Welcome back to the 2024-25 school year! We're happy to have all students back at Roden and Equinox and look forward to a successful year ahead.As you are likely aware, the Ministry of Education has provided new direction around cell phoneand mobile device use in all Ontario schools. By reducing the distraction of cell phones and mobile devices in school and during class, together we can create more focused and engaging learning environments.

We understand that this direction is new and will take some time to successfully implement. Educators will work with students to determine classroom practices and will ensure expectations are clearly understood.

Students in Kindergarten to Grade 6 must have cell phones/mobile devices powered off or set to silent and stored out of view for the full instructional day.

Students in Grades 7 and 8 must have cell phones/mobile devices powered off or set to silent and stored out of view during instructional time. They can have their phones at lunch but are still required to follow the school rules for appropriate content (no inappropriate language or violent content) and usage (no filming videos as parental consent for other parties would be unknown).

Should a student not follow these directives, they will be asked to hand in their cell phone/mobile device. If a student does not hand in their personal mobile device when required, they must be sent to the Principal's office, as per Ministry direction.

School boards are also required to restrict access to all social media platforms on school networks and school devices (not including SMS text messaging).

Please learn more about the new direction around cell phones and mobile device use in Ministry of Education PPM128 and at www.tdsb.on.ca/mobiledeviceuse

Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to implement this new direction across TDSB. Please contact the school if you have any questions.