Parking update - good news!

Dear all, I am pleased to have the following news from Raymond Ngu in Joe Cressy's office:

I wanted to send a quick note to let everyone know that, at last week's City Council meeting, the report to implement the pick-up/drop-off zone was adopted. You can find a link to the report here.

The bills have been enacted so the new regulations should be in place, however, it may take a while for the new signage to go up. I have advised Parking Enforcement about City Council's new regulations along this stretch.

Parent Workshops - building empathy at Lord Lansdowne and Da Vinci

We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Building a Culture of Empathy at LLPS: Invitation to Parent Workshops

Empathy is gaining attention as an important component of emotional intelligence and as a way to strengthen conflict resolution skills. When a person learns to understand and share the feelings of another, the pro-social behavior that results shows up in better relationships, closer friendships and stronger communities.

In order to better equip our children with these pro-social skills, LLPS is partnering with Se Brancher Coeur and
Play in the Wild to offer a new program to build a culture of empathy at LLPS for students, staff and families. From January through April 2017, the program will include teacher training, three in-class sessions for each LLPS classroom and three evening workshops for parents.

Three Evening Workshops for Parents

Please join fellow parents to learn what our children will be learning and how we can support them at home
while acquiring new strategies for families.

When:	Tuesday January 17, Tuesday February 21 and Tuesday April 4, 2017 All workshops are from 6:30pm to 8:00pm Parents are requested to attend all 3 workshops to experience the full benefits of the program
Where:	LLPS Library
Who:	For LLPS and DaVinci parents. Adults only. Free on-site childcare will be available (for toilet-trained kids only.)
Overview:	Learn the practical tools, vocabulary and skills to foster a culture of empathy at home and school, including how to nurture honest expression and empathic listening and offer boundaries that create safety, trust and respect for all. These workshops will include interactive games and practices -- with lots of room for questions.
Facilitators:	Mélanie Whitham, Certified Teacher, Founder Se Brancher Coeur, Co-founder Play in the Wild Catherine Cadden, Certified Teacher, Founder Temba School and Co-founder Play in the Wild Arielle Prince-Ferron, Animator at Play in the Wild and Se Brancher Coeur
Cost:	Free for participants, funded by the LLPS Parent Council (Your fundraising dollars at work!)
Registration:	Space is limited. Reserve your spot at https://buildingacultureofempathyatllps.eventbrite.ca

Message from the Principal - Beth Mills

A message to the community from Principal Beth Mills

I will be absent from school starting Thursday, December 8, 2016. I hope to return by the beginning of February, 2017. I will not be responding to emails during my absence. 

During my absence, Mme Toni Fiore-Lisi will be acting principal.

You can contact her at the school office 416-393-1350 or by email at Toni.FioreLisi AT tdsb.on.ca.

Mme Fiore –Lisi is a very experienced French Immersion principal, and I know that you will find her a caring and committed principal.

Wishing all of you a positive month of December, a restful and rejuvenating holiday with your family - see you in the new year!

Kids Have Stress Too - Take 2!

Kids Have Stress Too!Seminar for all parents of 4-9 year old kids

As part of our school’s commitment to enhance our children’s physical, mental and emotional well-being, LLPS is partnering with Toronto Public Health to host a free, two-part seminar for parents to help their kids learn positive coping strategies to deal with stress.

The Kids Have Stress Too! seminar was developed using evidence-based psychological knowledge and experts in psychology, early childhood development, education and stress. It is designed to help parents of 4-9 year old kids understand childhood stress and provide their children with the tools to deal with it effectively. 

Kids Have Stress Too!
When:	Tuesday, Dec 6th and Tuesday, Dec 13, 2016  6:30pm to 8:30pm Parents are required to attend both sessions
Where:	Lord Lansdowne PS, Room 106
Who:	Parents of 4-9 year old kids from LLPS and da Vinci Childcare will be available (for kids who are toilet trained only, please)
Description:	Even the most nurturing home and school environment includes a range of stressors that can both challenge and motivate children. While stress is a necessary part of development and learning, too much stress makes it more difficult for children to get along with others, interferes with children's ability to focus, think and ultimately learn, and has a profound effect on children's physical, emotional and mental health. The good news is that building emotional health and resiliency can help children concentrate, learn, interact more successfully and deal with stressors they may face in their lives. This highly-informative and interactive seminar will provide parents with the knowledge, awareness and skills to help their 4-9 year old children become healthier and more resilient through learning how to manage their stress.
Instructor:	Dakota Marcotte City of Toronto Public Health Nurse Healthy Child Development Program
Cost:	Free for participants, paid for by the City of Toronto
RSVP:	Space is limited so register asap at:https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kids-have-stress-too-second-round-tickets-29063834712 Please enter password: stress Or for more information, please contact lordlansdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com

Silent Auction Fundraiser!

