Owen Online - Dec. 4-8

Holiday Hampers

Monday December 4th will kick off Owen’s annual Holiday Hamper Gift Drive. During this holiday season, we encourage families to donate gift items and gift cards to families in need.

On the list below you will find each class and information about the specific family (while ensuring their anonymity) that your child’s class will be supporting. Gift donations will be collected by your child’s teacher from Monday, December 4th to Tuesday, December 12th. A list of suggestions is provided below.

If you have any questions regarding our Holiday Hampers, please ask your child’s teacher. As well, if you are a family who would benefit from support, please call Ms. Rosenbloom. All information is handled discretely and kept strictly confidential.

Class (by Grade)	Family for Holiday Hamper
Kindergarten
Ms. Buchanan and Ms. Smyth	Family #64 – Mother, Girl (age 16), Boy (age 12), Boy (age 10), Girl (age 9)
Ms. Milbrant and Ms. Kruklis	Family #1 – Mother, Uncle, Boy (age 7), Girl (age 8), Girl (age 17), Boy (age 17)
Ms. Lee and Ms. Mungala	Family #4 – Mother, Dad, Boy (age 5), Boy (age 10), Girl (age 15),
Grade 1
Ms. Hood	Family#63 – Mother, Girl (age 14), Girl (age 7)
Ms. McRae	Family #66 – Grandmother, Girl (age 11), Boy (age 9)
Ms. Hartwell	Family #69 – Mother, Girl (age 11), Girl (age 9)
Ms. Mera	Family #70 – Mother, Girl (age 4), Boy (age 1)
Grade 2
Ms. Kiriazopoulos and Ms. Lam	Family #71 – Mother, Boy (age 11), Twin Boys (age 13)
Ms. Ching	Family #73 – Grandmother, Father, Girl (age 4)
Ms. Bourassa Wilson	Family #75 – Grandmother, Father, Girl (age 7), Boy (age 11)
Grade 3
Mr. Rebick	Family #74 – Mother, Boy (age 2.5)
Ms. Boddy	Family #67 – Mother, Boy (age 5)
Ms. Barbieri	Family #65 – Mother, Girl (age 11), Boy (age 8)
Ms. Vezina	Family #5 – Mother,  Father, Girl (age 6)
Mr. McArthur	Family #2 – Grandmother, Mother, Twin Boys (age 9)
Grade 4
Ms. Moreau	Family #3 – Mother, Boy (age 9), Girl (age 11), Boy (age 12), Girl (age 14), Girl (age 16)
Ms. Hall	Family #6 – Mother, Girl (age 9), Boy (age 6), Boy (age 4)
Ms. Morris and Mr. Alexandre	Family #72 – Mother, Girl (6 months), Boy (age 9), Boy (age 13), Boy (age 14)
Grade 5
Ms. Antoniou and Ms. Payne	Family #61 – Mother, Girl (age 11), Girl (age 8), Girl (age 6)
Mr. Price	Family #3 – Mother, Boy (age 9), Girl (age 11), Boy (age 12), Girl (age 14), Girl (age 16)
Grade 6
Ms. Ierullo and Ms. Kennedy	Family #68 – Mother, Father, Girl (age 15), Girl (age 13), Girl (age 9), Girl (age 7)
Ms. Balaban	Family #62 – Mother, Boy (age 14), Boy (age 11), Boy (age 8)

Clothing Drive
Our clothing collection has been very successful so far and will continue throughout the school year. Donations always welcome! The drop off is just inside the main doors, please let the office know if you are dropping something off.


Terry Fox Run

Dear Parents,

We are pleased to announce that this year's Terry Fox run/walk was a wonderful success. This year's total collected is $ 5 121.25 is added to our amazing running total of approximately $116,000.00.  It is a great accomplishment to send a cheque, with this amount, to the Terry Fox Foundation.  

A special thank you to all students, teachers, support staff, administration and parents for making the annual Terry Fox walk a huge success.

Looking forward to next year!

The Terry Fox Committee

Winter Concert: ME TO WE Theme

DATE: Thursday, December 14th, 6:00pm

THEME: The theme of this year’s holiday concert celebrates the Me to We initiatives while celebrating the beauty of Canada during its winter season.

We are planning to have our Primary (Gr. 1-3) classes perform starting at 6pm with an intermission at 7:00-7:15pm, then the Junior classes (Gr. 4-6) perform at 7:15pm. Kindergarten classes are planning a spring performance that will be announced at a later date.

About Me to We:

https://www.metowe.com/about-us/

Beliefs (words for hands):

https://www.we.org/we-movement/our-beliefs/

Lost and Found
We have many lost items in our lost and found bin that have been neatly organized and hung up (thanks Pam!) and need to find their way back home. Please drop in and have a look for lost items as they will be donated on the last week of school before the winter break.

Mom’s Basketball/Volleyball

Interested in getting out and playing some ball with other moms?  Drop by with your sneakers and sweats on Wednesday December 13^th from 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm in the gym. If you have any questions contact paula.kuzic@tdsb.on.ca

Early Dismissals

Please send a note or email office staff if your child will be signing out for an appointment as we are trying to minimize interruptions during instructional time. 

Any student who needs to be dismissed early must be picked up before 2:45 pm. 

To ensure the safety of all students, students will not be dismissed between 2:45 pm  - 3:15 pm as staff need to account for students taking the bus and going to daycare. This time is extremely important as students will miss instructional time and time to organize their agendas. 

Thanks for your cooperation. 

OSAC Meeting Times

Next OSAC Meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 5th, 6:30pm

OSAC Meetings have traditionally been in the evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. We want to make the meetings as accessible as possible for parents. We would like to know if there are other times that would work better for some parents.

