Owen Family Update - Week of December 13th 2021

 Dear Owen Parents/Guardians,

It's our last week of school and excited for the holiday break.  Just a reminder that Monday is our last day for our Holiday Hampers and Wednesday Dec. 15th is our last day for our Sock Tree drive. 

             

Just a reminder to have your child check the lost and found.  Please bring shoes and clothes home to check for sizing and return correct size indoor shoes and extra clothing for the new year.

Just a reminder if you are going to be leaving for an early vacation, please email owenps@tdsb.on.ca  so we can mark the attendance appropriately.

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.

Favourite Family Games

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Rapid Antigen Screening Kit

Rapid Antigen Screening Kits were distributed to our students this week as per the school email. The kits have an instruction page attached however we are sharing an online link that we just received for your consideration in hopes it may be helpful.  Please see the LINK below.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zVDiI-rZ-k9wH-nE34Ze1wgftuRjQc3iAOaEjqKOQLg/edit?usp=sharing

Please note that if your child has symptoms, do not use this test.  Ask the office for a Saliva PCR test that will be sent to the Sick Kids Lab.

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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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Middle French Immersion Application & Timeline

For families interested in the Toronto District School Board's system-wide Middle French Immersion Program (begins in Grade 4), we offer an online process to apply. To apply for the Middle French Immersion Program (Grade 4 entry) for September 2022, applications must be completed online between January 3 and January 28, 2022.

 

An offer of placement in the program (not a specific school) is guaranteed to all on-time applicants and will be made in the weeks following the close of the application window.

Please note: Families with an older sibling currently enrolled in a French program and who will be in attendance next year are still required to complete an online application for the new student. Please select the “sibling option” within the online application.

 

For more information about the Middle French Immersion (Grade 4) application process, please join us for a Virtual Webinar Session on one of the following dates: 

DATES, TIME & LINK TO WEBINARS	ALTERNATE WAYS TO PARTICIPATE
January 6, 2022 – 10 am    CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WEBINAR ON JANUARY 6	Webinar ID: 957 9470 9338 Phone one-tap: Canada: +6473744685,,95794709338# or +16475580588,,95794709338#  Dial: Canada : +1 647 374 4685 or +1 647 558 0588
January 13, 2022 – 1 pm    CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WEBINAR ON JANUARY 13	Webinar ID: 965 0951 9491 Phone one-tap: Canada: +6475580588,,96509519491# or +16473744685,,96509519491#  Dial: Canada:+1 647 558 0588 or +1 647 374 4685
January 17, 2022 – 7 pm    CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE WEBINAR ON JANUARY 17	Webinar ID: 998 7090 8992 Phone one-tap: Canada: +16473744685,,99870908992# or +16475580588,,99870908992#  Dial: Canada: +1 647 374 4685 or +1 647 558 0588

 

Families can request interpretation services for this event in advance, by completing this online form before December 17, 2021.

 

Information about the Middle French Immersion Program is available in multiple languages. For details, please see the information package. For more information about French programs, the application process and important dates, please visit www.tdsb.on.ca/french or click on Application Process.

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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

Monday is our last day for our Holiday Hampers! We will be packaging each family's basket and then deliveries will begin on Tuesday. Please send any items from our list this Monday to finish the baskets off!

• Every item should be in their original packaging, unopened and unwrapped. Only brand new items will be accepted at this time.
• 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.

THANK YOU OWEN!

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

Thursday is our last day for the Socks for the Streets drive! Have your child bring socks and they can hand them on the tree.

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 new year.

                    

Our Grade 5s will be running their Kindness/Mindfullness Assembly on December 16th @11:00 am. We hope parents can join us virtually for their presentation. Here is their Mindfulness tree which is located at the front hallway.

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Waste Free Lunches! 

 By Addison Lam and Heerod Hakimi 

Dear parents and guardians, we are trying to get this school to have waste free lunches.

By that, we mean no plastic and no garbage. We are trying to limit things like plastic wrap, granola bar wrappers, candy wrappers, plastic forks and spoons.  

Here are some tips for waste free lunches: 

- Instead of bringing plastic cutlery bring metal forks and spoons

- Instead of a single use plastics, buy a reusable bottle

- Buy in bulk instead of single packaging items. Or even better, make cookies!

 By helping your kid have a waste free lunch you are also doing a lot to help the

environment. Canada produces approximately 31 million tonnes of garbage a year. By having a waste free lunch you can reduce this amount. This is an example of a waste free lunch

We are starting this new eco initiative starting Monday, December 13th and will be conducting audits throughout the school year to see our growth in this area. Let’s see how waste free we can be! 

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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

Due to the current surge in COVID-19 testing recommendations and volumes coming through at SickKids, there may be a delay in test resulting through the provincial website. We apologize and thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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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Team Seas

Owen families, our grade three classes need your help! Did you know that our oceans are full of plastic and garbage? The good news is that #TEAMSEAS is going to help remove it from our oceans. 

Please bring in a loonie or toonie to help Owen reach our goal of removing 500 pounds of garbage. Students can bring a donation to their classroom teacher this week. Let’s do our part to keep our oceans safe and clean for every living thing.Thank you!

 

To learn more please visit https://teamseas.org/

 

Here are some posters that our grade three students created. Posters will be throughout the school on Monday.

               

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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McMaster Parenting Study

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       Student News

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

Computer Education Week

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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