No school council this week

Just a reminder that there's no school council meeting this week. We'll meet again in January.

Pizza lunch – December 16

Pizza lunch is on Wednesday December 16. Orders are due December 11. You should already have received an order envelope; if not, you can download and print a copy. Please circle December’s date.

Pizza lunch is one of our School Council’s most important fundraising initiatives. Thanks to the hard work of some very dedicated volunteers, pizza lunch raises thousands of dollars for the school.

Thank you very much for your support. 

Trustee Newsletter and Ward Forum December 10

View newsletter here. 

Our ward 18 TDSB trustee Parthi Kandavel is hosting a Ward Forum on Thursday December 10, 7-9pm. (Not Dec 8 as previously reported - I apologize for the error.)

The speaker is Trevor Brown, who specializes on teaching mathematics to children. He is an associate professor at Tyndale University College, a course director at York University's Faculty of Education Additional Qualification Courses, and co-author/consultant for the popular “Math Makes Sense” series. 

The presentation aims to make math exciting as Mr. Brown explains why math is being taught the way it is today, the tools being used to teach math, and how we can help our children think about math.

Thursday, December 10th 7 – 9 pm

Robert Service Sr. P.S. 945 Danforth Road

This information was drawn from Mr. Kandavel's ward 18 newsletter, via city councillor Michelle Berardinetti's newsletter. 

Movie night Friday Nov 27

Notes from School Council (CORRECTED)

In addition to what Irit shared recently, here are some things we learned at the School Council meeting earlier this week.

Ward 18 Forum

Trustee Parthi Kandavel will host a meeting for all Ward 18 parents on the evening of December 8. Guest speaker Trevor Brown will share information about helping students learn mathematics.  CORRECTION: this is actually December 10 - details here

Report Cards and IEPs will be sent home by Dec 11. Parent-teacher interviews, if needed, have already been requested by the teachers (usually only in cases where there is a concern). The next round of parent-teacher interviews will be in February after the Feb report cards. 

Trips and Extracurriculars are back on track now that the work-to-rule campaign has ended. Teachers have also started updating their blogs. (see list at right) Earlier this year, the School Council offered to contribute $100 to each of Clairlea's 27 classrooms; this money is to help defray the costs of an experiential learning activity for the kids (either a field trip or an in-class activity such as Scientists in Schools). 

Facilities

- The kindergarten sandpit, which was problematic, has been replaced with mulch and a slide. 

- All portables are now fully wireless (meaning that every part of the school where students learn is now connected to WiFi)

- The new portable (P3) now has a paved path, which will ensure the necessary snow removal in winter

- The broken bridge on the play structure at the back playground area is unfortunately not scheduled for repair. It would be ridiculously expensive to fix. It has been boarded up to protect children from falling. 

Clubs now underway (see school blog or contact the office for details)

- Gr 7 & 8 homework club meets Tuesdays and Thursdays after school

- Primary art club (Gr 1-3), led by older students

- Jewellery making club (Gr 4-6?) led by Ms Avdylaj

- Primary soccer

- Jr & Sr volleyball

- Student Leadership Team (Gr 7&8)

Events

- Book fair a huge success, raised $3000 worth of books for Clairlea library

- Nov 27 Spirit Day (wacky hat day) and Panther Assembly

- Dec ? - festive outfit day

- There will be a kindergarten holiday concert - during the schoolday, date TBD

The Howl was extremely successful, with 370 students in attendance. Proceeds of $3,600 will be put toward kindergarten play equipment; technology; and arts programming. 

Does anyone have photos from The Howl? Please send to clairleacouncil@gmail.com. 

Spending

In addition to the 10 Chromebooks that the School Council agreed to pay for in September, this week we agreed to pay for another 10 at an incremental cost of $3000. The school currently has 60 Chromebooks and seeks to bring that number to 90 by the end of the year. A third charging cart is needed but the hope is that a used one will be donated. 

The School Council also continues to support the snack program. 

Last month, we contributed to the cost of bringing an incubator to the school, so the kids can observe eggs hatching into chicks. 

Clairlea's fundraising programs have been tremendously successful this year, and great thanks are due to the volunteers who coordinate these programs as well as the many families who participate in things like The Howl, pizza lunch, the book fair and the Norcard catalogue. Thank you. Stay tuned for a possible Fun Fair when the weather gets warm! 

Please return overdue library books

Over on the Clairlea Library blog, Ms. Vincent is requesting that families scour their homes for overdue library books and return them to the school. Starting next week, borrowing will be suspended for students with overdue books.

