Monday, 26 September 2022

WEEK OF SEPT. 26/22

CELEBRATING ROSH HASHANAH:
From the evening of September 25 to September 27, students, staff, and the TDSB community are celebrating Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish High Holy Days, honours the Jewish New Year. It is a time of reflection, self-awareness, and forgiveness.
May your New Year bring you peace, health, and happiness.

CELEBRATING SHARAD NAVRATRI:

Sharad Navratri is the nine-day Hindu festival dedicated to Mother Goddess Durga and her numerous forms in Hindu religion. Sharad Navratri 2022 dates are from September 26 to October 4, 2022 in India as per Hindu Calendar. The festival is of great importance as it is the most significant festival dedicated to Mother Goddess in Hinduism. To all those celebrating, may the nine days and nine nights of Navratri bring your good health and fortune.

TDSB RECOGNIZES ORANGE SHIRT DAY ON SEPT. 30/22:
Friday, September 30th is both Orange Shirt Day and the second annual National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, a federal statutory holiday.
Established in 2013, Orange Shirt Day was inspired by Phyllis Webstad, who was excited to wear her new orange shirt to her first day of school in 1973. However, when she arrived at St. Joseph Mission Residential School, her shirt was taken and never returned. From that day forward, the colour orange, for Phyllis, “reminded me of that [moment] and how my feelings didn’t matter, how no one cared and I felt like I was worth nothing. All of us little children were crying and no one cared.”
Now, on this day, we recognize the legacy of the residential school system for First Nations, Métis and Inuit families and communities.

We acknowledge the legacy of residential schools in Canada by wearing orange and we honour the survivors. We remember the thousands of children who were murdered and buried in unmarked graves.

On Friday, September 30, 2022 wear orange to participate in Orange Shirt Day.
Follow @UIEC_tdsb and @tdsb on Twitter and use the hashtag #OrangeShirtDay to see how students and staff from across the Toronto District School Board recognize Orange Shirt Day.

DPS AND SA PHOTO DAY: MONDAY, OCTOBER 3:
Please see the following document to help prepare for your child's upcoming Photo Day Info .

CANADIAN PARENTS FOR FRENCH INFORMATION:

I hope the school year is off to a great start for you and your family!
We are pleased to announce our Virtual Programs for the fall. These programs will run for 9 weeks -September 26th - December 1st (no classes the week of Oct. 10-14)
Teacher Candidates from York University/Glendon College will lead these programs to support FSL students in our community.
Classes are small so that all participants have lots of opportunities to speak French! For program descriptions Virtual Programs - Canadian Parents for French - Ontario (cpf.ca)
Register before September 23rd. Registration is on a first come first served basis and limited to 10 students per class. Each class is 45 minutes, held on zoom.
If you know of families who might like to participate, please encourage them to join CPF at on.cpf.ca
Join or Renew Your Membership - Canadian Parents for French - National (cpf.ca)
If you have any questions, please email our Chapter at CPF.TorontoEast@gmail.com
A big thank you to CPF Program Development Manager Rosemary Sutherland and Program Coordinator Rachel Nazareth for their outstanding support for our chapter.
Warm regards,
Charles Zhu
President - CPF Toronto East Chapter

DPS and SPECTRUM HYPERLINKS DOCUMENT: Please make reference to the following document for frequently visited and up-to-date weblinks for Davisville and TDSB. Included is the Safe Arrivals phone number when your child is sick/absent and also the Early Pick-up/

DPS HYPERLINKS

SPECTRUM HYPERLINKS

School Bus Delays/Cancellations:

Please Call School Messenger directly 1-833-250-2290, between (7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.) to report child(ren’s)absence for the current day or future date. If you do not report your child(ren’s) absence(s) prior to the start of school day you will be contacted by School Messenger and you must indicate the reason for the absence. Please respond to safe arrival calls. The telephone number 833-250-2290 will display on the caller ID.
Sign out GForm to be completed by 12:00 the day of for your child/children's pickup for appointments.
TDSB website reporting delays or bus cancellations: TSTG
Davisville Spiritwear:
To order Davisville spiritwear check school cashonline, visit davisvillepublicschool.entripyshops.com
School Trustee's Weekly Newsletter - Ward 8:
For updates regarding topics affecting the TDSB, please subscribe to Shelley Laskin's weekly newsletter.

