything I've missed.

*Clairlea will be sending two Council representatives to the People for Education conference on all-day kindergarten in Ontario. Ginnie and Tami will report back on what they learn.

*The Principal reported that safety continues to be a top priority at Clairlea. Card-readers have been installed at certain doors with more to come. Ms. Persaud asks that all parents respect the traffic guidelines at the school and park only where permitted. All students have received a refresher on school bus safety. Ms. P. was pleased to note that Clairlea will continue to have a nursing student on-site into 2010.

*Each year, every School Council is asked to update its principal and vice-principal profiles; these are essentially guidelines for what we are looking for in that role. Your thoughts on this are most welcome.

*Vice-Principal Frenette reported on Clairlea's EQAO results. There was considerable discussion on the meaning and significance on the results. Mr Frenette has kindly agreed to spend more time with me explaining these results and the school's action plan, so that I can pass that information on to you. More on that soon.

*Treasurer Ann Silver presented the School Council finances, and there was a discussion about future fundraising plans and areas of spending, including yearbook, grade 8 and kindergarten graduation and other school projects. 2010-11 Fundraising and budget planning meetings will take place in the spring.

*Ms. Rule reported that Clairlea is now a Silver Level Eco School! Congratulations to all involved. She also reported that the Grade 4-8 World Cup soccer is now finished, and that the Grades 1-3 are now playing soccer at recess.

*The Junior-Intermediate Drama Club (grades 5-8) will be putting on a play this winter. Follow Ms. Park's blog for future details.

*Council approved $160 to fund a photography project for the Home School class.

*The Clairlea Fun Fair will take place on June 12, 2010. We're actively seeking volunteers as well as donations for the silent auction. Please email us if you're able to help.

*A Dance-A-Thon will take place on Wednesday November 18. This is a fundraiser to support a robotics program at Clairlea. Details to come.

I think that was about it - but the official minutes will capture everything in detail. Please let us know if you want to join the School Council's email list.

Smarter, more confident kids

A workshop on how to raise smarter, more confident kids? Count me in. Details on the Clairlea school blog. (It's next Tuesday evening, Nov 3.)

Also, kids may wear their costumes to school on Friday, if they wish.

Help support SATEC pool - open house tonight

The swimming pool at SATEC (WA Porter) high school has been on the verge of closure for many months. The pool can stay open if it has sufficient support from the community - so everyone is encouraged to book the pool for exercise activities, sporting events and birthday parties.

There is an open house tonight, Oct 27, at 7:00 pm at SATEC, 40 Fairfax Cres., one block north of Warden & St. Clair. Learn about permits, life guard contacts & schedules of available times.

School Council meeting - Wed Oct 21

A reminder that the School Council meets tomorrow, 7pm at the school. Childcare is available at the gym. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you are an "official" voting council member.

Here's what's on the agenda:

- Principal's report (Ms. Persaud)

- Vice-Principal's report (Mr. Frenette)

- Treasurer's report (Ann Silver)

- Teacher's report (Ms. Rule)

- Magazine sales (Hope)

- Fun Fair (Irit Hartman)

- Movie Night (Christina Mark)

- Baseball Tournament (Ann Silver)

- Dance a thon (Rob McMaster) *apologies, I had the names mixed up earlier

- New business (all)

If there is anything you'd like to add to the agenda for future meetings, please email the School Council Chair, Ginnie; or raise it during new business. Meetings must end at 8:30 sharp so the Chair appreciates your patience if some items must be deferred to the next meeting.

See you tomorrow!

So what's with all the fundraising?

Terry Fox...Unicef...magazine sales...Scholastic orders...school pictures...pizza day...movie night... parents might wonder why there are so many requests for us to open our wallets in October.

Some of these (Terry Fox, Unicef) are fundraisers for worthy causes that are separate from our school. These efforts teach kids that giving is important and that they have the power to make a difference in their world. Over the year, you may also notice various opportunities to raise money for Free The Children or other charities.

Scholastic orders are a service offered to parents to allow us to buy inexpensive books for our homes. Owning books is a wonderful feeling for children, and is a great way to promote literacy. When we order from Scholastic, the teachers receive free books for the classroom.

