Owen Family Update - Week of September 28, 2020

Hello Owen Families,

Welcome to our first Owen Online for the year.  We will continue our Owen Online Bulletins in this format, which will also be posted and archived on our school website.

We know there are many changes with school and we are living in uncertain times.  We hope to make the transition to school a smooth one and our focus is always health and safety of all students and staff.

As we navigate through our days, we continually assess and adapt our processes and procedures to improve our environment and support best practices.

Thank you for your support, questions and offers for help.  Although we have many restrictions, we will have ways to have our parent community involved again. We will send a separate email to indicate the dates for our Virtual Parent Council meetings.

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Parent Contact Form:

Every year, we ask that parents complete the parent contact form to receive all communication from the office. All staff including homeroom teachers, prep teachers, staff in charge of sports teams or clubs and the office staff use this information to contact parents of the students they work with.

Please complete the form at http://bit.ly/OwenParentContactInformation before the end of the week as we will be switching to this email list for the next Owen Online.  Parents in the Virtual School may continue to receive our communication by completing this form.

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Safe Arrival:

If your child is ill or absent for an appointment, please let the school know by emailing us at 

owenps@tdsb.on.ca or leaving a message at 416.395.2742.

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Daily Health Screening:

Ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff is a priority and everyone plays a role. The most important thing families can do to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, is to screen their children daily for any COVID-19 symptoms and keep them home from school if they are sick or have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19. All staff and visitors will also be required to screen themselves before entering a TDSB building.

Before coming to school or an administration building each day, all students and staff must conduct an active health screening self-assessment, considering the following questions:

• Do you have any of the following symptoms (new or worsening):
• Fever
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
• Sore throat, trouble swallowing
• Runny nose or red eyes
• Loss of taste or smell
• Not feeling well, tired or sore muscles
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea 
• Have you returned from travel outside Canada in the past 14 days?
• Have you been in close contact with someone who is sick or has confirmed COVID-19 in the past 14 days without wearing the appropriate PPE?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, please stay home; self-isolate right away; and call Telehealth or your health care provider to find out if you need to be tested. For more information about testing, please visit www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/

Thank you to those who have uploaded the QR Code. This code is an identifier for each student and is used to generate a class list of codes.  This helps speed the morning entry as teachers are screening students in.

If students are not cleared, then it means either:

- the screening indicated a "yes" and the child could be ill

- the daily health screening was not completed that morning before school.

Students in this case will be sent to the office and a phone call will be made home to ensure your child is healthy and can be in class.

If you have difficulties signing in, please let the school know and we can assist you with the process.

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Playgrounds and Outdoor Learning/Recess/Lunch

We have requested and have been allocated one extra Lunchroom supervisor for lunch to help with supervision in their different zones.  Classes are cohorted with their partner classes, maintaining groups of no more than 50.  We continue to assess and modify our procedures as our student population changes. We have adjusted a few of our practices to meet new changes in our operational policies:

- City Red park can be used as a zone area and for outdoor learning, but not the playscape.

- Owen Playcapes can be used only if students are wearing masks.  If they are distanced off the playscape, they can remove their masks to get a break.

- Classes will stay in their assigned zones based on the supervision schedule.

- Students wash/sanitize their hands before and after outdoor play.

- No students are to stay in at recess to do any work.  Students need a break and need to be outside.  If a parent has worked something out with a teacher, a note must be sent to the Principal directly from the parent to request this.

We are continually looking for supply Lunchroom Supervisors.  If parents or nannies are available during the lunch hour for 1 hour and 15 mins, please contact stephen.miles@tdsb.on.ca to apply.

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Deadline to Switch Between Elementary Virtual School and In-Person Learning:

As a reminder, 4 p.m. on September 30 is the deadline for elementary students to request a switch between the Virtual School and in-person (in-school) learning. Families who would like to request a switch from the Virtual School to in-person learning must complete the Virtual School Opt-Out online form before the deadline. Learn more about switching between the Virtual School and in-person learning, including upcoming key dates.

Shortly after this date, we may go through another re-organization which will indicate whether or not we will have staff changes.

