Week of November 20th, 2023

Scholastic Book Fair

Dear Families,

This is just a reminder that on Monday, November 27th our Scholastic Book Fair will be happening. Students will have time to shop during the day and you can shop from 3:30 - 4:30 each day from Monday until Friday. There is still a need for volunteers, so please feel free to look at the schedule and sign up where you can. Many thanks to those who have already volunteered.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xusWWnnN3SClKvGDcAh_DN3mpDWV78GKP9TAtFYB7sM/edit

Dressing For Cold Weather

This is just a friendly reminder that students need to come to school properly dressed for the weather. As the weather gets colder and wet, students are recommended to come to school with the following items: winter hat, mittens/gloves, scarf/neck warmer, winter boots, and a proper winter jacket. Students will be expected to be outside during lunch recess as well as morning and afternoon recess, therefore, it is important to ensure that they are adequately dressed for the weather. 

Spirit Days (Davisville JPS)

We have planned a number of Spirit Days for the month of December. Spirt Days/Weeks really bring a lot of joy to the school and promote school spirit. They also allow students and staff to have fun and have a positive impact on school connections, collaboration and creativity. It is simply a great way for students to show spirit and school pride and to simply have fun! At our school, we strive to create spirit days that are inclusive of all our students regardless of their unique identities and pick themes that are respectful of all students and where all can participate. 

This year we will be having 3 spirit days in December to help foster our sense of community and provide a little bit of extra fun for the month. Spirit Days are a great way to show our energy, enthusiasm and pride at our school. Here are some upcoming dates to note: 

Thursday, Dec. 7- Sports Jersey/Team or Davisville Spirit Wear Day
Friday, Dec. 15- Holiday Themed Clothing/Favourite Sweater Day
Friday, Dec. 22- PJ or Comfy Clothing Day

Thank you to Ms. Harnick and Ms. Casselman for organizing these events. We are looking forward to a fun filled December. 

Delphi's Open House for Our Grade 8 Students and Families

Please find attached the Flyer for Delphi’s upcoming Open House. 

Open House Flyer

More Joy-Family Literacy Series!

Source: Shelley Laskin's Weekly Updates

TDSB Community Support Workers invite you to a 30-minute after-school family literacy series. Wednesdays from 4:30-6pm until December 6th.Click here to join. 

Here to Help - Kids Help Line

Source: Shelley Laskin's Weekly Updates

As conflict around the world continues, we’re here for anyone who may need support in their language. We offer phone counselling through trained interpreters in over 100 languages including Arabic, Hebrew, Yiddish, Ukrainian, Russian and more by calling 1-800-668-6868. Talking to someone about what you’re going through can be difficult, especially if you don’t use the same language. That’s why Kids Help Phone is providing our phone counselling in over 100 languages, with the help of trained interpreters. It’s all free, confidential and available 24/7 in Canada. No ID required. Winter Outerwear Drive Source: Shelley Laskin's Weekly Updates One in every three children lives in poverty right here in our city and too many children come to school without proper clothing to keep them warm during the winter months. In addition, many TDSB students are new to Canada and this may be their first time experiencing a Canadian winter. The TDSB holds an annual Winter Outerwear Drive to help ensure that all students have warm winter outerwear to get to and from school, and are prepared to participate in all of the fun outdoor activities winter has to offer. You can support our students and their families by making a donation to provide warm winter coats, pants, hats, gloves, and boots. This year’s Winter Outerwear Drive will run from October 2023 to the end of February 2024. 100% of all proceeds and in-kind donations go to benefit our students. Tax receipts are available for these donations. Contact the Business Development department at BusinessDevelopment@tdsb.on.ca for more information about how to donate new outwear items. Please donate here.

