Topics covered in this blog post:
Must Haves for First Day
Letter from Parents’ Association Executive
Parent Handbook
Arrival Safety
Food Safety
Hot Lunch Program Registration
SFO
Upcoming September Events
1. Must Have for First Day
We are only “a few sleeps away” from the start of another amazing year of learning at University of Toronto’s Lab School.We are excited to have everyone back and to welcome some new faces to our community.Here is a checklist of items to bring to school on Wednesday, Sept. 4:
Change of clothes, especially for younger years
Hat & sunscreen
Children play outside in all weather conditions at Jackman ICS (including light rain). Please send your child with outdoor clothing appropriate to weather conditions.
Comfortable running shoes
Labelled water bottle with spout (to prevent spillage)
Lunch for those remaining for daycare
Morning snack for Grades 4 - 6
Cheque for tuition, Wednesday Afternoon Program
2. Letter from PA Executive
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the JICS Parents' Association, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to all parents, guardians, and families of students at Jackman Institute of Child Studies for the 2019-2020 school year.
Our children have an exciting year ahead!
There are so many wonderful experiences for students and families, enriched by The Parents’ Association (the JICS community of parents). We are thrilled that our community is growing and are excited to present you with a number of opportunities for you to meet other families and get involved in the school. You can use our website (www.jicsfamily.com) as a resource to find information on our events as well as volunteer opportunities.
This year, the PA will focus our efforts on the following four themes:
Celebrating diversity
Fundraising (Parents, Alumni and external patrons of childhood learning)
Exploring stronger connections to the greater University of Toronto community
Parent engagement
Fundraising by the PA provides additional resources to continue improvements to our school and learning opportunities for our children. The PA runs one large fundraiser in the Fall through PA fees and a number of other fundraisers throughout the school year.
Please contribute to the 2019-20 JICS PA Annual Fees and Donations by clicking here.
Your PA fees include the following benefits:
Lice screening (3x per year)
Parent Social (September 10th, 2019 – register here to attend and for babysitting)
Parent Education events
Babysitting for events held in the evenings for parents (Parent Social, Parent Education events, PA meetings, etc.)
Classroom grants (up to $500 per teacher)
Artist in Residence Programming
Access to a Social Worker for our children (1 day per week)
Family Movie Night
For those of you looking to stock up on JICS wearables, please visit the online shop to have a new JICS t-shirt/hat/bracelet/etc. placed in your child’s cubby during their first week at school.
Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas, or if you want to get more involved with the Parent Association. The Volunteer Opportunities section of our website (coming soon) explains what events/activities we support and areas where we could use your assistance. Please volunteer for a committee or event, or come to us with new ideas. We would love to hear from you!!
Regards,
Deepta Rayner
President, Parents' Association
3. Parent Handbook
The 2019-2020 Parent Handbook is now available on the JICSfamily website. The document contains key information on school policies as well as important information important for parents. Please ensure that you have read and understood the policies and content included in the 2019-2020 Parent Handbook.
4. Arrival Safety
We must all work together to ensure that arrival to school is safe for everyone. The area in front of the school is a NO STANDING ZONE, 8:30-8:45 am, for our Kiss-and-Ride program. JICS staff members are on the sidewalk to help children out of their cars and safely into the supervised school playground.
On the first day of school, parents may want to park in order to accompany their child into the school yard and see familiar faces and make new friends. Legal local parking is available at these locations.
5. Food Safety
We have children with life-threatening anaphylactic food allergies in our family. Ensure that all snacks and lunches brought to school are completely nut-free. Classroom teachers will notify their cohort of families about other allergies in the grade.
6. Hot Lunch Program Registration
Registration for the hot lunch program at JICS will be open this weekend (http://www.thelunchmom.com). Hot lunch will be available Monday to Friday, beginning on Monday, Sept. 9. On Wednesdays, the hot lunch program is only available to students who attend the Wednesday Afternoon Program. All other children are dismissed at noon.
7. SFO
If you have not completed the important School Forms Online (SFO), please do so immediately. Thank you.
8. Upcoming September Events
Wed 4 – First Day of School 8:45 to 12:00. Daycare open.
Mon 9 – Hot Lunch Program begins
Tues 10 – Parent and Teacher Social at JICS, 6:00-7:00 pm with babysitting. RSVP
Wed 11 – Wednesday Afternoon Program begins
Thurs 12 – Lice check (Thanks to the PA for funding!)
Mon 16 – Photo Day
Wed 18 to Fri 20 – Grade 5 & 6 Trip to Sandbanks Provincial Park
Thurs 26 – Terry Fox Run 9:15am (JK to Gr 6)
Mon 30 – Orange Shirt Day & Rosh Hashanah
