TDSB Parent Concern Protocol: As many of you know, the TDSB has a Parent Concern Protocol that is designed to help parents navigate how best to express concerns that they may have at their child’s school.  You can find more information about the Parent Concern Protocol here: http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Contact-Us/Steps-to-Address-Questions-Concerns 

Ms. Aiello and I share the practice of being completely open to engaging with our parents and school community to address any concerns.  While you do have the Parent Concern Protocol to support you and to provide direction, please also know that you can always talk to us, call and/or email us if you have any questions or concerns about our school.  We will always respond personally to your concerns.

Eglinton Parent Facebook Group :  As some of you may know, there is a closed Eglinton Parent group on Facebook, which includes members who may or may not be Eglinton parents, Eglinton staff or members of our school community.  The group, which is not the school's Facebook group and is not connected to the school's official Facebook account, is moderated by school council members who approve or decline requests to join.

I have been asked by one of the moderators to provide information so it can be posted to this Facebook group.  I am opposed to this because I prefer to communicate equally, openly and transparently with all our parents and guardians.  For example, my Principal’s Update goes directly to every parent and guardian at Eglinton PS. 

I also prefer to connect personally with any parent to discuss concerns, answer questions or share information. Since arriving at Eglinton in August, I have happily had many, many (actually, too many to count) personal conversations, telephone discussions and email communication with our parents and guardians. Most of you are very familiar with how open, accessible and available Ms. Aiello and I are to our parents.

I am also opposed to sharing information with this group because I can’t be sure it will be used accurately and in a way that supports the school. For example, during a water main break in September, the moderators allowed someone claiming to be a staff member to post an anonymous message to the group. The post, unfortunately, expressed untruthful and misleading information about the incident.  In addition, a school council member attached the same post to an email message, which also contained untruthful and misleading information about the incident, and sent it to many people who have no connection to Eglinton PS. These actions had a tremendously negative impact on the school’s image, resulted in unnecessary media coverage and made the incident seem far worse than it actually was.  Given all of this, I do not believe that sharing information with this Facebook group is an appropriate, helpful and positive way to communicate with our school community.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about our school, please simply talk to us, call us or email us .  We will always respond personally to your concerns.

Photo Day Is Friday, October 19 : Our school photo day is scheduled for October 19. Our school is participating in the Green Screen program (which allows you to choose the background for your child’s photograph) so it is important not to wear green. Details are available on the posters around the school. Photo day flyers are going home tomorrow, but you can also view a copy here: http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/eglinton/PhotoDay/PhotoDayReminder.pdf?ver=2018-10-14-135319-823

Kiss and Ride Update: Our Kiss and Ride program is two months old!  Thanks to all the wonderful parent volunteers and student helpers who have worked to make it a success.   The Kiss and Ride program operates from 8:45 a.m. until school entry at 8:57 a.m.  All students are supervised in the playground during this time. After that, parents will need to park and take their children into the school.

We are waiting on the City to change the parking signs to reflect the kiss and ride zone.  When they are changed, Brownlow from the first driveway on the east side up to the ramp down into the playground will be “passenger loading/unloading ONLY”. This is where the Kiss and Ride program is running. 10-minute parking will still be available north of the ramp to the playground right up to Eglinton. Please note: cars are able to park in front of the school parking pad during drop-off times.

The parking south of the last driveway on the east side of Brownlow to mid-point on the apartment building there will change from “no stopping” to “no standing”. This allows cars to stop and unload/load passengers. If you have older students, please consider using this space to let them out so we can use the Kiss and Ride spots for smaller students who need to be escorted to the playground.

The parking available in front of the playground is 10-minute parking only. We realize that sometimes drop-off takes longer than 10 minutes. Please remember that you can always park on the west side of Brownlow, near Soudan, for $3.00/hour. This will ensure that the spots are saved for cars that only require the 10-minute time allotment.

We are aware that the Kiss and Ride doesn’t yet serve our parents who are dropping children off at childcare and that it also limits their parking options during the 8:45 to 8:57 am period. We will connect with CECC staff to see what options may be available. There are some challenges to sort out and we are actively pursuing a solution. Thank you so much for your patience.

We are finding that cars making U-Turns after drop off can create a significant risk in an already crowded area.  Once you have dropped off your child, please refrain from attempting any U-Turns.

We are also looking for a few more parent and Grade 5 volunteers! Parents can contact sophieluxton@sympatico.ca for more info about volunteering. For more information on the Grade 5 volunteer program, please contact Arwa Ahmed at  arwagarman@gmail.com.

As well, an additional “ Thank You” to our neighbourhood sponsors:  Crazy Cuts, Turning Point Learning, Birch Bistro and the Starbucks at Mt Pleasant & Soudan. Thank you for your support of our Kiss and Ride!