Meeting Summary from October 5
Thank you to all who attended our first School Council meeting of the year on October 5th. We heard from Principal Parravano, who updated us on what’s happening at the school; we gave a brief overview of what the Home & School Association / School Council does, and discussed fundraising at Withrow. In addition, we held elections for both co-chair and secretary for the 2016/17 school year. We’d like to extend a warm welcome – and a big thank you! – to Lisa Rolland and Carol Keizer for volunteering to fill these important positions.
Click here to read the full meeting minutes. Our next meeting will take place on December 8th. (UPDATE: meeting has been changed to November 30th)
Parent Speaker Night – Thursday, November 3
Our first 2016 “Withrow Parent Speaker Series” is coming up on Thursday November 3rd, 7- 9 PM in the Music Room at Withrow.
Our speakers for the evening are Dr. Du La and Dr. Jonah Lusis of the Toronto Centre for Naturopathic Medicine. Both Du and Jonah are naturopathic doctors and Withrow parents. They will be speaking on “How to incorporate a naturopathic lifestyle into your home to maintain good health, optimize academic success and have harmony at home”. The main focus of the evening will be diet and how to practically prepare healthy meals for our kids. We will discuss how this affects, sleep, activity and stress management. We will also discuss whether kids need supplements and be available to answer any questions. Childcare will be provided.
Field Update
Our field work is almost complete, and it’s looking really good out there! The fencing around the grass will remain until the spring (approximately three weeks after the thaw). This will be done annually to protect the grass and ensure it has every opportunity to thrive. Tree planting is set to happen in the next few weeks, and the lines will be painted on the new track in the spring.
COBS Bread Fundraiser Update
Thank you to COBS Bread for their generous donation; we raised an unbelievable $2400! The first round of cards was distributed October 21st. If you paid after October 20th, your card(s) will be distributed to you this week.
Many thanks to Fiona Boylan, owner of the COBS Bread at 156 Danforth Avenue, for providing us with such an amazing fundraising opportunity! We are fortunate to have such wonderful support from local businesses like this one.
Coat Drive
M. Cronin’s class is running a coat drive to support New Circle. New Circle Community Services is a not-for-profit, grass-roots agency that builds strong and caring communities by providing basic necessities to those living in poverty. The coat drive will probably wrap early this week – so keep the coats coming. Men’s and boys are particularly needed. The drop bin is outside the office. Coats should be in good condition.
Community News
Many of you already know about the amazing Riverdale Halloween Show that takes place every Halloween night in our neighbourhood, at the intersection of Langley and Howland. For those who don’t, this musical extravaganza is organized by – and populated with – many talented Withrow parents and their kids. Take a peek at their Facebook page for more info. This year’s production is titled ‘Ghost in the Machine: How Technology stole our Halloween’. It’s a musical comedy about how tech issues plagued last year’s show and how adversity was overcome. You don’t want to miss it. Show times are set at 7:30pm, 8pm and 8:30pm.
withrowparentcouncil.com 