A busy week

This week will be a very busy one at Swansea PS. On Tuesday we have our Track and Field try-outs all morning and most of the afternoon. Later we welcome our guest, Silver Birch author Vicki Grant! This will be a wonderful event for the junior students and those who participated in the Silver Birch reading club. On Wednesday and Thursday a group of our parents have organized the "It takes a village" conference for those 2 evenings. Please be sure to attend and I promise you will enjoy some very informative sessions. There will be a wide variety of presentations that all parents would enjoy. Please visit the Swansea School Council website at www.swanseasc.wordpress.com for a complete listing of all speakers and events. On Friday several of our teachers and I will attend a meeting where we will have an opportunity to share our successes as an OFIP (Ontario Focussed Intervention Program) school and we will have a chance to learn about what other schools are doing to improve their EQAO results.
Speaking of EQAO, we will begin the administration of the EQAO assessment on Monday May 26. All parents are reminded that as a school we are required to have all grade 3 and 6 children take part in this assessment unless we recommend an exemption. We do not as a rule recommend exemption except in very particular cases. Children do not have to prepare anything ahead of time for EQAO. Their teachers have given the students lots of preparatory work over the last few weeks. We ask that all children come to school well rested and don't forget to provide a few extra snacks to keep them alert and concentrating on their work. Thank you in advance!

Transfer and placement.

At this time of year, teachers have the opportunity to apply for positions at other schools. Since we have amalgamated and the TDSB has become very large, most teachers choose to work close to their homes. Makes sense, right? The gas prices are getting higher and we are all becoming very conscious of our carbon footprint. Most of our staff members live close to SwanseaPS but there are some who travel a bit of distance to come to school each day. The transfer period will end at the end of May and at that time we will have a better picture of our staff for 2008-2009.

Very soon we will begin the process of placing students in their classes for next year. As we have done for the past few years, we do not attempt to place students with certain teachers, but rather, we create the classes for each grade based on the combinations of girls and boys, and ensuring positive social interactions and diversity. Once the classes are created then we assign the teacher to the class, not the other way around. I know that many of you have made requests for certain teachers and I want you to know that we cannot assure you that we will comply with your wishes. All the above factors are brought to the table long before consideration of parents' requests.

EQAO will begin the week of May 26. All grade 3 and 6 students will take part. We are currently in the process of practising for the EQAO assessments and each student has their own practise book which he/she will be able to bring home when complete along with a resource guide for parents. Please be sure to have a look at the work your child has completed in the practise book and try some of the questions yourself!!

I continue to have coffee in room 104 every Monday morning. You are most welcome to come and join me and we can discuss whatever is on your mind. It is very casual and spontaneous. we begin right after the morning announcements and finish at about 9:45. The more the merrier.

A busy day at Swansea

Today was a wonderful day at Swansea PS! It was our first"Bring your parents to school day" and it was a great success. Parents/guardians were invited to join their children in their classroom where they did activities together in some classes and in other classes the children performed little plays and skits. The teachers were so enthusiastic about it and really enjoyed it and the parents I spoke to said that the whole school had a differnt "buzz" today. Parents asked if we would be having this event every year and judging by the reactions I received I would certainly recommend that we do it annually. I would like to thank Mr Chris Higgins' class for their help today. Many of his students acted as greeters at the doors and helped parents put on their name tags and then assisted them with finding their child's classroom. Two of our students put together a video of a collage of people and events taking place around the school. They took pictures of almost every class and every staff member. Thanks to Kin and Helen for their excellent work and thanks to Mr Higgins for helping those girls.
It was a special day at Swansea for our Principal for the Day -- Isabel. Isabel and helper Elizabeth worked hard running the whole school today. They attended to band-aid emergencies, lunch attendance files and announcements of all kinds. They made a thoughtful decision about whether recess should be indoors or out and they even tried to work out a behavioural problem with a little help! This was a busy day for those two girls but lots of fun.