Message from the Chair

Most of you will have received this via email directly from Irit, but just in case:

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

We have had a very successful couple of months with respect to fundraising and we have you to thank.  If it were not for the 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 – We surpassed last year’s event.  Thank you to all the families that came to the event.   We had approximately 370 kids come through the doors, many with maps in hand!  We raised over $3600.00 in net profits.  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 dropped off in the office, about 350 plus candy jars for the lollipop pull which raised approximately $441.00, wonderful people sought out many prize donations which were given for the Loonie Toss room raising approximately $500.00, as well as the front door raffle, and a dedicated group of high school students from the community, most of which were Clairlea alumni!  Clairlea students worked diligently to prepare the windows in the library to ensure a scary dark environment for the haunted library.  The fantastic signs for each room were made by our own Clairlea students. Thank you to the local police constables that dropped by and stayed for part of the evening to chat and answer questions.  Thank you to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly in the rooms during the event.   We thank the Clairlea staff for trusting us with their classrooms.  Also a big thank you to the administration for their help, flexibility and endless eagerness to always move forward in a positive direction.  All Loonie Toss winners and candy count jar winners have been contacted.

NORCARD WINTER CATALOGUE ORDERS – Thank you to all of you that placed orders for the Norcard Catalogue Fundraiser.  The items have arrived and have been sorted and given to your kids to bring home or you received a call if the order was too big to carry.  If you received a call please pick up your order in the office this week.  We managed to collect over $5000.00 in product orders of which 50% ($2400+) of it goes to Clairlea. 

SO WHAT’S NEXT…?

NEXT CLAIRLEA COUNCIL MEETING - Our next meeting will take place tonight Wednesday November 18^th @ 7pm until 8:30pm.   Free child minding is available and all are welcome!  Please note we will not have a meeting in December and council will meet again in January 2016.  

NOVEMBER AGENDA:

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

7:00 – 7:05pm - Introduction (Irit)

7:05 – 7:35pm - Administration Report (Mr. Mcgilvray and Ms. Karsh)

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

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

7:55 – 8:25pm - Open Discussion (All)

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

PIZZA LUNCH OCTOBER – As per usual Pizza lunch is a big hit.  Thanks to the hard work of our regular pizza lunch volunteer crew we raise approximately $1000.00 net profit each month.  Reminder your pizza lunch envelopes are due this Friday November 20^th and pizza lunch is next Wednesday November 25^th.

CLAIRLEA MOVIE NIGHT NOVEMBER 27^th - Our first movie night of the year will take place on Friday November 27^th at 7:00pm sharp, featuring “Inside Out”.  We hope to see you there!  This event is open to children in grade 6 and under.  If you have never experienced a Clairlea movie night before please come out and give it a try it is a fun night out for the family.  All movies are shown in the gym and children are welcome to dress in their pajamas and bring blankets and pillows and get comfortable while they watch the big screen.  The cost is $2.00 per person (child or adult).  Snacks and drinks are sold at the movie.  All friends and family are welcome whether you attend Clairlea or not.  This movie is open to all children grade 6 and lower only.  All children must be have adult supervision with them for the evening.  (See flyer attached).

HOW TO REACH US…

If you 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, Norcard or any fundraiser 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

School Council meets tonight

The School Council meets tonight, 7pm at the school. Everyone is welcome.

Here's the agenda:

6:45 – 7:00pm - Selling 50/50 tickets to be drawn at the end of the meeting (purchase is optional)
7:00 – 7:05pm - Introduction (Irit)
7:05 – 7:35pm - Administration Report (Mr. McGilvray and Ms. Karsh)
7:35 – 7:45pm - Treasurer’s Report (Russ)
7:45 – 7:55pm - Fundraising Report (Joanne)
7:55 – 8:25pm - Open Discussion (All)
8:25 – 8:30pm - 50/50 draw and wrap up (Irit)

Pizza lunch – November 25

Pizza lunch is on Wednesday November 25. Orders are due November 20. You should already have received an order envelope; if not, you can download and print a copy. Please circle November’s date.

Pizza lunch is one of our School Council’s most important fundraising initiatives. Thanks to the hard work of some very dedicated volunteers, pizza lunch raises thousands of dollars for the school.

Thank you very much for your support. 

Work to rule campaign ends!

Hello everyone! I'm sorry for not posting for the past couple of weeks -- our family was travelling. I hear that the Halloween Howl was terrific. I know that was thanks to all those who volunteered their time, made donations, and came to enjoy the event.

You've no doubt heard on the news that the teacher's union has called an end to its work to rule campaign in light of the tentative labour deal that was reached yesterday with the government. I know we're all very glad to see the end of this disruption. The students will receive report cards, with comments, in December. Details in this Toronto Star article.

Pizza lunch – October 28

Pizza lunch is on Wednesday October 28. Orders are due October 23. You should already have received an order envelope; if not, you can download and print a copy. Please circle October’s date.

Pizza lunch is one of our School Council’s most important fundraising initiatives. Thanks to the hard work of some very dedicated volunteers, pizza lunch raises thousands of dollars for the school.

Thank you very much for your support. 

School Council meets Oct 21

School Council meets on the third Wednesday of each month. The next meeting is on Wednesday October 21 from 7:00pm - 8:30pm. Free childcare is available. Everyone is welcome.

