News, announcements, and reminders from the council, school, and community.
Halloween Movie Night is this Thursday, October 26. Put on your PJs, grab a pillow and come on out to see Hotel Transylvania 2. Doors to the gym will open at 6pm, the show starts at 6:15. We will be selling Pizzaiolo pizza (including vegan and gluten free options) for $2 a slice, and popcorn and drinks for $1. The movie was selected by Room 103, a primary grade 1 class, but all ages are welcome.
We are so pleased to let everyone know that Garden has been selected to receive a new bike rack in the 2017/18 school year! The installation of bike racks will occur in the spring of 2017. Thank you to Mr. McClure and his Eco team for their hard work completing the application process.
Unfortunately our wonderful strings iterant, Meghan Cheng, has had to relinquish her hours at our school due to other commitments. The TDSB has posted the position but we have yet to hear who will be supporting our schools with the strings program this year. Stay “tuned” for more information as soon as it is available.
Please continue to bring in nonperishable food items for our Garden Food Drive. We are hoping to collect a record amount of food and goods for the Daily Food Bank. Pickup will be on Friday October 20th.
Ms. Hardy
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say” — Bryant H. McGill
The Garden Variety Show is back for another year!
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4, 8:00 pm -11:00 pm
Following in the footsteps of the last three years, year four promises a fun night out for parents and neighbours, full of laughs, music, delicious snacks and adult beverages.
Tickets are $25 - Tables of 6 for $125
We'll be unveiling the lineup over the coming weeks, but we're excited to announce that the hilarious Rachelle Elie is returning to knock your socks off!
To purchase tickets by cash, cheque, credit card or email money transfer, email us at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com
Stay tuned for more announcements of music, magic and comedy!!
Below is a list of the Class Parents in place for this year. By now, he or she has reached out to you with an introduction, a class list, and request for contact information in order to be included on communications about classroom and school activities. If you have not received information from your Class Parent, please email Jennet Lees at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com with your child's name and teacher/room number, your name, email address, and phone number.
Any parents of students in Mrs. Umezawa class that are available to be Class Parent are asked to contact Jennet as soon as possible.
Sick Kids Centre for Community Mental Health is offering 3 free parenting workshops at their Jarvis and Sheppard locations.
Tuesday, October 17, 6-7:30pm - How To Validate So Your Teen Will Talk
Tuesday, November 21 6-7:30pm - How To Validate So Your Child Will Talk
Thursday, November 23, 6-7:30pm - Helping Tweens With Smart & Safe Digital Media Participation
Follow the link for more info, and to reserve your spot: http://www.hincksdellcrest.org/Home/Services-to-Infants-Youth-and-Children/Prevention-and-Early-Intervention/families-first-current-2017.aspx
Once again, Garden Avenue will be running our very own food drive in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank. Please bring in any non-perishable food from Tuesday, October 10 to Thursday, October 19. We will have a bin in our front foyer for food to be dropped off.
Non-perishable food items that are great to bring in include:
Every year, we are able to send a tremendous amount of food to the Daily Bread Food Bank, so let's keep up our Garden Avenue tradition of giving and bring in lots of food to donate to those who need it around our city.
Thank you so much for your continued support of our school and of the Daily Bread Food Bank!
Movie Nights are back!
Garden School Council is excited to announce the first movie night of the year, on Thursday, October 26. This movie will be selected by a Primary class, but all are welcome.
Doors open at 6:00 pm and the show begins at 6:15 pm
There will be pizza, popcorn and drinks for sale, so put on your favourite PJs, round up the fam and head out for an evening of entertainment.
The 4th annual Garden Variety Show promises to be a fun night out for parents and neighbours, full of laughs, music, delicious food from Barque Smokehouse and adult beverages.
Saturday, November 4 at Roncesvalles United Church - Doors Open at 8pm, Show at 9pm
Tickets will be on sale before and after school in the foyer on Thursday, October 12 and Friday, October 13.
Early-Bird Prices (until October 15) $25 per ticket / Table of 6 for $125
ON SALE TIMES
Thursday 8:30-9am, 3:30-6pm
Friday 8-9am, 3:30-5pm
"THIS HOUSE BELIEVES ..."
A new debating program is starting up at Garden this year!!
The program is designed for grades 4-6 and will begin with 6 weeks of classroom based activities to introduce students to impromptu speaking, public speaking skills, logic and reason. Next term we hope to start a debating club.
If there are any parents who would like to get involved, we need volunteers who can give some time on Friday mornings to help out.
Even if you can only spare an hour, your help would be appreciated.
Please contact Katherine Ball for further information, to register support or to volunteer at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com.
The Toronto South Qualifying Meets will be held at Ashbridges Bay on Monday, October 2.
Please ensure that all participating students are at the school by 8:30 AM Monday morning. We will be meeting in the gym. Also remember that no student will be allowed to participate without a signed permission form. We are looking forward to a great day.
