Owen Online - Winter Break

Socks for the Homeless

Thanks to everyone who donated socks for our drive. We collected over 300 pairs of socks and were able to visit the Indie 88.1 radio station to deliver and meet the organizers of the event. Great work Owen and thanks for your school spirit and generosity!
http://www.socks4soulscanada.com/donate.html

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Common Sense Media Website
Here's a link to a website for holiday Tech tips, movie guides and important conversations to have with children about their online activities. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

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Drop Off Loop

Lately there have been a number of cars parking in the front drop off loop which defeats the purpose of the drop off. If you must exit your vehicle for any amount of time please park legally on the street. 

We are all in a rush but the safety of our students is paramount. We've had a number of close calls so the parking authority has been informed and will randomly visit during peak hours. Please be courteous and careful in our drop off loop for the safety of all.

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St. Andrew’s Junior High 
Invites you to our

INFO NIGHTS

Families and students are invited for a visit and a peek into what St. Andrew’s is like. Each evening will have both an info session and a guided tour of the school.

Wednesday, January 10 – 6:30 to 8 pm

Grade 5 students and families

Thursday, January 11 – 6:30 to 8 pm

Grade 6 students and families

and High Performing Athletes (HPA) Info Night

(for gr. 6 to 8 students competing at the provincial and/or national level) 

This is an opportunity for you to come and see our:

·      displays and samples of student work

·      student demonstrations and performances

For updates about our school and the Junior High to Middle School transition, we invite you to follow our school blog.

Visit: standrewsjhs.ca   

·      In the right-hand column, enter your email address under “Follow Blog via Email”

·      You can also see relevant posts under News > Junior High to Middle School

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Early Dismissals

Please send a note or email office staff if your child will be signing out for an appointment as we are trying to minimize interruptions during instructional time. 

Any student who needs to be dismissed early must be picked up before 2:45 pm. 

To ensure the safety of all students, students will not be dismissed between 2:45 pm  - 3:15 pm as staff need to account for students taking the bus and going to daycare. This time is extremely important as students will miss instructional time and time to organize their agendas. 

Thanks for your cooperation. 

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OSAC Meeting Times

Next OSAC Meeting: Tuesday, January 16th @ 8:45am in the staff room

OSAC Meetings have traditionally been in the evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. We want to make the meetings as accessible as possible for parents so are trying an OSAC meeting in January at 8:45am after morning drop off. Hope to see you there!

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Milk Sales
We have established the milk ticket sales for the next couple months.

• December 13-20, delivered on December 21st
• January 19-31, delivered on February 1st

Questions or concerns about milk, please contact owenmilkprogram@outlook.com

Peanut Allergies

Please be mindful that we have students in the school with severe nut allergies.  Please ensure that all lunches and snacks are peanut free or have not be made in a facility that contains nuts.  Snacks that contain nuts will be brought to the office and can be picked up after school.

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Junior Extended French (JEF) 

(Grade 4 Entry)

Applications to the Junior Extended French program may be submitted, on behalf of students in the English program, the year the child is in Grade 3 for entry in September of Grade 4. It is an entirely online process. All communication will be sent via the email address you provide. Please check your email regularly, including junk mail folders.

Please visit the application site www.tdsb.on.ca/pars

·     You will need your child’s date of birth and OEN. The OEN is a 9-digit number found on any report card from the TDSB.

·     For non-TDSB students, please select the “Non-TDSB Student” option and follow the steps to generate an identification number. You must then return to the PARS site and follow the application procedure with this number.

·     Please select Junior Extended French from the drop-down menu and complete the application process.

On-time applicants will be offered a placement online via the email address you have provided. You MUST take action to accept this placement by the deadline requested when you are offered a placement.

Offers of placement will be on-going through the weeks and months following the close of the application period. Please check your email regularly, including junk mail folders, and follow any instructions.

IMPORTANT DATES:

Application process opens: Monday, January 8, 2018

Deadline for applications: Thursday, February 8, 2018

Please note:

·     while every effort will be made to place students in the school identified as their area JEF school, this is not always possible. In cases where the number of applications in a given area is greater than the number of spaces in the school, students may be redirected to schools with available space.

·     Placements are made based on the address you provide prior to the application deadline. If your address changes between the application deadline and the fall of the Grade 4 year, there is no guarantee of placement in your new area.

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Hello Everyone, During my Community Coffee meeting last week, there were lots of great questions regarding the Enhancing Equity Task Force Report and specialized programming at the TDSB. I would like to follow up on some of the questions below. Are specialty schools and programs, and the congregated gifted programs going to continue? Yes. What are the different paths high school students can take to achieve their graduation certificate? – Applied, General, Academic? This document from People For Education summarizes the different paths and offers tips to parents regarding high school course selection.  Can students identified as “gifted” enter the congregated high school program after grade 8? Yes. After students have the formal designation by a certified practitioner they will be placed into a congregated program – usually the “gifted” catchment area for their home address –provided that there is room and it is what the parent wishes. However, the process to approve and place these children requires an IPRC. This may take a few weeks in which a student may have to attend their home high school for the regular program. If anyone knows of a student refused admission to a congregated gifted program, please have them contact me at Gerri.Gershon@tdsb.on.ca. Was John Malloy Director of Education in Hamilton-Wentworth when the congregated gifted program was eliminated at that Board? There was no congregated gifted program in Hamilton-Wentworth when John was Director. If applied courses aren’t available at the grade 9 level, will teachers be prepared kids to assist students with a learning disability? There has been no determination yet about eliminating Grade 9 applied programs; however the Board is examining this issue. The Director has assured me that teachers and schools will be ready so that all students will be able to achieve success. It won’t be a sudden decision without staff preparation and adequate student supports.  What is the schedule for approval of the Enhancing Equity Report? Please click here, or on the image below to read all about the next steps.  Those looking to offer a delegation regarding this process can visit http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Leadership/Boardroom/Delegations for more information.  I would like to thank all the parents who have supported my coffee meetings. The questions that you ask and the topics you raise are of immeasurable importance to me in my role as Trustee. I hope that each of you have an enjoyable holiday with your family and friends. See you in 2018!

Newsletters - Quick Communicator

Dates

• Ward Forum - Tuesday January 23 7:00 PM
  Meet the Director of Education John Malloy at North Toronto Collegiate Institute
• Community Coffee - Monday February 26, 9:15 AM
• Ward Forum - April Date TBA on the Budget, 7:00 PM
• Community Coffee - April meeting cancelled
• Ward Forum - Tuesday May 22, 7:00 PM
• Community Coffee - Wednesday June 18, 9:15 AM

Below are several articles to keep you updated on education issues in our community and across Toronto.

if you wish to discuss any of the items, please email me at gerri.gershon@tdsb.on.ca

Gerri

We are fortunate to have Gerri Gershon as our Trustee.  To stay informed with Gerri, please sign up for her e-newsletter at www.tdsb.on.ca/gershon and read her Newsletters - Quick Communicator. Follow her on Twitter  @gerrigershon, for all sorts of useful information about education. For system wide news about the TDSB, visit www.tdsb.on.ca/TDSBupdate.