Please go HERE to buy tickets!Hey there - this year's fundraising and social event, the silent auction - is on NEXT WEEK. Buy your tickets here

Last year's event was really a lot of fun and this year's auction items include tickets for Matilda, gift certificates for restaurants local to the school, special teacher prizes and LOTS more - don't miss out!

PARKING UPDATE

From the office of Joe Cressy, Raymond Ngu sent the following update today:

I wanted to send a quick note to confirm that the pick-up/drop-off zone is on the agenda for this week's Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC). You can find a link to the item here. My apologies for the late notice.

We don't anticipate any issue with getting this passed at TEYCC, especially given Transportation staff's positive recommendation. That being said, you are welcome to submit any comments/letters of support to teycc@toronto.ca.

Again, this will need approval by the full City Council at their next meeting.

School council meeting 23rd November - meeting documents

Dear all - we hope to see you at the school council meeting on Wednesday, 23rd of November.

Here are the links to the relevant documents:

Draft minutes from last meeting (27th of Oct)

Proposed agenda for upcoming meeting

Proposal to council for additional funding for Se Brancher Coeur program

Please review before the meeting if you can and bring copies along to the meeting for reference, if you wish!

School council on Oct 27th - agenda and other documents

We hope you will come along to the school council meeting on Thursday, 27th of October.
You can come and listen or play a more active part - we'd be delighted to see you!

The agenda can be found here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzF2y7UA2iExWnl2YmhqZzdBOGs  Please bring along your own copy to the meeting.

Other relevant documents - one about the ongoing discussion about pizza lunch/providing healthy lunches at the school and another about classroom and library resources - can be found here - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzF2y7UA2iExLUx5ZzE4aDQyX3c

Kids Have Stress Too - Upcoming Parent Workshops - register to attend!

This workshop is now full. For those who are still interested in attending, we encourage you to join the waitlist (password: stress) and more sessions can be added to meet the demand. People on the waitlist will be notified of future workshop dates. 

Kids Have Stress Too!
Seminar for all parents of 4-9 year old kids

As part of our school’s commitment to enhance our children’s physical, mental and emotional well-being, LLPS is partnering with Toronto Public Health to host a free, two-part seminar for parents to help their kids learn positive coping strategies to deal with stress.

The Kids Have Stress Too! seminar was developed using evidence-based psychological knowledge and experts in psychology, early childhood development, education and stress. It is designed to help parents of 4-9 year old kids understand childhood stress and provide their children with the tools to deal with it effectively.

Kids Have Stress Too!
When:	Tuesday, Oct 25 and Tuesday, Nov 8, 2016 - NOW FULL 6:30pm to 8:30pm Parents are required to attend both sessions
Where:	Lord Lansdowne PS, Room 106
Who:	Parents of 4-9 year old kids from LLPS and da Vinci Childcare will be available (for kids who are toilet trained only, please)
Description:	Even the most nurturing home and school environment includes a range of stressors that can both challenge and motivate children. While stress is a necessary part of development and learning, too much stress makes it more difficult for children to get along with others, interferes with children's ability to focus, think and ultimately learn, and has a profound effect on children's physical, emotional and mental health. The good news is that building emotional health and resiliency can help children concentrate, learn, interact more successfully and deal with stressors they may face in their lives. This highly-informative and interactive seminar will provide parents with the knowledge, awareness and skills to help their 4-9 year old children become healthier and more resilient through learning how to manage their stress.
Instructor:	Dakota Marcotte City of Toronto Public Health Nurse Healthy Child Development Program
Cost:	Free for participants, paid for by the City of Toronto
RSVP:	WORKSHOPS NOW FULL, join the waitlist at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/kids-have-stress-too-tickets-28629516655 Please enter password: stress Or for more information, please contact lordlansdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com

International Language Program: changes since last year

Mention was made in the previous post about changes to the International Languages (IL) program but I realise that many of you may like more detail on these so, in a nutshell:

1. Fewer instructors - just 3 instead of 16 
2. Classes are 3 days a week, allowing longer periods for remaining programming and less disruption and transitions in the school day
3. Classes are in designated classrooms making life less complicated!