Grade 2s will run 1km, Grade 3s will run 1.5km, Grade 4-6s will run 2km..
Schedule:
Garden is excited to be putting on The Lion King with a class set of Ghanian Drums to accompany the music for the fall/winter of 2017.
There will be an informal audition on Wednesday, September 27 at noon in Room 106, for grade 1-3 students that would like to perform in the musical. All students from grade one to three are welcome to be part of this musical production; there are main character roles, drumming and singing roles to be filled. We are excited to practice the following songs for the musical: Hakuna Mattata, Circle of Life, I Just Can't Wait to be King, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
Rehearsals will begin the first Wednesday of October at lunch, and will be every Wednesday at lunch, in the music room.
Being a class parent is a great way to get to know your child's teacher and to get involved in classroom activities and the school community. Class parents act as a liaison between school council, the teacher, and the parents and guardians of students in the class. They are responsible for sharing and maintaining a list of contact info, helping the teacher coordinate volunteers for field trips, in-class activities and organizing group gifts for the teacher.
We are still looking for class parents for Ms. Chawla, Mr. McClure, and Mrs. Umezawa: if you are a parent or guardian of a student that is with one of these teachers please let Jennet Lees know if you are interested in this role at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com.
Thursday, September 28 is Curriculum Night!
If you are new to the school, you may be wondering what to expect, and whether you need to book a babysitter.
The evening goes from 6:00 to 7:30pm, and you should definitely bring your kids, so that they can show you all of the hard work they've been doing so far this year. If you have more than one child at school, you will be visiting a few classrooms, and are free to do so on your own schedule. You can also visit the music room and the library as well.
Usually, the teachers have organized some displays of the kids' artwork or writing, and you can have an informal chat with the teacher to ask questions about classroom routines, etc. If you would like a more in-depth conversation about your child's progress, you can book a private meeting with the teacher. (You'll also be meeting in November to discuss the first report card.)
A couple of other things to note:
It’s the start of a new school year and that means this week, on Wednesday, its picture day. After careful consideration we have decided that Edge Imaging will take our school pictures this year. On Monday you will be receiving a photo flyer with important information about things like what to wear for the best picture and how to order online. Please make sure to look for the flyer in your child’s backpack.
On Thursday morning after kindergarten entry we will be having our kinder coffee. This is an informal get together for kindergarten parents to drink coffee, meet other kindergarten parents and ask questions. Please join us under the gazebo just after 9:00 AM.
On Monday of this week Officer Janet from Division spoke to each classroom about street safety. Please take some time this week to talk to your child about street safety rules and regulations.
Thursday evening will also be the first School Council meeting of the year. Please feel free to come and join us in the gym. All Parents/Guardians are welcome. Babysitting will be available. See you all there.
Ms. Hardy
“Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.”
- Laurence Sterne
The 4th annual Garden Variety Show promises to be a fun night out for parents and neighbours, full of laughs, music, delicious food from Barque Smokehouse and adult beverages.
As any of our past attendees can attest, this is a VERY VERY fun evening so grab your pals and neighbours and support Garden School Council.
Tickets will go on sale at Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 28. Get yours before they sell out!
Online ordering for pizza lunches is now open at http://www.lunchboxorders.com
Pizza lunch will run every Tuesday, starting September 19, to the end of the school year.
You can order now for the whole year, or even order a week or a month at a time. Orders must be placed, or changed, by noon on Sunday for the following Tuesday.
Kids love pizza lunches and parents do, too! It's also one of the biggest fundraisers for School Council. We can't do it without volunteers, though. We need at least 5 parent volunteers every Tuesday from 11:30am-12:30pm to help hand out pizza.
If you can help (every week, once a month, from time-to-time), please let us know at info@gardenschoolcouncil.com.
In two weeks, Saturday, September 30 is Orange Shirt Day, a day to teach reconciliation, and learn the history of children who were taken from their families to residential schools.
Garden will participate on Friday, September 29 by asking kids to wear orange tops.
You can buy your own Orange Shirt and learn more about Canada's history with residential schools at http://www.orangeshirtday.org/
If you'd like to pick up some books from the library that are age appropriate in order to start discussing the residential school system, Orange Shirt Day, or reconciliation, there is lots of great info at the links below:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/10-books-about-residential-schools-to-...
Garden Avenue School Council has 6 elected positions. Nominations are now open for the 2017-2018 school year.
You can read more about all of our elected positions and download a nomination form in the attached files. Please submit your nomination form to the school office, or to info@gardenschoolcouncil.com, by Tuesday, September 19.
Our first Council Meeting is on Thursday, September 21 in the school gym at 6:30pm. Childcare is provided!
We will elect our Council at the first meeting and review all of the volunteer opportunities for the year.
Every parent at Garden is a member of Council. Please come out on September 21 and learn more about what we do and how you can help!
Join us for the first community potluck of the year on Thursday September 14th at 6:00 pm in the school gym.
