Parent Ed, ICS Connects, Tuition
- JICS Office
- Mar 27
- 8 min read
JICS at a Glance
We've condensed the important highlights for your convenience:
Register for Parent Education events:
Thur Apr 3 - Coffee & Conversation: Helping Kids Connect: Practical Tips for Supporting Peer Relationships
Thur Apr 10 - Lunch & Learn: Supporting Social Growth: How Parents Can Help Kids Build Positive Relationships
Sign up for our new community engagement platform, ICS Connects!
Make an online donation for the Read-a-thon or download a form
The second tuition payment is due on April 17, 2025
Save the date for Music Night - Thursday, May 22
Topics covered in this post:
(Click to navigate straight to a section)
1. Eid Mubarak!
Wishing you and your family a blessed Eid filled with joy, peace, and prosperity.
2. Spring Term
The children returned following the Break with contagious energy and engagement. We are looking forward to the Spring Term! Stay tuned for announcements about annual student and community events that typically take place during this time of year.
3. Parent Education
Thursday, April 3 9:00am Coffee and Conversation with Ellie “Helping Kids Connect: Practical Tips for Supporting Peer Relationships”
All parents are welcome to Room 120 for a casual conversation.
Thursday, April 10 12:30-1:30pm Lunch and Learn with Ellie “Supporting Social Growth: How Parents Can Help Kids Build Positive Relationships”
As always, these talks are 30 minutes a talk with slides (recorded) followed by 30 minutes of (unrecorded) discussion and questions.
4. Connect with Alumni Families
We are thrilled to introduce ICS Connects—a brand-new community engagement platform designed to bring the JICS community closer together!
We invite you to sign up and be part of this vibrant network, where you can reconnect, mentor, support, and reminisce with fellow members of the Institute of Child Study (ICS) community.
By joining ICS Connects, you will gain access to a vast network of graduates, faculty, alumni parents, grandparents, donors, and friends from the Lab School, the MA CSE program, and the Graduate Diploma programs. As parents, you will have the opportunity to see where former students are in their professional journeys and even offer guidance to young professionals within the JICS network.
With ICS Connects, you can:
✔ Stay informed about upcoming JICS events
✔ Become a mentor or find a mentor
✔ Connect with others based on job field, location, company, and more
✔ Post job openings or explore career opportunities
✔ Support JICS alumni-owned businesses
✔ Share and browse community photos
✔ And much more!
Your privacy is always protected. Contact information will only be accessible to ICS Connects Administrators for JICS-related communications and will never be publicly shared. Additionally, all users go through an approval process to ensure our community remains safe and connected.
Reconnect with your ICS community today! Visit www.icsconnects.ca to create your profile and start making meaningful connections.
5. JICS Read-a-thon - Celebrating 31 Years!
March is a special month for the JICS Library! This year marks the 31st annual READ-A-THON Fundraiser! Students are encouraged to set personal reading goals, read each day, and collect pledges for their efforts. Funds collected at the end of the month will go toward replacing lost and broken books, purchasing new books, and supporting authors, illustrators, and storytellers to visit with students.
We are so grateful to our supportive community! Donations of $25 or more will be rewarded with a personalized book plate placed in a new library book.
6. Second 2025-2026 Tuition Payment Due
The second tuition payment is due on April 17, 2025. This payment is non-refundable and representing 50% of the balance tuition balance. Please make your cheque payable to the University of Toronto.
Nursery 2025-2026 Tuition is $20,127
A non-refundable deposit of $5,000 was paid at the time of acceptance.
50% balance due April 17 = $7,563.50 (non-refundable)
Full Day (JK to Grade 6) 2025-2026 Tuition is $31,874
A non-refundable deposit of $5,000 was paid in January 2025 or at time of acceptance.
50% balance due April 17 = $13,437 (non-refundable)
Shama is available in the school office each school day, 8:00am to 4:00pm. She is happy to receive post-dated cheques in advance of April 17.
The final tuition payment is due September 1, 2025.
7. Final Days with Teacher Candidates
Beginning in September, we have Teacher Candidates from the OISE MA in Child Studies & Education (MA CSE) Program in our JK to Grade 6 classrooms. March 6 was the official last day for the Block 2 Teacher Candidates (1st year students) and we say good-bye to the Winter Interns (2nd year students) on Friday, April 4. We are grateful for their support in our classrooms and for learning alongside us about what is best for children. We wish them success as they continue their development as future teachers.
8. Music Night
Thursday, May 22
We are excited to invite you to our annual Music Night on Thursday, May 22! This year, our Nursery, JK, and SK students will perform for parents in the morning, while Grades 1-6 will take the stage in the evening for a special showcase. More details will be shared as the date approaches.
In preparation, we are pleased to share the tentative song lineup for the evening performance. We have selected pieces that celebrate the beautiful diversity of our community and look forward to your feedback:
🎵 Funga Alafia – West African folk song
🎵 Sulla Lulla – Norwegian lullaby
🎵 Mantusha Lupamusha – Composed by Josu Elberdin (Spanish composer)
🎵 That’s What’s Up – Lennon & Maisy Stella (originally by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros)
🎵 Banaha – Congolese folk song
🎵 Home – Phillip Phillips
🎵 Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
🎵 Fight Song – Rachel Platten
🎵 True Colors – Cyndi Lauper
We want this event to be a true celebration where everyone feels they belong. We welcome your feedback on our song selection to ensure it reflects the spirit of our diverse community. Please feel free to share your thoughts with us!
We look forward to a wonderful evening of music and connection—see you there!
