Sunday, 25 October 2020

Owen Family Update - Week of October 26, 2020

Hello Owen Families,

Welcome Mr. Parkes!

Students have been asking me all week when Mr. Parkes will be starting. They will be excited to see him on Monday! This week, we will acquaint him with our school, programs and routines and we look forward to his ideas and contributions as he gets comfortable at Owen.

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Virtual Curriculum Night: Monday November 2nd 2020 @ 6:15 pm SAVE THE DATE!

Join us for our first Virtual Curriculum Night. Admin will start with a whole group session to share how the start up has been and how school looks different from past years. We will also stay online to provide any technical support needed with the Daily Health App, Parent Contact Email form, Google Classroom etc. Classroom teachers will share how students are learning in this new environment, get insight into their grade-level curriculum and know what the class expectations are. It's also an opportunity to become familiar with the online tools that will be used in class and continued in case of a class or school closure. We want to partner with parents to best support their child for a successful school year.

As always, Curriculum Night is voluntary for all staff. If your child's teacher has an alternate method of sharing this information, they will inform you prior to November 2nd.

Looking forward to connecting with you November 2nd! More details to come in the next Owen Online.
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Parent Council :

We would like to introduce our new secretary Yassamin Gharai for our Parent Council. Yassamin is a parent of a Gr. 3FI student at Owen. Welcome Yassamin!

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Fundraising for HEPA Units:

At the parent council meeting there was a question about raising funds for HEPA filters. The Ministry of Education Fundraising Guideline states that schools and school councils are not permitted to fundraise for anything that government funding typically covers. Fundraising for HEPA units or other HVAC-related items for a specific school is not permitted because the province specifically provided funding to school boards for this purpose.

For more information about HEPA units in TDSB schools, please see the Questions & Answers on our TDSB website.

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Dressing for Fall/Winter Weather:

We will continue to have recesses and physical education outside as much as we can, even in the cold and light rain weather. Please remember to have your child dressed appropriately as they will be outside for 15 - 30 mins for recess and lunch recess and 50 mins during physical education. Extra pair of clothes particularly socks, underwear and pants would be great for those days where they really want to play in the puddles!

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Daily Heath Screening:

Thank you everyone for performing the Daily Health Screening every morning. We have more than 95% of our students being screened successfully each day.

Don't forget to verify that your child is healthy enough to come to school! You can do this on:

your computer by going to https://tdsb.service-now.com/tswp
on your phone Daily Health Screening

We will be available for support during curriculum night to help those who are having difficulties with the app.

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Switching between In School and Virtual School:

The next opportunity for elementary students will be offered at the end of January 2021 to align with reporting. There will no longer be an opportunity for elementary students to switch in November. We are confident that this approach will help maintain current classes and teacher assignments in both in-person and virtual classrooms until the new year and will benefit all students and staff by ensuring no further disruptions.

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Halloween: COVID Health and Safety Information.

Friday, October 23, 2020
Categories: News Releases, Happenings @ TDSB

This year, as a result of COVID-19 in our city, schools will be celebrating Halloween a little differently. Toronto Public Health has provided direction on celebrating Halloween in schools. While there will not be Halloween dances or parades so we can continue to practice physical distancing, there are still many ways to have fun and celebrate safely in the school setting. This may include Halloween art activities, celebrating virtually with other classrooms, reading Halloween stories or watching a movie.
Staff or students should not bring candy to school for sharing with others.

Students can still dress up in a costume if they wish, however, because they are required to wear masks/face coverings in school, they should:

not wear a costume mask on top of their face covering
not remove their face covering and wear only a costume mask. A costume mask does not replace a face covering.
not wear make-up, from below the eyes to ensure their face coverings are not dirtied.

Read more from Toronto Public Health about celebrating Halloween safely this year:

This is a great opportunity to have discussions about the type and appropriateness of costumes your child is interested in. Please see this video on Halloween Tips for Parents on Avoiding Culturally Offensive Kid Costumes.

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Masks on School Property:

Thank you parents/guardians for wearing masks on our school grounds. Our students and staff appreciate you modelling this. If you see other parents at pick up or drop off not wearing a mask, please remind them. We also have extra masks at the front door at Entrance 1.

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After School Pick Up:

Thank you for helping us not to interrupt the instructional day at the end of the day. This time is very important as teachers are consolidating students' learning and preparing homework and agendas so students are prepared for the next day.

