Topics covered in this post:
1. JICS Hot Dog Night Student Fundraisers and Tickets
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 | 6:00 – 8:00pm
JICS Hot Dog Night is next week! We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
Purchase your tickets online here.
Volunteer sign-up here.
Please note tickets will also be sold at the door cash only at a cost of $20 for adults, $8 for children.
*There will also be the opportunity to look through the lost and found for missing items and clothes.
In addition, we have two very exciting student fundraisers to announce:
a. GSA Fundraiser.
We are here from the GSA to tell you about Hot Dog Night. We are going to be selling buttons to raise money for Rainbow Railroad, a fund-raiser, for LGBTQ2SIAP+ people who live in unsafe places with unsafe laws such as Texas, Florida, and Alabama. They use this money to relocate people to safe places and help them find/build a safe home.
We also have a new fun activity to raise money for Rainbow Railroad. The activity is called The Guessing Jar. The object of the game is to guess the amount of items in the jar (entry is 2 dollars) if you win you get a jar of sweet treats (mindful of all dietary restrictions). If you want to straight up donate, we will have a stand with more information, and a QR codes.
Sincerely,
Silvia, Hunter, and the GSA
b. HELP Club Fundraiser. The student-led HELP club (stands for Help Everyone Live Peacefully) would like to invite you to bring cash to Hotdog Night to contribute to their fundraiser to help the people in Türkiye and Syria affected by earthquakes. Thank you for your support!
2. National Indigenous History Month
June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize the rich history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. It's a time to honour the stories, achievements, and resilience of Indigenous Peoples, who have lived on this land since time immemorial and whose presence continues to impact the evolving Canada.
2023 weekly themes
Each week is dedicated to a different theme to highlight specific aspects of Indigenous history, cultures, and perspectives. We invite you to explore the following learning resources on each theme:
June 1 to 6: Women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people
June 5 to 11: Environment, traditional knowledge and territory
June 10 to 18: Children and youth
June 19 to 25: Languages, cultures and arts
June 26 to 30: Reconciliation
3. Pride Month
June is 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride Month! It’s an opportunity to celebrate diversity and raise awareness among all staff and students about the rich culture and history of our 2SLGBTQIAA+ community.
“Pride is a celebration of diversity, equality, and freedom – and everyone is welcome to enjoy it." – Quote from Robin Stevenson's book, Pride p. 33
a. Here are a few of many books used in the JICS library in the theme of PRIDE:
Pride celebrating diversity and community – Robin Stevenson
Stonewall – a building, an uprising, a revolution – Rob Sanders
Peaceful Fights for Equal Rights – Rob Sanders
This Day in June – Gayle E. Pitman
Pride: The story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag – Rob Sanders
Ghost’s Journey – A Refugee Story – Robin Stevenson
Love, Z – Jessie Sima
Queer, there, and everywhere: 23 people who changed the world – Sarah Prager
Donovan’s Big Day – Lesléa Newman
Gay and Lesbian History for Kids – Jerome Pohlen
b. Check out what's happening across the city at https://www.pridetoronto.com
c. Here are some suggestions for explaining Pride month to children:
Be direct, but keep it simple. You can’t talk about Pride Month without first talking about what LGBTQ+ means. You can explain simply, for example, that being gay/lesbian is when a man loves a man, or when a woman loves a woman. Or that being transgender is when you are born biologically one gender, but you identify or feel like a different gender.
Be honest. Your children may have questions, and it’s important to answer them honestly, but without giving more information that they are ready for. Let their questions guide the conversation. For example, you might answer the question “Why can’t all LGBTQ+ people marry whom they love?” with “Because some people are taught that being LGBTQ+ is wrong. But we believe that being LGBTQ+ is perfectly fine and everyone has the right to love anyone else.”
Provide factual information. Let them know that in Canada, it used to be against the law for a woman to marry a woman or a man to marry a man, but the law changed so that everyone has the right to marry the person they love, whether it’s a man or a woman. It’s also important to share that gender and sexual identity are not “choices” that people make but simply who they are.
