August 2024
Dear Dunlace Families:
I hope that you have had an amazing summer. We had some really hot weather (and torrential downpours!) but I hope you were able to relax and recharge. I am truly thrilled to be returning to Dunlace after a year off. I was privileged enough to have the time to travel, spend quality time with family and friends and enjoy the time away. I am excited to hear about your family’s adventures from this past summer. We are going to have a wonderful school year together.
Welcome to our newest Dunlace families! We are so happy to have you join us. The Dunlace staff is really excited to meet your children and start this new school year with you. Enclosed in this email you will find information about the first day of school and the routines for entry. By the end of the first week of school, your child’s teacher(s) will reach out via email to introduce themselves and provide specific information to their families.
Attached to this email you will find a map, indicating where you should meet on the first day of school. Teachers will be outside at 8:55 a.m. to meet and greet students on their first day. All staff will proudly be wearing their Dunlace T-shirts to help families identify our staff members.
For Grade 1-5 classes, we will have lawn signs to indicate where classes are lining up in the field. Please have your child line up behind the signs once they have connected with their teacher. For our Kindergarten students, teachers will meet you outside their classrooms on the tarmac; signs will be posted. There will be many staff with class lists to help you find your child’s teacher and direct you to the appropriate areas.
At the end of the day, please pick up your child from the same drop off area. Please do not meet your child at the exits as it makes it difficult for classes to exit the building. Your child’s teacher will lead their class out to the same area to help establish contact with parents and caregivers. Routines for lining up and dismissal will be set up in the first week.
Below are some details and other important pieces of information for the start of school. My apologies for the lengthy email. I want to provide as much information to our newest families and some refreshers to our returning families. I hope you get to enjoy the last weekend of summer vacation. A friendly reminder that school begins on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024. We are looking forward to seeing all of you and your children on Tuesday.
With warmest regards,
Julie Kwon
What to bring on the First Day of School
We ask families to please pack a litterless, nut-free lunch and (2 or more) snacks for your child(ren). Dunlace P.S. is a ‘nut aware’ school. We have students who have extreme sensitivities to peanuts, nuts and nut products, and sesame products. There are several students attending our school who have life-threatening allergies. For the safety of all our students, we ask that parents please carefully check that all food sent to school – for recess snacks or lunch – do not contain nuts or nut products (including peanut butter, Nutella, snacks with nuts). Please take a moment to read the labels for ingredients.
In addition to a litterless lunch/snacks, we also ask for a pair of running shoes (to be left at school, for indoors) and a refillable water bottle. Dunlace has two water bottle filling stations for students to refill water bottles throughout the day.
Primary students (JK-Gr. 2) are also encouraged to bring in an extra set of clothing, just in case of an emergency (t-shirt, shorts/pants, socks, underwear).
School supplies and material will all be provided by the school (pencils, notebooks, etc.). Teachers will connect with you regarding any other items.
School Hours
School begins at 9:10 a.m. with supervision in the yard commencing at 8:55 a.m. No supervision is available prior to 8:55 a.m. We ask that all students are dropped off in the school yard and not at the main office.
Please see the timetable below for school hours:
8:55 a.m. Supervision begins
9:10 a.m.-School begins
10:30-10:45 a.m.-morning recess
11:55 a.m.-12:55 p.m.-lunch
12:55 p.m.-Afternoon classes begin
2:05-2:20 p.m.-afternoon recess
3:40 p.m. Dismissal
Transportation for 2024/25
Bussing for TDSB students will begin on Monday, September 9, 2024 for eligible students. If your child is eligible for bussing, you will receive confirmation from the Toronto Transportation Group and/or the school. Our students who are eligible for bussing will have their bus tags attached to their backpacks during the first 4 days of school. Students will be assigned a seat on the bus and JK-Grade 3 students must be met by an adult after school at their bus stop. As we know, bussing delays are frequent during the first few weeks of school and we ask for your patience as our drivers familiarize themselves with the new routes and student passengers.
Families whose children qualify for “Empty Seat” requests will be able to apply for bussing, beginning in the middle of September. Please stay tuned for more information.
Empty Seat Requests for Buses
The empty seat requests for busing are not facilitated by the school, rather it is centrally coordinated by the TDSB Transportation Department. It can take up to the end of October to finalize what seats are actually available for empty bus seat requests. Until we have a firm understanding of how many seats are available, we will NOT be accepting any empty seat request forms. Once this information is released to the school, we will share this information with you via email. At that time, we will process requests as they are submitted to the office.
Communication
I will continue to send out weekly emails to keep you informed of school happenings (Fridays). You are also welcome to view our school website at: https://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/dunlace It is being updated with current information and will continue to be updated throughout the year. A calendar of events will also be updated throughout the school year.
Split Grade Classes
We are a school that, in essence, has two mini-schools under its roof by virtue of being “dual track” and having both English and French Immersion programs. As such, split-grades are a reality, particularly in small schools like ours. Our teachers embark on a placement process that ensures that all our classes are ‘balanced’ in nature. This includes ensuring that we are meeting mandated class caps, balancing gender, strengths, needs, etc. To preserve the authenticity of this process, we will not accept requests for a particular class or a particular teacher. Furthermore, whether a child is placed in a 1-2 split or 2-3 split, they will receive the curriculum at their grade level. One class is not more favourable than another, nor do we place higher achieving students in one split over the other.
Potential for Reorganization
Please note that our current school structure is subject to reorganization by the third week of September, depending on if/how our student numbers change. These changes are dependent upon the Ministry of Education mandates regarding class sizes. Enrollment in a school is based on projections and we are unable to predict numbers in advance as families move in and out of school catchment areas. To accommodate these changes, during the third week of September, the TDSB will look at our numbers to ensure that we are compliant with Ministry mandates. If our numbers significantly change due to ongoing enrollments, then our school structure will have to change accordingly. This means that students may be moved to a different class from the one they started in. Parents will be kept informed of this process as we monitor our numbers.
Parking/Drop Off
We encourage all families to walk/cycle/scooter to school when possible. If you are planning to drive your child to school, please drive slowly and obey the traffic signs. Please remember that the school parking lot is CLOSED before and after school. As well, please note that the bus loop is ONLY for our school buses. The bus loop is CLOSED to cars. There is very limited parking on the streets surrounding Dunlace and it is very busy. Please obey all parking rules and respect our surrounding neighbours’ properties by not blocking driveways.
Beginning later in September, we will have a Kiss and Ride program in the morning where parents can drop children off safely while remaining in the car. More details to come.
