Happy Holidays

Early Learning Program Update
The Early Learning Program is the Ministry of Education’s provincial initiative that brings full day learning to the kindergarten program through a phased in implementation process beginning September 2010 and finishing in September 2015. TDSB released its list of suggested school sites for consideration and approval of the Early Learning Program for young learners 4 and 5 years-of-age by the Ministry of Education. As of now, LKS is not on the list to receive the program. The list contains 75 schools hosting 209 programs. The Ministry still has to review, select and approve the final list which only includes 190 programs. As a result, the number of school sites will change. Ministry approval will be announced in mid-January 2010. A full list of the proposed school sites is posted on the external website www.tdsb.on.ca.

Congratulations to the Junior Boys Volleyball team for coming in second at the City Finals. Your coaches and I are so proud of you. You have come a long ways since last year. Furthermore, congratulations to the Junior Girls Basketball team for coming in second at the City Semi Finals and to the Sr Boys VBall team for winning the West Conference and coming in second and the City Semi-Finals. Both teams deserve a round of applause!

At our principal's meeting some safety issues were discussed in the south end of our Family of Schools. You may want to remind the children, especially the older students, of street safety precautions. You may want to check out the Toronto Police Services website for up to date news.

As we end 2009, I wish much happiness to you and your family. Have a wonderful time over the holidays and we will see you on January 4, 2010.

January Dates
4th-Back to School!
6th-Ecowarriors Lunch-Walk to School Wednesday; "Davies Cup" Hockey Tournament at Mastercard Centre-Mr. Mclean and Mr. Blais
11th-Sr Boys Hockey game
12th-Special Education Gifted Reviews; Junior Hockey
15th-Scientist in the School-p.m.
18th-Grade 4-8 Student Safety Rep Meeting @ lunch-Ms. Caddel & Ms. Perry
19th-Scientist in School-Mrs. Taylor's class
20th-Sr Hockey; Author Dan Bar-el visits (Thank you Parent Council)
21st-Community Police Officer visits grade 6-8
22nd-Jr Hockey; Scientist in School visits Mrs. Tyndall's class
25th-Sharing Assemblies; Jr Hockey
26th-Mrs. Gibson's and Mrs. Taylor's classes skate at Mastercard Centre
27th-Family Literacy Day!
28th-Sr Hockey

February
10th-11th-Kindergarten Registration-we will set up appointments late January and Feb
15th-Grade 8 Secondary School Course Selection Sheets due
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-Grade 4 to Medieval Times

March
1st-Report Cards go Home!
3rd-Eco-Warriors lunch meeting and Walking Wednesday
4th-Pizza Lunch
5th-Parent/Teacher Interview Day
8th-Grade 1 & 2 Classes to Theatre
15th-19th-Happy March Break!
22nd-Student Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch
26th-Pizza Lunch
29th-Sharing Assemblies

Happy Holidays!

Congratulations to all of our athletes who were recognized at our Athletic Assembly today. Not only are we so proud of your talent, but also of your sportsmanship and community spirit. Also recognized were all the kids who went to houseleague this year-it looked like 90% of the student body. We continue to encourage all the kids to join in on our lunchtime fun next term!

Once again, thanks to all the parents who came to our concerts. It's such a special experience to hear the kids bring it all together the night of the performance. We hope they got you in the "holiday mood"!

Have a great weekend!


Final December Events
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Concert @ 6:00 p.m.; City Hall Trip for Mrs. Young's class; Carols in the gym at 9:00 a.m.; Hockey Tryouts
15th-Sr and Jr Boys Vball Finals
16th-Grade 5 to Play; Grade 6-8 Dance; Jr Girls BB Finals
17th-Grade 8 to Play; Hockey Tryouts
18th-Carols in the gym @ 1:00 p.m.

Primary Concert

Thank you to Ms. Hoffman for organizing our concert on Tuesday. She asked me to post that all students should meet in their homerooms around 6:15 and 6:30. The grade ones must arrive at 6:15. Please check out your teacher's blog for dress suggestions. We will see you there.

Celebrations!

Over the next couple of weeks we will be celebrating the end of the term and the holiday season in many ways, as you can tell from the events listed below. We look forward to seeing you during these events.

As many of you know, safety of our children is our number one concern at the school. We have put in a request to the police for additional crossing guards for the school. This request was made 3 years ago but to no avail. We will let you know the outcomes of the request. Meanwhile, please cross carefully at the crosswalk and be mindful of traffic, especially north of the school.


7th-City Hall trip for Grade 5 (Ms. Walker and Ms. I; Jr Hockey Tryouts
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert @ 6:30 p.m
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
10th-Author Visit Grade 3-8; Sr Hockey Tryouts
11th-Athletic Assembly @ 9:00 a.m.; Grade 6 goes to the movies; Jr Girls BBall Finals
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Concert @ 6:00 p.m.; City Hall Trip for Mrs. Young's class; Carols in the gym at 9:00 a.m.; Hockey Tryouts
16th-Grade 5 to Play; Grade 6-8 Play (in school)
17th-Grade 8 to Play
18th-Carols in the gym @ 1:00 p.m.

The End of First Term!

Congratulations to all the students on a job well done this term. As our initial report card data shows, our children demonstrated excellent academic achievement this term. All report cards will go home on Monday, except for our Junior Kindergartens. Please make sure you have your interview scheduled for this term. It is important that we host at least one "face to face" interview with parents this year, and first term is crucial, especially for our older students.

Just a reminder to lock your doors and bring your valuables with you if you are parking your car around the school or streets. Unfortunately, a police officer has had to respond to a couple of calls due to "breaking and entering" into vehicles.

Have a good weekend everyone!


30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies get a report second term; Sr Boys' Vball at LKS

DECEMBER
1st-3rd-Book Fair-lunch, recess and before/after school; Grade 4 Charity Bake sale-p.m.
2nd-Eco-Warriors Meeting and Walking Wednesday
December 4-Interview Day(the 3nd at night)
7th-City Hall trip for Grade 5 (Ms. Walker and Ms. I)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert @ 6:30 p.m
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
10th-Author Visit Grade 3-8
11th-Athletic Assembly @ 9:00 a.m.
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Concert @ 6:00 p.m.; City Hall Trip for Mrs. Young's class; Carols in the gym at 9:00 a.m.
18th-Carols in the gym @ 1:00 p.m.

Report Cards

Next Monday, report cards will be sent home indicating first term progress. Interviews have been scheduled at different times, but mainly for the 3rd and the 4th. In kindergarten, only the Seniors will be getting a Progress Report this term. This is the second year staff have completed the report cards using our new process on the TDSB Web. It has been a success so far.

If you haven't had a chance to read the book I recommended last year (Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax), I encourage you to pick it up from the store. I was reviewing some of the chapters this week, particularly the one on video games. He states that the average teenage boy spends more than 13 hours a week playing games and then he delves into different reasons and tasks that might or might not motivate young boys. Overall, the book is a good resource to keep us thinking, questioning and evaluating our practices as educators when working with boys.

Please remember that Empathy is our focused Character Trait this month. Students were recognized at our Sharing Assemblies this week with a special braclet and certificate. Congratulations!

Finally, special thanks goes to our student reps who participated in the Vow of Silence today. The students, vowed to stay silent and refrained from communicating via the computer for 24 hours to support children around the world who are denied their basic rights. November 20 is special as it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The student body contributed donations to this cause. If you would like to still support our student leaders, please drop off your donation in the office.


NOVEMBER

23-Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch; Eric Walters returns to the middle school
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor;Jr Vball @ James S. Bell
25th-Sr Girls' BB Tournament @LKS
26th-Grade Eight Special Education Review Meetings-morning(
27th-Pizza Lunch; Sr Boys' VBall @ LKS all day; Author Adrea Beck to visit K-2
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies get a report second term; Sr Boys' Vball at LKS

DECEMBER
1st-3rd-Book Fair-lunch, recess and before/after school; Grade 4 Charity Bakesale-p.m.
2nd-Eco-Warriors Meeting and Walking Wednesday
December 4-Interview Day(the 3nd at night)
7th-City Hall trip for Grade 5 (Ms. Walker and Ms. I)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert @ 6:30 p.m
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
10th-Author Visit Grade 3-8
11th-Athletic Assembly @ 9:00 a.m.
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Concert @ 6:00 p.m.; City Hall Trip for Mrs. Young's class; Carols in the gym at 9:00 a.m.
18th-Carols in the gym @ 1:00 p.m.

Safety Reminder

Thank you to those who shared our Remembrance Day Assembly with us on the 11th. It is so important that we continue to honour those who have served on our behalf, both past and present. The LKS students were once again, very respectful and continue to understand the importance of the day. We thank the older students as they provided the leadership needed as they guided our little ones through the day.

If you were not able to make Parent Council on Monday, we encourage you to check out our PowerPoint presentation of the School Improvement Plan on our website. In teams, the teachers have outlined their goals for the year based on some preliminary data. I thank all staff who have worked hard over the last couple of months to prepare for the year.

Parent Council will be selling LKS clothing and other items outside the office next week before and after school. They will be taking orders and have some items for "on the spot" purchasing. Thank you to Mrs. Brady and her team.

I'd like to thank Mr. Owen, one of our parents who has been working with Councillor Milczyn on a proposal for increased safety measures (i.e. signage) in the community. Mr. Owen presented at Parent Council on Monday and hosted a meeting of concerned community members on Thursday morning. I'd like to remind all parents to be mindful of the children at all times, especially during drop off and pick up. Please continue to remind your children of bicycle safety and how to cross at the crosswalks; namely push the button, point and cross carefully. Students should be wearing helmets and get off their bikes if crossing. We will also continue to remind the kids at school.

Just a reminder that it is a PA day tomorrow and there is no school. We will see everyone of Monday. Have a great weekend.