The Agenda:
6:50 – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)
7:00 – 7:10pm Introduction and voting on the September minutes (Irit)
7:10 – 7:35pm Administration Report (Mr. McGilvray and Ms. Karsh)
7:35 – 7:45pm Treasurer’s Report (Russ)
7:45 – 8:00pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)
8:00 – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)
8:25 – 8:30pm 50/50 draw

Message from the Chair

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

Well we are off to a good start.  We are deep into the planning stages of the Halloween Howl event coming up on Friday October 30^th from 5:30-8:30pm.  Thank you to all that came to the planning meeting as well as those who couldn’t make it but have confirmed that they will volunteer at the event.  We are still looking for more adults to help out on the night so if you find the time it will make all the difference to help keep the rooms open that are favorites year after year.  Please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com to let us know you are available.  Please also see below other ways you can help your school make the Howl a great success!

 OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1.       DECORATION DROP OFF: We need Halloween decorations to get the school ready for the Halloween Howl!!  Starting this week there will be a large blue bin in front of the main office of the school where you can drop off all items.  Spend $5 dollars in the dollar store and drop it off in the bin.  We are looking for:
-  Spider Webs – many of these
-  Black plastic dollar store Table Cloths – many of these

-  Large Candy Lollipops for the Lollipop Pull Room

2.      HALLOWEEN CANDY:  We need peanut free Halloween candy to be used as prizes in various rooms.  Please pick up a bag of candy and drop it off in the blue bin in front of the main office.

3.      PERSONAL AND/OR CORPORATE DONATIONS:  We are always looking for gift donations that we can use as prizes or raffles during the Halloween Howl.  If you or your company would like to donate a prize or gift to be used as one of our prizes during the event please contact us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

4.      HOME MADE CANDY JARS/BAGS:  We need many mini candy jars/bags to be used as prizes for the Lollipop Pull room.  You can help by filling any sized jar or little baggy with (nut free) candy and bring it to the school office anytime between now and the Halloween Howl.  The more jars we have the longer this room will be able to stay open and it is definitely one of the favourite rooms.  In past years we have needed approximately 400 jars/bags to have this room open for the entire event.  Feel free to decorate your jars as well.   

5.      CRAFT MATERIAL:  This year we need QTips, Coloured Construction paper, glue.  Spend $5 in the dollar store and drop it off in the blue bin in front of the office.

6.      VOLUNTEER: Help out on the night of the event.  We need adult volunteers to help run the rooms and that will enable your kids to experience all the planned activities that are favourites year after year.

HALLOWEEN DINNER we will be offering the option of purchasing a pizza dinner in advance of the event so there is no need to make dinner.  Make things easier on yourself and leave the dinner to us and you just need to enjoy the event and pick up your dinner in the gym. Check the backpacks over the next couple of weeks to look for a preorder dinner envelope along with a map featuring all activities for the night.  Submit the dinner preorder form on the due date specified on the envelope and you can pick up your dinner at the event on the 30^th after 6:00pm in the gym.  NOTE:  This is not to be confused with our regular monthly pizza lunch event held in the school.

WHAT IS THE HOWL? It is our very popular yearly School Council fundraising event that is loads of fun for all age/grade levels (JK to Grade 8).  Bring your family, bring your neighbours and bring your friends, all are welcome.  Save the date and come out for a fun time on Friday October 30^th from 5:30-8:30pm.  We encourage the children to dress up in their favourite costume so that they can participate in the contest at the end of the evening!  Bring your own loot bag/recycle bag to the Howl to enable the kids to collect all their goodies when they travel from room to room and partake in fun activities – featuring our very popular “HAUNTED LIBRARY”.  Entry is only $5.00/per child and adults are free.  All children must be accompanied by an adult.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?...

ONLY 3 MORE DAYS!!!!!

NORCARD…  (DUE FRIDAY OCTOBER 9^TH)  There are only a few days left to hand in your orders!!  Over the last couple of weeks you should have received a Red and White Holiday Magic Norcard Fundraising Catalog.  This shopping catalog is filled with items you can order such as; calendars, greeting cards, stationary items,  jewelry, kitchen items, phone charge cords, USB adapter wall chargers and much more just in time for the holiday season.  The Ordered Items will arrive approximately at the end of November 2015 (perhaps sooner).  All money (cash or cheque) and order forms (with completed legible contact information and order details) must be returned to the school no later than FRIDAY OCTOBER 9^TH 2015.   Cheques must be made payable to “Clairlea School Council”.   If you have not received the Catalog or need an additional order form we have extras in the Main Office.  This fundraiser enables Clairlea to receive up to 50% of all orders made.  Late orders will not be accepted and will be returned back to you.

WHEN DO WE MEET AGAIN…

School Council meetings take place every 3^rd Wednesday of each month.  The next school council meeting is on Wednesday October 21^st from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there!  Please take a moment to read through the minutes from the September 2015 meeting.

