Message from the Chair

Following is a message from our newly re-elected School Council Chair, Irit Hartman: 

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 2017/18 elected positions.

Vice Chair – Marina Murray

Treasurer – Denise Clarke

Secretary – Hanan Hadad

WHAT'S COMING UP...

I’ve outlined some key dates coming up as well as where we could use your help for the upcoming School Council events at the school.  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! 

SAVE THE DATE:

OUR ANNUAL CLAIRLEA HALLOWEEN HOWL EVENT - FRIDAY OCTOBER 27TH 5:30PM-8:30PM

WHAT IS THE HOWL? Bring the family out for a fun time on Friday October 27th from 5:30-8:30pm where many rooms at Clairlea School turn into a fun activity or game.  Entry is only $5.00/per child and parents are free. All ages are welcome.  We encourage all children to dress up in their favourite costume so that they can participate in the costume contest at 6:30pm!  Bring your own loot bag/recycle bag to the Howl so that you can collect all your goodies when traveling from room to room and partake in fun activities – featuring our very popular “HAUNTED LIBRARY” upstairs.  All are welcome so tell your friends, neighbours, family.  You do NOT need to be a student at Clairlea to attend the Howl.

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 from 6:00pm onwards.  This coming week you will receive an email giving you the option to purchase a Halloween Howl Pizza Dinner through the online School Cash system as well as a map will be sent out outlining the activities of the evening.  We prefer that you order you Howl dinner in advance so that we ensure there is enough for all or you can purchase your dinner on the night of the event.

In order for this event to run smoothly we need your help!  Please see the list below indicating ways you can help make the Halloween Howl a great success!

HOW CAN YOU HELP:

We need donations and volunteers.  Spend $10 dollars in the dollar store and drop it off in the School Office.  Email us and say you can help out during the event at Clairleacouncil@gmail.com.  We are looking for the following items:

1.       VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE HOWL… We are looking for volunteers to help run rooms/activities during the Halloween Howl Event on October 27th.  The Howl is one of our largest and most popular events that we run at Clairlea.  In order for it to be success we need people to run the many moving parts that make up the fun event.  If you want to help out please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.   We have specific openings for face painters, Hockey players and general room helpers.  Please volunteer your time!

2.       WE NEED: DECORATIONS: We need Halloween decorations to get the school ready for the Halloween Howl!! 

-  Spider Webs

-  Black plastic dollar store Table Cloths – many of these

-  Police Tape

-  Lots of Candy!!!!

3.       WE NEED LOTS OF HALLOWEEN CANDY:  We need lots of peanut free Halloween candy to be used as prizes in most rooms.  Please pick up a few bags of candy from the dollar store and drop it off in the School main office.

4.       WE NEED: HOME MADE CANDY JARS/BAGS:  We need many 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.       WE NEED: LOLLIPOPS FOR THE LOLLIPOP PULL:  We need 400 plus lollipops to fill up the peg board for the Lollipop Pull Game.  Please pick up a few bags of lollipops from the dollar store and drop them off in the blue bin in front of the School Office.  The more lollipops we have the longer the room can stay open.  I’ve attached a picture of the lollipops that fit well in the peg board.

6.       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.

CLAIRLEA FRENCH IMMERSION HIGH SCHOOL PATHWAY…

We started this process in January 2017 and we now have confirmation that our French Immersion High School Pathway has changed to East York CI effective the September 2018 High School Enrollment.  Come join us at our next School Council meeting on Wednesday October 18th from 7:00-8:30pm as our guest speaker (Angela Caccamo – Central Coordinating Principal, Teaching and Learning, TDSB) will answer your questions regarding the Clairlea French Immersion High School Pathway change.

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETINGS.  WHEN DO WE MEET…

School Council meetings take place every 3rd Wednesday of each month.  Meetings are open to all Clairlea Community members (Parents/family members of children of Clairlea).  The next school council meeting is on Wednesday October 18th from 7pm-8:30pm. Free child minding is available.  We hope to see you there!  From time to time we will arrange guest speakers to attend the meetings.

The Agenda for October’s School Council meeting is as follows:

7:00 – 7:40pm Guest Speaker - Angela Caccamo (TDSB)–Clairlea French Immersion High School Pathway             

7:40 – 8:00pm Administration Report (Mr. McGilvray and Ms. Karsh)

8:00 – 8:10pm Upcoming Events (Irit)

8:00 – 8:30pm Open Discussion (All)

HOW TO REACH US…

If 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 2017/2018

clairleacouncil@gmail.com

A message from the School Council Chair

Dear Clairlea Families….