Everyone is welcome! It's a great opportunity to catch up with friends after the summer and welcome new families to Garden.
Bring along a dish to share, and your own plates and cutlery. Your dish doesn't have to be fancy or even homemade. Grab a veggie tray, baguette and cheese, or even a chicken from Sobey's or Rowe Farms and show up between 6:00 and 6:30 to fill your plates.
No nuts please!
We need volunteers to help with clean up. Let Madeleine Cruickshank know by email if you can help out.
Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday!
Yay!! We survived the first week of school and what a week it was. Mother Nature’s unpredictable lunchtime weather and three days of full moons made for an interesting week!! But we did it. All kids are settling into our school routines nicely. Please remember that children should not be walked to class by parents. Parents should drop off to the yard at 8:45 AM. If you are late please drop your child off to the office. Please do not walk your child directly to class.
Join us on Thursday evening for our Potluck hosted by the School Council. Everyone is welcome to join together in the school gym from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Kindly bring a dish to share with old and new friends! Please list ingredients and remember - no nuts! Please bring your own plates & cutlery if possible. Also this is a reminder that all children need to be supervised by an adult at this event.
A reminder to all parents/guardians that dogs are not permitted on school grounds during the hours of 8:00 AM and 6:00PM. If you do have a dog when you pick up your child please keep your dog outside of the school fence.
Also please remember that if there are any concerns please book an appointment with your classroom teacher. Also know that my door is always open if you have questions or concerns.
We have started a new twitter account for Garden. Please follow our lovely Garden @GardenAvenuePS
Looking forward to seeing everyone this week!! Enjoy the wonderful long weekend.
Ms. Hardy
Welcome back to all returning families and we'd like to extend a warm welcome to all those new to Garden!
Remember to join Garden Avenue Jr. P.S. School Council on Facebook to get time-sensitive reminders and updates about all of the goings-on at Garden. You can also sign up for the Garden Weekly eNews by creating an account on our website.
** Save the date: our first potluck of the year will be on Thursday, September 14 and our first School Council meeting of the year will be on Thursday, September 21.**
Welcome back everyone!!!! I really hope that everyone had a wonderful, relaxing summer. :-)
At the end of June our wonderful caretaker, Mr. Paul Morris, was promoted to Humbercrest Public School. Although we are devastated by his loss to our school community we do wish him well at his new school. Humbercrest, you are so lucky to have him!!
We would like to welcome Stanley Markiewitsch as our new head caretaker. He has worked tirelessly this summer cleaning classrooms and hallways to make our school shine for this upcoming year. Please help me welcome Stanley to our school and if you see him do thank him for making our school sparkle!! We also would like to welcome Aquiel Griffith our new night caretaker.
We welcome our new families to Garden! Ms. Swail has returned from her parental leave and has rejoined Rm 110. We are pleased to welcome Ms. Swail back. Ms. Hritzun will be continuing in the HSP/Resource room as Ms. Baum is off on parental leave.
For first day of school only the grade 1 and 1/2 classes will be eating in the lunchroom in order to support them with learning the new lunchroom rules/routines. All other classes will be eating outside weather permitting
We have started a new twitter account for Garden. Please follow us @GardenAvePS
Looking forward to seeing everyone this week!! Enjoy the wonderful long weekend.
As part of our Grade 6 Legacy Project of our Grads giving back to the school we have Garden buttons, created by out grads for sale for $2. We also are raffling off a mystery basket. The basket will be on display outside of the office starting on Monday. Raffle tickets are 1 for $1 or 10 for $5. All proceeds will be going towards the purchase of a button maker for our school. Thank you to Katherine Ball for all her support and our Grade 6 graduates for giving back.
Grad is on Tuesday June 27th. The ceremony will be starting at 2:30 PM. Unfortunately the outside area will not be complete in time for Grad. After much discussion we have decided to hold the celebration of our graduating class for our graduates and families out in the back playground and if weather is not co-operating we will have it in the gym. Please join us in congratulating our wonderful Class of 2016/2017!!
Please take a look at the lost and found as this is the last week to claim your child’s lost property.
I hope that every family has a wonderful and safe summer holiday. Thank you for a wonderful learning year!!
Ms. Hardy
Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.
We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.
— Marie Curie
A message from the Grade 6 Grad Committee:
A reminder of the Grade 6 Graduation party on Tuesday, June 27 from 6-8pm at the High Park Curling Club - 100 Indian Road.
The $50 per family can be sent to lkirke@rogers.com by etransfer, or arrangements can be made to receive cash or a cheque. The cost per family should not be a barrier for anyone and if it is, please speak to your child's teacher, the principal, Ms. Hardy, or you can reach Leslie at 647-618-7302 so arrangements can be made.
Please also email lkirke@rogers.com to indicate the number of people attending - only parents, guardians and the graduate please.
Your pizza order forms can be given by your child to Sullivan Rafi or dropped with Ms. Childs or Ms. Chawla or at the school office.
See you at Grad!