Staffing Model Approved!

Our Staffing Model for 2008-2009 has been approved and will be presented at the next Swansea School Council Meeting on Wednesday, April 23. We are currently working on our daily schedule, setting the start and end times for each school day, length of recesses and lunch breaks. I will communicate those plans to you as soon as they are ready.

Our High School Musical production is in its final phase. I hope everyone has had a chance to purchase their tickets. I know it will be an incredible performance. We have such extraordinarily talented students and thanks to their efforts, as well as those of Ms Pear and Mr Chauhan and some wonderful parents, I know the production will be the best ever. I'm looking forward to seeing you all there.

Very soon our teachers will be given their teaching assignments for 2008-2009 but the TDSB teacher transfer period begins at the end of April and will continue until the end of May. Transferring to a new school after a period of time is a very important part of a teacher's Professional Development. Teachers must have experience in a variety of different schools if they hope to advance in their careers. We wish all our teachers who are interested in a move this year the very best of luck.

Staffing for 2008-2009

The fine weather is now with us and those of us who work in elementary schools know that spring weather means staffing time!! This is the time of year when the TDSB informs each school of the number of teachers it has been allocated for the upcoming year and each school must create a Staffing Model that uses exactly that number of teachers. This can be a challenge! The Ministry requires that each class from Kindergarten to grade 3 must not exceed 20 students. Sometimes this can create many split grades, for example if a school has 30 children in grade 1, they certainly can't be housed in one class so, typically, we would create one class of 20 grade ones and another class of 10 grade ones and 10 grade twos. It becomes very complicated as we create all the grades and classes and then we must calculate the amount of rotary subjects( gym, music etc) for each class.
Our parents play a very important role in the creation of the staffing model. Every school is required to consult with parents as they work through various models. We receive input from the participating parents and they have the opportunity to ask questions and give suggestions. Last Monday, April 7, about 15 parents met with me and the Chair of the staffing committee, Anne Marie Klein, in the Library and together, we looked over a variety of staffing models and discussed the pros and cons of each one. We have selected a model which allows for small class sizes. Timetabling will pose a challenge but we will muddle through it. As soon as our model is approved by our Superintendent, Manon Gardner, I will post it on this blog. Enjoy the beautiful weather.

A New School Year 2007-2008

Even after so many years of being a teacher, Vice Principal and Principal, the beginning of a new school year still brings the same excitement and enthusiasm to me!! I am looking forward to a very rewarding year and I know that 2007-2008 will be the beginning of a new era at Swansea Public school. The most exciting news of all is the newly completed renovations in our basement which allow for 3 new classrooms! Anne Marie Klein, Mike Higgins and Chris Higgins are very excited about their new rooms. We thank the board personnel for their tireless construction work during the summer to make the new rooms ready for classes on September 4. We have very special thanks to give to our caretakers who worked very hard throughout the summer preparing all the classses for September, but we must especially thank them for all the extra work, above and beyond the usual expectations, that went into moving the furniture and supplies for all the classes that were moving locations. If you see a ceretaker, please take a moment to thank him for his hard work this summer. All the news about staff changes will be provided to parents in the first Thursday package on September 6.

I look forward to working will each and every one of you.

Springtime alert!

Parents need to be warned about the dangers of children playing in the off-leash area near Catfish Pond. It has come to my attention that the ground in that area is very soft because of the spring rains. Of course it is also very dangerous for children to be playing near Catfish Pond. The fencing which is currently in the area will soon be removed leaving the area free for children to roam and, if unsupervised, this could lead to some very tragic consequences.

For your information, I have heard that coyotes have been spotted once again in the areas adjacent to High Park. This is certainly another reason to keep your children well supervised in these areas.

During recess, no students are permitted in these areas since they are off school property. If students are part of the lunch program, they may not go there at lunch either. After school, there are many children who make their way home independently. Please take a moment to speak to your child about your expectations for their activities after school.