News from the Office - June 2012

Message from Principal Gina Christakis

It has been an incredible year serving the Brown Public School Community.  I thank everyone for their ongoing support and commitment to our school.  A special thank you to Lisa Bernstein for her three year tenure as our School Council Chair. Her enthusiasm and goodwill served all of our families well.  We look forward to working together with our incoming executive.

Special thanks to all the organizing committees for all their dedication and hard work throughout the year. The parents in this community really help make this a stellar place.

I continue to be left speechless each time I attend one of my “firsts” here at Brown. From the Fall Fling to the Garden Fete and the many events and activities in between, this is certainly a great place to be. Our staff and students are truly wonderful!!!

Sonja and I have been working feverishly preparing for September 2012.  We were in a position to hire for a number of positions at our school for the upcoming year.  We are unable to announce the people we have hired at this time; however, we are happy to share our staffing models and our current teachers who will be teaching your children next year. Please see the staffing models listed below at http://brownschoolbulletin.blogspot.ca/2012/06/staffing-model-for-september-2012.html.

From the Office of G. Christakis and S. Litner

Farewell!

We say farewell to the following staff members who are leaving Brown Public School:

• Lia Venutolo - our Learning Centre Teacher is retiring.
• Justin Szilagyi - our Grade 5 English Teacher will be leaving our school
• Jonathan Ball - our Prep teacher in the AM will be leaving our school
• Barbara Bielskis - our Kindergarten PM Ed. Assistant will be leaving our school.

Leaves of Absence

• Geetha Padassery - our English Core and Learning Centre teacher will be off for the year.
• Anh Nguyen – our Gr. 2/3 French teacher will be on a leave of absence until September 2013. 
• Eryn Miller - Our Drama/ Dance teacher will be on maternity leave until January 2013

Each of these staff members has made a terrific contribution to the life of our school and will be missed.  We wish them every success in their new endeavours and thank them for all they have done for the students of Brown Public School.

The following staff members will continue with leaves of absences next year pursuing other activities:

• Anna Fischer Harrison
• Jessica Hirsch
• Samantha Diamond

We wish them success in their endeavours and look forward to their return to staff. 

Thank You to our Kiss’n Ride Volunteer Parents!

A special thank you goes to the Brown Public School Kiss’n Ride patrollers who worked so diligently on ensuring the safety of our students every morning on Poplar Plains Rd.

REMINDER: students are dropped off in the morning on Poplar Plains Road and not in the parking lot. The parking lot is for staff parking only.  We appreciate everyone’s cooperation as the safety of our students is always uppermost in our minds.

Happy Summer Holidays!

On behalf of all Brown Public School staff, Mrs. Litner and I extend our warmest thanks for all of your support throughout the year. We have appreciated the many ways in which you have become partners in the education of our children. We could not offer the programs and special events which we do without your assistance.  We look forward to another year of working together for the benefit of all of our children. 

Have a safe and relaxing summer. Nous vous souhaitons de très belles vacances !

Gina Christakis - Principal        Sonja Litner - Vice-Principal

News from the Office - October 2011

Principal's Message - From the Office of G. Christakis and S. Litner

Vice Principal Sonja Litner; Principal Gina Christakis

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Gina Christakis and I am proud to be the new Principal at Brown Junior P.S. 

Brown has had an incredible legacy of leadership and tradition and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve this community.  I thank everyone for their support and warm wishes in the last few weeks, particularly Jane Giuliani (our retired Principal) who graciously helped me transition to Brown. Words alone cannot express my gratitude to Jane, and Sonja Litner, our Vice–Principal for bringing me up to speed about this dynamic school and community.   I have enjoyed meeting many of the children in the last couple of weeks and plan to continue visiting their classrooms and sharing personal childhood stories with them. 

I grew up in this area. I attended Hillcrest P.S, Winona and Oakwood Collegiate.  I started my career as V.P at Hodgson Senior P.S., followed by John English Junior Middle School, Kent Senior/Alpha II Senior and Secondary, and Lord Lansdowne Junior and Senior P.S. My experiences have been diverse and challenging at times; however, I have worked with incredible staff and will continue to inspire, encourage and support my team to keep pace and help all of our children learn and succeed. 

Happy October!

Our school year is well underway and we look forward to the many events planned throughout the beautiful month of October.

Primary/Junior Grade Re-organization

We were able to obtain a 0.5 Drama teacher thanks to our healthy current enrolment. We will be welcoming Eryn Miller as our Primary and Junior Drama teacher on Tuesday October 11, 2011. Eryn will be with our students during the afternoons. We look forward to our students growing and developing themselves through movement, building on their personal strengths and developing their communication and theatre skills.

First Term Progress Report Card Information

First term report cards will be sent home to you on Monday November 14.  The JK students will not  receive a Progress Report; however, will have a Parent/Teacher conference scheduled on or near the time of the Parent/Teacher Conference dates scheduled on Wednesday, November 16, 3:45 to 8:00 PM. and Friday, November 18,   9:00 AM -12:00 PM.  More info to follow regarding scheduling conferences.

Student Emergency Forms

Requests for updates to emergency information were sent home recently. Thank you to all parents and guardians who have returned these forms with all pertinent information included.  If you have not returned them, please do so as soon as possible.

IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT WE HAVE AN UP-TO-DATE TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR YOUR HOME, WORK, DAYTIME CARE PROVIDER, DAYCARE OR FAMILY MEMBER.  AN EMERGENCY CONTACT MUST BE INCLUDED.

Safe Arrival Program

The Safe Arrival program is used by parents/guardians and schools to account for any student’s unexplained failure to arrive at school.  Please call the school safe arrival number 416-393-1557 before 8:55 AM or 12:30 PM (for an afternoon absence) if your child will not be attending school or plans to be late.  This line is available 24 hours a day with voice mail.  If your child is absent and we have not heard from you, we will make every effort to contact you using the information provided on the Emergency Form.  The name and telephone number of an emergency contact is absolutely essential.

