Welcome to Roden!

Hi folks,

Welcome to the Roden-Equinox Community, or as we like to call it, the REC! We are very excited to have the students back with us for another fantastic year. Below you will find an overview of Weather Plans, Lunch & Snack, Classroom Teacher names, and a message from our amazing office staff. 

Good Weather Plan:

1. The school day starts at 9am, but there is supervision in our school yard from 8:45am onwards. Teachers will be out at 9am to meet their classes.
2. Signs for each grade 1 to 5 class in Roden will be taped to a chair and put outside in accordance with the First Day Location map (included at the bottom of this message). Grade 6-8 students for Roden be guided from the school yard into the gym, where we will have the students sit in grade groups. The Roden Intermediate team will then help the students get into their class groupings
3. Kindergarten Teachers and ECEs will have signs in the kindergarten yard
4. There will be an Information Table located between the outside entrances to the gym. Any family who is unsure about what to do can go to the table and we will help them. There will also be an Information Table at the middle North Gate for Kindergarten.

Bad Weather Plan (as in, much more than just a drizzle):

1. Signs for each grade 1 to 5 class in Roden will be taped to the wall in the gym. Roden grade 6-8 students will gather in the library, where the intermediate team will help them get into their class groupings.
2. The Information Booth will be in the front foyer for any student who is unsure of their placement
3. Kindergarten: Students will go directly to the classroom when they enter.
4. The Kinder Information Table will be put in the Kindergarten hallway, along with signs of where to go.

Snack and Lunch

Snack: Please send two snacks for your child for the first week of school, as our snack program will be up and running on the 2^nd week of school. We also highly recommend labeling your snack containers, lunch bags and water bottles.

Lunch: Please fill out our Lunch Form so that we know which students are staying for lunch and who goes home.

Office Staff and Teacher Names

Message from our Office Staff

The school office welcomes visitors to the building and ask that you please check in when you arrive.

Office Hours are:

Roden Public School: 8am-4pm, Phone # 416 393-9555

Equinox Holistic Alternative School: 8am-4pm (closed 11:30am-12:30pm, Roden office staff would be pleased to assist during this time.) Phone # 416 393-8274

Welcome to our new Kindergarten families! Our staff has put together a website for parents, and we invite you to take a look at it when you have a chance. The menu is on the top right of the page and it has a number of cool resources on it. The School Council has also put together a handbook for kindergarten parents to help answer some of your questions.

We have a Kindergarten Orientation happening on Tuesday, September 6th at 1pm. Please join us if you can! School will start on Wednesday, September 7th at 9am, and the school day ends at 3pm.

How do you determine class placements and can we ask for a change?

Class placement is an in-depth process where staff consider students’ social/emotional and academic needs, as well as peer dynamics. There are also provincial requirements on class size that must be honoured. The cap in Kindergarten is 29 with an Teacher and Early Childhood Educator (15 if there is only a teacher), and 20 in grade 1-3. There are class size exemptions, but these only happen for 10% of classes in the school board. Gr 4-8 classes do not have a cap.

The many factors that go into class placement means that the process takes weeks of planning and we really do believe that the results are the best for all students. We do not make changes to class assignment, the only exceptions being if 1) There is a school reorganization due to a change in student enrolment, or 2) extraordinary circumstances where everything possible has been already tried to create a positive experience for the student.

Why do we have combined grade (also called split classes)?

It is very common to have combined grades in our schools. We are often required to have these to meet the class size caps, but there are also some real advantages to having the combined grades as well.  Here is a snippet from the Combined Grades Fact Sheet put out by TDSB on what the research says:

Dr. Joel Gajadharsingh (Professor Emeritus, University of Saskatchewan) has been a leader in North American research in combined grades.  In 1991, the Canadian Education Association summarized his extensive findings and concluded the following:

1. Children in combined classes get an education that is just as good or better as in single grade classes.

2. Children in classes where there is more than one level learn to become more independent, responsible learners and develop a greater degree of social responsibility. They also develop better study habits and a more positive attitude towards school.

3. 85% of teachers considered the achievements of students in multi-grades to be equal or superior to the achievement of students in single grades in language arts, mathematics, sciences and social studies.

The TDSB also has a Combined Grades for Parents document that goes over some of the key benefits of combined grades, as well as what the learning could look like in the classroom.

Click here for Roden School Council website.