Summit Heights Public School

February 20, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a reminder, both the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) will be taking part in a full strike tomorrow (Friday, February 21, 2020).

As with previous strike days, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all elementary (JK-8) and secondary (9-12) schools to students tomorrow as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians are required make alternate arrangements for their children if necessary.

Child care centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open. TDSB Extended Day Programs will also be open to currently enrolled students for a full day of programs. EarlyON Child and Family Centres will operate during their regular hours.
Should the full strike continue as planned, all International Languages Elementary and African Heritage classes would be cancelled on Friday. However, all adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.

In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits will also be closed to students. Secondary e-Learning classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) will be cancelled.

Should there be any significant updates, we will communicate directly with parents/guardians as quickly as possible. As always, for ongoing labour updates, please visit the TDSB website and follow @tdsb on Twitter.

Robin Pilkey (Chair)
John Malloy (Director)

February 12, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We wanted to provide you with an update on recently announced job actions to be taken next week by both the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF).

Today, both unions have announced they will be taking part in a full strike on Friday, February 21, 2020 that will impact all TDSB schools.

As with previous strike days, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all schools (elementary and secondary) to students on this day as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children on these dates if necessary.

Child care centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open. Please contact the child care provider directly for more information. TDSB Extended Day Programs will also be open to currently enrolled students for a full day of programs. EarlyON Child and Family Centres will operate during their regular hours.
Should the strike continue as planned, all International Languages Elementary and African Heritage classes would be cancelled on strike days only. However, all adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.

In addition to all TDSB secondary schools, Adult High Schools and Night Schools offering secondary credits will also be closed to students. Secondary e-Learning classes and any out-of-school activities (e.g. field trips, sports, etc.) will be cancelled.

Should there be any significant updates, we will communicate directly with parents/guardians as quickly as possible. As always, for ongoing labour updates, please visit the TDSB website and follow @tdsb on Twitter.

Sincerely,

Dr. J. Malloy,
Director of Education.

February 10, 2020

Dear Elementary Parents and Guardians,

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) has indicated that it will continue its strike action this week, with the following dates impacting TDSB elementary schools (JK-8).

• Tuesday, February 11, 2020 – province-wide strike
• Wednesday, February 12, 2020 – rotating strike impacting the TDSB

As with previous strike days, the TDSB would have no other option but to close all elementary schools to students on these days as there would not be sufficient supervision to ensure their safety. Parents/guardians should make alternate arrangements for their children on these dates.

Child care centres located in elementary schools will be permitted to stay open. Please contact the child care provider directly for more information. TDSB Extended Day Programs will also be open to currently enrolled students for a full day of programs. EarlyON Child and Family Centres will operate during their regular hours.

Should the strikes continue as planned, all International Languages Elementary and African Heritage classes would be cancelled. However, all adult non-credit programs, such as Adult ESL and Learn4Life, will continue to run.

As a reminder, please note that Friday, February 14, 2020 is a PA Day for parent-teacher interviews and Monday, February 17, 2020 is a provincial holiday – Family Day.

Should there be any significant updates, we will communicate directly with parents/guardians as quickly as possible. As always, for ongoing labour updates, please visit the TDSB website and follow @tdsb on Twitter.

Thank you.

Please note the latest information from Toronto Public Health regarding Coronavirus and the direction from the Public Health Agency of Canada for those who have travelled to Hubei Province in the last 14 days.

News Release – Statement from Dr. Eileen de Villa, Medical Officer of Health, Toronto Public Health

February 7, 2020

Late yesterday, Canadian health officials provided an update on the situation in Hubei Province regarding the 2019 novel coronavirus. To support global containment efforts and limit the spread of this virus, the Public Health Agency of Canada is now recommending:

If you have travelled to Hubei Province in the last 14 days,

• Limit your contact with others for a total of 14 days from the date that you left Hubei. This means self-isolate and stay at home.

• Contact your local public health department within 24 hours of arriving in Canada.

• For Toronto residents, this means contacting Toronto Public Health at 416-338-7600.

If you have travelled from mainland China in the last 14 days,

• Monitor yourself for respiratory symptoms including fever, cough and difficulty breathing.

• Should these respiratory symptoms develop within 14 days after returning to Canada, seek medical care immediately.

• Inform your healthcare provider or your local public health department about symptoms and travel history before seeking medical care.

However, at this time, the risk to our community remains low and it is important to remember that this is a new virus that was identified only about a month ago. As we learn more about this virus and how it is transmitted, global public health officials are updating their approaches in response to this new virus.

As this is an evolving situation, we continue to remind people of the importance of using credible sources to stay informed. We continue to update our website frequently as new information is confirmed. I encourage you to contact our hotline for any questions you may have. You can reach us at 416-338-7600, Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Translation is available in many languages.

For more information, please visit http://www.toronto.ca/coronavirus.

