Also on May 15^th our Student Council is organizing a Popcorn Sale to raise funds for Earthquake Victims in Nepal.

Popcorn will be sold in the Main Lobby at Lunch for $2.00.

Just a reminder that on Thursday May 14th, we are taking the Essex Panoramic Photo at 2:30 at the front of the school.

8 May, 2015

Dear Parents/Guardians of Elementary and Junior High School Students,

We would like to provide you with a further update with regards to planned job action by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

ETFO has formally given notice that elementary teachers will begin a partial withdrawal of service on Monday, May 11, 2015. The law permits the partial withdrawal of service while in a strike position.

All TDSB schools will remain open and programming will continue.

ETFO has directed teachers to continue to:

• Teach and provide extra help to students.
• Take attendance.
• Maintain contact with parents/guardians regarding students during the instructional day.
• Provide scheduled supervisory duties.
• Participate in extra–curricular activities.

• Participate in EQAO (standardized testing).
• Participate in other Ministry of Education initiatives.

We remain hopeful that a mutually acceptable resolution can be reached without further disruptions to the school day.

Sincerely,

Donna Quan
Director of Education

Download this letter.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We would like to provide you with an update on the current status of labour negotiations between the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Government of Ontario.

ETFO has formally given notice that it will begin strike action on Monday, May 11, 2015. While media reports suggest that this strike action will include a partial withdrawal of service (work-to-rule), ETFO has not indicated what it and its members intend to do.

Until further notice, all TDSB schools will remain open and programming will continue.

As we do not yet know what this strike action will include, it is important to know that in the event of a full strike by teachers (teachers do not report to work), it will be necessary for the TDSB to close all elementary and junior high schools to elementary students (Kindergarten to Grade 8), as we will not be able to operate a safe learning environment.

The safety and well-being of our students remains our top priority and we are committed to keeping you informed as more information becomes available.

We encourage all parents/guardians to monitor the TDSB website at www.tdsb.on.ca or follow us on Twitter at @TDSB for regular updates.

We remain hopeful that a mutually acceptable resolution can be reached without disruptions to the school day.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Donna Quan
Director of Education

Download this letter.

This Friday (May 8, 2015) is WACKY HAT DAY at Essex and Hawthorne.

Students and teachers are encouraged to wear a creatively wacky hat and bring a toonie to help support the Christie Street Refugee Centre! Should be fun!

Over the last few years, the paint under the overhang at the back of the school has been peeling away. The paint was tested and was found to contain lead. The TDSB will be removing the paint using a sand blasting method. The work will hopefully be scheduled this weekend or shortly thereafter (I will confirm the exact date once finalized).   In the meantime, our caretakers will continue to sweep the area of debris and we will continue to encourage our students to wash their hands.   Along with this, we also have a staff member supervising students under the shelter. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. 

Jim

Essex and Hawthorne schools will be holding our annual Spring Fling on Friday, May 29, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Last year, thanks to the help of many of you, it was a great success. The monies raised helped pay for new computers throughout the building for all students. This year, all proceeds will go towards improving our outdoor kindergarten play area and garden on the south-east side of the school.

We will begin the process by greening the space with edible trees to provide both shade and cooling. The goal is to create an environment where our students will learn to care for trees, find out about the value of native plants, attract pollinators with their plantings, and develop environmental stewardship. We will also be introducing some much-needed seating in the area, along with a sandpit and outdoor toys. A sample plan will posted in the main lobby.

By now you are saying to yourselves, this sounds exciting, but what can I do?
There are two main ways you can help make this garden become a reality, and make Spring Fling a great event for all of us:

Contribute to our silent auction and basket raffle: A new feature this year is our silent auction and basket raffle. We have already received some very generous contributions from local businesses, but if you know someone who might be willing to contribute a gift certificate, a weekend at the cottage, event or concert tickets, or a service, please ask them to donate to the auction. Hawthorne classes will be creating themed baskets, so watch for notices from class reps and teachers. Please contact Carol (Hawthorne) or Ana (Essex) at springflingeh@gmail.com.

Volunteer at the event: If you are planning on attending Spring Fling, why not spend an hour helping out? You can help with set-up and clean-up, bouncy castles, food stations, silent auction supervision, dunk tank, and face painting, to name just a few. Visit http://springflingeh.com to sign up, or contact the volunteer coordinators, Adriana, Heather, and Ruth, at springflingeh@gmail.com.

Download these Spring Fling flyer.

A reminder to all: Walk (do not ride) your bikes and scooter while on any of the school’s property between 8:30 a.m – 3:30 p.m.
(at which point, after school supervision ends).

Thank you.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The Intermediate Team here at Essex is well into planning Graduation (yes, believe it or not, we are already planning for your child’s grad!).  We came up with a lot of terrific new ideas, revisited some that we have done in the past, and we would love to hear from you. 

We reached out before in February but we are sending out the ask again – with your help, we would like to create a parent committee, specifically dedicated to the graduation’s execution. Parents would work alongside each other, with input from the teachers, to make the Class of 2015’s graduation a huge success.  This is your chance to have a say and help make it run smoothly and create cherished memories for our Grade Eight students.  After all, it’s a huge year for this terrific bunch of kids!

To start the ball rolling, we are asking that any Grade 7 or 8 parents/guardians that are interested in helping out in ANY way, to email Sarah Cervinka (sarah.cervinka@tdsb.on.ca) or Katharine da Costa (Katharine.dacosta@tdsb.on.ca) by Monday, May 4th. As the saying goes, “Many hands, make little work” and we need as many as possible to help out.   We are asking for email addresses so that communication is made easier and more convenient for all.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

The Essex Intermediate Team