The Clairlea Fun Fair is a month and a half away! We hope to see everyone there on Thursday June 22nd from 5:30-8:30pm. Bring your neighbours, friends and family all are welcome. All revenue generated from the Clairlea Fun Fair will go towards the Clairlea STEM/STEAM Program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). Please see below how you can help to make the Fun Fair a Success. Email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

Lego competition at the Fun Fair.

I want to let you know about one of the NEW things we are doing this year at the Fun Fair. We are having a lego competition! Attention all lego fans we are having a competition and all you need to do is build a lego creation starting NOW. This creation could be anything; a monster, your favorite scene or even your room whatever you like. There is only one rule….. You cannot build your lego contest entry from a kit or any instructions it must be something you create fully on your own. You can use any pieces of lego you like and combine different lego. Once you have created your lego masterpiece bring it to the Fun Fair and enter it into the lego competition and the judges will determine the winner on the night of the Fun Fair. We look forward to seeing the lego creations!

How can you help make the Clairlea Fun Fair a success?

1. Make a cake or 2 and donate them to the Cake Walk Room, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

2. Volunteer your time to help out from 5:30-8:30pm on Thursday June 22nd for any of the Fun Fair activities, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

3. Donate a basket or items that we can include in a basket to be raffled off at the Fun Fair, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com

4. Donate an item or service for the Silent Auction, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

5. Make a cash donation to sponsor part of the Clairlea Fun Fair, email Clairleacouncil@gmail.com

6. Purchase a spot for $25 in our Clairlea Fun Fair Market to sell your homemade items or services, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com to make a reservation.

7. Donate little candy filled jars/bags and large lollipops to be used for the Candy Pull game at the Fun Fair, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com

8. Help us advertise the Fun Fair to the Community, post it on your blog, announce it to your group, let your soccer, hockey, baseball and gymnastics groups know about it and invite them to come. Email clairleacouncil@gmail.com

9. Donate costumes that we can use in our SuperHero Dressup room at the Fun Fair, email clairleacouncil@gmail.com

10. Do you want to help but don’t know what you could do, please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com

11. Come enjoy the BBQ and have dinner at the Fun Fair!

What will you see at the Fun Fair? Come see your favourite teacher at the Fun Fair!

We have some new items as well as returning favourites to the Fun Fair this year. Some items include, The Rock Wall, Cake Walk Room, Raffle Basket/Silent Auction, Obstacle Course, Big Slide, Super Hero Room, Freezies, Delicious BBQ (Halal and non Halal options), Face Painting, Fire Truck, Bouncy Castle, Clairlea Vendor Market, Lollipop Pull, Candy Guess, Lego Guess, Mounted Police, First Aid and Baby Care Station and much, much more….. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!!

OTHER EVENTS COMING UP…

Clairlea Spirit Wear…

The spirit wear just arrived so we are sorting through the order and seeing if there are any missing items. We will distribute what we received over the next week.

Pizza Lunch…

Pizza Lunch has been a tremendous success please remember to get your orders in on time on the dates specified on the envelope to help our volunteers run the program smoothly. Starting in September 2017 we will be moving the pizza lunch to an online ordering system as part of the school moving to a cashless system. Please sign up online through the emails that have coming out from Ms. Carson in the office so that you are ready to go when we start.

School Council Meeting…

We will have our last school council meeting of the year on Wednesday May 17th as there will not be a June meeting. Please see below the agenda for the May meeting.

Agenda (May 17th) for the School Council meeting:

7:00 – 7:10pm Introduction (Irit)

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

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

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

8:00 – 8:25pm Open Discussion (All)

Things we are working on….

French Immersion Pathway…

If you have children attending Clairlea P.S. that are in French immersion you are also aware that our French Immersion home school pathway after grade 8 is Cedarbrae Collegiate. It has come to our attention over the years through opinions voiced at school council meetings, emails and varied conversations with parents that Cedarbrae was not the preferred choice for a multitude of reasons. In an effort to voice the concerns of the Clairlea Families we as a council with the help and guidance of Parthi Kandavel our School Trustee have escalated our concerns to the appropriate areas within the TDSB. Due to this effort in early April we were granted a tremendous opportunity to meet and present our concerns to the Chief Planning Officer and Teaching and Learning Department of the TDSB. These are the areas of the TDSB that analyze and decide school pathways. The meeting was deemed a success in the sense that we as a council felt heard and they acknowledged our concerns. We also gained a great understanding of how decisions such as changing a pathway of a school is determined and how complex a process it is. In order for this to happen a Feasibility Study has to be conducted by the board. This process can take up to two months as understandably there are many factors to consider. The good news that I would like to share with you is that the planning department has officially identified Clairlea as being in need of a feasibility study and their aim is to have it completed by mid October 2017. If the results of the feasibility study show that our pathway should change given the concerns we have raised in addition to a buildup of French Immersion grade schools in the area west of Victoria Park which will need a high school to attend as well given that Malvern, Agincourt, and Leaside are at overcapacity and not accepting entries and therefore a new High School in the area would need to take on a new stream of French Immersion. That high school would be East York Collegiate. We are cautiously optimistic that our French Immersion home school pathway will change effective for the grade 9 students starting in September 2018 to East York Collegiate. I will provide further updates as I learn them in the months to come.