NOVEMBER
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home! Bullying Prevention Week Begins
17th-Artist visit to Mrs. Gibson
19th-Sharing Assemblies-afternoon assemblies
20th-Sharing Assemblies -morning assemblies
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting; Eric Walters returns to the middle school
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor;Jr Vball @ James S. Bell
25th-Sr Girls' BB Tournament @LKS
26th-Grade Eight Special Education Review Meetings-morning(invitations are being sent soon)
27th-Pizza Lunch; Sr Boys' VBall @ LKS all day; Author Adrea Beck to visit K-2
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies get a report second term; Sr Boys' Vball at LKS

DECEMBER
1st-3rd-Book Fair-lunch, recess and before/after school
2nd-Eco-Warriors Meeting and Walking Wednesday
December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert @ 6:30 p.m
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Concert @ 6:00 p.m.

Remembrance Day

A big congratulations to our Sr Boys and Jr Girls Football teams for placing first in the City Finals and to our Sr Girls Football team for placing second. What a great season the teams have had this year. They have really gained good skills and a sense of teamwork over the last few years! Thank you to Mr. Kuru, Mr. Bracht and Mr. Ross. Once again, thank you to all the parents who either drove or just came out to support the kids.

Thank you to our Parent Council for supporting our art programmes. This week our grade 3 students did some weaving and the kids really enjoyed the projects. The visiting artists are good to have in the school for a couple of reasons; namely the kids generally get a chance to do something different and the teachers learn new strategies and ideas in the arts.

What a beautiful playground we are going to have in the Spring! Thank you to everyone who spent a few hours planting our donated shrubs, plants and bulbs.

Just a reminder that any Unicef donations should be sent to the office by the morning of November 9th. A rep will be picking our donations up later in the day.

Our Class Safety Reps are spreading the word to their classes about the November Character Trait-Empathy. Students who have demonstrated this very important trait will be recognized at our monthly Sharing Assembly with a certificate and/or a new wristbands. Please remember to emphasize this trait at different "teachable moments" with your own children. Empathy is a difficult concept for our primary students, but you can still talk about ideas like feelings (i.e. When resolving conflicts, ask the kids how each thinks the other feels-get them to see how it might feel if they were in the other person's shoes).

If you are near the school on Remembrance Day, please drop by after morning recess for our assembly. Thank you to Mrs. Wolfer and Mrs. Armstrong for decorating our front display case with our community memories.

Just a reminder that teachers will be working on final assessments and reporting on Friday, therefore it is a PA Day and no school.

There is a Parent Council meeting on Monday @ 7:00 p.m. All parents are welcome. We will also be presenting our School Improvement Plan.

NOVEMBER
8th-UNICEF Donations to the office please!
9th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.
10th-Artist visit to Mr. Littlejohn; Safety Officer visits grade one students
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly-If you would like to come, a good time to arrive would be at 10:50
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home! Bullying Prevention Week Begins
17th-Artist visit to Mrs. Gibson
19th-Sharing Assemblies-afternoon assemblies
20th-Sharing Assemblies -morning assemblies
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting; Eric Walters returns to the middle school
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor
26th-Grade Eight Special Education Review Meetings-morning(invitations are being sent soon)
27th-Pizza Lunch; Sr Boys' VBall @ LKS all day; Author Adrea Beck to visit K-2
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

DECEMBER
1st-3rd-Book Fair
2nd-Eco-Warriors and Walking Wednesday
December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert @ 6:30 p.m
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert @ 7:00 p.m.
14th-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m.; Kindergarten Classes @ 6:00 p.m.

Happy Hallowe'en

Congratulations to our Jr Girls Softball team for placing 2nd in the City Finals and to our Sr and Jr Boys for winning the City Finals and West Championship games respectfully. Our football teams did equally well with our Sr Boys placing 1st in the City Finals and our Sr and Jr Girls winning the West Championships. Good luck next week teams! I apologize to Dylan, one of our grade 6 cross country runners, as I forgot to mention that he came in 5th at the City Finals last week-good job Dylan!

With regards to H1N1, our school is continuing to take a number of precautionary steps including:
-Ensuring soap and water is available for hand washing (as well as hand sanitizer when soap and water are not available);
-Educating students and staff on proper hand washing, and coughing and sneezing etiquette;
-Frequently cleaning commonly touched surfaces/items; and
-Watching for signs and symptoms of influenza-like illness.

To protect your family, Toronto Public Health suggests the following things you and your children can do to help avoid the flu:
-Wash or sanitize your hands frequently and thoroughly;
-Cough or sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue, not your hand;
-Get an H1N1 vaccine inoculation;
-Stay home if you are ill; and
-Let your school know the reason for your child’s absence

As many of you know, Mme Freitas is off on a medical leave and probably won't return until her baby is born. We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Alam who will be teaching our grade 6-8 French classes. Mrs. Alam will be with us until June.

If you are donating to UNICEF, please bring in your envelope to the office or classroom teacher by November 8th. Thank you.

Thanks for a great Hallowe'en Parade kids-you looked great!I hope you have fun tomorrow night-be safe!


November
4th-Eco-Warriors Lunch Meeting; Artists visit Mr. Ross and Mrs. Zappi
5th-Photo Retakes; Artists visit to Mrs. Adair and Mrs. Shklar
8th-UNICEF Donations to the office please!
9th-Parent Council; 10th-Artist visit to Mr. Littlejohn
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly-If you would like to come, a good time to arrive would be at 10:50
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
17th-Artist visit to Mrs. Gibson
20th-Sharing Assemblies
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor
27th-Pizza Lunch
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

Spirit Day at LKS

A big thank you to Student Council for organizing our first Spirit Day. It was great to see so many students participate. Then again, how bad can it be rolling out of bed and coming to school in your pajamas! We will forever support the kids' effort when organizing these events because we want to always encourage their leadership skills and community involvement. We are looking forward to the Grade 8 Haunted House next Friday also!

Congratulations to our Cross Country Team as they had a good showing at the finals. We took 30 kids on Thursday and all should be congratulated on their efforts over the last two months of training. A special note of recognition to our grade 2 girls who placed first across the city and for the runners who placed within the top ten-namely Mary (grade one-placing 8th), Robert (grade two-placing 2nd), Megan and Amelia (grade -placing 5th and 6th respectfully) and Andrew (grade 4-placing 4th). All the team will be recognized at the Athletic Assembly at the end of the term. Furthermore, more praise goes out to our Jr and Sr Boys' and Sr Girls' Football teams as they head to the Conference Finals next week and to the Jr Girls', and Jr and Sr Boys' Softball teams as they compete in the City Finals also! The winning spirit continues on at LKS!

On a "literary" note-what a treat to host Mr. Eric Walters, a favourite author of the kids, on Wednesday. The kids really enjoy a closer look into his characters and books. We also learned of his future plans with his orphanage and his goodwill project.

Just a reminder that our IEP (Individual Education Plans) for approximately 80 of students went home this week. We very much honour the process of writing the IEPs, including getting parent consultation, because we truly want to give all of our students the best programs and equal opportunity to learn to the best of their abilities. A note of thanks to our special education teachers who completed the new IEPs for the year using the new web-based process. It was a lot of work, but well worth it as the IEPs are more easily accessible and easier to use. A special thanks to Mrs. Dacyshyn and Mrs. Heath for being so instrumental in this new process. It certainly has been a learning curve for our teachers. You did a great job! Last year's Spec Ed Blog is under construction and will be returning shortly!

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered at Pizza Lunch! A great lunch for a dreary day! Have a nice weekend everyone!


October
27th-Sharing Assemblies
28th-Grade 8 High School Night; Terry Fox Final Assembly @ 2:45 p.m.; Gr 1 Classes to Farm
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade (Parents-we will begin around 9:15 if you want to watch along the fences) Grade 6-8 Dance-afternoon; ACORN ART ORDERS DUE!

November
4th-Eco-Warriors Lunch Meeting; Artists visit Mr. Ross and Mrs. Zappi
5th-Photo Retakes; Artists visit to Mrs. Adair and Mrs. Shklar
9th-Parent Council
10th-Artist visit to Mr. Littlejohn
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly-If you would like to come, a good time would be at 10:50
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
17th-Artist visit to Mrs. Gibson
20th-Sharing Assemblies
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor
27th-Pizza Lunch
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

VOTE FOR BOB!

OCTOBER CHARACTER TRAIT: RESPONSIBILITY

FedEx Express Canada and Safe Kids Canada have launched the second annual Crossing Guard contest. We are proud to support and nominate our crossing guard, Bob Shelton. Mr. Shelton is a wonderful addition to our community as he is a very conscientious person whose main focus is to keep our children safe. In addition, he knows the importance of a warm greeting first thing in the morning! If you would like to nominate Bob, please visit www.safekidscanada.ca for more information.

What a great week for learning at LKS! We were pleased to have Debbie Gordon from Mediacs present to our grade 6 classes on current issues, including safety, around the "Wild Wild Web"! and to our grade 8 classes on self image and the web. Each year, Debbie brings current and valuable information with the hopes of building media savvy children. We thank Parent Council for contributing funds to these very important initiatives.

Debbie's presentation is one of many that we have incorporated into the school's safety plan. Each year, our Safety Committee creates a safety plan as part of our school improvement plan. One of our goals is to present topics that are relevant to each grade. All grade teams/committees will be completing the final plan at the end of October and we will again be presenting it to Parent Council either at the November or December meeting.

If you have any used books (JK - Grade 8) or winter clothing that you're clearing from your home, please consider donating them -- the LKS Literacy and Community Outreach Committees are collecting them for our sister school, 20th Street (some books will go to LKS). Used books and clothing may be dropped off in collection bags / bins by the south-west stairs until November 6th.