The Agenda for School Council meeting usually follow this format:

6:50 – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)

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

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

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

7:45 – 8:00pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)

8:00 – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)

8:25 – 8:30pm 50/50 draw

MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL VS. NON MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL

In September everyone received a 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 or 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 a vote only members can partake but member 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 spots left.  Our bylaws state we can have up to a maximum of 50 members.

HOW TO REACH US…

If you would like to subscribe to the School Council emails or you 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.  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

Chairperson, Clairlea School Council
2015/2016

clairleacouncil@gmail.com

The Howl is coming October 30

Mark your calendars: The Howl is coming on Friday October 30.

Join the fun! Play games, dress up, do crafts and visit the haunted library. Cost is $5 per child (adults are free).

Stay tuned for details. If you can volunteer, please email clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

Norcard orders due Oct 9

A friendly reminder that all Norcard orders are due on Friday October 9. 

Norcard is the gift catalogue that came home a week or two ago. It's a fundraiser - Clairlea earns 50% of the cost of every item you buy. Please see the office if you need a new order form. 

Orders due Oct 9.

Cheques payable to Clairlea School Council. 

Include the first two pages of your order form; keep the pink copy.

Items will arrive in late November.

Questions? clairleacouncil@gmail.com

Thank you for participating in this fundraiser!

Message from the chair

Dear Clairlea Families…

The school year is well underway and things are getting busy and we as your School Council are working hard to put forth a fun year!  We have had our first School Council meeting which included the elections for the School Council executive.  Congratulations to our 2015/16 elected positions:

Vice Chair – Wendy Whittle

Treasurer – Russell Preece

Fundraising – Joanne Benson

Secretary – Reka Nicholas

WHEN DO WE MEET…

School Council meetings take place every 3^rd Wednesday of each month.  The next school council meeting is on Wednesday October 21^st from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there! 

The Agenda for School Council meeting usually follow this format:

6:50 – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)

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

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

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

7:45 – 8:00pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)

8:00 – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)

8:25 – 8:30pm 50/50 draw

WHAT'S COMING UP.....

I’ve outlined below some key dates coming up as well as where we could use your help for the upcoming HALLOWEEN HOWL FUNDRAISER on Friday October 30^th!  Please have a look through and as always we want to hear your comments so please contact us via clairleacouncil@gmail.com   Other places to look for information about Clairlea School Council Events are; The School Council bulletin board located outside the Main Office  and the School Council Blog http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com to keep up to date of what is going on! 

PLEASE HELP! VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE HOWL… We are looking for volunteers to help out during the Halloween Howl Event on October 30^th.  The Howl is one of our largest and most popular events that we run at Clairlea.  In order for it to be a success we need people to run the many moving parts that make up the fun event.  Year after year we have had the strong involvement and support from the staff at Clairlea but this year given the work to rule situation that is not possible even though the staff want to be involved the situation does not allow them to do so, which makes parent involvement even more critical.  If you want to help out please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

WHAT IS THE HOWL? Please save the date and bring the children out for a fun time on Friday October 30^th from 5:30-8:00pm.  We encourage the children to dress up in their favourite costume so that they can participate in the contest at the end of the evening!  Bring your own loot bag/recycle bag to the Howl to enable the kids to collect all their goodies when they travel from room to room and partake in fun activities – featuring our very popular “HAUNTED LIBRARY”.  Entry is only $5.00/per child and parents are free.  We will be offering the option of a pizza dinner during the event so there is no need to make dinner.  Make things easier on yourself and leave the dinner to us and you just need to enjoy the event and pick up your dinner in the gym. Check the backpacks over the next couple of weeks to look for a preorder dinner envelope along with a map featuring all activities for the night.  In order for this event to run we need your help and I have listed below ways you can help make the Halloween Howl a great success!

 OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1.        DECORATION DROP OFF: We need Halloween decorations to get the school ready for the Halloween Howl!!  Starting October 5^th there will be a large blue bin in front of the main office of the school where you can drop off all items.  Spend $5 dollars in the dollar store and drop it off in the bin.  We are looking for:
-  Spider Webs – many of these
-  Black plastic dollar store Table Cloths – many of these

-  Candy Lollipops for the Lollipop Pull Room
-  Lots of Candy (nut free) to hand out or in small jars or baggies

2.       PERSONAL AND/OR CORPORATE DONTATIONS:  We are always looking for gift donations that we can use as prizes or raffles during the Halloween Howl.  If you or your company would like to donate a prize or gift to be used as one of our prizes during the event please contact us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

3.       HOME MADE CANDY JARS/BAGS:  We need many candy jars to be used as prizes for the Lollipop Pull room.  You can help by filling any sized jar or little baggy with (nut free) candy and bring it to the school office anytime between now and the Halloween Howl.  The more jars we have the longer this room will be able to stay open and it is definitely one of the favourite rooms.  In past years we have needed approximately 400 jars/bags to have this room open for the entire event.  Feel free to decorate your jars as well.   

