Teachers to strike? (updated)

Anyone who follows the news will be aware that there is talk of a teachers strike. This is Catharine writing, and I don't know anything you don't know, but I thought it might be useful to provide links to a few different news sources with some commentary from various sides on this issue.

Toronto elementary teachers will be in a legal strike position on December 10. They have pledged to provide 72 hours notice if they strike. Education minister Laurel Broten emphasizes that there is still time to negotiate local agreements, but has pledged to legislate an end to any strike (potentially using the tools created with Bill 115). According to the Globe and Mail, the plan is to stage rotating one-day strikes. The Globe writes: "In Toronto, where elementary school teachers will be in a legal strike position around Dec. 10, teachers were notified by e-mail that there will be a one-day strike before Dec. 21."

Recent news reports & interviews:

- Nov 28 Toronto Star: Ontario elementary teachers plan to strike in December
- Nov 28 CBC Radio: Sam Hammond on Here and Now
- Nov 29 Toronto Star: Teachers will be ordered back to work if they strike
- Nov 29 CBC News
- Nov 29 CBC Radio: Sam Hammond, head of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario interviewed on Metro Morning
- Nov 30 Globe and Mail: Ontario elementary teachers set to stage one-day strikes
- Nov 30 CBC Radio: Education Minister Laurel Broten on Metro Morning

Keep watching the news... according to our school board trustee Elizabeth Moyer, that is the best and latest source of information.

UPDATED: New since first posted -
- Dec 2 Globe and Mail: Ontario elementary school teachers vote on holding one-day walkouts

The Four Paws of Progress

At our October meeting, Mr McGilvray and Mme Harroun explained Clairlea's school improvement plan, which can be summarized in the "Four Paws of Progress." To keep these top of mind, they are using the graphic below.

Movie Night Friday December 14 - Ice Age 4

Movie Night is Friday December 14 - 7:00 p.m. in the gym.
Ice Age 4 - Continental Drift
$2 per person! Popcorn and drinks for sale. Bring your own pillow/blanket.

Pizza lunch orders due tomorrow

Pizza lunch orders are due tomorrow. If you need to, you can download and print the order form. Please send it to school with your child. Proceeds from pizza lunch support the nutrition and healthy living programs at Clairlea. 

School Council meets Nov. 21

The next School Council meeting is on Wednesday November 21, 7:00pm. All welcome. Childcare will be provided. Voting members, please make every effort to attend.

Meeting agenda and details
Last month's minutes (in draft form)

From the School Council chair

A message from Irit Hartman, chair of the Clairlea School Council:

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

We have had a very successful month with respect to fundraising and we have you to thank.  If it were not for the tireless volunteers giving of their time and working behind the scenes as well as the countless donations and contributions from people along with all the students, Clairlea families, Clairlea Staff and Community that support the fundraisers by purchasing, participating and contributing we would not have the successes we’ve had.  Thank you to all!

HERE’S HOW WE ARE DOING SO FAR….

HALLOWEEN HOWL - Thank you to all the families that came to the event we had close to 500 people come through the doors, many with maps in hand!  We raised over $2600.00 in gross revenue and estimate approximately $2000.00 in net profits (still tabulating a few expenses).  We could not have done this if it were not for the generosity of the many volunteers and contributors in the Clairlea community.   We received countless decorations in the drop off bin in front of the office, almost 200 candy jars, wonderful prize donations were given for the Looney Toss room, and many families came to help setup along with dozens of high school students from the community, some of which were Clairlea alumni!  Clairlea grade 7 and 8 students made detailed signs for each event room and others helped setup prior to the event. Thank you to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly in a room during the event or were runners to ensure that everything ran smoothly.   We thank the Clairlea staff for all that you do!   Even the Fire Department heard about the fun and came to see what it was all about! J  We featured some room favourites from the past as well as we tried out some new room themes such as; “Looney Toss” and “Eyeball Bounce”.  We hope you enjoyed your experience!   All Looney Toss winners and candy jar winners have been contacted.

NORCARD WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON CATALOGUE ORDERS – Thank you to all of you that placed orders for the Norcard Holiday Season Catalogue Fundraiser.  This campaign is now closed and we have mailed all of your orders to Norcard on November 6^th so we hope to have all the items delivered in the next three to four weeks for distribution.   We managed to collect over $3500.00 in product orders of which 50% ($1700+) of it goes to Clairlea School Council.  There is a spring version of this catalogue that we could send out in 2013 – would you be interested? (Post comments below)

PIZZA LUNCH OCTOBER 31^ST – As per usual the Pizza lunch is a big hit.  Thanks to the hard work of our regular pizza lunch volunteer crew we raised just over $600.00 net profit this month.