Other fundraisers (pizza days, movie nights, magazine sales, Clairlea spirit-wear, and a possible dance-a-thon later this year) are organized by parent volunteers and School Council, and these raise money directly for Clairlea Public School. They also contribute to a sense of school spirit and community. A lot (lot, lot) of work goes into organizing these activities. Proceeds go the School Council account and funds are distributed based on motions made and votes taken at School Council meetings. This money buys items for the school and classrooms, pays for school trips, grade 8 graduation, and for improvements to the school environment.

None of these fundraisers are ever mandatory, and we appreciate everyone's participation at any level.

If you're interested in getting involved in fundraising for the school, please attend the next School Council meeting on Wednesday Oct 21 (7:00pm). There are lots of opportunities to help or lead fundraisers.

O Canada

Today, my son asked me to sing O Canada with him in French. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't know all the words. I thought some others might be in the same position, so here, courtesy of Google and the Government of Canada, are the lyrics - and links to the audio files in français and English in case anyone needs a bit of help with the tune.

« O Canada! Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix!

Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée, Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits. »

And in English:

O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free!

From far and wide, O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Terry Fox Run

Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Terry Fox Run today! Here's hoping it's a big success.

Sept 23 School Council meeting

Please forgive the length of this post, but there is lots to share... The first School Council meeting of the school year took place on Wednesday night. About 20 people were in attendance, with the first order of business being the election of a new Council executive (chair, vice chair, secretary and treasurer). Congratulations and thanks to Ginnie Zaromitidis, Tami Oudendijk, Christina Mark and Ann Silver for filling those roles again this year. Some parents expressed their wish to become voting members of School Council, signalling their commitment to attend all or most meetings, while others preferred to attend meetings as non-voting members. Whether voting or non-voting members, all Clairlea parents and guardians are welcome at all School Council meetings and everyone's voice will be heard. Please contact the Chair to add an item to the agenda. Principal Persaud presented her report, which touched on the creation of a Safe and Caring School Action Committee (parent representatives are welcome). This committee will supervise fire drills, lockdown procedures and equipment safety and will also take on the task of ensuring that the school is a welcoming and inclusive environment and forestalling any sense of division that may come from being a dual-track (French and English) school. Ms. Persaud mentioned that school staff, service providers, volunteers and visitors must wear ID cards at all times. Parents are reminded to check in at the office before going anywhere else in the school. If you see anyone on site who is not wearing ID, please inform a staff member or escort the person to the office. Ms. Persaud reported that the former Design and Tech room has been converted to a new Visual Arts classroom under the supervision of Mme Demeter, who now teaches art to all grades in both French and English. Other site improvements are also being considered, including a possible Robotics program for intermediate grades. Funding for this proposed program has yet to be secured. A question was asked about whether there is a list of additional programs that could be considered for Clairlea. Ms. Persaud indicated that although no comprehensive list exists, she would see if she could direct us to a source for such information. In addition, Ms. Persaud will be introducing the Roots of Empathy program to Clairlea. This program seeks to build students' social and emotional competence by introducing them to a newborn baby, who will visit the classroom every three weeks throughout the school year. In observing the baby's development and feelings, students learn to "identify and reflect on their own feelings and the feelings of others." Mme. Dungo's grade 2 class will the the first class to participate in the program. More information is available here. Vice Principal Frenette reported on classroom placements. Some adjustments have been made in the French Immersion stream to accommodate class sizes, which are capped at 20 in primary grades (K-3) and at 35 in junior grades. The adjustments have resulted in an additional split class, but have reduced certain class sizes considerably. A number of university students and co-op high school students will be assisting in the classrooms over the course of the year. Mr. Frenette also reported that a student nurse will be in the school two days a week, working with primary grades on good eating habits, handwashing, infection control and other healthy habits. Remember, proper handwashing is the best way to stay healthy! There was a discussion at the Council meeting about engaging families of diverse backgrounds, and various opinions were expressed as to how best to do that. Anyone who wishes to lead a Diversity Committee, share ideas, or be otherwise involved in this effort is encouraged to contact Ginnie Zaromitidis or Ms. Persaud, or attend the next Council meeting. Mme. Speed, who teaches grade 1 French immersion, was the teacher representative at yesterday's Council meeting. We thank her for giving up her evening to be with us. She brought the teachers' thanks for the lanyards, t-shirts and welcome breakfast provided to the teachers on the first day of school. She also expressed the teachers' enthusiastic support for their new principal and vice principal, who she said are already making a positive impact on the school. The following funding requests were approved: - $240 for one-size-fits-all aprons for the teaching of art - $80 for the purchase of roti for the Diwali lunch, which will be presented by two parent volunteers - $140 for t-shirts for the Student Leadership Team, which helps and supports School Council in many ways, including the serving of snacks at tonight's Curriculum Night - $875 to run a cable to bring a television signal to the gymnasium. This will allow students to watch coverage of world events such as the Olympics. A question was asked about whether there was a big-picture spending plan for money raised by Council, and it was agreed that this would be addressed at a future meeting. Thanks to everyone for their participation. I hope you all enjoyed Curriculum Night too!