4.       HALLOWEEN CANDY:  We need peanut free Halloween candy to be used as prizes in various rooms.  Please pick up a bag of candy and drop it off in the blue bin in front of the main office.

NORCARD…  (DUE FRIDAY OCTOBER 9^TH)  Over the last few days you should have received a Red and White Holiday Magic Norcard Fundraising Catalog.  This shopping catalog is filled with items you can order such as; calendars, greeting cards, stationary items,  jewelry, kitchen items, phone charge cords, USB adapter wall chargers and much more just in time for the holiday season.  The Ordered Items will arrive approximately the end of November 2015 (perhaps sooner).  All money (cash or cheque) and order forms (with completed legible contact information and order details) must be returned to your classroom no later than FRIDAY OCTOBER 9^TH 2015.   Cheques must be made payable to “Clairlea School Council”.   If you have not received the Catalog or need an additional order form we have left extras in the Main Office.  This fundraiser enables Clairlea to receive up to 50% of all orders made.  Late orders will not be accepted and will be returned back to you.

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.  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

Chairperson, Clairlea School Council
2015/2016

clairleacouncil@gmail.com

Curriculum night

In case you missed the notice over on the school blog: unfortunately curriculum night has been postponed until the work-to-rule situation has been resolved.

Pizza lunch - September 30

Pizza lunch is on Wednesday September 30. Orders are due Friday September 25th. You should already have received an order envelope; if not, you can download and print a copy. Please circle the Sept 30 date.

Pizza lunch is one of our School Council’s most important fundraising initiatives. Thanks to the hard work of some very dedicated volunteers, pizza lunch raises thousands of dollars for the school. The proceeds fund things like library books and e-reading materials, iPads for classroom use, sports equipment and more. Attend an upcoming school council meeting to share your views on what the school needs most.

Thank you very much for your support. 

Supporting student achievement

We had a productive school council meeting last Wednesday. We have a new executive, which includes chair Irit Hartman, vice-chair Wendy Whittle, treasurer Russ P., secretary Reka Nicholas and fundraising chair Joanne Benson. These are time-consuming volunteer commitments and and on behalf of the rest of us -- thank you to the executive for taking them on!

As there were funds left over from last year's fundraising, the council approved some new spending to support student achievement at the school:

1. We've allocated $3,000 to purchase 10 new Chromebooks for the school. These join the ones that we already have (40, I believe - please post below if I am mistaken). Teachers can sign out a group of these computers for their class to use for a period of time, then they are returned to the administration to be recharged for the next group. Students usually use them in pairs, so 15-20 are usually sufficient for one class. The goal is to have 60 by the end of the school year, so that more classes can use them at once.

2. We also assigned $100 per homeroom class ($2,700 total) to be put toward an experiential learning activity of some sort. This can be either a field trip or an in-class activity such as Scientists in Schools, music or art workshops, an author reading or musical or theatrical performance. Classes can use this money individually or pool their spending to take best advantage of these funds. We will report back later in the year on specifically what activities these funds supported.

None of this would be possible without the incredible volunteers who organize our fundraisers. If you can help too, please write to clairleacouncil@gmail.com. Volunteers are needed for various one-time events, both daytime and evening, throughout the year. Even an hour or two is a huge help.

It also wouldn't be possible without you, all the great Clairlea families who buy pizza, attend fund fairs, come to movie nights and order through our Norcard shopping campaign (coming soon). Thank you!

As you know, the Clairlea snack program is moving to 5 days/week starting in October. Thank you to everyone who sent in their donations. You should be aware that your donation of $10/month covers approximately one-third of the total cost. One-third is funded by a grant from the Toronto Foundation for Student Success. The remaining one-third must be raised by school fundraising - so your active participation is greatly appreciated by those 600-odd hungry mouths at Clairlea! thank you! 

Phase 3 of teachers' work-to-rule strike begins Monday

The ETFO has directed teachers to escalate their work-to-rule/strike activity starting Monday.

CTV news has the details on what this means. In a nutshell: no meetings with parents unless there's a specific concern; no blogs, websites or newsletters; no changes to IEPs after the initial deadline; no report card comments; no extra-curriculars on Wednesdays.

The TDSB posted this information for parents about the labour negotiations.

The union is threatening rotating strikes in October if no agreement has been reached by then.

School council tomorrow!

Welcome back to Clairlea, everyone! I hope that all the kids are settling nicely into their routines. I would like to introduce myself - I'm Catharine, the parent of a grade 5 student at Clairlea. I write this blog to share information about the Clairlea School Council and the school community.

This year's first school council meeting is tomorrow evening, Wednesday Sept 16, 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the school. Child-minding is available.

Please join us as we elect our school council executive and begin to plan the year's activities. Everyone is welcome, whether or not you wish to become a voting member of school council.

What is school council?

