John Wanless Junior Public School

Upcoming Events

Dec 6th- City Carol Sing- Choir performing
Dec 8th- Day 1
Dec 8th- Boys' Volleyball quarter-final
Dec 8th- Last week for after-4 programs with the exception of any scheduled make-up sessions
Dec 8th- Full concert rehearsal
Dec 9th- Pizza Lunch 
Dec 9th- Primary concert at 6pm
Dec 10th- Junior Concert at 6pm
Dec 11th- Girls' Basketball North Conference Playoffs

Dec 19th- Last day for Students 

The past week saw our musicians go through their final rehearsals in advance of the coming holiday concerts next week. House Leagues continued and our girls' basketball team also hosted their first series of games on Wednesday morning. The team played remarkably well as a unit and won both their games. As  a result of this performance, they are moving on to the North Conference playoffs. On Thursday, after the province released the EQAO results, we sent individual Grade 3 results home to every student currently in Grade 4. We also sent last year's Grade 6 results to the schools where our former students now attend. Today during the World Cup Draw, our staff  are the beneficiaries of the Staff Appreciation lunch sponsored by our School Advisory Council- many thanks to all parents who have contributed. Tomorrow, our singers will be participating in the City Carol Sing.

The coming week will start with a full concert rehearsal on Monday afternoon. All parents are reminded that the Primary Concert will take place Tuesday evening while the Junior Concert will be held on Wednesday. Next week will also see our After-4 programs coming to an end with the exception of any make-up classes scheduled for the week after. On the athletic scene, our boys' volleyball team will be participating in their first playoff match on Monday. Our Girls' basketball team will also play on Thursday in the North Conference playoffs. We wish both teams best of luck!

Reminder to Parents and Caregivers about the Front Foyer & Childcare Entrance
Early in the week, communication was sent out by the John Wanless Childcare regarding the fact that moving forward, Exit #8 at the North-West corner of the building is to be used by all parents for drop-off and pickup. This means that Exit #4, along with all other exterior doors of the school will be locked outside of school hours and reopened by our Caretaking staff for permit holders only. This also means that the front foyer will not be accessible after school hours to anyone other than permit holders and individuals authorized to be in the building. We kindly ask that all of our parents and caregivers adhere to this very basic expectation. The building needs to be secure and our caretaking staff need to be able to clean all areas without obstruction. We thank everyone for their support. Please note that we are eagerly waiting for the long-awaited buzzer system to be installed for the Childcare by Exit # 8.

Reminder to all Families from Toronto Public Health Regarding Immunization Records
We have been informed by TPH that a significant number of our students have incomplete immunization records in their system. Please note that TPH will be reaching out to all families directly where this is the case. In the interim, we ask all of our families to please ensure that your child's immunization records are uploaded  to ensure that TPH records are accurate.

Ball Playing in the Yard
We kindly ask all families to please remind your children not to throw balls against the North-East wall of the school ( by the Fairlawn gates) at entry time. It is a high traffic area and a number of individuals have been hit by errant balls. Many thanks!

Facilities Update
Please note that although our caretakers do an exceptional job clearing snow and salting, many areas of the yard can still be slippery. Please proceed with caution.

Absence Reporting Reminder to Parents:
If your child is going to be absent from school, we ask that you kindly use the Absence Reporting Line number to register the absence. Number to call is 1-833-250-2290. We also ask that if you e-mail the classroom teacher to let them know about an extended absence, you kindly include our office staff as well.

Our Sincere Appreciation

A HUGE thank you to the John Wanless Community for their support of our Book Drive and the Race to Solve the Formula in support of the Flemington Park community.  We sent over 1000 books and had 42 containers of formula at last count!  Thanks as well to all those who donated to our Winter Clothing Drive and Soles for Souls.
 
Our Season of Giving continues with our Food Drive in support of the North York Harvest food bank.  Students earn house points for every donation made. 

Holiday Food Drive

According to the Daily Bread Food Bank Who’s Hungry Report, food bank visits in Toronto reached an all-time high of 4.1 million last year. This is a 340% increase from 2019. Our community can help! The grade six house captains will be running a holiday food drive from December 1st-12th to help support North York Harvest Food Bank. The most needed items are canned fish and meat, beans and lentils, pasta and sauce and non-perishables (remember to check the expiry dates!). There will be boxes set up in the foyer for donations. Students can place donations in their HOUSE COLOURED box, as each house is challenged to fill their box! Please help us reach our school goal of 1000 pounds of food. 

From our Equity Committee
January is Tamil Heritage Month in the TDSB. If your family celebrates Thai Pongal, we would like you to help us with the morning announcements! 
 
As a family, we are asking you to create a slide, video, or written announcement. We would like for the child/family to introduce themselves and share one thing they want us to know about Tamil heritage. Videos should be 30-45 seconds long. Creativity is encouraged!
 
Submissions will be featured on the morning announcements. They can be sent to wanlessheritage@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is Friday, January 2. If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. McCrimmon (morgan.mccrimmon@tdsb.on.ca) or Ms. Maharaj (sally.maharaj@tdsb.on.ca). 

