WELCOME TO ALL OUR NEW COMMUNITY MEMBERS WITH CHILDREN STARTING AT RUNNYMEDE IN SEPTEMBER!!
The first day of the new school year is Tuesday, September 3, 2024.
Runnymede PS staff will be in touch via their School Messenger email system, to welcome all families during the last week of summer when the school reopens.
The welcome email to parents will include your child’s teacher name, class room and entry door number along with school year procedures and information.
On the first day of school, families and students are asked to make their way to their appropriate location in the Runnymede yard where teachers will be holding signs with classroom numbers.
School staff will be present and available to greet and support students finding their designated meeting spot or with any questions. Students will be welcomed by their assigned teacher and entry to the school will follow
We’ve had a jam-packed year supporting key events like Nuit Orange, Illuminations, and senior music festivals and competitions, as well as running enrichment workshops, junk art competitions, and junior art gallery walks. Our ongoing support and commitment to the music, drama, dance, and visual arts department, have been bolstered by exciting new initiatives like Listen Up.
And we’re not done yet!
Here’s a quick recap of recent highlights:
OMFA Results are in!
Runnymede’s music department has made history at OMFA! The Wind Ensemble won 1st Place with a scholarship, and the Big Band clinched 3rd Place in their debut festival appearance. This is a huge milestone for our music department and our first-ever 1st place at OMFA. Placing 1st at OMFA is equivalent to being the best in all of Ontario, with only six bands from the Grade 8 & under category invited out of 44 regional festivals. Additionally, we’ve earned a scholarship, which will be put to great use in our band program. Huge congratulations to our hardworking students, dedicated teachers, and supportive families who made this achievement possible!
Illuminations!
We’re still buzzing from that magical night! Our students’ performances, after a year of hard work, were a delight for the entire community. Seeing hundreds and hundreds of proud, smiling faces made it all worth it. Bravo to Mr. O and all his incredible students! Stay tuned for more amazing drone pictures and video!
And here’s what’s coming up:
Gallery Walks! Join us for our final art gallery walk, showcasing the incredible art created by our kindergarten students in conjunction with their spring concert. Don’t miss it on June 13, in the breezeway!
Blank Canvases Workshops! Senior students will explore urban street art with educators from Blank Canvases. Their vibrant creations will be showcased during graduation celebrations. Workshops are on June 14 & 18.
Prologue Performances! Junior students will enjoy three assembly-style performances by Prologue artists: “Catch Me in the Kitchen,” “Fireside Munsch,” and “Njacko Backo!” These performances will bring accessible unforgettable arts experiences to our school. Performances are on June 14, 21, and 27.
Massive Thank You! A big thank you to all the teachers, staff, administrators and volunteers who helped bring these school-wide arts initiatives to life! Special shoutouts to Mr. Kim, Mr. Medley, Mr. Ouellette and Mme. Sacrey-Butler for their amazing achievements and support for our students this year!
Stay tuned for more fun and creativity as we wrap up an unforgettable year!
STAFF APPRECIATION LUNCH
Parent volunteers have organized a wonderful Staff Appreciation Lunch planned for June 14th and they would love your help!
Have an eye for design or a creative spark? Excellent! We would love you to help us decorate the gym!
Want to get in a few steps and a mid-day workout? We would love for your help in set-up and/or take-down!
They are bringing in a catered lunch instead of requesting dishes this year – if you would like to contribute financially to the lunch, please reach out to: runnymedeappreciationlunch@protonmail.com
Runnymede Public School Council is hosting a free FREEZIE FAREWELL on the SECOND last day of school!
Freezies will be handed out to all students free of charge!
Please contact the office if you don’t wish your child to participate.
INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING AT
RUNNYMEDE NEXT YEAR!?
Joining in as a volunteer is a great way to get involved, help out at the school, and make a difference in your child’s school experience!
You can volunteer for just a one time activity, help to organize pizza lunch, make posters behind the scenes, come to help at Yard Day, lead an event like Movie Night, Pub Night or collect Cookie Dough orders, help with Math Amazing Race events, help set up at Nuit Orange or during Artist in the School, or you can even Chair a team or committee!
You don’t need experience, just a willingness to help out.
Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year!
Let us know what you might be interested in helping out and we will reach out! SIGN UP HERE
REMEMBER : WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS, THESE AMAZING INITIATIVES CAN’T HAPPEN!
We are encouraged that admin has reached out to Council to plan a meeting with council co-chairs. We are confident that Runnymede council remains compliant with all requirements and hope this can be acknowledged ASAP so we can continue to work on behalf of parents at Runnymede.
We’re happy to share that many of our council chairs have been in contact with the school and have been continuing to move forward with initiatives such as green teacher, pizza day and Illuminations.