Day 1, Day 2...

Confused by the new Day 1-5 system at school? This was introduced in response to the concern that certain classes would miss too many of the same subject or activity if it always fell on a Friday or Monday. It also allows the school to assign a "Day Zero" when there is, for example, a track and field day or some other activity that will take students away from their regular schedule for the day. Student agendas should help, and the day numbers are also marked on the school's online calendar, here. Thoughts, comments? Voice them at the School Council meeting on Wednesday evening! 7pm at the school, all welcome, childcare provided.

Ernie

Those kids who walk to school will already know Ernie, the new crossing guard on Pharmacy at Knightsbridge. This morning, as I was walking back from dropping my son at school, Ernie stopped me. "Catharine! Look what the principal brought me!" Excited, he showed me an enormous hand-made welcome card, signed by all the kids at school. "I'm so happy," he beamed, the joy written across his face. I don't know whose idea this was, but it was a great one. It's things like this that make Clairlea the wonderful community that it is. p.s. That's right, Ernie knows my name - and the kids' names, too. If you haven't already, do introduce yourself as you pass by.

Welcome back!

Welcome back, Clairlea! The School Council provided breakfast for the teachers this morning, as well as a small welcome-back gift, on behalf of all the kids who benefit from their teachers' hard work, energy and dedication. Teachers, we know you are going to be working hard all year and we want you to know how much we appreciate you. Thank you! (Thanks also to the parents who spent Monday evening getting everything ready and were up early this morning to deliver the treats.) There are many ways to stay on top of what's going on at Clairlea:

• Read this blog, plus the school blog at http://clairlea.blogspot.com.
• Send an email to clairleacouncil@gmail.com to be added to the School Council email list.
• Attend Council meetings - all parents & guardians are welcome to attend, whether or not they choose to be voting members of Council. First meeting is Sept 23, 7pm.
• Check to see if your child's teacher has a blog - a special shout-out to Miss Lowen and Ms Vincent for being the first to update their blogs this year. :-)
• Check your child's bag for notices home - I believe the plan this year is that notices will be sent home weekly in a large envelope that should be returned the next day for re-use. I'm sure we'll be learning more about that this week.
• Important notices are also posted on the school web site, http://schools.tdsb.on.ca/clairlea, along with plenty of other useful information.

Have a great year!

6 days to go!

Well parents, I'm sure you're in full back-to-school mode just like me. I hope you've had a terrific summer. Just a few notes to share as we all get ready for the first day of school on Tuesday Sept. 8:

• If you don't already know what class your child is in, you can find it at the top-right corner of last year's report card, and then you can check the list of teachers by room number. (Subject to change.) Then check if that teacher has a blog.
• Bus routes have been posted on the school web site. (Thanks, Mr. Knierim.)
• The first School Council meeting is Wednesday September 23, 7:00pm. All Clairlea parents & guardians are welcome. We will be soliciting new voting members and electing our 2009-10 executive. Please do come. Childcare will be provided in the gym.
• Upcoming events at Clairlea are posted on the September calendar, including Curriculum Night on Sept 24.

That's it for now, folks... enjoy the last few days of summer, and see you on Sept 8!

2009-10 teachers list, with room numbers

Your child's placement for next year is listed at the top-right corner of their report card. To find out which teacher is in which room, consult this list. (Subject to change between now and September.)

