News

This year's Garden Variety show was a huge success, drawing a record crowd and raising over $2,500 for School Council.

Thanks to all those who came out for a night of fun in support of School Council. It was a fantastic evening made possible by our volunteers. 

Thank you:
Luke Jackson, Eli Klein, Jonathan Spence, Ji Yee, Sam Wong, Shirin Sabin, Eugene Andruszczenko, Shane Corkery, Zoe Baines, Sara Clark, Natasha Teoli, Sarb Nagra, Kam Nagra, Dave Cruickshank, Matt Miller, and Christine Hamilton.

Special thanks to our beer and wine sponsors for the evening, including Goose Island Beer Co., Mill Street Brewery and Shock Top Brewing Co.

Progress Reports will be handed out to students on Tuesday November 15th. Parents will be receiving a letter or communication from each classroom teacher as to what their individual interview schedule will be. If you have more than one child at our school please do not hesitate to talk to your child’s teacher about organizing sibling’s interview in a way that will work for you and your family. Please remember that regular parent-teacher communication is an important part of your child’s learning. These interviews are your opportunity to ask questions about your child's progress and to discuss any issues. In addition to regular scheduled parent-teacher interviews, you can request a meeting at any time during the school year by contacting our school or your child's teacher directly.

Please remember to check out our lost and found area at the East Entrance. In this lovely Fall weather we have seen an enormous number of sweaters and coats finding their way into the lost and found. Please be sure to stop by and check to see if anything belongs to you before they are gone.

Ms. Hardy

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
― Leo Buscaglia

Families, the Kindergarten Outdoor Education Program needs your help!

The program facilitated by Ms.Cox is STILL in need of:

• Pots & pans
• Shovels & utensils
• Plastic & metal bowls
• Collanders/sieves
• Magnifying glasses & bug-catching containers
• Large, heavy-duty plastic storage bins
• Gently used children's snow/rain gear

Kindergarten students are invited to wear their costumes to school in the morning. Their Halloween parade will begin at 9:15am, outside of the school on Garden Avenue. 

Grade 1-6 students will change in to their costumes after lunch. Their Halloween parade will begin at 1pm, outside of the school, and continue on to the Copernicus Lodge to greet the residents.

Reminder: weapons are not allowed at school as part of costumes (e.g. swords, knives, guns, lightsabers).

If you'd like to send a treat for your child's class party, please ensure that the snacks are nut-free. Fruits and veggies are always a welcome choice! 

Robotics Club is running for grades 4 - 6 from now until December 3rd, after which students will participate in the first LEGO LEAGUE competition!!

A 8 X 4 foot table is available for our kids - but it is in Scarborough. The group needs this table for their meetings and the competition.

We need help from anyone who has a truck and would be would be willing to help us pick up the table.

Garden paraphernalia is on sale again next week just in time for Christmas. There are new colours and styles in the sweatshirts and t-shirts. This year there are even toques. All items are available online:

Order Garden Spirit Wear

Deadline for orders is November 10th. Orders will be ready for pick up by the week of November 28.

There will be sample sizes in the foyer for students and adults to try.

Garden School Council is excited to announce 'Minions' as our first movie of the year!

*This is a Primary class selection but all are welcome.

Doors open at 6:00 pm and the show begins at 6:30 pm on Thursday, October 27 in the school gym.

There will be pizza, popcorn and drinks for sale, so grab your pillows, round up the fam and head out for an evening of entertainment.

Don't forget to book your babysitter - Garden Avenue's annual variety show is on Saturday, November 5 at 8pm at Roncesvalles United Church.

Following in the footsteps of the amazing last two years, year three promises a fun night out for parents + neighbours full of laughs, music and delicious snacks.

As any of our past attendees can attest, this is a VERY VERY fun night out - grab a parent pal and your neighbour and come support your School Council.

Tickets are available online at the link below. We will also be selling tickets at school in the weeks ahead. Tickets are $25 each or $125 for a table of 6.

http://tinyurl.com/GardenVarietyNov5th

http://tinyurl.com/GardenVarietyTableOf6

To purchase tickets by cash, cheque or email money transfer, email us at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com.

We'll be unveiling the lineup over the coming weeks, but we're excited to announce that magician Ben Train will be returning to astound everyone with his sleight-of-hand magic and stunning psychic abilities and the show will be hosted again by the outrageously funny Rachelle Elie.

Stay tuned for more announcements of music, circus acts, comedy and more!!

A back to school letter from Robin Pilkey, the TDSB Chair and the Trustee for Ward 7 was sent home with students today. The first page of the letter is reproduced below. The rest of the letter can be downloaded below.

Dear parents and guardians,

Welcome to the 2016-17 school year. I hope you and your family had a restful and safe summer.

