The TDSB's 2010-11 Annual Report

Director of Education Dr. Chris Spence has released the TDSB's 2010-2011 Annual Report:
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/microsites/annualReport/index.asp

What do you think? Have you seen the impact of the TDSB's new strategic direction here at Clairlea? Do you believe that student achievement at Clairlea is on the rise?

Parent and Community involvement is another key theme. Have you had sufficient opportunity to become involved? What other opportunities would you like to see? What ideas would you like to share?

Movie night Friday Feb 3 - The Smurfs

Movie Night
Friday Feb 3, 7pm in the gym
** The Smurfs **
$2 per person
children must be supervised

Pancake Day - Feb 24 - volunteers & griddles needed

Please mark your calendars for Clairlea's annual pancake day, Friday Feb 24.
Volunteers are needed that morning to flip pancakes etc.
We also need to borrow as many electric griddles as possible. If you have one to lend, or can volunteer, please email Ginnie.
Many thanks!

Last week's school council meeting

A few notes from last week's School Council meeting...

Fundraising

• The Fun Fair is coming along nicely! Eglinton Square donated 8 truckloads of holiday-themed items, including Santa's chair. Silent auction donations are needed - can you help? 

Principal's report

• The grade 6 FI teacher is now full time - good news for those students. This resolves the last of Clairlea's open staffing issues. 
• Clairlea continues to benefit from the presence of several college and high school students, including child and youth services students from George Brown, a nursing student, three education faculty students, and many high school volunteers and co-op students. 
• Mr. McGilvray continues to pursue funding for a nutrition or snack program, and is seeking advice form the public health authorities. In the meantime, School Council has allocated a portion of the proceeds from pizza lunch to the purchase of healthy snacks for kids who don't have their own. 
• The clarified yard areas and ready-entry programs he reported on in November are working well. 
• A quick-and-quiet hallways campaign is working well. 
• Facilities improvements: Fire alarms have been tested and found to work well. Some wall repair and painting will take place where needed. 
• Jan 26 is French Immersion information night.
• Feb 10 is Winter Activity Day for grades 4-8: skating and skiing. Skates are available for those who need them. 
• Report cards will come out Feb 13 and that Friday (a PA Day) will be set aside for parent-teacher interviews. 

Teacher's report

• The food drive generated 800 items! 
• Jan 26 is a beach-themed spirit day. 
• The grade 7s and 8s will be participating in Future Build, a free, hands-on construction and labour day at the Better Living Centre. 
• Grade 7s are working on i-cubed, a program of The Learning Partnership, in which they invent, design and build something missing from everyday life. Inventions are showcased in the downtown business district. 
• Family Literacy Day is Jan 27. Students will be encouraged to participate in literacy activities at home. There will be great prizes. 
• The African Heritage Assembly is Feb 24. 

Spending

• Mr. McGilvray put in a number of requests for funding, of which the following were approved (check against minutes to make sure I have this correct!)
• 2 iPads, primarily for use in special education programs
• running shoes for students who have none
• soccer balls for outdoor / recess 
• prizes for family literacy day - gift certificates and e-readers
• pull-down classroom screen for room 200
• support for Winter Activity Day
• library enhancements

Your fundraising dollars support the above purchases, so THANK YOU for participating in pizza lunch, magazine subscriptions, fun fairs and more. 

A once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Grade 1s

In case there's any doubt in your mind that Clairlea's teachers go above and beyond to provide incredible learning opportunities for our children - check out what a couple of the Grade 1 classes did last week.

Click image for a larger version that you can read

THANK YOU, Mme Kakinoki and Jack's mom, for doing this! 

School Council meets Wed Jan 18

The School Council meets next Wednesday, Jan 18, 7:00 pm at the school. All welcome. Childcare in the gym. If you are a voting member, please make every effort to attend, as a quorum of 50% +1 is required.

Happy new year!

I hope you all had a wonderful break.

For a bit of fun, invite your kids to join you at the computer and visit drawastickman.com.

Enjoy!