Thanks for a great year

Well, here it is...the last day of school! A big thank you to all the teachers who work so hard to put the report cards together and to give feedback in a positive and constructive way. But more than that, thank you to those same teachers who work so hard every day to teach and guide and encourage our children. For many kids, you are their first voice of authority outside of their family, their first role model and guide aside from parents. You're introducing them to the world and you're shaping their future. You play an incredibly important role in our children's lives and it's easy to see how much effort and heart you put into the job. On a personal note, thank you to everyone who made our family feel welcome in this, our first year at Clairlea. And to Mr. Puopolo, Mr. Knierim and Ginnie for supporting this blog with content, technical support and enthusiasm. Finally, congratulations to all the grade 8's who graduated yesterday! You worked hard and we hope you had a terrific celebration. A number of volunteers spent many hours putting the graduation together so a big thank you to them, too. (If anyone wants to write a guest post on graduation, send me a note at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.) Have a great summer, everyone!!! Thank you for reading this blog. :-) Catharine

Kindergarten graduation

The kindergarten graduation last week was just lovely! It was so nice to see all the girls in their party dresses and boys in their best shirts, and so many proud parents marvelling at how big our babies have grown.

School Council email list

If you're not already on Ginnie's School Council email list, please drop us a line at clairleacouncil@gmail.com and Ginnie will add you to the list. Also feel free to send us any comments about this blog or topics you'd like to see addressed here or at Council meetings next year.

Planning a Clairlea Fun Fair for 2010

Kudos to the parents who've stepped forward offering to plan a Fun Fair at Clairlea for 2010! This is a time-consuming but hugely successful endeavour with great fundraising potential. For anyone interested in joining the Fun Fair planning team, there will be a meeting on Friday at 10am in the little lunch room (old home education room). This is your chance to voice your opinions and be a part of a fun and fantastic event. In the meantime, I'm sure everyone will want to support General Brock PS in their Fun Fair, which happens this Saturday from 11am-3pm.

School Council members

Here's a photo of some (not all) of the members of School Council this year. This is the team that does the movie nights, pizza lunches, baskets at concerts. These parents advocate for the school, volunteer in classrooms and libraries, raise money for sports equipment and musical instruments, plan the graduation party and take care of just about everything in between. Those who can't be at the school often, find other small ways to contribute to the success of the school. It's a terrific group and we hope you will join us next year!

From left to right, Laura, Catharine, Christina, Jennifer, Rob, Ginnie (our fearless leader), Tami, Hope, Bev, Mr. Landry, and Ann.

Council meeting, new principal and v-p

I will write up a full account of yesterday's Council meeting as soon as I get a chance, but I wanted to quickly summarize our meeting with the new principal and vice-principal, Ms. Persaud and Mr. Frenette. They made a favourable impression. Between them, they have a great deal of experience overseeing large and complex schools. They also seem to have a good balance of skills, including French and English. Ms. Persaud spoke from the perspective of a parent, and seemed to understand the importance of creating a safe, nurturing and enjoyable learning environment for the children. She mentioned professional development for teachers as an important priority. Parents expressed considerable concern about the turnover in the principal and v-p positions at Clairlea in recent years, and Superintendent Dickinson, Ms. Persaud and Mr. Frenette seemed to understand and sympathize with this concern. Ms. P and Mr. F assured us of their intention to make a long-term commitment to Clairlea, barring any unforseen circumstances. (At least, that was how I interpreted their response to the question.) For anyone who's wondering why Ms. Bismilla is being transferred out, the reason is that Ms. Persaud was considered the ideal candidate for principal of Clairlea (there was reportedly some competition for her from other schools), but she doesn't speak French, so Clairlea needed a French-speaking v-p. Ms. Bismilla is returning to Oakridge, where she originally worked as a teacher. Some very kind words were said about Ms. Bismilla and it's clear that she will be missed by Clairlea and warmly welcomed back to Oakridge. More on the rest of the meeting in a day or two.

Play Date at The Park - Friday June 5

One of the parents has organized a Clairlea community Play Date at the Park for this Friday, June 5 at 3:45pm at Clairlea Park. (Rain date: June 12). Updated June 4: This is in fact the joint effort of several Clairlea parents and I hear there will be an ice cream truck and face painting!

School Council Meeting tonight - agenda; May minutes

Well, well... it's June already! The School Council meets today (Wed June 3) for the last time this school year. The agenda is posted here, along with minutes of the May meeting. Superintendent Rauda Dickinson will join us to explain the selection of the new administration, and our new principal Ms. Persaud and vice-principal Mr. Frenette, who come to Clairlea from Oakridge Jr PS, have said they hope to stop by. The meeting goes from 7:00-8:30 followed by a celebration at the home of one of the parents. We hope you will join us! As always, everyone is welcome and childcare will be provided in the gym.

abc123 - an online education resource

Our School Council chair pointed me to abc123, an education site produced by the Ontario Ministry of Education. It is a great resource for any parent who wants to get involved in their child's education. It offers downloadable, printed and video resources in 15 different languages that should help support our kids in school and help keep them learning over the summer months, too! Enjoy!