As TDSB Chair and Trustee for Parkdale-High Park, I wanted to begin by apologizing to students and families who have been impacted by the busing issues this fall. We are working to find a solution for each family as soon as possible. We are also working with staff to come up with new processes for the future. Thank you for your patience during this time.

I am pleased to welcome a number of new Superintendents of Education into our ward this year. On the reverse side of this letter you will find your superintendent and their contact information in case you need to contact them directly. As you settle into this school year, we have created a webpage with key information and resources including homework tips and the school year calendar. Learn more at www.tdsb.on.ca/needtoknow.

As a parent/guardian, there are many ways to participate in your child’s education. One way is through the school council which acts as an important forum for student, parent and community voices and advises the principal and the Board on important school issues. To learn more about school councils contact your school or visit www.tdsb.on.ca/schoolcouncil.

I also wanted to share some good news with you about school repairs. In June, we received an additional $257 million in funding for school repairs from the Ministry of Education. The additional money means the TDSB will invest a total of $579 million in schools by the end of August 2017. This is a clear concern here in Ward 7, where the majority of schools were built decades ago. We have posted extensive data on the website about the condition of the TDSB’s schools. This includes repairs listed on a school-by-school basis and is part of our commitment to be more open and transparent with parents, students and community members.

As part of our ongoing Solar Schools projects, three additional schools in Ward 7 will have solar panels installed – Humbercrest Public School, Runnymede Collegiate Institute and Warren Park Junior Public School. The solar panel project has enabled the Board to replace more than 300 roofs across the district, including many in Ward 7.

Finally, to stay informed please join my Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/TDSBWard7Coucil and sign up for my e-newsletter by visiting my webpage at www.tdsb.on.ca/ward7. For system wide news about the TDSB, visit www.tdsb.on.ca/TDSBupdate.

Thank you and I look forward to working in partnership with you this year,

Robin Pilkey, Chair
Trustee for TDSB Ward 7
Parkdale – High Park

Dear Families,

We are very excited to be developing an Outdoor Education program for our kindergarten classes this year.  As we are starting, literally and figuratively, from the ground up, we decided to compile a list of items that would be of great benefit for our program.  If you have any of the following items at home that are in gently used, safe condition (i.e., no jagged/broken edges, etc.) that you are no longer using, we would be delighted to accept your donation and use these items in our program:

• pots
• shovels
• pans
• magnifying glasses
• colanders
• bug-catching containers
• sieves
• bowls (big/ small; metal/plastic)
• pails
• utensils (forks/ spoons)

We are also in need of spare snowsuits, rain gear, winter boots and rain boots that are also in “gently used” condition and are kindergarten sizes as we will be going outside in all kinds of weather, and will need spare outdoor gear just in case!

As always, given that we will be outside each day, dressing appropriately for the weather (rain gear/ snow gear/ sun gear plus appropriate footwear) is extremely important so that your child can participate fully in our new outdoor education programming.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Cox.

Thank you as always for your continued support!

Yours in learning and growing,
Ms. Cox, Teacher-Librarian/ Kindergarten Outdoor Education

Mark your calendars: the 2nd annual Garden Avenue Pumpkin Patch is taking place on Saturday, October 15 from 10am-3pm.

Come out and buy your Hallowe'en pumpkins in our pumpkin patch in the back field. There will be hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, delicious BBQ, face painting and more!

All money raised goes towards the School Council budget for the year, to be spent on field trips, classroom enrichment, science and music programs. 

We have a full roster of Class Parents! Class Parents acts as a liaison between the teacher, school council and parents. They maintain and share a list of contact information for the parents/guardians of students in the class, coordinate volunteers for field trips and in-class activities, and organize group gifts for the teacher.

Please find a full list of Class Parents for 2016-2017 below:

• Ms. Murray (JK/SK) – Mirjana Dingwall / Katey Witt
• Ms. Cundari (JK/SK) – Laura Currie Ryder / Lina Marin
• Ms. Petrowski (JK/SK) – Emily McInnes / Megan Cassidy
• Ms. Bell (Gr. 1 /2) – Jennet Lees
• Ms. Cochrane (Gr. 1 /2) – Jane Wu
• Ms. Lawson (Gr. 1 /2) – Kelly Hoey
• Ms. Bowman (Gr. 1 /2) – Katey Witt
• Ms. Schultz (Gr. 2 /3) – Jennifer Alefounder
• Ms. Baigent (Gr. 3) – Erica Spencer
• Mr. McClure (Gr. 3/4) – Shirin Sabir / Niki Landau
• Ms. Umezawa (Gr. 4) – David Leider
• Ms. Chawla (Gr. 5 /6) – Patricia Huchez
• Ms. Childs (Gr. 5 /6) – Christine King

You should hear from your Class Parent soon, if you haven't already! If you need help getting in touch, contact us at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com.