Mindful parenting workshop - May 2 at SATEC

My apologies for the late notice on this one.

Mindful Parenting Presentation
Wednesday May 2

Workshop: 7:00 p.m.
Practice and questions: 8:00 p.m.

SATEC @W.A. Porter
40 Fairfax Cres

Can you volunteer at the Fun Fair June 22?

Volunteers are still needed for the Clairlea Fun Fair on Thursday June 22, 5:30-8:30pm. 

Even if you can only give an hour or two, this would be greatly appreciated by the people manning the stations who would welcome a break and/or some time to enjoy the fair with their children. 

If you can help, please email clairleacouncil@gmail.com. Many teachers are volunteering their time and it's important to show them that we parents are as committed as they are.

The fair will be tons of fun with some great new bouncy castles, airbrush tattoos, an ice cream truck, a Lego competition and more. Start making your Lego creation now! 

Message from the Chair; meetings tonight

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

I’ve listed a few of the key things coming up for you below. As always if you have questions you can reach us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

SPRING CONCERT RAFFLE BASKETS...

For those classes involved in the upcoming spring concert on Thursday May 11th, please take note that requests for raffle basket items will be coming home in backpacks this week.  Each class will be assigned a raffle basket theme.  If you wish to make your own basket and donate it you are more than welcome to do so and drop it off in the office.

FUN FAIR 2017….

Save the date for this year’s fun fair on Thursday June 22nd.  We hope to see you there and if you are able to volunteer or have items to donate please email us at clairleacouncil@gmail.com. As in past years we will have a Clairlea Market for Community Vendors to be able to showcase and sell their products or services at the Funfair.  If you would like to purchase a spot at the Clairlea Market please email your request to clairleacouncil@gmail.com.  Each spot will cost $25.00.

All funds raised from this years funfair will go towards the Clairlea STEM/STEAM Program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).  This program will be available to all grade levels to provide hands on study in the form of Maker Labs to foster inquiring minds, logical reasoning and collaboration skills in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.

WARD COUNCIL MEETING (Tuesday April 18th)

This meeting is held monthly by Parthi Kandavel (School Trustee for Scarborough Southwest) for all Ward 18 School Council Chairs to share ideas across schools.  Tonight's meeting was hosted at Clairlea Public School and was open to all School Council Members who which to attend and share their thoughts.  

FUN FAIR VOLUNTEER MEETING (Wednesday April 19th)

We will have a funfair volunteer meeting on Wednesday  April 19th from 6-7pm.  Please come and share your ideas and help shape this years funfair.  We ask that all planning on attending please email clairleacouncil@gmail.com to confirm attendance.

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING (Wednesday April 19th)

School Council meetings take place on the 3rd Wednesday of each month.  The next school council meeting is this Wednesday April 19th from 7pm-8:30pm. (March minutes attached). Free child minding is available.  This meeting will feature the administration sharing the staffing model for the 2017/18 school year.  All are welcome and we hope to see you there! 

Agenda for the School Council meeting:

6:00 – 7:00pm Fun Fair Volunteer Meeting (All are welcome to provide input)

7:00 – 7:45pm Administration Report (The 2017/18 Staffing Model will be discussed.)  (Mr. McGilvray and Ms. Karsh)

7:45 – 7:50pm Treasurer Report (Denise)

7:50 - 8:00pm Fundraising and Updates (Irit)

8:00 – 8:30pm Open Discussion (All)

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.

Parents as Partners Conference April 1

Registration is now open for the Parents as Partners conference on April 1. Everyone is welcome at this free event at the Allstream Centre (CNE grounds).

Family math night at Gordon A Brown middle school

For families with kids in grades 5-8, Gordon A Brown middle school (on St Clair just west of Victoria Park) invites you to their Family Fun Math Night on May 5 starting at 6:30pm.

The content is based on materials from the Council of Ontario Directors of Education, also downloadable here: http://www.ontariodirectors.ca/parent_engagement-math/en/ . Count yourself in!

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.

Parent Conference Saturday October 19 - Special Education

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/parentconference

Free Parent Academy conference this weekend

Click here for more information or to register.

