It is true that we “can never expect the unexpected” and Kilometre Club this year fits that expression so well. I honestly did not expect to have on average more than 250 children a day participate, logging in enough kilometres to “run/walk” across Canada! This is an achievement we should all be extremely proud of (to think that that is over 6000 Kilometres!).

To witness children who would not normally do any type of morning exercise, or in some cases little exercise at all, was just incredible. And to see many children come out and enhance their self esteem because they did not think they could participate in an “athletic” type program was reinforced that “YES YOU CAN!”.

Tears always wipe away, but smiles leave such a lasting impression which is why this program was done!

Of course Kilometre Club could not have happened without the many volunteers!
I would like to say a special thank you to the grade 8 girls who came every morning to take the attendance of the children:  Thanks Irene, Caylee, Emily, Janna and Louise - you girls were a huge inspiration to the younger students.  Thank you to the parents that handed out popsicle sticks (special mention to Dinesh and Andrew).  And  I need to thank Kennis and Wilmar (they did the mapping across Canada and attendance), Jeannie (she helped with the preparation of charms and bracelets, communication and giving out charms), Haili, Lisa, Michelle, Jacqueline, Kristie, Katherine, Jeff, Jodie (giving out of charms), Sharon and Petra (attendance line control), Custodial staff, Administration and to the children of the volunteers that allowed their parents to help out!

Last but not least, I need to thank our staff sponsor, Madame Nanji.  She was incredible at getting the children motivated and a huge help with the organizing of the program!

This program was supported with Home and School Funding!, so thank you Northlea.

Looking forward to next year’s Kilometre Club!

Claude

“unconditional giving, provides eternal happiness”

More details are available here.

Thursday, May 17 update:

Thank you, thank you, thank you! With the same enthusiasm she displayed all three weeks, Claude Lukawesky acknowledged Kennis Kim, Jeannie Sit, and all the other parent volunteers for their help making the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club de resounding success it became. She also acknowledged the student volunteers (Irene, Caylee, Emily, Janna and Louise ), and staff sponsor Mme. Nanji for her support. Most importantly, thanks and admiration went out Thursday to all the hundreds of kids who participated, many of them every single day. They ran, walked, even skipped around the fabulous Northlea school field, and amassed more than 6000 kilometres!

Please make sure to read Claude’s entire message yourself!

Special mention goes out to the classes of (in no particular order) Mme. Yoon, Mme. MacInnis, and Mme. Nanji herself. It was very impressive to see how on some days, almost all the Kindergartners of Mme. MacInnis ran their laps – even many who only go to school in the afternoon!

New in Kilometre Club this year was our virtual Run across Canada, starting in Halifax (sorry Nfl – we’ll definitely head to Saint John next year!). On the very last day, we made it! In thirteen days, Northlea students ran more than 6000 kilometres! (track the progress here)

Thanks again to all who made Kilometre Club possible – and see you next year!

Summary after day 13:

Previous daily reports, and general information, below…

Wednesday, May 16 update: LET’S ALL JOIN ON THE FINAL DAY!!!

198 runners braved the rain and for 1599 laps and 297 kilometers towards Vancouver. Almost 200 people showed great character not only to come out to Kilometre Club, but to keep going in light rain for an average of more than 1,5 kilometers (8+ laps)!

That added another 297 kilometers to our total, which is now over 5600 km! Check the progress in the school display case on the ground floor (see picture), or track the progress here. We have passed by Kamloops and find ourselves between B.C.’s Steelhead Provincial Park and Walhachin Oxbows Provincial Park. Check them out for their archeological value, or the waterfowl :-).

We invite EVERYBODY to join us on Thursday, May 17, to celebrate on he last day of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre  Club. Please note to be on time as we may finish up a little early.

• If you came out on any of the previous days, join us again to celebrate!
• If you hadn’t yet, start now and join in!
• Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, or staff: please join us!

Make sure to thank Claude, Kennis, Mme. Nanji, and all the fabulous volunteers (including students!) who came out for two weeks straight – rain or shine - to help us all enjoy Kilometre Club again!

 Tuesday, May 15: 559 more km & EXTENDED till Thursday! 

267 students and 14 parents/siblings brought Kilometre Club 559 km closer to Vancouver on Tuesday. On Monday, an extra day was added, so that the Kilometre Club will now have its great finale on Thursday, May 17th!