If there is enough interest, we could move one or more existing meetings to another time slot in a staggered fashion. For example, December's meeting would stay at 6:30pm, but January's might be at 9:00am, and then February back to 6:30pm.

We would love to hear from you. Please fill out the following form to help us accommodate parents’ schedules.

https://goo.gl/forms/J6g4dhG6RC9Y2iMk2

Milk Sales
We have established the milk ticket sales for the next couple months. 

• November 20 through the 30th, to be distributed to the teachers on December 1st. 
• December 13-20, delivered on December 21st
• January 19-31, delivered on February 1st

Questions or concerns about milk, please contact owenmilkprogram@outlook.com

Peanut Allergies

Please be mindful that we have students in the school with severe nut allergies.  Please ensure that all lunches and snacks are peanut free or have not be made in a facility that contains nuts.  Snacks that contain nuts will be brought to the office and can be picked up after school.

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Junior Extended French (JEF) (Grade 4 Entry)

Applications to the Junior Extended French program may be submitted, on behalf of students in the English program, the year the child is in Grade 3 for entry in September of Grade 4. It is an entirely online process. All communication will be sent via the email address you provide. Please check your email regularly, including junk mail folders.

Please visit the application site www.tdsb.on.ca/pars

·     You will need your child’s date of birth and OEN. The OEN is a 9-digit number found on any report card from the TDSB.

·     For non-TDSB students, please select the “Non-TDSB Student” option and follow the steps to generate an identification number. You must then return to the PARS site and follow the application procedure with this number.

·     Please select Junior Extended French from the drop-down menu and complete the application process.

On-time applicants will be offered a placement online via the email address you have provided. You MUST take action to accept this placement by the deadline requested when you are offered a placement.

Offers of placement will be on-going through the weeks and months following the close of the application period. Please check your email regularly, including junk mail folders, and follow any instructions.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Application process opens: Monday, January 8, 2018

Deadline for applications: Thursday, February 8, 2018

Please note:

·     while every effort will be made to place students in the school identified as their area JEF school, this is not always possible. In cases where the number of applications in a given area is greater than the number of spaces in the school, students may be redirected to schools with available space.

·     Placements are made based on the address you provide prior to the application deadline. If your address changes between the application deadline and the fall of the Grade 4 year, there is no guarantee of placement in your new area.

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School Clubs

Many staff have dedicated their time to provide opportunities for students to be leaders, have an impact at the school or community. Please see the schedule below for the clubs and times these are available.  If you would like more information, contact the teacher in charge of the club.

Name of Club	Teachers Involved	Student Grade/Division Applicable	Location	Day of the Week & Time of Day
Chorale Francaise	A. Bourassa Wilson A. Ching	Gr 1-6 FI	Room 108	Wednesdays 12:00 noon Begins after Thanksgiving
Eco-Club	J. MacArthur C. Lam S. Payne	Gr 1-6	Rm 113	Tuesdays 11:30 AM
First Lego League Robotics Team	J. Alexandre and C. Smyth	Gr. 4-6	Conference Room	Two days a week after school until tournament is held in early December. We will work out which days after lunchtime tryouts.
Ukulele Club	J. Alexandre	Gr 4-6	Room 110	Once a week at lunch after the winter break.
Graffiti Club	S. Price O. Gonzalez	3-6	Rm 116	Thursdays at lunch, 11:30--12:30
Chess Club	I. Kiriazopoulos	Gr 1-6	Library	Monday at lunch
Drama club	C. Bromley	6	Room 115	Once a week after thanksgiving 12:00-12:30
Maths Club	D. Balaban M. Antoniou S. Burchell	Gr. 4-6	Room 117	Monday after school 15:30-16:30 Starts September 25
Pitch Perfect Club	C. Jagger	Gr. 2 - 6	E.S.L. room	Tuesdays and Wednesdays at lunch 12:00-12:30
STEM Club	R. Barbieri Vezina C. Mungala	Grades 1-3	Room 127 Library Classroom	Thursdays 12pm - 12:30pm
Crafty Kids Club Run by Ava Vender and her friends	D. Balaban	Grades 4-6	Room 117	Thursdays Lunch: 11:30-12:00

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Hello Everyone,

It’s been a great beginning to the 2017-2018 school year.

Throughout this fall our schools are offering engaging programs and learning experiences - there have been Terry Fox runs, outdoor educational programs, Halloween celebrations, cross country events, school trips, Remembrance Day ceremonies, and stimulating classroom instruction. I have been visiting our schools each week to meet staff, parents and to see these programs in action. I am forever amazed at the varied and exciting opportunities planned for our children.

Throughout the year I hold meetings for parents and community - I hope you can join me: 
Newsletters - Quick Communicator

Tentative Dates

• Community Coffee - Thursday December 14, 9:15 am
• Ward Forum - Tuesday January 23 7:00 PM
  Meet the Director of Education John Malloy at North Toronto Collegiate Institute
• Community Coffee - Monday February 26, 9:15 AM
• Ward Forum - April Date TBA on the Budget, 7:00 PM
• Community Coffee - April meeting cancelled
• Ward Forum - Tuesday May 22, 7:00 PM
• Community Coffee - Wednesday June 18, 9:15 AM

Below are several articles to keep you updated on education issues in our community and across Toronto.

if you wish to discuss any of the items, please email me at gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca

Gerri

We are fortunate to have Gerri Gershon as our Trustee.  To stay informed with Gerri, please sign up for her e-newsletter at www.tdsb.on.ca/gershon and read her Newsletters - Quick Communicator. Follow her on Twitter  @gerrigershon, for all sorts of useful information about education. For system wide news about the TDSB, visit www.tdsb.on.ca/TDSBupdate.