A big congratulations to our Cross Country Team. Thirty runners will be moving on to the City Finals on the 22nd. A special congratulations is extended to the grade 2 girls and boys who placed 1st, and to the grade 6 boys and grade 7 girls who placed 3rd!

Another congratulations goes out to our Junior/Senior Boys' and Girls' Softball teams and Senior Boys' and Girls' Football Teams as they too are heading to the Finals over the next two weeks! Good Luck!

We are very pleased to update you on our playground renovation. The architects have almost completed the drawings and the project has gone out for quotes. The Board is fully committed to this project and we couldn't be happier. Initial work will likely begin in late fall/early winter.

19th-Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch; Jr Girls Football @ English
20th-IEPs sent home
21st-Eric Walters visits the grade 2-8 classes
22nd-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial
23rd-Ms. Van Schoor, Ms. Buksner and Ms. Mandel off to Outdoor Ed Centre; Pizza Lunch
27th-Sharing Assemblies
28th-Grade 8 High School Night; Terry Fox Final Assembly @ 2:45 p.m.; Gr 1 Classes to Farm
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade; Grade 6-8 Dance-afternoon; ACORN ART ORDERS DUE!

November
4th-Eco-Warriors Lunch Meeting; Artists visit Mr. Ross and Mrs. Zappi
5th-Photo Retakes; Artists visit to Mrs. Adair and Mrs. Shklar
9th-Parent Council
10th-Artist visit to Mr. Littlejohn
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly-If you would like to come, a good time would be at 10:50
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
17th-Artist visit to Mrs. Gibson
20th-Sharing Assemblies
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
24th-Artist to visit Mrs. Taylor
27th-Pizza Lunch
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

From Parent Council:
Our Fall Fundraiser Magazine Campaign has begun. By now, your child will have brought home a QSP package. We are asking that you place your orders personal and gift orders on line if possible. You can send gift subscriptions for Christmas as well. The fundraiser will run until October 14th, but any online orders after that will still benefit our school. Go to www.qsp.ca and enter the school code 9316. This years capital campaign includes Numeracy supplies, a smartboard, and special ed laptops. Your support is appreciated. Any questions, contact Janet Robertson at janet@robertson-mail.com. Thanks.

Congratulations to all our softball teams as most have played over the last couple of weeks. Our Junior Girls, Junior Boys and Senior Boys will all be moving on to the next stage-keep up the team spirit!

Just a reminder to the grade 1-3 students who qualified for the West Conference on Tuesday the 13th, to please meet in the gym between 8:30-8:45 so we can get the grade one girls to the race on time. All the kids will be taking the bus back and forth from the meet with the hopes the little ones (1-3) get back before lunch again.

As some of you know, Mrs. Armin (our grade 6-8 strings teacher)moved to another school last week. The board has placed Mr. Goldberg in her position. Mr. Goldberg has met most of the children already and we welcome him to LKS. Mr. Samatowka (our band teacher) already knows Mr. Goldberg so a connection has already been made to make the transition a bit easier. Mrs. Armin expressed her gratitude and best wishes to the community.

Do you believe that we are only 5 weeks away from the Report Cards going home? If you have any or questions about your child's progress, please do not hesitate to ask at this point. We truly believe that good communication between home and school is one of the most important aspects of a child's education.

October Dates
13th-Grade 8 Mediacs Presentation; Parent Council ACORN CARDS Fundraiser Begins!
14th-Wild Wild Web Presentation for Grade 6; Sr Girls Football Tourney @ Swansea; Sr Boys Football @ Bloorlea
19th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch; Jr Girls Football @ English
20th-IEPs sent home
21st-Eric Walters visits the grade 2-8 classes
22nd-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial
23rd-Ms. Vanschoor, Ms. Buksner and Ms. Mandel off to Outdoor Ed Centre
26th-Sharing Assemblies
28th-Grade 8 High School Night; Terry Fox Final Assembly @ 2:45 p.m.
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade

November 5th-Photo Retakes
9th-Parent Council
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

Cross Country

What a great day for running! We are so proud of all the kids who came to the meet today. You tried hard and had fun! We will hopefully find out who qualifies for the October 13th meet tomorrow. Letters will be sent home to parents also. There will be a practice on the 8th and 9th for those running on the 13th. Thank you to all the parents who volunteered today. We couldn't have done it without you!

Running for Terry!

What a great day for our Terry Fox Run. We certainly were given a wonderful fall day for such an important event in the community. I really look forward to this day as it brings us together as a community; it is stunning to see everyone walking through the streets...and for a great cause. I know we have raised close to $20 000 this year. We all should be proud of that. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped to keep our little ones safe today, and to our teacher Mrs. Gibson and our parent helper Mrs. D'Angelo for counting all our donations.

Just a reminder that all grade 1-3 cross country runners are to meet in the gym on Tuesday morning so we can catch our 9:00 bus. Our grade one girls race at 9:45 and we don't want them to miss the start. Good luck everyone!

Just a reminder that if you are looking to volunteer, we are really desperate in Kiss and Ride. Nori Ayer, a parent volunteer, has taken on the job of organizing this very important process at LKS and she told me today that she doesn't have enough parents to help out this month. If you could possibly help out, even a day, please see her at the Kiss and Ride. Unfortunately, if we don't get the help, no one will be there to open those car doors. Thank you in advance.

Pizza Days are set and Kristine Laco, another parent volunteer, will be sending home that information shortly. The kids really love these lunches, as do those adults who don't have to pack a lunch for the day!

Trish Wardrop, another LKS mom, has taken on the job of organizing our ACORN CARD Fundraiser. We started this last year, and it was a big success. Basically, the kids make cards and then they are published. If you want to order your child's artwork ( I think there are more than just cards this year), they will be ready for the holiday season...they make great gifts.

This is a message from our new Parent Council President, Sue Pritchard: Do you want to make a difference in your child’s school? If so, consider joining one of the many parent council committees. From Athletics to Community Outreach to Springfest (and many others), there is an opportunity to get involved and help enrich your child’s LKS experience. Most committees are looking for additional members (and great ideas) but there are a few specific areas that we especially need help with: LINK (digital yearbook), Springfest Co-Chair (to work with Jody Greifenberger) and Silent Auction Chair for Springfest. If any of these peak your interest or you are interested in another committee, please contact Sue Pritchard at ds_pritchard@msn.com or 416-232-2611.

OCTOBER DATES
5th-Me to We Day (small group of student reps)with Mrs. Adair at ACC
6th-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial; Grade 8 Parent Info Night for Quebec @ 7:00pm
7th-9th-Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Trip; Jr Boys Football @ John English
12th-Happy Thanksgiving
13th-Grade 8 Mediacs Presentation; Parent Council ACORN CARDS Fundraiser Begins!
14th-Wild Wild Web Presentation for Grade 6; Sr Girls Football Tourney @ Swansea; Sr Boys Football @ Bloorlea
19th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch; Jr Girls Football @ English
20th-IEPs sent home
21st-Eric Walters visits the grade 2-8 classes
22nd-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial
27th-Sharing Assemblies
28th-Grade 8 High School Night
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade

November 5th-Photo Retakes
9th-Parent Council
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

Dinner Dance!

It's good to be thinking of Spring already! Mark your calendars...Dinner Dance is April 17th, 2010. Thank you to Kim DeLonghi and all the parents who will be organizing this great event!

The Grade 4-8 Class Safety Reps met with Ms. Perry and I on Monday to brainstorm ideas on how to implement our Character Development Traits. More details will be shared later, but remember that September's Trait is Respect.

Parent Council wants to remind you that the QSP catalogues are coming home and to please place your orders on-line this year. Thank you to all the parents who came to Parent Council on Monday night; a special thanks to all the new parents who came out! Great to have so many people volunteer for committees this year. I think we are still looking for a couple of positions. If so, we'll post them next week for you to look at.

This week we completed our fire drills and lockdown. As we practised these, the kids were very respectful and listened to their teachers. It is very important that we continue to practise these in case we actually had "real" events. If we ever have to fully evacuate the building, we would all travel down the road to Lambton-Kingsway Church. You would be notified by the school.

Remember to keep washing your hands! Have a great weekend!


Important Dates to Remember
29th-Photo Day; Hep B & Meningitis Shots for Gr 7 & HPV (Grade 8)
30th-Photo Day continues

October 1st-Terry Fox Walk @ 1:00 p.m.
2nd-Grade 8 Trip to Art Studio/Credit River; Sr Girls Softball Tournament
5th-Me to We Day (small group of student reps)
6th-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial; Grade 8 Parent Info Night for Quebec @ 7:00pm
7th-9th-Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Trip; Jr Boys Football @ John English
12th-Happy Thanksgiving
13th-Grade 8 Mediacs Presentation; Parent Council ACORN CARDS Fundraiser Begins!
14th-Wild Wild Web Presentation for Grade 6; Sr Girls Football Tourney @ Swansea; Sr Boys Football @ Bloorlea
19th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch; Jr Girls Football @ English
20th-IEPs sent home
21st-Eric Walters visits the grade 2-8 classes
22nd-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial
27th-Sharing Assemblies
28th-Grade 8 High School Night
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade

November 5th-Photo Retakes
9th-Parent Council
11th-Remembrance Day Assembly
13th-No school-PA Day!
16th-Parent/Teacher Interview Letters Go Home!
23-Class Safety Rep Meeting
30th-Report Cards Go Home (Only SK Reports-Jr Kindies' get a report second term)

December 3-Interview Day(the 2nd at night)
8th-Grade 1-5 Concert
9th-Grade 6-8 Concert
14th-Parent Council

First Full Week!

Well, we made it through our first full week (with great weather)! Thank you for returning all of our September forms promptly. We were able to go through them and generate required lists for our office use. Mrs. Stefanowicz will be sending home data cards shortly for you to make any changes. We thank you in advance.

