Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

We had some great news this week regarding a facility concern. The stairwells are going to be replaced to fix the ongoing problems. Work will begin before the end of the school year,  so we have begun re-routing classes to other stairwells. Right now, the south-east stairwell is closed to everyone, except during an emergency and upcoming fire drills. We will keep you updated. 

This is a great time to review Street Proofing tips with your children as they are beginning to spend more time outside in the warm weather. Tips are on our website. 

Hoping to see you all next weekend at Springfest! 

May 2016
3-Badminton Finals; Ms. Kim to Jr Lego League Competition 
4-Grade 3-8 Track and Field Meet 
5-Folk Dance Club 
7-Springfest 
9-13-Dental Screening
9-Ms. Moser to Outdoor Education Center; Grade 3s to Pioneer Village 
12-Folk Dance Club 
17-Free the Children Presentation  (Grade 6-8)
18-Primary Play Date (afternoon) 
19-Grade 2 to Zoo 
20-Jr Girls' Soccer Tournament 
 23-Victoria Day 
24-27-Book Fair in Library 
25-Grade 1-3 Track and Field Day 
26-Kindie Sharing Assembly; Folk Dance; Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event 
30-Junior/Intermediate Assembly; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.; Parent Guest Speaker at 6:00: Debbie Gordon on Internet Safety 
31-Primary Sharing Assembly 

June 2016

1-Folk Dance Festival (7-Rain date) 
10-PA Day
14-Primary Assembly 
15-Junior Assembly
17-Grade 8 Graduation 
20-Grade 8 Quebec Trip 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
27-Report Cards Go Home! 
29-Pizza Lunch ; Last Day for Students 

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Staff had a terrific PA Day last Friday. We worked in teams to plan for the remainder of this year, and next. It proved to be a very productive and collaborative experience. We've been using google docs and sheets to complete many of our plans and collection of data. This is new software to some staff, and I applaud their efforts in learning new skills. We really do have a terrific staff willing to attempt new strategies. We know we have to keep abreast of new technologies so we can teach and facilitate the work that we do with our students.

On that note, five of our staff had the opportunity to attend a workshop by Google on Scratch. Thanks to Mr. Hodgson for giving us the workshop information. Some of the teachers have already tried it with their own class this week and they seem to like the potential of the application. Interested staff, including the ones who attended this workshop, met on Monday at lunch to discuss strategies that we could use to begin incorporating coding into our LKS Information Technology Curriculum Plan. Thanks to Mr. Littlejohn, Mr. Kuru, Ms. Moser, Mr. Ross and Mr. Bracht for attending.

A big thank you to Ms. Chandra for organizing a 3D Printing workshop for 30 of our grade 8 students. Ms. Kee, the presenter, taught the students how to design either a plant or animal cell using specific software. After completing the design, they will be printed using the 3D printer over the next couple of weeks.

Today, we had a great presentation from the ROM on the history of Earth Day and the focus of this year's day being, "TREES". Thank you to Parent Council for funding the guest speaker and to Mrs. Clarke for working with Ms. Moser on the planning. We are looking forward to the school yard and Shale Pit clean up tomorrow.

Good luck to all the grade 4-8 students who will be trying out for Track and Field next week. The grade 3 students going to the meet will be chosen by Mr. Blais during physical education classes. All grade 1-2 classes will participate in a Play Day on the 18th. Grade 1 and 2 students do not attend any Board meets. Next year, all meets will be restricted to grade 4-8; similar to the new direction of Cross-Country.

The following is next year's school organization (the number of classes):

Kindergarten-4 classes; Grade 1-3 classes; Grade 1/2-2 classes; Grade 3-3 classes; Grade 3/4- 1 class; Grade 4-8-2 classes each

Finally, please remember to park only in the "legal" areas around the school, especially Marquis. Not only is it illegal to double park on the street, but it creates a wholly unsafe environment as emergency vehicles cannot get through.

Happy Earth Day!

April 2016 

26-Primary Sharing Assembly 
27-Junior/Intermediate Sharing Assembly 
28-Kindergarten Assembly; Forest of Reading Breakfast and Voting; Grade 1s to Kortright; Badminton Finals at Silverthorn ; Folk Dance 
29-Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event; Author Visit (K-3); Grade 6-8 House Event 

May 2016

4-Grade 3-8 Track and Field Meet 
5-Folk Dance Club 
7-Springfest 
9-13-Dental Screening
9-Ms. Moser to Outdoor Education Center 
12-Folk Dance Club 
17-Free the Children Presentation  (Grade 6-8)
18-Primary Play Date (afternoon) 
 23-Victoria Day 
24-27-Book Fair in Library 
25-Grade 1-3 Track and Field Day 
26-Kindie Sharing Assembly; Folk Dance; Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event 
30-Junior/Intermediate Assembly; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.; Parent Guest Speaker at 6:00: Debbie Gordon on Internet Safety 
31-Primary Sharing Assembly 

June 2016

1-Folk Dance Festival (7-Rain date) 
10-PA Day
14-Primary Assembly 
15-Junior Assembly
17-Grade 8 Graduation 
20-Grade 8 Quebec Trip 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
27-Report Cards Go Home! 
29-Pizza Lunch ; Last Day for Students 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Thursday, April 14, 2016

What a terrific week of learning for both teachers and students! 