Week of November 13th, 2023

 

Scholastic Book Fair

We’re excited to announce our Scholastic Book Fair is coming! You can shop from hundreds of items in-person. Our Fair will be open from Monday, November 27th - Friday, December 1st in the library and all purchases help us earn new resources for our school. Please note that unlike last year, there will NOT be any virtual option and it will only be one week instead of two. Students will have the opportunity to shop during their library periods and families can shop from 3:30-4:30 each day. If you are interested in volunteering some time either before lunch and/or from 3:30-4:30 to assist with one of the many tasks (specifically checkout) that would be greatly appreciated. At least 2 adults at all times would be preferred specifically from 3:30 - 4:30 as this will definitely be a busy time. Please either add your name to the shared doc or you can scan the QR code located next to the school posters, which will take you to the same document. Many thanks in advance ~ Mr. Hannah


Parent Volunteer Schedule

Lost and Found Items

Dear Families,

Please note that our lost and found items are displayed on tables in our front foyer. When visiting our school, we invite you to take a quick look at the items in case something belongs to your child(ren). After November 24, we will be bagging the remaining items up for donation or adding them to our community closet where families can find jackets/boots, etc at no cost.

Staff Appreciation

On behalf of our staff, we would like to extend our appreciation to all those who contributed to the Staff Appreciation lunch. A special thanks to our Davisville JPS school council for organizing this. The assortment of food was absolutely delicious and everyone's generosity is truly appreciated. It was the perfect way to help create a caring, joyful and kind school environment where the efforts of our school staff are both acknowledge and appreciated. 

On behalf of school administration, we would like to thank all of our school staff for the work they do each and every day. Our staff work tirelessly to support students and families and it is important that they be celebrated and appreciated. As school administration, we extend our gratitude for the key role all school staff play in positively shaping students' trajectories. 

Special Education and Inclusion Parent/Guardian/Caregiver Engagement Sessions

Over the 2023-2024 school year, Special Education and Inclusion will be offering a series of engagement sessions for parents/guardians/caregivers of TDSB students to learn about Special Education and Inclusion programs, services and processes.

For Session #1, the Special Education and Inclusion team will be discussing the Individual Learning Plan (ILP), In-School Support Team (IST), School Support Team (SST), Individual Education Plan (IEP), and Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC) processes.

Families can choose to attend one of two sessions (repeated), which will be held over two days. Please refer to this flyer if you are interested in these sessions.

Steps to Address Parent/Guardian Questions and Concerns

Dear Families,

The TDSB has protocols for sharing your questions and concerns. Below, you will find our board procedure for addressing educational concerns brought forward by parents/guardians.

Please note that in many situations, your child's teacher is the first point of contact, followed by the school administrators (i.e., principal and vice principal), the school superintendent and finally your Trustee. It is important to note that appropriate flexibility will be given in implementing these procedures to suit individual circumstances.


Step 1 - Classroom Teacher

The first place to go about any classroom-related question or concern is your classroom teacher. They can help you with:

• Any questions about the classroom
• Classroom rules and consequences
• Homework and assignments

Step 2 - School Principal

If you would like more information or if you have questions that are beyond the classroom, talk to your school principal. They can help with:

• Concerns about an individual school
• Student registration
• Student schedules
• Student suspensions
• Report card concerns
• Homework and assignments
• Code of Conduct
• Safety and security
• Budget and fundraising
• School Council

Step 3 - School Superintendents

Superintendents are responsible for a Network of Schools. They support school staff and can be contacted if you have questions that have not been answered or for help with:

• Alternate attendance request
• Suspension appeals

Step 4 - Trustees

Trustees are your elected community officials. They are available to help you with the following areas of the TDSB:

• Concerns about your community
• Ideas and suggestions for the Board
• Items on Board Agendas
• Board policies under review
• Board budget
• Collective bargaining

Promoting Respect in the Workplace

All TDSB schools and buildings should be welcoming spaces for working and learning. Visitors to TDSB schools and buildings are expected to treat our staff and everyone within the TDSB community with kindness, dignity and respect. TDSB recognizes the importance of a positive and constructive working relationship with the school community and welcomes feedback. As per PR739: Promoting Respect in the Workplace, all staff have a responsibility to deal with complaints objectively, fairly, and in a timely way.

Parent Concern Protocol: Promoting Respect in the Workplace

Week of November 6th, 2023

Diwali Celebration

                                                                                                                          

This past Friday, our students, staff and school community participated in various Diwali activities. Students learned about Diwali, created Rangoli and were able to walk through our front foyer and enjoy the vibrant colours of all the decorations. Rangoli is a popular Diwali tradition-beautiful patterns made using colourful powders and flowers. The Rangoli drawn on our floors in the front foyer of the school was spectacular and allowed us all to immerse ourselves in the vibrancy and joy of this special season. 

