Regulation 274

The Ontario government has introduced Regulation 274, which forces school principals to prioritize seniority over quality and suitability in the teacher hiring process. Parents, teachers and administrators alike want this regulation revoked. Please read these attachments for more information:

Please consider emailing the Premier and Minister of Education expressing your concerns. Here is a sample email:

Email to: kwynne.mpp@liberal.ola.org; lsandals.mpp@liberal.ola.org

Dear Premier and Minister of Education,

I am on the school council/a parent at Runnymede Public School. As you and I know, Regulation 274 will seriously damage the quality and suitability of teachers hired and thereby hurt our students. This Regulation also creates unreasonable administrative and managerial problems for all principals and school boards across the province.

The issue of favouritism is a red herring which can be eliminated by school boards having an oversight process and providing certain hiring information to the relevant union.

Please get rid of Regulation 274 as soon as possible!

Best regards,
(name & email)

cc to: krushowy@thestar.ca; calphonso@globeandmail.com

Grade 9 transition/information nights

The following attachments will provide you with valuable information regarding grade 9 transition and information nights at various Secondary Schools.

Please make sure to attend the Information Night at Runnymede Public School this coming Wednesday, October 23, 2013, Senior Gym, at 7:00 pm

As well, a reminder to parents of students who will be attending the Etobicoke School Of the Arts (ESA) student open house on the afternoon of Tuesday Oct. 29th, permission forms are going home today and must be returned to homeroom teachers by Friday Oct. 25th.

Please give generously to our school community

Thank you for your enthusiastic response to our annual fundraising campaign. We are well on our way to reaching our fundraising goal but we still need your help. To those of you who have already made a donation, thank you for your generosity!

If you have not yet contributed to our main fundraiser of the year – we urge you to PLEASE DONATE $50 PER CHILD BY OCTOBER 25^th. You can either:

Visit Canada Helps to make an online donation to Runnymede School Council, OR
Write a cheque to Runnymede Public School Council (without abbreviations or alterations) and send it back to the school in the donation envelope that has been sent home.

Donations over $25 receive a tax receipt and all funds raised will be used in the current academic year.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Toronto Star teacher award winner: Andrew Reynolds

This week, the Toronto Star published this inspiring profile of Runnymede teacher Andrew Reynolds, who last year helped his Grade 6 students cope with the death of classmate Alex Shapiro. We are truly lucky to have Mr. Reynolds in our community, and we thank him for his exceptional dedication.

International Conference on the Greening of School Grounds visits Runnymede Gardens

Runnymede was one of only three schools in the city to be toured on Sunday by participants of the International Conference on the Greening of School Grounds. Visitors, including educators, landscape architects, and environmentalists from North America, Europe and Japan, were very impressed with Runnymede’s gardens and other creative uses of our yard. Attendees learned about the history, successes, challenges, curriculum connections, and community involvement that made Runnymede’s outdoor program such a success.

Runnymede has much to be proud of!