Free hockey, basketball and soccer clinics tomorrow

How great is this? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is offering free hockey, basketball and soccer clinics tomorrow at their teams' practice facilities.

Click here for details. Space is limited; register right away.


The Art Gallery of Ontario is offering a full-day camp tomorrow. Details here.

Teachers to strike Tuesday December 18 - school will close

Elementary teachers in Toronto will stage a one-day strike on Tuesday December 18. School will be closed.

More information in this Globe and Mail article and on the TDSB web site.

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. 

No more field trips, excursions or extra-curricular activities

A letter from the Toronto District School Board went home in backpacks today, explaining that the elementary teachers are now in a legal strike position and have called an end to all field trips, play days (what is a play day? I don't know), excursions, extra-curricular activities, volunteer activities and parent interviews outside of the instructional day.

A one-day strike is expected in Toronto but we still don't know when. We will have 72 hours notice. The school will be closed on that day. Check tdsb.on.ca/labour for information.

No School Council meeting this month

There is no School Council meeting this month. Our next meeting is Wednesday January 16.

Update on teachers' job action (updated)

According to the CBC, elementary teachers will stage one-day strikes in every Ontario school district between now and the Christmas holidays.

It seems that for us there will be school as normal on Monday Dec 10: ETFO will target two other school districts for that day (Avon Maitland and Ontario North East). 

Did you know that the union can fine teachers $500 refusing to comply with a strike? (Updated: or maybe not. I'm not sure.)

Keep watching the news for when Toronto will be affected. You can also watch TDSB's twitter feed (not that there has been much information there so far) and, if there's time, letters will be sent home home when the date that we'll be affected is known. Teachers won't get any more notice than we will.  

P.A. Day tomorrow - Dec 7

People for Education on the labour dispute

People for Education has prepared this analysis of the labour dispute, including a Q&A on what happens next. I'm not sure how balanced this information is - it may be biased to one side or another - but it might make for interesting reading all the same. Keep watching the papers, folks.