Another letter is being sent home regarding volunteers. Thank you to Mrs. Kress for helping out with this process. If you volunteer or think you might be volunteering (i.e. drive for sports teams, trip supervisor etc.), please make sure you have completed your police reference check or your annual check. Please see Mrs. Sefanowicz for further information. So far we have 126 people who have completed their annual checks. Thank you again because LKS wouldn't be the same without the wonderful parental support.

Thank you to all the parents who came to curriculum night. If you missed it, please check out the website for our long range plans.

Thank you for visiting my blog, but don't forget to scroll down the other blogs, especially our library section-Mrs. McGee has some updates! Don't forget to come to Parent Council on Monday @ 7:30 in the library.

Important Dates to Remember

21st-Class Safety Rep Meeting with Mrs. Perry/Ms. Caddel@ lunch; Parent Council @ 7:30
25th-Sharing Assemblies-Only Junior and Intermediate
29th-Photo Day; Hep B & Meningitis Shots for Gr 7 & HPV (Grade 8)
30th-Photo Day continues

October 1st-Terry Fox Walk
2nd-Grade 8 Trip to Art Studio/Credit River
5th-Me to We Day (small group of student reps)
6th-Cross Country Meet @ Centennial
7th-9th-Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Trip
12th-Happy Thanksgiving
13th-Grade 8 Mediacs Presentation
14th-Wild Wild Web Presentation for Grade 6
19th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch
20th-IEPs sent home
26th-Sharing Assemblies
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parade

First Week Finished!

I think we are officially back into the "swing" of things at LKS! I can tell because Mr.Kuru and Mr. Bracht have started football practices already. To note, Mr. Ellerker and myself will be starting Cross Country practices for grades 1-8 next Wednesday. We met with interested kids today and gave them the proper forms. As many of you know, cross country is one of our most popular teams and we just want the kids to have fun and stay healthy! Thank you to Mrs. Perry and Mrs. Rilling, our parent volunteers; please see them if you want to help supervise at our upcoming meets. Thank you in advance.

Thanks to all of you who have returned our forms. We ask that you return the "Parent Signature Page" by Monday as we need to get them all organized. Remember, just log onto our website, read, and then sign the parent page. I would like to clarify our lunch routines, especially for our new parents. Unless the kids have your permission to leave the school grounds, they must eat in our lunchroom and then stay on the property. If your child normally leaves the school with your permission, but every once in a while needs to stay at school, he/she will eat with the rest of the students in the lunchroom. We just ask that you tell your classroom teacher if there is any change in your lunch routines; especially for our younger students.

At the beginning of the year, it is really important for us to take attendance carefully. We need to account for all the kids on our roster. So far, we are coming under or just at our primary caps (20 per class). We have had to shuffle a few of our kindergarten students to accommodate the cap requirements. At this time, we don't expect any major re-organization or realignments-some of you remember doing this a few years ago! Please remember that if you are moving out of our area, to please register at your new home school-we can help you through this process. We thank you in advance.

The following is a request from Diane Kress, one of our Parent Council Executive members who volunteered to organize our Grade Reps.

Hello Parents,
We currently have many of the grade parent positions filled, however; we are still in need of the following. If you can help with this rewarding experience, please contact Diane Kress 416-236-1477 or dkress@thinknet.com.

Kindergarten
- Mrs. Tyndall--am (2 parents required)
- Mrs. Macpherson--pm (2 parents required)
- Mrs. Seitz---am (Elizabeth Stinson, 1 other parent required)

Grade 1
- Mr. Blais (2 parents required)
- Ms. Kim (2 parents required)
- Mrs. Younger (Kristine Laco, 1 other parent required)

Grade 4--Mrs. Gibson (2 parents required)

Grade 8--Mr. Elleker (1 or 2 parents required)


For those new to the school a grade parent administers and helps organize class and school events in conjunction with teachers and parents wishes. Helping with these tasks enriches the students' learning experience by allowing teachers to focus on their students instead of administrative tasks. Activities generally include:
-distributing the class contact list upon permission from the parents and teacher
-recruiting volunteers for activities according to the teacher's needs
-recruiting volunteers for Parent Council fundraising activities or LKS functions
-Informing class parents of upcoming LKS and classroom events via email.

We hope to see everyone at Curriculum Night. All staff will be introduced at 6:00 p.m in the gym; the kindergarten presentation will take place in the gym at 5:30 p.m (stage side); Grade 1-3 teams will present at 6:30 p.m, followed by the junior and intermediate grade teams at 7:00 p.m. Presentations are in different locations; check out your teacher's blog or the schedules on the doors for that information.

Don't forget to wash your hands!

Important Dates to Remember
14th- Terry Fox Assembly @ 9:00
17th- Curriculum Night
21st-Class Safety Rep Meeting with Mrs. Perry/Ms. Caddel@ lunch; Parent Council @ 7:30
25th-Sharing Assemblies
29th-Photo Day; Hep B & Meningitis Shots for Gr 7 & HPV (Grade 8)
30th-Photo Day continues

October 1st-Terry Fox Walk
5th-Me to We Day (small group of student reps)
7th-9th-Grade 7 Outdoor Ed Trip
12th-Happy Thanksgiving
13th-Grade 8 Mediacs Presentation
14th-Wild Wild Web Presentation for Grade 6
19th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Class Safety Rep Meeting @ Lunch
26th-Sharing Assemblies
29th-Mrs. Olson & Mrs. Bradshaw's class to Outdoor Ed Centre
30th-Hallowe'en Parades

WELCOME BACK!

Welcome to the new school year everyone! I had a great summer and hope that you did too!

Over the summer, we did have some staff changes to the primary team. Mrs. Mandel has replaced Mrs. Malobabic in grade 2; Mrs. Caligiuri will be taking over Mrs. Mandel's class in the morning (Room 172). Mrs. Macpherson (newly hired) will be taking over Mrs. Caligiuri's afternoon kindergarten class. The kids will now move from Room 166 to 172. Mrs. Macpherson will also take over Mrs. Caligiuri's class until she returns from her maternity leave. We are very happy to have Mrs. Macpherson at LKS as she has years of experience and a wide breadth of knowledge.

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 8th. Entry time is regularly at 8:55 a.m., but the kids should come a bit earlier the first day. Staff will be outside helping them get into the right lines!

We will be sending home a print newsletter and one form for parent signatures on Tuesday. All the September forms are posted on the website. If you need a hard copy of any material, we have extras in the office.

As school begins, we would also like to direct you to the website for a letter from our new director, Chris Spence, on H1N1. We want you to know that we take this very seriously as we don't want anyone to get sick, including students, parents and staff. We will continue to advocate proper hand washing with the kids and would appreciate it if follow-up could happen at home. Other things to consider would be throwing away tissues, sneezing into your sleeve if you don't have a tissue, avoid sharing drinks and cleaning surface areas. We will also be addressing this with our caretaking staff. We will continue to provide soap and cleaning the washrooms and fountains. We appreciate your support in advance.

Have a great weekend!

Last Day

What a magical last day it was at LKS. Our Lunch on the Lawn was interesting as mother nature decided to surprise us with some heavy showers. Oh well, we managed to picnic in various areas throughout the school. It was still a nice time together.

What a wonderful year end assembly we had together. We celebrated our students' achievements once again and it was amazing to see how many received winnits and additional pins, pens and crests (grade 6-8). I love to see the students taking advantage of all the activities LKS has to offer.

A final goodbye was said to our support staff who will no longer be with us as classroom assistants. We were very sad to say goodbye to Mrs. Koch, Mrs. Silva and Mrs. Mills. In addition, we are so sad to see both Mr. Page and Mrs. Missios leaving LKS. The kids, staff and parents who attended gave warm, heartfelt accolades to both as final goodbyes were expressed. We are going to miss them both dearly. Thank you to all the parents who contributed year end gifts to all the staff!

As we wrap up the year, we also say goodbye to Ms. Malobabic. We just found out yesterday that she has accepted a teaching position at another school. We are going to miss Ms. Malobabic's contributions both inside her classroom and to the school at large. She has spent many hours working on the cookbook, Wizard of Oz, Literacy Book Room and Parent Council to say the least.

Finally, I am so proud to be here at LKS. What a great year we have had together. I wish you all a happy summer and look forward to September 8th when we see you all again.

Almost There!

As the end of the year draws near, we are on a mad hunt for missing textbooks and library books. So far we are missing approximately $2000 worth of textbooks at the intermediate level alone! Please take a hard look around the house and return any items that you find. The textbooks are very expensive to replace. Thank you in advance.

Parent Council would like to remind you to use QSP if you are going to renew your magazine subscriptions. You will need to use our bar code of 9316 to ensure your fundraising dollars go to LKS. Thank you so much.

Report cards will be going home on Monday (and the 25th for the grade 8 students). Enclosed you will find a Parent Council Newsletter summarizing the wonderful initiatives that took place this year. Once again, we thank all parents who volunteered their time to the students this year.

B & A still has space in their summer camp. If you would like more info, please call 416-394-6400.

We would also like to acknowledge all the grade 4 students, staff and parents who volunteered their time at the White Elephant Sale this year. All proceeds ($1300) will be going to the Toronto Star Fresh Air Fund. This fund helps send kids to summer camps.

In staffing news, we have recently found out that Mrs. Koch and Mrs. Silva will no longer be with us as Educational Assistants as they have been declared surplus by the Board. Although they will still be with us as lunchroom supervisors, we are going to greatly miss them in the classroom.

Finally, we wish our grade eights a wonderful time at their graduation ceremony on Wednesday night.

