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We know there are a lot of asks in December from work, school and sports teams. The following is a list of fundraising activities going on at Earl Beatty during the month of December so you and your family can plan how you would like to give of your time and money this holiday season.

Be a Santa to a Senior (cash and in-kind donations) Deadline:  Thursday, December 5

Hosted by teachers and staff, each classroom will be given a senior in the GTA who they can support with in-kind donations such as socks and chocolates, or with cash donations which the teacher will use to purchase items on that senior’s wish list. For a list of items, please ask your child’s teacher. For more information visit: https://www.beasantatoasenior.com/

YWOTM Donation Box (cash and in-kind donations) Deadline: Friday, December 6

Hosted by Young Women on the Move (an Earl Beatty student committee), donations will be accepted for local women and children’s shelters in the GTA. New items such as toys, baby items, clothing and food are all welcomed.

Bake Sale (Cash and volunteer bakers) Deadline: Wednesday, December 11 Moved to January 16

Hosted by Student Council, the bake sale will raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to donate nut-free baked goods and each student is encouraged to bring a toonie to buy treats.

Dance-a-thon (asking for cash donations) Deadline: Thursday, December 19

Hosted by EBSAC, the dance-a-thon is an annual fundraiser in support of classroom improvements. Kids will dance away in the gymnasium on Dec 19 with the goal of raising $5,600 ($200 for each classroom) to spend on academic achievement. In the past these funds have paid for things such as Scientist in School, art supplies, STEM equipment and field trips. All funds raised beyond $5,600 will be anonymously donated to a local school in our district who does not have the capacity to fundraise at the same level as Earl Beatty.

Giving Tree (in-kind donation) Deadline: Thursday, December 19

The Giving Tree has been set up in the office and anyone is encouraged to bring in new socks, underwear, hats and mitts for donation to a local shelter.

Holiday in the ‘Hood, our annual winter artisan and bake sale, is this Saturday, November 30 from 10:00 to 3:00. Please join us for an indoor artisan market, bake sale (with pizza and samosas) and a kids-only craft sale. Santa will even be stopping by to take photos. All are welcome!

Read Earl Beatty’s full EQAO School Report

Beginning in 1996, Ontario students in grades 3 and 6 have written in-class tests designed by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO), an arm’s-length agency of the provincial government. Testing takes place every Fall and includes literacy and mathematics.

EQAO testing is mandatory. Ontario’s Education Quality and Accountability Act states that all students in publicly funded schools must participate in these tests. Students don’t need to study—they are simply asked to demonstrate what they already know.

The purpose of EQAO tests is to ensure that there is accountability between school boards and schools in the publicly funded system in Ontario. Educational accountability is important to three key stakeholders: taxpayers, elected officials and teachers.

The grades 3 and 6 tests do not count as part of a student’s mark and do not affect their progress or future opportunities in school.

Earl Beatty’s EQAO Results

Earl Beatty had 57 French immersion and English students in grade 3 write the grade 3 EQAO math assessment. They scored above Board and provincial results. The grade 3 reading and writing was only written by the 23 English students who again scored above Board and provincial results.

Earl Beatty only had 10 English students do the grade 6 EQAO testing. The EB administration has said that they feel that the sample is so small that the data is meaningless.

One of the foci Earl Beatty has around achievement is working on further developing their math programs. They have had professional development around instruction and assessment. Earl Beatty is closely monitoring student success and are proud of how well our students have done.

Visit the EQAO website for Earl Beatty’s full EQAO School Report .

Every Fall EBSAC asks the Earl Beatty community to fill out a survey that will inform our fundraising and project efforts for the following school year. This year, the survey was open from October 15-28, 2019. The survey link was sent to families via our EBSAC email subscriber list, through Earl Beatty’s Friday Flash email and was advertised on our Facebook page and website earlbeatty.ca.

We asked respondents a total of 16 questions on a variety of topics, including what subject areas they would like ideas for supporting their children at home (e.g. math), how they would like to receive support (e.g. newsletter) and what we should focus our fundraising efforts on (e.g. digital fluency skills). The survey took approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Executive Summary

• 125 survey responses were received from Earl Beatty parents representing approximately 170 students
• Responses roughly corresponded to the distribution of students in the school population (JK/SK: 51 responses; grades 1-3: 74 responses; grades 4-6: 43 responses; grades 7-8: 4 responses)

Feedback about EBSAC Meetings

• Only a minority of parents attend EBSAC meetings on a regular basis: The majority of respondents have never attended or rarely attend EBSAC meetings (75%)
• Families suggested strategies to improve accessibility of meetings, which are currently being developed/implemented:
  • Improving access to and turn-around time of Meeting Agendas and Minutes
  • Alternating weeknights for meetings
  • Livestreaming meetings
  • Providing free childcare, dinner (typically pizza), and healthy snacks (e.g. fruit)

• Families identified specific topics for discussion at EBSAC meetings, including:
  • Current and upcoming school events and activities (e.g. drills, policies, fun Fridays)
  • Facilities and infrastructure updates (e.g. renovations and maintenance)
  • Future planning for Earl Beatty (e.g. teaching and administration staff goals)
  • Curriculum and teaching strategies
  • Safety
  • Supporting less fortunate schools      