Yard Supervision

Yard Supervision for Grades JK to 6 begins at 8:35 a.m. and ends at 3:45 p.m. Afternoon Kindergarten supervision begins at 12:45 p.m.

Parents are responsible for their children’s safety and conduct in the yard before and after these times.

Visitor Sign-in Book

Visitors are requested to sign in at the Main Office and wear a ‘visitor sticker’. This is a safety measure to ensure that visiting adult are recognized and encouraged to feel welcome in our school. Thank you!

Kiss n’ Ride

Do not use the Avenue Road driveway as this is the school bus pickup and dropoff area for our students. Please pickup and drop off your children at the Kiss N’ Ride designated area on Poplar Plains.

QSP Magazine Drive

The QSP Magazine Campaign has wrapped up, but all families can take out or renew subscriptions at any time! The sales from these magazines support events for our Grade 6 students.

• Order online at http://www.qsp.ca/; your order will be processed immediately.
• Our group number for Internet orders is 9143

Thank you for attending Curriculum Night!

It was a full house at Brown Junior Public School on September 23rd with many parents, students and relatives visiting the classrooms and meeting our teachers.  We were delighted to share with you all of the wonderful programs and activities which are offered at Brown.  If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or us in the office.

Annual Parent Breakfast

On September 28th our School Council hosted the Annual Parent Breakfast.  Thank-You to our Chair, Lisa Bernstein and the incredible Brown community parents for organizing such a wonderful event.  We hope that many new parents will volunteer and get involved in the life of the school by supporting and helping with the many events and activities that make Brown an incredible place for our children and community.

Happy Thanksgiving

Monday, October 10 was Thanksgiving Day. Thanks to all for contributing to our food drive. Every single one of us can help make a difference for those in need.

Happy Hallowe’en!

Please join us for our Hallowe’en Parade on October 31^st at approximately 9:30 AM.  Children are invited to wear their costumes to school that morning.  (Afternoon Kindergarten students will dress up in the PM.)  Students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 will parade in the school yard area.  Dress up and come along if you can.

Hallowe’en safety is important.  Our public health nurse sends along a few tips to make the evening enjoyable and safe:

·         Go out with an adult.

·         Wear light coloured, fire resistant costumes.

·         Wear costumes short enough to prevent tripping.

·         Apply makeup instead of a mask.

·         Have an adult check treats before they are eaten.

·         Have Fun!

News From the Office - June 2011

Principal's Message - L. Shafransky

“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.” – Celia Thaxter

June is here, and it is amazing how fast the year has gone by! Students should be very proud of their academic achievements, and what they have done in their sports, performing arts, and other extra-curricular involvement as well. With our Character Education program, many students have set and reached their personal goals, and were recognized in our monthly assemblies.

As your proud principal, having finished my first year at Brown, I would like to share how grateful I am for everyone’s contribution to making year “one hundred and one” a success! Thank you to teaching and support staff, who have worked so hard to ensure students’ success. Thank you to all the coaches, club, and performing arts supervisors who provided enriching experiences for our students beyond the classroom. Thanks also to our great office and caretaking staff, for all their hard work in helping the school run so effectively.

A special thank you goes to Lisa Bernstein, our school council chair, and the Parent Council for their positive approach and tireless commitment to our school community. Thanks also to the class parents and parent volunteers, who contributed countless hours to make such things as the lunch program, Kiss n’ Ride, Safe Arrival, Eco Schools and Outreach, our monthly newsletter and school website, Fall Fling and Garden Fête a success.

It is our students, your children, who make all we do so worthwhile. I am excited about what we can do together next year, and would like to wish everyone a happy and safe summer break! - Principal L. Shafransky

Staff News

We would like to wish Louise Dumont (21 years) and Asher Wittenberg (8 years) well as they move on to new teaching assignments at new schools next year.  Both have dedicated themselves to Brown students over time, and we thank them for their years of service. Having both been at Brown for many years, they will certainly be missed among staff, students and community. 

We also say goodbye to Ms Hirsch and Mlle Fischer- Harrison, who will be on a one year leave of absence next year to pursue personal, professional and academic interests.

We’d also like to extend a thank you for the service of Mlle Ticoll and Ms Wu, who were on Long Term Occasional contracts with our school.

Finally, we say goodbye and “thank you” to Lorie Wolf, who was a part time support teacher to our junior grades this year, and John Goodwin, one of our wonderful caretakers.

We’d like to welcome several people to Brown next year:

Welcome back Mme Blanchard and Ms Foord who are returning from their maternity leaves.  We also would like to welcome back Mme MacQuarrie (formerly Danisch) from Williamson Road PS, who will be teaching our French Immersion kindergarten next year. 

We welcome Anh Nguyen, also from Williamson Road PS, who will be teaching Grade 2/3 French Immersion.  Justin Szilagyi, from Arlington Middle School, will be teaching Grade 5 English, and Jonathan Ball (from Clinton PS) will be teaching a combination of core English, media literacy and music as a prep teacher next year. 

Looking Ahead to September 2011

Our bell rings at 8:50 a.m. All staff will be in the playground on the first day of school with signs indicating their name and room number. The children will be escorted into the school. Please remember that student supervision in the yard does not begin until 8:35 a.m., so please do not leave your child in the playground until supervision begins. Students should be picked up in the playground at 3:30 pm at the end of the school day.

Senior Kindergarten parents: Please see “Frequently asked Questions About Starting Grade One” tip sheet at http://www.brownschool.ca/ for answers to many of the questions you may have about preparing for September.