Friday, September 26, 2014

I'd like to thank Mr. Kuru, Mrs. Taylor and Mr. Ross for taking our grade 7 classes to Camp Manitou this week. Everyone had a fabulous time. The students participated in some fantastic activities like low ropes courses and archery, in addition to some team building activities; a great way to start off their middle school years. 

I'd also like to thank Mrs. Gibson and her Terry Fox helpers for organizing a great walk on Wednesday. The community has helped raise around $10 000 so far! Donations will be accepted until Thanksgiving. Great lemonade Mrs. Keogh! 

This week, Mrs. Norton was busy putting together our draft copy of the School Improvement Plan. At next week's staff meeting, all staff will be finalizing our plan and then begin planning professional development opportunities based upon it. 

I'd like to end by sending you a link one of our mom's sent to us on equity. It's a good reminder that we all have to be careful when choosing our words...

http://youtu.be/XjJQBjWYDTs

I hope you all have a great weekend. 

September 2014
29-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m. 

30-School Photos

October 2014

1-School Photos
2nd-First Cross-Country Race; Me to We Day! (Grade 6-8) 

4-Grade 6 Instrumental Music Camp

9-IEPs go home

13-Thanksgiving

14-Book Fair Begins

16-Parent Council Welcome Wagon-4:00-7:00

23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

24-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

27-Parent Council

28-Photo Retakes

30-Parent Interview Bookings Begin

31-Hallowe’en Parade

November 2014

6-Parent Interview Booking Closed

10-Report Cards Go Home

11-Remembrance Day Assembly

12-“Grow Assembly”

14-PA Day

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

24-Parent Council Meeting

25-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

December 2014

5-PA Day

12-Kindie Sharing Assembly

16-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

22-Holidays Begin

January 2015

5-School Begins

19-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m 

23-PA Day

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

28-Kindie Sharing Assembly

29-Parent On-Line Interview Bookings Open

February 2015

5-Parent On-Line Booking Closed

9-Report Cards Go Home

10 and 11-Kindergarten Registration

13-PA Day

16-Family Day

19-Kindie Sharing Assembly

20-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

23-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

March 2015

16-20-March Break

24-Kindie Sharing Assembly

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

30-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

April 2015

3 and 6-Good Friday and Easter Monday

20-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

28-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

May 2015

18-Victoria Day

20-Kindie Sharing Assembly

25-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

June 2015

5-PA Day

12-Grade 8 Graduation

15-19-Grade 8 Quebec Trip

17-Kindie Sharing Assembly

19-Grade 1-7 Sharing Assembly

24-Report Cards Go Home

25-Day 0; Student Assembly; Lunch on Lawn

Friday, September 19, 2014

School Budget

I've been working with staff to finalize our school's budget. This year, we were allocated approximately $105, 000 to operate the school. This does not include staff salaries and facilities expenses. The following is a breakdown of the budget:

-our spending priority continues to be curriculum items (i.e. textbooks, manipulatives etc); approximately 70% of the budget has been allocated in this area
-15 % has been set aside for professional development
-approximately 15% will be spent on photocopiers, telephone, office supplies, furniture and a "cushion" for emergencies

At LKS, staff work together in teams to prioritize their needs and then spend accordingly. Appointed staff are responsible for each budget line. In addition to our own school budget, we work closely with Parent Council to prioritize capital budgets.

As many of you know, the Parent Council allocated $18, 550 on a variety of projects including purchasing 4 more Smart Boards, IPADS and 2 trumpets for the music program, a sister school donation and a picnic table for the kindergarten play area. The remaining $38, 700 has been allocated on their operating budget which includes administration and permit fees, banking charges, student awards (i.e. graduation/end of year), student activities (i.e. play days), Grade 8 Graduation, JK Registration, Staff Recognition, Physical Education, Literacy/Library (i.e. author visits), Classroom Enrichment (i.e. Scientists/Artist in the School), Music, Community Outreach, Environment, Parent Education (i.e. Guest Speakers) and a Student Emergency Fund (i.e. subsidize trips etc).

We are very fortunate to have such a large budget to be working with and we will continue to work together to enhance our students' school experiences.

EQAO Results 

This week, EQAO results were released to the public. We are very proud of our students' progress thus far. The data indicated that 91% of our grade 3 students scored at Level 3 or 4 in reading, writing and mathematics along with 84%, 89% and 78% of our grade 6 students. Individual results will be sent to the school next week and we will get them home shortly after. In the next few weeks, staff will be looking at the scores along with our CTBS and early classroom diagnostics to help form our goals for our School Improvement Plan. We will share the SIP at Parent Council in October.

Staffing 

We'd like to welcome Ms. Perrin to LKS. Ms.Perrin has taught at the school in a long-term position in the past and she will now be working at the school on a permanent basis. She has accepted our half-time morning position teaching some primary classes in computers and health.  

