February 10th

I'm looking forward to meeting families on Friday, February 14th.  Thanks to everyone who returned the interview request form; confirmation notes were sent home last Wednesday. 

With the short week, I have sent home some language work for students to do at home (this is optional).  As well, I have posted some math activities to our Knowledgehook math account.  Students are working on a language assignment that is due on Thursday, February 13th.  Their rough draft can be accessed from TDSB online.  Students are familiar with the login process.

Given the job action this week, a friendly reminder that pizza lunch will be moved from Wednesday to Thursday.

Have a good week!

January 2020

Wishing all of the families in our classroom a very prosperous and happy Lunar New Year!

I have been offline for a few weeks due to job action and a very limited work day.  As you know, Ontario teachers are trying to negotiate with the Provincial Government on the future of our children's education.  Work to rule has meant a reduced work day, an end to field trips, the loss of many extra-curriculars and the most recent, the TDSB deciding to not send home Term 1 Report Cards.

As such, a letter will be sent home this week inviting you to an interview with me, on Friday, February 14th.  I am available between 8:30 and 3:30 and would be happy to meet and discuss your child's progress in Term 1.  Meetings are purely voluntary on your part - if I have concerns about your child's progress, I have already reached out to you to meet or discuss by phone.

Thanks for your patience and support.

last week before the holidays!

What a week we had and a week it will be coming up.  By now you have all read the news that our fabulous Mr. McGilvray is leaving us on December 20th.  Staff is really sad to see him go but excited for this great opportunity for him and his move closer to home.  In class this week, we will be preparing a little gift to present to Mr. McGilvray on Friday. 

Field trip
Words can't express what an amazing experience our downtown trip was last week.  Witnessing the students' faces light up as they gave out kindness kits to the homeless, was incredible.  Thank you to our amazing volunteers who trekked through downtown and fought the cold rink-side at Nathan Phillips Square.  Toronto EMS tweeted the day after our visit that they had received cards of gratitude and these cards warmed their hearts in their ambulances and dispatch centre; bravo!

Winter Concert Dec 18/19
Ms Purvis, Ms Wright and the students have been working hard on their pieces for this week's concert!  Our class will perform on Thursday evening.  Students are asked to wear black bottoms & a red top; they must arrive at school for 6:45 and head up to our classroom where I'll supervise them until the show starts at 7:00PM.

Last day Dec 20
To celebrate making it through the first part of the school year, we'll have some holiday festivities on Friday.  Students are welcome to dress in pjs, holiday sweaters, anything they'd like, and bring in board games from home (no electronics please).  In the afternoon we'll wind down with hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie before we head home for the break.

Have a great week!

week of Dec 9th

We have two weeks left until the winter break.  Over that time, we'll have lots on the calendar!

Downtown Field Trip - Dec 10th
Over the past few weeks we've been talking about homelessness in Toronto in an effort to build empathy.  I feel privileged to have such an open-minded group of students who consistently show compassion and a desire to help throughout our talks about poverty.  I'm very excited to head downtown with this fabulous group to spread some compassion and kindness.  Thank you for lending us your time and sending in wool socks!
We'll leave school at 9AM and head downtown via subway.  We're planning to hand out bagged lunches, wool socks and kindness cards at Allan Gardens, Covenant House & Sojourn House.  Feel free to follow us on Twitter (@ChrisTrott7), where I'll be posting messages throughout the day and inviting First Responders to meet us (EMS, Toronto Police & Toronto Fire).
Take a peak at the photos below showing students budgeting and planning ingredients for our bagged lunches!

Holiday Market - Dec 15th & 16th
Flyers were sent home on Thursday sharing news about our SLT's initiative; the Clairlea Holiday Market!  Students are asked to bring in gently used toys, books or anything "gift-worthy" over the coming week.  On the 15th and 16th, students will be able to shop for the holidays, purchasing gently used items for cheap!  All proceeds will go towards the SLT's eco initiative of getting a 2nd water filtration station on the 2nd floor.

French Book Fair - Dec 16th - 19th
We're really excited for our French book fair and invite students to come shop at recesses and lunch the last week of school. 

Winter Concert - Dec 18th & 19th
Last but not least, Ms Purvis and her crew are putting together the final details of our winter concert.  Our class will perform on the evening of the 19th.   We're looking forward to seeing you there!

Have a great week!

week of November 25th

We have many exciting things on our calendar as we head toward the holidays!

