Dear JICS Families,
Welcome back!
Happy New Year! I hope you are enjoying these last days of holiday, and that your family time had just the right balance of festive gatherings and peaceful solitude. We look forward to hearing the special stories the children will share about their vacation.
The hard hats and construction boots have been put away! It is beyond thrilling to welcome you on Monday, January 8, 2018 to our inviting, light-filled space, so long only seen on paper or on our twitter feed: https://twitter.com/jackmanics?lang=en #ExpansionJICS
Every corner of the building is filled with wonderful surprises. Our new lunch room is breath-taking and our gymnasium is simply spectacular!
You have shared our hopes and dreams and you have been so tremendously patient. I want to take this opportunity to thank you. When we began the capital campaign in 2005, we could never have imagined what was ahead. Since April 2016, we have been bursting at the seams at 45 Walmer Road in order to accommodate the renovations and new construction. We now close this chapter and hand Jackman ICS Lab School into an exciting future of possibilities. The new space will allow us to fulfill our mission as a lab school which is to provide excellence in elementary education, teacher education, and research in an intentionally diverse environment. The Honourable Margaret Norrie McCain, donor and advocate of Jackman ICS, stated that “an expanded Institute of Child Study, featuring a large public assembly place, will serve to set the bar higher for quality community outreach programs in literacy, parenting, and other related activities that will benefit from a research-based and leading professional education environment for our families."
Here is more information about the history of the construction: https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/jics/our-story/building-construction-2016/
The school will open at 8:45 am on January 8, 2018. Daycare will open at 8:00 am. The children will continue to use the 45 Walmer Road school yard entrance as usual.
Official Opening Celebrations
On January 26, 2018 at 1:00 pm, we will host the official opening ceremony of the new Jackman ICS building. The children, JK to Gr 6, will attend along with invited guests: alumni families, donors, former teachers, university colleagues and friends of the lab school. We hope you are able to attend this exciting celebration. Please see the attached invitation here and below: As space is limited, we ask that you RSVP by January 15, 2018 to 416-978-1064 or dua.events@utoronto.ca
All the best,
Richard
Principal
Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study Laboratory School
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education | University of Toronto
416-934-4509 | richard.messina@utoronto.ca
twitter: @JackmanICS | @richardmessina2