Dates to Remember:
Monday-Grade 7 Year End Trip
Tuesday-Athletic Assemblies
Wednesday-Gr 8 Grad
Thursday-Last Day for Students; Year End Assembly(9:15ish); Lunch on the Lawn

Interactive Voice Response

Just to let you know TDSB will be testing a new communication system with parents. The board has a new automated system called IVR. The purpose is to keep you informed about school and board-wide events. They will be testing the system June 17th to June 18th by broadcasting to households. A letter is on our website explaining in detail.

Coming to an End!

Although there may be some changes to the staff, the following represents our school organization for 2009/2010:

Kindergarten-Ms. Mandel (am), Ms. Raymond, Mrs. Tyndall (am), Mrs. Caliguiri (pm), Mrs. Seitz; Grade 1/2- Ms. Van Schoor, Ms. Buksner; Grade 1-Mrs. Younger, Mr. Blais, Ms. Kim, Mrs. Hall ; Grade 2 – Ms. Malobabic, Mrs. Bradshaw, Ms. Olson; Grade 3-Ms. Zappi, Mrs. Shklar, Mrs. Adair, Mr. Ross; Grade 4- Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Littlejohn, Mrs. Gibson, Grade 5-Mrs. Iafrate, Mrs. Young, Ms. Walker; Grade 6-Ms. Moser, Mr. Ourique; Grade 7- Mrs. Perry, Mr. Kuru; Grade 8-Mr. Ellerker, Dr. deBraga; Special Education-Ms. Dacyshyn, Mr. Elias, Mrs. Heath ; Physical Education-Mr. Bracht; French-Mme. Locicero, Mme. Freitas; Library-Mrs. McGee; Music-Ms. Hoffman

As you can see we are welcoming two new teachers to the primary division; namely Mrs. Hall and Ms. Buksner. We look forward to working with them come September.

Next year, we have an allocation of 1 EA (Educational Assistant) and 2 SNA (Special Needs Assistant). Unfortunately, we still do not know who will be with us as the Board is still working through this process. We do know that Mrs. Mills has accepted another SNA position at another school. Her talents, warm heart and sensitivity will be greatly missed.

Please remember to check out our website for the Day Schedule and Calendar. Some times have changed slightly. We explained the changes at the parent council meeting on Monday night. Basically, we have to look at the schedules every year and accommodate changes made to teacher supervision times and prep times. This year, the staffing committee worked together to create a 5 day cycle, with 7 periods a day of 42 minutes (important for students on rotary). We will include these times on the letter going home with the report card also.

To continue our celebration of the character trait perseverance, I'd like to share Evan's (5B) thoughts:

Perseverance is when you are so far behind in something and could just give up, but you decide to keep on going and you give it extra effort. You may have to sacrifice a few things but if you do, you will meet the requirement and show perseverance.

Goodbye to Mrs. Missios

It is with great pleasure that we can formally tell you that Mrs. Missios will be retiring at the end of the school year. Mrs. Missios has been at LKS since 1982 and has taught many of our students. She has a total of 34 years with the Board. Congratulations to you Mrs. Missios; we will miss you terribly on the kindergarten team. Your experience and humour have been great assets to our staff!

In addition to Mrs. Missios leaving, Mr. Page has accepted a teaching position at another school for next September. Again, Mr. Page has been a tremendously loved staff member as he has done so much for the students and community at large. We will miss him!

All other staffing changes will be "blogged" over the next couple of weeks when changes become finalized.

We hope our grade 8 staff and students have a wonderful time in Quebec next week. We will see you back on Friday. Be safe and have fun!

Please check our website for the 2009/2010 Day Schedule and School Calendar!


June
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
16th-Kindergarten Play day
17th-Grade 4 White Elephant Sale
19th-Grade 6-8 Final Dance!
22nd-Report Cards Go Home!
24th-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students; Year End Assembly: Lunch on the Lawn

June Already!

I cannot believe Monday is June 1st! We have lots to accomplish over the next month!

We'd like to draw your attention to a new link for Free the Children. Under the direction of Mrs. Adair, Mrs. Zappi, Ms. Shklar, Ms. Walker, Mrs. Olson and Ms. Moser, a group of interested students will be working with our student body to continue fundraising for this very important cause. We began this initiative last year, and we are looking forward to the work we will continue next year!

This month we asked the students what the character traits Integrity and Perseverance means to them. We will be acknowledging these on the announcements and on my blog. Here is what Tristan in grade 6 said Perseverance is...."it is doing something you don't want to do. You have to push yourself past your limits. You have to put forth a large amount of effort. Most importantly, you have to be yourself while you do it!". Well put Tristan! Claire in grade 6 says that integrity is...when a person is honest, and sincere...a person will always tell the truth, no matter what the consequences, and says everything with a good, straightforward attitude." Very insightful Claire!

June
1st-Grade 6-8 Instrumental Concert Night
2nd-Dental Screening;Book Fair-2 For 1 (until the 4th)
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals; Grade 1 Classes to the Zoo!
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections; Grade 2 Classes to Harbourfront
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
16th-Kindergarten Play day
17th-Grade 4 White Elephant Sale
19th-Grade 6-8 Final Dance!
22nd-Report Cards Go Home!
24th-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students; Year End Assembly: Lunch on the Lawn

Volunteer Tea

Thank you to Mrs. Seitz and Mrs. Dacyshyn for organizing the Volunteer Tea on Wednesday and to all staff who provided treats. It is important to us that we recognize all the parents and family members who have volunteered their time in and out of the classrooms. LKS wouldn't look or feel the same as it does now without your involvement and we appreciate your efforts.

Thank you to all the students, especially Danielle, who either organized or participated in the LKS Idol. Twelve acts were shown and all provided great entertainment. These events help to reinforce the commitment and practise needed by the performers and it also provides an opportunity to practice being a good audience.

Good luck to all the students participating in the Track and Field meet on Monday. Currently, we have 2 buses heading to York-that translates into a lot of little athletes! Good luck in your events and remember to have fun and show good sportsmanship.

Teachers are very busy in the classroom as we wind down the year. Over the last few weeks the students have been completing year end assessments including our Spring CTBS and DRA (primary) and CASI (junior/intermediate)reading assessments. All this data is important for us to see our students' academic growth and areas that we may need to continue to work on next year. Next week, our grade 3 and 6 students will write the EQAO assessments. Results will be available early Fall. In early June we will also post our School Improvement Plan Summary. The teachers are in the processes of evaluating their goals and achievements.

In closing, the warm weather is upon us and it is time again to remind the students of appropriate clothing in these tropical conditions. We encourage the students, especially our older middle school students, to be dressed appropriately. That usually means no bra and/or underwear showing (for both girls and the boys) and nothing to0 short (i.e. skirts should be just above the knee-the girls need to apply the bending over rule when choosing a skirt- if you had to bend over to pick something up, could someone see something he/she shouldn't be seeing- and finally no stomachs please! We've had questions about spaghetti straps and the answer is always-no bra should be seen. We thank you in support of this at home. Common sense will prevail! P.S. -no tube tops!

As of yet, no 2009/2010 school calendar has been published (from the Board)-let's hope for next week.

Dates

25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO
29th-Pizza Day

June
1st-Grade 6-8 Instrumental Concert Night
2nd-Dental Screening
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals; Grade 1 Classes to the Zoo!
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections; Grade 2 Classes to Harbourfront
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
22nd-Report Cards Go Home!
24th-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students; Year End Assembly: Lunch on the Lawn

Happy Long Weekend!

We hope everyone has a great weekend resting up and having fun with your friends and family. We had a very busy week...again!

Many of our sports teams had their tournaments this week, including the senior boys soccer and ultimate frisbee teams. Cricket players, be sure to look for your postponed tournament on the sports website. Thank you to all the players who tried out for a team. It takes a lot of courage and hard practice and you are commended for your commitment. Thank you to the coaches. I know you were pulled in many directions this week, spending 12 hour days, and your efforts too should be commended. Finally a big thanks to all the parents who drove back and forth. I know that many of you were driving many days this week!

Thank you to all the safety reps for helping out with our "tug of wars" at recess. They thought they would celebrate the Character Trait of "cooperation" with a friendly class tug of war! It was really fun! Remember that May's character trait is Integrity. This concept is a bit hard for the little ones to understand, but can easily be introduced with a small conversation of "right and wrong". The safety reps will be meeting next week to plan an event to cover the last two character traits of the year.

Report Cards will go home on June 22nd. Even though we are very busy at the end of the year, students are encouraged to stay focused on achieving your third term goals. We know many of you are hard at work finishing up projects and studying for final tests. We have asked all teachers to communicate with parents if any students will be transferring into the next grade (please see 2nd term report card parent letter for Promotion, Transfer and Retention processes).

A final thank you to all the students who got dropped off at Kiss and Ride today. The parents told me you were so nice today and greeted them with warm "good mornings"! Thank you for being so respectful.

Dates

18th-Victory Day!
20th-Volunteer Tea @ 3:30-Library
21st-LKS has Talent-p.m.; Junior Boys Soccer
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO
29th-Pizza Day

June
1st-Grade 6-8 Instrumental Concert Night
2nd-Dental Screening
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals; Grade 1 Classes to the Zoo!
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections; Grade 2 Classes to Harbourfront
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
22nd-Report Card Go Home!
24th-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students; Year End Assembly

A Successful Springfest!

Thank you to all the parents who helped organize Springfest! What a great day for the community...and the weather proved to be on our side! A special congratulations to Kati in grade 4 who will be spending the day with me and Mr. Mclean for winning 'Principal for the Day'!

Just a reminder that Parent Council will be meeting on Monday @ 7:30 p.m. in the library. Fundraising ideas will be on the agenda for those of you interested in this area.

Bruce Davis is also holding a Ward Meeting at Islington P.S. @ 6:30 p.m. The TDSB Budget Process will be the topic.