DOWNTOWN FIELD TRIP - Dec. 10th
Permission forms will be sent home on December 2nd for our downtown field trip.  We will travel downtown by subway and wander through the downtown, making our way to City Hall.  Parent volunteers are welcome! 
There are 2 components to our trip;
- hand out bagged lunches and new socks to the homeless
- skating at Nathan Phillip's Square

We are asking for donations of new wool socks to hand out to the homeless.  If you would like to help us out, please send them in by December 9th.

Students are encouraged to rent skates and helmets (mandatory) at Nathan Phillips Square to avoid lugging skating gear as we walk around the downtown on the morning of the 10th.  Skate rentals are $5 and helmets are $3.  The fee will be outlined on the permission form and paid via Cash Online. 

WINTER CONCERTS - Dec. 17/18
Ms Purvis and the students are working hard to finalize their performances for the concerts.  My class will be performing in the school gym on Thursday, December 19th.  Take a peak at our invitation for detailed info;

JUNIOR GIRLS' CLUB - Dec 3rd
I'm really excited to be starting up a Junior Girls' Club for students in Grades 4 to 6.  Permission forms were sent home last Tuesday.  Our first meeting is Tuesday, Dec 3rd over lunch, and every 2nd Day 3 on our school calendar.  Students cannot join without returning their permission forms.

CLAIRLEA READS - Dec 18th
Our next meeting of Clairlea Reads is on December 18th over lunch.  Our goal is to reach page 193 at that time.  Mark your calendars for our student & families celebration on the evening of January 30th!

Have a great week!

Week of November 18th

A heartfelt thank you to families for coming in to discuss progress reports over the past 2 weeks.  As a teacher, it's always nice to meet families and build connections between school and home.  I am always available by email if you have any questions going forward, before our next report card.

A few things to note:

December 10th - field trip

With the winter holidays on the horizon, I like to focus my instruction around giving and helping those in need.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be having discussions around poverty and homelessness in Toronto and sharing ideas on how we can help those in need.  On Monday, December 9th, the students and I will spend some time preparing bagged lunches together (I will provide the food) that we will then distribute to the homeless on December 10th.  We will travel by subway and walk around the downtown core, handing out bagged lunches to the homeless.  We will make our way to Nathan Phillip's Square where we will rent skates & helmets and enjoy some winter skating as a class.  If you're available and interested in helping out, I'm looking for LOTS of adult volunteers for December 10th.  To help offset costs, I would ask that adult volunteers bring their own skates or rent on-site.  Permission forms will be sent home next week.

Sock drive

In anticipation of our field trip, we are collecting new socks to donate to the homeless on December 10th; we hope to add one pair of socks to every bagged lunch we hand out.  Feel free to read the following website for other ideas on how you can help.

https://www.fredvictor.org/2019/11/11/lets-help-homeless-this-winter/

Winter concert 

Last year's winter concert was such a huge success that we're going to offer the same format this December.  The concert will be on the evenings of December 18th & 19th; my class will perform on the 19th.  Join us in the gym for some amazing musical performances lead by our fabulous Ms Purvis.

Clairlea Reads

I'm blown away by the interest in our reading club this year; hopefully those of you who signed up are enjoying "The City of Ember".  Students have been very positive and engaged during our first 2 meetings.  Our next meeting is on December 18th over lunch; our goal is to read to page 193 by then.  Don't forget to mark your calendars for our final celebration on the evening of January 30th.

Have a great weekend!

week 9

I hope that everyone survived Halloween and the huge amounts of sugar!  It appears that with Halloween and October behind us, we're now into cold weather and darker days.  A friendly reminder to ensure that students come prepared for the weather.  You may want to stop by our school clothing swap to trade in your gems for some gently used gear and keep everyone warm this winter!

A few dates on the horizon:

Progress Reports
On Monday, November 11th students will bring home their Progress Reports.  A reminder that these reports are simply an overview of your child's progress over the past 2 months, and give teachers & families some data going forward.  I'm available to meet and discuss any questions or comments you may have on November 12th, 13th and 14th.  Please look for an interview letter which will go home with students tomorrow.  I will schedule interviews on a first come, first served basis.

Remembrance Day
November 11th also marks our annual assembly for Remembrance Day.  This commemoration is open to families; if you'd like to join us, we plan on starting at 10:15 in the gym.

Clairlea Reads
We hope you're enjoying "The City of Ember" at home with your child.  Our next book club meeting is on November 19th.

Congrats
And finally, huge congrats to several students in our class who had significant achievements over the past week.  Congrats to Cross Country runners, Girls Junior Soccer and our SLT reps for being exceptional Panthers!

I look forward to connecting after Progress Reports.
Bonne semaine!