Dear Parents/Guardians,
It is now the final month of the 2022 calendar year. In December as the holiday season approaches some families plan for early vacations to visit family back home. If you plan on leaving early, please email our safe arrival at owen@tdsb.on.ca to let us know when and how long your child will be absent. Don't forget to leave the reason for the absence.
This week we will begin our Holiday Charity fundraisers - Holiday Hampers and Sock Drive. Please see below for more information on these important events. This is a great time to talk to your children about the gift of giving and what this means to you and your family.
~ Your Friendly Admin Team
Please note that this consent waiver for volunteers, replaces the previous version, which contained Marla Fowler as the TDSB’s contact.
The new consent waiver TDSB contacts are Kathy Small and Ramona McLean Trentadue.
Moving forward Toronto Police Services will no longer accept waiver applications with Marla Fowler’s name on them.
In order to promote and support volunteerism in our schools, while also protecting the safety of students:
1. Volunteers who, on a casual basis, assist from time to time with a variety of activities in a school. These volunteers may require a PRC including, a VSS, at the principal’s discretion. We consider casual volunteers to be those people who are volunteering less than 3 times in a school year.
2. Volunteers who, on a regular, scheduled or overnight basis, assist with a variety of activities. These volunteers require a VSS. Regular, scheduled volunteers are considered to be volunteers who are participating in overnight events, have volunteered 3 or more times in the school year or are anticipated to volunteer 3 or more time in the school year.
HOW TO OBTAIN A PRC VULNERABLE SECTOR SCREENING
Residents of Toronto – Toronto Police Service (TPS)
Residents of Toronto can obtain a VSS from the Toronto Police Service. Toronto Police will accept a VSS application (also referred to as a “waiver”) through the mail or via a drop box at Toronto Police Headquarters, but the preferred method is for the application to be submitted to the TDSB’s PRC Office. The PRC Office will then forward the application to Toronto Police.
Note: Toronto Police will not process requests for a PRC, including a VSS, for those residing outside of Toronto. You must have a postal code that begins with “M”.
Cost and Acceptable forms of Payment
The application fee for a Volunteer VSS is $20. There is no cost for volunteers under the age of 18 to obtain a VSS. Toronto Police will only accept Certified cheques, money orders, or school cheques made payable to Toronto Police Service.
Note: Personal cheques will not be accepted. Schools may opt to accept a cash payment from a volunteer and send a school cheque instead. School cheques do not have to be certified.
How to submit a Vulnerable Sector Screening Application to Toronto Police:
Note: Toronto Police will only accept forms printed on LEGAL SIZED PAPER.
2. School staff ensure the school’s name is written in the box on the top left-hand side of the form. This is required for your volunteer to be listed under your designated school.
3. The potential volunteer fills out and signs the form.
4. School staff verifies the entire form is completed and signed by the potential volunteer.
5. Principal or designate signs above or below “Signature of Agency Employee” line. This will be in addition to Kathy Small’s signature which is already printed on the form.
6. Potential volunteer attaches the appropriate fee ($20) to the form by way of a Certified Cheque, Money Order, or school cheque, payable to “Toronto Police Service”. Personal cheques are not accepted.
7. Principal or designate submits the application to the PRC Office via interoffice mail to:
Police Reference Check Office
17 Fairmeadow Avenue, Room 107
Note: The preferred method of submission is via the PRC Office by the Principal or designate.
Alternatively, the potential volunteer can submit the application directly to Toronto Police at:
Toronto Police Service
Information Access
40 College Street
Toronto, ON M5G 2J3
Applications can be submitted to Toronto Police:
- by mail at the above address; or
- by in person delivery at the above address and placed in the drop box by the Information Access counter, Monday to Friday, between 7:00am and 4:30pm.
8. Once a volunteer’s VSS is received by the PRC office, the online volunteer database will be updated.
Processing Time
The Toronto Police process takes approximately 15 - 20 business days from receipt of request, there may be additional delays if fingerprinting is required.
VERIFYING A VOLUNTEER’S PRC STATUS
The principal and/or designate can check a volunteer’s PRC status by accessing the school’s online volunteer database. Under the column “Status”, one of the following will appear: Still Waiting for Results - The Consent to Disclosure (Waiver)/VSS Application has been submitted to Toronto Police Service and the PRC Office is waiting to receive the original PRC – VSS Clearance from volunteer. | |||
Clear - The VSS has been received and recorded – volunteer is clear to volunteer.