School councils are a way for parents and guardians to get involved in their children's education. Their primary function is to improve student achievement and enhance the accountability of the education system to parents.*

Every school in the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) has one. According to the TDSB, school councils "advise the principal and the Board on a variety of issues and activities relating to student achievement, curriculum goals and priorities, school budget priorities, school safety, renovation plans, after school activities, and criteria for selection of new principals." School councils can make recommendations to their principals and school boards on any matter.*

School councils also raise money to help improve the school. Come to tomorrow's meeting to find out what Clairlea School Council's 2014-2015 fundraising accomplished!

Who gets to be a member?**

Any parent can be a member (up to 50 parent members)
The principal or vice-principal is a (non-voting) member
One teacher (elected by his/her colleagues)
One non-teaching employee of the school (elected by his/her colleagues)
One student can be a member, if appointed by the principal
One or more community members, if appointed by the council

Who can attend meetings?

Anyone in the Clairlea community can attend meetings. That means you! Whether or not you are a voting member, please do come and share your views on how we can enhance the school. Join us tomorrow, Wednesday Sept 16, 7:00pm to 8:30pm at the school. Child-minding is available.

*School Councils: a guide for members (p.1.1)
**School Councils: a guide for members (p.3.1)

Two more weeks of summer!

Hello everyone -- I hope you're having a wonderful summer. Can you believe there are two more weeks left?

You've seen news reports on the status of negotiations with the teachers' unions. Here are the details of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario's work-to-rule campaign, phase 2, which begins in September. This FAQ for teachers provides more detail.

School support workers (members of CUPE) are also in negotiations and may be in a strike position in September.

Report cards after all!

Great news -- we will need to be patient, but parents will be seeing our children's grades after all. According to this letter from the TDSB, marks will be mailed to our homes in July. These reports won't include learning skills or comments, but it's better than nothing!

I'm not sure who will be working overtime to make this happen, but we parents are grateful. Thank you.

A Q&A is coming tomorrow. I will update this post with the Q&A link when I have it.
UPDATED: here is the Q&A

No school council meeting this week

This is just to confirm that there is no school council meeting this week. There was an error in the school calendar.

Q&A re the report cards situation

Thanks to K.G. for sharing this Q&A regarding the report card situation:

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/0/AboutUs/docs/TDSBReportCards_QA.pdf

It's official: no report cards this year

It's official: there will be no report cards this year. 

This letter from the TDSB is reportedly coming home today.

Report cards?

There's no official word from the TDSB yet, but the Toronto Star is reporting the possibility that there will be no report cards this year, only letters stating that students have advanced to the next grade.

According to the Star's report:

The Ministry of Education is expected to provide boards with some advice this week on what is expected, given the work-to-rule by elementary teachers, and boards will also encourage parents to speak to teachers to get more information.

However, sources say if marks are not entered into the computer system for this final report, students may never find out how they did.

The Toronto District School Board says it has not made a final decision, but principal sources have said that inputting grades for all 155,000 students up to Grade 8, in a number of different subject areas, realistically cannot be done.

Pizza lunch is June 17

Pizza lunch is Wednesday June 17. Orders are due June 12. In case you can't find the order form, you can download and print a copy.

Message from the Chair

Please see the message below from our School Council chair, Irit Hartman:

Dear Clairlea Families…

Next Meeting:

School Council will meet again in September as always every third Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm and free child-minding is available.    Please refer to the school calendar distributed in September for exact dates.  We hope to see you there in the first meeting where School Council elections will take place.

Fun Fair 2015 Postponed:
It was decided in our last school council meeting that the 2015 Fun Fair will be postponed to June 2016.  For those of you that have been involved or attended a Fun Fair or a Halloween Howl or any school council event at Clairlea in the last few years you know that the Clairlea staff play a key role in supporting the large events by volunteering their time to run the stations.  We also have a core group of fantastic tireless parents that have continuously volunteered year after year for all events.  Both these groups have enabled us as a school council to run all the successful events that the community has come to expect year over year.  This year given the Work to Rule scenario in place there was no guarantee that the Clairlea staff would be available or allowed to help out even though the staff wanted to be involved.   This left our core group of parents which would not be enough to run a large event with many stations such as the fun fair.   Therefore the decision to postpone was made. 

The goal for the fitness equipment has not been impacted and is still moving forward and the timing with respect to zoning the area via the TDSB is currently aligned with sometime in 2016.  We hope going forward that more parent volunteers join our core group to expand the group as well as fill in the space of those parents that have children that are graduating from Clairlea this year.  If you want to volunteer for the upcoming year please contact us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.   We are always looking for parents for the following events – day and evening:

Halloween Howl
Spirit Wear
Norcard
Fun Fair

Volunteer Tea:
The Teachers are hosting a volunteer tea on Wednesday June 10^th from 9-11am in the staff room.  If you have volunteered in any way throughout the school year in the classroom, on a school trip, for a school council event or in any other volunteer capacity to help the students and staff of Clairlea Public School you are welcome to join in.  Please come or share this information with someone in the community that you know helped out. 

