SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

Our next School Council meeting is on Tuesday April 25th, 2017 beginning at 6:00pm. All parents/caregivers are welcome to attend (babysitting and pizza available for children).

HURON MONTHLY EARTH HOUR

Our Earth Hour for April will be on Friday April 28th from 2:20-3:20pm. Our monthly Earth Hours are one of the many important initiatives that our school community has committed to as part of being a Platinum Eco-School! For one hour (from 2:20-3:20pm), on the last Friday of every month, we turn off as many lights as safely possible and we turn off/power down as many electronics as we can. This is a time when we focus on what we can do to reduce our energy consumption.

MUSIC MONDAY

Music Monday is an annual event that brings together thousands of students, musicians, parents and community members across the country to celebrate the gift of music and music education in our lives, on the same day at the same time. The Coalition for Music Education launched Music Monday in 2005, and commissions a new song for the event every 2nd year. This year, Sing It Together (written by Marc Jordan & Ian Thomas) takes over as the official song. Both musicians have had careers in the music business spanning the better part of 40 years. Here is a link for you to find and watch the video: https://youtu.be/G-pX6r7pnKQ
Here, you can find the sheet music & lyrics for the song: http://huronmusic.wikispaces.com/Music+Monday
Always on the first Monday of May, this year the event will happen on Monday May 1st, 2017. The magic of the event is that at the same point during that day; that is, at 10 am Pacific time, 11 am Mountain time, 12 pm Central time, 1 pm Eastern time, 2 pm Atlantic time, and 2:30 in Newfoundland, schools right across the country are united by one piece of music. Across the country and around the world our goal continues to be “Fill the Skies with Music.” Hence we encourage you to take your music to the fields and to the streets on this wondrous occasion EVERY YEAR! The idea is that if one were to open the front door of his or her home and stand on the street on the first Monday in May, one would hear music and the skies would be filled with melody. We would like to encourage all parents/caregivers to join us for our Music Monday celebration, at 1:00pm, on Monday May 1st. Fingers crossed for good weather as we hope to hold our celebration outside in the basketball court area (bad weather and we’ll be in the gym). Please plan to join us if you are available – and help us sing this year’s Music Monday anthem.

A GUIDED CONVERSATION about EQUITY

Everyone is invited to join us on Wednesday May 3rd, at 6:30pm (there will be babysitting for children) for a Guided Conversation about Equity. Parents/Caregivers are invited to meet with Central Staff from LC4 to engage in an open conversation about equity policies and practices in the TDSB. Parents/Caregivers will examine case studies and identify issues and themes students experience within schools and recommend solutions. We will then examine how these situations and solutions connect to TDSB Equity and Human Rights policies. Light refreshments will be served – if you are interested in attending please call the school at 416-393-1570 in advance so we have an idea of numbers.

TRACK and FIELD

Don’t forget about Track and Field practices contining this week. Depending on the events, practices may be happening before school, during a recess, at lunchtime, or after school. A schedule of all practices for the week is posted on the window of the Main Office – and if your daughter/son is a Track and Field athlete they have been told when all practices are occuring. Please encourage them to be responsible and attend practices as scheduled. Our first Track and Field meet for all Grade 4, 5 and 6 athletes is on Wed. May 10th, 2017 at Birchmount Stadium.

SPRING CONCERTS

Make sure you mark your calendars for our upcoming Spring Concerts. Our Kindergarten Spring Concert is on Thursday May 18th, 2017 beginning at 6:00pm and our Grade 1-6 Spring Concert is on Thursday June 1st, 2017, also beginning at 6:00pm.

LOST AND FOUND

Please remember to check the Lost and Found structure in the front foyer of the school regularly and take home things that belong to you. There’s a very lovely collection of items, all of which belong to someone.

TRACK AND FIELD PRACTICES

It’s that time of year again, when Track and Field practices have started for all interested students in Grades 4, 5 and 6. Because there are so many Track and Field events, with practices happening at so many different times each day – these practices are not listed in Huron Happenings otherwise it would become a very lengthy document. Students involved in any Track and Field event have received information about when their event will be practicing. Additional, there is a schedule of all practices for the week (April 18-21) posted on the window by the Office (and this will be updated each week), and all Grade 4, 5 and 6 teachers also have this schedule in their classrooms. Announcements will also be made in the mornings about upcoming practices. If your son/daughter is a Track and Field athlete encourage them to be independent and responsible about knowing when they have practices. And you can mark your calendars for Wednesday May 10th at Birchmount Stadium – this is the first Track and Field event when Huron usually has about 50+ athletes competing.

