Owen Family Update - Week of October 10th 2022

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It was an exciting week with our Terry Fox Run , Pizza lunch and our In-Person Curriculum Night. It's nice to see our community back in our school.

Just a reminder to parents to have your police check up to date.  If you are interested in helping out with events at school, supervise on your child's class trip, be a class parent for your child's class or participate in anything that involves contact with other students, please get your police check right away.  If you have any questions about how to obtain this, please contact nahid.vashghani@tdsb.on.ca.

We are thankful for the staff and parent support we have to enrich our students lives at school.  Happy Thanksgiving and we wish all our families and staff a wonderful family weekend.

~ Your Friendly Neighbourhood Admin Team

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Photo Day - Wednesday October 12th 2022

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Parent Council Meeting Dates (hybrid)

Save the Dates!

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

October 19, 2022

November 16, 2022

February 8, 2023

April 26, 2023

May 17, 2023

Please check the Owen Calendar for the zoom link for those participating virtually.

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Terry Fox Walk/Run

Thank you!

This year's Terry Fox Walk/Run to support cancer research was a huge success in many ways. Students learned that they could be good citizens who give back to their community. It was a lovely day and all the classes enjoyed getting some exercise on a beautiful fall day.  

Then they returned to adorn our school yard with Terry Fox inspired chalk art and inspirational messages.  Thank you to our Terry Fox Committee for all the hard work that went into organizing this fantastic event!  Thanks also to the parent volunteers who cheered on our runners.  Thanks to all who gave generously to this worthy cause.

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Early French Immersion Information:

Applications for Early French Immersion "must be completed online between October 31 and November 25, 2022. 

Please note:

An offer of placement in the program (not a specific school) is guaranteed to all on-time applicants. 

Families with an older sibling currently in an Early French Immersion program are still required to complete an online application for the new student."

Visit the TDSB website for more information about Early French Immersion, Virtual & In-Person Information Sessions or the Application Process.

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Curriculum Night:

It was so nice to see the  families who came out to Curriculum Night on Thursday. After visiting their child’s teacher, families gathered on the library stairs so the admin team could share some school-wide messages. This was a hybrid session and we were pleased to see families logging in to watch as well. Here are some highlights:

Parent Council 

At our first school council meeting the executive for 2022-23 were elected.  We thank them for stepping up to help the Owen Public School community!

Snack Donations

We are gratefully accepting donations of non-perishable nut free healthy snack foods such as granola bars, cereal bars, pretzels, crackers, raisins, rice cakes etc.  Sometimes we have students who have not packed enough food, forgotten their food entirely or else it dropped and got dirty. Having these emergency snacks on-hand can really help us support student well-being. 

Communication 

Our Owen Online Bulletin is your main source if information about goings on at Owen. Previous bulletins are archived on our school website.

Another important communication tool is our Google Calendar.  Please refer to it anytime you are wondering about upcoming events. 

Safe Arrival

If your child is going to be away, please email or call to let us know. 

The first school bell rigs at 9:04. At 9:10 all doors are locked and students are considered late. They must then enter at the front of the school and check in at the office before going to class. 

 

Early Sign Out

Please remember to sign out your child at the office if you want to take your child for an appointment during the day. 

Please do not sign out your child between 2:50 and 3:40. Please either pick them up before or wait until 3:40. 

If there’s a change in the after school routine please make sure the teacher is aware of it. Do not rely in email for this since teachers generally aren’t able to access email during instructional time. 

Safety in the Front and Back Loop

In order for drivers to continue to be granted access to our kiss and ride at the front of the school, they must follow all safety rules and follow the direction of the staff who are on duty. We recently had a worrisome situation in our front loop which affected an adult. The outcome could have been much worse had a child been involved since they are much harder for drivers to spot.  Please never back up as it here could be a child behind the car. Please never pass a car as there could be a child getting out of the vehicle at that moment. Let’s please all work together to ensure everyone’s safety in the drop off area. 

Please do not use the back bus loop or curb near the crosswalk for drop-off as it is for buses. Please park on a neighbouring street and walk. 

Health & Safety 

With respect to virus transmission  prevention measures, we follow the guidance if Toronto Public Health and the Ministry of Education. They are emphasizing  good hand hygiene, cleaning of high touch surfaces, good ventilation, and staying home when ill.  Masks not mandated but they are encouraged in crowded indoor settings. They are provided at the school. We are a mask friendly environment in which everyone’s choices around mask wearing must be respected. 