Monday, 19 September 2022

DPS/SA BLOG WEEK OF SEPT 19/22

Hello,
Welcome back to our blog. Below you will find some information and also links which may be helpful to your families.

DPS HYPERLINKS

SPECTRUM HYPERLINKS

TDSB Parent Concern Protocol: Please review the following chart which outlines the Parent Concern Protocol If you have specific questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Davisville and Spectrum Alternative Principal David Finkelstein, david.finkelstein@tdsb.on.ca

School Reorganization:

In late spring of every year, the TDSB plans for the number of students expected to attend school the following September. We then allocate the number of teachers required for each school and class, based on projected enrolment. The number of teachers required in each school and class is primarily determined by class size limits as per Regulations in the Education Act or through Collective Agreements. The Ministry of Education (EDU) class size regulations involve caps from JK- grade 3 and a board-wide average of 24.5 in grades 4 to 8 and 28.0 in grades 9 to 12.

It is challenging to project staffing allocation needs for our schools six months in advance and before students are in schools for the year. For this reason, the annual administrative holdback for 2022-23 school year is 3.0% for each of the following school-based staff: Elementary Teachers, Secondary Teachers, and Designated Early Child Educator. The holdback will not be released until enrolment projections are realized in September and students are in the learning mode of their choice.

At the beginning of each new school year, schools review the actual number of students attending schools and in each class, and the number of teachers who were allocated to each school. This year, the count date is on Monday, September 19 - after this date schools will be provided with an understanding of system reorganization and will inform affected classes as soon as possible. In cases where a school has more teachers than required by its enrolment, teachers are reassigned to different schools. This is a very important process because there are significant financial implications for the TDSB when classes are not organized efficiently and there are more teachers than required in our schools. For example, every 100 extra teachers would cost the TDSB approximately $10.5 million above and beyond the funding from the Ministry of Education.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through reorganization.

COVID-19 Reporting:

The Ministry of Education no longer requires COVID-19 cases or absences to be reported to them or shared publicly by school boards. Guidance from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health is that students and staff are to stay home with any symptoms, regardless of whether they take a COVID-19 rapid antigen test, or not. Public health officials also advise that COVID-19 cases, which are no longer required to be reported to schools, are not an accurate indicator of the presence or prevalence of COVID-19 in a particular class or school.

As with all illnesses, Principals will continue to monitor their school and, together with the Superintendent of Education and Occupational Health and Safety, will share any concerns with Toronto Public Health, who can advise on next steps, if any.”

It is also recommended that students, staff and visitors continue to complete a daily self-screening questionnaire. The TPH has updated their screener as of September 6, 2022.

Key message remains - stay home if you are sick. Stay home until you have no fever and your symptoms are improving for at least 24 hours (or 48 hours if nausea/vomiting/diarrhea). Anyone who is feeling sick or has any new or worsening symptoms of illness, including those not listed in their screening tool, should stay home until their symptoms are improving and seek assessment from their health care provider if needed.

In addition TPH recommends following extra measures including wearing a well-fitted mask in all public settings (including schools/child care, unless <2 years of age).for 10 days after the start of symptoms OR a positive COVID-19 test (whichever came first) OR for 10 days after your last close contact with a person who has symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test.

Please visit the TDSB HEALTH AND SAFETY website to find up-to-date information.

Mental Health and Well Being Supports:

The TDSB continues to prioritize mental health and well-being and, especially supporting the transition back to school. Resources and tools are available for parents/guardians and students on TDSB’s public website. The website includes a system calendar which highlights upcoming events to support our community including webinars, virtual drop-in hours and more. Culturally responsive and relevant resources, mental health toolkits, grief and loss resources and virtual heritage and culturally responsive lounges are also available.

School Bus Delays/Cancellations:
TDSB website reporting delays or bus cancellations: TSTG
Davisville Spiritwear:

Please Call School Messenger directly 1-833-250-2290, between (7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.) to report child(ren’s)absence for the current day or future date. If you do not report your child(ren’s) absence(s) prior to the start of school day you will be contacted by School Messenger and you must indicate the reason for the absence. Please respond to safe arrival calls. The telephone number 833-250-2290 will display on the caller ID.