October Update
| Dear Summit Heights Families, We hope that this email finds you well! We are delighted that we now have a more fulsome electronic mailing list for our school-parent community, thanks to the work of parents Eric Kligman (tech/web coordinator) and Judith Borts (SAC Chair), along with all our classroom teachers! If you have missed any of our previous school updates, you can check out our website (summitheightspublicschool.com) where most of our updates are posted. We also have an active Twitter account (@SummitHeights PS) where we post updates about current events (like sports updates, notices of when we’ve conducted fire alarm drills, and reminders) – please consider following us on Twitter. We hope you have noticed how vibrant our school is during these past two months. Along with the many exciting things happening in our classes, we’ve had a wide variety of events and activities organized by our staff and SAC. Some of the SAC events that have been held so far include SAC meetings, a new parent tea (meet/greet), pizza lunches, lunch programs, Friday files, helping with Terry Fox and a special monthly sub sandwich lunch that starts this week. There are many more events and activities planned by SAC in the future, we hope you can attend the next SAC meeting on December 8th on Zoom (stay tuned for more info)! Many of our staff have been working beyond their classrooms to host a wide variety of events during the past two months of school. Some of these include athletic teams (Cross-Country, three soccer teams, touch-football), clubs (Student Council, Social Justice, MakerSpace Task Force) and special events (Terry Fox , Orange Shirt Day & the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, Curriculum Night, day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth, Grade 7&8 Earl Bales Thursdays, Blue Jays Trivia and hosting school assemblies) and many more! We thank our staff and SAC committees for providing so many great opportunities for our students. We’re looking forward to more great events. Please note the following reminders/updates: Halloween 2022 We recognize that many families in our school community celebrate Halloween, and many families do not. We respect and value everyone, so as a reminder regarding October 31st – students, staff and visitors are welcome to wear a costume to our school on this day, though it is perfectly acceptable to not do so. Please remember that cultures are not costumes. Cultural appropriation, stereotypes and caricature costumes are not appropriate nor welcomed on any TDSB site, including Summit Heights. Please be mindful that certain costumes are viewed as offensive, inappropriate and/or discriminatory to many different cultures/peoples, and as a result can cause harm to members of that community and the TDSB community. Further, for safety reasons, costumes worn to school must not cover the person’s face. Likewise, handheld costume props are not permitted. Many classes will be hosting class parties on October 31st. Please remember that if you/your child brings any snacks/treats they must be nut and allergen-free. Please also ensure that any food served to others must be individually packaged. Classroom teachers will share more information on this topic if applicable. Photo Re-take & Class Photo Day (Nov 15) Please note, photo-retake day will be held on the morning of Nov 15th. Edge Image has provided a list of those students who missed the original photo day (there is no need to contact us in this case), these students will have their photo taken on November 15th. If you wish to have your child re-take their photo, please contact (in writing) your classroom teacher to indicate so. Only those whose parents have contacted their child’s teacher will be permitted to “re-take” a photo. We will also take “class photos” on this day. Classes will assemble in the gym and take a group class photo, together. Progress Reports, Parent-Teacher Interviews Please note, we currently are planning on sending home the progress reports on November 16th. As you may know, the TDSB has moved to a new attendance/reporting system. This new system has been a challenge for many staff in the TDSB, including delays in our timelines for our staff to write their progress reports. As such, the TDSB recently communicated new and reduced expectations regarding the comments for this year’s progress reports. This means the comments for the progress reports will be shorter in length and less in the number of comments. In particular, the TDSB has told staff that they are expected to provide one comment on an area of strength, one comment on an area of growth and one comment on next steps (for both the learning skills/work habits and subject areas). Teachers who report on more than one subject are expected to comment on one subject (i.e., not all of their subjects taught). Please rest assured, that our teachers will continue to communicate with their parents, particularly if there are areas of need/concern. Teachers will reach out to parents to arrange an interview to discuss progress of their child. Interviews will take place during the evening of November 17 or the morning of November 18th (though many of our staff do conduct interviews at other times, so please stay tuned). Upcoming Dates Nov 9 – Student Council Fall Fest (pm) Nov 11 – Remembrance Day Nov 15 – Class Photo & Photo Re-take Day Nov 16 – Progress Reports Sent home Nov 17 – Parent-teacher interviews (evening) Nov 18 – PA Day (parent-teacher interviews – morning) Dec 2 – PA Day Dec 8 – SAC meeting (virtual) 7-9pm Dec 23 – Last day of classes before the Winter Break Jan 9 – Classes Resume Reminders from Previous Updates (in case you missed them) Before School/Arriving in the Morning/Drop-off We have staff to supervise Gifted students who are dropped off by a TDSB bus in the morning. These students should remain on the front lawn area until 8:55am, then make their way to the school yard at that time. Staff supervise the school yard starting at 8:55am, Grade 1-8 students may be dropped off at that time. Please note, due to the structure of our staff supervision schedule, the playscapes (including the kindergarten playscape) and the field/track are closed before school. Riding a bicycle, scooter, skateboard etc. to school is a healthy practice and we encourage it! Due to safety reasons, once students (and adults) are on our property, we ask that bicycles, scooters, rollerblades, skateboards (etc) are dismounted and walked to our bicycle racks (to be locked up). Please do not ride these items on our school grounds during school hours. If you are dropping off your child from your car, you may do so in our parking lot near the yellow drop-off sign. Please treat this as a “kiss-and-ride” drop off. If you wish to park and walk your child onto our property, we ask that you find street parking (to ensure that our staff, including facility staff, have spots to park their vehicles). If you drop off your child from our Delhi Ave entrance (and are parking or stopping your car), please ensure you legally park/stop your vehicle in the same direction as the flow of traffic. Likewise, please ensure you do not park or stop in the intersection of Delhi and Northmount for the safety of students and parents crossing the street. In the case of inclement weather, the principal (or designate) will decide on whether the conditions warrant students waiting indoors for the day to start (and for recesses). On rainy days, please send your child to school with raingear. Personal Devices (including Smart/cell phones) In general, when your child enters our school, their phone (if they have one) should be placed on silent. Phones should not be accessed until they are dismissed to leave the school (lunch or end of day). Phones are not to be used at recess on our property. No students (parents and visitors included) should be taking photographs or video of anyone on our school grounds (e.g., before or after school), nor while indoors (unless specifically permitted by the classroom teacher for academic purposes). Parents will be receiving an electronic consent form (amongst other forms) regarding photos and recordings. Your child’s teacher may allow their students to use their personal devices during class time, this is a case-by-case situation. Should your child need to contact you using their device, they should get permission from their teacher. Otherwise, students may use the phone in the main office to contact their parent/caregiver. Students may use their own personal devices at school (tablets, notebooks, laptops), particularly when guided by their teacher. Please note, the school and TDSB will not be responsible for the care for these devices, nor any damage or if the device goes missing – the responsibility is of the student, so please be mindful of this stipulation. Dropping off items during the school day Parents, please encourage your children to bring everything they need for school at the beginning of the day. We are receiving a rather high volume of parents/caregivers dropping off items during the school day for their child. Unless the item is medical or a 3rd change of clothes (e.g., having twice fallen in a puddle/mud), then students should learn a relatively harmless life lesson about coming to school prepared. Thank you for your understanding. Thank you for reading, Mr. B. Mah, Principal.    You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. |
