Wednesday, April 26, 2017

As the warm weather approaches, it is a good time to remind the students of traffic safety precautions. We will talk about those during our Sharing Assemblies and in the classroom, but you may want to have those conversations also. The following link was sent from our school's Community Officer, Officer Rich, that will help guide those discussions:  http://www.elmer.ca/safety-village/traffic-safety.

We've heard from Bob, our Crossing Guard, and his knee surgery recovery is doing well. We aren't sure if we are going to see him again this year, but time will tell. Crossing guards fall under the Toronto Police Services and they, as you know, will not be replacing Bob right now. I think the city is short of crossing guards overall.

At this weeks staff meeting, our learning coach, Katrina, presented on Equity and presented staff with some challenging activities. We will be forming an Equity Committee that will focus our goals for next year.

Thanks to Mrs. McGee for organizing the Forest of Reading Breakfast today. They had around 45 students show up to eat and vote!

On a final note, Kiss and Ride is getting a bit jammed up again. You are not allowed to park or idle in the Kiss and Ride as the traffic needs to keep moving. Please do not allow your children to leave the car if you are on a street (i.e. moving on Prince Edward and/or Government. It is extremely unsafe and it creates traffic jams on the street.

April 2017 
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.
25th-Trustee Gough's Ward Meeting at Karen Kain at 7:00 p.m. 
26-Forest of Reading Pancake Breakfast 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event; Pizza Lunch 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
9-Parent Council Information Night: Guest Speaker at 7:00 p.m. 
10-Grade 4-8 Track and Field 
11-Grade 8 Scientist in the School 
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit; Dental Screening begins 
16-Mayor's Cricket Tournament 
17-Mrs. Hall hosts Scientist in the School 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 
30-Grade 3 and 6 EQAO begins 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-Mrs. Souter and Ms. Furczon go to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

Thank you so much for attending last night's grade 1-5 Inquiry Fair. The students and staff were thrilled that you came out to support their learning. The positive comments left for the students were very much appreciated. The classes have been reading them all day. Once again, thanks to Ms. Kim, Mr. Bracht, Mrs. Furczon, Mrs. Younger and Mrs. Olson for providing professional development and for organizing the actual night. They did a fantastic job! 

Happy Earth Day! The classes will be cleaning the Shale Pit and school yard throughout the next month. 

Just a reminder if you are looking for counselling to reach out to the The Etobicoke Children's Centre Free Walk-In Clinic Counselling Service. They provide much needed support and can be reached at www.etobicokechildren.com or 416-240-1111. 

April 2017 
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.
25th=Trustee Gough's Ward Meeting at Karen Kain at 7:00 p.m. 
26-Forest of Reading Pancake Breakfast 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event; Pizza Lunch 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
9-Parent Council Information Night: Guest Speaker at 7:00 p.m. 
10-Grade 4-8 Track and Field 
11-Grade 8 Scientist in the School 
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit; Dental Screening begins 
16-Mayor's Cricket Tournament 
17-Mrs. Hall hosts Scientist in the School 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 
30-Grade 3 and 6 EQAO begins 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-Mrs. Souter and Ms. Furczon go to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Congratulations to the LKS community as we were ranked #4 in the elementary division of the "Top 50 Fundraisers of 2016" for The Terry Fox Foundation. Thanks to all the students, staff and parents who have contributed and to Ms. Gibson and the Terry Fox Helpers for organizing our events.

Another congratulations goes to Daria, one of our grade 7 students, who was the School Champion in "The 2017 Canadian Geographic Challenge." Thanks to Mr. Ellerker who organized and encouraged our intermediate students to participate in this very challenging competition.

We are looking forward to seeing our grade 1-5 students on Thursday night for our Inquiry Fair.

I hope everyone has a great long weekend, and extended warm wishes to those celebrating Easter.

See you on the 18th.

APRIL 2017 

14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
18-Folk Dance at lunch
20-Inquiry Fair-Parent Night; Folk Dance at lunch

22-Earth Day
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.
26-Forest of Reading Pancake Breakfast 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event; Pizza Lunch 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
9-Parent Council Information Night: Guest Speaker at 7:00 p.m. 
10-Grade 4-8 Track and Field 
11-Grade 8 Scientist in the School 
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit; Dental Screening begins 
16-Mayor's Cricket Tournament 
17-Mrs. Hall hosts Scientist in the School 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 
30-Grade 3 and 6 EQAO begins 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-Mrs. Souter and Ms. Furczon go to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

This week, it was wonderful to talk to the students about their Inquiry projects. Across the grades, the children are so immersed in the process and are excited about their learning. We look forward to seeing the grade 1-5 parents on April 20th when the children will be showcasing their learning.

The staffing committee finalized our classroom organization for the next school year based on the number of staffing and parameters given to us from the Board; 4 Kindergarten classes, three grade 1, three grade 2, one 2/3 combined, two grade 3, one 3/4 combined, two grade 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 classes each and one Primary/Junior Autism class. The remaining staff will teach French, Special Education, library, Physical Education and Information Library. We have also been allocated our support staff: 2 Office Clerical, 4 Early Childhood Educators, 1 Educational Assistant (Special Education).

Thank you to Parent Council for funding our Birds of Prey assemblies this week. It was very informative. The students got to learn and see a variety of raptors native to Ontario. You can visit http://www.conservationhalton.ca/mountsberg-raptor-centre for more information on Spring and Summer programs. Thanks to Mrs. Clarke for organizing this assembly.