Important Dates to Remember 

September 2014
22nd-Grade 7 Trip until the 24th; Officer Rich visits Grade 8s and 4s 

24-Terry Fox Walk

25-Terry Fox Walk Rain Date; Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly; Sr Boys Football @ Deer Park 

26-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Pizza Lunch; Whole School Lice Check 

29-Parent Council

30-School Photos

October 2014

1-School Photos
2nd-First Cross-Country Race 

4-Grade 6 Instrumental Music Camp

9-IEPs go home

13-Thanksgiving

14-Book Fair Begins

16-Parent Council Welcome Wagon-4:00-7:00

23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

24-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

27-Parent Council

28-Photo Retakes

30-Parent Interview Bookings Begin

31-Hallowe’en Parade

November 2014

6-Parent Interview Booking Closed

10-Report Cards Go Home

11-Remembrance Day Assembly

12-“Grow Assembly”

14-PA Day

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

24-Parent Council Meeting

25-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

December 2014

5-PA Day

12-Kindie Sharing Assembly

16-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

22-Holidays Begin

January 2015

5-School Begins

19-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m 

23-PA Day

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

28-Kindie Sharing Assembly

29-Parent On-Line Interview Bookings Open

February 2015

5-Parent On-Line Booking Closed

9-Report Cards Go Home

10 and 11-Kindergarten Registration

13-PA Day

16-Family Day

19-Kindie Sharing Assembly

20-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

23-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

March 2015

16-20-March Break

24-Kindie Sharing Assembly

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

30-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

April 2015

3 and 6-Good Friday and Easter Monday

20-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

28-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

May 2015

18-Victoria Day

20-Kindie Sharing Assembly

25-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

June 2015

5-PA Day

12-Grade 8 Graduation

15-19-Grade 8 Quebec Trip

17-Kindie Sharing Assembly

19-Grade 1-7 Sharing Assembly

24-Report Cards Go Home

25-Day 0; Student Assembly; Lunch on Lawn

Friday, September 12, 2014

Curriculum Vision 

I'd like to thank everyone who was able to attend Curriculum Night on Tuesday. It was a great opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn about the new routines and expectations for the year. 

During the presentation I spoke about the the skills that our students, your children, will need for 21^st century careers and citizenship; namely Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving, Collaboration and Leadership, Agility and Adaptability, Initiative, Effective Oral and Written Communication, Accessing and Analyzing Information, and Curiosity and Imagination. 

Furthermore, we have moved from Generation X, to Y and now to Z-those born from 1995-2012.  According to The Social Librarian, this last cohort of children posses the following attributes 

-incredibly sophisticated in technology 

-immune to most traditional marketing and sales pitches and as a result aren’t brand loyal-they’ve been exposed to it all on the Internet

-they have learned to be flexible and are constantly changing in views

-this group are much more racially and ethnically diverse and more segmented because they can get their information from a variety of sources including cable, TV channels, satellite radio, the Internet etc

-often they’ve been raised in single parent or dual income families

-they will most likely have to get a parent to co-sign their loans or credit card applications

Little is known about Generation Z, but we do know that schools will have to be more diverse and that technology will have to be integrated more into the school system and allow for individual instruction, remediation and acceleration. 

Why is it important for our staff to know this? It’s important because knowing what are students’ will need is the first step in planning our programs. As a staff we need to make sure that kids are engaged in their own learning. We will continue to implement inquiry-based learning-a focus from last year, and continue to our work on creating authentic assessments and evaluations. We must continue to teach how to ask a higher level questions and give the kids the tools to find the answers.  Staff must teach rote, paper and pencil techniques, but not make it their sole assessment strategy. We will continue to balance these traditional assessments with more creative ones. 

I’ve never believed in throwing out the baby with the bathwater-but staff have to be willing to change and try new things in order to improve student achievement! And finally, technology must be incorporated into the program and we are so fortunate to be working in a school community that can support this aspect of learning. As many of you know, we are so close to having a Smart Board in each of our classrooms which have been a wonderful teaching and learning tool. We will continue to seek more IT learning opportunities in the future-as we know-it’s constantly changing. 

From Parent Council...

The following classes still need a Grade Parent. If you are interested in the position, please contact your child's teacher. Thank you. 