We truly appreciate the tireless efforts of our parent community who planned, organized and carried out a range of activities focused on learning more about Diwali. We are grateful for your commitment and dedication to our school and your efforts to truly create an inclusive space of belonging for all members of our school community. From the beautiful artwork displayed in our front foyer to the presentations happening in classes and the delicious Diwali feast prepared for staff, it truly was a day filled with joy, warmth and wonderful memories.

For many people, Diwali honours the Hindu goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. The lights and lamps are said to help Lakshmi find her way into peoples’ homes, bringing prosperity in the year to come. Diwali is one of India's most popular celebrations, known as the "festival of lights." Happy Diwali to all in our school community celebrating the Festival of Light!

Remembrance Day

Each year, Remembrance Day is a time for us to reflect and pay tribute to the sacrifices of the generations of Canadians who served – and continue to serve – our country, both at home and overseas. This day holds immense significance in acknowledging the sacrifices made by these brave individuals – many of whom were once students at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). As Remembrance Day occurs on a Saturday this year, our school will mark the day on Monday, November 13th at an assembly. At our school assembly, we will honour the courageous soldiers who lost their lives to protect ours. 

Creating a Caring, Safe and Inclusive School Environment

At both Davisville JPS and Spectrum Alternative, we work hard to create a caring, safe and inclusive learning environment for all of our students. As part of our school code of conduct, students are expected to treat one another with respect, civility and kindness. A positive school climate exists when all members of the school community feel safe, included and accepted. At our school, equity, inclusion and respect are critical components embedded in the learning environment. Recently, some of our students have engaged in actions that go against our school code of conduct. There have also been some acts of vandalism on our third floor washrooms. To ensure that all members of our school community feel safe and respected, please remind your children of our school expectations and standards of behaviour. We invite your support here by speaking to your children at home and reinforcing the following expectations: 

• Remind your children that peer conflict situations need to be addressed peacefully, respectfully and safely. At our school, we use WITS as a way to manage peer conflict solutions. Please reinforce this conflict-resolution strategy at home with your children, so that they can feel empowered to manage conflicts constructively and respectfully at school.

WITS stands for: walk away, ignore, talk it out, seek help

• At our school, we stand against bullying and respect differences in people, their ideas, and their opinions. We are all expected to treat one another with dignity and respect at all times, especially when there is disagreement. All students are expected not to engage in bullying behaviours including cyberbullying.

• We all need to work together including students themselves to promote a positive school climate that is inclusive and accepting of all in our school community despite differences in race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, or disability. 

• Students must show proper care and regard for school property and the property of others.

WASHROOM VANDALISM 

We are unfortunately having some issues with vandalism on our third floor washrooms.  This causes a huge disruption to the use of specific stalls and the washroom. We have reminded our students regularly to use the washroom respectfully and responsibly. Students are expected to sign out of their classroom when using the washroom. This has helped us to monitor the situation. Please remind your children that vandalism will not be tolerated at school and appropriate consequences will be implemented if such behaviours do persist. Your cooperation and ongoing support with reinforcing school expectations is greatly appreciated.

WORTH REPEATING...

Cell Phones

A reminder that students are NOT to be using their cells at school. If parent(s)/guardian(s) feel it is necessary to have their child carry a cell phone, the following guideline need to be respected: 

✓ While on school property, all cell phones must be turned off and stored in backpacks for our students at Davisville JPS and in lockers for our students in Spectrum Alternative. 

✓ Parents/guardians wishing to contact students can do so by contacting the main office 416-393- 0570. 

✓ Please be reminded that students are NOT to record and take photos of staff and students under any circumstances.  We thank you for your support with this.

Week of October 30th, 2023

 Halloween

We had a fantastic Halloween this past week. Some of our students participated in a parade, while others carved, decorated and painted pumpkins. It was a wonderful day filled with creative activities, loads of fun, arts and crafts and a chance for our students and staff to showcase their wonderful costumes. Thank you to all families and staff who worked together to ensure that Halloween was celebrated safely in our school. 

Elementary Progress Report Cards

Progress Reports will be coming home soon and will provide you with clear information about how your child is doing at school. Elementary Progress Report Cards let you know early in the school year about your children's progress and how well they are developing important learning skills and work habits. For academic subjects like math, language and science, the progress report tells you whether your child is progressing very well, well or with difficulty.