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

2016/2017

clairleacouncil@gmail.com

Keeping up with French over the summer

The French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (FSLAC) produces a newsletter for parents. Clickhere for the June 2013 edition, which contains information about how we can support our children’s French learning over the summer; details on a Franco-Fête in Toronto June 21-23; resources available through the TDSB and Toronto Public Library; a CBC interview on the benefits of learning French; a heart-warming success story; details on upcoming FSLAC meetings (Sept 12, Oct 17, Nov 21 – all welcome) and how to join their mailing list (write to fslactoronto@gmail.com).  Enjoy!

Newsletter for parents of students in French

The French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (FSLAC) to the Toronto District School Board has published this newsletter... Click here for the full version.

For the full version (including remaining pages) click here  http://www.tdsb.on.ca/wwwdocuments/parents/parent_groups/docs/FSLAC%20Newsletter%20with%20graphics-%20June%202012.pdf   

Advantages of bilingualism

Parents who speak a language other than English at home, and parents of students in French immersion, may be interested in this York University study, which found that "bilingual children – regardless of the languages they speak – show cognitive advantages over their English-only peers, although they may experience weakness in areas like vocabulary acquisition."

2010-11 EQAO Results

The TDSB has published last year's EQAO results. On the TDSB website you will find a summary of Clairlea's results and, if you want more detail, the full report. Below are copies of some of the graphs, which you can compare to the previous year's results.

In the above graphic, Clairlea's 2010-11 results are the left, darker bar - as compared to the TDSB and the province.

The graph above depicts Clairlea's grade 3 students' performance over time. Last year in black. In grade 3, the French Immersion students only write the math portion (and they write it in French).

And Clairlea's grade 6 students' performance over time. Last year in black. In grade 6, all students (French and English) write all three parts of the test (reading, writing, math) and they write the test in English. 

To learn more, start with the EQAO primer I wrote back in 2009. You can also visit the EQAO website, www.eqao.com.  

French as a Second Language Advisory Committee

If you are the parent of a student in core French or French Immersion, you might want to know about the French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (FSLAC) of the Toronto District School Board.

It's a parent advisory committee of the TDSB. Its mission is to consult with and advise the TDSB on matters related to French education (core, extended and immersion).

Parent representatives are elected by each ward. There is also a mailing list you can join. Email fslactoronto@gmail.com for more information or to join their list.

Notes from the FSL Advisory Committee

The message below is copied from an email from the French as a Second Language Advisory Committee (FSLAC). 

June  2011

Bonjour from Trish Murphy, 2010/11 Parent co-chair   

1. Planning for 2011/12 – FSLAC needs you!

New parent members and alternates are needed – especially extended and core parents - to represent their wards at the FSLAC. Contact fslactoronto@gmail.com or your local trustee to get involved.

2. New Sites & Classes for Sept 2011

Applications for SK French Immersion (SKFI) were up 16% this year. To meet demand, additional classes are being added at several existing SKFI schools. Five new SKFI programs will be opening at these elementary schools: Humewood (Bathurst and St Clair), Rockford (Bathurst and Steeles), Topcliff (Jane and Finch), Corvette (Kennedy and Eglinton) and Lord Lansdowne/King Edward (College and Spadina). As of Sept 2011, there will be 52 elementary schools with SKFI.

Extra classes are also being added to meet demand at two Grade 4 Extended schools. The Grade 7 Extended program at Arlington is being re-located to JR Wilcox in Sept because Arlington is being closed.

3. Report on French Teacher Hiring & Retention

The Human Resources and Professional Learning Committee received a staff report on March 23, 2011 on the hiring and retention of elementary French teachers. There are 1853 teachers who are qualified to teach French and 1560 of them are in the classroom teaching in French. In 2010/11there were 115 French vacancies for which there were 250 candidates and all positions were filled. To read the full report, go to: www.tdsb.on.ca/fslac under Staff Reports.