Message from the Chair

A message from School Council chair Irit Hartman:

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

Please find attached the Clairlea School Council draft minutes for the month of April 2013.  The next meeting will be held on Wednesday May 15^th @ 7:00pm, see agenda below.

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 (Irit)

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 (Irit)

KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND....

1. In June we will have a FREE Pizza lunch day on Wednesday June 19th.  Keep this date in mind and you will see order forms go out in early June.  What does this mean??  Every month we have a pizza lunch fundraiser on the last Wednesday of each month whereby order forms are sent home and anyone can pay and pre-order for their desired lunch.  This is a fundraiser that we have been doing all year with Pizza Pizza.  Due to the fact that we have been ordering for the last 8 months, Pizza Pizza will provide us with free pizza in the amount of what we have been ordering on average througout the year for the month of June.    Therefore we are going to make this available to the whole school whereby any child that wants free pizza on June 19th can have it regardless of whether they have ordered throughout the year or not.  So....  however many orders come in for June 19th we will use the free pizza to cover it and any additional funds needed will be covered by the School Council.  (see attached minutes for vote details). 

2. Parents Reaching Out grants – Please review the link below as we will be submitting a proposal in an effort to receive this grant.  The grant can reach a maximum of $1000 specifically to enable any parents and community members to be more involved in our school and our childs education.  Please see attached minutes for discussion points and we would like your suggestions as to what you think the proposal should entail.  Deadline for your suggestions are this week.  Please send all ideas to clairleacouncil@gmail.com.   A draft proposal will be put together and presented in our next school council meeting on May 15th.   The link below outlines the full proposal process along with sample proposal ideas that have been granted to other schools in previous years.   http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/reaching.HTML

3. Mabel's Labels - The Mabel’s Labels fundraising campaign is open until the end of the school year.  The website to place your order is:  http://www.clairlea.mabelslabels.com/.   If anyone is using a Clairlea water bottle and requires a label you can get one in the school office. 

4. Track and Field Day - We will be providing refreshing fruit for the participants for Track and Field Day this Wednesday May 1st.  A few volunteers are needed for this effort.  If you are avialable please send an email to clairleacouncil@gmail.com.

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

Clairlea School Council

Message from the Chair

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

Please find attached the Clairlea School Council draft minutes for the month of March 2013.  The next meeting will be held on Wednesday April 17^th @ 7:00pm, see agenda below.

APRIL 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 (Irit)

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 (Irit)

WHAT DO YOU THINK?….

1. A proposal will be put forth regarding pizza lunch for the month of June.  The pizza lunch program runs for 9 months from September until May.  Then as a special offer to schools Pizza Pizza then provides the school with pizza for the month of June for free equal to the average amount that was spent from month to month throughout the school year.  We are proposing that the School Council top up the amount and provide free pizza to the entire school for anyone that wants it for the June Pizza Lunch.  What do you think?

2. Parents Reaching Out grants – Please view the link and bring any suggestions or questions to the April meeting.  Application deadline is May 21.   http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/parents/reaching.HTML

SPIRIT WEAR…

The spirit wear campaign was a success and all the items have been distributed to the classes.  Please remember to preserve the size and limit shrinking it is suggested that all items are washed first with like colours, with no bleach and air dry the first time.   If you have ordered a water bottle please label it prior to use.  We have started a new fundraising campaign with Mabel's labels and we will be providing labels for the water bottles for those that require it.  We will send out an email once the labels arrive.  Please also label all your spirit wear clothing in an effort to keep it out of the lost and found.  If you order labels through our personalized Clairlea Mabel’s Labels website we will receive a percentage of the profits.  The Mabel’s Labels fundraising campaign is open today until the end of the school year.  The website to place your order is:  http://www.clairlea.mabelslabels.com/. 

