Hi Parents,

As you know our joint-school Monster Mixer halloween potluck and dance party is this Friday, October 30, from 6:30-8:30pm.

Would you be able to help us make the night a success?

We need:

• 2 People to oversee the Potluck table and help welcome guests 6:30-8pm 
• 2-3 People to help set up tables & decorate etc from 3:30-6pm or any time within that time frame?
• 2-3 People to help clean up 8:30-9pm
• 2-3 Parents to run our Monster Mixer photo booth from 6:30-7:30: 
  • A) We need 1 parent willing to photograph kids and family in our booth area as a souvenir of the night.
  • B) A second parent or two are needed to write down the names and email addresses of the people getting photographed and record image numbers, so the correct photos can be matched up with the correct people and be emailed to them in the two weeks following.

Please email Cyndi at cynduck@gmail.com or Samara to confirm your availability

Look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks,

 Essex and Hawthorne special events committees 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are writing to update you about the continued impact of the ongoing, province-wide legal job action currently being undertaken by members of three unions:

• Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) which represents elementary teachers
• Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) which represents school support staff including custodians, school office staff, Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators and others
• Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), Professional Student Services Personnel Unit which represents education workers (not teachers) including Attendance Counsellors, Child and Youth Counsellors/Workers, Social Workers, Speech-Language Pathologists and others

These unions are currently in contract negotiations with the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association. Details of the duties and services no longer being performed during this job action can be found at www.tdsb.on.ca/labour.

During these exceptional times, we continue to focus on keeping schools open and safe for students and staff and ensuring that learning continues. We are closely monitoring the condition of our schools and assessing any health and safety implications for students, staff and visitors.

Continued withdrawal of services by ETFO and CUPE is having an impact on the normal operations of our schools. It is simply NOT possible for elementary principals to perform the many duties and tasks that nearly 11,000 elementary teachers and 15,000 CUPE support staff are not doing during this labour action.

As ETFO has directed its members to NOT prepare report card comments or complete or package progress reports, we are unable to issue Kindergarten to Grade 8 elementary progress report cards between November 6 and 12, as previously scheduled. Should a tentative agreement be reached with ETFO, we will revisit the situation.

In addition, ETFO has directed its members to NOT conduct parent/guardian interviews that are related to progress reports unless the teacher identifies a concern about a student’s progress.

We also regret to inform you that ETFO has recently announced that beginning Wednesday, October 28, they are directing elementary teachers to withdraw from all voluntary extracurricular activities (e.g. sports and clubs).

At this time, OSSTF education workers (not teachers) are providing services and supports to students and parents/guardians only during regular school hours.

It is also important to note that if the current partial withdrawal of services by elementary teachers and school support staff is prolonged or escalated, it may have an impact on some daytime school activities, as well as evening programs and after-school permits.

TDSB is in contact with child care administrators who operate out of TDSB schools. E ery attempt ill be made to preserve access to licensed child care programs in our schools, however, modifications may become necessary (e.g. changes in hours of operation, limited access to alternate rooms except in an emergency, change in entry practices etc . Please contact your child care centre for more information.

We remain hopeful that collective agreements with these unions can be achieved in the very near future to bring an end to the labour action and return schools to normal. As always, we are committed to keeping you informed. Please continue to check www.tdsb.on.ca/labour and monitor local media for any developments, including the latest on province-wide contract negotiations.

Sincerely,

Robin Pilkey
Chair of the Board

Donna Quan
Director of Education

Download this letter.

Essex P.S., through Toronto Public Health, is pleased to announce 2 workshops for parents and their children.  

1.  Kids Have Stress Too!  

For parents who have children aged 4-9

This is a two session workshop that helps parents to better understand stress in children.  It covers:

• What is “stress” for your children?
• How does stress affect your children? 
• How to help your children cope with stress

2.  At Home Alone – 5 Easy Steps to independence

This programme is for parents and their children (aged 10-14) to attend.  It helps families work together to prepare their 10 to 14 year olds to be home alone safely.  

All sessions will run in the evenings.  When we have 15 participants, the programme will run.  If interested, please contact Leslie at leslie.tumangday@tdsb.on.ca

All the items from our Lost and Found are currently on display in the front lobby until the end of the week.  All items not claimed by October 30th will be donated to a local charity.

Halloween Parade on Friday October 30th at 10:45-11:15 in the back yard of the school (KG-6).

Lunchroom Supervisor needed to start as soon as possible.  Must be available 5 days per a week  from 11:30-12:45. Must enjoy working with younger children. If interested, please contact Jim via email at  Jim.Stathopoulos@tdsb.on.ca.  Please send this along to anyone who you think might be interested.

Please join us for the School Council meeting this Thursday from 6:30-8pm in the Library (right after the Meet & Greet).

Childcare will be provided.

Hope to see you there!

Here is our agenda:

Welcome and introductions – All

Principal’s Report – Jim Stathopoulos

Treasurer’s Report – Nicole Belcourt & David Wood

Parent Link Report – Sue Hutton

Fundraising Committee  – Jean Hammond for Samarra Khaja

Garden Committee – Jessica Haber

Health and Wellbeing Committee – Milisa Burns

School Maintenance and Safety Committee – Lynette Bacon

Toronto Public Health Initiatives for Parents – Leslie Tumangday

Northern Karate – Leslie Tumangday

Syrian Refugee Sponsorship – Ruth Rosenblood

Other Business – All