Halloween Howl planning meeting tonight

6:30pm at the school.

Notes from the Sept 2011 School Council meeting

These are not official minutes, just a few of my notes and observations from Wednesday's School Council meeting.

New Council Executive
The council elected its 2011-2012 executive.

• Chair - Ginnie Zaromitidis
• Vice Chair - Hope Smith
• Secretary - Christina Mark
• Treasurer - Ann Silver

New Principal and Vice-Principal
It was great to meet our new principal Mr. McGilvray and vice-principal Ms. Harroun. Many of you will remember Mr. McGilvray from his time as vice-principal of Clairlea a few years back. They both introduced themselves and shared their backgrounds. Mr McGilvray has a background in special education and technology; Ms. Harroun is a French Immersion graduate herself and has taught FI, special ed and core French in primary, junior and intermediate grades. Mr. McGilvray acknowledged the difficulties caused by the turnover in Clairlea's administration in recent years and assured us that they both intend to stay at Clairlea for the long term.

Mr. McGilvray commented on the number of extracurricular programs at Clairlea: intermural sports, baseball teams, a running club and more. He commended the teachers for stepping up to serve as coaches and volunteering their time after-hours. (I echo that. Thank you!)


Staffing and Class Sizes
Mr. McGilvray discussed staffing, class sizes and reorganization, something that will be old news to those affected. High enrollment and a 20-student cap in primary grades resulted in two grade 4/5 FI classes of 36-37 students each. Thanks to the administration's relentless advocacy, the school has been granted an additional FI teacher, which relieves that pressure by adding a new grade 5 class. Unfortunately that means shifting some students around in 4/5 and some lower grades as well. The new grade 5 FI teacher will be hired as soon as possible.

Lunch
Mr McGilvray found that split lunches were not working. Everyone now eats at once: grades 1-5 in the gym (at tables); grades 6 and 7 in the drama room; and grades 7 and 8 in their classrooms.

EQAO
Mr McGilvray acknowledged Clairlea's disappointing EQAO results. We are reminded that this is just a snapshot in time, that it is important to look at the data over a five-year period, and that Clairlea has great teachers whose goal is to educate "the whole child". Still, the kids have to be learning the curriculum, and EQAO is a measure of that. There is a school improvement plan to address the areas where the students are struggling. Mr McGilvray and Ms Harroun will share more information about that, as well as advice on what parents can do at home to help our children succeed.

Individual results are on their way by mail to parents of last year's grade 3 and 6 students.

Transportation
Some bussing arrangements have changed. Affected families have been notified.
If you are picking up a student who is normally bused, please inform the teacher on duty at the bus loop!


Finances
The School Council has approximately $7,500 in the bank. The following spending was approved for 2011-12:

• Gardening $100
• Curriculum night $300 *this will generate revenue
• Halloween Howl $1,000 *this will generate revenue 
• Concert treats $300 *resulting donations will go to a charity of the students' choice
• Pancake Day $500
• EQAO treats $100
• Lice squad $150
• Yearbook $1,250
• Grade 8 graduation $1,800
• Teachers' welcome packages for Sept 2012 $1,500

...for a total of $7,000 in approved spending. As funds are raised over the course of the year, additional spending will be approved.

Fundraising
We need volunteers for fundraisers. First-up: the Halloween Howl. Willing volunteers, please gather on Tuesday Sept 27 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. A minimum of 15 people are needed.

Other fundraising activities include magazine sales, pizza lunch, concert baskets, a calendar and a 2012 Fun Fair. The Fun Fair committee meets Tuesday Nov 8 at 6:30pm.

Please post below any ideas for other fundraisers or Council activities below, or email the chair.

Council Meetings
Next meeting: Wed. Oct 19, 7:00pm at the school. All welcome.
We sometimes have guest speakers at Council meetings. Please post below any ideas for speakers you would like to hear.

Welcoming the School Council of 2011-12

At Wednesday's meeting, the following voting members were appointed to the 2011-2012 Clairlea School Council:

1. Jennifer Gawidan
2. Kumru Gutierrez
3. Nick Garrison
4. Catharine Heddle
5. Rebecca Andrew
6. Irit Hartman
7. Chimei Chang
8. Laura Higgins (community rep)
9. Maria Handrinos
10. Hilde Johnnessen
11. Wendy Whittle
12. John Bozios
13. Katy Bozios
14. Nia Stathis
15. Paul Wilson

Plus the following executive members: 

• Chair - Ginnie Zaromitidis
• Vice Chair - Hope Smith
• Secretary - Christina Mark
• Treasurer - Ann Silver

(I realize this adds up to more than the requisite 16 people + 1 community member - there must be a mistake somewhere; please let me know if you spot it.)

Everyone in the Clairlea community remains a non-voting member and is more than welcome at any and all of the meetings, which are the third Wednesday of every month (except Dec., July, Aug).

I'll share some notes from the meeting in a subsequent post. 

Education and the provincial election

People for Education has put out a list of 10 questions you can ask provincial election candidates about education.

You can ask about:
- standardized testing (EQAO) and other ways to measure success
- special education funding
- school fundraising (some schools can raise more than others - is this fair?)
- school libraries vs. computer labs
- all-day kindergarten
- whether the schools have a role in addressing childhood obesity

Have a look. Whatever your opinion, your questions will demonstrate that education matters to you.