To Support Health and Safety Please also Remember :

• Send extra clothes and shoes for your child. 
• Make sure your child dresses for the weather. 
• Never send food with peanuts or nuts as some children have life threatening allergies. 
• Send a water bottle. Learning is thirsty work!
• Do not send medications or vitamins with your child as they can be confused with candy. Bring all medicine to the office and complete the necessary permission form so office staff can administer them. 

School Bus

One important source of bus information is the bus planner website.  It is open to anyone.  If your child is already signed up for the bus you can make an account so you receive alerts. All our bus students are also enrolled in a Brightspace classroom so we also can send out our own alerts. To get access, parents need to sign up for Brightspace for Parents. 

Here is a letter from the Toronto Student Transportation Group:

Dear Parents, Guardians and Caregivers,

We are writing to provide you with an update on the status of driver availability. As the Toronto Student Transportation Group (TSTG) shared last month, there continues to be a number of bus routes impacted by the lack of available drivers. Currently, approximately 59 routes for TDSB and TCDSB schools do not have an assigned driver, representing approximately 3% of our total routes. However, to ensure that all students receive transportation services, bus operators continue to double up routes which have caused delays.

Should your child’s route be impacted, information will be provided to families in the following ways:

●        The TSTG will provide weekly phone updates to all students on routes without a driver.

●        Delays will be posted on the Toronto Student Transportation Group website so please continue to check this page daily. We know that it is extremely important that delay notifications are posted in an accurate and timely manner. We continue to reinforce this message with all bus operators.

●        Information will also be distributed through the Transportation Portal. We encourage all parents/guardians/caregivers to sign up for the portal to ensure that information is communicated directly to you.

 As we mentioned in our previous communication, new drivers continue to be hired and trained each week. As new bus drivers get assigned to routes, the number of doubled-up routes is reduced which results in fewer delays. While we cannot provide an estimate of when all routes will be filled, we are confident that progress is being made by bus operators to recruit and train additional drivers.        

 We understand the challenges these delays can cause to your children, families and communities. The safe transportation and well-being of your children is deeply important to the TSTG.

 As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your bus operator or the TSTG at any time:

●        Your child’s bus operator: https://www.torontoschoolbus.org/bus/providers/

●        TSTG Call Centre: 647-790-3829

●        TSTG General Inquiries: transportation@torontoschoolbus.org

●        Safety Concerns: safety@torontoschoolbus.org

●        Technology Issue with the Portal: support@torontoschoolbus.org

For those families that are not signed up on the transportation portal we strongly encourage you to do so as it is the primary means by which we will communicate with you.  If you do not have an account, please go to https://busplannerweb.torontoschoolbus.org/ and add your children to your transportation account.

Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this situation may cause and we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Parent Concern Protocol

If you have a concern, the classroom teacher should be the first point of contact. Then if more support is needed you can contact a school administrator. Most concerns can be addressed at the school level but if not, the superintendent and trustee are the next level of support. 

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The Parents as Partners Conference is on October 22nd and 23rd 

“Save the date! Our annual Parents & Caregivers as Partners Conference is happening on October 22 and 23! Our speakers will be covering a variety of topics, including mental health, well-being, special education, anti-racism, and more. #TDSBParentConf”

Keynote Speaker

Randell Adjei - Poet Laureate of Ontario

Sunday, October 23, 2022

“Why You Should Attend?

Learn strategies and gain tools to help support your childʼs education and future

Hear from exciting, inspirational and informative keynote speakers

Network with parents and caregivers throughout the TDSB

Participate in workshops and micro sessions on a variety of topics that help address your needs

Ask questions and learn from others in smaller, more intimate breakout sessions

Connect with community agencies in your neighbourhood and across the city”

For more information go to https://www.parentsaspartners.ca/

Source:  https://twitter.com/tdsb/status/1578445049758552064?s=46&t=YIHoc1xLlUWWFdbDmWzcAA

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Pizza Lunch - Thursday October 13th

 

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Days of Significance

October is:

• Hispanic Heritage Month (City of Toronto) 
• International Walk to School Month 
• Islamic Heritage Month 
• Somalian Heritage Month 
• Women’s History Month

We are always looking for families to create displays in our front foyer to share their special cultural holidays.  If you would like to share your special holiday, please contact the office and we'll arrange a time for you and some students to help with the display.

Some Days of Significance in the coming week are:

If you have a particular day that you would like to bring our attention to, please contact hella.richter-glinos@tdsb.on.ca. 

The list of Days of Significance that the TDSB recognizes can be found by clicking the link.

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Student News

See what are students have been up to lately

Our “Friday Dance” was on Thursday this week because there was a PD Day on Friday.  

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 hella.richter-glinos@tdsb.on.ca . 

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