Upcoming Events

Aug 26th- School Office Reopens
Aug 29th- Class Lists will be posted by Fairlawn doors

Sept 3rd- Day 1   First day for all students

We would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few final thoughts as we depart for the summer break.

 
We were incredibly grateful for the support our parents and community members provided to the school throughout the year. Through the strong partnerships that were formed, we were able to provide our students with excellent opportunities to learn and mature. Throughout the course of the year there was palpable excitement in the air as our activity levels and routines offered a myriad of opportunities for community members to come to our school.  We are so pleased that throughout the course of the year our students were able to engage in those activities which add a great deal in making our school such a special place.
 
For all of us at John Wanless, the challenge continues to be building on our past successes and to build and ignite the activities which our students enjoyed in the past while at the same time incorporating some new ones.
 
There are a few additional bits of information we would like to share with you and your families at this time:
 
 
 
Staffing Update for the 2024-25 School Year
 
We know for certain at this time that the following staff members will be leaving John Wanless:

• Mr. Singh will be leaving John Wanless to take on a new role at Cornell PS. On behalf of our staff and students, we would like to thank him for his dedication to our school and the broader JW community.
• Mr. Murray will be leaving John Wanless to take on a new role at Elmbank PS. On behalf of our staff and students, we would like to thank him for his dedication to our school and the broader JW community.
• Ms. Petropoulos will be departing to assume a new role within TDSB. We thank her for guiding our Grade 1’s and 2’s throughout the course of the whole year.
• Ms. Olephir will be leaving John Wanless in the afternoons only as our allocation was reduced to 0.5. She has been placed at Lamberton PS for the afternoons.
• Ms. Marro will be taking on a similar assignment at another school. We thank her for the continued support she provided to the students in Room 101.
• Ms. Norouzi will be leaving JW to take on a similar role within TDSB. We thank her for the continued support she provided to the students in Room 003.
• Ms. Sinclair will be leaving JW to take on a similar role within TDSB. We thank her for her dedication to our students throughout both terms.

 
 
 
 
Staff returning/coming to John Wanless:

• We would like to welcome Ms. Spencer (Grade 5) and Ms. Sedighi (Jr ISP) who are arriving to John Wanless from other schools. We would also like to welcome back Ms. Rouhani (EA).

 
 
Class Placements FOR THE 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR:

• Please note that considering the rather fluid nature of this year’s staffing within TDSB, we have only placed the grade for next year on the report cards.

 
All students will be informed of their classroom teacher & room location during the last week of August/first week of September. By that time, we hope to have most of our staffing in place. Class lists will be posted by the main Fairlawn doors (as has been the case in the past three years).
 
Once placements become known, we ask that you please follow these guidelines:

• Please encourage your child to accept and be excited about their new class and their 2024-25 teacher(s).
• Please teach them the skill and value of meeting new peers & making new friends.
• Please allow your child’s new teacher some settlement and adjustment time in their new class to acquaint themselves with your child and their peers. Your children will take their cues from how you respond to the placement announcement. Children own and manifest adult anxieties.
• Speak often and with enthusiasm about the new school year.
• Teachers put considerable time and effort into class placements. Valuing your child and acquiring knowledge about your child are critical in building a relationship. Class change requests “throw off” the balances that we strive for in our placement criteria. Should we need to re-organize classes based on our September enrolment figures, we will once again utilize the expertise of our teaching staff to create balance classes with the least amount of disruption to student learning.

 
As far as our teaching staff is concerned, the following list represents our current staffing which is once again subject to change until official staffing is finalized.  
 
Classroom Locations                          Grade            ROOM
Ms. George                                           JK/SK A              101                             
Please note that because our enrollment is fluid, we anticipate that the following changes MAY occur in early September based on our real enrollment numbers:

• We may be able to eliminate some of our split grades OR create some depending on final enrollment.
• We may be in a position to be allocated an extra primary class IF our enrollment continues to climb in Grades 1,2 or 3
• We may have to move some kindergarten students into the fifth class through the transparent process we outlined at the Open House.

 
School Day Times FOR THE 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR:
 
We will start and end at the same time as the past year. Lunch will also be the same duration (57 minutes)
 
8:41 BELL AM Entry for all students- Lines for each class (Grades 1-6) will be identified in the yard
8:45 BELL-9:25 Period 1
9:25 BELL-10:05 Period 2
10:05 BELL -10:20 Recess for all Grade 1-6 students
10:20 BELL -11:00 Period 3
11:00 BELL -11:30 Period 4
11:30- 11:50 BELL Lunch for all Grade 1-6 students (Students in grades 4-6 eat in their classrooms while students in Grades 1-3 eat in the small gym)
11:50-12:27- Outdoor time for Grade 1-6 students.
 
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 BELL PM Entry for all students
12:30 BELL-1:10 Period 5
1:10 BELL-1:50 Period 6
1:50 BELL-2:05 Recess for all students
2:05 BELL-2:45 Period 7
2:45 BELL-3:15 Period 8
Dismissal for all Grade 1-6 students is at 3:15PM BELL
Dismissal for Kindergarten students is at 3:00PM.
 
Please note that the school day will end 15 minutes earlier for both kindergarten students (3:00) as they do not have PM recess.   
 
NEXT YEAR WE WILL CONTINUE TO REMAIN ON a 5-DAY CYCLE . Day 1 will be Tuesday Sept 3rd, 2024.  Please note that ALL kindergarten students will be starting on Day 1 instead of a staggered entry.
 