Congratulations to Julia, Avery, Kyle and Scott in grade 8 for competing at the Waterloo Canada Skills Provincial Final where they demonstrated tremendous teamwork. Also, to Ian, David, Laura, Julia, Khrystyna and Jennifer for placing second at the Canadian Fluid Power Challenge with a remarkable score of 93%. Thank you to Dr. debraga for always being supportive of these really special challenges.

Just a reminder that schools starts back on September 8th, 2009. The students will not be here in August, only staff. The Ministry hasn't approved our school year calendar yet indicating holidays, PA days, etc. When we get that (hopefully soon), we will post for you.

Dates
11th-Parent Council @ 7:30; Ward Meeting @ 6:30-Islington
12th-Grade 6 Frisbee Tourney
11th-14th-Grade 4-8 Track and Field Try Outs -ECI-follow Mr. Bracht's schedule
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival; Sr Boys' Soccer Tourney; Sean Cassidy-Author visit for Kindies; Grade 6 Frisbee Tourney; Grade 1-3 Track and Field Meet @ 9:00-11:00
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library; Lockdown Practise @ 9:00; Junior Girls Soccer Tourney
18th-Victory Day!
20th-Volunteer Tea @ 3:30-Library
21st-LKS has Talent-p.m.; Junior Boys Soccer
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO
29th-Pizza Day

June
1st-Grade 6-8 Instrumental Concert Night
2nd-Dental Screening
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals; Grade 1 Classes to the Zoo!
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections; Grade 2 Classes to Harbourfront
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
24th-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students

Springfest

As I write this, we still have a few of our moms setting up the last items for tomorrow's big event. Thank you to everyone who helped organize Springfest. It seems like it is going to be amazing!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful accolades regarding Wizard of Oz. All the staff and students appreciate your support and appreciation. The students should be so proud of themselves.

Over the last week, I've attended a couple of conferences that were truly inspiring. The first was around a new way of creating grade 9 classes. Many American schools are starting to rearrange their grade 9 students into "homerooms" with less rotary and a strong team of teachers supporting them throughout the first year. These new models are being looked at seriously as a result of the decreasing and quite frankly, startling, decline in graduation rates. The unfortunate thing is that we are seeing similar data across TDSB. The conference also gave us some new "transition" strategies to look at with our feeder high schools.

The second conference was called "Boys Adrift" which focused on the growing issue of unmotivated and underachieving boys. Again, the high school and university graduation data of boys are following a disturbing pattern. According to Stats Canada, 68% of the university graduates in 1971 were boys, compared to 40% in 2006. The rest of the conference focused on the factors the speaker, Leonard Sax, says are the contributing factors; namely changes in education, video games, medications, endocrine disruptors and "revenge of the forsaken gods" or the collapse of our social constructions of masculinity. For obvious reasons, these issues are very real to many of you and us as educators. If you want to read more on the topic, we did buy a copy of Sax's book, Boys Adrift. If you want to borrow it, please come and see me.

Finally, if you have any pictures for this year's LINK yearbook, the deadline for submissions is May 8th. Send them to 'kb_laco@sympatico.ca'


Just a few dates to remember:

May

2nd-Springfest
4th-Ms. Malobabic's class to Sprockets
5th-Grade 5 Greek Olympics
7th-Intermediates (some) and Dr. D go to Power Fluid Challenge
8th-Pizza Lunch; Frisbee Tourney;
11th-14th-Grade 4-8 Track and Field Try Outs -ECI-follow Mr. Bracht's schedule
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival; Sr Boys' Soccer Tourney; Sean Cassidy-Author visit for Kindies
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library; Lockdown Practise @ 9:0018th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO
29th-Pizza Day

June
2nd-Dental Screening
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals; Grade 1 Classes to the Zoo!
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections; Grade 2 Classes to Harbourfront
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
23rd-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students

Earth Week

We are very excited to be participating in many activities to help celebrate Earth Week. Please see the Eco-Warriors' blog to get an update. A special thanks to Ms. Perry, Mr. Mclean, Ms. Shklar, Mr. Britton, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Leger for all your help.

This week, we had a few cases of lice in the primary grades. Please remember to call the office and/or the teacher to let us know as we need to send home a letter to all the students' homes. This also applies to chicken pox as we need to advise any staff involved with the kids in case they are pregnant.

Just a reminder that our grade 3 and 6 students will be writing the EQAO assessment the week of May 25th. The teachers will be sending home specific information/tips later.

We have no new staffing information, other than we will not have to declare any teachers surplus. We will not know teaching staff until June, and even then we still may have a few changes come September. We do place students into their new classes over the next couple of months. When we create classes we try to balance number of students, gender, social and academic concerns etc. Parental requests of a teacher is not encouraged and we thank you in advance for this support.

It looks like the school organization will be: 3.5 Kindergarten classes; 3 grade ones; 2 classes of 1/2 splits; 3 grade two classes; 4 grade three classes; 3 classes of grade 4; 3 for grade five and finally 2 classes of grade six, 2 for grade seven and 2 for grade eight.

Just a few dates to remember:
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
21st-WOZ (Wizard of OZ) full dress rehearsal-afternoon; Gr 6 Badminton Tourney
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
23rd-Grade 5 Badminton Tourney @ LKS
24th-Sharing Assemblies-postponed due to WOZ;WOZ Full Dress Rehearsal
27th-School performance of WOZ-afternoon
28th-Parent Matinee of OZ
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ-Evening Performances


May
1st-Pizza Lunch
2nd-Springfest
5th-Grade 5 Greek Olympics
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival; Sr Boys' Soccer Tourney
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library
18th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO

June
2nd-Dental Screening
3rd-Free the Children Assembly
4th-Grade 4-8 York University Conference Finals
5th-Grade 6 Cosmic Connections
8th-12th-Grade 8 Quebec Trip
8th-Parent Council
10th-Grade 4-8 City Track Finals-U of T
23rd-Grade 8 Graduation
25th-Last Day for Students

Easter Weekend

Thank you to all the students who participated in Battle of the Bands today. What great performances. You should all be commended! Thank you to Ms. Moser for helping the Student Council organize this great event.

We hope everyone has a great long weekend and special thoughts go to our families celebrating Easter.

Just a few dates to remember:
15th-Grade 7 & 8 Presentation in the gym; Ms. Mcgee and Mr. Mclean off to Boys Literacy Conference with some of our students; Ms. Perry and Mr. Ourique's grade 6 classes are off to Outdoor Ed
16th-South West Student Equity Conference Conference-Mr. Elias and select Grade 7 & 8 students
17th-Athletic Assembly in the afternoon
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
21st-WOZ (Wizard of OZ) full dress rehearsal-afternoon; Gr 6 Badminton Tourney
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
23rd-Grade 5 Badminton Tourney @ LKS
24th-Sharing Assemblies-may be postponed due to WOZ; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections; WOZ Full Dress Rehearsal
27th-School performance of WOZ-afternoon
28th-Parent Matinee of OZ
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ-Evening Performances

May
1st-Pizza Lunch
2nd-Springfest
5th-Grade 5 Greek Olympics
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library
18th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO

April

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the wonderful parents who volunteered their time today to help out Mrs. Ayer with our Pizza Lunch. The students really enjoy Pizza Days; it makes school fun!

Thank you to all the ECO WARRIORS as they continue to remind us to be conscientious of our surroundings. Today we turned off our lights in the afternoon to recognize Earth Hour tomorrow night! Thank you to all the staff and parents on our committee.

Ms. Armin and Mr. Samotowka distributed the Toronto Summer Music Camps brochure to students in Grade 6-8. The camp is at Mono Cliffs and runs at various times in July. The applications are due by April 23rd.

Good luck to Avery, Ian, Lucas and Imaan at the Math Olympics event tomorrow!

As most of you know, we are in the process of rebuilding a new field. The Board selected the school to be a recipient of a new playing field, including artificial turf. The Board is working with landscape architects and they have completed the conceptual drawings. We will post this on the front office window for you to see and we'll show it at the April Parent Council meeting. We will work with the Board over the next few months as they work through the next steps. The construction will hopefully begin in the Fall.

We received our staffing numbers for the school year 2009/2010. We are fortunate to maintain our 36.5 teaching staff, office staff and lunchroom staff. We have lost .5 of an Education Assistant and now will work with 1 next year. We will receive our Special Needs Assistant numbers at a later date, along with our caretaking numbers.

Finally, report cards go home on Monday and Interviews are on Thursday night and Friday. These interviews are usually reserved for any concerns from both teachers and parents; academically and/or socially. We look forward to seeing some of you over the next week or so. We also included in the report card an envelope explaining the PTR (Promotion, Transfer and Retention) process. Hopefully this info will give you some background knowledge for the end of year.

March
30th- Report Cards Go Home; Junior Swim Team Meet
31st-Sr. Swim Team Meet


April
1st-Intermediate and Junior Sharing Assemblies
2nd-Grade 5 classes to ROM
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
6th-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:30 p.m.-library
7th-Grade 2 to Reptilia
8th-Swim Finals @ Riverdale; Grade 5 Olympics
9th-Grade 1/2/Kindergarten Special Education Reviews
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday
15th-Grade 7 & 8 Presentation in the gym
16th-South West Student Equity Conference Conference-Mr. Elias and select Grade 7 & 8 students
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
21st-WOZ (Wizard of OZ) full dress rehearsal-afternoon
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
24th-Sharing Assemblies-may be postponed due to WOZ; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections; WOZ Full Dress Rehearsal
27th-School performance of WOZ-afternoon
28th-Parent Matinee of OZ
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ-Evening Performances

May
1st-Pizza Lunch
2nd-Springfest
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library
18th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
25th-West Track and Field Meet @York University-Grade 2-8
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO

March Break

On Tuesday, the students in Mr. Blais class, along with Mrs. Zappi's and Mrs. Taylor's classes participated in our SW1 FOS Arts Festival at Islington P.S. The students performed beautifully and the pieces chosen by Ms. Hoffman were quite amazing. Overall, it was a great experience for the kids as we were able to see different schools sing and dance. We are looking forward to next year's event.

On the same day, some of our grade 7 & 8 students attended an ECOSCHOOLS Conference with Ms. Perry and Mr. Mclean. The students participated in some interactive workshops and apparently got some great ideas that could be implemented at LKS next year!

We did get official notification that the 2009-2010 calendar has been approved. The first day of school will be Sept 8th for all students. Sept 2nd and 3rd will be Professional Activity Days for staff.

Finally, we hope everyone enjoys their holiday. Looking forward to seeing you all back on the 23rd.

March
16th-20th-March Break
23rd-Eco-Warriors Lunch-Room 123; Swim Practice; K-3 Hand washing Workshop
25th-Swim Practice
26th-Swim Practice
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Pizza Lunch; Student Council Battle of the Bands
30th- Report Cards Go Home; Junior Swim Team Meet
31st-Sr. Swim Team Meet

April
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
7th-Grade 2 to Reptilia
8th-Swim Finals @ Riverdale; Grade 5 Olympics
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday
16th-South West Student Equity Conference Conference-Mr. Elias and select Grade 7 & 8 students
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
24th-Sharing Assemblies; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ

May
1st-Pizza Lunch
2nd-Springfest
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library
18th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO

EARTH HOUR

The Eco-Warriors asked me to relay the following information to you...

All TDSB schools will shut off their lights from 2-3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27th. We are also encouraging students to promote the Global Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28th @ 8:30 p.m. Any discussion you can incorporate into the days leading up to this event would certainly help students understand the impact they can have on slowing global warming. Please feel free to add our Eco Warrior Blog link to your pages (listed to the right); this is where we post "Eco Stuff" including the latest Energy Reductions @ LKS. Earth Week Activities (April 20th-24th) will be announced shortly and will also be posted on our Eco Warrior Blog (http:lksecowarriors.blogspot.com) and the LKS Website (listed to the right).

Just a reminder to please inform the office, as soon as possible, if you know that your child will not be attending LKS next year. This is important information to know as we plan classes. Another reminder to those parents who have moved from our area, to register your child in your new home school for September. The sooner the new school knows, the better they can place your child. Reminder letters will be sent home shortly.

9th-Swim Practice; Interview Letters go Home!
10th-Grade 7 Hep B #2/Grade 8 Girls HPV #3; Middle School EcoSchools Conference
11th-Swim Practice
16th-20th-March Break
23rd-Eco-Warriors Lunch-Room 123; Swim Practice; K-3 Handwashing Workshop
25th-Swim Practice
26th-Parent Council Family Night; Swim Practice
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Pizza Lunch; Student Council Battle of the Bands
30th- Report Cards Go Home; Junior Swim Team Meet
31st-Sr. Swim Team Meet

April
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
7th-Grade 2 to Reptilia
8th-Swim Finals @ Riverdale; Grade 5 Olympics
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday
16th-South West Student Equity Conference Conference-Mr. Elias and select Grade 7 & 8 students
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
24th-Sharing Assemblies; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ

May
1st-Pizza Lunch
2nd-Springfest
13th-Red Maple Trip to Harbourfront-Mrs. McGee and select Grade 7 & 8 students
14th-Grade 4/5 Students attend World Energy Festival
15th-Forest of Reading Lunch-Grade 3-8 in the Library
18th-Victory Day!
22nd-Sharing Assemblies
26th-Grade 3 & 6 EQAO

Goodbye to February

I would like to start this blog by thanking our Class Safety Reps for the wonderful job they did on Monday and Tuesday as they served around 800 pancakes to the adults and students at LKS! Even though most of us never want to see another pancake for a very long time, it was truly a wonderful time spent together. Thank you to staff and parents who supplied us with some griddles and alternative snacks for those with allergies. It was nice that everyone was included in this experience. Next week, the reps will be looking at the Fairness Poems our students submitted to help recognize February's Character Trait of Fairness. The March Character Trait is "Honesty".

This week, our sports teams were really busy; namely hockey, swimming and badminton. We would like to extend our congratulations to both our hockey teams as they finished off their seasons on Thursday. Our juniors will be going to the semi-finals next week. What a big commitment that all the players put forth during the season. A special thanks to all the parents who drove the kids in the wee hours of the morning and at lunch. A special thanks also to Mr. Bracht and Mr. Page for your leadership both on and off the ice.

On Thursday, we also hosted many of our grade 8 and 9 teachers in our South West Family of Schools for a Grade 9 Math EQAO Workshop. Teachers were given an opportunity to look at last year's data and discussed the results together. These types of workshops will continue to be invaluable as we send our students on to the secondary schools.

Our students and staff had a great time at the Kiwanis Festival. On Friday, we took the last grade 8 group to John English and came in 2nd to Hollycrest. We really played well on stage and were an excellent audience. A special thank you to Ms. Armin and Mr. Samotowka.

A final note of recognition goes to our grade 8 students who attended the TDSB Skills Competition. This year, the groups had to create a carpark. A total of 44 teams competed across TDSB, and we are very proud to say that one of our LKS groups, consisting of Scott Mitchell, Kyle Wilson, Julia Dmytryshyn and Avery Wentraub, qualified for the Provincial competition in Waterloo in May. In addition, David Yang, Ian Tramble, Julia Tomczak and Julia Vescio will be our back-up team. Ben Pirie, Kenny Malcolmson, Jennifer Thompson, Khrystyna Hnatovska created our third team and need to be recognized at this time. Congratulations! Thank you Dr. deBraga for being so dedicated to our science program.

Finally, from Parent Council, a reminder to mark SPRINGFEST on your calendars-MAY 2, 2009! We are looking forward to a fun Saturday!

Dates to Remember:

March
4th-Swim Practice
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
9th-Swim Practice; Interview Letters go Home!
10th-Grade 7 Hep B #2/Grade 8 Girls HPV #3; Middle School EcoSchools Conference
11th-Swim Practice
16th-20th-March Break
23rd-Eco-Warriors Lunch-Room 123; Swim Practice; K-3 Handwashing Workshop
25th-Swim Practice
26th-Parent Council Family Night; Swim Practice
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Pizza Lunch; Student Council Battle of the Bands
30th- Report Cards Go Home; Junior Swim Team Meet
31st-Sr. Swim Team Meet

April
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
7th-Grade 2 to Reptilia
8th-Swim Finals @ Riverdale; Grade 5 Olympics
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
24th-Sharing Assemblies; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ

Pancake Tuesday!

The Safety reps will be really busy on Monday and Tuesday as they will be cooking pancakes for all the classes to celebrate Pancake Tuesday. We thought this would be a great community building activity at LKS! Just a reminder to all the students that your "Fairness" poems are due at the end of the week.

We would like to extend our thank you to Ms. Armin and Mr. Samotowka for taking all the grade 7 & 8 students to the Kiwanis Music Festival this year. For those of you who do not know, Ms. Armin teaches strings to our grade 6-8 students and Mr. Samotowka teaches band. Both are instrumental music teachers assigned to a variety of schools in our area. Thank you for the extra effort!

At the last parent council meeting, someone asked if the portable was ever inspected. The answer is yes. Our portable was erected in 2007, and will be inspected in the summer of 2009. So far there are no areas of concern.

At the meeting we also discussed our enrolment. We should be getting our final projected enrolment over the next month. So far, it looks like we will have approximately 720 students, down 20 from our current enrolment. Even though we are slightly down, we are still "closed' for optional attendance. That means that we do not accept registrations outside our catchment area. Our staffing process will begin shortly.

February
23rd-Grade 6-8-Pancake Monday (those grades are busy on Tuesday)
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis; Pancake Tuesday-JK-5
26th-Hockey Conferences
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March
4th-Swim Practice
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
9th-Swim Practice; Interview Letters go Home!
10th-Grade 7 Hep B #2/Grade 8 Girls HPV #3; Middle School EcoSchools Conference
11th-Swim Practice
16th-20th-March Break
23rd-Eco-Warriors Lunch-Room 123; Swim Practice; K-3 Handwashing Workshop
25th-Swim Practice
26th-Parent Council Family Night; Swim Practice
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Pizza Lunch; Student Council Battle of the Bands
30th- Report Cards Go Home; Junior Swim Team Meet
31st-Sr. Swim Team Meet

April
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
7th-Grade 2 to Reptilia
8th-Swim Finals @ Riverdale; Grade 5 Olympics
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday
20th-Earth Week Begins; Eco Assemblies
22nd-Author Kenneth Oppel visits
24th-Sharing Assemblies; Grade 6 Presentation-Cosmic Connections
29th & 30th-Wizard of OZ

Happy Valentine's Day

We finally wrapped up our celebrations today. A big thank you goes to all the grade 8 students who helped organize our bake sale, candy grams and dance. You have shown a tremendous amount of leadership in the school this week. Congratulations!

Just a reminder to our grade 8 students that your course selections are due on Wednesday.

We hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and Family Day! Please remember to be careful near any open water; the snow is melting and our rivers are running high!

Have

13th-PA Day-no school and 16th-Family Day-no school

17th-Grade 8 Band to Kiwanis; Eco-Warriors meeting @ lunch in Room 123
18th-Grade 5/6 Spec Ed Reviews
19th-Junior Boys Hockey;Brazil Dancers @ 2:00 for grades 4-8; Swim Practice @ 7:00 a.m
20th-Author Lucy Falcone visits grade 5 and 6
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
16th-20th-March Break
27th-Sharing Assemblies
30th- Report Cards Go Home

April
2nd-Kindergarten to Grade 2 Spec Ed Reviews
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday

LOVE IS IN THE AIR

Congratulations to both our Girls' VBall teams who played well at their tournaments. Thank you to Dr. deBraga, Mr. Elias, Mr. Littlejohn and Ms. Moser for dedicating their time to our sports teams. Please take a look at our website to access our DRA/CASI fall data (under Data). We'll look at them closer at the Parent Council meeting on Monday. Once again, we have lots going on this week...in addition the grade 8 students continue to sell their Candygrams!