Pizza Lunch:
Our last pizza lunch of the year will take place on Wednesday June 17^th.  Please ensure you bring in your order envelope on the due date which is Friday June 12^th.

We always want to hear your comments so please contact us via clairleacouncil@gmail.com.   Other places to look are; The School Council bulletin board located outside the Main Office  and the School Council Blog http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com to keep up to date of what is going on! 

Regards,

Irit
Clairlea School Council

Teachers step up their work-to-rule campaign (UPDATED)

According to the Toronto Star, starting next week the elementary teachers will step up their work-to-rule campaign by "by refusing to plan field trips for next year, take part in meetings about students’ transition from one grade to the next or participate in professional development programs at the end of June or the start of September."

There will also be no comments on report cards this year -- only grades.

UPDATED: here is more detail on what the teachers union will and won't allow the teachers to do:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/266660788/ETFO-internal-memo-on-new-curriculum

P.A. Day Friday June 5

Friday June 5 is a P.A. Day. School will be closed.

It's bike-to-school week!

Trustee Parthi Kandavel's ward forum - June 1

TDSB trustee Parthi Kandavel will host a Ward 18 forum on June 1, 7pm at H.A. Halbert Public School (31 McCowan Road).

On the agenda:

1. Introductions 
2. Trustee Update 
3. Year End updates by Parent Council Chairs (if any) 
4. Discussion on idea sharing for new school year in September and succession planning/torch passing 
5. PIAC reps selection 
6. Mingling

The trustee has also communicated that the province is looking for our input and consultation on the TDSB. You can submit your opinions via the link above, or attend one of the public consultation meetings:

• In north Scarborough (Midland & 401): May 28, 7pm-9pm at the Centre For Immigrant & Community Services
• In south Scarborough (Lawrence & Birchmount): May 30, 11am-1pm at McGregor Park Community Centre 

The snack program has begun

In case your kids haven't mentioned it, Clairlea's snack program began this week. It will continue Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of June.

It is open to anyone who has signed the permission forms. Contact the office if you need another form.

This is a pilot project in preparation for a daily snack program that will start next school year. Many thanks to the school administration who are putting a great deal of work into getting this up and running for our kids.

School Council meeting tonight (May 20, 7pm)

A message from School Council chair Irit Hartman:

Dear Clairlea Families…

Here are the minutes from the April meeting.  Please have a look through and as always we want to hear your comments so please contact us via clairleacouncil@gmail.com   Other places to look are; The School Council bulletin board located outside the Main Office  and the School Council Blog http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com to keep up to date of what is going on! 

The next school council meeting is tonight Wednesday May 20^th from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there!    We will have a guest speaker tonight from FoodShare to discuss our new snack program.  FoodShare is a non-profit organization that gets good healthy food and food education to schools and communities.  www.foodshare.net.  

We will also be discussing whether to move forward with FunFair this year given the work to rule situation in place.

Please be advised that we will not have a meeting in June and this will be our last meeting for this school year.

Tonight’s Agenda for the School Council meeting:
6:55pm – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)
7:00pm – 7:20pm Steve - Student Nutrition Community Development Animator FoodShare Toronto
7:20pm – 7:45pm Administration Report (Mr. Mcgilvray)
7:45pm – 7:55pm Treasurer’s Report (Tina)
7:55pm – 8:05pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)
8:05pm – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)
8:25pm 50/50 Draw
Meeting will adjourn at 8:30pm

Best Regards,

Irit
Clairlea School Council

Pizza lunch is May 27

Pizza lunch is Wednesday May 27. Orders are due May 22. In case you can't find the order form, you can download and print a copy. Please circle May's date.

Teachers will work-to-rule starting Monday; school remains open

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (the teachers union) is starting a work-to-rule campaign starting Monday May 11. Schools will remain open and teachers will continue to teach their classes. The union has instructed teachers not to supervise EQAO testing or to participate in any "ministry of Education initiatives."

This letter explains what the TDSB knows so far.

The union put out a statement which indicates that extra-curricular activities and field trips will continue "for the duration of phase 1." It says that the job action is "incremental in nature," so presumably the situation will change whenever they decide to move into phase 2.

Possible strike on Monday? (updated)

According to the CBC, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is planning to launch strike action on Monday.

This CBC report quotes the ETFO president as saying that "parents will be told what they can expect from the job action by Thursday night or Friday morning."

So far I do not see any official word from the TDSB on this, but interested parents might wish to follow their Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/tdsb. 

UPDATED May 6: Apparently this letter will be sent home in backpacks today. Also, this Toronto Star article suggests it will more likely be work-to-rule than an outright strike.

Parent event tonight: Michael Eisen on mental health

A reminder of tonight's parent event, part of mental health week. A speaker named Michael Eisen will be giving a talk creating an empowered family (restoring connection and harmony in the modern family).

