In this edition:
- Dates to Remember
- Principal’s Message
- Welcome from School Trustee Gerri Gershon
- School Council Update
- Cut Off Cancer
- Bus Update
- Kiss ‘n Ride Program
- Les nouvelles du gymnase
- Green/Playground News
- Choir News
- John Fisher Technical Wear
- Welcome Back BBQ
- Curriculum Night
- Influenza Concerns
Dates to Remember
| September 16 | School Council Meeting |
| September 22 | Welcome Back Barbecue & Curriculum Night |
| September 30 | Terry Fox Run |
| October 5 | Photo Day |
| October 11 | Thanksgiving Day – No classes |
| October 18-25 | Officer Marcie Visits |
| November 10 | Photo Retake Day |
| November 11 | Remembrance Day |
| November 17 | First term reports go home |
| November 19 | Professional activity day |
| December 14 | Holiday Concert |
| December 20 – 31 | Christmas Break |
| January 3 | First day of classes after break |
| January 21 | Professional activity day |
| January 27 | French Immersion Information Night |
| February 4 | Carnaval |
| February 15 | Second term reports go home |
| February 18 | Professional activity day |
| February 21 | Family day – no classes |
| March 14 – 18 | Winter Break |
| March 21-23 | Grade 5 students go to Island School |
| April 15 | Jump Rope for Heart |
| April 22 | Good Friday – no classes |
| April 25 | Easter Monday – no classes |
| May 10 | Spring Concert |
| May 17 | Folk Fest |
| May 20 | Professional activity day |
| May 23 | Victoria Day |
| May 30 – June 10 | EQAO testing period |
| June 4 | June Fair |
| June 17 | Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast |
| June 20-22 | Grade 6 Montreal Trip |
| June 27 | Grade 6 Graduation (tentative) |
| June 28 | Reports go home |
| June 29 | Last day of classes |
| June 30 | Professional activity day |
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Principal’s Message
Another school year has begun and all of us at John Fisher are looking forward to the year ahead.
The John Fisher staff would like to welcome back all previous students and their families, and to our new families, we extend a special welcome. I know that you will find the John Fisher staff to be very competent, friendly and ready to help in every way.
An opportunity for you to meet the staff will take place later this month at the school during Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 22.
The staff and I look forward to working together with you to help your children reach their academic potential and to have a happy and rewarding year at John Fisher Public School.
Felicia DiCiero, Principal
Welcome from School Trustee Gerri Gershon
Welcome to a new beginning of a school year- filled with opportunities. The staff having been preparing for a year of solid programming designed to help your child/children achieve their best. It’s important for you to know that as your elected official I help set policy and act as an ombudsman to constituents in my community. Feel free to call me anytime with questions or concerns. My phone number is 416-395-8408. To keep parents up to date on Board issues, I hold regular meetings in our neighbourhood schools and everyone is welcome to attend. Please check at the office for details.
To keep in touch I send out an email update on educational issues called the Quick Communicator. If you would like to be added to my list to receive the newsletter and ward forum meeting dates, please email me at gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca. The Toronto District School Board has a website of interest. It is http://www.tdsb.on.ca.
You have a dynamic and keen parent group supporting the educational system in this school. Please become involved in any way if you can either on the council, as a classroom or school volunteer or an adult chaperon on school trips. Best wishes for a successful school year.
Gerri Gershon
Trustee, Don Valley West
416 395 8408
gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca
School Council Update
Hello all, and welcome back! I hope that everyone had a safe, fun and relaxing summer. It seemed to fly by, as usual, but we have had a great start to our new school year, and it can only continue.
A warm welcome back to our teachers and staff! It was wonderful to see you all greeting the students Tuesday morning – we know our children are in good hands when they are excited to start the school year and thrilled to see their teachers again. Thank you!
Down to business! Today in your envelope you will receive a Welcome letter. There are several key points in it that I would like to reiterate, that are time sensitive. Thanks to the hard work of the Communication Committee, we are now gathering our information for the Directory on-line. Please go to the link provided to you on page 2 of the Welcome Letter from School Council* sent in today’s envelope. You need only to fill out the form once, no matter the number of children you have attending JF. Please read the letter carefully for information about the process; if you have any concerns, please contact Rindy Bradshaw, Communications Chair, at rindybradshaw@rogers.com.