HOW TO REACH US…

If you would like to be added to the School Council's 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

Clairlea School Council

From the School Council chair

A message from Irit Hartman, chair of the Clairlea School Council:

DEAR CLAIRLEA FAMILIES…

We have had a very successful month with respect to fundraising and we have you to thank.  If it were not for the tireless 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 - Thank you to all the families that came to the event we had close to 500 people come through the doors, many with maps in hand!  We raised over $2600.00 in gross revenue and estimate approximately $2000.00 in net profits (still tabulating a few expenses).  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 in the drop off bin in front of the office, almost 200 candy jars, wonderful prize donations were given for the Looney Toss room, and many families came to help setup along with dozens of high school students from the community, some of which were Clairlea alumni!  Clairlea grade 7 and 8 students made detailed signs for each event room and others helped setup prior to the event. Thank you to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly in a room during the event or were runners to ensure that everything ran smoothly.   We thank the Clairlea staff for all that you do!   Even the Fire Department heard about the fun and came to see what it was all about! J  We featured some room favourites from the past as well as we tried out some new room themes such as; “Looney Toss” and “Eyeball Bounce”.  We hope you enjoyed your experience!   All Looney Toss winners and candy jar winners have been contacted.

NORCARD WINTER HOLIDAY SEASON CATALOGUE ORDERS – Thank you to all of you that placed orders for the Norcard Holiday Season Catalogue Fundraiser.  This campaign is now closed and we have mailed all of your orders to Norcard on November 6^th so we hope to have all the items delivered in the next three to four weeks for distribution.   We managed to collect over $3500.00 in product orders of which 50% ($1700+) of it goes to Clairlea School Council.  There is a spring version of this catalogue that we could send out in 2013 – would you be interested? (Post comments below)

PIZZA LUNCH OCTOBER 31^ST – As per usual the Pizza lunch is a big hit.  Thanks to the hard work of our regular pizza lunch volunteer crew we raised just over $600.00 net profit this month.

QSP MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS – This fundraising campaign is still going on and will be open all school year long!  If you want to participate in the reward program, which means depending on how many magazines you order you can receive a prize, then you must submit all of your orders in by the deadline which is NOVEMBER 13^th.  If you are not interested in the prize rewards the magazine ordering process is open and available all year and you may simply place your order anytime online at www.qsp.ca using our school code which is 9581.

REMINDER…

When sending in cheques for any of the fundraising campaigns the cheques need to be made out to CLAIRLEA SCHOOL COUNCIL.   This is important to help ensure that your cheque is able to be deposited and you are able to receive your desired product.

SO WHAT’S NEXT…

NEXT CLAIRLEA COUNCIL MEETING - Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday November 21^st @ 7pm until 8:30pm.   Free child minding is available and all are welcome!  Theminutes and treasurer’s report from the October meeting are attached for yourreference.

NOVEMBER AGENDA: (**note the new items described below)

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

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

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 and Vote (All)

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

** WHAT DOES THIS MEAN….

WE ARE HAVING A VOTE…

In the next council meeting in the Open Discussion section we will be discussing which categories we would like to allocate funds to for the remainder of the school year.  This will enable us to create a spending plan in order to spend with a purpose.   This in turn will enable us to gear future fundraisers towards something specific.  So come to the meeting with ideas and suggestions as to what the fund allocation categories could be and we will vote.  To start the ball rolling a couple of suggested categories could be:

-          School Improvement Plan (discussed in October’s meeting see minutes attached)

-          Bullying and School Safety

MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL VS. NON MEMBER OF SCHOOL COUNCIL

In September everyone received a yellow 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 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 vote only members can partake but members 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 some spots left.  

I’m not sure if I am a member or not?   Have a look at the attached minutes from the October meeting.  In the top attendance section it will state the “members” that were present as well as the “non members” that were present.  The names that are in the “regrets” section indicate members that were absent from the meeting.

JUST FOR FUN….

We are trying something new and fun for next month whereby we will be selling 50/50 tickets 15 minutes before the meeting starts (@ 6:45pm) until the start of the meeting and the draw will take place at the end of the meeting.  Participation in the draw is optional.

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.  Do you have any feedback about the Halloween Howl 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

Tips for a great parent-teacher interview

Report cards will be coming home today. That means it's time for parent-teacher interviews. People for Education has developed tips for parents to help you get the most out of your parent-teacher interview.  These are also available in other languages.

What's your best advice for parent-teacher interviews? Post your comments below...

The TDSB's 2010-11 Annual Report

Director of Education Dr. Chris Spence has released the TDSB's 2010-2011 Annual Report:
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/microsites/annualReport/index.asp

What do you think? Have you seen the impact of the TDSB's new strategic direction here at Clairlea? Do you believe that student achievement at Clairlea is on the rise?