Feedback about Educational Opportunities for Families

• Families would prefer to receive education about supporting their children through Workshops and an EBSAC Newsletter
• Families would prefer educational workshops to be held Monday to Thursdays evenings
• Families identified specific topics for educational opportunities, including:
  • Ideas for supporting reading, writing and mathematics
  • Well-being, staying connected to your children and digital safety
  • Families’ lowest priorities for education opportunities are in performing and visual arts, and physical education

Feedback about Fundraising

• Fundraising priorities matched families’ priorities for educational opportunities (i.e. math and literacy)
• Families identified other key fundraising priorities, including:
  • Capital improvements of outdoor space and library
  • Supporting teacher projects and activities
  • Field trips
  • Community building: Fostering a sense of belonging and safety among student population

Parent-Teacher Interview Tips
Earl Beatty parent-teacher interviews take place this year on November 14 and 15. Your child’s teacher has or will be in touch regarding available times. The TDSB has prepared a Successful Parent-Teacher Interviews tip sheet to assist parents in getting the most out of the interview process.

TDSB’s Parent Involvement Advisory Committee (PIAC) is holding a school council conference on Saturday, November 16. 
School council members and families are invited to join the Parent Involvement Advisory Committee for a day of knowledge exchange, council capacity building and networking. This event is free for all TDSB parents. Visit the TDSB site for workshop descriptions  and to register. As of yesterday, there were about 50 spots left for parent registrants. If you’d like to attend and be a part of a “TTC caravan” travelling together, email ebsacinfo@gmail.com.

Consultation – Secondary Program Review and Optional Attendance Policy
The TDSB is undertaking a review of secondary schools to ensure all students have equitable access to programs and opportunities, as close to home as possible. As part of this review, the Board is also reviewing the Optional Attendance Policy (P013), which allows students to apply to schools other than their designated school by home address. A public consultation process for both will begin this month. For more information, including public meeting dates and ways to provide feedback, please visit the TDSB webpage for Secondary Program Review.

Early French Immersion Parent/Guardian Information Sessions 
This year, there will be two virtual (online webchat) information sessions for parents/guardians interested in the Early French Immersion (SK entry) application process. For more information on dates/times for each virtual online webchat session, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/French website or click on Early French Information Sessions.

Holiday in the ‘Hood, our annual winter artisan and bake sale, will be on Saturday, November 30 from 10:00 to 3:00 in the Earl Beatty lunchroom (in the basement).

If you can bake some goodies ahead of time or would like to volunteer for a portion of the day, please email holidayinthehood@gmail.com.

Students will be showing off their costumes during the annual Halloween Parade in the gym on October 31 at 12:30 p.m. Parents are encouraged to join the parade in costume with their kids! Enter the school and head straight to the gym. We hope you can come join the spooky fun.

Please join EBSAC in the Earl Beatty library for our meeting on Monday, October 28th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. We provide free childcare, pizza and snacks. Everyone is welcome!

Attending EBSAC meetings is a great way to stay updated and engaged in school happenings, meet Principal Karailiadis and Vice-Principal Pusey, and get to know other EB parents. We’ve published our meeting dates for the rest of the school year so you can plan ahead.

The library is located on the first floor at the south-end of the building. You can enter the school through the doors on Wolverleigh Blvd., go up the stairs and the library is on your right.

AGENDA
* Welcome and introductions (10 mins)
* Approval of minutes (2 mins)
* Report from the principal and vice-principal (38 mins) (A review of what’s new at the school and a discussion of how Earl Beatty works to prevent bullying)
* Report from the treasurer (5 mins)
* EBSAC’s projected spending for this school year
* Communications team update (5 mins)
* Update on EBSAC outreach (5 mins)
* A look at preliminary results of our survey of Earl Beatty parents
* Earl Beatty Community Centre update (10 mins)
* New business (20 mins)
* An open forum for you to raise other issues

We encourage parents to send Principal Karailiadis other questions or discussion topics ahead of the meeting.

We want your feedback! Please take 10-15 minutes to complete this survey before October 27.

Parent feedback helps us serve your children better. The survey results will guide our decisions, and inform our fundraising efforts and spending throughout the 2019-20 school year.

Thanks for your participation!

EBSAC is passing along the following information on behalf of Earl Beatty’s teacher committee.

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JOIN THE EARL BEATTY WALK-IN

ON OCTOBER 10TH

AT 8:15 AM

on the sidewalk beside the yard fence

 

We are asking teachers, education workers, parents, and supporters to come together on October 10th in a joint, public call on this government to reverse the education cuts and fund the schools our students deserve.

 

Please feel free to make your own signs.

 

Please join us as we sign posters in support, engage in conversation and demonstrate solidarity!  Teachers will enter the school at the bell.  They will Walk-In together as a demonstration of solidarity.

 

Our Demands on October 10th

• Reverse the cuts to education – the cuts that have already happened and those planned for the future
• No elimination of education worker jobs

• A fully-funded public education system that includes low class size caps from Kindergarten to Grade 12, excellent needs-based supports and resources, no mandatory e-learning, and well-maintained buildings

• Funding that provides equitable enrichment opportunities across the system and reduces the burden on school-based fundraising

• An inclusive curriculum and respect for the diversity of our students and educators

• Commitment to preserve the current Full-Day Kindergarten program model