This week, I received information from our Special Education Department about a webinar on recognizing and supporting students with anxiety and learning disabilities. Here is the link if you want to join: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2069492370995574786

Please remember to wear PINK on the 12th next week to support Anti-bullying! Let's build a positive space for all of us! Thanks to our Huddle Up Committee as I know they are planning something for that day.

Have a nice weekend!

APRIL 2017 

10-Dufflebag Theatre present Little Red Riding Hood (funded by Parent Council) 
11-Folkdance at lunch; Grade 1-8 Sharing Assemblies 
12-International Day of Pink-Wear Pink to support our positive, inclusive school 
13-Jr VBall Tourney at LKS; Folk Dance at lunch 
14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
18-Folk Dance at lunch
20-Inquiry Fair-Parent Night; Folk Dance at lunch

22-Earth Day
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry; Parent Council at 7:00 p.m.
26-Forest of Reading Pancake Breakfast 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event; Pizza Lunch 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
9-Parent Council Information Night: Guest Speaker at 7:00 p.m. 
10-Grade 4-8 Track and Field 
11-Grade 8 Scientist in the School 
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit; Dental Screening begins 
16-Mayor's Cricket Tournament 
17-Mrs. Hall hosts Scientist in the School 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 
30-Grade 3 and 6 EQAO begins 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-Mrs. Souter and Ms. Furczon go to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

We are very excited to be returning to the Toronto Science Fair on Saturday. Our grade 6-8 students who were the finalists at the LKS Fair will be showcasing their projects at U of T, Scarborough. Thanks to Mr. Littlejohn, Ms. Chandra and Mr. Iceton. I am really looking forward to it. 

Congratulations to our intermediate Chess team - they won their tournament today! It's a first for LKS! Thanks to all the parents who drove and to Mr. Iceton and Ms. Furczon, our coaches. 

We received some information on a guest speaker that might interest you. Sherry Turkle will be speaking at St. Clement's School on "Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. You can reserve your seats at scs.on.ca/sherry-turkle/ or call 416-483-4835.

Don't forget that Crazy Hair day is tomorrow. Thanks for organizing Student Council.

Have a great weekend everyone.

April 2017
1-Grade 6-8 Students Finalists  at Toronto Science Fair 
5-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly 
6-Birds of Prey Assembly (funded by Parent Council); Grade 3 to Crawford Lake
10-Dufflebag Theatre present Little Red Riding Hood (funded by Parent Council) 
12-International Day of Pink-Wear Pink support our positive, inclusive school 
14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
20-Inquiry Fair-Parent Night 

22-Earth Day
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-2C and 1D to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

Monday, March 27, 2017

Last week, I received our staffing numbers for 2017-2018. We have been allocated 31.5 teachers. Currently, we have 35 on our staff list. Some teachers will be returning from maternity leave and central positions, others may be applying for other teaching positions. Usually we finalize our staffing by end of year. Our staffing committee has been working on a classroom organization model that we will also talk about tonight at Parent Council. 

We have also been allocated a Primary Autism class at LKS. TDSB Special Education department will place students in the program, 6 in total. The class is assigned a teacher and Child and Youth Worker. We are very excited to start this new program as it will assist in supporting families in the West end of the city. 

Tonight, Ms. Norton and Mrs. Heath will be hosting a parent information night on the Grade 3 and 6 EQAO assessment. I will be hosting a question and answer period for new kindergarten parents who registered with us over the last month. Both presentations start at 6:15 p.m with the former in the library and the latter in the lunchroom. Parent Council will follow at 7:00 p.m. in the library. 

Have a great week. 

March 2017
27-Parent Council at 7:00 p.m. in the library/New Kindergarten Parent Meeting in lunchroom at 6:15 p.m.; Grade 3 and 6 EQAO Parent Information Night at 6:15 p.m. in the library 
28-Cookie Dough delivered to school 
29-Grade 8 Badminton at LKS; K-3 Scientist in the School 
30-LKS Monthly Well-Being Activity; Grade 8 Co-Ed VBall Tourney 
31-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Grade 7 an 8 Vaccines; Pizza Lunch; Grade 6-8 House Events 

April 2017
6-Birds of Prey Assembly (funded by Parent Council); Grade 3 to Crawford Lake
10-Dufflebag Theatre present Little Red Riding Hood (funded by Parent Council) 
12-International Day of Pink-Wear Pink support our positive, inclusive school 
14-17 Good Friday/Easter Monday
20-Inquiry Fair-Parent Night 

22-Earth Day
24-Grade 1-4 to TSO-thanks Ms. Barry 
27-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly; Wellness Activity 
28-Grade 6-8 House Event 

May 2017
1-Grade 1-8 Sharing Assembly
8-12-Children’s Mental Health Week
12-Grade 4-8 Author Visit 
19-Forest of Reading Lunch; Whole School Author visit 

22-Victoria Day
23-Book Fair until the 26th
25-Bike Safety Presentation from Officer Rich
26-Pizza Lunch; Kindergarten Sharing Assembly
29-Parent Council at 7:00 in the library 

June 2017
3-Springfest 
8-2C and 1D to Outdoor Ed Centre 
9-PA Day
16-Grade 8 Graduation 
23-Kindergarten Sharing Assembly 
29-Last Day for Students; Pizza Lunch-Lunch on the Lawn 

TDSB Special Education Survey

TDSB has created a survey for parent to complete regarding upcoming changes to programs. Please take the time to respond to this very important survey as the information will be valuable as the Board moves forward: 

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/HowtoGetInvolved/CommunityAdvisoryCommittees/SpecialEducationAdvisoryCommittee.aspx