Please note that Progress Report Cards do not have letter grades or percentage marks. Instead, they include clear, meaningful comments from your child's teacher and highlight the strengths and areas for improvement for your child. Grades are provided on Term 1 and Term 2 Report Cards.  In the Progress Reports, you will notice that your child's teacher has evaluated and reported on your child's development of learning skills and work habits. See below for more information on this:

Six Learning Skills and Work Habits

Report cards focus on six essential learning skills and work habits students need to succeed. Each skill is reported as Excellent (E), Good (G), Satisfactory(S) or Needs Improvement (N). The six skills and habits are: 

Responsibility
Organization
Independent Work
Collaboration
Initiative
Self-regulation

Grade 8 to 9 Transitions and Student Interest Programs Webinars and Resources

Source: Shelley Laskin's Weekly Updates

On November 1, 2023, the TDSB launched the Grade 8 to 9 Transitions process for the 2024 school year. There are several important events and links highlighted below for you: 

Beyond 8 Website - contains information, resources, links and dates for the Grade 8 to 9 transition process.

Secondary Central Student Interest Program (CSIP) Website - contains program details and a CSIP Google calendar of Open Houses for schools with Central Student Interest Programs. The link to the online application can also be found on the page. The Elementary Central Student Interest Program Website contains the same information for the elementary panel.

Out-of-Area Admissions Website - the status for applying to schools will be available by the end of the first week of November. The Out-of-Area Admissions application will become available online after the Winter break.

November 1, 2023 - Grade 8 to 9 Transitions Webinar - Registration link Parents/Guardians/Caregivers are asked to register for the event prior to the Webinar. Requests for interpretation services can be made in the registration form by Friday, October 27, 2023.

November 2, 2023 - Student Interest Program Webinar - Registration link Parents/Guardians/Caregivers are asked to register for the event prior to the Webinar. Requests for interpretation services can be made in the registration form by Friday, October 27, 2023.

**Recordings of both webinars will be posted on the PCEO YouTube Channel and links will be made available on the TDSB websites listed above.

The Central Student Interest Program application will open on Monday, November 6 and remain open until 4 p.m. on Friday, November 24, 2023. The applications are not considered on a first-come first-served basis; parents/guardians and caregivers are encouraged to attend Open Houses and consider their options prior to submitting an application.

Support sessions are scheduled for November 14 (4 to 5:30 p.m.) and November 22 (7 to 8:30 p.m.). The links to the online Zoom sessions are available on the CSIP Google calendars on the CSIP website. TDSB staff will be available to answer questions about the application should applicants require assistance. Staff will not be able to answer specific program and/or school-based questions. Families are encouraged to attend Open Houses for school- and program-specific information.  

Indigenous Education Month

Taken from TDSB Website:

November is Indigenous Education Month at the Toronto District School Board.

Throughout the month, students, staff, and community members honour a number of important days to deepen knowledge, to learn from our shared histories, and to strengthen relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples.

It is important to remember to center First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives, voices, histories, and contemporary realities across the TDSB every day. This month places emphasis on creating opportunities to learn from Indigenous perspectives on treaties, leadership, achievements, resurgence, futurities, and creativity. The TDSB is committed to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action (TRC) and th.e United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Below is a list of significant dates throughout the month of November:

• Treaties Recognition Week is November 5-11
• November 7 is International Inuit Day
• November 8 is National Indigenous Veterans Day
• November 16 is Louis Riel Day in Ontario

Hindu Heritage Month

Taken from TDSB Website:

The TDSB is proud to recognize Hindu Heritage Month during the month of November. Hinduism is one of the oldest living religions which have flourished for over 10,000 years. It is an occasion to recognize and celebrate the rich tapestry of traditions, teachings and values that are integral to Hinduism and practiced by millions around the world today.

This year’s theme "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" is a Sanskrit word in Hindu dharma that means, ‘The World is one Family.’ It is based on the spiritual idea that every human being is born with a divine spark and is a part of one divine universal consciousness. This ancient message of oneness aims to promote friendliness, acceptance, compassion, and a sense of belongingness toward all others, despite differences of culture, languages, or thoughts. 

You can follow TDSB Hindu Heritage Month on X (formerly Twitter) for daily messages throughout the month of November: a@tdsb_HHM