Topics covered in this post:
1. Thank you, Parents!
We have reached the end of the 2021-2022 year, healthy, in-person, and filled with pride and impressive accomplishments. Our success is thanks to your support and understanding. We have much to celebrate - transitioning from “surviving” to “thriving” during the worst public health crisis in a century. We anticipate the 2022-2023 school year to feel much more like pre-pandemic JICS, and at the same time (as a learning community that believes that all ideas are improveable) we are excitedly planning changes and improvements to help children reach new heights and make important gains, so that we continue to fulfill our public purpose. We wish all JICS families a joyful and refreshing summer and look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 6!
2. Goodbye, Graduates!
The graduation ceremony today was a perfect celebration of our amazing Grade 6 graduates! Thank you, Sarah, Ben, Nick, Judith, and Krista for all your work preparing the students. It was such a special day, with our students poised between their elementary school days and the next huge chapters of their lives they will continue to live so beautifully. A lovely and lively reception followed the ceremony. Thanks to an incredible planning committee of Gr 6 parents and the help of many Gr 5 parent volunteers!
Grade 6 Parents, we are grateful for your trust in us and the nourishment and encouragement you have given these amazing graduates. You chose JICS all those years ago, or maybe you arrived just this year, and we thank you all. It has been a privilege to watch your child grow and flourish.
It is our pleasure to announce the Grade 6 legacy gift. The Grade 6 parents chose to purchase 6 pottery wheels to enrich our Visual Arts Program. Pottery and firing works in our kiln are an important part of the visual arts curriculum and now we can include “throwing on pottery wheels” as part of our vernacular. We will think of this cohort with each bowl, vase, and cup that is created!
We want to say a special goodbye and thank you to those families who have completed their Lab School journey and with this graduation have finished their years here. These are families who understood and embraced the philosophy, values, and mission of the Lab School and maintained their trust in us during a pandemic. Thank you for your support and remember, you are always a part of the JICS family!
We invite all families to enjoy the profiles of our graduates in the June issue of the School Sway Newsletter which will be shared soon.
Scenes from the incredible production of the annual Grade 6 Graduation Play!
So many memorable moments from the Graduation Ceremony of the Class of 2022!
3. Pride Month Celebrations Continue
June is LGBTQ2SIA+ 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 LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Celebrations continued to take place in the school.
Nina's family joined the Grade One class to celebrate Pride! They read a story, answered questions, shared a Pride flag with each student, and the students created bookmarks with words and symbols of Pride. It was a beautiful celebration!
The JICS Lab School Student GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) celebrated Pride Month and an amazing inaugural year together!
Grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 students and teachers recognized Pride Month together with a joyous celebration in the J. Fraser Mustard auditorium!
4. Hotdog Night Fundraisers and Student-Led Outreach
The Grade 4 and 5 Book Club raised $100 at Hotdog Night with a successful sale of donated books from their book drive! The funds will be donated to a local emergency shelter for refugee families, The Christie Refugee Welcome Centre, during their World Refugee Day fair on Monday June 20th. The GSA raised $802 from their sale of hand-crafted Pride buttons! The funds have been donated to Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps people in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community who are living in places that are dangerous for them to move to places where they are safer.
The students and teachers thank everyone who generously contributed to these fundraisers. At JICS, we foster and value student initiative and activism, and want these caring children to see that they are capable of making a difference in the world and support causes that are meaningful to them.
5. Last Day, Tomorrow - Friday June 17th
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 Gr 5 children will gather in the school yard (45 Walmer Rd) 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 and Gr 4-6 children will be dismissed from 45 Walmer Road.
6. The Lost and Found is Overflowing!
The JICS Lab School's lost and found is overflowing with goodies! If items are missing from your home, please make time tomorrow to visit the lost and found which is located in the basement foyer outside of the gym. Please sign in with Paige in reception first and ask for directions!
7. JICS Playground Renovation Update
While we are excited with the new dynamic design of the JICS playground, unforeseen delays in obtaining municipal reviews and approvals have pushed the construction start date to mid July with construction expecting to continue until the end of October.
Outdoor play is a fundamental part of the JICS learning experience and essential for student wellbeing. As a result, we have decided to postpone the construction of the new playground to the Spring of 2023 so that the start of the 2022-2023 school year will not be impacted and our access to our school yard will not be restricted. This extra time will allow us to explore ways to make the school yard wheel-chair accessible. We thank you for your understanding.
8. Report Cards - Spring 2022
New Spring 2022! Report cards will no longer be mailed home. To reduce our environmental footprint, your child/ren's report card(s) will now be posted online and available to download as a PDF next week.
Starting tomorrow, June 17th at 3:30pm, you may log into your SFO account (https://sfo.inresonance.com/oise-utoronto/index.php) to download your child/ren's report card(s).
Report cards are available on your account temporarily, so you must download it and save a copy in a safe place. Should you require a printed copy or a digital copy of a past report card, please reach out to the School Office.
For this year’s graduating class, we are providing a paper copy at graduation in addition to posting them online on June 17th.
Download Instructions
Go to: https://sfo.inresonance.com/oise-utoronto/index.php and log into your SFO Account
Click on FAM Access Module (menu bar, top left)
Click on your child’s name under Academic Year 2021-2022
Go to Grade Reports
Download Fall and Spring reports as a PDF
Save in a safe place
9. COVID-19 Update
Rapid Testing
We thank you for continuing to test each Wednesday and Sunday. There have been 3 positive cases reported to the school since our last Parent Info POST (Thursday, June 9). If your child is attending the ICS Daycare June Camp, please continue to indicate in the JICS Daily Screening that the most recent (Wed/Sun) test has been completed, and inform the Daycare Office of any positive results.
10. Staff PD Week: June 20 to 24
The teachers and administrative staff will continue to be at JICS the week after school ends for planned professional development opportunities, meetings for classroom and specialty teachers, and CPR/First Aid training.
11. Teacher Film: The Teacher Among Us
We are so happy to be able to continue a tradition of a surprise teacher-made film as a gift to the students at the end of the school year. Please enjoy this year’s film: The Teacher Among Us which “premiered” at our graduation ceremony. A special thank you to Nick Song and Paige Lancaster for their incredible talents and creating this masterpiece!
12. Volunteers Needed to Water the JICS Container Gardens During the Summer
At JICS, the students have planted a variety of plants in raised planters. If your family is available to help us with watering over the summer, please contact our Teacher Librarian Krista Spence krista.spence@utoronto.ca with your availability. We welcome any help, whether it be a consistent day per week, or various days throughout the summer. Ideally they would be watered a few times each week. It will work as a community garden - your family is more than welcome to harvest any of the herbs and vegetables that come to peak freshness during this time!
13. Upcoming June Events
Canada's National Indigenous History Month & World Pride Month
Thurs 16 – Grade 6 graduation
Fri 17 – Last day of school | Noon dismissal
Fri 17 – Report Cards available for downloading from SFO account
Mon 20 - Fri 24 - Staff PD Week
Mon 20 - Thurs 30 - Daycare Summer Camp
