 Please note our first SAC meeting of the year will now take place on Thursday, January 16th, at 6:00pm at the school—not Thursday, January 9th, as originally planned. Please join us so we can warm up (metaphorically) with planning and brainstorming and quality discussions! Childcare will be available. We'll get the ball rolling on Spring Fling, among other things. Bring your ideas! You can see the meeting agenda here and you can add it to your calendar here. Hope to see you all on Thursday the 16th.  The School Advisory Council SAC) is putting together an event on January 23rd at 6pm for parents and guardians to talk about technology and kids. This event will be in person in the school library (second floor) with pizza dinner and childcare available. There will also be an option to attend virtually. We plan to cover topics like screen time, social media, internet dangers, and technology support—but we want to hear from you. Please click here to complete a 3 question survey to tell us what topics you want to talk about! Every year, the TDSB requires the school council and/or parent representatives of every school to complete a School Statement of Needs (SSON). This document is meant to outline the parent/community priorities for the school, which the superintendent will use to identify a principal, in the case that one needs to be appointed. It is an annual record of the main priorities of the parent community and the school board for that specific school. Dovercourt SAC has prepared a draft SSON for 2024/2025, building on previously identified priorities established for our school. You can see the draft SSON here, or download it below. If you have any concerns or suggestions, please let us know by emailing us at [email protected] no later than Wednesday, January 8th, 2024. We will be voting on whether to approve the SSON at our January SAC meeting, taking place January 9th at 6:00pm at the school. 
 This school year, our school community has faced significant challenges: a 20% reduction in our operating budget for supplies and a 20% increase in student enrollment as more families join our vibrant community. To help bridge this gap, and to align withthe School Improvement Plan, the Dovercourt School Advisory Council (SAC) has invited our teachers to create a wishlist of STEM and Art kits. These carefully selected materials, including magnetic tiles, art supplies, and other engaging tools, are designed to enrich learning by fostering creativity and critical thinking. Since these resources are beyond what our current budget allows, we are inviting you to directly support our students by purchasing items from this wishlist. Your contribution will provide students with engaging, hands-on learning experiences. If you prefer to purchase an item from a vendor other than Amazon, please email Sarah Weaver at [email protected] to ensure the item is marked as purchased. On behalf of the Dovercourt SAC, thank you for your generosity and dedication to our school community.  Dovercourt SAC is organizing a potluck of breakfast treats to show appreciation for Dovercourt Public School’s amazing staff on the morning of Friday, January 10th. If you’re able to contribute some nut-free goodies, please sign up below. Details:
Please note:
 Join us for the December SAC meeting, taking place this coming Wednesday, December 4th at 6:00pm in the staff room at the school. Childcare will be available. We'll be talking about fundraising, the school improvement plan, enrichment activities, and more. We'll also recap the recent Dance-a-Thon event. (Plus, there may be cookies.) We're also starting to plan the Spring Fling event. If you have some ideas—big or small—please come on out! You can see the agenda here, and add it to your calendar here. Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.  The TDSB is seeking parent and guardian feedback on the Personal Mobile Device Use in Schools draft policy. You can see the TDSB's draft policy here. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the use of peronal smartphones and tablets at school, please complete this short TDSB survey. The deadline to complete the survey is Tuesday, December 10, 2024.  Dust off your dancing shoes! The annual Dovercourt Dance-a-Thon fundraiser is coming up on Friday, November 22nd, 2024! The Dance-a-Thon is a fabulous way for our kids to shake it in the gym while raising funds for our school. Every class will take a turn busting moves to playlists by Dovercourt’s Student Council. This is a free activity—there is no cost to participate. That said, we are encouraging Dovercourt students to get involved by:
All money raised through our Dance-a-Thon will directly support activities at our school. We're fundraising to support:
Investments like these make our school more equitable and enriching for all students. We’re raising money to put kids first! How to donate: There are a few ways to donate to the Dance-a-Thon:
Schedule: Here's the working schedule for the day (subject to change):
How to volunteer: We need parent and guardian volunteers to help decorate, supervise, collect donations, and generally create the most fun environment as possible. Can you spare a few hours to help out? Dance-a-Thon flyer Please download the Dance-a-Thon flyer for full details, and/or if you need an additional pledge/donation sheet.  Our November SAC meeting will take place on Thursday, November 7th, at 6:00pm in the staff room at the school. Childcare will be available. We have a full agenda, which you can see here. We'll be talking about upcoming fundraising priorities, planning upcoming events, talking about enrichment activities, among other matters. We will also have a report from Principal Caitland Ellis, as always. SAC meetings are a great way to find out what's going on with the school, meet other parents and caregivers, and contribute to creating a stronger Dovercourt community. Why not come join us? An update from the Toronto Schools - Caregiver Coalition (TSCC), adapted from an email sent in October: We’re Asking the Minister of Education to #FundEveryPenny Dear parents and families; There are many wonderful things about our school community. Our teachers and staff work tirelessly to ensure a warm and nurturing environment in which our children can learn. Unfortunately, each year they have fewer resources and less support to work with. Since 2018, the amount of per student funding issued by the province has fallen by more than $1,500? Inadequate school funding and a corresponding lack of resources and staff are issues that affect children from families of every political stripe. Furthermore, lack of transparency, accountability, and sufficiency of the provincial funding formula is a problem that was flagged by the Ontario Auditor General in 2017, prior to the current administration. Accordingly, as a matter of non-partisan school advocacy, please consider asking the new Minister of Education Hon. Jill Dunlop to #FundEveryPenny needed to meet student needs. Minister Dunlop can be reached by email at [email protected], and [email protected] and your own Member of Provincial Parliament should also be copied. (Note: Dovercourt PS's MPP is Marit Stiles, and her email address is [email protected].) Or, you can use this form letter: https://win.newmode.net/fundeverypenny. This is the first action in a series of upcoming monthly, province-wide actions coordinated by the Toronto Schools Caregiver Coalition (TSCC), a grassroots organization led by parent volunteers. You can learn more about TSCC here: https://linktr.ee/torontosccoalition. |
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