Sunday 3 October 2021

Owen Family Update - Week of October 4th, 2021

Dear Owen Parents/Guardians,

We are now into October and we can't believe we have already been in school for almost a month!  Thank you for support your child with the transition to school.  We are happy to see the students enjoying being at school learning and playing with friends at recess and lunch.

Just a reminder to please remember to finish your health check in the morning before your child is at school.  Any students who are not cleared (either indicated the child has a symptom or the health check was incomplete) will be sent to the office before they are permitted to enter class to ensure students are healthy.

Phone calls will be made home to students in K-2 to confirm students' health status with parents.  Students in Grade 3-5 whose screening are regularly not cleared will also be sent to the office for a phone call home.

During Curriculum Night both Ms Rosenbloom and Mr Parkes will be available to assist with the health check.  You can also ask any staff in the morning with a yellow vest for assistance with the Service Now app.  You can also access from home the website to do the health check at  TDSB Health Screening App - ServiceNow.

We will no longer be using the paper pass as health checks need to be entered into our system.  The Service Now app does that automatically for us.  If you have any questions feel free to email Ms Rosenbloom or Mr Parkes.

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Follow up info from Parent Council Meeting

Our goal as a school board is to try to keep students in school as long as possible and to avoid a shutdown.  


There was a question at the Parent Council meeting regarding the need to test the unvaccinated vs vaccinated. Below are a few resources to help answer this question. It's true breakthrough infections (infections among those who are fully vaccinated) may occur and those individuals may transmit the virus to others. However, the main point to keep in mind is that vaccination greatly reduces the chances of infection occurring in the first place, and if you are not infected you do not transmit. 

 

-Vaccines reduce the chance of getting infected by about 85%; (Ontario Science Advisory Table Update - September 28, 2021-https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Update-on-COVID-19-Projections_2021.09.28_English-2.pdf)

 

-Unvaccinated individuals are approximately 7.3 times more likely to become a case of COVID-19 compared to fully vaccinated individuals; Unvaccinated cases account for the majority (93.6%) of COVID-19 cases reported in Ontario, with breakthrough cases accounting or only 1.9%. (Public Health Ontario, Sep. 18, 2021-https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/epi/covid-19-epi-confirmed-cases-post-vaccination.pdf?la=en)

 

There was also a recent article in the Atlantic which provides a good lay summary of this very issue: https://amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/620161/ 


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Hispanic Heritage Month

By proclaiming the month of October as Hispanic Heritage Month in Ontario, the province recognizes the rich contributions of Hispanic-Canadians to our social economic, political and multicultural fabric.

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Islamic Heritage Month

At the Toronto District School Board, Islamic Heritage Month is proudly recognized during the month of October. On June 22, 2016, the TDSB passed a motion to recognize Islamic Heritage Month in October. Subsequently, in 2016, the province of Ontario established October as Islamic History Month (IHM) through the Islamic Heritage Month Act, “proclaiming a month to be Islamic Heritage Month in Ontario will provide all Ontarians, both today and in future generations, with an opportunity to reflect, celebrate and learn about the rich and longstanding Islamic history in the Province and the diverse roles and contributions of Muslim people in communities across Ontario. This new understanding will in turn help combat anti-Islamic sentiment.

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Somali Heritage Month

Since June 2016, the TDSB has had the privilege to recognize Somali Heritage Month. 

There are many Somali who immigrated to Canada who continue to participate and to educate others in their traditions within their new environment. Music has always been an integral part of Somali tradition, and one well-known Somali-Canadian artist who has been sharing his love of songs on the world stage is Keinan Abdi Warsame (K'naan). K’naan was born in May 30, 1978 in Mogadishu which is located in the southeastern Banaadir province of Somali and later moved to Toronto’s Rexdale community as a young teenager with members of his family. K’naan is identified as a poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist; however, he is renowned for his song “Waving Flag” as it was chosen as Coca-Cola’s promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup that was hosted by South Africa. 

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2021 Parents as Partners Conference - Oct 16 & 17 


Join us for a virtual conference and learn strategies to support your child, connect with other parents and hear from our inspirational keynote speakers.