Feb:
9th-Parent Council @ 7:30 p.m.in the Library
10th-Jr Boys Hockey@ 11:00 a.m; Grade 6 Scientist in the School
11th-Sr Boys Hockey @ 8:00; Kindergarten Registration;Family Bingo Night-cancelled; Grade 8 Bake Sale
12th-Grade 4 Medieval Times Trip; Kindergarten Registration; Grade 6-8 Student Council VDay Dance
13th-PA Day-no school and 16th-Family Day-no school


17th-Grade 8 Band to Kiwanis
18th-Grade 5/6 Spec Ed Reviews
19th-Junior Boys Hockey
20th-Author Lucy Falcone visits grade 5 and 6
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
16th-20th-March Break
27th-Sharing Assemblies
30th- Report Cards Go Home

April
2nd-Kindergarten to Grade 2 Spec Ed Reviews
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday

LKS ART

I thought I would post some pics of the fabulous artwork that is happening at LKS. We are so proud of the children as they explore their talents. Art can be such a great tool to express both feelings and ideas. Many teachers at LKS integrate art across the curriculum. Yesterday I was covering a grade 7 math class and thought of the wonderful art lessons that we can start using as they are learning about tessellations. Welcome to String ART!

We are also very happy that Ms. Hoffman, Mr. Blais and Ms. Zappi will be attending our first South West Family of Schools Arts Festival in March. They will have the opportunity to perform a few songs (and drumming) and listen to other performances. It should be a great time. The performance will be at Islington P.S.

I am just learning how to post pics and slideshows on the blog. I have discovered posting pics on the web so you can see some of our great shots. Please be patient as I am learning this..a new skill takes so much time to learn! If you know how to use Picasa and Google web albums, I have a few questions...please stop by to see me. Greatly appreciated. Please visit http://picasaweb.google.com/LKSPICS for more fabulour art at LKS! (Hopefully they show up)!

February

We've just finished our January Sharing Assemblies and once again, they were wonderful displays of the many talents our students possess. Certificates were given to many students stressing our January Character Trait of " Teamwork". To help celebrate together, we are hoping to get out on Tuesday to build snowmen in the Shale pit. Please make sure everyone is dressed appropriately.

We will celebrate February's Character Trait of "Fairness" starting next week. The Safety Reps are hosting a poetry contest to highlight this fantastic trait. The students at LKS are welcome to write a poem on fairness and hand it into the office by the end of the month!

February seems to be the month of sickness and holidays! If your child is going to be away please make sure you contact the teacher and the office (Safe Arrival) to inform them. Today, there were record breaking absences, and many were unaccounted for. Mrs. Sheppard has to call for each unknown absence and sometimes it takes for most of the afternoon. Fewer phone calls home would make her job easier and the students safer. We thank you for your efforts.

Furthermore, if your child has chicken pox (or lice), please contact the school as we send a letter home to the class. Also, staff are informed in case there is a pregnancy. Fifth's Disease has become common place over the last few years. It is a cold-like virus with a red rash. Usually your doctor will confirm it and tell you when to return to school.

February
2nd-Sr Boys Hockey; Optional Attendance Due to Secondary Schools
3rd-Grade 3/4 Spec Ed Reviews; Grade 6 Scientist in the School
4th-Junior Boys Hockey; Sr and Jr Girls VBall Tourney
6th-Grade 6 Scientist in the School
9th-Parent Council @ 7:30 p.m.
10th-Jr Boys Hockey
11th-Sr Boys Hockey; Kindergarten Registration; Grade 8 Course Selections Due; Family Bingo Night (Parent Council)
12th-Grade 4 Medieval Times Trip; Kindergarten Registration
13th-PA Day-no school and 16th-Family Day-no school
17th-Grade 8 Band to Kiwanis
18th-Grade 5/6 Spec Ed Reviews
19th-Junior Boys Hockey
20th-Author Lucy Falcone visits grade 5 and 6
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
16th-20th-March Break
27th-Sharing Assemblies
30th- Report Cards Go Home

April
2nd-Kindergarten to Grade 2 Spec Ed Reviews
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday

End of the Month

Thank you to Ms. Young for organzing our Chinese Lunch today. For the past five years, Ms. Young has organized a lunch for some of our classes to celebrate Chinese New Years. This year, it is her daughters last year at LKS, so they decided to make it a fundraiser for the Quebec trip. We thank you for this wonderful gesture and we hope our students(Gr 3 & up)who signed up, enjoy thier lunch.

The Kiss and Ride Program is desperate for volunteers. Caroline Pennie, our parent volunteer who organizes K & R, will not be able to provide K & R every day starting in February. If you could help out, even a little bit, please talk to one of us in the office or Caroline Pennie.

As many of you are aware of, the elementary teachers are in negotiations with the Board. If you want current information, please look on the TDSB website.

Ahead:
26th-Author Cheryl Thorton visits the school-Thank you Parent Council Literacy Committee
27th-Happy Family Literacy Day! Mrs. Iafrate and Mrs. Heath visit Outdoor Centre; Grade 3/7 Spec Ed Reviews
28th-Junior Boys BB Tourney @ Hollycrest
30th-Senir Boys BB Tourney @ LKS; Sharing Assemblies; Grade 6 Scientist in the School

Feb:
2nd-Sr Boys Hockey; Optional Attendance Due to Secondary Schools
3rd-Grade 3/4 Spec Ed Reviews; Grade 6 Scientist in the School
4th-Junior Boys Hockey; Sr and Jr Girls VBall Tourney
6th-Grade 6 Scientist in the School
9th-Parent Council @ 7:30 p.m.
10th-Jr Boys Hockey
11th-Sr Boys Hockey; Kindergarten Registration; Grade 8 Course Selections Due; Family Bingo Night (Parent Council)
12th-Grade 4 Medieval Times Trip; Kindergarten Registration
13th-PA Day-no school and 16th-Family Day-no school
17th-Grade 8 Band to Kiwanis
18th-Grade 5/6 Spec Ed Reviews
19th-Junior Boys Hockey
20th-Author Lucy Falcone visits grade 5 and 6
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March
5th-Grade 6-8 Ski Day
16th-20th-March Break
27th-Sharing Assemblies
30th- Report Cards Go Home

April
2nd-Kindergarten to Grade 2 Spec Ed Reviews
3rd-Parent Teacher Interviews
10th and 13th-Good Friday/Easter Monday

It's Cold!

What a terrible cold spell we just experienced! Hopefully it is warmer next week because it is so much better when we get outside for recess. You can really tell the difference in the students' energy and focus when we are inside for the day (or two)!

January usually proves to be really busy with new PD opportunities for our teachers. Our staff have gained some great professional development from our math consultant, and we will continue to do so for the month. We will be starting to order new math manipulatives over the next couple of years. Manipulatives are such a great teaching tool across the grades.

Most of our grades are working on Persuasive Writing this term, and our grade 3 and 6 teachers will be working with our language consultant on EQAO's expectations in this area.

As a staff, we will continue to look at the areas of concern in our EQAO areas and spend more time looking at the types of questions in the test booklets. We find that these staff discussions are invaluable. In January, we will also have an opportunity to explore the new data we can retrieve from our report cards.

January is also a time for both myself and Mr. Mclean to talk to teachers about all their kids, especially any students of particular concern (i.e. social, academic etc). We want to make sure that all the students are set up for success and we try hard to put in as many early interventions.

It seems like it should be a "quiet" week at LKS:
20th-Sr Boys Hockey
22nd-Junior Boys Hockey

Future:
26th-Cheryl Thorton (Author visit)-whole school
27th-Senior Boys Hockey; Family Literacy Day; Grade 3-7 Spec Ed Reviews
30th-Grade 6 Scientists in the School

Feb:
2nd-Sr Boys Hockey; Optional Attendance Due to Secondary Schools
3rd-Grade 3/4 Spec Ed Reviews; Grade 6 Scientist in the School
4th-Junior Boys Hockey; Sr and Jr Girls VBall Tourney
6th-Grade 6 Scientist in the School
10th-Jr Boys Hockey
11th-Sr Boys Hockey; Kindergarten Registration; Grade 8 Course Selections Due; Family Bingo Night (Parent Council)
12th-Grade 4 Medieval Times Trip; Kindergarten Registration
13th-PA Day-no school and 16th-Family Day-no school
17th-Grade 8 Band to Kiwanis
18th-Grade 5/6 Spec Ed Reviews
19th-Junior Boys Hockey
23rd-Parent Council @ 7:30
24th-Grade 7 Band to Kiwanis
27th-Sharing Assemblies; Orchestra to Kiwanis

March Break-March 16th-20th
Report Cards Go Home-30th
Parent Teacher Interviews-April 3rd

*B & A would like you to know there are some spots open in the program for any interested parents. Contact them at 416-394-6400.

Welcome Back!

We've had a great week back! The safety reps are very excited to celebrate the January Character Trait-Teamwork! We are waiting for packing snow and a sunny day so the whole school can head to the Shale Pit and make snow sculptures and snowmen. We thought this was a fun way for each class to celebrate being a team!

Our sports teams, including hockey, volleyball, and basketball are in full swing with scheduled weekly games or tournaments. Good luck to all the teams this term!

Kindergarten Registration will be held on February 11th and 12th. If your child was born in 2005, feel free to call the office @ 416-394-7890 for a registration time and package.

Things to look forward to:
12th-Scientist in the School-Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Walker
15th-Sr Boys Hockey @ 8:00 (also 15th)

We hope you have a relaxing weekend!