Last week, Mr. Bracht attended a training session at Rotman's Business School learning how to integrate Integrative Thinking into his program. This week, he taught his grade 8 students the "Pro Pro Model" to come up with a solution to a "geography" problem: What country should decide how to use donated funds-the country who is donating or the recipient? The students used the strategy to create a final solution where both countries would benefit (Pro/Pro). It was fascinating watching  the students use their collaborative and critical thinking skills to solve such a complex and authentic problem. Moving forward, Mr Bracht will also be sharing his learning with staff. 

Ms. Kimm has had a busy couple of weeks as she presented her learning with other teachers in the TDSB at Rotman and our own Family of Schools. Her presentations have focused on the strategies that she uses in her class on Inquiry and Integrative thinking. This year, her grade one class worked through an amazing inquiry project focusing on Waste Management. Currently, she is working with our own staff planning an Open House next year for parents. 

Ms. Younger, Mme Pagnotta, Mme Freitas, Ms. Souter and Mrs. Olson also attended a workshop on Inquiry in the Classroom. All the teachers really liked the workshop and will be following up with each other next week to collaborate on how they can incorporate strategies into their programs. 

Finally, Mr. Ellerker, Ms Norton , Mrs. Taylor and Ms. Dacyshyn attended a conference on Mental Health last Friday. Mr. Ellerker will be sharing strategies with staff that will be incorporated into our programs next year. 

I'd also like to congratulate Dr. Grant and the grad 8 students as they attended a performance last week at Bloor Collegiate. The students listened to professional musicians perform compositions that were created by our very own students. The whole task proved to be an excellent opportunity for our students. Thanks Dr. Grant! 

I'd like to thank everyone who supported International Day of Pink today. Your continued support in this area is appreciated as we continue to teach the children to treat each other with respect and dignity. 

Just a reminder there is no school this Friday. Staff will be working on Long Range Plans and Mandatory Compliance Training (Health and Safety etc.). 

Have a great weekend. 

April 2016 

18-3D Printing Workshop for some grade 8 students 
19th-Grade 6 Badminton Tourney 
20-Grade 7 and 8 Vaccines (morning)
21-Royal Ontario Museum Assembly to celebrate Earth Week 
22nd-Earth Day!; School Yard/Shale Pit Clean Up; Grade 8 Grad Retakes
26-Primary Assembly 
27-Junior Assembly 
28-Kindergarten Assembly; Forest of Reading Breakfast and Voting; Grade 1s to Kortright; Badminton Finals at Silverthorn 
29-Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event; Author Visit (K-3) 

May 2016

5-Folk Dance Club 
7-Springfest 
12-Folk Dance Club 
 23-Victoria Day 
25-Grade 1-3 Track and Field Day 
26-Kindie Sharing Assembly; Folk Dance; Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event 
30-Junior/Intermediate Assembly; Parent Council 
31-Primary Sharing Assembly 

June 2016

1-Folk Dance Festival (7-Rain date) 
10-PA Day
14-Primary Assembly 
15-Junior Assembly
17-Grade 8 Graduation 
20-Grade 8 Quebec Trip 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
27-Report Cards Go Home! 
29-Pizza Lunch ; Last Day for Students 

September 2016 
6-School Begins; Kindergarten Open House 

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Thursday, April 8, 2016

A big thank you to all of the parents who attended the Parent Council meeting on Monday night. Plans for the Parent Social and Springfest were updated, and both should prove to be great events. I'm very sorry for not being able to make this Friday, but I have important family matters to attend. This will be the first time I've missed the social in 10 years! I'm confident the event will be a great success. A big thank you to Mrs.Needham and the committee for the enormous amount of time and effort they have put forth in organizing the night. 

At the Parent Council meeting, we shared our staffing numbers. Our projected student enrollment number is 616 for September 2016, down from our current enrollment of 633. We have been allocated 32.5 teachers. Over the next couple of weeks, we will continue to finalize the organization of next year's classes and staff assignments. We will share these when the models are finalized. Our staffing committee, comprised of teachers, have been working diligently on the aforementioned.

The school Day schedule has been posted on our website. It is the same as this year's schedule.

This week, there was an  announcement from the Ministry regarding new math initiatives. We will share information with you when we get direction from TDSB.

April 2016 
11-Scientist in the School visit grade 6; Jr Co-ed Volleyball Tournament 
12-Senior Co-ed Volleyball Tournament 
13th-International Day of Pink-Everyone Wear Pink!; Grade 8 Badminton at LKS 
14-Senior Co-Ed VBall Conference Finals 
15-PA Day-No School 
18-3D Printing Workshop for some grade 8 students 
19th-Grade 6 Badminton Tourney 
20-Grade 7 and 8 Vaccines (morning)
21-Royal Ontario Museum Assembly to celebrate Earth Week 
22nd-Earth Day!; Grade 8 Grad Retakes
26-Primary Assembly 
27-Junior Assembly 
28-Kindergarten Assembly; Forest of Reading Breakfast and Voting; Grade 1s to Kortright; Badminton Finals at Silverthorn 
29-Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event; Author Visit (K-3) 

May 2016

5-Folk Dance Club 
7-Springfest 
12-Folk Dance Club 
 23-Victoria Day 
26-Kindie Sharing Assembly; Folk Dance; Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Event 
30-Junior/Intermediate Assembly; Parent Council 
31-Primary Sharing Assembly 

June 2016

1-Folk Dance Festival (7-Rain date) 
10-PA Day
14-Primary Assembly 
15-Junior Assembly
17-Grade 8 Graduation 
20-Grade 8 Quebec Trip 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
27-Report Cards Go Home! 
29-Pizza Lunch ; Last Day for Students 

September 2016 
6-School Begins; Kindergarten Open House