Sad News

Dear JICS families,

I am writing to share the very sad news of the passing of Cindy Halewood on November 8, 2018.

Cindy was a lab school teacher at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study until

August 2016. She taught Grade 2 to most of the students who are currently in Grade 5 and Grade 6. She will be remembered for many things including her loving rapport with children and her innovative curriculum, e.g. the study of birds, salmon restoration, the “cardboard arcade” and her innovative approach to introducing Shakespearean comedies to 7-year old children. Cindy was fiercely committed to creating an inclusive learning environment, environmental education, and worked hard to make connections with local indigenous educators and from Aroland First Nation to incorporate indigenous knowledge and perspectives into her work. Her professional development experiences were included in both editions of “Natural Curiosity: A resource for Educators” and serve as an inspiration for public school teachers.

In addition to teaching Grade 2, Cindy taught Junior Kindergarten 2000-2007 and her career at the Institute began in 1995 as an Early Childhood Education specialty in the daycare.

Cindy understood the mission of the Lab School and was committed to mentoring teacher-candidates from the MA CSE program and passionately presenting in their academic classes. She was deeply involved in research – Cindy was an early collaborator in the Knowledge Building / Knowledge Forum research of Dr. Marlene Scardamalia and Dr. Carl Bereiter (OISE) and this work with the very young children has been published and presented at numerous conferences. Cindy welcomed local and international professional visitors into her class on a weekly basis.

Her incredible laugh, warm smile, and razor-sharp wit will be missed by all at Jackman ICS.

The JICS teachers are grieving a terrible loss. As a small faculty who spends so much time together, our relationships with our colleagues can be very intense. And of course, out of these relationships, deep friendships are born. We are looking forward to finding ways to celebrate the memory of Cindy and invite you to share in the celebration of a great person. We have been informed that an adult memorial service will be held on Sunday, November 25, 2:00pm at 1101 Leslie St. Level B1 – Condominium Party Room. Visitor parking access - buzzer in front of building 1101. TTC information: 51 or 54 bus from Eglinton station.

Parents, please determine how best for you to share the information of Cindy’s passing with your child, particularly for those who had Cindy as a teacher.

If appropriate, you and your child may want to co-author a message of condolence at www.aftercare.org.

Here are some resources that may help you:

• TDSB Speaking with Students about Tragic Events

• The Do's and Dont's of Talking to a Child About Death

• Helping Kids Handle Events in the News

• How to Talk to Kids about Death

• Fred Rogers on Dealing with Death

Tomorrow morning, Chriss and I will speak with the children in Grade 5 and 6. We understand that each child will have her/his own level of understanding. Our goal is to ensure that all students feel supported and if anyone would like to share memories, feelings, and questions, all JICS staff would welcome them at any time. We will also invite the children to begin to think about ideas of how we can celebrate and remember Cindy. It can be helpful to allow students to assist in planning a school-based memorial. This could be the planting a tree, buying a book for the school library, contributing to a charity, etc. Please feel free to ask your child for ideas.

Thank you for your support.

All the best,

Richard