Bring them this Sunday, March 25 to the Inorganic Market!

To: All Families with Students in JK-Grade 3

Please mark Thursday, March 29, 3:30 – 7:30 pm on your calendars now so you can attend this year’s SPRING THAW: JK-3 Art Show & FUNdraiser! If you have a child in JK-Grade 3, you won’t want to miss this fun-filled, family-friendly school event.

Thanks to your generous support of Runnymede’s fundraising this year, all JK – Grade 3 students are being provided with 4-hours of arts enrichment by professional artists. The SPRING THAW: JK-3 Art Show & FUNdraiser is an event to celebrate and share the wonderful art that has been produced by our children and will also include many FUN activities such as face-painting, cookie decorating, children’s crafts, a silent auction, a family dinner and much more! Some activities will be free and others will require tickets, which can be purchased at the event.

To ensure the success of this year’s SPRING THAW, we will need many PARENT VOLUNTEERS to help out on March 29th. If you would like to volunteer for one (or more!) of the following timeslots, please email Krista Wylie and please note if you have a preference for an area you’d like to volunteer with (Food, Children’s Crafts, Silent Auction, Ticket Sales).

• Timeslot #1: 3:00 – 4:45 pm
• Timeslot #2: 4:30 – 6:15 pm
• Timeslot #3: 6:00 – 8:00 pm

 An official paper invite and order form for the Spring Thaw Family Dinner will be sent home with each JK-3 student the week after March Break but we wanted to make sure that you had lots of time to block off Thursday, March 29, 3:30 – 7:30 pm on your calendars!

Thank you for your support!
Runnymede Arts Committee & Spirit Committee

There has been a scheduling change and our next school council meeting will now take place as follows:

• Date:  March 27, 2012 (not March 22)
• Time:  7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
•  Location: Runnymede PS library

Call for agenda items –  If you have any items for discussion at the next meeting, including proposals for council funding, please send them to Council Secretary Nancy Bestic no later than Monday March 19, 2012.

• Tuesday, February 21
• 7:00 p.m.
• Runnymede School Library

The TDSB has targeted $80 million in reduced spending in next year’s budget. Many may have significant impacts to Runnymede. Parent Councils will be asked by way of their Ward 7 representatives on February 28 to provide feedback to our trustee, Irene Atkinson, at a Ward 7 meeting. This feedback directs how the trustee should vote on March 6 at a meeting where the TDSB is to vote on the potential budget cuts. After that date, the staff reduction notices will be promptly sent out, so this is the only opportunity to provide feedback into the process.

At next week’s meeting, we will review proposed budget cuts and determine which we can live with and which we should direct our Ward 7 representatives to fight against and recommend the Ward 7 trustee, Irene Atkinson, should vote against at the TDSB budget meeting on March 6.

The parent consultation period should have been much longer, but the TDSB took longer than they had planned completing the budget. We need your input to make a difference!

Join Parkdale parents for an evening workshop with guest speaker Sabrina Gonsalves, school social worker, TDSB.

The teen years can be a difficult transition for our children. There are many issues that affect them and it can be difficult to know how to support them. Sabrina Gonsalves has worked with parents across the community bringing both her extensive professional experience and her own experience as a parent. She can help you support your child in dealing with issues such as stress, anxiety, peer relationships, and self‐esteem.

•  Presented by Parkdale Collegiate School Council
•  Thursday February 23, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
•  Parkdale Collegiate Institute, 209 Jameson Ave in the library
•  Light refreshments will be served.

All parents are welcome.