On yet another gorgeous day, Kilometre Club runners combined for 2934 laps on Tuesday – more than 10 laps and just about 2 km per runner! (see below). What an amazing turnout yet again!

On our virtual trek across Canada, we moved on yet another Province, as the kids ran from Brooks, Alberta, all the way to Mt. Revelstoke National Park. This is a unique part of Canada: “[it] contains part of the world’s only temperate inland rain forest” and “protects a small herd of the threatened mountain caribou and provides habitat for grizzly bear and mountain goat” (read here).

In total the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club participants have now run an amazing 5353 kilometers (see below, in the school display box, or track their progress here). There are only 3492 more laps to go, which is definitely doable by Thursday! If we all provide the extra effort, we may even be able to make up the cross country leg of Saint John to Cornerbrook that we skipped!

So let’s go out there and run thos laps Northlea! Do it for Newfoundland

Please note:
* ALL parents are welcome and very much invited, especially on Thursday: join your child(ren), and start the day with a fun & healthy jog!
* Don’t forget to give a Thank You shout out back to our organizer, cheerleader, and inspiration: Claude Lukawesky (on right).

Monday, May 14th update: Kilometre Club Extended to include Thursday!

With one day added, Thursday May 17 will be the final day of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club.

Coordinator Claude and her team of fabulous volunteers have generously en enthusiastically responded to the request from so many eager participants, and extended Kilometre Club by one day! Thursday, May 17 will now be the grand finale of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club. This also means that all Track and Field City finalists and all Silver Birch attendees (both out of school Wednesday) can join!

• All parents welcome and invited, especially on Thursday: join your child(ren), and start the day with a fun & healthy jog!
• Let’s all together make sure Northlea travels Across Canada!

Monday, May 14th: charming our way into ALBERTA!

267 students and 18 parents combined for 2838 laps (= 541km) on day 10 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club.

As we are entering week 3 of year 3 of the Kilometre Club, we are still going VERY strong. Not everybody made it to the 8:10 a.m. start, but mere minutes later more than 200 kids and a growing amount of parents were enjoying the beautiful morning sun for a nice jog. They also ran many laps, to a total of 2838 (or 541 kilometres).

Did you know that:

* running 5.25 laps equals a full kilometre?
* on Monday, we averaged almost TEN laps per person (so almost 2 kilometres)?
* Monday was our third-highest personal average in ten days of Kilometre Club (last Thursday it was almost 11!)

At least one parent – alongside her daughter – ran 20 laps on Monday!

It is absolutely great to see that kids having so much fun. They not only run to collect those attractive charms for their bracelets – but they earn them even more by running those extra laps.

On our virtual trek across Canada, roughly following the intended route of the heroic Terry Fox, we motored into Alberta, all the way to the city of Brooks (check out the school display case, or the route on Google maps here). Only 1224 kilometres are left along the Transcanada Highway to Vancouver. For that we need an average of 615 kilometres for the next two days, which IS possible, especially as we welcome the 5/6 Choir members back on Tuesday!

Northlea, let’s all come out tomorrow, and run those extra laps!
VANCOUVER, HERE WE COME!

Friday, May 11: more than 4000 kilometres in 9 days!

253 runners contributed to reaching the amazing milestone of 4253 kilometres run on Friday, day 9 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Clu

On yet another fabulous day for running, we applaud all the grade 5 and 6 students who came out to Kilometre Club despite a late night with the Choir at Massey Hall. Even with some of their classmates taking a (well-deserved) rest, 253 runners came out. They combined for 2039 laps, which is 388 kilometers. That brought our total up over 4000 kilometers to 4253 km.

On our virtual voyage across Canada, tracing Terry Fox’s 1980 intended route along the Trans-Canada Highway, we moved from Manitoba far into Saskatchewan. We even passed Regina on our way to Moose Jaw and beyond.  As your geography lesson for the day Northlea has arrived on the doorsteps of the village residents of Belle Plaine, part of the rural municipality of Pense No.160 – home, of course, of the endangered Burrowing Owl. Note: Pense No. 160 totals 500 inhabitants – which is barely more than half the amount of students at Northlea…

Check out the Cross-Country route on Google Maps here (and if you are in the school – check out the display case on the ground floor!).
With three days of Kilometre Club left, we need another 1679 kilometers to get to Vancouver. We have already surpassed that required average of 560 three times, so surely we can do that again!

Northlea, let’s all come out next week and run those extra laps!
VANCOUVER, HERE WE COME!

