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.

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!

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!

UPDATED: Meeting regarding BUILDING BETTER SCHOOLS

On Wed Jan 13, 2016, from 6:30-8pm, the Building Better Schools Initiative is holding a planning meeting at the Victory Cafe (581 Markham St in the Mirvish Village). They would love to have ONE PARENT REPRESENTATIVE from Lord Lansdowne to help brainstorm ideas on how to further engage parents in the community so that they can organize and take action towards Building Better Schools together. Please email Peyton Leung to RSVP if you are going. (Peyton DOT Leung AT gmail DOT com ).

The overall idea is to invite parents to come out and speak with teachers and other parents about issues in Toronto's elementary schools, such as overcrowding, cuts to special programs and school closures. This planning meeting is meant to get ideas on how to engage more parents in taking action together and figure out when we can have an open meeting with many parents from local schools in the area.

I hope somebody will attend.

Also HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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

Round Up of Events

Fundraising for a Syrian Refugee Family Starts NOW

You can donate using the link below and share the link with friends, family and colleagues to get the word out and help us reach our goal:

https://www.tilt.com/tilts/lord-lansdowne-da-vinci-welcome-refugees

Pledge forms and other initiatives will be on the way!

Work to rule is over! 

Teachers seem relieved. Extra-curricular activities and general normality can now resume! (Things are not fully finalised but a tentative agreement has been reached)

Fundraising information and goals

So, we've mentioned HOW you can help raise funds for Lord Lansdowne (links here )

so now we will tell you WHY we are fundraising.

We have two major goals for the school this year. The first is to bring the Scientists in School program back again. This will cost $3,500. This program is popular with both teachers and pupils!

The second is to bring a well-researched anti-bullying program - Community Builders - to the school. Our anti-bullying sub-committee have worked hard to find a program that will work for Lord Lansdowne and this one is an ongoing, tailor-made package. This will cost $4,000.

So - get thee to our fundraising links to shop and support the school and watch out for upcoming fundraising events. You can subscribe to magazines at a discount or shop at Indigo and let 10% go to Lord Lansdowne, for example!

TDSB Excellence Awards - let's get Lord Lansdowne recognised!

The TDSB has a campaign to allow parents, pupils, community members - pretty much anyone - to nominate teachers or programmes in schools to receive excellence awards.

I think it would be great to get a few nominations in for Lord Lansdowne School stars. I have a few in mind, personally, but if there is anyone or any programme you think worthy, then go for it!

Feel free to get in touch to ask further questions! Find a co-nominator for your chosen nominee and get going!



Points to note:

•  closing date for nominations is the 20th of March
•  The link to nominate is here
• Keep in mind the Years of Action goals as well as the five strategic directions noted on the page and relate your blurbs to that
•   Each nomination requires :

           1. Two nominators each of whom provides a 250 word or less description of the work the programme/person does that makes them worthy of the award
           2.  A statement of recognition that can be up to 500 words

Fix Our Schools

Interested in the condition of TDSB schools - in terms of repairs and maintenance?
This campaign newsletter here might be of interest.

The rally mentioned is already over but contacting the relevant people could be helpful.
Lord Lansdowne school seems lucky enough to be in relatively good repair....but it is certainly important to have ALL schools being healthy, happy and safe places to learn.