As well, we are now collecting our Volunteer forms on-line. You will only need to fill out one form, even if you have more than one child at John Fisher. Please go to the link shown on the first page of the School Council’s welcome letter* and complete your form by MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13. Parent Council meetings start next Thursday, September 16, and we will need to vote in members of the Finance Committee, as well as the Council members at that time. There are many opportunities to get involved in the school, please choose what suits you best!
We are still looking for new Chairs or Co-Chairs for a few of our committees for next year. If you are interested in any of the following, please indicate on your form: June Fair, Grano, Health and Safety and Building.
Principal DiCiero’s letter, that you have already received, talked about our numbers. The TDSB assigns teachers based on projected numbers in the spring of the previous year. While they are usually quite accurate, this year we have had an unexpected number of new students, particularly in the primary grades. This may lead to a re-organization of classes in the next couple of weeks. Rest assured, both John Fisher and the TDSB want to minimize disruption to the children; our Staffing Committee will be working with them to make sure any reorganization goes as smoothly as possible. Please contact me, M. Pelletier or Principal DiCiero if you have any questions.
As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a great school year!
Stefanie Cepuch
Chair, JF School Council
scepuch@rogers.com
*we are not publishing the link on line for security reasons
Cut Off Cancer
Once again, John Fisher will be hosting a “Cut Off Cancer” event during the Terry Fox Assembly on September 23. Children will be able to donate their hair to make wigs for children with cancer related hair loss. Last year’s event was a great success. Children will need 10 inches of untreated hair in order to make a donation (put hair in a pony tail and measure from the elastic). If you think your child might be interested in participating, please talk to a member of the Cut Off Cancer committee: Stefanie Cepuch, Susan Shinkoda and Benita Wassenaar. Alternatively, you can e-mail Benita at benita_w@yahoo.com. Thanks!
Bus Update
We are currently monitoring bus ridership very closely so we can determine what the actual number of students will be in the long run. Our projections show routes 141 (Blythwood, Bedford Park, Northlea) and 143 (John Wanless, John Ross Robertson) at or slightly above capacity. However, a number of children recorded as riding are not yet using the service, over and above Senior Kindergarten. If you have registered for busing, but have decided for whatever reason not to make use of the bus, please contact the Vice Principal so we can remove your children from the roster.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to the volunteers who have assisted in taking attendance and helping with the bus loading all week. This will go a long way to providing accurate ridership and will guide our planning.
Kiss ‘n Ride Program
Parent volunteers were on duty right from the first day in order to support this vitally important program.
Kiss ‘n Ride is the safe, drop-off program run daily on the north side of John Fisher, on Keewatin. The drop-off zone is marked by the yellow-topped concrete pylons. It relieves the pressure of traffic congestion every day at the front of the school and makes drop-offs and pick-ups faster and, most importantly, safer. We encourage all parents driving their child to school to make use of the program. Kiss ‘n Ride volunteers greet the vehicles as they enter the drop-off area, help the children leave the vehicle and ensure that they enter the schoolyard safely. JK & SK students are escorted to their playground upon parent request.
Here’s how the program works:
- Please have your child ready to get out of the car when the parent volunteer approaches to open your door. Parent volunteers can help with putting the knapsack on the back,
- If the actual drop-off area is occupied, please pull up behind the cars and wait to advance.
- Once your child has left the vehicle please move away from the drop-off zone as quickly and as safely as possible to ensure a steady flow.
- If you want to get out of the car with your child, please park in front of the Kiss ‘n Ride area where you have a 10-minute window.
- If you need more than 10 minutes, please park further down Keewatin in the one-hour and two-hour parking zones.
In order to ensure the safe arrival of all children here are a few guidelines:
- Please refrain from making three-point turns within the Kiss ‘n Ride drop-off area – it is safer to drive a block or so ahead and turn around in a driveway there.
- Please avoid, at all times, dropping off children on the north side of Keewatin – this practice impedes traffic flow especially in the winter when roadways are narrower. Students crossing over are then at risk from passing vehicles. Volunteers are not permitted to enter the roadway to assist children across.
- Please don’t pull into the drop-off area while travelling west along Keewatin – it is illegal and dangerous!
- Please avoid dropping off in the bus loading zone on Erskine. Try to use Kiss ‘n Ride as much as possible.
- Please don’t drop off or pick up on the south side of Erskine opposite the bus loading zone.
Your consideration of the above is much appreciated.
Volunteers needed!