Thursday, May 10: into Manitoba, Saskatchewan next!

Another 1948 laps were run by the 215 runners on day 8 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club.

Motoring through Manitoba, the Northlea runners added another 371 kilometers to the 8-day total of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club, an excellent result!

It was yet another great day for running, which was clear from the fun so many kids had again in this event created and organized by Claude Lukawesky. We saw more parents come out (everybody welcome!) and even some more great costumes – including two Supermen.

In our virtual voyage across Canada, we passed by Winnepeg and Portage la Prairie in Manitoba. It even looks as if we’ve moved to the other side of the globe, because we are between the towns of Sidney and Melbourne (really, check out the map here).

With more than 3700 kilometeres logged, it is now less than 2200 kilometers towards Vancouver. That is a little over 500 kilometres a day, so let’s all contribute and put in some extra laps!

See you tomorrow!
(and don’t forget to get your laps counted after picking up your well-deserved charm)
Wednesday, May 9th, day 7: running long, running young!

294 members running 2944 for 561 kilometers pushed Kilometre Club more than halfway across Canada on Wednesday, day 7 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club.

What an amazing turnout! Even with the 5/6 Choir rehearsing at Massey Hall and parallel soccer/frisbee practices, still 294 runners came out to our fabulous Northlea sports field. The gorgeous weather inspired most people to run more laps than ever – facilitated by the legion of parent volunteers (thanks!).

We want to give a special shout out to the increasing number of parents who are joining in – one of them running 20 laps (for 3.8 kilometres). A number of kids today also made it to 17-20 laps. Among the various youngsters in our midst, special recognition goes out to young Kylea Campbell (pictured right). All of 2 years old (!), she joined her brother Colin for Kilometre Club – and for the second day, she logged six laps! That’s not only more than a kilometre – but this preschooler does it while running most of the way!

The 561 kilometers recorded for day 7 brings the Northlea Kilometre runners up to a total of 3421 - that’s clearly past the half-way point on the voyage from Halifax to Vancouver (see map below, or link here).
As we are following in most the footsteps of Terry Fox, we want to acknowledge passing Thunder Bay, where the great runner had to abandon his journey in 1980.

Northlea, can we make it all the way through Manitoba to Saskatchewan on Thursday?!

Tuesday, May 8th, day 6: Incredible – 176 runners came out despite the overnight rain!

What great commitment! No fewer than 176 runners came out and ran 1070 laps on day 6 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club!

How fortunate was that!? The overnight rain stopped exactly in time not only to run under excellent condition – but you did not even need an umbrella to get to school for the 8:10 a.m. start of Kilometre Club! Very many people did indeed (including the amazing volunteers – see picture left), and they were joined by more and more people towards the end!
Note: as we did this morning, we will try to update this website by 07:30 a.m. each morning that the weather may cause serious doubts whether the Kilometre Club is on.

In total, 176 runners collected their popsicle sticks. Their 1070 recorded laps added up to 204 more kilometres in our virtual journey across Canada. We have now run, walked, skipped and other a total of 2860 kilometres! (see map and table below)

Did you know:

• that we just passed the Ontario town of Marathon?
• that it takes 1 day and 11 hours to drive that distance by car (w/o stopping, no delays, and travelling at the speed limit all the time)?

See you again tomorrow morning, Northlea!

Tuesday, May 8th, 7:30am: YES, we’re running today!

With the rain forecasted to taper off nicely around 8am, everybody is welcome to join the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club for its 6th day! Nice, fresh air provided!

We’ll of course all be carefull turning the the corners – and don’t forget a dry pair of shoes for inside the school!

Monday, May 7th: 246 kids add 398km on day 5!

Another day of Kilometre Club, another fabulous happening. 246 students running 2186 laps was a great begin to the week!

Even on Monday, after the tiring weekend , a great crowd of Northlea students came out for day 5 of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club. 246 kids – plus some parents and of course Mme. Nanji – combined to run 2186 laps, for a day total of 398 kilometres.

Following Terry Fox on a virtual map across Canada (going West from Halifax), we motored on from Sault Ste. Marie and made it past half-way to Thunder Bay!