Mme Hamilton, who was teacher rep at the meeting, agrees that the changes have made the school day easier to manage.

(Slightly belated) School Council Meeting Report

This meeting took place on Wednesday 28th of September and we had some returning faces as well as some new ones. Please, please feel very free to come along to the next meeting (27th of October - further meetings are in the calendar on this site) even if you couldn't make the first ones. People are always welcome whether they want to just listen or would like to get involved further.
Full draft minutes can be accessed from this page here and we should have the proposed agenda for the next meeting posted soon.

So,  back to the topic at hand - the meeting of the 28th of September. The main focus of the meeting was explaining the school council and the structure and roles. We are delighted to have some new parents involved in the council and there are still definitely opportunities for more people to get involved if they would like. Anybody who would like to be part of chairing the council (we have 2 co-chairs but further help is always welcome) or be a back-up secretary, for example, would be very welcome!

Asides from this, we also had a presentation from Mme. Hamilton (teacher rep at the meeting, Grade 1 teacher) who told us about the Se Brancher Coeur program. This is a program to encourage communication and conflict resolution with classroom and parent components which the council were considering funding as part of the Safe and Caring Schools initiative. The motion to fund this was unanimously approved and we look forward to letting you know about the parent events once the dates are decided and we hope to see lots of you there. The program sounds great and Mme Hamilton has already had one of the program team deliver an hour of work in her classroom which was very successful. It is also one of the few programs that can offer the program in French which was important to the teachers so it's a great find!

Mme. Mills, the principal, also had time to give a very quick principal's report. In brief - there have been major challenges with bussing but these are close to being fully resolved. EQAO results for grade 3 were boastworthy but, of course, only give a tiny insight into what is going on in the classroom, enrolment this year was consistent with what was expected so no classroom reorganisation was required in September, a major reorganisation of the International Language program has been implemented and seems to be suiting teachers and students well, the school facilities continue to be improved and a number of issues mentioned in Facilities Index report have already been addressed (as the inspection was in 2013)...and there was more but I would urge you to come along to our next council meeting to really get a flavour or all that is going on in Lord Lansdowne!

Dates- School Council Meeting and Curriculum Night

Please take note that our first school council meeting will be on

Wednesday, 28th September, 7pm to 8.30pm. 

If there are agenda items you would like to include, you can send them to lordlansdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com

The Curriculum Night has moved from the original advertised date and will now be on

Wednesday, 5th of October, 6.30pm to 7.30pm

Children are welcome to come along to this.

Welcome!

WELCOME BACK!

Just a very quick post to welcome back all our parents and students who are continuing from last year and to welcome our new SKs and other students joining us this year!

We hope you have received the communications from the school blog which is the best way to stay in touch with the day to day happenings at school. School is ending earlier for grades 1 and up this year at 3.20pm rather than 3.30pm. 

Here on the school council blog we will keep you up to date with council activities including fundraising, advocacy campaigns and any social events.

To get the ball rolling, we will be joining in the Indigo Adopt-A-School Campaign which starts in ten days - sign up and spread the word here - https://adoptaschool.indigo.ca/eng/schools/743 - daily clicks and options to donate will get more books for our school - it's a great scheme!

If you are new to the school, you may find this post useful.

Happy September!

School Council Meeting Report - June 14th 2016

Our final meeting of the year took place on Tuesday, June 14th. There was plenty on the agenda and it was great to see such that our number of regular attendees seems to have grown during the year. Together we are stronger!

The full minutes of the meeting are available on the relevant page on this very website once the draft is approved but this post is to give a general report. The school council now aims to send out the agenda 2 weeks in advance (via email, we also link in the newsletter) and, after Tuesday's meeting, we agreed that we will leave time for Any Other Business and allow people to request that items be added to the agenda up to a week before the meeting. We do try to stick to the allotted times (didn't go quite so well this week but Jordan did a champion job in other meetings - there was just A LOT to discuss this time around!).

