Dear Castlefrank families,

As another school year comes to an end, your School Council would like to say THANK YOU for all that you have done to ensure our students, staff and families had a wonderful year at CES.

You kept our kids fed on pizza, hot dog, and popcorn days…
Baked up a storm for our Bake Sales and Cake Walks…
Kept the office Apple Basket full of nutritious snacks for our students…
Volunteered your time for family dances, movie nights, book fair and year-end festival…
Guided our mini bikers through their stations at the Bike Rodeo…
Filled tables with food for our staff at the Staff Appreciation Brunch…
And so much more – volunteering in classrooms, reading to students, assisting with Scientists in School workshops, chaperoning field trips – the list could go on and on!

While it would be impossible to thank each and every one of you by name, we would like to give a special shout out to those who have gone above and beyond:

    • To our regular hot lunch and snack volunteers: Margreet Verheuvel, Fulvia Pizzamiglio, Jessica Henriksen, Kendra Smith and your team of volunteers who delivered pizza each and every Monday; Carol Mothersill, Matthew Brearey, Sarah Machan, Kendra Smith, and Tracey Bradley who cooked and served hundreds of hot dogs every month; and Diane Gardner and the grade 3’s who ran the popcorn snack days.
    • To Kim D’Angelo for leading each of our three bake sales/cake walks, as well as organizing the always popular “Fresh from the Farm” food box fundraiser.
    • To Amie Schombs and her team of volunteers who organized the Holiday Movie Night and Gift Basket Auction in support of Castlefrank families, including Chris Green for the cookie sales and all of the families who donated items for the gift baskets and door prizes.
    • To Savannah Beattie who continued the success of the Warm Clothes Project and outfitted each classroom with a package of extra winter clothes for those who need them.
    • To Mark Schombs for organizing a fantastic Bike Rodeo.
    • To Belinda Ambridge for planning a wonderful and informative parent information eveningwith Pearl Rimer, and for playing an instrumental role in the Teacher Appreciation Brunch.
    • To Emily Chan for partnering with “Chewable Creations” for a new eco-friendly fundraiser.
    • To Carol Mothersill and the wonderful group of committee members and volunteers whoput on another fantastic CES/KES Community Festival.
    • To the fabulous group of parents who made up our 2017/18 School Council – Sarah Brearey, Joanne McCarroll, Amie Schombs, Hélène Pauzé, Robyn Bascombe, Ralph Quapp, Carol Mothersill, Chris Green, Diane Gardner, Mariam Leon, and Roald Veldowis – as well as everyone that came out to the meetings every month.

This year over $15,000 was generated from the Hot Lunch programs (pizza, hot dog days, popcorn and the Lunch Lady), Hallowe’en and Spring dances, bake sales, cakewalks, as well as Fresh from the Farm, Mabel’s Labels, and Chewable Creations fundraisers. This money allowed us to support the students and teachers at Castlefrank in many different ways. Here is a list of what School Council accomplished this school year:

      • Provided funding for a Chris McKhool concert, a 2-day workshop by Luv2Groove and a science workshop for each classroom through Scientists in School.
      • Helped to provide each class with an arts-based experience with either a field trip to the National Arts Centre or in-school workshop with “Colores Andinos”.
      • Purchased a Cubetto coding robot, MeMoves multimedia program, full set of yoga mats, and a variety of playground equipment to support the wellbeing of Castlefrank students.
      • Wrote and secured a $1,000 Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grant that was used to host a Family Science Night in collaboration with Scientists in School.
      • Organized the “Fresh from the Farm” food box fundraising campaign in support of the Forest of Reading Program.
      • Organized a Holiday Movie Night and Gift Basket Auction to support Castlefrank families over the holiday season.
      • Collaborated with Katimavik ES to run a “Twoonie Tuesday” challenge to raise funds for the Education Foundation.
      • Provided all teaching staff with an allowance for the purchase of classroom supplies.
      • Supported the Choir, Monster Ball, and Yoga clubs.
      • Hosted a parent information evening on child safety, with guest speaker Pearl Rimer of BoostChild & Youth Advocacy Centre.
      • Provided healthy snacks for students participating in the Terry Fox Walk & Jump Rope forHeart events.
      • Continued on the success of the Apple Basket program where parents supplied apples andother seasonal fruit weekly as a healthy snack for our students.
      • Supported the Warm Clothes Project which provided each class with extra mitts, hats, andsocks during the winter months.
      • Ran a very successful “Shoe Drive” in support of Charles H. Hulse Public School.
      • Organized the Spring Bike Rodeo.
      • Participated in the Kindergarten Information Night.
      • Hosted the Staff Appreciation Brunch.
      • Organized and hosted the annual CES/KES Community Festival in conjunction with KatimavikElementary School
      • Provided funding for the Grade 3 Leaving Activity

Be sure to keep an eye on the blog to be the first to know about all of the upcoming events this fall – and don’t forget about our ongoing fundraisers with Chewable Creations and Mabel’s labels!

On behalf of School Council, we wish you all a safe and happy summer!