Election day is October 6.

2010-11 EQAO Results

The TDSB has published last year's EQAO results. On the TDSB website you will find a summary of Clairlea's results and, if you want more detail, the full report. Below are copies of some of the graphs, which you can compare to the previous year's results.

In the above graphic, Clairlea's 2010-11 results are the left, darker bar - as compared to the TDSB and the province.

The graph above depicts Clairlea's grade 3 students' performance over time. Last year in black. In grade 3, the French Immersion students only write the math portion (and they write it in French).

And Clairlea's grade 6 students' performance over time. Last year in black. In grade 6, all students (French and English) write all three parts of the test (reading, writing, math) and they write the test in English. 

To learn more, start with the EQAO primer I wrote back in 2009. You can also visit the EQAO website, www.eqao.com.  

TDSB Community Consultation - Sept 21, 22

Curriculum Night

It was great to see so many people at Curriculum Night. I know we all appreciated meeting Mr. McGilvray and Ms. Harroun in person and being introduced/re-introduced to the teachers.

Thanks to:

- the volunteers who organized the BBQ

- Laura, who organized the Kleenex fundraiser

- the book fair folks

- all the teachers who gave their evenings so that we could get to know them and their classrooms

- everyone who signed up to help with a School Council event or fundraiser. The response was terrific! Someone will be in touch with those who signed up, about next steps. Or better yet, come to the School Council meeting next Wednesday (Sept 21) at 7pm to learn more. 

Have a great weekend everyone.

Curriculum Night Details

More details about Curriculum Night on Thursday Sept 15:


5:00 pm-6:00 pm BBQ (See previous post for details) - at rear of school
6:00 pm - 6:15 pm - Welcome
6:15 pm - French Book Fair
6:20 pm - 6:40 pm - Class rotation #1
6:45 pm - 7:05 pm - Class rotation #2

French as a Second Language Advisory Committee

If you are the parent of a student in core French or French Immersion, you might want to know about the French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (FSLAC) of the Toronto District School Board.

It's a parent advisory committee of the TDSB. Its mission is to consult with and advise the TDSB on matters related to French education (core, extended and immersion).

Parent representatives are elected by each ward. There is also a mailing list you can join. Email fslactoronto@gmail.com for more information or to join their list.

Curriculum Night BBQ - Thurs Sept 15

CORRECTION: the BBQ will be at the BACK of the school, not the front as in my original post. Thanks!

Education-focused all-candidates meeting: Sept 20

The Ontario Public School Boards' Association has designated Sept 20 as Education Day - a day when we can ask questions and learn the views of our local candidates for the Ontario election.

• If you're in Scarborough Southwest, your meeting is at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute (large auditorium) on Sept 20 at 6:00 p.m. 

• If you're in Beaches-East York, your meeting is at Secord P.S. (in the gym) on Sept 20 at 7:00 p.m.

That should cover most Clairlea families, but if you're in a different riding, consult this list for the location of your local meeting.

Education matters. The Ontario government directs it. For the sake of our children, please attend these meetings and ask smart questions that show that you will vote for a candidate who shares your vision for Ontario's education system.

You can also read the Ontario Liberal Party's platform, the Ontario PC Party's education platform, the Ontario NDP's policy page and the Green Party of Ontario's platform.

People for Education on how to help your child succeed

If you have a bit of time on your hands, there's a new People for Education report out that might make interesting reading. I can't find it online yet, but will post a link when I do. In the meantime, here's the Coles Notes version thanks to the Toronto Star:  http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1049486

The most important things researchers say parents can do for their kids’ success at school: • Let your child know you have high but reasonable expectations.
 • Talk with your child about school regularly.
 • Focus on attitude rather than marks.
 • Read to, or with, your child.

UPDATE: Here's a summary of the report or, if you're ambitious, read the whole thing.

How was today?

Welcome back, everyone! I hope the first day of school was terrific. It was great to see so many friendly faces on the schoolyard this morning... including, for me, a former classmate whom I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. (Hi, Dave!)

First of all, let's give a warm Clairlea welcome (and welcome back) to Ms Macpherson and Mr McGilvray. We hope you are settling in and we look forward to getting to know you.

In your kids' backpacks tonight, you should find a package of papers to read and sign. In that package, there's a self-nomination form for School Council. Please fill it out and join us! Involved parents lead to successful schools, and School Council can be the first step in your involvement with Clairlea. It's a monthly opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions and provide feedback to the school administration. It's a chance to get to know the other parents, hear and understand their perspectives, and learn about issues and initiatives at Clairlea. For parents of younger kids, it's also a neat way to get a preview of what's to come. Fundraising is an important part of Council activity but it's not the only thing we do. Please come to our first meeting on Sept 21 (7pm) to learn more.

To clarify the time commitment: the meetings are once a month (on a Wednesday) for 1.5 hrs. Childcare is provided in the gym. Members are asked to volunteer additional time to assist with events, committees and fundraisers, but this extra time is optional. If you can't commit to monthly meetings, you may still be a non-voting member and attend as many as you can. In fact, any member of the Clairlea community is welcome at meetings, whether or not you are a voting member. 

See you at Curriculum Night on Sept 15.
-Catharine.