Junior School - June 13, 2024

What you need to know

  • Thank you for an amazing year as a JS community. Enjoy your summer and see you in September!

  • Report cards will be available on Yorknet on June 25, 2024. An email reminder will go out on the day. 

  • Class allocations for the academic year 2024 - 2025 will be shared next Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

  • Please find the fall co-curricular draft schedule in the Student Life section of this Flash. This is to help parents with planning for next fall. More information about the offerings will be sent in August. Please note that this is a draft that is subject to some minor changes over the summer. 

  • If your child is moving from Grade 5 to Grade 6 or leaving The York School then you will both lose access to all work saved in Seesaw after July 30. Only families and students returning to the Junior School in the fall will continue to have access to work currently in Seesaw via the Family app or online.
    Any work that you wish to keep can be saved in one of two ways:

    Option 1: Save individual important posts

    • Open the Seesaw Family app or go to app.seesaw.me/

    • Go to the post you want to save

    • Click the 3 dots in the bottom right corner and select Save

    • Give it an appropriate name and save it to your device

    Option 2: Save Everything

    • Use a computer to follow this process for downloading your child’s entire Seesaw portfolio: How-do-families-and-students-save-and-download-student-work

    • The Learning Journal will be saved to your computer as a zip archive, including images, videos, audio recordings and text notes or captions. This won’t look quite the same as it did online but everything will be there - saved on a computer in folders and labelled by date.

Summer Access to Platforms

  • Returning York students will continue to have access to our York School platforms (e.g. IXL. Lexia, Book Creator, etc.) until the end of July. After that time, we will need to set up their new classes and, for some platforms, their sign-in details will change. Once this happens, some platforms may remain inaccessible throughout August and until after school begins.

  • If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Lara at ljensen@yorkschool.com, Junior School Technology and Integration Co-ordinator.

Next Year’s Update:

Conference dates 2024 - 2025: 

  • Goal Setting Conferences (Student-Centred, Three-Way) IN-PERSON

    • No Virtual Option is Available

    • This conference will involve parents, students and teachers. In a collaborative environment, pre-set goals by students for the school year will be discussed, and co-constructed goals with parents will be set. 

    • Dates: October 24/25:

      • Thursday, October 24: ½ day, dismissal at 11:45am. Conferences will run from 1:00pm - 8:00pm.

      • Friday, October 25: Full day (No School). Conferences will run from 8:00am - 4:00pm.

  • Parent-Teacher Conferences (Progress) VIRTUAL

    • This conference will involve parents and teachers. Progress from the term one report card will be discussed using diagnostic and benchmark assessments. Evidence of student learning will be shared with parents. 

    • Dates: February 12 and 13

      • Wednesday, February 12: ½ day, dismissal at 11:45am. Conferences will run from 1:00pm - 8:00pm.

      • Thursday, February 13: Full day (No School). Conferences will run from 8:00am - 4:00pm.

    Learning Celebration IN-PERSON

    • The Junior School Celebration of Learning allows Grades 1-4 families to see learning in action. Your child will guide you through their learning in their subject areas, including Unit of Inquiry, Language, Math, French Music and PE. We will also be showcasing the artwork in a Junior School Art Gallery.

    • Date: April 24, 2025

    • Time: 4:00pm - 5:00pm 

    EduTalks for Next Year 2024 - 2025
    Dates will be shared at the beginning of the school year.

    • September - Assessment (morning and evening session)

    • November - SEL/Learner Profile

    • January - Digital Citizenship

    • April - Curriculum

Thank you to everyone who came to York’s Junior School Carnival on Saturday! We were thrilled you joined us to celebrate another wonderful school year and the launch of our Junior School renovation campaign More Great Spaces. To see lots of Carnival highlights, be sure to take a look at our Carnival Facebook album.

STUDENT LIFE & BELONGING

GRADE 5 CLAP OUT & GRADE 5 CELEBRATION CEREMONY

This week we enjoyed our Grade 5 Celebration Ceremony and hosted our first Clap Out at the Junior School to recognize the Grade 5 students for their successful completion of the Primary Years Program and their move up to Middle School. Click on the live links to check out a clip from our Clap Out and the recording of our Grade 5 Celebration Ceremony.