Parent and Community involvement is another key theme. Have you had sufficient opportunity to become involved? What other opportunities would you like to see? What ideas would you like to share?

A once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Grade 1s

In case there's any doubt in your mind that Clairlea's teachers go above and beyond to provide incredible learning opportunities for our children - check out what a couple of the Grade 1 classes did last week.

Click image for a larger version that you can read

THANK YOU, Mme Kakinoki and Jack's mom, for doing this! 

Notes from the Sept 2011 School Council meeting

These are not official minutes, just a few of my notes and observations from Wednesday's School Council meeting.

New Council Executive
The council elected its 2011-2012 executive.

• Chair - Ginnie Zaromitidis
• Vice Chair - Hope Smith
• Secretary - Christina Mark
• Treasurer - Ann Silver

New Principal and Vice-Principal
It was great to meet our new principal Mr. McGilvray and vice-principal Ms. Harroun. Many of you will remember Mr. McGilvray from his time as vice-principal of Clairlea a few years back. They both introduced themselves and shared their backgrounds. Mr McGilvray has a background in special education and technology; Ms. Harroun is a French Immersion graduate herself and has taught FI, special ed and core French in primary, junior and intermediate grades. Mr. McGilvray acknowledged the difficulties caused by the turnover in Clairlea's administration in recent years and assured us that they both intend to stay at Clairlea for the long term.

Mr. McGilvray commented on the number of extracurricular programs at Clairlea: intermural sports, baseball teams, a running club and more. He commended the teachers for stepping up to serve as coaches and volunteering their time after-hours. (I echo that. Thank you!)


Staffing and Class Sizes
Mr. McGilvray discussed staffing, class sizes and reorganization, something that will be old news to those affected. High enrollment and a 20-student cap in primary grades resulted in two grade 4/5 FI classes of 36-37 students each. Thanks to the administration's relentless advocacy, the school has been granted an additional FI teacher, which relieves that pressure by adding a new grade 5 class. Unfortunately that means shifting some students around in 4/5 and some lower grades as well. The new grade 5 FI teacher will be hired as soon as possible.

Lunch
Mr McGilvray found that split lunches were not working. Everyone now eats at once: grades 1-5 in the gym (at tables); grades 6 and 7 in the drama room; and grades 7 and 8 in their classrooms.

EQAO
Mr McGilvray acknowledged Clairlea's disappointing EQAO results. We are reminded that this is just a snapshot in time, that it is important to look at the data over a five-year period, and that Clairlea has great teachers whose goal is to educate "the whole child". Still, the kids have to be learning the curriculum, and EQAO is a measure of that. There is a school improvement plan to address the areas where the students are struggling. Mr McGilvray and Ms Harroun will share more information about that, as well as advice on what parents can do at home to help our children succeed.

Individual results are on their way by mail to parents of last year's grade 3 and 6 students.

Transportation
Some bussing arrangements have changed. Affected families have been notified.
If you are picking up a student who is normally bused, please inform the teacher on duty at the bus loop!


Finances
The School Council has approximately $7,500 in the bank. The following spending was approved for 2011-12:

• Gardening $100
• Curriculum night $300 *this will generate revenue
• Halloween Howl $1,000 *this will generate revenue 
• Concert treats $300 *resulting donations will go to a charity of the students' choice
• Pancake Day $500
• EQAO treats $100
• Lice squad $150
• Yearbook $1,250
• Grade 8 graduation $1,800
• Teachers' welcome packages for Sept 2012 $1,500

...for a total of $7,000 in approved spending. As funds are raised over the course of the year, additional spending will be approved.

Fundraising
We need volunteers for fundraisers. First-up: the Halloween Howl. Willing volunteers, please gather on Tuesday Sept 27 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. A minimum of 15 people are needed.

Other fundraising activities include magazine sales, pizza lunch, concert baskets, a calendar and a 2012 Fun Fair. The Fun Fair committee meets Tuesday Nov 8 at 6:30pm.

Please post below any ideas for other fundraisers or Council activities below, or email the chair.

