Many things were put on hold at Runnymede last year, including School Council’s direct donation campaign.  Instead, Council used carried over funding (and some incredible volunteers); to support the teachers and staff (in-person and virtually), run the outdoor Green Teacher programming, and maintain Runnymede’s amazing outdoor play and education spaces.  

Things are yet not back to normal, but School Council has planned many COVID protocol approved programs and resource supports to enrich every student’s school experience and most importantly, make this year lots of fun!

Now, we need your help to make this a reality.

What it means for your child this year:

• $500 per class for extra in-class resources and enrichment programs (TRF),
• Outdoor art experience taught by a professional artist,
• Specialized Green Teacher classes in the Hillside Garden,
• Recess equipment to make outdoor play time more fun,
• Professional in-class hands-on STEM programs,
• In-class STEM teaching resources,
• Support for in-class technology needs, such as laptops, iPads, chargers, etc.
• Support for Runnymede’s performing arts: music, drama, and dance,
• Yard enhancements for outdoor learning,
• Materials and instruction to create a permanent art installation on the Runnymede fence.

Every dollar counts.  Please contribute to your child’s enhanced classroom resources and enrichment programs by donating whatever amount feels comfortable for your family here (RUNNYMEDE PUBLIC SCHOOL COUNCIL).  Runnymede Public School Council is a registered charity so you will receive a tax receipt for your donation amount.

For more detail on the budget and programs for this year:

The next Runnymede PS Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday October 27, 2021 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The meeting will take place virtually via Google Meet (link will be sent via email to all parents who have subscribed to the Runnymede Council email list).

October 27, 2021 agenda includes…

• Executive Committee Updates
• Council Budget Review
• Ward 7 Update
• Administration & Teacher reports
• School Statement of Needs (SSON)

IMPORTANT – Please note the following meeting protocols:

1. The Google Meet platform provided by the TDSB has a participant limit of 100 people, so we ask that each family please limit their participation to one device;
2. Once you’ve entered the meeting, please ensure you are on mute;
3. Once you’ve entered the meeting, please turn your camera off unless you are presenting;
4. In order to join the meeting you will need to be signed into a Gmail account, or another email linked to a Google account. (instructions to create a google account without Gmail: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27441?hl=en)

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Parent Council via email at runnymedeps@gmail.com

We hope to see you online, on October 27th!

The next Runnymede PS Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday September 30, 2021 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. The meeting will take place virtually via Google Meet (link will be sent via email to all parents who have subscribed to the Runnymede Council email list).

September 30, 2021 agenda includes…

• Executive Committee Updates
• Address by Superintendent Debbie Donsky
• Council Co-Chair and Budget Reports
• Administration & Teacher reports
• Election of Officers of Council and Voting Members for 2021-2022
• Striking of 2021-2022 Committees

IMPORTANT – Please note the following meeting protocols:

1. The Google Meet platform provided by the TDSB has a participant limit of 100 people, so we ask that each family please limit their participation to one device;
2. Once you’ve entered the meeting, please ensure you are on mute;
3. Once you’ve entered the meeting, please turn your camera off unless you are presenting;
4. In order to join the meeting you will need to be signed into a Gmail account, or another email linked to a Google account. (instructions to create a google account without Gmail: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/27441?hl=en)

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Parent Council via email at runnymedeps@gmail.com

We hope to see you online, on September 30th!

On behalf of Runnymede’s School Council, welcome to a new school year!  

We hope you had a happy and healthy summer break, and that the first few days of school went well.  We are already working on some outdoor enrichment programming for the fall and are optimistic about bringing back more Council events for this school year.

First council meeting soon!
We know parents have many concerns and questions as students begin school this year and we encourage you to attend our meetings (virtual for now) for the most current information from our administration, teachers, and superintendent. We have invited our Superintendent, Debbie Donsky, to attend our first School Council meeting to answer your questions. Stay tuned for the date and time of our first meeting. We hope you can join us!

Get involved!
We encourage anyone who would like to be actively involved in their child(ren)’s education to consider joining School Council or even Executive Council. It’s a great way to learn more about Runnymede, work closely with teachers and administrators, be involved in important decisions that affect all students and work with some amazing, dedicated parents!  If you are interested, please contact: runnymedeps@gmail.com

Have a great 2021/22 school year and we hope to see you at our first council meeting (coming soon).

Thank you, Runnymede! 

This has been an extraordinary school year, to say the least, for all of our school community.  We truly appreciate the amount of effort, creativity and support that the Runnymede staff (teachers, ECE’s, support staff, office staff, caretakers, lunchroom supervisors, and administrators) has provided to our students this year.  We hope you will enjoy the video that the students (with some help from parents) put together to show our appreciation this year:

We wish our Grade 8 graduates all the best as they move on from Runnymede after years of hard work.  Congratulations! We wish we could send you off in person.

We also want to convey a special thank you to Principal Hochberg and wish him well as the new Principal of Maurice Cody Junior Public School.  He has made many positive changes at Runnymede over the past five years and we will miss his partnership and leadership. 

We welcome our new Principal, Ms. Deborah Zamin and Vice Principal, Mr. Jamie Price and look forward to working with them next year along with returning Vice Principal, Ms. Cherril George, to enhance and support the education of our Runnymede students.

And we hope all Runnymede families have a safe and healthy summer.  We look forward to seeing all of you in September for what we hope is a more stable school year.

Lastly, if you have concerns about a safe and stable education for the next school year, we recommend you look up Ontario Parent Action Network, a volunteer parent-based group that is organizing an education action day on July 24^th in support of public education. Their work includes advocating for no hybrid classrooms, ventilation upgrades, and lower class sizes. Consider signing up to help with this initiative – kids are welcome too!

Sincerely,
Runnymede School Council Executive

Council’s Executive Committee included the following people this year:
Co-Chairs: Erin Meana and Andrea Santos
Treasurer: Helen Berhane
Secretary: Jessica Smith
Communications Chairs: Carlos Santos and Liliana DaSilva
Spirit Committee Chairs: Alex Whately and Andrea Xia
STEM Chairs: Tasha Balla-Boudreau, David Begleiter and Anne-Marie Nowina
Green Chairs: Helen Williams and Ryan Lockhart
Arts Chairs: Ivana Barbieri, Sabrina Musa and Bianca Colle
Ward 7 Representative: Kathleen Hyatt

We encourage anyone who would like to be actively involved in their child(ren)’s education next year to consider joining School Council or even Executive Council. It is a great way to learn more about Runnymede, work closely with teachers and administrators, be involved in important decisions that affect all students and work with some amazing, dedicated parents!  If you are interested, please contact: runnymedeps@gmail.com