April 25, 2025

On Tuesday this week, the LePhare students and staff were treated to a fabulous show by musical performer and percussionist Kattam. While his presentation was in French, he engaged in music from Africa, the middle east and India! Students were mesmerized by the varied musical instruments, dance and of course by Kattam’s monkey named Takoum!

LePhare Elementary School extends its deepest thanks to an amazing family within our community whose support was instrumental in bringing the wonderful Kattam experience to our students. We are so appreciative!

Talent Show Friday, May 2nd

Please sign up for the talent show by Friday April 25th in order to secure your student’s spot (first come, first served). 

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/T34662Tjtn7xKiie8  

Green Thumbs Alert!

Is your windowsill feeling a little lonely? Does your garden need a splash of vibrant life? Well, the amazing Grade 3 botanists have been busy not just learning, but growing!

Get ready to bring home some green goodness from Le Pharm Plant Sale! We are sprouting these beauties to help fund our super exciting field trip to the Ottawa Children’s Festival.

When & Where? Friday, May 2nd, from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm at the Talent Show.

Just $1, $2, or $4 for a little piece of nature! (Cash only, please!)

Literacy Week

Get ready! LePhare's Literacy Week will be happening in conjunction with the OCDSB Education Week  May 5-9. We have many wonderful activities planned, and more information will follow in the coming week. For now, please save the date for this special event: Family Reading Hour

On Wednesday, May 7, we invite family members to come to the school for “Family Reading Hour” from 12:15-1:15. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, etc. are invited to join the fun by reading with their student and classmates. Please limit to one family member per student, and we can arrange for family to visit more than one class for siblings.  Please let your student’s teacher know if there is a family member who is planning to attend.

Book Swap

The popular free book swap is back for Literacy Week at LePhare, but with a small change this year. Instead of a central collection, students are invited to bring a gently used book from home to swap within their own classroom. Please ensure the book is suitable for your child's age and reading level. We can also find new homes for older books your child has outgrown – just send them in, and we'll match them with an appropriate class. Our goal is for each student to share a book they've enjoyed and discover a new one in return!

Track and Field

We want to inform you of a change regarding our participation in the district track and field meet this year. Due to an unexpected shift in the meet date, now scheduled a month earlier than in previous years, coupled with a location outside of the east end and significant challenges regarding transportation access for our students, LePhare will unfortunately not be participating in the district meet this year. We understand this news will be disappointing for many of our students and families who were looking forward to this event. We are aware that several other schools in the east end are facing similar logistical hurdles. In light of this, we are currently exploring the exciting possibility of hosting a school-wide field day event here at LePhare. While we know that the district meet provided a unique competitive opportunity, we hope that a LePhare field day will offer a fun and inclusive opportunity for all students in the school to participate in a variety of engaging activities and celebrate school spirit together. We will share more details about the potential field day as our plans develop.

In Mourning

Flags at all Ontario government buildings and establishments across the province will be flown at half-mast from now until sunset on the day of the funeral (to be determined), to honour His Holiness Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21, 2025.

National Day of Mourning

The National Day of Mourning, held annually in Canada on April 28, is dedicated to remembering workers who have lost their lives or suffered illness or injury on the job or as a result of a work-related incident.  Workplace health and safety and the prevention of work-related deaths and injuries remains an important issue across Canada. 

In honour of the National Day of Mourning, national flags will be half-staffed on all federal and provincial government buildings.  All Ottawa-Carleton District School Board flags will also be half-staffed as a sign of respect.

Successful Bake Sale

Congratulations to our Grade 5 students on their highly successful bake sale today! This achievement was made possible by the generous contributions from our community – thank you.

The Grade 5 students demonstrated exceptional professionalism as greeters, cashiers, and organizers. They are to be commended for their support of younger students, assisting them with their selections, handling payments, encouraging French language practice, and ensuring their safe return to classrooms.

A special thank you to all the Grade 5 leaders and to Mme. Kadima-Kabeya for her hard work in facilitating this wonderful experience for our entire school community. The bake sale successfully raised over $600 for the upcoming field trip to The Children’s Festival!

Upcoming Dates

Have a safe and happy weekend!

Sheila Hodges and Deirdre Sims