Be clear about why we have Pride month. When explaining why we have Pride month, don’t shy away from the talking about discrimination and bullying. Tell children that sometimes LGBTQ+ people have been treated unfairly or unkindly. June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, which is when many people all over Canada, the US, and the UK show in different ways that they are either proud of being part of and/or support the LGBTQ+ community. But really being LBGTQ+ is something we should celebrate all year round.
Be open. Being open means promoting an attitude of inclusion and kindness. It also means keeping the conversation going, and letting children know they can come to you anytime they have questions. It’s important for all of us to provide a safe and non-judgmental space for children to share their thoughts and feelings.
Talking about LGBTQ+ Pride with children is a vital step to open everyone’s hearts and minds and promote a safer, more inclusive world.
Happy LGBTQ+ Pride Month!
4. A Year of “Lunch and Learn with Ellie”
We are so fortunate to have JICS Social Worker, Ellie Lathrop offers parent workshops throughout the year. The following is a list of this year’s sessions:
Helping Kids Manage Disappointment and Suffering (Oct 4, 2022)
A Deficit of Rest – The mental health benefits of creating space for calm and rest (Nov 22, 2022)
The Pursuit of Perfect – When Perfectionism Has a Hold on Your Child (Jan 31, 2023)
Supporting Your Child through Transitions – Strategies to avoid meltdowns (April 18, 2023)
School-Home Collaboration – Responding to (mis)behaviour or concerns from your child (May 30, 2023)
The 30-minute recording of each presentation can be found here.
We highly recommend that all parents view School-Home Collaboration – Responding to (mis)behaviour or concerns from your child to learn from Ellie, Chriss, and Richard about the JICS practice regarding addressing 'mis' behaviour. Parents will learn the strategies used to support children and understand our purpose and hopes when communicating about child's behaviour to parents. CLICK HERE to watch the recording and view the presentation slides.
Ellie welcomes suggestions for Lunch and Learn topics for 2023-2024.
5. Teacher Professional Development
On Wednesday, May 31 the JICS teachers travelled to the Anishinaabe Teaching Lodge in the courtyard at New College, U of T (20 Willcocks). With the leadership of Doug Anderson, JICS Indigenous (Métis) consultant and co-author of Natural Curiosity, they took part in a Talking Circle to explore the school’s relationships with Indigenous people and knowledge.
6. June Camp
Monday, June 19, 2023 – Thursday, June 29, 2023
If you are interested in learning more about the DayCare’s June Camp, please refer to the May 11 POST.
The deadline to register is TOMORROW (June 2).
7. Best Wishes to Jun Cheng
Jun has been an exemplary business officer and building manage for the JICS Lab School since 2015. Beginning June 5, she will be the Senior Financial Analyst at Continuing and Professional Learning (CPL), OISE for a one-year secondment. We will miss her expertise, wisdom, and deep care for the JICS community.
8. Games Day
Enjoy these photos of Games Day. It was such a joyous day for the JICS community. Thank you Mike and Tara for planning Games Day in such a thoughtful way!
And thank you to the Parents’ Association for providing snacks and drinks and to our parent volunteers Marjorie, Sanaz, Lesley, Kerry, Mairead, Rita, Allison, and Xin! Games Day 2023 was a tremendous success and we are grateful for your help.
9. Photos from the Week at JICS
10. Upcoming June Events
Canada's National Indigenous History Month & World Pride Month
Fri 2 – Deadline to register for ICS Daycare June Camp (June 19-29)
Wed 7 – Hot Dog Night (Info and Tickets)
Thur 15 – Grade 6 Graduation
Fri 16 – Last day of school. Noon dismissal. (Daycare open until 6:00pm)
Mon 19 – Juneteenth (USA)
Mon 19 to Thur 29 – Daycare June Camp
Fri 23 – Report Cards posted online
Fri 30 – UofT President’s Day (all UofT closed, including JICS building)