School Council meets this Wednesday

All Clairlea parents are invited to attend the final School Council meeting of the year, on Wed. June 3 at 7:00pm. As always, childcare will be provided in the gym. There will no doubt be talk about classroom placements and our new principal and v-p, so we hope you'll join us for what's sure to be a lively meeting!

Classroom placements for 2009-10

A letter is going home today from Mr. Puopolo regarding class placements for next year. He has also provided the following documents: Staff and room list for 2009-10 (who's teaching what) Classroom organization (projected class numbers) The school will be doing student placements the week of June 7. Although Mr. Puopolo asks that parents do not request specific teachers for their children, they are welcome to send him a note with any special considerations that he should be aware of in making the placements. You should also have received a notice yesterday that Clairlea will be getting a new principal and vice-principal in 2009-10. While we will miss Mr. Puopolo and Ms. Bismilla (and of course Ms. Phillips), we look forward to welcoming our new principal Ms. Persaud and vice-principal Mr. Frenette.

H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) at Clairlea

A notice was sent home with students today informing parents that there is a confirmed case of H1N1 influenza ("swine flu") at Clairlea. According to School Council Chair Ginnie Zaromitidis, the school was closed at 4:30pm today and a disinfection process took place. Details are posted at the TDSB website. Some exerpts from their notice (emphasis added):

Toronto Public Health is advising that the school should continue to operate as usual. This recommendation is consistent with guidelines issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The TDSB is committed to protecting the health and well being of all our students and staff. The Board has a response plan in place and its system response team is in regular contact with public health officials to monitor the situation. The TDSB would like to remind the public that proactive hygiene practices such as frequent, proper hand washing are the most effective way to reduce the spread of viruses.

More information about this virus is available at the Toronto Public Health website and the Ontario Ministry of Health website. The TDSB's Pandemic Response Update Hotline: (416) 397-2400.

Help keep school pools open

In a continuing effort to keep school pools open, the Aquatic Working Group (AWG) has secured Board, Provincial and City commitments to fund certain Toronto school pools and to defer the decision to close others. The AWG reports that there is interest by various agencies and organizations in generating revenue for the pools. Potential partners include the YMCA, the Toronto Community Foundation, the Toronto Catholic District School Board and the private sector. What's needed now is for everyone interested in using the pools for any kind of club or event to apply for the time they want at specific pools, based on $50/hr – any pool, any user group. The AWG's recommendation to change the permit fees will be before the TDSB Board on May 27th. They expect it to pass, effective for July 1st, 2009. Summer permits will be issued shortly thereafter. All users have been asked to submit their requests for the summer and next year. Even if you don't know the exact hours you'll need, request the permit now and make adjustments later if necessary. They are asking people to register at permits@tdsb.on.ca or contact the permit department at (416) 395-7666. All different kinds of groups are welcome. It's important to register for permits now, because the usage and registration levels will help them decide whether it's feasible to keep the pools open.

Friday May 15 - bake sale for cystic fibrosis

The kindergarten classes are having a bake sale for cystic fibrosis on Friday. This is very special to them, because one of their classmates suffers from this disease. Cystic fibrosis means that his body is not able to drain his lungs properly and it is not possible for him to digest food. May is Cystic Fibrosis awareness month. The bake sale will be at morning and afternoon recess, so please bring your loonies and toonies! Donations are $1. Last year, your donations helped this child get a special vest that helps him breathe every day. The Council would like to thank you for your continued support!

