Dear Parents/Guardians,

We wanted to provide you with an update about job action being taken by teaching staff represented by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represent support staff.

Currently, both unions are in ongoing province-wide labour negotiations with the Government of Ontario and public school boards. As a result, members of ETFO and CUPE are taking part in a legal job action that will impact our schools.

It’s important to note that schools remain open and instructional programs continue to run. During these extraordinary times in our schools, principals and vice-principals are working together with staff to maintain a caring and positive school environment. As always, student safety and learning remain the top priorities of all TDSB staff, and superintendents are in daily contact with our schools to assess any concerns.

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario

Recently, ETFO escalated its work-to-rule campaign to include a number of new measures — the full list of which was posted on September 18th at www.tdsb.on.ca/labour. As a result, some activities and events (e.g. curriculum nights and fundraising events) may need to be postponed or cancelled. Wherever possible, schools are working to reschedule affected events.

ETFO has stated that if sufficient progress is not made in negotiations it MAY implement rotating one-day strikes in October. Should rotating strikes occur, we will provide you with as much notice as possible about the impact on our schools.

Canadian Union of Public Employees (e.g. custodians, school office staff, educational assistants)

Today, CUPE has started a partial withdrawal of services which includes:

• Not sweeping entrances and hallways
• Not doing school compost programs
• Not cutting grass or cleaning up leaves unless there is a safety concern
• Not collecting or accepting money for school-related initiatives and fundraising

A full list of CUPE’s directives to its members is available at www.tdsb.on.ca/labour.

As the withdrawal of services continues, it MAY have a more significant impact on school activities and permits.

Please note, child care programs are currently operating according to their normal schedules.

As you can imagine, principals and vice-principals have had to take on additional tasks as a result of the ongoing job action and we appreciate your patience. During this time, there may be some delays when trying to contact your school office. While we appreciate offers of assistance from parents, volunteers cannot fulfill the duties of staff during a legal job action.

For all the latest labour information, visit tdsb.on.ca/labour.

We remain hopeful that a fair agreement can be reached between unions, the Government of Ontario and public school boards in the very near future.

Sincerely,
Robin Pilkey, Chair &  Donna Quan, Chair Director of Education

Work to Rule Update Letter.

Photo day is October 20th. See you there with a smile!

Download the Flyer.

Essex P.S. and Hawthorne are pleased to announce that they will be collecting used and new backpacks for an initiative for Dignitias International called “Backpacks for Malawi”.

Many children in Malawi who are living with HIV/AIDS have very little money and deal with a lot of discrimination regarding their disease. The folks at Dignitas need a variety of backpacks so the children can carry their books and medicine to school safely and privately. They often lose their medicine due to attempts to hide it in bushes outside the school so the other kids can’t see. It is important that these bags look unique (so the kids aren’t all carrying the same “medicine bag”), and this is why we are reaching out to you for donations of real bags.

There will be a donation box set up at your school from Tuesday, October 6th until Friday, Oct. 9.The backpacks can be big or small, used or new, for kids or adults. Before donating them, please give them a quick shake to make sure they are empty.

Let’s show the children of Malawi how much we care. If you have any questions, please contact Alice Kent alicekent@gmail.com

Download the Flyer.

Our cross-country season at Essex and Hawthorne is off to a great start. With over 80 students participating, we are still eagerly looking for volunteers for our first meet on Thursday October 8th. Please let the coaches know at next practice if you are available to come with us or are able to drive your own child and supervise a group. Also, permission forms must be returned to the office by Wednesday September 30th or your child will not be able to join us on race day.

It is a great idea to visit the course before October 8th with your child. Here are the various routes for different age groups. This should give your child a good idea of the terrain and length of the run.

FROM THE TDSB CROSS COUNTRY CONVENORS:

WARNING: Convenors walked and marked the courses at Ashbridges HOWEVER, someone else has also marked a course. There are arrows and the numbers 3 and 6 on many parts on the paths. Be aware that this is NOT our course, so be careful if taking students down their to run, and we apologize for any confusion this causes.

To assist in differentiating, you will see that the other arrows and numbers have been spray painted directly onto the pavement. Our markings, are on the grass as the students will be running mostly on grass. Moreover, we like to keep in mind that Ashbridges Bay is a public place…only ours to use on our permitted days, hence we have tried again this year to make our markings temporary.

A reminder that on Monday October 5th, parents are welcome to bring their children to run the course with our Bunny, Jimmy Semes. You can meet him and his students at Pantry Park at 5PM. Parents are responsible for supervising their children while running the course.

Grade 1 & 2 Route

Grade 3 Route

Grade 4-6 Route

Grade 7-8 Route

Dear Parent/Guardian(s),

This year, Essex and Hawthorne will be participating in the annual Terry Fox Run on Friday October 2nd, 2015. Unlike in previous years, our Terry Fox run will take place in the morning and the afternoon on the school property at Essex and Hawthorne. We are asking students to wear red and white in honour of Terry Fox on that day. Below are the times when our students will be participating in the run:

• 9:50 am – 10:30 am – Kindergarten to Grade 3
• 1:45 pm – 2:30 pm – Grades 4-8

Following each of the runs, the school will be distributing oranges to the students. If possible, it would be great if you could join us on the run.

We are encouraging all students to bring in a Toonie or an amount you would like to contribute to the Terry Fox Run on the day of the event. A jar with the money raised will be in each of the school offices.

Alternately, to make an online donation, visit terryfox.org, click on the National School Run Day tab and then “Donate to a student/school”. You will get your tax receipt emailed immediately.

Go to the website, www.terryfox.org,
• click on NATIONAL SCHOOL RUN DAY
• click “Give to a student”
• search for your school name
• click “Sponsor Us”

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. We thank you for your continued commitment to support The Terry Fox Foundation.

Sincerely,

Download letter here.

Pizza lunch starts on Oct 2nd and order forms are due Sept 28. Hard copies will be sent home Sept 24. or you can download and print the form below.

Thank you!

Fall 2015 Pizza Lunch Form.

Thursday September 24th at 6 pm in front of the school.
All welcome!!

As in the past, we are offering Cantonese, Spanish and Portuguese classes at Essex. New languages this year include Italian, Mandarin and German (provided there are enough registrations). Registration is ongoing every Wednesday from 3:30-6:00 pm in the Gym at Essex P.S.