- Jun 6

Hot Dog Night, Last Day of School, & Message from PA President

JICS at a Glance

We've condensed the important highlights for your convenience:

Hot Dog Night - Tonight! Please review event details
Last Day- Friday, June 14
Message from PA President
Message from Primary Eco Club - If you and your children are interested in a week of summer watering, please sign up here

Topics covered in this post:

Hot Dog Night
Grade 6 Graduation
Last Day - Friday, June 14
Message from PA President
School Crossing Guard Appreciation Week
Message from the Primary Eco-Club
Library Fund Report
Photos from the Week
Upcoming June Events

1. Hot Dog Night

We are looking forward to seeing everyone.

Event Details: To ensure this cherished event runs smoothly, please review the following information:

Entrance: Enter via the driveway at 45 Walmer Road (not the gate).

On-Site Ticket Purchases: Tickets can be purchased upon arrival using our electronic payment system (no cash sales).

Bike Parking: Please chain your bikes to the wrought iron fence along the sidewalk (not the bike racks on our property as they will be used as a play space).

Location: The event will take place in the school yard, front yard, and driveway of 45 Walmer Road. There are no activities indoors.

Play Structures: Due to the number of students, the play structure slide and the swingout will be closed. The orange play structure is designed for ages 5 and older. Parents please safely monitor your children.

Water: Please bring labelled water bottles to fill at the water stations throughout the area and reduce waste.

Fundraiser Tables: Junior Grade students have set up tables for various causes they have researched. Please bring some loose change to support them.

Lost and Found: Unlabelled and unclaimed children’s clothing will be on display hoping to be identified.

Purchase Tickets Here

2. Grade 6 Graduation

Grade 6 parents, invited guests, staff, and all children (JK to Gr 5) are gathering for Grade 6 graduation which will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, June 13 and will feature an original play performed by our Grade 6s as a gift to the school community. Many thanks to Sarah Murray, our Drama Teacher, who writes, directs, and produces the play, Grade 6 teacher, Nadia who organizes all aspects of the ceremony, and the support team of Krista, Nick, and Judith. A special thanks to the Gr 6 parents who have arranged a reception following graduation for the graduates, and to the Grade 5 parent-volunteers who help the reception run smoothly.

3. Last Day - Friday, June 14

We will start the day with a final school assembly of the year. The school day ends at noon, and the Day Care is open 12-6pm. JK to Grade 5 children will gather in the playground of 45 Walmer Road at 11:50 to “clap out” our Grade 6 Graduates – please join us if you can! Day Care children will proceed to Day Care. There is no hot lunch program on Friday.

4. Message from PA President

Dear JICS Community,

As summer approaches, I wanted to thank you for a lovely and lively school year together. As always, it was full of incredible opportunities for growth, and experiences that would not have been possible without the beautiful diversity of our community, and the diverse forms of its generosity.

This year, we focused on the ways in which we can continue moving toward practices that best represent the diversity of our community. Through a critical and curious lens, we departed from some of the traditional approaches we have taken, as we oriented our efforts toward continuing to build a collaborative, responsive, and engaging community that is equitable and diverse. We are proud of the work we have done, the successes we have had, and the lessons we have learned; and we are so very appreciative of your support.

In particular, I would like to thank this years’ executive team: Andrea, Allen, Annie, Juliana, Claire, Alison, Amy, Lisa, Richard and Chriss. With your commitment and positive spirits, you brought an ease to the year and to our team. It was such a pleasure! And of course, to this year’s class reps. Thank you for supporting our community throughout the year, in big ways, and in small. Finally, a huge thank you to the staff and students of JICS, for your masterful and beautiful approaches to teaching and learning.

I am reminded every day of how fortunate I feel to be a part of this place.

Please consider becoming a part of next year’s PA executive team or a classroom representative. Positions currently available on the executive team are:

1 Co-Vice President (team of 2).
1 Parent Education Committee member (team of 3 parents, along with 2- 3 teachers) or,
A classroom representative, which is a lovely way to support and stay connected with our community.

I am marvelling at how quickly the time seems to have passed this year! Wishing you all the kind of summers you need to refuel and renew, as we look forward to where the next year will take us.

