Saturday 4 December 2021

Owen Family Update - Week of December 6th 2021

Dear Owen Parents/Guardians,


Only two weeks left of school and then it's holiday and family time for our Owen families.  Please make sure you read through all the attachments that were sent with the Owen Online email.  Many are related to travel and covid vaccine.  If you are leaving early for vacation, please email our safe arrival line at owenps@tdsb.on.ca to let us know the date you are leaving and the date you return to Canada if you are travelling out of the country.  Please use this email or call the office if you have appointments and students need to leave early.

This is also the season for the gift of giving.  Please see below the multiple ways we can help our Owen families and families in the Toronto area.

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Happy Hanukkah Owen Families!

As many families light the menorah during this week of Hanukkah to celebrate the Festival of Lights, we would like to share with you the wonderful display cases that some of our Owen students helped to create this week.
Thank you to the following students for your help and contributions:
Payton Wayling
Olivia Kirsh 
Chase Jackson
Anita Kazemi
Ishani McDonald
Sam Boampong
Eli Herscovici



If you have a favourite family game you do, please share it on this document.  The holidays are a great way to reconnect and communicate as a family.


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Christmas and Kwanzaa Holiday Display

Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration.

Kwanzaa, celebrated from December 26 to January 1, is an African American and pan-African seven-day cultural holiday that celebrates family and community. 

If your family celebrates Christmas or Kwanzaa, we would love to have a Holiday Display in the front.  You can send holiday artifacts with your child that represents these holidays to your family.  Students can decorate the displays in the front hallway of the school.



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Holiday Hampers Gift of Giving

This week kicks off our Holiday Hampers Gift of Giving. The generosity of our Owen families helps other families in need.

We are asking for your help to provide each family a gift basket. Each class has been assigned one family who would greatly benefit from our support. Please see the donation schedule and list of suggestions below.

  • Every item should be in their original packaging, unopened and unwrapped. Only brand new items will be accepted at this tim.e.
  • Gift items are only for children. Each class is assigned a family with children of specific ages. Your classroom teacher will let you know the ages of the children in the class' family.

Monday, Dec. 6

Hygiene items:

Toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, soap, body wash, lotion

Tuesday, Dec. 7


Nut-free candies and/or cookies (in its original sealed packaging) and Gift Cards ($10 McDonald's or Tim Horton's)

***Please bring the gift cards to the office after attendance***

Wednesday, Dec. 8


Brand new hats, scarves, gloves/mittens, nail polish, hair accessories, jewellery


Thursday, Dec. 9


Toys, puzzles, board games, etc. (No stuffed animals)

Friday, Dec. 10


Gift Cards ($25 Wal-Mart, No Frills, Food Basics, Metro, Longos, or Winners)

***Please bring the gift cards to the office after attendance***

Monday, Dec. 13


Catch up from any other days


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Socks for the Streets 2021 Drive

This winter, we need your help again. Maintaining good foot health is imperative for people experiencing homelessness to access food, shelter, medical care and other community services.



You can help our Sock 4 the Streets drive by bringing in one pair of warm adult socks between now and December 15th.  You can hang it on our Sock Tree in front of the office.

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Kindness Month at Owen

This month is our Kindness month at Owen. Our Grade 4 students have been busy creating our Kindness tree in our front hallway. Several classes have contributed from start to finish and we will now fill our tree with kindness leaves. We look forward to see our tree bloom over the next couple of weeks.




Our Grade 5s will be running their Kindness/Mindfullness Assembly soon. Here is their Mindfulness tree which is located at the front hallway.

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Computer Science Education Week @ Owen

Our school will be participating in The Hour of Code on Tuesday, December 2nd during Period 2. Throughout the next 2 weeks Ms Ierullo will be hosting robotics/coding workshops for each class.  Students will have fun coding!

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Lost and Found

We have many Lost and Found items in our hallway. We will have students take a look from each class and then we will place the Lost and Found outside by the bus loop doors for parents to look at. Items left after Dec 16th will be donated for others to use.

If your child is missing a piece of clothing, please send them to the Lost and Found to retrieve it.

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SickKids COVID-19 PCR Saliva Testing - Drop Off Times


If you are not able to drop it off at Owen, our closest regional hub is St. Roberts CS - 70 Bainbridge Avenue.


Just a reminder that the SickKids courier and lab are only collecting samples from their test kit program.  Some kits from Women's College Hospital and Michael Garron Hospital has been dropped off.  These are to be dropped off at schools and site that carry their test kits.
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General COVID-19 Updates From our TPH Nurse Jasmin Yang

As defined on the federal site, a fully vaccinated traveller must have received their second dose at least 14 days prior to the day they enter Canada, not 14 days prior school starts, in order to be qualified for quarantine exemption. It is a federal decision and TPH follows accordingly. For detail information, please visit COVID-19: Travel, testing and borders - Travel.gc.ca If parents have further questions, please redirect them to our COVID hotline 416-338-7600, its open daily from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.

Toronto

New- Travel infographic has been posted on school parent page. This includes a link to the federal fact sheet.

