Curriculum Night Details

More details about Curriculum Night on Thursday Sept 15:


5:00 pm-6:00 pm BBQ (See previous post for details) - at rear of school
6:00 pm - 6:15 pm - Welcome
6:15 pm - French Book Fair
6:20 pm - 6:40 pm - Class rotation #1
6:45 pm - 7:05 pm - Class rotation #2

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.

Curriculum Night BBQ - Thurs Sept 15

CORRECTION: the BBQ will be at the BACK of the school, not the front as in my original post. Thanks!

Education-focused all-candidates meeting: Sept 20

The Ontario Public School Boards' Association has designated Sept 20 as Education Day - a day when we can ask questions and learn the views of our local candidates for the Ontario election.

• If you're in Scarborough Southwest, your meeting is at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute (large auditorium) on Sept 20 at 6:00 p.m. 

• If you're in Beaches-East York, your meeting is at Secord P.S. (in the gym) on Sept 20 at 7:00 p.m.

That should cover most Clairlea families, but if you're in a different riding, consult this list for the location of your local meeting.

Education matters. The Ontario government directs it. For the sake of our children, please attend these meetings and ask smart questions that show that you will vote for a candidate who shares your vision for Ontario's education system.

You can also read the Ontario Liberal Party's platform, the Ontario PC Party's education platform, the Ontario NDP's policy page and the Green Party of Ontario's platform.

People for Education on how to help your child succeed

If you have a bit of time on your hands, there's a new People for Education report out that might make interesting reading. I can't find it online yet, but will post a link when I do. In the meantime, here's the Coles Notes version thanks to the Toronto Star:  http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1049486

The most important things researchers say parents can do for their kids’ success at school: • Let your child know you have high but reasonable expectations.
 • Talk with your child about school regularly.
 • Focus on attitude rather than marks.
 • Read to, or with, your child.

UPDATE: Here's a summary of the report or, if you're ambitious, read the whole thing.

How was today?

Welcome back, everyone! I hope the first day of school was terrific. It was great to see so many friendly faces on the schoolyard this morning... including, for me, a former classmate whom I haven't seen in nearly 20 years. (Hi, Dave!)

First of all, let's give a warm Clairlea welcome (and welcome back) to Ms Macpherson and Mr McGilvray. We hope you are settling in and we look forward to getting to know you.

In your kids' backpacks tonight, you should find a package of papers to read and sign. In that package, there's a self-nomination form for School Council. Please fill it out and join us! Involved parents lead to successful schools, and School Council can be the first step in your involvement with Clairlea. It's a monthly opportunity to ask questions, make suggestions and provide feedback to the school administration. It's a chance to get to know the other parents, hear and understand their perspectives, and learn about issues and initiatives at Clairlea. For parents of younger kids, it's also a neat way to get a preview of what's to come. Fundraising is an important part of Council activity but it's not the only thing we do. Please come to our first meeting on Sept 21 (7pm) to learn more.

To clarify the time commitment: the meetings are once a month (on a Wednesday) for 1.5 hrs. Childcare is provided in the gym. Members are asked to volunteer additional time to assist with events, committees and fundraisers, but this extra time is optional. If you can't commit to monthly meetings, you may still be a non-voting member and attend as many as you can. In fact, any member of the Clairlea community is welcome at meetings, whether or not you are a voting member. 

See you at Curriculum Night on Sept 15.
-Catharine.

One more week of summer!

Can you believe there's only one week till school starts again?!

I am sure everyone is starting to ramp up and prepare for the year ahead.

The School Council Chair recently sent the message below to people on her Clairlea email list. She needs some people to volunteer to run various fundraising and welcoming events. Hope to see you all at Curriculum Night and at the first Council meeting of the school year.

Best, Catharine

From Ginnie Zaromitidis:

Hi Clairlea!!
With school only three weeks away I am hoping some of you know your fall schedules and are up to committing some time to helping out in varies way.(You do not have to be a member of council to help or lead an event!)

• Curriculum night is Thursday, September 15 and we have no one to run the event. If anyone would like to run a BBQ or has other ideas of a nice welcome to all our Clairlea parents, we are open to suggestions.
• The Halloween Howl needs at least 10 people to commit to leading a room. This involves coming up with the idea, and executing it day if event. If people do not come forward there will not be an event :o(
• Holiday Concert Fundraiser needs someone to lead the basket sales at the concert.
• Spring Concert Fundraiser needs someone to lead the basket sales at the concert. (both of these can be changed if you have a different idea you would like to try out)
• Lice squad, Hope Smith leads this committee but is in need of volunteers. This committee is very important and only requires three days of your year.

September 21st is our first council meeting! We hope you will join us to welcome our new administration, Principal Mr. McGilvray and Vice-Principal  Ms. Macpherson.

Please email me if you think you can help at any of these events. See you all Tuesday, September 6th and we hope you all enjoy your last few weeks of summer!!
Take care
Ginnie p.s. is anyone going to the TDSB @ the CNE?? Would be nice to get all the Clairlea Students to meet up!!http://www.tdsb.on.ca/cne/default.asp