9. Teacher Professional Development
Our dedication to providing exceptional learning experiences for our 200 JICS children and mentoring teacher-candidates remains unwavering. Through a blend of self-directed and collaborative professional development, we continuously deepen our expertise in child development and pedagogy.
Recent Highlights:
During the March Break, Tara attended the NAEA National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, engaging with leading educators and exploring innovative approaches in art education.
At the Wednesday Staff Meeting on March 26, Dr. Jérôme Proulx (Université du Québec à Montréal), led a workshop on Mental Math. Mental Math is a group of skills that allow people to do math “in their head” without using pencil and paper or a calculator. One of these skills is remembering math facts, like 8 × 5 = 40. Other skills include estimating calculations or creatively solving problems. We learned about the many benefits of Mental Math including improvement in number sense, problem solving skills, and written skills in math.
10. Research in the Lab School
The JICS Laboratory School is dedicated to advancing education through research and deepening our understanding of how children learn best. As a hub for collaboration, the Lab School brings together researchers and educators to explore and refine developmentally appropriate teaching practices for children ages 3-12.
Each year, we receive research proposals from the University of Toronto and institutions worldwide. To ensure ethical integrity and alignment with our mission, all projects must undergo an ethical review by the University of Toronto or the applicant’s institution before being vetted by the JICS Lab School Child Research Committee.
Since the Lab School began in 1925, it has consistently contributed to groundbreaking studies in education, human development, and applied psychology. Recent research conducted here has informed best practices in Indigenous and land-based learning, mathematics, literacy, play-based learning, STEM, and inquiry-based education. This ongoing work benefits not only our students and teachers but also the broader educational community in Canada and beyond.
Our families play a vital role in this public purpose, supporting research that enriches both the current learning environment and future advancements in education. We thank our families and students for their commitment as valued research participants.
To learn more about past and current research at the Lab School, please see this handout Exploring What is Possible in Education or visit our website JICS Lab School Research.
11. Dissemination: Serving Our Public Purpose
JICS is at the forefront of shaping elementary education and advancing teacher training worldwide. Our commitment to sharing knowledge and fostering innovation continues through various initiatives.
Recent Highlights:
The IALS 2025 Conference
During March Break, Vice Principal and IALS President Chriss Bogert and Nursery ECE Teacher Alicia Robilliard attended the International Association of Laboratory Schools (IALS) annual conference at the University of Rhode Island. IALS has a long-standing tradition spanning many decades, hosting this annual gathering of like-minded educators, administrators, faculty, and researchers from universities and colleges around the globe. At this year’s conference, representatives from 32 of 67 IALS member laboratory schools, across 7 of 14 member countries were in attendance. The theme for 2025, "Child and Community Perspectives: Listening to Diverse Voices to Guide Lab School Research, Policy, and Practice," underscores the importance of connection and collaboration in our work. Laboratory schools have always been at the forefront of educational innovation, and it is through honouring the voices of our children and all community members that we continue to evolve and improve.
We are proud of Alicia Robilliard for presenting her poster Learning May Vary and speaking compellingly about her deep understanding of how to bring developmentally appropriate practices together with differentiated instruction in an intentional way to support young children’s learning and growth.
Please enjoy this short video of the IALS 2025 Conference:
OECD-Japan Joint Research Office & IALS Online Workshop
Richard presented at the Innovation Nurtured by Tradition in Laboratory Schools workshop, hosted by the OECD-Japan Joint Research Office and the International Association of Lab Schools (IALS). This event explored how lab schools evolve while balancing tradition and innovation. Our school’s story was shared alongside that of Nara School in Japan, recently visited by Judith, Zoe, Robin, Chriss, and Richard.
📌 Watch the Workshop Recording (available until April 24): JICS Presentation (begins at 31:00)
12. Natural Curiosity - Supporting Indigenous Language Learning
Over the past six months, Natural Curiosity has hosted four language courses, reaching over 3,000 learners. Each eight-week course, led by experienced, community-endorsed instructors, has helped to break down barriers to and address the growing demand for language learning. For both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, these courses have served as a powerful step toward reconciliation. They have provided a space for learners to explore and appreciate the depth of local cultures, and nurture cross-cultural understanding. Beyond language acquisition, participants have also gained a deeper awareness of the ecological wisdom embedded in these languages, strengthening environmental stewardship and relationships with the land.
Eager to support this important work?
Photos from the Daycare March Break Camp
Photos from Holi celebrations
Photos from the Volleyball Tournament
Upcoming March Events
Readathon Month
Sat 29 – End of Ramadan
Sun 30 – Eid al-Fitr (begins at sunset)
Mon 31 to April 2 – Eid al-Fitr
Upcoming April Events
Thur 3 – 9:00 Coffee and Conversation with Ellie. “Helping Kids Connect: Practical Tips for Supporting Peer Relationships” Register here.
Fri 4 – Final Day of Winter Internship
Wed 9 – International Day of Pink Thur 10 - 12:30-1:30pm Lunch and Learn with Ellie “Supporting Social Growth: How Parents Can Help Kids Build Positive Relationships” Register here.
Sat 12 (evening) to Sun 20 - Passover
Mon 14 – Vaisakhi
Mon 14 to Thur 17 – La Semaine de la Francophonie at JICS
Tues 15 – 7:00 Meeting of Parents of BIPOC Children RSVP
Wed 16 – Parent/Teacher Interview Afternoon (sign-up coming soon)
Thur 17 – Due date for 2nd Tuition Payment
Thur 17 – School closed. Daycare open. Parent/Teacher interview Day (sign-up coming soon)
Fri 18 – Good Friday (School and Daycare closed.)
Mon 21 – Easter Monday (School and Daycare closed.)
Tues 22 – Earth Day
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