John Wanless School Council NEWS

HOT LUNCHES ARE BACK!
Are you already tired of making lunches and throwing out uneaten food?! Then order from our amazing lunch programs!
Pizza Lunches will run every other Tuesday, starting September 30th. Order at: www.sagoto.com/jwpc/pizza
Subway Sandwiches will be delivered on opposite Tuesdays, starting September 23rd. Order at: www.sagoto.com/jwpc/subway
The Lunch Lady is available every Wednesday and Friday - starting next Wednesday! Order at order.thelunchlady.ca
 
WOODWARD MEATS
Use and share our custom link with family and friends and support our fundraising efforts: https://www.woodwardmeats.com/fundraisers/John-Wanless-SAC/
 
SAVE THE DATES - Our School Council team is busy planning this year's social calendar. Mark your calendars for the following events:
Family Dance Night: Friday, January 23
Bingo Night: Thursday, February 26
100th Anniversary Event: Saturday, May 30

Fun Fair: Friday, June 12


Other Important Information

School Day Schedule for 2025-26

 8:41 Am Entry for all students- Lines for each class (Grades 1-6) will be identified in the yard

8:45-9:25 Period 1
9:25-10:05 Period 2
10:05-10:20 Recess for all Grade 1-6 students
10:20-11:00 Period 3
11:00-11:30 Period 4
11:30-12:27 Lunch for all Grade 1-6 students (Students in grades 4-6 eat in their classrooms from 11:30-11:50 and then proceed outside to play; students in Grades 1-3 eat in the lunchroom from 11:30-11:50 and then proceed outside to play. Teachers on duty will supervise from 12:12-12:27. Students will be picked up by their respective teachers from their respective outside class lines at 12:27 as we have done so this year (except in case of inclement weather).
Please note that kindergarten lunch will run from 11:15- 12:27. Students who stay at school during lunch will eat in their classrooms.
12:27  PM Entry for all students
12:30-1:10 Period 5
1:10-1:50 Period 6
1:50-2:05 Recess for all students
2:05-2:45 Period 7
2:45-3:15 Period 8
Dismissal for all Grade 1-6 students is at 3:15PM
Dismissal for Kindergarten students is at 3:00PM.

Staff List as of October 6th

Classroom Locations                          Grade              Room
Ms. George                                          JK/SK A              101
 Ms. Klug                                             JK/SK B                113
 Ms. Kussner                                       JK/SK C               115
 Ms. Stamatiou                                    JK/SK D              111
                                                      
 
 Mr. Burton                                             1 A                     104
 Ms. Flemington                                    1 B                     103
 Ms. Talesnik                                          1C                      109
 Ms. Hood                                             1/2                        110
 Ms. Almanova                                        2A                      201
 Ms.  Grant                                              2B                      102
 Ms. Maharaj                                           2C                      207
 Ms. McCrimmon                                    2/3                     205
 Ms. Dempsey                                         3A                      204
 Ms. Jaklitch                                            3B                      203                                                                        
Ms. Rendell-Dean                                   3C                       202
 Ms. Zarpellon                                         3D                       206
 Mr. Gaunt                                                4B                       217
 Ms. Tweyman                                          4D                        213
 Ms. Tucci                                                 4C                       216
 Ms. Spencer                                            5A                       220
 Mr. Sherman                                            5B                      211
 Ms. Chau                                                  6A                       215
 Ms. Ng                                                      6B                       221
 Ms. Gottesman                                        5/6                       218
 Ms. Reis- Bertini                                Res. Sppt & ESL     214A
 Ms. Labell                                            Resource Support  219                 
 Ms. Hunter                                           Lib & Prep               LIB
 Ms. Sedighi                                            ISP                         214
 Ms. Sherwood                                    Health/Phys Ed        GYM
 Ms. Blaney                                          Health/Phys Ed        GYM
 Ms. Lowe                                             French &Prep Sppt  212
 Ms. Willingham                                       Music                     222
 Ms. Yousefi                                             French                    209
 Ms. Lawson                                         0.5 Resource AM/VP PM
 
Ms. Moher                                                  DECE                     115
 Ms. Foscarin                                            DECE                     113
 Ms. Zhang                                                DECE                     101
 Ms. Lau                                                     DECE                     111
 Mr. Douglas                                               CYW
 Ms. Rouhani                                               EA                        
 Ms. Fatima                                                EA-ISP                   214
 Ms. Rocci                                                    LRS
 Ms. Chen                                                     LRS
 Ms. Shobi                                                    LRS

Ms. Cappella                                      LRS

Ms. Dong                                           LRS

Ms. Juma                                                       LRS
All other LRS                                                TBD
 
Mr. Frazer                                                  Head Caretaker
Mr. Di Tomaso                                            Caretaker
Mr. Armatowski                                          Caretaker

Mr. Assetin                                                  Caretaker                                

Ms. Marsella                                                  Office Administrator
Ms. Rocci                                                       Office Secretary  (AM)
Ms. Lawson                                                    Vice-Principal  (PM)
Mr. Boross-Harmer                                        Principal
 





Welcome to John Wanless Public School

John Wanless Public School is located north of Lawrence Avenue, between Yonge Street and Avenue Road. Our TDSB mission is to enable all students to reach high levels of achievement and to acquire the knowledge, skills, and values they need to become responsible members of a democratic society. This includes:

  • a strong commitment to student achievement and success;
  • a strong commitment to ensuring that student voice is incorporated in all that we do;
  • a strong commitment to ensuring that equitable practices permeate all that we do within our school community
  • a safe and caring learning environment;
  • continued commitment to ongoing professional learning for staff;
  • encouraging life-long learning; and
  • collaborative partnerships with parents and the school community.