Notes from May 6 School Council meeting

Some notes from the quick and efficient School Council meeting last night: Staffing / school activities: - Mr. Puopolo is interviewing teachers to fill expected vacancies in the school for next year. The staffing model will be complete by the end of May. Some timetable adjustments may need to be made due to the 210 minutes of prep time (weekly) agreed upon in recent teacher negotiations. - Ms. Phillips will retire this year. We wish her very well. A new principal will be announced this Spring - probably by the end of May - by superintendent Dickinson. - The Grade 8's are going on a four-day class trip to Quebec, accompanied by three teachers. - EQAO testing takes for grades 3 and 6 will take place between May 25 and June 5. (Grade 3 French immersion students are tested on math only.) School Council projects: - Council will fund the Grade 8 graduation, dinner and yearbook, as in past years. - Council will fund the kindergarten graduation, as in past years. - The Primary Math Club sent a very nice thank you note for the games provided by School Council. Fundraising: - The baskets at the Spring concert raised about $775! Together with proceeds from pizza days, movie nights and other fundraisers, this money funds projects like the ones listed above. Thanks to those who coordinated and to everyone who participated. - The dance-a-thon I mentioned in an earlier post will not take place after all, for logistical reasons. - The next pizza lunch is May 28. Planning is well underway for next year's fundraisers. Volunteers are needed to lead fundraising activities both large and small, including: - manage a barbecue or treat table at curriculum night in September - organize a treat table for the December concert - manage a read-a-thon in January - organize the 2010 Fun Fair - a big job but lots of fun! - volunteers are also needed to help out with fundraisers throughout the year, including the above and many others. Come to the June 3 School Council meeting to learn more about what you can do to help! If you're interested in volunteering, please seek out Ginnie (School Council chair) or leave a message for her at the office. I think that was about it. Official minutes to come once approved. Click here for the minutes from April's meeting. p.s. I apologize for listing the wrong day for the Clairlea Park opening! I know at least one family was inconvenienced and I hope there were not too many others.

Agenda for Wednesday's School Council meeting

Here are the agenda items for the School Council meeting tomorrow evening (Wednesday May 6, 7:00-8:30pm at the school). Call to order Minutes/Action List Principal’s Report Vice-Principal’s Report Teachers Report (Mr. Steers) Fundraising for 2009/2010 Treasurers Report Grade 8 Graduation Events: Review Spring Concert Pizza Lunch Dance a thon All Clairlea parents are welcome. Childcare will be provided in the gym. Hope to see you there. (I'm Catharine, please say hi to me and tell me what you think of the blog so far!)

School Council meets this Wednesday

The School Council will meet this Wednesday May 6 at 7pm at the school. Childcare provided in the gym. Please come! All welcome!

Information about the swine flu

A message from the Toronto District School Board's director of education regarding the TDSB and Swine Flu can be read here. (Thanks to Mr. Knierim for the link.) Bottom line: wash your hands frequently, do the sleeve sneeze, and stay home when you're sick. TDSB: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/ Toronto Public Health: www.toronto.ca/health/

Clairlea Spring Concert - what a show!

What fun!! The Clairlea Spring Concert was a terrific show. Every parent loves their own children's performance the best, of course, so I have to give a special shout-out to Mme Fahim's SK class and "Je chante en francais." (My kid was the one making binoculars with his hands, apparently searching for his family in the audience.) Mme. Chow's class did a great job with "La saison de printemps," an original creation in French that was performed for the first time tonight. The grade 7 band amazed us all with their impressive three-song performance, and you could tell how proud their teacher was of their accomplishments. Mrs. Small's class offered a very catchy dance number to the tune of "Mama Mia." You could tell the class worked realy hard, with a very snazzy start and some nice added touches like the ribbon dances. I especially liked the performers' sense of style, particularly the boy in the pink shirt with a blue tie slung fashionably low on his neck. Mme. Boudreau's class rocked the house with "Des noix de coco," creating a Hawaiian beach scene complete with palm tree, leis, flip-flops and rolled-up jeans. Their performance went so well that one girl did a little happy-dance when they were done. Mme. Stempiniak's class's adaptation of The Four Seasons by Vivaldi was anything but traditional. Their show was a stirring and energetic interpretation of the competition among the seasons. All the dancers were wonderful. I think I actually felt the chill of the cold, harsh wind of Fall. Miss Lowen's class performed The Very Hungry Caterpillar, complete with sound effects. The painted sets were every bit as beautiful as the illustrations in Eric Carle's classic book. Mr. Landry's and Mr. Mitkovski's classes joined forces for Vois sur ton chemain, beautifully performed in French with enchanting harmonies, great costumes and a haunting violin solo at the close. Mme. Karki's class performed a Spring poem en francais, with each student speaking their lines clearly and with gusto. Mme. Cormpilas's class sang La pluie qui mouille, a snappy and energetic tune performed to excellent choreography. The finish was terrific, with everyone singing together. To close the evening, the Dance Team performed a step dance modelled on the traditional South African tradition, to thundering applause. The three emcees filled the breaks with a bit of light humour, and School Council raffled off seven impressive baskets, generously given by donors including the supplier of Spirit Wear clothing. Starbucks donated the coffee and several School Council members provided the snacks. (We'll report on the amount raised once the tally is in.) Congratulations to everyone involved for a most impressive event! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did.

