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

Hello Runnymede Jr & Sr PS Families!

Runnymede School Council is joining with 22 other area schools in an “art action” to acknowledge and honour the 215 children whose remains were found buried at the Kamloops residential school last week.

On Friday June 4, schools across Toronto’s west end are tying 215 orange ribbons at each participating school and leaving messages of support, love and commitment to decolonization in chalk on the sidewalk.

We are inviting all Runnymede families that wish to participate to come to the Runnymede Road yard (fence next to the basketball courts) between 2:30 and 4:00pm this Friday, June 4 to tie a ribbon on the fence and to write a message in chalk to show your commitment to taking further actions of reconciliation in support of generations of First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities across Canada.

Volunteers will be onsite to provide orange ribbons and assist with social distancing. Please bring your own chalk – we will have some available if needed. Please wear a mask and remain two metres apart from anyone outside your family. Your support with this request is greatly appreciated. 

If you want to participate but have concerns about gathering, you are welcome to add to the chalk art on your own after 4pm (or even over the weekend!).

Some suggested calls to action to support the Indigenous community provided by the Organizer of this multi-school event, Ayan Kailie:
• Make a donation to an Indigenous-led charity. 
• Talk to your children and/or read them a book about residential schools.
• Talk to your children about what racism is and how to end racism.
• Talk to your children about stereotypes and why they are dangerous.
•  Read the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report.
•  Support Indigenous artists and businesses.
•  Listen to Indigenous communities, their elders and support what they are asking for from government and non-Indigenous Canadians.

We have included links to some charity and book resources that may be helpful.

We hope to see you there!
Runnymede School Council

Below is a list of participating schools confirmed to-date:
Brock P.S
Carleton Village Junior and Senior P.S
City View Alternative Senior P.S
Clinton Street Junior P.S
Dovercourt P.S
Fern Avenue Junior and Senior P.S
Garden Avenue Junior PS
Holy Family Catholic School
Howard Junior P.S
Humbercrest P.S
Humberside C.I
Indian Road Cresent Junior and Senior P.S
Parkdale Junior and Senior P.S
Pauline P.S
Perth Avenue Junior P.S
Queen Victoria P.S
Runnymede P.S
Shirley Street Junior P.S
St. Cecilia Catholic School
Sunnylea Junior P.S
Swansea Junior and Senior P.S
The Grove Community School
Western Technical Commercial School 

The next Runnymede PS Council meeting is today, Tuesday May 25, 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).

May 25, 2021 agenda includes…

• Executive Committee Updates
• Vacant Council Positions for 2021-2022
• Council Co-Chair and Budget Reports
• Administration & Teacher reports

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 May 25th!

Grade 5-8 students are invited to join the Runnymede Virtual Escape Room Race on Friday, May 7th at 3:00 PM. Teams will be competing to win a sleep-in day and, most importantly, bragging rights! 

Students can form their own teams of 6 from their grade or simply sign up and and they will be added to a team. Teams will be split up into two groups, with one winning team per group:

• Grades 5 and Grade 6 will compete to solve the Mystery at The Cabin
• Grades 7 and Grade 8 will compete to become top spy in a game of International Spy

This is a great opportunity for students to connect with their friends in a safe, casual and engaging setting, while also helping to raise funds for Runnymede!

Cost to join is $14 per participant; 25% of proceeds will go to Runnymede to support needed resources and enrichment programming in classrooms.

Two easy steps to get registered:

Step 1 – Register before May 4th by filling out the online form found HERE, or type the following address into your web browser https://forms.gle/k5Gv1cwRd8ddjecw8

Step 2 – Send an eTransfer of $14 to runnymedespiritcommittee@gmail.com (Important – Include your name and Class ID in the comment section)

Registration is now open and will remain open until Tuesday May 4th.

Looking for fun and safe event ideas for your family and friends?
Check out our Virtual Escape Room organizers, HELMLife; they offer online activities for kids of all age groups, plus virtual escape rooms for adults. If you’re interested in organizing your own events, we have arranged a 15% discount for Runnymede families. All you need to do is:

• Register at HELMLife HERE, or type the following address into your web browser https://helm.life/virtual-escape-rooms/?refcode=RUNNYMEDE 
• At check-out, use coupon code RUNNYMEDE to receive 15% off (15% of proceeds will go to Runnymede) 

Fine Print:

• Students will need a laptop or a computer with Zoom to participate.
• Team size may be adjusted depending on total participant count for each grade. Changes will be communicated before May 6th.
• Please email transfer the $14 fee to runnymedespiritcommittee@gmail.com, and include your name and Class ID in the comment section
• Payments will be refunded if we don’t have enough participants to form a team for each grade. 
• Zoom ID will be sent to paid participants on May 6th.

Wishing you all a safe and happy weekend and Earth Week!