Toronto is home to more than 2.9 million people whose diversity and experiences make this great city Canada’s leading economic engine and one of the world’s most diverse and livable cities. As the fourth largest city in North America, Toronto is a global leader in technology, finance, film, music, culture and innovation, and consistently places at the top of international rankings due to investments championed by its government, residents and businesses. For more information visit http://www.toronto.ca or follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/CityofToronto, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/cityofto or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cityofto.

All City of Toronto news releases are also available on the City’s website at www.toronto.ca/home/media-room/news-releases-media-advisories/ .

Dr. Eileen de Villa,
Medical Officer of Health,
Toronto Public Health

February 3, 2020

Dear School Community Members:

Re: Novel Coronavirus Update – Risk to Toronto Residents Remains Low

I am writing to provide you with an update on the novel coronavirus. Currently, there are only two confirmed cases of this virus in Toronto. Both of these people are recovering well, and Toronto Public Health staff continue to connect with them directly to monitor their recovery during their period of isolation.

Risk to the Public is Still Low:
The risk of getting this virus in Toronto continues to be low because the virus is not spreading in the general community. The residents who contracted this virus had a history of travel in Wuhan, China. Most cases occurring around the world got the virus from travel in the affected area, were in close contact, or live in the same household as known cases.

Travelers are Being Screened:
People who have travelled to the affected areas and return to Toronto are being screened at the airport. If they develop symptoms such as a cough or fever, they are told to remain home and call public health to avoid exposing others. Symptoms of the virus occur within 14 days after being exposed.

What Can You Do?
You can help protect yourself from respiratory viruses such as the novel coronavirus by washing your hands frequently, covering your cough and sneezes and keeping your child home from school when they are ill. Students who are well can continue to attend school.

Prevent the Spread of Misinformation:
Toronto Public Health continues to provide evidence-based public information on our website so you have the information you need to make informed decisions about your health. Visit Toronto.ca/coronavirus.

Questions?
Call Toronto Public Health at 416-338-7600. Questions can be answered in many languages. For workplace-related questions, school staff should connect directly with their Occupational Health and Safety representatives who are in regular contact with Toronto Public Health for guidance.

Sincerely,
Dr. Eileen de Villa
Medical Officer of Health

Dear Elementary Parents/Guardians,

As you are aware, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) is currently engaged in legal job action that involves both work-to-rule (selected withdrawal of services) and full strike action. As always, learning continues in classrooms across the TDSB, and teachers remain committed to supporting students and keeping parents/guardians informed of their child’s progress. Current job action has resulted in the following changes:

Individual Education Plans
Teachers will continue to update Individual Education Plans (IEPs) with goals and expectations. For students who are on alternative expectations, teachers will provide a comment to administrators for each of the expectations. For students with IEPs who have accommodations and/or modifications, a mark will be reported to administration, with an indication that they have an IEP for that subject. IEPs will be updated, but will not be provided to families at this time. Parents/guardians can contact their child’s teachers directly to learn about their progress.

Elementary Report Cards
Teachers will continue to evaluate and assess students but will not enter marks and/or learning skills electronically. Due to the significant time and resources required to input accurate marks and learning skills for the TDSB’s approximately 174,000 elementary students, the TDSB is not able to produce Term 1 report cards. This difficult decision was made after careful consideration and a thorough review of all options.

We know that report cards are an important measurement of student progress. However, it is important to reiterate that teachers will continue to assess and evaluate students and respond to parent/guardian inquiries about student progress. See below for more information about parent-teacher interviews.
While teachers will be providing school administrators with a class list of marks and learning skills, at this time, we will not be able to provide marks to parents/guardians. Beyond the significant operational and logistical challenges associated with this, marks alone, without comments or context, do not provide a complete picture of a student’s progress. As always, parents/guardians can contact their child’s teachers to learn about their progress.

Kindergarten Communication of Learning
Kindergarten teachers will write one brief comment per section for the Kindergarten
Communication of Learning, and will not input it electronically. As a result, the TDSB is
not able to produce Kindergarten Communication of Learning for students at this time.
Should parents/guardians have questions about their child’s progress, they can contact
their Kindergarten teachers and/or designated early childhood educators directly.

Parent-Teacher Interviews
Elementary parent-teacher interviews scheduled to take place during the PA day on
Friday, February 14 will continue as normal. Teachers continue to evaluate and assess
students and are committed to keeping parents/guardians informed. Parents/guardians are
encouraged to contact their child’s teachers directly to make arrangements to receive a
progress update on their child.

In addition to the PA day, parents/guardians can also contact their child’s teachers to set
up an interview/phone call as long as it falls within the reduced workday as per ETFO’s
sanctions (30 minutes before the start of the instructional day and 15 minutes after the
end of the instructional day). As always, if teachers have concerns about a student’s
progress/achievement, they will proactively contact parents/guardians to discuss.

I want to reiterate that learning continues in classrooms across the TDSB and all staff
continue to support the achievement and well-being of all students.

Sincerely,

John Malloy,
Director of Education
TDSB