  • Infographic- Planning to travel with your child outside of Canada?

https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/9920-CovidKidsTravelInfographicF.pdf

(FRENCH)

 

Provincial

 

Vaccine Updates

Toronto

  • (New Content)TPH website update re interval between 1st and Second dose recommended for everyone born in 2016 and higher is 8 weeks. TPH: About Vaccines: interval between 1st and 2nd doses,
  • Team Toronto presents Toronto Kids Vaccine Day at Scotiabank Arena- See News Release

On Sunday, December 12, 2,000 of Toronto’s youngest community health superheroes will have a chance to receive their COVID-19 vaccine at Scotiabank Arena as part of Toronto Kids Vaccine Day.


Provincial

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Missed any of the TPH webinars?

Not to worry! Here is a list of the recent webinars from TPH.

COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar for the Child and Family Services Sector

The first session of “COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar for the Child and Family Services Sector” took place on Thursday, October 28, 2021 from 11 a.m. to noon.

The second session of “COVID-19 Vaccination Webinar for the Child and Family Services Sector” took place on Monday, November 1, 2021 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians

The first session of “COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians” took place on Tuesday, November 9, 2021.

The second session of “COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians” took place on Monday, November 15, 2021.

The third session of “COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians” took place on Thursday, November 25, 2021.

The fourth session of “COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians” took place on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.

The fifth session of “COVID-19 Vaccines & Children: A Webinar for Parents & Guardians” took place on Thursday, December 2, 2021.

COVID-19 Faith Leaders’ Virtual Forum

The first session of “Faith Leaders COVID-19 Virtual Forum” took place on November 25, 2021.

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Elementary Switch Form

Please be advised that the Elementary Switch Form is now open.

In order to plan ahead for elementary students to switch between in-person and virtual learning for February 2022, parents/caregivers and students requesting a change must complete an Elementary Switch Form between Friday, December 3 and Friday, January 7. A form must be completed for each student requesting a switch. Parents/caregivers and students who do not wish to make a change do not need to complete a form.

If you are considering a switch, please speak with your child before submitting a Switch Form. We expect that parents/caregivers with shared decision-making responsibilities will come to an agreement before completing the form.

We recognize that we are asking for this decision well in advance of February and thank you for your understanding, as this process takes time to complete. While we cannot guarantee that all switch requests will be met, it is our goal to accommodate as many as possible based on available programs and space (e.g. French Immersion, Extended French, Specialized Programs, Alternative Schools, other limited circumstances).Elementary classes will reflect changes due to switches beginning on February 22, 2022.

Whether you choose a switch in learning model or not, your child’s teacher or class (or school for virtual learning classes) may change due to a possible re-organization.

For more information, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/switchform.

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Team Seas

Owen student Raymond J would like to share the links TeamSeas.org and
https://youtu.be/pXDx6DjNLDU as part of his campaign to bring awareness to
Mark Rober (a YouTuber, engineer, and inventor) who's goal is to clean oceans and remove 30 million pounds of trash by the end of 2021.

Owen students can #TeamOwen and participate in this global effort. It would be fantastic if Team Owen can help to remove 500 pounds of trash from seas (one pound per dollar raised).  

More information will come from the Grade 3 team.

Go Team Owen! 
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Claude Watson School for the Arts

Claude Watson School for the Arts is a TDSB grades 4—8 school focused on the arts. Claude Watson School for the Arts offers an enriched arts education in music, drama, dance and visual arts.  Each day the students divide their time between academic classes and an exceptional arts program that develops their creative potential. Each year Grade 3 students apply for entry into our Grade 4 program.  Students interested in placement in grades 5 – 8 are welcome to apply but there are very limited places available. Parents and students who are interested in applying for CWSA are encouraged to attend one of our information sessions. 

More information about Claude Watson School for the Arts can be found on our website www.claudewatson.org.  

Apply To CWSA

Applications are accepted online.  The application system is now open.  Please see below the link to apply for the 2022/2023 school year. The application system closes on Friday December 17, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. 

PLEASE NOTE: Late applications are not accepted.

https://sprs.tdsb.on.ca/public/Welcome.aspx

Please note Claude Watson School for the Arts does not require students to submit an Optional Attendance Form

* FYI - once you click on the submit button you will get a message letting you know that "your session time has expired". Your application has actually been processed.

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Human Rights Day December 10th

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December – the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights empowers us all.   We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. 

Join UNESCO’s #RightToEducation campaign and help spread the messages about this key human right with the power to transform lives around the world!


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McMaster Parenting Study

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       Student News

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

Grade 2s at work!





Balloon Hula Hoop Volleyball!




Wacky Tacky Dress Up Day!
   


Hands On Math in Gr 1!


Go Morning Announcers! Getting everyone up and moving for our Friday Fun video dance

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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Owen Online Family Update - Week of December 18

  Dear Owen Families, As we approach the holidays, we are often reminded to count the ways in which we are fortunate.  While there are many ...