- Mrs. Mandel

- Ms. Shklar/Ms. Najder-March

- Mr. Littlejohn

- Mr. Ellerker

- Mr. Kuru

- Mr. Ross

Flyers were sent home for September Pizza Day and the Fall Festival. Next week, the weekly Bulletin will be sent home electronically. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Important Dates to Remember 

September 2014
15th-Cross Country Begins 

24-Terry Fox Walk

25-Terry Fox Walk Rain Date; Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

26-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

29-Parent Council

30-School Photos

October 2014

1-School Photos

4-Grade 6 Instrumental Music Camp

9-IEPs go home

13-Thanksgiving

14-Book Fair Begins

16-Parent Council Welcome Wagon-4:00-7:00

23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

24-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

27-Parent Council

28-Photo Retakes

30-Parent Interview Bookings Begin

31-Hallowe’en Parade

November 2014

6-Parent Interview Booking Closed

10-Report Cards Go Home

11-Remembrance Day Assembly

12-“Grow Assembly”

14-PA Day

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

24-Parent Council Meeting

25-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

December 2014

5-PA Day

12-Kindie Sharing Assembly

16-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

22-Holidays Begin

January 2015

5-School Begins

19-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m 

23-PA Day

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

28-Kindie Sharing Assembly

29-Parent On-Line Interview Bookings Open

February 2015

5-Parent On-Line Booking Closed

9-Report Cards Go Home

10 and 11-Kindergarten Registration

13-PA Day

16-Family Day

19-Kindie Sharing Assembly

20-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

23-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

March 2015

16-20-March Break

24-Kindie Sharing Assembly

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

30-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

April 2015

3 and 6-Good Friday and Easter Monday

20-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

28-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

May 2015

18-Victoria Day

20-Kindie Sharing Assembly

25-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

June 2015

5-PA Day

12-Grade 8 Graduation

15-19-Grade 8 Quebec Trip

17-Kindie Sharing Assembly

19-Grade 1-7 Sharing Assembly

24-Report Cards Go Home

25-Day 0; Student Assembly; Lunch on Lawn

Welcome Back Everyone! It's been a wonderful week at LKS as we have all settled back into the routine of the day. A big welcome to our new families. 

As many of you know Mrs. Miller, a member of the Parent Council Executive, is busy finding Grade Parents for each classroom. Grade Parents are still required for the following classes: Ms. Kim, Mrs. Olson, Mrs. Mandel, Ms. Najder/Shklar, Ms. Walker, Ms. Moser, Ms. Caligiuri, Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Ellerker, Mr. Kuru, Mr. Ross and Mr. Bracht. If you would like to be a Grade Parent, please make sure you contact your child's teacher. 

We had a pretty smooth transition back to school. We had quite a few new registrations over the last couple of weeks and we will be looking at our final numbers shortly. It looks like our kindergarten classes will be just above 30 and our primary classes are at cap, with the exception of one grade one class. Our highest classes are our two grade four classes that are sitting at 32 and 34. At this point, it doesn't look like we will have to do a lot of reorganization. 

As some of you know, development continues at 2208, 4210 and 4214 Dundas Street West. We were sent communication stating that any children residing in the buildings will not be attending LKS as we have insufficient space. Potential residents will be instructed to attend another school appointed by the Board. 

I hope you all have a great weekend and I hope to see you on Curriculum Night. 

September 2014

8th-Terry Fox Assembly

9th-Curriculum Night-see Flyer sent home

10th-Grade 4-8 Student Assembly

24-Terry Fox Walk

25-Terry Fox Walk Rain Date; Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

26-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

29-Parent Council

30-School Photos

October 2014

1-School Photos

4-Grade 6 Instrumental Music Camp

9-IEPs go home

13-Thanksgiving

14-Book Fair Begins

16-Parent Council Welcome Wagaon-4:00-7:00

23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly

24-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

27-Parent Council

28-Photo Retakes

30-Parent Interview Bookings Begin

31-Hallowe’en Parade

November 2014

6-Parent Interview Booking Closed

10-Report Cards Go Home

11-Remembrance Day Assembly

12-“Grow Assembly”

14-PA Day

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

24-Parent Council Meeting

25-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

December 2014

5-PA Day

12-Kindie Sharing Assembly

16-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

22-Holidays Begin

January 2015

5-School Begins

19-Parent Council Meeting @ 7:00 p.m 

23-PA Day

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

28-Kindie Sharing Assembly

29-Parent On-Line Interview Bookings Open

February 2015

5-Parent On-Line Booking Closed

9-Report Cards Go Home

10 and 11-Kindergarten Registration

13-PA Day

16-Family Day

19-Kindie Sharing Assembly

20-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

23-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

March 2015

16-20-March Break

24-Kindie Sharing Assembly

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

30-Parent Council meeting @ 7:00 p.m.

April 2015

3 and 6-Good Friday and Easter Monday

20-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

21-Kindie Sharing Assembly

28-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

May 2015

18-Victoria Day

20-Kindie Sharing Assembly

25-Parent Council @ 7:00 p.m

27-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly

June 2015

5-PA Day

12-Grade 8 Graduation

15-19-Grade 8 Quebec Trip

17-Kindie Sharing Assembly

19-Grade 1-7 Sharing Assembly

24-Report Cards Go Home

25-Day 0; Student Assembly; Lunch on Lawn