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Please help us with our sock drive. Socks 4 Souls are looking for adult socks to help the homeless. Please bring a warm pair to place on our tree in our front hallway trees.
- 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.
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Please find below an important message from Toronto Public Health with regard to an increased number of people getting sick with the flu this season and the availability of the flu vaccine, as well as other layers of protection recommended to reduce virus spread. Thank you.
Message from Toronto Public Health Re: Flu is on the rise – get vaccinated right away
Toronto is now seeing an increased number of people getting sick with the flu this season. The number of people sick with the flu is expected to go even higher, especially during the last weeks of December and beginning of January when students are out of school for the Winter break.
In Canada, so far half of all people who got the flu this season are children and youth aged 0 to 19 years. Some children have been very sick and needed hospital care.
Vaccination is the best protection. Anyone age 6 months and older can get a flu vaccine. Because it takes two weeks for the vaccine to be effective, getting vaccinated now will protect you and your family before the Winter break. The vaccine is available for free at pharmacies, doctor's offices and Toronto Public Health vaccination clinics.
In addition to getting vaccinated, we strongly recommend using layers of protection to reduce virus spread:
- Masking: Wear a well-fitted mask in indoor public settings, including in schools and childcare. Children under 2 and those with medical exemptions are not recommended to wear a mask.
- Stay home if sick: Complete this daily symptom check for your child. Keep your child home, even if symptoms are mild, and until they are feeling better. Adults should also stay home from work if they are sick.
- Clean your hands: Use hand sanitizer or wash hands often.
- Clean surfaces: Clean commonly touched surfaces frequently.
Have your questions answered: Join Dr. Vinita Dubey, Associate Medical Officer of Health with Toronto Public Health, on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, at 7 p.m., for a live telephone Town Hall. Join the Town Hall by calling 1-833-490-0778 or connect online.
If you have questions about your child's health, call 811 or speak to your child's healthcare provider. If your child is sick, you can find information about how to care for them here.
Sincerely,
Nicole Welch
Director Child and Youth Response and Chief Nursing Officer
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1) HERO BURGER (EVERY WEEK ON MONDAY)
Ordering is easy and all orders are placed through the following link: www.lunchboxorders.net which is built into School Cash Online. All orders must be placed 24 hours before delivery: 12pm (noon) on Sunday for Owen PS. We also have a $0.25/ order kick back given to the school.
Attached:
2) KIDS KITCHEN (EVERY WEEK ON FRIDAY)
Attached:
Ordering is through the following link: https://www.kidskitchen.ca. All orders must be placed 10am, the previous business day of delivery.
· 1st session: Monday December 5th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon,
· 2nd session: Monday December 12th from 5:30 pm until 8:00 pm
Along with TDSB support staff, we will have Extend-A-Family, Woodgreen Community Services, Respite Services, P4P Planning Network, and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital presenting at the fair.
Topic: Let’s Talk about Programs and Services for Children With Special Needs
Guests: Extend-A-Family, Woodgreen Community Services, Respite Services, P4P Planning Network, and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital.
Monday December 12, 2022, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Parents and Guardians, please check your email.
This year, the main focus at our school is on supporting students' sense of belonging. "Research indicates a sense of belonging is positively associated with academic success and motivation." (Freeman, Anderman and Jensen 2007)
To find out whether our various efforts at supporting students' sense of belonging are working, we are inviting parents/guardians who wish to give input to please complete the anonymous, optional survey below with their child. We will send all families the same survey later in the year so that we can measure our impact over time. More details are at the top of the survey.
An email with the survey link was sent to all families. If you didn't receive it please check your Spam folder. Please email hella.richter-glinos@tdsb.on.ca if you did not receive your email and wish to participate.
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December is:
Some Days of Significance in the coming week are:
06 Tuesday
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
St Nicholas Day - Christianity
08 Thursday
St. Clements of Ohrid Patrons’ Day - Christianity - Macedonian Orthodox
10 Saturday Human Rights Day United Nations Human Rights Day
The list of Days of Significance that the TDSB recognizes can be found by clicking the link.
See what our students have been up to lately.
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 .
Please click here for the latest updates and newsletters.
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