Weekly News Update from Glen Ames
October 7th 2016
Good Afternoon,
Thank you to all of our parents who came out to our Grade 8 Information Night – it was great to see so many people in attendance. I have attached our Glen Ames At A Glance for the coming week as there are a number of events coming up for our Glen Ames community.
First of all, I would like to share a message from our QSP fundraising committee: Thank you to all the families who have purchased magazines and other items through our QSP fundraiser thus far. There is still time to get your order in! We are extending the sale until Wednesday October 12th in order for those of you who have not had a chance yet, to go online and make your order. This is one of our main fundraisers for Glen Ames so we encourage you to check out the sale. Go to QSP.ca and enter code 3721107. If you don't want magazines there are other options available such as bulbs, gift wrap, chocolate and more! Thank you from your parent council!
Secondly, I wanted to alert everyone that the terra seeding will be happening this coming Tuesday, October 11th, beginning at 8:00 a.m. This will require the entire track and walkway to be closed while the process is completed. Our understanding is that this will only be for one day. Thank you for your understanding during this process.
I also wanted to spread the news to our former Balmy Beach parents, that the school Fun Fair is coming up on Sunday October 16th from 11:00 – 3:00 p.m. I know that former students and parents would be welcomed.
Finally, I know many of us have been glued to our television sets watching our Blue Jays as they battle through the post season. It occurred to me that there are so many lessons to be learned from them - for both our children and ourselves. The one character trait that has stood out this week for me, is perseverance. Despite the injuries, the bad press, the poor hitting and losses in September, our team has been able to ‘dig down’ and make it to the play-offs. Hopefully the ‘never give up’ attitude of our Jays, can help us all the next time we are down ‘two strikes’!
Wishing all of our Glen Ames families a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
Kris
September 22nd 2016
Come join the Glen Ames School Council! We meet once a month from September to May and provide a forum where parents, members of the school community, the school administration, and a teacher representative discuss school issues and ways to improve the school. We discuss issues such as how to help our children succeed at school, what our children are learning, the school budget, the school’s safety, renovations, extra-curricular activities and more.
In September, the parents who attend the first School Council Meeting elect a chair or co-chairs of the Council, as well as a secretary and treasurer. Any parent can run for these positions. Our first meeting is Monday September 26th at 6:30pm in the Glen Ames upper library. Meeting typically last from 6:30-8:00 pm.
At the start of each meeting, the Principal or Vice-Principal reports on the state of the school and answers questions, followed by a discussion of any issues or concerns to parents on how to improve the school. As a Council we also fundraise, hosting a magazine drive in September/October, along with other fundraising initiatives. Our fundraising provides us a budget out of which we support a variety of activities in the school.
If you would like more information on any of our activities or want to get involved, please come to our first meeting on September 26th at 6:30 pm in the library.
September 12th 2016
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Thank you Glen Ames students, staff and community for making my first week as Principal such a welcoming and memorable one! I will be continuing the tradition of sending out regular newsletters through e-mail to update our community on what is happening in our school.
First of all, I want to congratulate all of our students in completing their first week of school. A special shout out goes to our incoming grade 7’s who have had to learn about rotary and lockers, find their way around a large new school, and practise their lock combinations! Well done!
I want to provide a brief update on the ongoing construction in both the front and back of the school. We are very happy to report that the front area masonry is now complete, and the final clean-up should occur later this week, making the front area completely accessible.
In regards to the back field the work is progressing well, and they are almost ready to lay the track. Weather permitting, the installation of the track will begin next Thursday and take approximately 8 school days. In order to install the track, the entire field, field entries and part of the parking lot will need to be closed off. This will impact how students access the school grounds. From Thursday September 15th until Monday September 26th the parking lot and the path from Glen Ames road will be closed to all Glen Ames and Williamson Rd. families. The Kiss and Ride will be relocated to the bus loading area on Williamson Rd. There will be additional staff from both schools in the front yard to help with supervision and ensure student safety. We have also requested an extra crossing guard for the area. Your patience and understanding is appreciated during this time. Please contact me if you have any questions.
We have also welcomed a number of new registrants into our school. This is great news for our community, but has created some challenges in class size particularly in our grade 8 English stream classes. During the week of September 19th reorganization of classes in schools across the TDSB will take place. Our school could be impacted as part of this reorganization. Once we have facilitated any required changes we will certainly communicate this with the families who are impacted. Please be assured that our staff will work together to ensure that our students are able to adapt to the transitions smoothly. Program and assessment information will be shared amongst teachers as appropriate. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.
Finally, our first day package included a lot of very important information and forms to be completed. Please take the opportunity to review these with your student and return them to school as soon as possible.
Yours in partnership,
Kris Wessenger-Macdonald
Kris Wessenger-Macdonald Brian Panesar
Principal/Directrice Vice Principal/Directeur Adjoint
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