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Start of the Year Online Permission Forms 

The Start of Year Forms package will be made available to parents/guardians digitally again this year. The forms will be emailed to all parents/guardians between Monday, September 28, 2020 - Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The Start of Year Forms will be completed for all students (both in-person and virtual). These forms are associated with the student and therefore will move with the student, regardless of the learning model chosen.

 

The Start of Year Forms package does not replace the Student Verification form that will be sent this week which is used to verify student demographic and parent contact information.  

 

The forms/procedures that will be provided in digital format are: 

• PR088 - Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources 
• PR511H - Walking Excursion - Immediate Community 
• PR511E - Medical Information for Excursions 
• PR511K - Physical Education Information and Intramural Information/Permission
• PR519A - Severe Weather Conditions: Permission to Leave School 
• PR529B - Student Media Consent Release Form 
• PR563 - Anaphylaxis
• PR571 - Code of On-line Conduct 
• PR585 - Board Code of Conduct 
• PR607 - Diabetes Management 
• PR714 - Asthma Management 
• TDSB Digital Learning Tool Consent Form (now mandatory for all grades)

 

An email will be automatically sent to the parent/guardian who is the primary or secondary contact (Priority 1 or 2).  The email will include a link to complete these forms for each of your  children. The sender will be “TDSB Online Form (noreply@tdsb.on.ca)” and the subject line will contain the School Name, Student Name, Date and name of the form (eg. TDSB School - John Doe - Sept 25: Start of Year Form 2020/2021).

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Spirit Days: 

We will have a variety of spirit days throughout the year.  Our first will be on Tuesday Sept 29th to kick off the Toronto Blue Jays playoffs.  Wear aBlue Jay shirt or a Blue Shirt to show your support.

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Orange Shirt Day - Wed Sept 30:

Orange Shirt Day is a day when we honour the Indigenous children who were sent away to residential schools in Canada and learn more about the history of those schools. Orange Shirt Day began in Williams Lake in 2013 and has since spread to schools across B.C. and Canada. Wear your orange shirt to show your support!

Please visit CBC Kids for more information on Orange Shirt Day.

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Terry Fox Week:  October 5 - 9, 2020:

We are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of Terry Fox in October.  Students will have an opportunity to run on the school grounds during their Physed class and participate in lessons during their other classes.  

This year is the 40th Anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope and Owen Public School is proud to be continuing the legacy of one of our greatest heroes. Please join us and support this wonderful cause by donating to: http://www.terryfox.ca/OwenPSNorthYork. Together, we can all make a difference! #terryfoxschoolruns @terryfoxfoundation

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Bus Transportation:

Thank you for your patience as we navigate our bus transportation this week. This year is unusual in every way and bussing is no different. We have been in regular contact with Transportation and the bussing companies to report service issues and concerns and will continue to work to make things run smoothly.

 

If a bus is late or there is an issue, I have been sending updates to families through our Remind App. You can sign up here: https://www.remind.com/join/buscont 

 

For details on your bus schedule, times and route, please see the bus planner site here: https://www.torontoschoolbus.org/

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International Languages Elementary and African Heritage:

In an increasingly globalized world, it is important to set our students on the path to being active global citizens. The TDSB takes great pride in providing International Languages and African Heritage programs to all students from K to Grade 8. No background knowledge is necessary and we encourage students to explore all languages.

This fall, the International Languages – Elementary / African Heritage Program will be offering language classes to students (TDSB and non TDSB) Kindergarten to Grade 8. Students will take part in a remote/at home learning. One day each week, they will have live face-to-face interactive lessons with their instructor and other students for approximately 30 minutes. Activities will be focused on building student’s abilities in oral communication, reading and writing. 

For more information please visit 

https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Elementary-School/Beyond-the-Classroom/International-Languages-Elementary-and-African-Heritage/Fall-2020-2021 

Please note that a minimum of 23 students is required to open a language class.

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Explore It!:

Explore It! has moved to online programming after some very successful summer camps.  Explore It! is offering a range of Online Programming and Workshops this fall! We think this is a great way to offer students a safe and secure way to enjoy a range of fun activities while bringing together participants who may otherwise not have met – fostering friendships and exploring together. Please see our Fall Programming link: http://www.exploreitall.ca/online-programming-and-workshops

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