The Kiss ‘n Ride Program needs more volunteers. Just once or twice a month from 8:30 to 8:50 would help all of us out a lot! Please contact me at acollins01@rogers.com if you can help out.
Thank-you et merci!
Arliss Collins
Les nouvelles du gymnase
A note from the John Fisher Health and Physical Education department
Clothing
- Children should wear running shoes that allow them to participate in a full range of physical activities. The integration of DPA into the daily program requires that the children have their running shoes available to them at school everyday. Because of safety reasons, students who are not wearing running shoes will be unable to participate in P.E. class and be asked to fill in a sideline observation sheet.
- Students must wear sports pants, leggings, or shorts/skorts in order to participate in P.E. class – no jeans please. Junior students will have access to change rooms.
- Girls and boys must keep hair out of eyes by tying it back or wearing a head band.
- In the second term all students must wear shorts, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and bare feet or gymnastic slippers during the unit on gymnastics. This ensures that students are less likely to slip when climbing on the apparatus. You will receive a reminder about the time frame for gymnastics at a later date.
Hausse tes chaussettes
We have an incentive program to encourage wearing running shoes and to promote appropriate behavior in the gym. Each class (grades 1 through 6) has the opportunity to earn up to 3 points each gym class for entering and exiting the gym quietly, for wearing gym shoes, and for listening and working well as a group. At the end of the term, the class with the most points will have the privilege of choosing the activities for 2 PE periods. Please come see our bulletin board and check out the standings.
Jean-Aimé Lalonde Jacinthe Marchand
Green/Playground News
School Gardens
Our committee would like to give a huge THANK YOU to this year’s summer watering team:
The Ehling Family, the Bill Family, Janet Cann, Ellen Jan, the Butrimas Family, the Wilmer Family, the Osborne Family, Wendy Wu, the Porter Family, the Hulsman Family and Terry Moreau.
They all did a great job keeping our new trees & shrubs and perennials looking great.
Without your help maintaining the gardens would not be possible. Merci beaucoup!
Choir News
Happy fall from the music program at John Fisher! I look forward to a great year of making music with the students of John Fisher. I am sure that the strong history of great music at John Fisher will be heard at the Winter and Spring Concerts as well as Music Festivals in the Spring. Look for information arriving home next week about the Junior Choir for those in grades 4, 5 and 6 and the Primary Choir for those in grades 2 and 3.
Xandi Neville
John Fisher Technical Wear
We are thrilled to announce we have now on hand our new John Fisher technical tee-shirt. These shirts are 100% Canadian-made easy-wick polyester, which makes them perfect for athletics. They proudly feature the new JF mascot on the front. We will have these on hand for sale in a variety of children sizes for $20 at the Welcome Back BBQ on September 22.
Welcome Back BBQ
Please mark your calendars for the Welcome Back BBQ on Wednesday, September 22nd. You will find an order form in the first envelope that comes home with your child. This is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and make some new ones! Bring your chairs or picnic blankets and enjoy a Lick’s burger, chips and drink on the playground while meeting your children’s new classmates and listening to our great DJ. See you there!
The BBQ will dovetail into Curriculum Night starting at 7:00 pm.
John Fisher Welcome & Recognition Committee
Curriculum Night
As stated above, Curriculum Night will immediately follow the Welcome Back BBQ on September 22. This year, the format will vary from past practices and provide a less formal context in which to meet the teachers and find out about the program for the year. Starting at 7:00 pm, classes will be opened to families to view. In most cases, teachers will be providing course outlines and informally responding to questions regarding the program and classroom expectations. You will have the opportunity to freely move from class to class to meet all your children’s teachers. As usual, we ask that you refrain from asking specific questions about your child’s progress.
Please note that the Kindergarten classes will continue to have more formal parents-only presentations rather than an open house due to the large number of families involved. The teachers will present their programs from 7:00 to 7:30, followed by a Q&A session.
Another exception will be for Mme Rosenwald’s grade 4 class, who will hold their session on the 22nd, but prior to the BBQ. Mme Rosenwald will be providing more specific details to concerned families directly.
Influenza Concerns
In preparation for the school year, staff has already been brought up to speed on the precautions to take during flu season. The school will continue to encourage good hygiene and will make available antiseptic gel to all classes. Students may also wish to bring with them small vials of antiseptic gel in their lunch bags. We would also like to remind all parents to be aware of signs of the flu and ask that you keep your child at home should they become ill.
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