TDSB is committed to parent, caregiver, and community engagement as an essential element in our shared efforts to improve outcomes for children throughout their lives. Our role is to help build capacity by successfully engaging parents and caregivers, strengthening home-school partnerships and aligning our collective efforts.

The 2021 Parents and Caregivers as Partners Conference provides an opportunity to highlight innovation and high-impact strategies for partnering, collaborating, and nurturing parents’ and caregivers’ partnerships and alliances.

Please watch this promotional video created by our amazing Community Support Workers communications team and then you can go to the 2021 Parents and Caregivers as Partners Conference website to register.

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Curriculum Night - Wednesday October 6th, 2021


Once again our Curriculum Night will be Virtual from 6:15 pm to 8:00 pm.  For those who would like assistance with the Daily Health App, please join Admin at any of these times for help:
  • 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm
  • 6:45 pm - 7:15 pm


To join our Virtual Curriculum Night:

Meeting ID: 954 1399 4751
Passcode: 463003
One tap mobile
+16475580588,,95413994751#,,,,*463003# Canada
+16473744685,,95413994751#,,,,*463003# Canada

Dial by your location
        +1 647 558 0588 Canada
        +1 647 374 4685 Canada
Meeting ID: 954 1399 4751
Passcode: 463003
Find your local number: https://tdsb-ca.zoom.us/u/acUbzxeucp

Join by SIP
95413994751@zoomcrc.com

Join by H.323
162.255.37.11 (US West)
162.255.36.11 (US East)
115.114.131.7 (India Mumbai)
115.114.115.7 (India Hyderabad)
213.19.144.110 (Amsterdam Netherlands)
213.244.140.110 (Germany)
103.122.166.55 (Australia Sydney)
103.122.167.55 (Australia Melbourne)
149.137.40.110 (Singapore)
64.211.144.160 (Brazil)
149.137.68.253 (Mexico)
69.174.57.160 (Canada Toronto)
65.39.152.160 (Canada Vancouver)
207.226.132.110 (Japan Tokyo)
149.137.24.110 (Japan Osaka)
Meeting ID: 954 1399 4751
Passcode: 463003

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Lates / Lunches / Afternoon Pick Up

Our pick up and drop off times are extremely busy and instructional time is very valuable. To avoid disrupting students' learning please note our instructional times.


Lates:
Please bring your child to the front of the school when you arrive after 9:10 am.  Students are to go to the office to get a late slip and go through the health app screening before they enter the classroom.

Lunch:
Parents picking up children for lunch are to go to the classroom doors and wait for the bell to ring, not buzz at the front entrance of the school.  When returning, students do not need to sign in.  They can go to their classroom doors for afternoon entry.

Early Pick Up:
Our after school gets very busy with students going to daycare, taking the bus and getting picked up by parents or guardians. Teachers use the end of the period to consolidate the learning, prepare agendas and help students gather what they need for homework.  Please schedule appointments at the end of the day.  Students should be picked up before 3:00 pm to avoid interrupting the end of the day events.
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Permission Click 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 this week directly from the board. 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 .  Please return the Student Verification form this week. This will help us update our parent contact information and medical 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 2021/2022).


Here is a tutorial for the Start of the Year forms that will help guide parents through this process.


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Terry Fox Run - October 5th and 6th

Owen students will continue the tradition to celebrate and honour Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.  Students in their cohorted classes will have an opportunity to do a walk around the area and families can donate through cash online to support the Marathon of Hope.  More information will be given to each class.

Watch the video that includes our Owen students.


Donations:
You can donate in denominations of $2, $5 or $10 through Cash Online.  This will be available this week.  Or you can donate directly to http://www.terryfox.ca/OwenPSNorthYork.

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Caring and Safe Schools Committee

Each school has a Caring and Safe Schools Committee who provides input for fostering a safe, inclusive, and accepting school climate.  

We are looking for 1 more parent who would like to meet (virtually) 4 times a year, along with our vice-principal and teacher representative,  to discuss ways we can bring improvements to Owen.

If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact jamie.parkes@tdsb.on.ca 


A Safe, Caring School Environment

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Owen Students







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If you have photos, student work or family activities you would like to share on the Owen Online for next week, please email them to jamie.parkes@tdsb.on.ca.
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Please click here for the latest updates and newsletters. 

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