Spring Yard Day 2011 – A Great, Rainy Success!

Little helper carries mulch
There's no minimum height requirement to help on Yard Day!

A HUGE thank you goes out to all the Runnymede families who braved the wind and rain on Saturday, April 16 to help out at Spring Yard Day. We spread a “Mountain of Mulch.” We tended to the Hillside Garden trails. The Kinder-Garden now has a pathway! We also collected a lot of litter and spruced up the front beds of the school.

Meanwhile in the Kindergarten classroom, children painted cedar planks for the Adventure Playground, had their faces painted and enjoyed wonderful baking, drinks and warm coffee. We capped off the morning with a dynamic performance by Creole Drummatix in the library – check out this video!

 Want to help out next time? Contact Yard committee chairs Bruce Toner and Sarah Frame. Thanks again, everyone.

Runnymede's yards and gardens are now ready for Spring.

Volunteers smile despite the weather at the Mountain of Mulch.

Runnymede Alumnus Playing in 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championship

Runnymede alumnus and hockey forward Eric Locke is a key member of Canada’s team in this month’s IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Under-18 World Championships in Germany.  Canada is a two-time gold medallist at the IIHF World U18 Championship, earning gold in 2003 and 2008 — cheer Eric and his teammates on as they go for a third! The team’s first broadcast game is against Sweden on Tuesday, April 19, playing on TSN at 1:30pm ET.

Kids' Art Showcased at Spring Thaw Art Show and Fundraiser

Kids Playing at Spring Thaw
Arts enrichment continued with crafty activities for attendees.

On March 31, 2011, students and parents flocked to Runnymede’s Spring Thaw event to see some great student art, the product of this year’s primary arts enrichment program. Every student who participated in the program had a piece of art on display at the event, which also offered face painting, cookie decorating, a pizza dinner and other fun activities. The packed event raised more than $4,000 for the school. Special thanks to Mike Goodge from Art Works, Janeen Brownrigg from Lello Art School, and the Mayhem Brothers for sharing their expertise with our students.

Crowd at Spring Thaw
It was a full house!
Face Painters in Action
Volunteers painted faces to raise money for the school.


Soft Launch of our New Website: Send Us Your Feedback!

Welcome to all members of the Runnymede Public School community! After months of toiling (and, admittedly, a few months where we were really just too busy — we’re parents, after all!), we are pleased to welcome you to the “soft launch” of the brand new, official website of the Runnymede School Council. Our goals for the site are to:

  • Strengthen our ability to communicate with Runnymede families;
  • Help foster the already-strong sense of community at Runnymede by featuring photos and stories about the school;
  • Build awareness in the community about volunteer opportunities, school programs, events, fundraising efforts, meetings, and other goings-on at the school; and
  • Provide an archive for important information about the council, such as meeting minutes, budgets and the constitution.

While the site is maintained by council members, our intention is to collaborate with the school administration as much as possible to make this a one-stop-shop (within reason!) for Runnymede parent information. We intend to more officially launch and promote the site when the 2011/2012 school year begins, using the spring/summer to tweak and optimize it, so please submit your comments and suggestions.

The site is created and maintained entirely by parent volunteers, so your comments — and contributions — are most welcome.