If you are picking up your child early from school, please make sure you pick your child up before 3:10 pm. There will not be any dismissals between 3:10 pm - 3:40 pm as it is disruptive to the instructional day and difficult to track students during this time. Please be mindful when making appointments as safety is our number one priority.

After school bus changes:

If your plans for after school has changed and you require your child to be picked up when normally on the bus or the reverse, please call the school and speak to someone in the office. Teachers and admin may not have an opportunity to open emails and may not be aware of the changes. Office staff will inform classroom teachers and teachers on bus duty directly when a call has been received.

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Parents of the Virtual School

We would like to stay connected with our parents/guardians of the Virtual School so you can be informed of what's happening at Owen. Please make sure you still complete the Parent Contact form. There is an option to choose "Virtual School" as your class.

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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.

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Start of the Year Online Permission Forms

The board had sent the following email to all parents. The email will come from TDSB Online Form (noreply@tdsb.on.ca) and will take you to a secure site to complete and submit your child’s forms.

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)

Most have received it but if you still have not received it, check the following:

- The email that school has is the same one you are expecting the form to be mailed to. Some parents use more than one email and it would be sent to the email that is listed on our Trillium system

- Check your JUNK MAIL box.

- An email should be sent on behalf of each TDSB child you have. You would have to fill out forms for each of them.

Watch the online tutorial! for more information on the forms.

If you still have not received it, email caroline.rosenbloom@tdsb.on.ca .

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Explore It!

Explore it! is one of our partners for our lunch and after school programs. Unfortunately with the restrictions with COVID-19 we are not able to run these programs at this time. Explore It! has virtually activities for after school and weekends. For more information, contact http://www.exploreitall.ca/online-programming-and-workshops .

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Student News!

See what our students have been up to lately at Owen!

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Please click here for the latest updates and newsletters.

Saturday, 17 October 2020

Owen Family Update - Week of October 19, 2020

Hello Owen Families,

It is with great joy and sadness to announce the promotion of Mr. Miles to Acting Principal at Davisville Junior PS. Though we had very short notice, students and staff were able to thank Mr. Miles and show their appreciation.

We are very happy for Stephen and know he will have a great impact at his new school. Stephen will be missed and we know there will always be a bit of Owen with him.

Congratulations Mr. Miles - We will miss you. All the best in your new school!

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Daily Heath Screening:

Thank you everyone for performing the Daily Health Screening every morning. We have more than 95% of our students being screened successfully each day.

If you were unable to do your Daily Health Screening at-home or forgot, students will be sent to the office for staff to do the Onsite Daily Health Screening and asked if they are feeling well:

If the answer is yes, they will be allowed to go into the classroom with a mask/face covering on and maintaining physical distancing, the staff member at the door will note their name and the parent/guardian will be contacted to conduct the full assessment by phone.
If they say no, they will be brought to our Wellness Room and their parent/guardian will be contacted to be picked up.

If you are having difficulties with the app, please see one of the teachers with a yellow vest in the morning before school. They will be able to assist you with the app. If there is an issue with your child's userid or password, please let your teacher know as they can reset the password or put in a ticket with the helpdesk if there is a problem.

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Switching between In School and Virtual Schoo;:

The next opportunity for elementary students will be offered at the end of January 2021. There will no longer be an opportunity for elementary students to switch in November. We are confident that this approach will help maintain current classes and teacher assignments in both in-person and virtual classrooms until the new year and will benefit all students and staff by ensuring no further disruptions.

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Halloween:

Students may choose to dress up for Halloween if they wish. The following guidelines will take place:

Students must continue to wear masks underneath their costumes.
Students can only bring their own food/healthy treats.
We will not be able to do any parades as we have done in the past but we will take some pics we can share with the Owen families.
Be conscience of the types of costumes you are selecting for your child. They should all be respectful, not include weapons or other dangerous accessories, and contain appropriate language if there is writing on the costumes.

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Masks on School Property:

Clarification that parents/guardians who are on school property temporarily (e.g., drop off/pick up) must wear masks and physically distance.

“School visitors, including parents/guardians, are required to wear a mask/face covering when indoors and outdoors on school property, such as during pick-up and drop-off.”

This responds to situations that have been noted where during drop offs and pickup parents are coming into close contact with other parents and students.

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After School Pick Up:

After school is an extremely busy time for Owen. We have students who are being picked up by parents/guardians, students who are taking the bus and students who are going to the after school daycare program. It's important that we track and ensure all students exit and are released to their proper place.

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Parents of the Virtual School

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