It's over!

Great news! The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has "suspended its advice regarding participation in voluntary / extracurricular activities." Read their media statement here. 

I'm pretty sure this means extracurriculars are coming back to Ontario's elementary schools. At least, that's how the Globe and Mail is reporting it. Hooray! 

School Council - some thoughts on the March meeting

We had a good turnout at our School Council meeting last week, about 16 people. We've got a terrific group of thoughtful and energetic contributors, but more ideas and diverse opinions are definitely welcome - let's see if we can get even more people out to our April 17 meeting. Even if you're not a voting member of School Council, you are more than welcome to participate. We'd love to have your perspective.

Minutes will be forthcoming. Check the blue bar at right - I've added links to the minutes from all of this year's meetings.

In the meantime, here are a few things I learned at this month's meeting:

• The woodworking workshop was fantastic. (Actually I already knew that, as my son was one of the participants. But it was great to hear all the other parents agree.) The workshop was given in French to the French immersion kids, which is rare and fantastic. The organizer offers programs for older grades too, and the school is looking at that for the future.

• Our fundraising is fantastic. Karen Shah and the many volunteers who work on fundraising projects, including Wendy Whittle and her amazing pizza lunch crew, are doing a fantastic job.

• A proposed staffing model will be ready next month. That's where the staffing committee takes the projected enrollment and allotment of teaching staff and makes a plan of how many classes of how many kids we will have next year, including how many split-grade classes. It's more complex than you'd imagine. A few things are non-negotiable, such as the caps on primary class sizes, and a mandatory 3/4 split in the English stream, and the fact that a split class must have at least 4 children in each grade. Plus, it's almost impossible to have a 6/7 split because the number of instructional minutes changes in grade 7. 

• The labour situation has impacted the school more than most of us realize. For example, we learned this month that the monthly assemblies no longer include character instruction. It used to be that there was a monthly performance, led by a different grade or class, on the character trait of the month as determined by the TDSB as part of their character education program. But it turns out that organizing those performances was considered "volunteer" work on the part of the teachers, and it doesn't happen any more. 

• We also learned that professional development has been really challenging this year. The labour situation has prevented the school from implementing the kind of math and literacy pathways that Clairlea has benefited from in previous years. As Mr. Frenette explained in the 2011-12 school year, these pathways were designed to improve the quality of instruction at Clairlea through co-planning, co-teaching and moderated marking.  

• However, the administration is doing its best to keep things moving along. The character assemblies have given way to monthly Panther assemblies, and the grade 8 graduation trip will proceed although in a different form. 

Stay tuned for a more detailed account of the meeting in the form of draft minutes. 

Wear green tomorrow for Earth Hour

Tomorrow, Clairlea will celebrate Earth Hour by turning off the lights and photocopiers all day.

Kids should wear green and pack a litterless lunch.

See the school blog for more details.

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 Clairlea's school improvement plan. Pizza lunch is on March 27.

Chair's update

A message from School Council chair Irit Hartman:

Dear Clairlea Families,

I hope that you are having a safe and happy March Break.  There are a few things coming up that I've listed below.  Please find attached the minutes and treasurer's report from our last council meeting in February. [click here for attachments - draft minutes & treasurer's report]

Next Council Meeting:

Our next meeting will be held on Wed March 20th at 7pm.  Please see the agenda below.  A couple of things to note for March's meeting: I was contacted by Councillor Michelle Berardinetti's (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest) asking if she could attend our March meeting as she wanted to see how we are doing and answer any questions or concerns that any of you may have.  So if you have questions or you just want to meet her please come out to the meeting.  She will be there at 7pm.  The agenda listed below may change to reflect a question and answer period at the beginning of the meeting with the councillor and the remaining items will be pushed back respectively.  Secondly to all of you that ordered frozen cookie dough it will be ready for pickup at 7pm at the meeting.  As we do not the facilities to store a large amount of frozen goods please ensure that you or that you've arranged for someone to pick up on your behalf at the school on March 20th at 7pm.  Any items that have not been picked up on the night will be eaten :)

As a side note: I will not be in attendance for the March meeting as I will be away but I leave you in the capable hands of our Vice Chair Christina Auger who will be running the meeting as well as the rest of the council executive.

March School Council Meeting Agenda:

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

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

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 (All)

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

Spirit Wear:

The spirit wear orders have been sent in and are being completed as you read this email.  We expect the orders to come in at the end of March.  I'm sorry but no more late orders will be accepted.

Thank you to everyone that provided feedback on the pizza lunch suggestions for the next year.  The consensus seems to be at this point that once a month is enough or at most twice a month.  We will also continue to look into other avenues for healthy food choices available in the school in addition to the pizza days.  Keep the ideas and suggestions coming.

Best Regards,

Irit

Clairlea School Council

clairleacouncil@gmail.com

School Council meets Mar 20 *updated with agenda

The next School Council meeting is on Wednesday March 20, 7:00pm. All welcome. Childcare will be provided. Voting members, please make every effort to attend. 

March School Council Meeting Agenda:

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

7:00 – 7:10pm - Introduction and voting in the past minutes (Christina Auger) [click here for draft minutes]

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

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

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

7:55 – 8:25pm - Open Discussion (All)

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

Fundscrip orders due March 14

A quick reminder that Fundscrip orders must be placed by Thursday March 14 for pickup at the March 20 School Council meeting.

With Fundscrip, you buy gift cards and the school gets anywhere from 3-7% of the value back. Use them to buy groceries, gas, clothes, toiletries and of course, for gifts.

Place your order online (use group code MGBJSW). Orders placed by this month's deadline will be ready for pickup at the School Council meeting, or sent home with students the following day.

Movie night March 8

Please join us for movie night - Friday March 8!

Wreck-It Ralph
7:00pm
$2 per person (including adults)
Popcorn and drinks for sale at the door

Children 12 and under must have an adult.