Owen Online Newsletter: Owen Family Update

Hello Owen Families,

Starting Tuesday, we are making the switch to our Owen Parent Contact email list for all staff to use. To continue to receive our school office emails and the Owen Online, please make sure you sign up at http://bit.ly/OwenParentContactInformation. If you are an Owen Parent and part of the Virtual School, please choose Virtual School as your class.

We would like to wish all our families a Happy Thanksgiving! It's a time to be with family and reflect on what we are thankful for. As advised by our Premier, please stay distanced and celebrate with immediate family in your household.

On behalf of the Owen Staff, wishing you all a safe and intimate family Thanksgiving.

________________________________

Data Verification Form

Please return the data verification form on Tuesday. We know there is a lot of new information you are required to fill but this information helps us maintain updated information for emergency situations. It is important that you review the important contact information.

________________________________

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.

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.

________________________________

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.

________________________________

Parent Council Meeting:

We will be running elections for various positions for the Owen Parent Executive Council this month. Parent Council will be looking for:

- 1 Chair

- 1 Treasurer

- 1 Secretary

There will also be opportunities to be involved through committee work and other great ways to contribute to our school community.

Our first Parent Council meeting will take place on Wednesday October 14th from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm. At the meeting, candidates will have an opportunity to introduce themselves.

Join Zoom Meeting https://tdsb-ca.zoom.us/j/94968994479?pwd=bzhOWFhKekFrODdnSU84cUZ2eVBNdz09 Meeting ID: 949 6899 4479 Passcode: 500093 One tap mobile +16473744685,,94968994479#,,,,,,0#,,500093# Canada +16475580588,,94968994479#,,,,,,0#,,500093# Canada Dial by your location +1 647 374 4685 Canada +1 647 558 0588 Canada +1 778 907 2071 Canada Meeting ID: 949 6899 4479 Passcode: 500093

Voting will open Saturday October 17 @12:00 pm and close on Sunday October 18 @ 12:00 pm.

The following are the dates for the Parent Council Meetings for the year:

Oct 14 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Jan 13 9:30 am - 10:30 am

April 14 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

June 9 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

________________________________

Virtual Parents as Partners Conference:

Save the Date for the Virtual Parents as Partners Conference!

October 24 and 25 is the first-ever virtual parent conference. This online version offers all the same exciting, inspiring and informative content as the in-person conference, but allows you to participate all from the comfort of your own home.

This year’s conference includes two amazing keynotes as well as a host of breakout sessions that you can choose to tailor to your own interests and needs.

Some of the sessions offered include special education, mental health and well-being, anti-Black racism and virtual engagement. In the breakout sessions – led by both TDSB experts and panelists from outside organizations – you also get a chance to connect in a more intimate way with other parents, ask questions and participate in discussions.

Registration opens on Tuesday, October 13. Learn more at www.parentsaspartners.ca

_________________________________

Dress for Weather:

Physical Education, recess and lunch recess will take place outside, rain or shine. Please make sure students are dressed for weather. Here are some tips to help you prepare your child for outdoor learning and play:

- Have boots for rainy days
- A Waterproof or water resistant jacket will keep clothes underneath dry
- Leave extra pants, socks, underwear and gloves at school
- Check that indoor shoes stay at school. This also helps keep our school floors clean

_________________________________

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. We will be discontinuing using School Messenger and migrating to our Parent Contact Information sheet for all staff to be able to use.

_______________________________

Cell Phones, Tablets and Laptops at School:

Owen has a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy for students in the junior grades to increase the ratio of tech to students in class. Technology is used only for instructional purposes. If teachers are not asking students to use it in class, then technology is put away and stored to charge.

Students are welcome to have cell phones as parents may feel comfortable having ways to contact their child while walking to and from school. Once students are on school property, students must turn off their phones and store them in their backpacks. We don't want them lost or damaged nor do we want this to disrupt instructional time.

If you need to speak to your child during the day, please call the office. We can send a message to your child or if it's urgent we will call them out of class to take the call in the office.

Cell phones, tablets, or laptops will not be allowed outside before school, recess or lunch. We want this time to be used for students to socialize with one another, play sports or games, and have fun outside without the distractions of technology.

_________________________________

Daily Health Screening:

Just a reminder to complete the Health Self-Assessment for all your children PRIOR to coming to school.

If students are not cleared, then it means either:

1) the screening indicated a "yes" and the child could be ill

2) 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 are having trouble with the app, one of our staff in a yellow vest will be available in the morning during drop off to assist you next week.

________________________________

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 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).

These have been delayed but we expect the board will continue to send them out throughout the week.

________________________________

Terry Fox Week: Donations

We will still have our fundraising link available this week.

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