Funding
Although this was one of the last items discussed, it is one that sparked a lot of conversation and ideas so we shall start with it here. Overall, the idea was floated that having champions for different
causes could work well so that those passionate about a given cause could be involved in moving it forward. Sarah Layton volunteered to help co-ordinate the fundraising for different causes so that people don't overlap or organise conflicting events or the like. In the end, through discussion and voting, we came up with 5 main targets for fundraising for the year to come. These are (in no particular order)

1.                Sports equipment/uniforms – Eugene, possibly Mme Raoult – unspecified amount
2.        Chromebooks – specific appeal submitted regarding these at earlier meeting – Eve - $5000
3.        Orff instruments – specific request submitted regarding this at previous meeting - $2000 – Jordan
4.        Library books –  unspecified amount - Jordan 
5.              High Park Outdoor Education Scheme ($19.50 per student, useful for SK to grade 3) – Elize (half-committed) and David

Money for an anti-bullying program (see item below) is already in the bank for next year. If you feel passionate about any of the 5 items above or have a great idea about how to fundraise for a particular cause, do get in touch with the school council - we'd love to have more people on board!

     Safe and Caring Schools

     The school council has a sub-committee who are focussing on ways to support the school in building a happy, caring, bully-free environment. Building on from the Community Builders parent workshop held last week, the council is committed to funding a program to come into the school, and this money is already ring-fenced and in the bank. The exact program and the form it will take is to be discussed in the weeks to come and we are working with staff to see what will suit students, staff and parents!

   Save our Vice Principal Campaign

    We are sad to report that it looks like our campaign to keep a vice-principal position for the 2016/17 school year has not been successful. However, the current prediction is that we may not have one the following year either and we are not giving up the fight. We will continue to make noise and stay in touch with TDSB, with the superintendent and other relevant people to convince them that with two schools, plenty of bussing, the international language program and more, Lord Lansdowne and Da Vinci NEED a vice principal. We hope you will join in the letter writing and noise-making campaign - keep an eye out for news on how you can help!

    

     Refugee Family Sponsorship Update

    We are pleased to report that "our" family have had their interviews and are eligible to come to Canada. When they get here, there is a list of household items that they will need. You will have the opportunity to sign up at the school concert (Wednesday 22nd) if you have items you can give or you can access the list here too and sign up right now!

Update re: U of T lockdown today (13th June, 2016)

To all parents, Beth Mills asked us to get this message out with regards to the University of Toronto lockdown currently in progress:

Safety of our students is a top priority. TDSB is closely monitoring the situation at U of T today. Safe schools staff have been in touch regularly with 52 Division of Toronto Police and there continues to be no direct impact for LL and da Vinci at this time.

Just to add - from my own following of the situation - it's chiefly in the Bloor/Queens Park area that lockdown is in force. Hoping all are safe and well.

It's More Fun in French!

With summer holidays looming, you might be thinking about how to keep up the French during the weeks off. Well, how about signing your child up for some camps in French this summer? Ms. Mills shared this brochure from the Alliance Francaise which might have just what you need!

Also, check out the latest newsletter from FSLAC in which Lord Lansdowne's Franco-Fete was written up!

Don't forget that this website has a French resources page right here!

Reminder - Community Builders workshop on Tuesday!

Hello all - just wanted to remind again about this workshop coming up on Tuesday 7th of June - that's this Tuesday coming. The workshop starts at 5pm with light supper - pizza - before at 5-5.30pm.

We really believe that this will be a helpful resource to to learn how to combat and prevent bullying or anti-social behaviour. It was carefully researched and we think it will be really beneficial.

Drop an email to lordlansdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com to let us know if you will be there and whether you need pizza and/or childcare (no diapers please!). Looking forward to seeing you there and maybe at the school dance this evening too!

Community Builders - anti-bullying workshop for parents

You may have seen the invitation to this event in the newsletter or on the school run blog but here it is on the council blog now too!

Some parents on the school council who are particularly passionate about relationship and community building within the school formed a sub-committee to research and choose a relationship building program to help stop bullying at Lord Lansdowne. You can read more about the Community Builders here. The workshop, on the 7th of June at 5.45pm (free pizza dinner beforehand, 5pm to 5.30pm) aims to help parents support children in building positive relationships. We think it will be very interesting and worthwhile and hope to see you there! Please RSVP and let us know if you need childcare (no children in diapers, please) and if you will be at dinner - email lordlansdowneschoolcouncil@gmail.com to let us know.