Representatives from Council exec have a meeting tomorrow with our Trustee Debbie King to share our point of view and to seek assistance in moving forward productively and positively with the TDSB and our school’s administration.
We also understand that there has a lot been a lot of discussion about Runnymede School Advisory Council / Runnymede Public School Council & HSAs in recent days!
Who is “Runnymede Council“?
All parents and guardians at Runnymede Public can be members of Runnymede School Advisory Council. Anyone in attendance at the first meeting of the year can become a voting member.
The Runnymede Council executive committee is made up of elected volunteers.
Our executive team are parents who are also working professionals willing to lend their expertise and knowledge in their spare time to benefit the school community.
Although professional experience is not necessary to volunteer, this year’s council includes four Accountants and a mix that includes Lawyers, an Architect, a Registered Nurse, Business owners, PR executives, Teachers, and a University Professor. Some of our experienced parent volunteer executive team have have even had children at Runnymede for 12 and 15 years already!
It is also important to note that all Runnymede Council financial records are made publicly available as per CRA requirements and the executive committee have continued to be compliant with all these regulations throughout the year.
As always, we’re continuing to update our parent FAQ page. If you have a question that’s not addressed there, please fire it our way.
We look forward to being in touch soon,
Your Runnymede Council Exec Team
Please reach out if you have questions you would like to add! RunnymedePS@gmail.com
This spring, the Parent Council was thrilled to present over 24 in-class visual arts workshops tailored for Kindergarten to Grade 4 students. To celebrate their creativity, we invite families to enjoy their masterpieces during gallery walks in conjunction with their Spring concerts.
On the day of the concerts, be sure to visit the breezeway to immerse yourself in their talent!
Volunteers are needed for setup and teardown. Contact us at runnymedeart@gmail.com to lend a hand.
P.S. Exciting news: More workshops are scheduled for Grade 8 students in June! Yay!
Sneak peek of Mme Enrico’s Class’ work:
Can you organize the
Teacher Appreciation Lunch this year?
School council currently has reached out to all committees, and currently we have no volunteers who are able to take on the job of organizing the annual Teacher Appreciation Lunch. This is a huge undertaking each year, and all committee volunteers are at full capacity and unable to Lead another event.
If you are willing and able to give your time to take on the task, please reach out! We would need to know by Friday if we are going ahead with the event this year.
Joining one of the Runnymede School Council Committees is a great way to get involved, help out at the school, and make a difference in your child’s school experience!
You can volunteer for just a one time activity, help to organize pizza lunch, make posters behind the scenes, come to help at Yard Day, lead an event like Movie Night, Pub Night or collect Cookie Dough orders, help with Math Amazing Race events, help set up at Nuit Orange or during Artist in the School, or you can even Chair a team or committee!
You don’t need experience, just a willingness to help out. Volunteer opportunities are available throughout the year!
REMEMBER : WITHOUT VOLUNTEERS, THESE AMAZING INITIATIVES CAN’T HAPPEN!
Save the Date for Illuminations
Thursday June 6
The senior students and teachers are pouring their hearts and souls into curating an unforgettable evening of arts and entertainment at our school.
It’s an event unlike any other, filled with beautiful performances and experiences. Get ready for a showcase that the whole family will enjoy!
Mark your calendars because this is an occasion not to be missed, and the entire school community is invited to join in the celebration!
Grade 3/4 Concert will be outside on the field at 3:30pm Grade 6-8 Jazz Band will be @ 5pm 6pm Illuminations BEGINS!
Runnymede Welcome Garden
Many of you will have seen the beautiful new flowers, plants and memorial plaque placed at the entrance of Runnymede to commemorate former Runnymede Principal, Bob Davidson and teacher Anna Heninger-Ochocinski. This was all made possible through a generous contribution from our very own Mme Kling.
Mr. Davidson hired many current and former Runnymede teachers including Mme Kling, Mme Bedard, Ms. Visconti, Mme Nitsis, Ms. Javor and Mr. Hallman-Chong.
Special thanks also go to the Admin & office staff for their assistance with selecting the stone, Ryan Lockhart and the Green Team for helping to organize the project and for continuing to make the front garden look beautiful!
A BIG thank you to everyone who came out to Spring Yard Day to help us get the Nature Garden ready for Spring outdoor learning.
We spread a mountain of mulch on the trails, refreshed the Kindergarden, gave the amphitheatre area a new look to protect it from erosion, and installed 6 new planters into the yard to get ready for an exciting new project growing Three Sisters Gardens, of corn, bean and squash.
Volunteer families enjoyed refreshments, and children had fun planting worms, making bookmarks and doing a scavenger hunt around the garden.
Big thank you also to our wonderful school custodians and administration staff for helping us to organize this event, and a big shout to Mme Kling and Mr Lawrence for their ongoing support of our Yard Events.
Runnymede Home & School Association 