CITY OF TORONTO – SCHOOL CLEAN-UP DAY

All classes at Huron, Kindergarten to Grade 6, will be participating in the City of Toronto’s “School Clean-Up Day” on Friday April 21st, 2017. This is an annual event, held just in advance of Earth Day which is April 22nd, 2017. Everyone at Huron will be involved in helping to clean-up our school grounds and some areas in the local community. Every class has an assigned area, and each class will spend some time on Friday cleaning up that area. Your child’s teacher will be able to tell you more about their specific area and time they will be doing the cleaning – and all parents/caregivers are very welcome to come and help. This is a wonderful opportunity for adults and our children and youth to work together on reinforcing the importance of caring for our environment.

SCHOOL COUNCIL MEETING

A reminder to all parents and caregivers in our Huron community that everyone is welcome to attend our School Council meetings – and the next one is scheduled for Tuesday April 25th at 6:00pm.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS IN ADVANCE

Please always remember to look ahead at the section entitled “Future Dates for your Calendar” and mark your calendars as needed. A few dates to draw to your attention at this time: Monday May 1st is Music Monday and Ms. Hanson is busy planning the celebration that Huron will have to acknowledge the importance of music and music education. For more information about Music Monday please check out: http://www.musicmonday.ca and you can also practice the Music Monday anthem Sing It Together which we will all be singing that day. All parents/caregivers are invited to join in our celebration that day – specific time to be announced soon. Our annual Spring Concerts are coming up! If you have a child in KINDERGARTEN, please mark Thursday May 18th, 2017 on your calendar. If you have a child in GRADE 1-6, please mark Thursday June 1st on your calendar. Both concerts will start at 6:00pm. Our panoramic school photos are going to be taking on Monday June 5th, 2017 in the afternoon. We want as many students as possible to be present for the photos that afternoon (there are no retakes) so please try not to schedule dentist or doctor’s appointments that afternoon.

LOST AND FOUND

Please remember to check our Lost and Found structure in the front foyer regularly and take home items that belong to you. It’s quite amazing how much stuff has accumulated even since March Break – so please keep checking and claiming.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PINK

April 12th, 2017 marks the International Day of Pink. It is a day where communities across the country, and across the world, can unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness to stop homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, and all forms of bullying. Each year on the second Wednesday of April, millions of people wear pink and take a stand. The Day of Pink is a symbol, a spark, that empowers and inspires youth across Canada to create amazing social change!
For more information check out: http://www.dayofpink.org and all Huron students are encouraged to wear something pink to school on Wednesday.

LONG WEEKEND NEXT WEEKEND

A reminder to everyone that the school will be closed on Friday April 14th and Monday April 17th. We would like to wish all families in our Huron Community who are celebrating Passover and/or Easter a very happy holiday!

Dear Parents/Caregivers:

A reminder that April is Census month in the TDSB and your voice counts.

All Huron parents/caregivers (Kindergarten to Grade 6) will receive a copy of the Parent Census and we encourage everyone to complete the census and return it to the school.
The deadline to have all census forms returned to the school is Friday April 21st, 2017.

Some students may have brought home this census form yesterday (on Friday) – if not your son/daughter will be bringing it home early next week so please look for it.

In addition, students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 will also be completing the TDSB Student Census. Attached please find again a copy of the letter you have already received – specifically for parents/caregivers with children in Grades 4, 5 and 6. All Grade 4, 5 and 6 students have already taken home a hard copy of the attached letter – if needed, additional copies are available at the school office.

For more information about the TDSB Census please go to their website: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/census

PROLOGUE PERFORMANCE FOR KINDERGARTENS

A special Prologue for the Performing Arts performance is happening on Monday morning at 9:15am, for our Kindergarten students. Parents/caregivers, if you are available on Monday morning please come and join us.

SIGHT AND SOUND CLINIC

The Sight and Sound Clinic (vision and hearing screening) clinic will be here at Huron on Tuesday April 4th, 2017. They will be screening the vision and hearing of students who registered.

PIZZA LUNCH

Our April Pizza Lunch is on Wednesday April 5th! As always, if there are any extra pizza slices they will be sold for $2.00 a slice, but please also make sure your child also has an adequate lunch that day as we don’t always have enough extra slices to meet demand.

DENTAL SCREENING

Toronto Public Health’s dental screening team will be here at Huron starting on Thursday April 6th and they will be here until Tuesday April 11th. You will receive one last reminder about this dental screening in a separate email.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PINK

Looking ahead in your calendars, don’t forget that Wed. April 12th is International Day of Pink, the day when communities across the country, and across the world, unite in celebrating diversity and raising awareness to stop homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny and all forms of bullying. Don’t forget to wear something pink on April 12th!