QSP MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS – This fundraising campaign is still going on and will be open all school year long!  If you want to participate in the reward program, which means depending on how many magazines you order you can receive a prize, then you must submit all of your orders in by the deadline which is NOVEMBER 13^th.  If you are not interested in the prize rewards the magazine ordering process is open and available all year and you may simply place your order anytime online at www.qsp.ca using our school code which is 9581.

REMINDER…

When sending in cheques for any of the fundraising campaigns the cheques need to be made out to CLAIRLEA SCHOOL COUNCIL.   This is important to help ensure that your cheque is able to be deposited and you are able to receive your desired product.

SO WHAT’S NEXT…

NEXT CLAIRLEA COUNCIL MEETING - Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday November 21^st @ 7pm until 8:30pm.   Free child minding is available and all are welcome!  Theminutes and treasurer’s report from the October meeting are attached for yourreference.

NOVEMBER AGENDA: (**note the new items described below)

**6:45 – 7:00pm - Selling 50/50 tickets to be drawn at the end of the meeting

7:00 – 7:10pm - Introduction and voting in the past minutes (Irit)

7:10 – 7:35pm - Administration Report (Mr. Mcgilvray and Ms. Harroun)

7:35 – 7:45pm - Treasurer’s Report (Tina)

7:45 – 7:55pm - Fundraising Report (Karen)

**7:55 – 8:25pm - Open Discussion and Vote (All)

8:25 – 8:30pm - 50/50 draw and wrap up (Irit)

** WHAT DOES THIS MEAN….

WE ARE HAVING A VOTE…

In the next council meeting in the Open Discussion section we will be discussing which categories we would like to allocate funds to for the remainder of the school year.  This will enable us to create a spending plan in order to spend with a purpose.   This in turn will enable us to gear future fundraisers towards something specific.  So come to the meeting with ideas and suggestions as to what the fund allocation categories could be and we will vote.  To start the ball rolling a couple of suggested categories could be:

-          School Improvement Plan (discussed in October’s meeting see minutes attached)

-          Bullying and School Safety

MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL VS. NON MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL

In September everyone received a yellow Clairlea School Council self-nomination form that was sent home.  On this form you were given the option as to whether you want to nominate yourself to be a member of school council run for an executive position.  If you chose to nominate yourself as a member of council that means that when we choose to have a vote on any topic, you, as a member will have your vote counted.  As per the bylaws we are required to have 50% plus 1 of the members in attendance for the meetings or a pre determined number for quorum in order to be able to have a vote be deemed valid.  That is why we encourage everyone who is a member to make every effort to attend all council meetings.

If you chose not be a member and just want to attend the meetings, that means that you are welcome and encouraged to come to each meeting and participate fully.  When it comes time for vote only members can partake but members as well as non members can all be present.  Should you still come to the meetings even though you are not a member?  Absolutely, your opinion is important and coming to the meeting and being part of the discussion is always beneficial to all involved.  If you decide that you want to change your mind and become a member of council you are still able to do so as there are some spots left.  

I’m not sure if I am a member or not?   Have a look at the attached minutes from the October meeting.  In the top attendance section it will state the “members” that were present as well as the “non members” that were present.  The names that are in the “regrets” section indicate members that were absent from the meeting.

JUST FOR FUN….

We are trying something new and fun for next month whereby we will be selling 50/50 tickets 15 minutes before the meeting starts (@ 6:45pm) until the start of the meeting and the draw will take place at the end of the meeting.  Participation in the draw is optional.

HOW TO REACH US…

If you would like to unsubscribe to this email (we hope you don’t) or know someone that would like to be added to the distribution list please send a request to clairleacouncil@gmail.com.  We would like to hear your feedback and suggestions.  Do you have any feedback about the Halloween Howl and how we can make it better for next year or what you liked about it this year?  If you are not able to come to the next meeting and want to contribute ideas please email them to us or drop a note in the council box in the office and we can bring them forward to the meeting.   

You can contact us via email at clairleacouncil@gmail.com, on the blog at http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com, or have a look at our bulletin board outside the office for the latest news.

Best Regards,

Irit

Clairlea School Council

Tips for a great parent-teacher interview

Report cards will be coming home today. That means it's time for parent-teacher interviews. People for Education has developed tips for parents to help you get the most out of your parent-teacher interview.  These are also available in other languages.

What's your best advice for parent-teacher interviews? Post your comments below...

Clairlea neighbourhood Town Hall meeting

Those who live in the Clairlea neighbourhood might be interested in attending Councillor Michelle Berardinetti's neighbourhood town hall meeting this Wednesday, November 7. Details below. 

Clairlea Neighbourhood
Town Hall Meeting
Wednesday, November 7
6pm to 8pm
Our Lady of Fatima
Public School
3176 St. Clair Avenue East

(source: her email newsletter.)

The school's October 2012 newsletter

By now you will have received the school's October 2012 newsletter. If you didn't receive a copy by email, it means you are not on the school's email distribution list... if you want to be, then send an email to Michelle Carson in the office.