School Board summary of decisions

The Toronto District School Board posts meeting minutes and other documents on its web site. The most recent posting is a summary of decisions from the March 11 2009 meeting. Clairlea is in Ward 18, and our trustee is Gary Crawford. He, too, has a web site.

Clairlea Spring Concert - Thurs Apr 23

The Clairlea Spring Concert is this Thursday April 23, 6:30pm at SATEC (40 Fairfax Cres). Participating classes are listed on Mrs. Park's drama blog. Performers should arrive at 6:15pm. I can't wait!

Teacher negotiations

As you probably know, the Toronto District School Board is in negotiations with the elementary school teachers of Toronto. Anyone who has questions about this can visit www.tdsb.on.ca/negotiations for information. Thanks to Ward 18 school board trustee Gary Crawford for the link.

Scarborough Parent Conference - April 25

School Board Trustee Gary Crawford and his fellow Scarborough trustees are holding a free Scarborough Parent Conference on Saturday April 25. Details are at www.tdsb.on.ca/spc.

Minutes - March 2009 School Council meeting

The minutes of the March 4, 2009 School Council meeting have been posted on the school web site. We will do this regularly from now on. http://www.tdsb.on.ca/SchoolWeb/Clairlea/docs/March_Minutes_Clairlea_School_Council.pdf Many thanks to Mr. Knierim for all the technical support! A friendly reminder that everyone with a child at Clairlea is welcome at School Council meetings. You don't have to be an "official" voting member. Even if you only come to one meeting a year, it's a great way to meet some of the staff and other parents, and to find out about what's happening at the school. Please join us if you can!

School staffing explained

Ginnie Zaromitidis, our School Council Chair, recently attended a Ward 18 meeting on school staffing. Here is a summary of what she learned: For many parents, staffing seems like a big mess of numbers. It can sometimes feel as if your child is always the one affected, that it’s his or her class that has too many students, or that your child is the one stuck in a split-grade class with only three or four peers. The past few weeks our acting principal, Mr. Puopolo, has been explaining the process to the School Council. At the Ward 18 meeting last week, three principals from other schools explained the difficulties they have in staffing their schools. They all have the same problem as Clairlea: they can only work with what they are given. First, principals are given their school’s projected enrolment numbers. Each school’s staffing model must be in accordance to these projections. Not the current numbers, or what the principals anticipate; the models must be based on the school board’s projected numbers, which are usually correct to a margin of 1% (across the board). Then the principals are allocated a certain number of staff. This may sound simple, but students do not come in neat groups of 20. Because Clairlea is a dual track school (French and English), things get even more complicated. It is like staffing two small schools. The numbers are never even, and that sometimes means that primary grades get more staff than junior, or French and English have unequal number of teachers, or some classes have 30 students while others have 20. Unfortunately, there is no way to make the numbers perfectly even, because in most cases, the schools are told where the staff must go. There are three categories (so six for Clairlea: three for each English and French) · JK/SK: we are allotted a certain number of teachers · Primary (grades 1-3): we are allotted a certain number of teachers · Junior (grades 4-8): we are allotted a certain number of teachers. Then we are given allocations for prep time, library, reading recovery, special ed, etc. Schools cannot take a half teacher from primary to use in junior classes, nor can they take from the English side to staff French classes, or vice versa. Primary class sizes are capped at 20. Each superintendent is only allowed a certain number of exemptions throughout the entire ward. To further complicate the situation, principals also have to consider teachers’ qualifications, leaves of absence, LTO (long term occasional) placements and prep time. Staffing is not just about what we can see. It is about what the board predicts for each school. After going through this process, I understand how little wiggle room there is in the staffing model. Parents cannot choose their children’s teachers, but Mr. Puopolo has said that he will listen to parents’ legitimate concerns about their children’s placement. He cannot guarantee the outcome, but he will listen to our concerns.

Swimming pools in Toronto schools

Parents are invited to attend the City of Toronto Community Development and Recreation Committee Meeting on the future of the swimming pools in Toronto schools. A group called Let's Make Waves (www.letsmakewaves.ca) will ask the City to work with the Toronto District School Board to develop an aquatic strategy for the City’s 2.5 million residents before any pools are closed. The meeting is at 9:00 AM on Thursday, April 16th at City Hall, 2nd Floor, Committee Room 2. 100 Queen Street West, Toronto.

