June, 2026
PRINCIPAL’S ADDRESS:
Dear families,
March break until the end of the school year always moves quickly, but this year even more so!
Thank you to the organizers, volunteers and to all of our families who were able to attend the
parent engagement BBQ. We hope that families enjoyed the evening. We were lucky to receive
some free drive-in passes to use this summer. We have 5 packages with 2 adult passes and 5
student passes (ages 17 and under). The first 5 families that email Mrs. Hills will receive these
passes. Thanks for reading and a great year at Irwin! One last shout out to our grades 3 and 6
students and teachers, who have been working hard writing EQAO assessments, which started
the last week of May and will continue until June 8th.
Thank you to all of the volunteers that have been helping with the breakfast snack program at
Irwin. From buying food, preparing and delivering, to cleaning up, this requires a lot of
volunteers to make it happen! Our volunteers have been working hard to provide 3 food groups,
which will change the status of our snack program to a breakfast program if we continue to in the fall.
There is an update on staffing for the 2026-2027 school year. At this time, we will be going into
the next school year with 7 classes. There are some staffing changes for next year, and more
hiring to be done! Mrs. Cleary will be returning to Irwin full time in the fall. At this point, we are sad to say goodbye to:
● Mrs. de Bock: who has worked in several classrooms supporting students and will be
greatly missed in the Irwin community.
● Mrs. Whaling: who covered teaching for three afternoons per week in the grade 2/3
classroom.
● As I said in a previous communication, this will also be my last year at Irwin.
Please have a conversation with your students so that they know about these changes before
they are discussed at school.
The month of June is recognized as Pride Month in Canada. In support of our commitment to
providing a positive school climate for all students, staff, and community, all TLDSB Board
offices and schools will fly the Progress Pride flag alongside with the Canadian flag during the
month of June.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your child’s teacher.
Erin Hills, Principal
Volunteers for next school year:
Please note that there are several steps to be approved as a volunteer at Irwin. If you are
interested in volunteering next year and do not have a current vulnerable sector check on file,
please contact the office and we will be happy to forward the appropriate documents to you.
NEW: Starting in September, all volunteers will need to:
● Continue to sign the offence declaration each year.
● Submit a new vulnerable sector check every 5 years.
Please note that if there is a break in signing the yearly offence declaration, you will be required
to submit a new vulnerable sector check.
To help, Mrs. Reuvekamp will be sending information to parents who will require a new
vulnerable sector check for the 2026-2027 school year.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
June
1st 8th – EQAO
5th – PD Day
9th – Grades 1-8 Track and Field Day (10th rain date)
10th – Kinderland Track and Field Day
12th – Track and Field Regionals (rain date 15th)
17th – Grade 7/8 trip to Science North
18th – Primary trip to Camp Arrowhead
19th – Volunteer Appreciation Assembly
23rd – Grade 8 graduation
24th – Kinderland graduation
25th – Last day of school
25th – Report Cards
26th – PD Day
PARENT COUNCIL:
Happy Last month of the school year Irwin families!
Thank you to all who joined us for our Family Engagement BBQ. It was well attended and it looked like everyone had fun with the face paint, games, and cotton candy. Thank you to everyone who helped put it all together!
The last hot lunch of chicken nuggets and fruit and veg in April made $403.60. We are happy to share that we will be hosting the next lunch on Track and Field Day at Irwin on June 9th (rain date June 10th) and we will bring back the FREE kidcuterie boards for a day of grazing for all Irwin students. We would like to sincerely thank all families who support this monthly fundraiser, as well as all of our very generous sponsors. A huge thank you goes out to Joanna Marrelli and Sabrina Scott for taking the lead on planning and preparing these hot lunches each month, and to all parent volunteers who help to prep and serve the lunches!
The Irwin vegetable garden has been planted by our students and will be cared for by the Kinderland team throughout June. We are looking for families that would like to help water the gardens during July and August. Please reach out to [email protected] if there is a day of the week that you would be willing to water for 15-20 minutes, either month!
Last but not least, we would like to send a big thank you to ALL of our parent/guardian volunteers, staff, and community who help to make Irwin the best school ever for our students! We will be sharing some of the accomplishments that we achieved together this year soon. Thank you all!!
TRACK AND FIELD:
Irwin’s Track and Field Day for students in Grades 1 to 8 will take place on Tuesday June 9th (rain date Wednesday June 10th). Students will be competing in a variety of running, throwing and jumping events. Please have your child dressed appropriately for a full day outside (shorts, running shoes, sunscreen etc.) and send lots of drinks to stay hydrated. Our top 3 finishers in grades 3 to 8 will have the opportunity to compete against other schools at our regional event. Regionals take place on Friday June 12th (rain date June 15th).
We are still in need of a couple of volunteers for our event and a couple of volunteers to help supervise the girls who attend Regionals on June 12th. If you are interested and have a vulnerable sector check on file, please contact Mr.Y. at [email protected]
Looking forward to a fun and competitive track and field season.
MENTAL HEALTH:
Hi, it’s Korri, your school’s Mental Health Counsellor, back with a Mental Health Moment.
As we head into summer break, I think many will agree that this can provide children and teens with more unstructured time, during which there may be an increase in use of digital technology such as social media or gaming. Technology can be a tool to support learning, connection with others and may provide access to help if/when needed. However, excessive technology use can impact mental health and well-being.
Helping Your Child Manage Digital Technology can help you learn more about supporting balanced technology use at home, and what to do if you have concerns about your child’s technology use. This resource is available in multiple languages.
Media Smarts has many parent-friendly resources to support your child with balanced digital technology use.
Until next time,
Korri