A few notes on day 5:

• Kudos to all!
  it is truly heart-warming to see that so many students are running their full laps: no cutting corners, and counting all the laps appropriately and correctly.
• Open to all!
  Did you know the Kilometer Club is open to everybody?! We’ve seen quite a number of preschoolers join the fun, but rest assure all adults (parents and teachers alike) are also very welcome to join in!
• Calling all (parents)!
  With the next Staff Appreciation Lunch scheduled for May 17th, a sign-up sheet will be provided every day of Kilometre Club (at the charm tables). Two birds with one stone: sign up a.s.a.p.!

Friday, May 4th: Speeding through Ontario on Day 4!

Another 315 Northlea runners came out today to run a combined 2824 laps around the school field.

Even with parallel football and frisbee practices, the 2012 Northlea Kilometer Club was once again more than 300 runners strong. They ran another amazing 538 kilometers for a four-day total of 2258km. On the map tracking our progress through Canada, we passed by North Bay and exactly reached Sault Ste. Marie!

We will all be back on Monday to add to our fabulous totals. Remember: the class with the most participants gains a pizza lunch! If it is warm or sunny, don’t forget your water bottle and/or sunscreen!

Please join us in acknowledging the fabulous team of volunteers our tireless organizer Claude Lukawesky has assembled (picture of a few of them to the right).

Have a well-deserved weekend, Northlea Runners! See you Monday, bright and early at 8:10 a.m.

Thursday, May 3rd: More runners than ever:

370 runners meant a new record for Kilometre Club. They ran a total of 3072 laps, for a combined 585 kilometers!

More, more, and more: 370 runners was the fabulous amount of participants on day 3 (of 12) in the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club. They came from no fewer than forty classrooms – almost all are now represented! We also see more and more parents joining in – and you are very welcome to!
Very impressive effort: did you know that the fabulous grade 8 students who help out at the tally-table run their own laps before everybody else comes out? Come and see (and cheer, and join) them at 7:45 a.m.!

Across Canada: with our new mileage, the Northlea running total came to 1720 kilometres. As can be seen in the picture (see on the right – clickable for larger version), we moved well into Ontario. We are now less than 100 kilometres east of North Bay, immediately north of Algonquin Park!
NB The 2012 Kilometre Club this year follows the cross-Canada route of the inspiring Terry Fox.

Keep it up Northlea – Sault Ste. Marie, here we come!

Volunteers welcome:

With the continued increase of numbers of both runners and laps run, we can use all volunteers that are willing to help out. Join the fabulous organizers (Claude Lukawesky, assisted by Kennis Kim, Jeannie Sit, and various others) and assist the inspirational effort by the students of Northlea! Contact us at ac.loohcsaelhtronnull@loohcsdnaemoh, or simply come out tomorrow morning!

Wednesday, May 2nd: 360 kids ran for 675 more kilometres on day 2! 

No fewer than 360 Northlea students combined for 3546 laps on day 2 of the 2012 Kilometre Club!

After combining for 2414 laps on day 1, Northlea students improved by almost 50% for an absolutely fabulous total of 3546 laps around the field today. After 459 kilometres on Tuesday, we added 675 kilometers for a total of 1135 kilometres run. Plotting our progress on the map of Canada (see left), we are now way into Quebec, past Quebec City, reaching Trois-Rivières!

Even without the practicing Soccer and Frisbee players, a total of 360 children came out between 8:10 and 8:30 a.m.: that is almost half the school! It was encouraging to see a few more parents running alongside all the kids – feel free to join in. Keep your eye out as well for Mme. Nanji – out there bright and early for the second day!

Keep it up Northlea – we are on our way to Vancouver!

Volunteers: As an incredible amount of kids is coming out to Kilometre Club this year, the organizers can always use that extra hand. As eveyrbody noticed, the brief line-up afterwards went way faster already than day 1, and we expect to continue improving the logistics every day. Thanks for your support!

Tuesday May 1^st: Fabulous start for the Kilometre Club: 459 kilometres!

The 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club had a great start on Tuesday! The students, together with Mme. Nanji, and special guest Councillor Parker ran more than 2400 laps!

With many eager students lined up early, an amazing amount of kids participated in this morning’s first day of the 2012 Northlea Kilometre Club. Dozens of parents also gathered to watch, and/or help out.

Together, the school ran a total of 2414 laps! WOW! This comes out to 459 km.

Everybody will have seen the special guest that came to Northlea bright and early. City Councillor John Parker not only handed out many popsicles, he gave a great example by running alongside the Northlea students!

We also recognize Mme. Nanji, who finished many laps alongside her students!