FALL CO-CURRICULARS

Friday, August 30 - Registration for fall Clubs & Athletics 2024 opens at 9:00am online through YorkNet.
Wednesday, September 4 - Registration for fall Clubs & Athletics 2024 closes at noon.
Monday, September 9 - All fall Co-Curricular & Athletic programming begins at the Junior School.

*Please note that there are no fall club offerings for students in Junior Kindergarten as our youngest learners need time to acclimatize to a full day academic program.

Individual programs often have a maximum number of participants but every effort is made to accommodate student interest. In the case of high demand, we have been able to open an additional section of a particular offering to accommodate those students on the waitlist. We may also have to cancel a club offering due to a lack of student interest and under enrolment.

As you plan your child’s co-curricular experience for the upcoming academic year, here is a draft schedule of our fall offerings in athletics and clubs.

JUNIOR SCHOOL FALL CO-CURRICULAR SCHEDULE 2024 - 2025 DRAFT (PARENT VIEW)

TERRY FOX RUN T-SHIRTS - EARLY BIRD ORDERING

Please support our whole school fundraising campaign by purchasing and wearing a t-shirt designed by the Terry Fox Foundation. You can order your 2024 Terry Fox t-shirts for our school run on Friday, September 27. 

  • 75% of every t-shirt sold goes directly back into supporting cancer research.

  • Youth sizes are $20.00 and adult sizes are $25.00.

If you want to get ahead and place your order for the fall, click on this form for Junior School Families (entering JK-Grade 5 in September 2024) by June 30. 

Questions? Please contact Sarah Charley, Junior School Director of Student Life & Belonging scharley@yorkschool.com.

JUNIOR SCHOOL SUMMER READING PROGRAM

All students in Gr. 1-5 are invited to step up their reading this summer by participating in the Summer Reading Program, which features three program activities and three random prize raffles to be won. Those who complete the activities and submit their Summer Reading Journal to Ms. Larcina in September have a chance to win!

  • Try Book Bingo! Complete 4 reading challenges in a row and submit proof of completion for a chance to win a prize. 

  • Track your reading time in the Summer Reading Journal and submit it for a chance to win a prize.

  • Exercise your creativity and complete at least three of the additional reading-related activities and submit evidence for a chance to win a prize. 

The program is not mandatory and students can jump in at any time - no need to register. Questions? Visit Program Details for more information.

RESULTS OF OUR JS SPRING BOOK DRIVE & CAMPFIRE CIRCLE COIN DRIVE

We wanted to share the results of our last two service campaigns and celebrate the generosity of our community. This year’s Spring Book Drive for the Children’s Book Bank was the most successful to date with a total of 1,804 books collected. We gave the gift of reading to others. Our donations will help The Children’s Book Bank provide free books and literacy support to children in high-needs neighbourhoods in Toronto. The house with the most donations was the AIR house with 490 books. 

Our JS Coin Drive for Campfire Circle raised $984.50 towards our whole school total of $5720.95. We surpassed our goal of $5,000 to send a child with cancer or severe illness to camp for 2 weeks this summer! Additional funds will go toward supporting Campfire Circle’s in-hospital programs throughout the year. This initiative was a house challenge and the AIR house donated the most with $486.00!

NEW FULL ZIP BLACK FLEECE

All the samples are available at the Junior School.

Full Zip Black Fleece - Online Order Only

The online site is now open for orders until June 21, 2024. Orders can be shipped directly to your home or to The York Shop for free. These orders can be picked up on August 27 and August 28, 2024 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm at The York Shop at our 1320 campus.

The link to order - http://shoprightwaycompany.com.

All the samples are available at the Gathering Place in the Junior School from Thursday, May 30 untill lunch on Friday, June 7.

Lost + Found donation reminder

All items in the Junior School Lost + Found will be donated at the end of the last day of school to the New Circles and the Preloved Uniform Drive.

Please drop in to find your family’s missing items.