A few notes from last week's School Council meeting

Here are a few of the things we learned at last week's School Council meeting:

• Report cards will go home February 9 (except grade 6's who will be at Kearney that week)
• Parent-teacher interviews are by request or according to need only, and will take place throughout the week of Feb 9 and into the following week. No interviews on the PA Day Feb 12. 
• Winter Activity Day is Feb 11 for grades 4-8. The options are skiing, snowboarding or indoor inline skating. 
• The Spring Concert will be in early May and will focus on music and dance from around the world. Date TBD.
• Spirit Wear will be on sale in early February. New items include a black toque and sweatpants. Water bottles, hoodies and t-shirts also for sale. Fittings are recommended. 
• We will be having a Fun Fair in June. Date TBD.

A concern was raised about class sizes in the primary grades. Although class sizes are supposedly capped at 20-23 students in grades 1-3, some of Clairlea's primary classes are currently as high as 27. This is because of new students moving into the area after "count day" at the end of September, as well as students who switch from French to English and are not asked to return to their home schools. After "count day," anything goes and there is not much that the principal can do. Parents who find this situation troubling can write to our school's superintendent Mr. Audley Salmon or your elected representative to the TDSB, Ward 18 trustee Mr. Parthi Kandavel.

A request was made to remind teachers about the TDSB's homework policy, which prohibits homework during school holidays (section 3.9). 

Finally, there was another discussion about the broken bridge in the play structure in the back schoolyard. The bridge would cost close to $5,000 to repair and has instead been boarded up. Parents are concerned about safety as children often climb over the boards. Despite the administration's best efforts, the TDSB cannot be prevailed upon to repair it. 

Movie Night Jan 29

Join us next Friday for Clairlea Movie Night, featuring HOME! 

Friday Jan 29th 2016 @ 7:00pm
Clairlea Public School, 25 Rosalind Cres.
$2 per person (child or adult)
Popcorn & drinks for sale

Seating is on the gym floor so feel free to bring blankets, pillows and wear pajamas.

Movie night is open to students grade 6 and under.

Message from the Chair

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

Happy New Year!  We hope that you enjoyed the break and things are back in full swing for 2016.  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 Wednesday January 20^th from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there!  November 2015 minutes are here.

Tonight’s Agenda for the School Council meeting:

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.....

PIZZA LUNCH… (MONEY ORDER ENVELOPES ARE DUE THIS THURSDAY JANUARY 21^ST) Pizza lunch will take place on Wednesday January 27^th.  Please note this is NOT when the pizza lunch envelope orders are due.  Due to the large volume of pizza that needs to be ordered for the school we need to place the order a few days prior to the actual pizza lunch date.  That means if a child submits their order late there is a risk that your child may not receive pizza because they would not have been part of the original order.  Please make an effort to submit your orders on time as per the date on the envelope and not on the date of the actual pizza lunch, as well please take a moment to carefully fill out the form.  From time to time we do receive orders with missing information.  If there is information lacking on your order we will default to 2 cheese slices and apple juice.

MOVIE NIGHT…   (JANUARY 29^TH)  Our first movie of 2016 is “HOME”.   The movie will take place in the gym on Friday January 29^th at 7:00pm sharp.  Entrance is $2 per person (child or adult) and the movie is available to children grade six and under.  Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.  Popcorn and drinks will be available for sale during the movie.  We encourage children to come in pajamas and bring blankets and pillows if they like and get comfortable in the gym for a fun family night.

CLAIRLEA FUNFAIR…(COMING IN JUNE 2016) I know it’s cold outside and it’s hard to imagine it but we have started to plan the Clairlea Funfair.  If you want to volunteer to be a part of this big event and have ideas please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.   What do you think we should do with the funds raised from this years Funfair?

CLAIRLEA SPIRIT WEAR….(coming in February 2016)  Stay tuned for the order forms coming out in February.  New exciting items coming.

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.  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

Pizza lunch – January 27

Pizza lunch is on Wednesday January 27. Orders are due January 21. You should already have received an order envelope; if not, you can download and print a copy. Please circle January’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 Jan 20

The School Council meets next Wednesday, January 20, 7pm at the school. Everyone is welcome.

Generally the agendas go as follows:

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)

Thank you from the Animal Helpers Club

In December, Clairlea students Alice and Niamh (grades 4 and 5) visited the Toronto Wildlife Centre to present a donation $142.62 on behalf of their Animal Helpers Club.

Most of this was raised through their donation jar at the Halloween Howl, so they are sending a big thank you to everyone who contributed!

Toronto Wildlife Centre provides medical treatment and care to sick, injured and orphaned wild animals found or rescued by members of the public. It is Canada’s largest and busiest wildlife centre, and a leader in the field of wildlife rehabilitation.