TDSB parent information sessions

Hope you all had a good long weekend! The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) is offering a series of information sessions for parents on: · Getting Involved in your child’s education · School Council (Regulation 612/613) · Volunteering in Schools · School Council Budgets/Funding/ Insurance · Parent Protocol (Process for dealing with parent concerns) Tuesday April 21, 2009 Jarvis Collegiate (Library), 495 Jarvis Street 6:30 -Light Refreshments 7:00-Session Thursday April 23, 2009 Richview Collegiate (Library), 1738 Islington Avenue 6:30 -Light Refreshments 7:00-Session Tuesday April 28, 2009 Downsview SS, Library, 7 Hawksdale Road (Keele/Wilson) 6:30 -Light Refreshments 7:00-Session To register: 416-397-3529 or outreach@tdsb.on.ca

Fundraising activities

A big focus of School Council is to raise money for the school. School Council organizes things like pizza day, movie night and magazine subscriptions so that we can pay for those important extras that make Clairlea a great place to go to school. Recent purchases have included: - new volleyball nets ($3,000) - an art workshop for eight classes at the Cedar Ridge Creative Centre ($1,142) - supplies for the Craft Club for grades 1-3 ($200) - a new camcorder and two cameras for the Video Club ($800) School Council really appreciates everyone's participation and support in fundraising events. As you can imagine, these fundraisers are a lot of work to organize. The May School Council meeting will focus on fundraising, and everyone is asked to bring forward fundraising programs that they would like to lead. Stay tuned for more exciting events, including a Dance-A-Thon!

School boundaries video

The video about School Boundaries was made by Miss Lowen's Grade 1/2 class. You can view it here: http://jjlowen.blogspot.com/2009/04/our-video-about-school-boundaries.html. Enjoy!

April 1 School Council meeting - informal recap

For me, the highlight of the School Council meeting on April 1 was Mr Mitkovski's presentation of some of the videos the school has put together recently. He showed us two videos, and I wish I had noted down which classes they came from. The first was a great video based on the Obama/Will.i.am "Yes I can" video that you have probably all seen on YouTube. The kids held signs indicating what they can do. "I can help people," or "I can play in the NHL." The parents were very inspired by the students' impressive and often selfless goals. Another video was designed to show where the school boundaries are. It was very humourous! The editing was creative and the script imaginative, and the kids played their roles expertly. Mr. Puopolo reported on the staffing models for 2009-10. School enrolment is forecasted to be up a bit next year, and the staffing model will accomodate that. As a new member of parent council, I was surprised by the complexity of the staffing model, and am developing an appreciation for how difficult it is for the school to manage conflicting priorities. Teacher prep time must be accomodated in the schedule as well; I believe Mr. Puopolo said teachers will get 210 minutes of prep time next year. Mr. Puopolo assured us that the school will be able to provide special ed support in French next year, which was welcome news to the parents. The special ed teacher allocation is made based on the number of students in the school who have Individual Education Plans (IEPs). The School Council also discussed fundraising plans for the remainder of the school year, as well as next year. More on that in a day or two.

Welcome to the Clairlea School Council blog

Welcome to the Clairlea PS School Council blog! My name is Catharine, and this is my son's first year at Clairlea and my first year on School Council. Joining School Council has been a great way for me personally to learn about the school and the school system. As a working parent, I don't have much of a chance to be present in the school. School Council helps me understand what happens in the school and gives me a way to be involved. Through meetings, I learn from the teachers, staff and other parents. Guest speakers this year have included school superintendent Rauda Dickinson, city councillor Adrian Heaps, and a representative of the Toronto District School Board who spoke about a program to teach the kids about different kinds of families. There is always a presentation from one of the teachers, and it has been a pleasure to hear from each of them. This blog will contain information that Council wants to share with other parents and the school community, but I'll also share my personal learnings and thoughts about Council. For those of you who would like to attend Council meetings but don't have the time, this blog will (I hope) provide you with information and insights into the working of the School. Many of you know much more about this than I do, so I welcome any comments, corrections, clarification and additional thoughts. The more involved parents are, the more successful our children will be at school. All parents are welcome at School Council! Even if you are not a voting member and cannot attend regularly, please feel free to come to meetings when you can. The next meeting is May 6 at 7:00 pm. Childcare is provided in the gym.