  

4. Congratulations Outstanding Students

Congratulations to our Concours d’art oratoire winners:  Jeremy Wang (Core grade 10) took first place in the annual Canadian Parents for French public speaking event for Ontario. Safia Fakim took 2nd place (FSL +):  www.cpfont.on.ca

Congratulations to Alessia Kazakova, Richview CI student who was selected to as a French for the Future ambassador: www.french-future.org

5. Franco-Fête June 24-26

The annual French music and culture festival will be at Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queen’s Quay on June 24-26. Check out Mystéric et la Mathémagie for kids age 4-12, Mike Ford who tells the adventures of Étienne Brûlé on the great lakes and Nathalie Choquette who shares the joys and humour of opera for kids age 4-12.   For details: www.franco-fete.ca .

6. Toronto Public Library

The Toronto Public Library is offering free children’s programming in French with music, theatre and dance at selected branches across the city all summer. Children can also join the TD Summer Reading Club by reading French books. For details, check at your branch or call Céline at 416 395 576 or go to: www.torontopubliclibrary.ca ,click on Programmes, search French.

7. FSL Annual Report

Trustees received the FSL Annual report from FSL program staff on June 3, 2011. The report provides data on French programs including enrolment, retention and professional learning. As of October 31, 2010, there were 21 448 students enrolled in Immersion and Extended French. New to this year’s report: enrolment by school/ward and graduation projections for core, extended and immersion. To read the full report, go to: www.tdsb.on.ca/fslac under Staff Reports.

8. PARCs in Progress

The FSLAC is participating in the on-going Pupil Accommodation Review Committee (PARC) in ward 14 (downtown). The local SK French Immersion school, Winchester, is part of this process which includes consideration of how to accommodate the growing program at this school. The ward 1 (north Etobicoke) PARC is not yet underway.

Note: The group doing a public assessment of student accommodation in a particular area was previously called an Area Review Committee or ARC. The name has been changed in consideration of provincial guidelines and is now called a Pupil Accommodation Review Committee or PARC. Further details are available on the TDSB website under Pupil Accommodation Reviews: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=10267&menuid=15172&pageid=13444 .

9.  Awesome Student Story

I’m in grade 10 at Humberside. I started Extended French in grade 7 and have continued in high school.  Early in grade 9, we heard about an exchange some of the older kids had gone on to France. My French teacher encouraged us – what an opportunity to improve our French skills - and six of us applied through the Canadian Education Exchange Foundation (www.ceef.ca). In late May, I got my exchange partner, Gabby. She arrived in mid-August from Nantes, France. It was a little hard having her here because what I didn’t realize was that she would be with me all the time. She would become friends with my friends and also the other French exchange partners who were here.

In October, she went back and in February, I went to her home in Nantes. At first, I was very homesick but as I became closer to the family I got less homesick until I wasn’t homesick at all. I made a big effort to talk in French with everyone in the family to get to know them. They became like a second family to me and I still Skype with them once a week. It also really improved my oral French. It was three months I’ll never forget. I learned a lot and I made friends that will last a lifetime - Julia

10. FSL Symposium – October 29

Canadian Parents for French (Ontario) is hosting a one day symposium for parents, educators and researchers to celebrate over 40 years of French Immersion. Hear from leaders in the field about new developments. TDSB’s own Alison Pearce is part of the panel discussion on FSL Best Practices. The event is at the Marriott at 90 Bloor St East and space is limited. For more information and to register call 905 366 1012 or visit www.cpfont.on.ca .

11. FSLAC Meetings – All Welcome

Parents, students, trustees, teachers and staff are invited to attend and participate in FSLAC meetings. Meetings start at 7 pm at the TDSB offices at 5050 Yonge St., ground floor committee room A or B. Meeting notices, reports and minutes are posted on the TDSB website: www.tdsb.on.ca/fslac

Upcoming meeting dates: Monday, September 19; Tuesday, October 25; Tuesday, November 22, 2011.

Have a great summer!

Trish Murphy

Parent co-chair

French as a Second Language Advisory Committee, TDSB

Updates

Phew! Am I ever behind on blogging. Can you believe it's almost March Break?

I have a few notes from the February School Council meeting to share with you. And wasn't Fenetre Ouverte terrific? Many teachers and parents put a tremendous amount of effort into the day, and from what I heard the kids all felt it was fantastic. The goal of the entire day was to celebrate French and recognize all the students - both core French and immersion - for making the effort to speak the language. The highlight of my evening was the djembe drums lesson in Mme Park's class. Thank you to the young gentlemen who were such excellent teachers! I also loved the opportunity to drop in on the guitar club - and it was great to hear that they are now able to bring their guitars home thanks to the cases School Council funded in the fall.

Speaking of drums, did your kids tell you about the Mystic Drumz assembly a few weeks ago? Mine were raving about it for days. This program was initiated by one of the teachers (Mme Park too, I think), and funded by the School Council - so thank you to everyone who organized or participated in our fundraisers. You can see that the funds are being put to good use.

More very soon. -Catharine.