Join us tonight at 630 to hear about what’s happening in the school and what’s coming up over the next few months.
The agenda is available on our Agenda Page and the minutes will be posted as soon after the meeting as possible.
Look for the email with the Zoom info or email Janet Theunissen for the details.
Willy Reads is here!
Throughout the week of February 22 – 26 we will celebrate our love of reading and books. Our focus this year is on African Heritage month and anti-bullying. The week will feature virtual book readings by Canadian authors Lana Button and Dan Bar-El, grade 6 students, our school admin team and more. There will be fun activities and friendly competitions that families can participate in at home too. Check out our Facebook page for details
Read-A-Thon
This year we are introducing a Read-A-Thon as part of Willy Reads! You will be able to download our log sheet to track minutes with your children. We want to encourage reading everyday. For the class with the most minutes we have a trophy and bragging rights for the rest of the year for each division (Kinders, Juniors (1-3) and Seniors (4-6)). We will also have a prize for each grade. Everyone who reaches the recommended reading time for their grade will be put into the draw to win a gift card from Ella Minnow. More details will be on our Facebook page.
Donations to the Children Book Bank
We will be collecting gently used books to donate to the Children’s Book Bank.
The Children’s Book Bank is a registered charity that supports childhood literacy by providing free books and literacy support to children in high needs neighbourhoods in Toronto. You can find out more about how they serve the community at www.childrensbookbank.com
During the week of Feb 22, contactless drop-off bins will be located at the front (kindergarten) entrance of the school, as well as in the backyard. They will be clearly marked for BOOK DONATIONS. Books can be new or used (gently) but should be suitable for kids 12 and under, and have been published within the last 10 years. Please do not include text books, magazines or damaged books.
Design your own bookmark
Get into the reading frame of mind by colouring a bookmark, or design your own! You can use this template, or just freehand your own design on a piece of paper!
https://www.canva.com/design/play?category=tACZCiWxLAk&type=TACTmNxwvVI
Spirit Day – Dress up as your favourite book character
Virtual Book Fair
As part of Willy Reads, we will be having a virtual Book Fair with our favourite local bookstore, Ella Minnow. The Book Fair will run from Feb 19 – 28, and 20% of all sales comes back to our school.
Thanks to everyone who came out on January 27 2021. We heard from Principle Duwyn, Vice Principle Wolfe, Frances Anderson about a variety of things related to the school year and activities. We also heard from Mme Cardinal who gave us a tour of the the new math curriculum. You can read a summary of the information shared and get a copy of the presentation from the Minutes page on this site. We hope to see you next time!
Our next SAC meeting is scheduled for Tuesday Oct 27th, 2020 at 6:30pm in the school library. Here is the agenda.
Dear Elementary Parent/Guardian,
As you know, we began the school year with several dates when parents/guardians could request to switch their children between In-Person Learning and the Elementary Virtual School. When these transitions happen, there is a need for both students and teachers to move between the two learning environments to maintain class sizes both in-person and virtually.
This year, the reorganization process that TDSB has every September to balance classes and adjust to enrollment changes, was directly impacted by the movement of students between In-Person Learning and the Elementary Virtual School and resulted in more extensive changes. We continue to monitor the impact of reorganization on student learning, student mental health and well-being, and on teachers, and we are mindful of the concerns from families about classroom changes and disruption. What we have heard consistently from parents/guardians, teachers and education workers is that they want stability in classrooms and schools and we are committed to doing everything we can in the months ahead to maintain this stability.
With this in mind, we have adjusted the schedule to request a switch between the two learning models (in-person and virtual). The next opportunity for elementary students will be offered at the end of January 2021. There will no longer be an opportunity for elementary students to switch in November. We are confident that this approach will help maintain current classes and teacher assignments in both in-person and virtual classrooms until the new year and will benefit all students and staff by ensuring no further disruptions. We understand that unique circumstances will need to be considered on a case by case basis and we will share information about this next week.
The pre-planning and implementation of the back to school plan for Canada’s largest and most complex school system was undertaken with no prior road map to follow and within an extremely short time frame. It has not been perfect by any means, but we are proud that learning is underway for nearly 240,000 students in healthy and safe environments.
We will continue to monitor our return to school plans and welcome input from parents, students, staff and our union/federations. We are making the necessary adjustments to ensure that school operating and student learning plans respond to changing conditions and are sustainable in the long term.
Sincerely,
Kathy Witherow
Interim Director of Education