Plotted on the map of Canada (see picture left), we started out in Halifax this morning. With today’s mileage we are now past already Fredericton.  See the distance the school ran on the map in the display case downstairs (picture right).  The map will be updated each day we run.

Lets try to make it across Canada Northlea!

Volunteers welcome: Together with Kennis Kim and Jeannie Sit, Claude Lukawesky has once again done a great job organizing the Kilometre Club. Many parents already help out handing out popsicles, but more are always welcome. Also, if you can provide that extra pair of hands behind the tables (handing out charms, or tallying laps), please contact ac.loohcsaelhtronnull@loohcsdnaemoh!

General information below, see you all tomorrow morning at 8:10 a.m.!

General information:
Kilometre Club will be starting on Tuesday, May 1st at 8:10 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.  Children who want to participate in this non-competitive program will have to walk, jump, run around the Northlea track and collect a popsicle stick every time they do a lap.  At the end , the children will hand in their popsicle sticks to receive a charm for their chain bracelet.  They are to proceed to the “attendance table” to let the volunteers know who their teacher is and how many popsicle sticks that they received.  The class that has the most attendance will receive a pizza party!, and by letting us know how many popsicle sticks you have, we are tracking how far we can go across Canada…check out the map in the display cases on the ground floor of the school!

Media consent
Additional bracelets will be given to those students who sent in their Media Consent Form indicating a ”YES” to Media Coverage on Monday, April 30th from their teacher.  These bracelets are to be worn by the children whenever they attend Kilometre Club (there are no replacements).  They will still receive their chain and charms when they participate.  These bracelets are a green/grey silicone band with the wording “Kilometre Club 2012″.  Please note that the intention of Media Coverage is to provide a “feel good” story to the public and to show that we can get all children active while having fun.  There is no guarantee that Media will show up (the forms needed to be provided as per TDSB policy).
Please note: for those students where it was indicated ”NO” to Media Coverage, they will receive this bracelet after Kilometre Club is done. They will still receive their chain and charms when they participate.

Please remember that this is volunteer driven and that children in primary grades need to be supervised by a parent/guardian/daycare staff.  We will also be needing help with handing out of popsicle sticks and charms, so please join us in doing so.

If you should have any concerns, please contact Claude at ac.ocitapmysnull@edualcdivad

Broadway Creations Ages 6-14, 9:00 to 4:00 -$375
SING, DANCE and ACT your way to the performance of a lifetime.Spend five full days with our dynamic Arts Express artistic team, creating and rehearsing for a dazzling performance. Every camper will be an important part of the “Broadway Creation”.Working together in a positive and creative environment you will “wow” your family and friends with your terrific talents!

Call 416-239-3093 or register online at www.ArtsExpress.ca.

Locations-
Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School- 32 Montgomery Ave., (Royal York and Bloor, Etobicoke )

Glenview Presbyterian Church, 1 Glenview Ave., (Yonge  and Lawrence, North Toronto)

Creative Kids -9:00am- 12:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows:

July 3rd -6th, July 9th -13th, July 16th -20th, July 23rd -27th, July 30th -Aug.3rd, Aug. 7th -10th, Aug. 13th – 17th, Aug 20th – 24th, Aug.  27th -31st

Creative Kids -9:00am- 12:00pm Glenview Presbyterian:

July 3rd -6th, July 9th -13th, July 16th -20th, Aug. 13th-17th, Aug. 20th-24th, Aug. 27th-31st
Broadway Creations- 9:00am-4:00pm Our Lady of Sorrows

July 16th-20th, July 23rd-27th, July 30th- Aug.3rd, Aug. 13th-17th

Broadway Creations- 9:00am-4:00pm Glenview Presbyterian

July 9th-13th, July 23rd-27th, Aug. 20th-24th

Please download the letter from our teacher librarian for more details: 1112 – Author Visit Jeremy Tankard

Students, staff and our community are invited to join us, lace up their sneakers and celebrate healthy active living.

Registration is due by May 18th. Please read more about this on the TDSB site:

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/microsites/funrun/

Note: this version of the Communicator announces a special Ward Forum about the TDSB Budget for the wrong date. The Correct dat for that meeting is May 31st.

Performances are May 28, 29, 30 & 31

The curtain rises at 7pm

Doors open at 6:30

Tickets are now available at the office: $10 for adults, $5 for students aged 4-14, free for 3 and under