The Lord Lansdowne / da Vinci School Community has joined the 1000 Schools Challenge!

*LINK FOR DONATIONS BELOW AND HERE*

(mention Lord Lansdowne/Da Vinci in comment box)

We have all seen the media reports showing heartbreaking images of families caught in the current Syrian refugee crisis.  By participating in the *1000 Schools Challenge to sponsor a refugee family, our community can reach out across the world to help bring a family to safety, in Canada.

Our community group, made up of families with children attending Lord Lansdowne or da Vinci School, has partnered with **ORAT (Office for Refugees – Archdiocese of Toronto), a well-respected organization that has been helping refugees come to Canada for 35 years.

In order to sponsor a family, we need to raise approximately $30,000.  In addition, we need a group of individuals dedicated to providing other support (finding housing, health care, adjusting to life in Canada, etc.) for the first year after arrival in Canada.

We have identified a refugee family of four, currently living in a refugee camp in Lebanon.  Our goal is to sponsor this family to Canada.  If, for some reason, this family is not eligible to be sponsored, we will apply to sponsor another refugee family.  If we are not able to raise the required funds of $30,000, we will donate all funds raised to ORAT’s resettlement efforts.

At least two communities in Toronto have already accepted the challenge and raised the required funds.  If they can do it, we can do it – let’s make Lord Lansdowne and da Vinci part of that group!*

Donations can be made by Cheque to:

Payable to:                             ORAT – Archdiocese of Toronto

Address:                                371 Old Kingston Rd. Toronto, ON, M1C 1B7

Memo Line include:             for Lord Lansdowne/da Vinci Community

Donations by Credit Card (AmEx, MasterCard, VISA) payment, please see:  

ORAT website:                     https://community.archtoronto.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=378

Comments Box include:      for Lord Lansdowne/da Vinci Community

NOTE: We regret that Canada Revenue Agency does NOT allow the issuance of a tax receipt when donations are for a specific family, as they are in this case.

Let’s help our kids learn what it means to make a difference in the world.

Thank you for your support. 

For questions, or for those interested in getting involved with this initiative in terms of providing other support, please contact:

Karina Thompson (Lord Lansdowne parent) at 416-880-4305 or karina@irlaw.ca

*For more information on the 1000 School Challenge and the refugee sponsorship process see: http://schoolswelcome.wix.com/1000schoolschallenge#!faqs/c1ghi

**For more information about ORAT, see: https://www.archtoronto.org/about-us/departments-(o-z)/Office_for_Refugees

Report Cards coming this week! Useful information

You might find the information below about "progressing with difficulty" on report cards useful*:

“Progressing With Difficulty” in French Immersion

French immersion parents of students in Grades 1 through 6 will soon be receiving Elementary Progress Report Cards from their children's schools. These reports provide parents with an understanding of their child's learning skills and work habits, based on classroom teachers' observations during the first few months of school. They also give parents an indication of how well their child is progressing towards the achievement of Ontario's curriculum expectations in all subject areas. 

Reports indicating "Progressing With Difficulty" simply mean that some improvement is needed in order to meet the provincial standard in one or more subject areas. If this category is checked on your child's Progress Report Card, next steps for improvement will need to be planned to increase your child's opportunities for success.

DO:

• Request an interview with your child’s classroom teacher
• Collaborate with the teacher to set goals for improvement in one or more subject areas
• Decide upon strategies that will promote achievement of these goals
• Ensure that responsibilities for strategy implementation are shared by the teacher, you, and your child
• Arrange a follow-up meeting in 4 to 6 weeks to evaluate progress and plan additional support

DO NOT:

• Worry that you will be asked to withdraw your child from the French immersion program
• Assume that “Progressing With Difficulty” means that French immersion is not a good fit for your child
• Conclude that your child would have been more successful in the English-only program, as most academic/behavioural/social difficulties exist regardless of the language of instruction in the classroom

* Information provided by NANCY WISE, PH.D., FRENCH IMMERSION EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING INC. (nwise@frenchimmersionconsulting.com ) . This is not an endorsement of services provided by this company.