Council Meetings
Next meeting: Wed. Oct 19, 7:00pm at the school. All welcome.
We sometimes have guest speakers at Council meetings. Please post below any ideas for speakers you would like to hear.

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

The role of a School Council?

Fellow CBC listeners may have heard the discussion this afternoon on the appropriate role of school councils in today's schools.* This was prompted by a People for Education report on the subject. The summary below is taken from their website.

The survey results show that parents and school council members across the province are working tirelessly to support their local schools, not only for their own children, but for the good of the entire community.

But the results showed significant disconnects - between current provincial school council policy and what school councils actually now consider their most important roles.

Among the findings in the report:

• The majority of school councils list enhancing communication as their most important role, but they report they spend the most time on fundraising.
• New provincial policy mandates that every board has a Parent Involvement Committee (PIC). While two-thirds of schools reported they knew about their board's PIC, 41% didn't know how parents got to be on the committee.
• 84% of councils report that their principals always or often notify them about education policy changes; 59% say they hear about changes from their school boards, and 34% report the Ministry of Education notifies them always or often.
• 89% of schools fundraise. Of those, 53% raise money for library books, 61% for art and music, and 56% for computers, text books or classroom supplies.

The most important task now is to ensure that our parent engagement policy and practice provides support that is:

• useful
• prevents parent involvement from becoming an onerous task
• lays the groundwork for an inclusive, welcoming environment in our schools and in our education system

What do you think? What do you think school councils should focus on?

p.s. There's more detail in this Ottawa Citizen article on the report.

A few updates

Hello everyone! I've been away for a week so there's a bit of backlog of items to post on the blog:

1. The October school newsletter is now online.

2. The October school calendar is also online.

3. I apologize for the hiccups in last month's pizza lunch. I guess we have a few kinks to work out in our ordering system. We'll try to do better next time. October forms will go home this week for those who have not pre-ordered.

4. School Council meets on Wednesday October 20, at 7pm at the school. Everyone is welcome. The major agenda item is to make a spending plan for 2010-11. All staff were given the opportunity to put in requests. Their list is pasted below. Please come to the October council meeting to have a voice in how our fundraising dollars are spent. If you have questions or views to share, please email them to clairleacouncil@gmail.com

• To enhance the music program at Clairlea by adding to our collection of instruments, drums are often used in drama and dance as well requesting 3 new Djembe Drums @ $654 (218 each)
• Media Literacy workshop. This is a two afternoon workshop for students that are not typically involved in sports or arts programs. 20 students @ $20 =$400
• The Library is requesting a display case to go outside the library (similar to the one when you come into the school) This is so items can be displayed upstairs. (books, artwork etc.) $900
• Mystic Drumz Assembly performances. 2 in school shows for grade primary and one for junior. This lets the students experience live music and be introduced to various drums from around the world, make connections to world music and participate in the performance. $600
• The Guitar Club (Council purchased these guitars a few years ago) has been very active the past year and is in need of cases for the guitars as well as supplies of picks and new strings. $350
• Media Events is in request of a new laptop for assemblies, concerts, grad, slideshows, dances, and all outdoor events. The current and tiring Mac Book is used everyday, all day on all things including blogs, class projects and computer class projects. $3000
• Diversity day (education week in May) is requesting money for prizes for students. $100
• School use of projector and portable screen. Media in classrooms not as accessible with tv/dvd. The projector shows things on computers, assignments, web casts, scientific activates, video clips and movies. Is also used for movie nights. Projector $710, speaker $195 portable screen $95 total= $1000
• For council use. Board games, balls, and activities for the students who use the babysitting services during council meetings. These could also be used during night events where the school uses childcare, example: EQAO night. $300
• The arts program is requesting money for cameras for students in 4 to 8 to do projects in photography that include elements of design or principle of design. Fifteen cameras, chargers, memory cards $3500
• Last year the primary French program started a French day. This year they would like to include the whole school. Money is needed for prizes, games etc. $500
• The Kindergarten students will be going on their annual trip to the zoo and are requesting funds for their bus. $250 for one bus.

5. The Toronto District School Board is holding a Parent Engagement Conference on November 13. I have heard that these conferences are very good. They are free, but sessions fill up early, so those who want to go should register as soon as they can. www.tdsb.on.ca/parents/parent_community