Week of September 23, 2024

 

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah begins this coming week. We wish our Jewish students, staff and community a very Happy Rosh Hashanah. May you all have a happy, healthy and amazing year ahead. 

Morning Drop-Off Routines

Dear families, here are some key points to be aware of during daily morning drop off of students:  

• Supervision starts at 8:40 am every morning for students in Grades 1-6. At this time, staff will be on duty. Therefore, we encourage families not to drop students off before 8:40am, as there is no guaranteed supervision available.
• Our playground area will not be supervised by staff before the start of school (i.e., 8:40-8:55am). Therefore, please ensure that you supervise your child(ren) should they wish to use the playscape area during this time. 
• If your child(ren) are late to be dropped off in the mornings and their class has already gone inside, please do not send your child into the school building on their own to attend class. Instead, we kindly ask that your child(ren) be taken to the main office for a late slip. Given variations in teachers' schedules, some classes may not be in their homeroom classes in the morning, therefore, dropping your child(ren) off in the office will ensure that they safely go to the class they are scheduled to be in for first period (e.g., music, gym, etc.). We thank you for your cooperation and partnership with this, as we all work together to ensure the safety of students at all times. 
  

Curriculum Night/Meet the Family Night

Our Curriculum Night/Meet the Family Night will take place on Wednesday, October 9th, 2024.  We look forward to seeing our families that evening. Please see below for a breakdown of the evening:

6:30 - 6:50pm - School-wide address by school administration 

7:00 - 7:25pm - Classroom Presentations #1

7:30 - 7:55pm - Classroom Presentations #2

Promoting Respect in Our School Building

Each and every day, TDSB staff in schools and buildings interact with students, parents, guardians, caregivers, and other members of the community. As a school and school board, it is our expectation that staff be treated with kindness, dignity and respect during all interactions, whether in-person or via phone and email. Harassment or disrespectful behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated.

Please remember that respectful behaviour must be maintained during all interactions. We ALL have an important role to play in creating and maintaining respectful working and learning spaces. 

Knitting Club

Mr. Hannah, Mme Haley and Mme Samuel are organizing and starting a knitting club for our junior students, which is expected to begin sometime in the beginning of October. We are asking for donations, if possible, from our community to assist with gathering the necessary materials for this club. We are searching for the following items:

- knitting needles (ideally 5mm 5.5mm, or 6mm)

-yarn (ideally acrylic or wool in either worsted or chunky weight, nothing fuzzy, no chenille, no mohair)

If you are able to donate any of these items, please connect with Mme Haley at Melissa.Haley@tdsb.on.ca

Early Years Screening: Students in SK to Gr. 2

Dear Families, 

The Ministry released Policy/Program Memorandum# 168 which mandates annual early reading screening for all students in Year 2 of Kindergarten through Grade 2. Early reading screening is a process of assessing a student’s foundational reading skills in the early years of school. It involves administering a series of measures to identify students who may be at-risk for reading difficulties. Early reading screening is used to inform educators as they provide instruction and further intervention support to students. 

Please note that a school letter was sent to our families with information about the early reading screening via school messenger. If you have any further questions about the screening, please do not hesitate to contact the school administration or your child's teacher. 

Engaging Students in Critical Conversations (Terry Fox Run, Walk or Roll)

                                                                    

At our school, we engage our students in critical conversations. In Ms. Paras' class this week, students thought critically about accessibility, ableism, and inclusion. Students were asked to think about the inclusion of the word "roll" in our Terry Fox event, which led to critical and rich conversations about inclusion and accessibility. Then, students thought about our own school and analyzed and brainstormed ways our school is accessible to persons with disabilities. Such rich learning in Ms. Paras' class. 

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day on September 30, 2024

September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Together we recognize the legacy of Canada's residential school system and continue to learn the many truths of these institutions. During Truth and Reconciliation Week, which takes place this year between September 23-27, we encourage schools to participate in events offered by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation. 

Orange Shirt Day, established in 2013 by Phyllis Webstad, recognizes the legacy of the Residential Schools System for First Nations, Métis and Inuit families and communities. By wearing orange, we acknowledge the truths of Residential Schools in Canada, we honour Survivors, and we remember the thousands of children who died, many of them buried in unmarked graves. This year, TDSB and our school will honour Orange Shirt Day on Monday, September 30th.