We have some exciting news to share!  We are holding our annual Dance-a-thon this coming Tuesday March 3rd!!

Just a reminder, this is a really fun event, where the kids come to the gym with their classes and take turns having a dance party in the gym.  It’s great exercise, supports both our Daily Physical Activity and Physical Education programs… and the kids love it!  We need parent volunteers to make this event work!  We are working on finalizing the schedule and we will send it out ASAP.

Our goal is for every child to raise $40 (or more if possible!) so if you can, have your kids make some calls to grandparents, aunts and uncles this weekend to see if they will sponsor them!  The money raised is going towards making some amazing improvements to our school yard.

MAKING A DONATION IS SUPER EASY:

Donations made online are the most efficient way for you to get a tax receipt and for the students to meet their fundraising goals, as there are zero processing fees!

Please share these instructions with grandparents, distant relations and other potential supporters: everyone can use the TDSB’s payment portal.

To make a donation, follow these instructions:

1. Log into TDSB School Cash Online (new users can create their own account)
2. Select “Make a Donation”
3. Select the amount you wish to donate
4. Make sure to select the Fund Destination as “Howard Jr PS Dance-a-Thon” from the drop down list – otherwise funds will not be directed to our school
5. Complete the page and a tax receipt will be automatically issued to you via email.
6. You can also send a cheque to Howard Jr. Public School, and put DANCE-A-THON in the memo, or you can send cash in the pledge envelope that came home a couple weeks ago if you still have it!

Kids can also make song requests on the Professor Jamz website!  Please have them do this so we don’t listen to Baby Shark on repeat! https://www.professorjamz.com/music

A reminder that February’s Parent Council meeting will take place TOMORROW, February 19, at 7pm, in the school library.

Here’s the February 2020 Meeting Agenda, and the January 2020 Meeting Minutes.

Thank you for your hard work and passion for all things Howard!

Hello Howard Families,

Apologies that the previous post went out in error. We are still very much looking forward to holding the Dance-a-Thon this year but the date is now being rescheduled.

Please stay tuned and we regret any confusion.

Hello Howard Community,

The playground committee is in search of your photos and videos of the Howard outdoor space: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Help us document the true value of the Howard space by sharing photos and videos of you and your family using it.

• We need photos and video that show how wonderful experiencing the space can be. Have you captured any joyful moments of kids laughing, grandparents smiling, etc?

• We equally need documentation of worn out and broken equipment, mud pits and pine needle mountains. The school yard has four seasons of shame that we could show. We all know this revitalization is essential: help us make our case.

• Similarly, we know there has been more than a fair share of broken arms, fractured legs and other hospital-worthy injuries, and these images can be potent. Please share yours with us.

How you can help:

• Email photos and video to howardplayground@gmail.com

• If the files are too big to send via email, please put them into a Google Drive folder and share the folder with howardplayground@gmail.com

• If you aren’t a Google Drive person, please put your photos and/or video onto a USB thumb drive and give it to one of the Engagement Committee members (Samantha Rupert, Lee Greenberg, Joe Rafuse, Crystal Rickard, Sima Gandhi or Debbie Croft)

How your photos and videos may be used:

• On the school yard website howardschoolyard.ca

• Within an email to the Howard community

• On the school yard campaign’s Facebook page

• In a tweet or Instagram message

• On a printed poster given to local businesses

• On a printed postcard distributed to homes in our school zone

***Please keep in mind that by sharing your photos with the school yard campaign, you are giving us permission to share them on these channels.***

If you have any questions, concerns, suggestions or words of encouragement, please contact howardplayground@gmail.com or any of the committee members.

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Samantha, Lee, Joe, Crystal, Sima, Debbie and all the other volunteers

We are excited to give our community an update on the Howard Yard project.

Planning is underway with the TDSB and the landscape architects to finalize the MASTER PLAN for the yard.  Just to remind everyone, the TDSB has identified the field at Howard as one of the worst in the city. The TDSB has committed to funding the replacement of the existing field with turf. This gives Howard a ONCE IN A GENERATION OPPORTUNITY to make some amazing improvements in the yard by fundraising, because all of the construction equipment will be onsite. The TDSB and landscape architects are making a plan based on consultations done last spring with parents, students, and teachers.  Some of the exciting plans include revitalizing the basketball courts to include more basketball nets and make it a multi-sport court, more seating, areas for imaginative play, and a renewed outdoor classroom.

How much we accomplish of this plan just depends on how much money we can raise! We will be approaching local businesses, local corporations, and having some great community events like the ever popular SPRING SOCIAL.

Our next fundraising event is the great Howard tradition — the DANCE-A-THON! This is such a fun day for the kids, where every single class gets a chance during the day on February 21st to come and dance in the gym, which is transformed into a super fun disco-gym!  The kids had a pep rally last week, and pledge packages are on the way. Our fundraising goal is for each child to try to raise $40 — or more if they can! We will follow up later this week with more details!

Couldn’t make the meeting but want to know about:

EQAO
Schoolyard revitalization project
Labour action updates
The Howard Musical
and more???

January 2020 Meeting Minutes are linked here, for all the info.

A special reminder that we are looking for Fall Fete 2020 Chairs. Your Fete needs YOU!

See you all at the next meeting, February 19, at 7pm, in the school library.