Dear Birch Cliff Heights Families, Students and Community Members,

Welcome back to our returning families and welcome to families new to Birch Cliff Heights, affectionately referred to as BCH.

My name is Gayle David and I am the Principal here at BCH. I am very excited to have joined the BCH Community and look forward to meeting all of you over the course of the school year. My goal is to continue to build positive, kind and caring relationships with students, staff and parents. We will continue to work together to enhance student achievement and provide a safe and nurturing school environment for all our students.

The connection and partnership between home and school is critical in the development of students as well as creating a school community that goes beyond the walls of our school. We encourage all BCH parents to become involved in the life of our school. There are a number of ways family members can support: from volunteering to chairing one of the School Council committees. The School Council supports the school's co-curricular and extra-curricular activities and organizes a number of special events to build community spirit as well as raise funds for the school. Regardless of the involvement, we value the key role family members play in their child's education.

School Year Calendar - See what’s coming up on our system calendar with key dates, events and activities.

• Mental Health and Well-Being - Supporting students’ mental health and well-being is a priority. Check out this Mental Health and Well Being page for resources and tools as well as a calendar of ongoing events including virtual drop-ins, webinars and more.
• Student Transportation –  The  Toronto Student Transportation Group will once again be implementing a phased-in start for student transportation to provide a more consistent service for families and to ensure that students with special education needs are prioritized and receive bus service beginning the first week of school. Find out your child’s student transportation start date and learn more about our plans to address any issues with driver availability .
• School Information and Resources - Visit the elementary and high school websites that are full of information that will help guide your school experience.
• Parent Resources - Our parent resources are full of valuable information including how to get involved, homework tips, community resources and more.
• Questions or Concerns - The TDSB wants to hear your questions and concerns, and makes every effort to address them as quickly as possible. The Steps to Address Questions Concerns page is the best way to talk to us, and who you should reach out to and when.

                                                                      

Drop Off and Pick Up School Routines: Drop of students’ grade 1-8 at the back of the school beginning at 8:30 am, entry at 8:45. If you must drive your child to school, please use the kiss n ride at the side of the school to drop of your child and leave right away making room for other parents to do the same. We have limited space in the parking lot. Your cooperation in keeping the kiss n ride moving, and in turn keeping our kids safe is greatly appreciated.

Kindergarten students should be dropped off in the front of the school, in the Kindie yard. Parents should not enter the kindergarten yard. Staff will be there starting at 8:30am to meet students, entry is at 8:45. We understand that the first kindergarten drop off is a huge milestone for you and your child. It is important to begin as we mean to continue, building the routines we want to have all year. Parents may wait outside the kindergarten yard as students meet their teachers and line up and go into the school. 

All students will be dismissed into the same area they entered from at 3:20.

Lunch routines: Lunch begins at 11:35am. Family members who are picking up their children for lunch should wait in the same area that their child was dropped off. Lunch ends at 12:30pm. Students who stay for lunch are reminded to bring a litterless lunch to school. A reminder that we are a peanut aware school and no peanut products should ever be brought into the school.

I am looking forward to our year ahead and am confident that we are going to have a great year together at BCH!

Warmly,

Gayle David (Principal)