Tuesday May 5, 6:30pm at the school. Details on the school's blog.

Teachers' contract negotiations

High school teachers in Peel Region are currently on strike.

Some parents may be wondering whether Clairlea will be affected by any job action. The elementary teachers' union is not in a legal strike position until next week, but it is possible that there will be job action after that. According to the Toronto Star, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is displeased with the offer currently on the table and could decide to strike or work-to-rule.

Movie night May 1: Night at the Museum 3

Friday May 1 is movie night at Clairlea! 

Please join us for Night at the Museum 3. 

Open to students grade 6 and under. 

$2 per person (including adults).

Showtime is 7pm. 

Popcorn and drinks for sale. 

10 weeks!

Summer vacation is 10 weeks long this year! Usually it is only 9, but Labour Day falls late this year and next school year doesn't start until Tuesday September 8. That's according to the TDSB's 2015-2016 calendar, pending Ministry approval.

If you haven't already booked day camps, now's the time. How about posting your favourite camps in the comments below? After you've secured a spot for your kids, of course. :-)

Pizza lunch is April 29

Pizza lunch is Wednesday April 29. Orders are due Apr 24. In case you can't find the order form, you can download and print a copy. Please circle April's date.

Notes from yesterday's school council meeting

Here are a few things we learned at last night's school council meeting:

• Our school board trustee is hosting a Ward Forum next Tuesday evening at Clairlea. Details here. 

• Friday April 17 is spring photo day. Photos will be sent home but there is no obligation to purchase. 

• Friday is also the day Clairlea is participating in the city-wide cleanup. Clairlea kids will help to clean up the schoolyard and surrounding area. 

• Running club is active on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. They'll be doing a 5km run on Sat May 23. Details on the running club blog. 

• The snack program is delayed due to facilities issues (industrial fridge and dishwasher), but will likely begin in early May. Cost will be $5 per month for a twice-weekly snack that includes a dairy, grain and fruit/vegetable. 

• May 4-8 is mental health week at the TDSB. There will be a parent event on Tuesday May 5 (6:30pm) with speaker Michael Eisen. 

• April 24 is Eco Freako day and a Panther assembly. 

• Movie night is May 1: Night at the Museum 3

• Clairlea's Fun Fair will be the evening of Thursday June 18, featuring jumpy castles, a rock climbing wall, fire truck, mounted police and more. Adult volunteers are needed; please email Irit if you can help. We also need cakes, candy jars and raffle prizes.   UPDATED: this event has been postponed to 2016.

Ward Forum with school board trustee Parthi Kandavel - Tuesday April 21

School Council tonight & a message from the chair

A message from our School Council chair Irit Hartman--

Dear Clairlea Families…
Here are the minutes from theMarch meeting.  Please have a look through and as always we want to hear your comments so please contact us via clairleacouncil@gmail.com   Other places to look are; The School Council bulletin board located outside the Main Office  and the School Council Blog http://clairleacouncil.blogspot.com to keep up to date of what is going on! 

REMINDER…
School Council meetings take place on the 3^rd Wednesday of each month.  The next school council meeting is tonight from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there!   

Tonight’s Agenda for the School Council meeting:
6:50 – 7:00pm Sell 50/50 tickets (optional)
7:00pm – 7:30pm Administration Report (Mr. Mcgilvray and Ms. Karsh)
7:30pm – 7:40pm Treasurer’s Report (Tina)
7:40pm – 7:50pm Fundraising Report (Joanne)
7:50pm – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)
8:25pm 50/50 Draw
Meeting will adjourn at 8:30pm

 WHAT'S COMING UP.....

CLAIRLEA FUNFAIR FOR FITNESS…(COMING THURSDAY JUNE 18^th 2015 SAVE THE DATE!!!!!!) UPDATED: this event has been postponed to 2016
This year all funds raised from our Fun Fair will go towards building an Outdoor Fitness Area in the back of the school to be used by the entire Clairlea Community.  Our Fun Fair for Fitness will support the following outdoor equipment:

1.      Parallel Bars Station – Develops strength in upper body and core

2.      Horizontal Ladder Station – Enables upper body strength and shoulder flexibility

3.      Horizontal Bars Station – Enables strength, cardio and flexibility

4.      Push Up Station – Develops strength in upper body and core

5.      Core Strengthening Station  - To strengthen core

In order to make this Fun Fair for Fitness a success we need your help.  Here is what is needed:

1.      We need adult volunteers to help run stations

2.      We need donations of cakes for the cake walk.  All donated cakes can be brought on the day of the fun fair as we do not have the ability to store them on site.

3.      We need donations of candy jars/bags for the lollipop pull game.  Please bring them to the main office.

4.      Please donate a basket to for the raffle basket table.  Bring them to the main office or contact us at Clairleacouncil@gmail.com

HOW TO REACH US…We would like to hear your feedback and suggestions.  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