Here is the blurb about the workshop from Community Builders themselves!

BUILDING POSITIVE PARENT RELATIONSHIPS: Raising confident, healthy and resilient children
Community Builders has been helping communities with issues of inclusion for two decades.  This 2.5 hour workshop will not only help parents relate better to each other and to their children, but also give them tools to help their children relate well to their peers.  Whether a parent is building relationships with other parents, their children, or school staff these ideas will be valuable:

• Why it is important for everyone to take pride in their identity and background
• How cultural differences and oppression issues like racism and classism can get in the way of relationship-building
• A mental model called “The Heart of the Child” that can help everyone keep an empathetic perspective towards other
• Effective listening skills for finding out what is really going on below the surface in our everyday dialogues

Quick update - parking petition!

Hi there - if you feel that the schools need a drop off zone, please sign our petition - http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/parking-needed-at-LLPS-da-Vinci/

Also, on May 18th, from 3pm to end of pick up, there will be a representative from Joe Cressy's office and someone from the transportation office to see how things go at pick up at Spadina Crescent. Parents are welcome to come and talk about their concerns.

Many thanks to Cheryl Hooper, a Da Vinci parent, for bringing this forward.

Save Our Vice-Principal! Please help!

Many of you will have heard by now that the staffing allowance for Lord Lansdowne and Da Vinci for next year (16/17) does not include a Vice-Principal. Many of you will also have been shocked and dismayed by this news and wonder how on earth a principal, without a VP as back up, is to manage all the business involved in running two schools.

We strongly feel that a robust letter writing campaign could make our voices heard. Although the superintendent, Louie Papathanasakis, has sent us the information regarding the various cut offs and quotas to allow for a VP, these calculations fail to take into account the extra administration involved in running two schools on one premises, don't take into account the complexities of running the International Languages program and the overall decision can be considered extremely short-sighted in removing a position that (by their own calculations) will likely have to be re-introduced in a year or two when the school grows again.

Please take the time to write a letter/email to show your support and express the need for a vice-principal at Lord Lansdowne and Da Vinci. You can download (and adapt for appropriate amoutn of children etc!) a letter we have composed here and send it, via email to pat.rocco@tdsb.on.ca , also cc in Ausma Malik ( Ausma.Malik@tdsb.on.ca ) and Louie Papathanasakis (Louie.Papathanasakis@tdsb.on.ca ). 

Most of us will have seen, at some point, a situation where the need for both a principal and vice-principal is very clear so let's do our best to SAVE OUR VP!

Parking headaches at Lord Lansdowne

A few parents have raised this over the school year - the fact that there is no official, authorised drop-off parking (or any parking!) for Lord Lansdowne meaning some parents are risking - and sometimes getting - ticketed on a regular basis. I thought I would write a quick post to address this.

Firstly, this is something that has been raised by both Da Vinci and Lord Lansdowne school councils and the city have been involved and consulted with to draw up an appropriate parking zone. Issues that complicate this include the need to provide adequate bus parking in front of the school and possible opposition from Robert Street residents. The city did draw up a plan but had made an error on it which was upsetting to the local residents and, either way, had to be corrected before the plan could be brought to the next level of approval. In short, a re-organisation of the parking is in progress but this could be a slow process.

At a meeting with the superintendent,  Louie Papathanasakis, last week, he mentioned that he was going to call someone with the city in order to reduce the vigilance with which the parking is enforced. However, if a resident complains, the police will still have to respond.

Making your voices heard by contacting Joe Cressy about the issue is probably the most helpful thing to be done at the moment.

Tech it Forward - use your votes and help WIN BIG for Lord Lansdowne

You have no doubt come across this on Facebook or through the school blog already but just a reminder to please vote here every day and send this link - http://learningproject.cst.org/ideas/1465 - to friends and family and anyone whose marathon/jumpathon/voyage-to-Marsathon you have ever sponsored or supported - it's their turn to help you!

The competition is judged by Commander Chris Hadfield and could win the school up to $100,000 which would transform the computer technology currently available to our children!

School Council Meeting on Tuesday, 3rd May, 6pm - come along!

The agenda is available for download here.

Hope to see you there.