Welcome to a New School Year!
Dear Summit Heights families,
A warm welcome to the 2021-2022 school year! We are delighted to see new and returning students and parents on the first day of school (Thursday, September 9 for SK to Grade 8 students, and September 10 for JK students). The entire staff sincerely hopes that you and your family had a restful, enjoyable, and healthy summer! We’re very excited for the start of school!
For those who celebrate Rosh Hashanah, we wish you and your families a very sweet Near Year, Shona Tova! We also wish everyone a restful and safe Labour Day long weekend!
We’d like to also extend a warm welcome to the new staff, Ms. Birnbaum (formerly of Rockford PS) and Ms. Zivkovic (former of Sir Ernest MacMillian Sr. PS). A very warm welcome back to Ms. Magnani (office administrator) and Ms. Cathy (lunchroom supervisor)! We’re very happy to have our returning and new staff on board!
Please be reminded of the Zoom session, hosted by SAC, this Wednesday September 8th from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. This meeting will cover the first day of school procedures and Covid-19 related protocol. We will cover all pertinent information during this Zoom session related to the start of school and health and safety routines and protocol. Things such as bell times, what doors to use for entry, where to line up as well as mask-wearing protocol, HEPA machines, changes to the Covid-related policies such as singing in Music class and using shared materials in PE and many more! You must pre-register for the Zoom meeting, the link was sent to you via email.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you’re unable to attend the Zoom, please note that the entire presentation will be recorded and posted online shortly after. Notes from the meeting will also be available and sent via email and posted on our school web site.
Specific first day routines (about entry, where to line up, etc.) will be emailed before the first day of school (likely before the Zoom session), as we are currently fine-tuning the plan.
Shortly after the first day of school, classroom teachers will send home more information specific to their classrooms.
A general reminder that students must be screened at home before coming to school. You can do so by completing the Health Screening paper/hard-copy pass, or by downloading and completing the “Now Mobile” app. The Health Screening paper pass and app can be downloaded at:
https://www.tdsb.on.ca/School-Year-2021-22/Daily-Health-Screening
All students must have completed the screening (paper pass or app) at the beginning of each day your child attends school. Staff will verify the screening before a student is permitted to come into the building.
Further, all students must wear masks upon entry into our school. In addition, all adults (this means you too parents!!) must wear masks while on our property – even while outdoors. The only exception is if you are in your car and don’t exit your vehicle. These are TDSB rules around masking, thank you for your understanding.
For students in our Gifted program, due to current lower numbers of students attending ‘in-person’, the TDSB has reduced our Gifted class allotment from four classes down to three classes. Therefore, our new Gifted class model is a Grade 4/5 class, a second Grade 4/5 class and one Grade 6 class.
Further, please note that TDSB busing for Gifted students (Grade 4 and 5) begins on Wednesday, September 15th (which is NOT the first day of school). Parents of Gifted students are asked to make arrangements to/from school from September 9 to September 14 as TDSB buses will not be transporting students in Gifted ISP classes UNTIL September 15th. Finally, there is no empty-seat process this year (which is usually applicable to Grade 6 Gifted students). All the above decisions are set by the TDSB, though we apologize for the inconvenience these changes will likely cause.
The staff and I continue to plan and get ready for the start of school. In the coming days and weeks, more information will be sent to you such as the “Permission Click” TDSB forms (medical/health, contact information, walking trips, media release etc). We ask that you kindly review the information sent to you and respond accordingly and by any necessary due dates.
Thank you for your support, positive approach and understanding as we prepare for, and start, the new school year. Working together, we are confident we will have a great start to the year for your child(ren).
Sincerely,
Mr. B. Mah,
Principal.