First Day of the 2024-25 School Year- All details will be confirmed and posted on the school website the week prior to starting!

• The first day of school in 2024-25 is Tuesday, September 3rd
• Class Lists will be posted by the Fairlawn doors, at some point, the week before school starts.
• We will be using the same format for morning entry as we have done in the previous two years. Students in Grades 1-6 may enter the yard which is supervised from 8:31AM onward and line up in their respective class lines which will be marked clearly on the pavement. For dismissal, students in Grades 1-6 will be dismissed by their classroom teachers from Exits 5 and 2. Parents may enter the yard ten minutes prior to the end of the school day to receive their children.
• Kindergarten classes will continue to use the same entry/dismissal format which they have been using for the past two years. Drop-off and pick-up for kindergarten students will be at the two designated kindergarten play areas off Brookdale and Fairlawn.
• In case of inclement weather, students in Grades 1-6 will be encouraged to enter the large gym while kindergarten students will go to the small gym.
• Staff supervision in the yard and kindergarten areas begins at 8:26 a.m. Therefore, students should not arrive prior to 8:26 a.m.
• On the first day we will be following a modified schedule where students will spend most of the first morning with their core teachers. Rotary will start in the afternoon. We will be conducting Grade-specific assemblies throughout the first week.
• Students are to bring a lunch and a snack for recess on the first day if they are staying at school for lunch.
• All JW school requirements including student timetables will be given out on the first day or during the first week.

 
 
SCHOOL OFFICE HOURS FOR THE 2024-25 School Year:

• The school office will be closed at 4:00 pm on June 28^th.
• The school office will be open from 8:00 to 3:00 from August 26^th-30^th.
• The school office hours for the 2024-25 school year are TBD depending on staffing. 

 
 
OUR SINCERE THANKS TO OUR PARENTS/PARENT COUNCIL/VOLUNTEERS

 

• Assisting at our Book Fair
• Organizing and assisting with our weekly Pizza lunches
• Organized fun events including an overnight trip for our Grads
• Arranged all the decorations for our Grade 6 Grad
• Volunteered in various classrooms
• Delivered presentations in various classrooms
• Assisted with collecting donations for various charitable causes
• Assisted on various excursions and helped with all aspects of our music and athletics programs.
• Organizing Friday Night Lights and the Fun Fair

 
Our staff look forward to continuing to forge strong bonds and working with all members of the executive as well as the entire community in the coming year.

During the course of the school year, we have continued to receive praise and some very justified criticism from many of you regarding how well we were doing. We sincerely hope that during the coming school year we will be able to incorporate many suggestions into how we can make our school even safer as well as better. We also hope to maintain and improve upon our high standards of excellence and that all our students will experience a stellar school year.
 
Education and how it is delivered to our students is continually evolving. The last year has shown us that we can all evolve and alter some aspects of our program delivery. We have also learned that it is indeed virtually impossible to anticipate what the future will bring and how the changes will affect our schools and the dynamics that exist within. What is abundantly clear is that we need to continue to strive for service excellence and be more mindful of the varying needs and perspectives of all our stakeholders. As a community, we cannot evolve and improve our practices unless we make a concentrated effort to be respectful of all viewpoints and by embracing the wonderful contributions made by all of our staff, students and community members.  We need to continue to learn and evolve and eliminate practices which do not honour and address the issues of inequity, bias and privilege. We also need to learn to trust each other more and come to the realization that together we can indeed make a difference to make this place even better. Although we are becoming much more adept at altering our approaches to suit the changing needs of our community, we will continue to ask for your feedback in the coming year to ensure that our responses to emerging needs are appropriate. Although it is virtually impossible to please everyone or even the majority all of the time, we feel confident that we will continue to improve our practices in the years to come. For this reason we ask for your continued support in building John Wanless into a true hub of the community.
 
On a personal note,  we would like to thank each one of you for your unconditional support you have provided to our school and to me personally over the past eight years. It has been a privilege to serve the John Wanless community and I truly believe that we have made much progress together. We may not have agreed all the time on every issue but your input and the ideas you offered were invaluable. There are many great foundational pieces already in place and yet there is much more work to be done.  Mr. Parkes and I look forward to working together with the incoming SAC Executive as well as with the broader community next year.

 
We would like to wish a safe and happy summer to you and your family.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Peter Boross-Harmer                                                   Jamie Parkes
Principal                                                                      Vice-Principal
 
 
SAC NEWS

John Wanless School Advisory Council has open council roles and committee lead positions to fill for the 2024-2025 school year.  
 
John Wanless has a number of School Advisory Council (SAC) roles and committees that parents can join. Committees make a big difference to the school and in the community, and their activities and initiatives are a great way to supplement our students’ experiences at the school. As we look forward to the next school year, we have an immediate need to fill open roles. We have listed them and included a brief description of the activities the role includes. More fulsome role descriptions are available here 

We are seeking committee members in the following areas: Education Advocacy Lead, Extracurricular Enrichment Team Members, Fundraising Team Members, Grade 6 Graduation Committee Chair or Co-Chairs, School Support Lead and Team Members

We also welcome volunteers who are keen to assist with specific events or initiatives, and take on a supporting role on any SAC committee. Please reach out to us to ask how you can get involved!!

If interested, please email Candice Kelamis, SAC Chair at  johnwanlesschair@gmail.com 

Whether you have a lot of time to devote or only a few hours, or simply have one or two ideas to share, please reach out to us!

John Wanless SAC is on Instagram!

Don't miss any SAC event updates and school reminders - follow on Instagram today! @johnwanlesssac

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: