Have your say on the TDSB's equity framework

You may have heard about the TDSB's Enhancing Equity Task Force in the news recently. In October, the task force released draft recommendations that, among other things, called for the elimination of specialized programs in schools.

After a public outcry and a series of outraged news reports, TDSB director of education John Malloy sent an email to parents to reassure us that the TDSB has no plans to close specialized schools, and conducted a series of media interviews to that effect. 

It seems that the tempest was largely a miscommunication, but it had the useful effect of sparking debate about equity within the TDSB. A public consultation is currently underway. You are encouraged to review the recommendations and weigh in with your thoughts before November 20. 

Halloween Howl tomorrow night! ...and spirit wear

HALLOWEEN HOWL:

Only a couple of days left until the Halloween Howl on Friday October 27th 5:30-8:30pm.  We hope to see you there.  If you had trouble ordering your Howl Pizza dinner online you can purchase your pizza dinner onsite at the Howl.  Here are the map details for the event….

Click on the Howl Map that shows which room hosts your favourite activity

Click on the Howl Legend for a description of the HOWL activities

CLAIRLEA SPIRIT WEAR:

Clairlea Spirit Wear is ready to go.  What you need to know….

1.     All purchases can be made online only using this link.

https://clairlea2017.itemorder.com/

2.     This is not through the school cash online system but directly with the vendor.

3.     Orders will arrive the middle of December.

4.     The `deadline to order is November 9th, orders will not be possible beyond that date.

5.     Sample garments are available at the school for size fitting until November 9th daily Monday to Friday  from 9:00-4:30pm.

6.     We strongly recommend that you look through the samples to ensure the correct sizing choice.

7.     Items cannot be returned or exchanged.  All sales are final.

8.     Manual orders will not be accepted all orders are to be placed online prior to November 9th.

Regards,

Irit

Clairlea School Council

The Clairlea Howl…

The Howl is coming, The Howl is coming chanted the kids of Clairlea.

It’s almost Friday oh what a sight the kids were jumping with Glee.

All sorts of plans to rush home from school and come back dressed in disguise

Only to see your classroom or 3 transformed before your eyes.

It’s a 5:30 start so be here to craft, play games and mill about

And don’t forget to go upstairs, as the library guarantees a shout

Collect your candy from room to room with the bag you bring from home

With map in hand you’ll guide your way wherever you choose to roam

Paint your Face, Toss a Loonie, touch a worm or shoot a puck

Find your fortune, Guess the candy, pull a lolly, try your luck

Be ready, it’s great when we start the debate which costume is best in the land

The Judging is led by Mr. McGilvray of course with prizes in hand.

So much to do, so much to see when you come to the Howl at Clairlea.

Whatever you do, whatever you see and wherever you choose to prowl

Please be sure to take the time and visit us at the HOWL!

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

If you missed pizza lunch...

If your kid missed pizza lunch last week, it is probably because you haven't yet signed up for the School Cash Online system. The pizza lunch order requests (along with field trips, agendas and other school items) appear there automatically.

Currently there is an order request in School Cash Online for the Oct 11 pizza lunch. Just log in, click your child's tab, select the type of pizza and drink that they would like, and pay online. The deadline is October 8 and extensions are not possible. 

Why orange? The story behind Orange Shirt Day

As you know, the kids are being asked to wear orange on Friday to show their awareness and respect for the Aboriginal people who suffered in Canada's residential schools.

But why orange?

The idea stems from the story of a six-year-old girl, Phyllis, from the Dog Creek Reserve. In 1973, excited for her first day of school, she proudly wore a brand new shirt -- an orange one. The family didn't have much, so this new shirt was something really special.

On the day she arrived at the Mission residential school, she and the other students were stripped and their clothes taken away. She was made to feel worthless, a feeling which lasted well into adulthood. She never saw that shirt again. Read her story here. 

A few notes from this week's School Council meeting

These are not the minutes, just a few quick notes from this week's school council meeting. 

Council updates

The School Council elected its new executive (thank you for volunteering your time to lead us!) and invited parents to become involved in whatever way they would like. Attend meetings (whether or not you are a voting member), volunteer at daytime events (pizza lunch, spirit wear, photocopying, planning) or evening events (fun fairs, concerts), secure donations for events (silent auctions, prizes, food and drink), or put your individual skills to good use. Contact Irit to offer your help. 

Last June's Fun Fair made a profit of $4,000 which will be used to support Clairlea's STEAM programs. (What is STEAM?)

We need to update our School Statement of Needs, essentially a description of what we look for in a principal. This would be used in the (hopefully long-distant) event that the board would be assigning us a new principal. Send your thoughts to Marina. 

If you're looking to order pizza lunch, you MUST sign up for school cash online. Contact Ms. Carson for details. If you put in an order for Sept 20, it will be automatically transferred to the correct date of Sept 27. 

Administration updates

Clairlea's actual registration exceeded projections, which is why some class sizes are over the caps. We have been allotted an extra primary French immersion teacher, which is terrific news but it does mean that some primary French immersion classes will be reorganized. This will happen as soon as portable #3 can be converted to a classroom. Recently it has been used as a music room. The school is about 60% French immersion, 40% English. 

Some construction is planned for the playground... once soil tests are complete to ensure there is no contamination from the landfill underneath, the kids will be getting climbing bars and other playground equipment. The bridge in the existing play structure is also scheduled for repairs. 

Sports and clubs are already underway, including soccer, run club, flag football and house league soccer. 

Photo day is October 4. October 6 is a PA Day. 

Next meeting is Wednesday October 18, 7pm in the staff room. 

Happy September!

Hello everyone and happy September!

A few notes to start off the year:

1. School Council meets on Wednesday September 20 at 7:00pm at the school. All are welcome.

2. The welcome back barbecue (5pm) and curriculum night (6pm) are on Thursday September 21. Details here.

3. Pizza lunch is on September 27. You may have seen a different date on School Cash Online but it is definitely Sept 27. Orders are only through School Cash Online - there will be no paper orders this year. If you need access to a computer, please stop in at the school office.

As always, there is a group of dedicated School Council volunteers who are working hard behind the scenes to make all of this happen. Thank you!!