My very best,

Megan

5. School Crossing Guard Appreciation Week

This week is School Guard Appreciation Week. The children made cards at school for Wolfgang to show their appreciation. We invite parents to thank him this week (or every week) for keeping us safe in our travels to and from school each day.

6. Message from Primary Eco Club

The primary-grade Eco-Club has worked hard this year to create a container garden in the laneway off Spadina Ave. We interviewed classes about which vegetables they were interested in growing, we saved seeds from bell peppers as an experiment, we planted seedlings in the classroom and transplanted them to the containers we prepared this May. Currently we are growing peas, chard, zinnias, milkweed, kale nasturiums, golden cherry tomatoes, black tomatoes, pie pumpkins, cuke-a-melons, raspberries, purple and orange carrots, mini-bell peppers, lettuce, chamomile, basil, parsley, sage and thyme. We hope to add some bean seeds before the end of the year as well.

We are asking JICS families for help to water this garden over the summer months. If you and your children are interested in a week of summer watering, please sign up here. Of course, you are also welcome to harvest the veggies during the summer and enjoy eating from our garden. After signing-up, the eco-club will contact you with instructions. Thank you for helping our plants thrive this summer!

7. Library Fund Report

Our library collection and program are designed to ensure that every student has the opportunity to see elements of their own intersecting identities represented in texts, and to learn about other cultures, perspectives, and beliefs. The JICS Library is funded primarily through two annual fundraisers: Book Night (Fall Term) and the Read-a-Thon (Winter Term).

The funds raised this year will help us to continue to purchase a wide variety of books and support visits from authors, illustrators, and storytellers. We are grateful for the support from our student and parent community, which has allowed us to grow our collection and bring diverse voices into our learning environment.

The following is a summary of the Library Report presented at the recent Parents’ Association Meeting:

Funds Raised:

Book Night:
Total raised: $1,310.00 credit with Another Story Book Store
Books purchased: $283.26
Remaining store credit: $1,026.74
Read-a-Thon:
Total raised: $5,415.20 (online donations)

Author Visits:

Kwame Alexander (online for Grades 4-6) - Oct 24
Linh Nguyen (Grades 4-5, "No Place Like Home") - Dec 15
Sara Beth Holden (Inuk author, SK/JK, "Benny the Bananasaurus Rex," part of Forest of Reading)
Fay and Fluffy (International Day of Pink, Nursery to Grade 6 Assembly) - April 10
Farida Zaman (celebrating Ramadan/Eid, Grades 1-3, Canadian Children’s Book Week subsidized) - April 12
Wanda Taylor (theme: community/allyship, Grades 1-3, "The Grove School Pledge") - May 1
Rochelle Strauss (theme: ecology/non-fiction, Grades 4-6, "The Global Ocean," "One Well") - May 1
Shannon Braemer (Poet, SK/JK, "Climbing Shadows") - May 2
Total cost: $3,997

Programs:

Forest of Reading program for Blue Spruce (JK-Grade 2)
Total cost: $799

New Book Purchases:

September:
Graphic novels and novels featuring LGBTQ+, Asian, Black Canadians, and East Asian stories
Early chapter books from a second-hand store
November:
Variety of picture books, graphic novels, and popular novels
December:
Haunted Canada books, biography picture books, climate change, Babysitters Club graphic novels, Indigenous novels and picture books, popular novels, guidebooks for mushrooms and fish, Asian Heritage picture books, novels and graphic novels, Jewish histories of resistance and resilience, Metis graphic novel, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Elephant and Piggie, Dogman books
March:
Picture books featuring family and foods from different cultures, Lunar New Year stories from various countries, books featuring persistence and grit, picture books sharing nature within urban centers, books by Palestinian authors, popular early chapter book series (Unicorn Diaries and Bad Guys), poetry books, books featuring visiting authors (Erin Kelsey, Farida Zaman, Shannon Braemer, Rochelle Strauss), Indigenous stories from Canada and Hawaii, Holi, books featuring children working through hard feelings
Total cost: $3,594

Through the generous contributions of our community, we continue to enhance our library collection, providing a rich, inclusive resource for all students. Thank you! If you have suggestions for books that your family loves or that you think should be included in our collection, please contact our Teacher/Librarian, Krista.