Link to September 2018 Newsletter
St. Andrews Public School
Principal: Kim Rainford
Office Administrator: Sherry Engbloom
Learning Network 13 Superintendent of Education: Shirley Chan
Scarborough Centre Ward 19 School Trustee: David Smith
SEPTEMBER 2018 NEWSLETTER
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
September has been a busy and productive month at St. Andrews P.S.Welcome back to all students, staff and families. A special welcome is extended to all of the new students and families attending our school this year.We know that you will find that St. Andrews is a warm, welcoming school that you will feel proud to be a part of. Welcome to our new and returning staff!
Special thanks to Mr. Eckert, Mr. Clamohoy, and the Facilities Team for their tireless efforts throughout the summer to accomplish the goal of September school opening!Our school had multiple construction and upgrade projects throughout the summer and the Caretaking team worked very hard to have our school shining for the students’ September return.
The St. Andrews staff looks forward to working co-operatively and collaboratively together with families to ensure the success of all of our students.Please use your child’s agenda (gr. 2-8) to communicate with us daily.Teacher classroom apps, newsletters, calendars and the school website also provide information to families. A monthly school newsletter will highlight monthly activities for our school community.Parents are always welcome to contact staff via telephone at the school at (416) 396-6545.Thank you to all families for providing funds for the student agendas.Many thanks to all families for supporting the School Council Pizza Lunch, Popcorn Sale, and Terry Fox Cancer Research fundraisers this month!
The TDSB continues CCAT7 standardized assessment for all grade 3 students in the Board in October.The CCAT7 is a screening assessment. The CCAT 7 is administered by St. Andrews classroom teachers, and marked at an assessment centre. Individual student results are provided to each parent when the test results are returned. If a student’s CCAT7 assessment indicated potential Gifted features, further steps are taken to determine next steps in collaboration with families and school staff. Thank you to Mrs. Silver and Mr. Volpe for their leadership with this and other TDSB Special Education procedures!
OFFICE UPDATES-SAFETY
Parents are welcome at St. Andrews P.S.Please telephone the school office (416) 396-6545 with inquiries as required or to book an appointment time to speak with your child’s teacher. Update our office staff of any changes in your contact information/phone numbers etc., so that we can reach you in the event of illness or emergency. When visiting the school, please begin your visit at the main office. Do not go directly to the classrooms. Please ensure that all information for your child’s health and safety are communicated to the classroom teacher and school office staff, especially concerning parental custody and access agreements , and life threatening allergies and emergency protocols. Students who require the use of an epi-pen are encouraged to wear their epi-pens on his/her person for expedient use as needed. All medications are stored in the office, with accompanying documents from medical practitioners.
Students who must remain at school for lunch should bring their lunches to school with them in the morning. Please do not drop off student lunches! It is problematic to ensure that your child receives his/her lunch during our lunchroom routine.Ms. Effie, Ms. Vijee, and Ms. Nirmala supervise the Gr. 1-6 children as they eat their lunches in the gym. All students are expected to enter the lunchroom in an orderly manner, remain seated as they eat, clean up and take all litter/recycling home with them.“Boomerang” lunches are part of our lunchroom expectations.Garbage and recycling bins are not available in the lunchroom. Nut products or items that may contain nuts should NOT be brought to school due to life threatening allergies. Similarly no shellfish products and glass food containers are permitted. Please help everyone to stay safe and healthy at school.Student safety and proper behaviour is essential in the lunchroom, or students may lose the opportunity to remain at school for lunch!
In an effort to keep our children safe, all of the doors at school are locked.A doorbell and video camera are used for additional security at the front entrance.Students have access to the washrooms and drinking fountain at recess and lunch times, with staff supervision.
Please arrive on time to school at a.m. and p.m. entry times (8:40 & 12:25).Your child should line up outside the assigned entry/exit door with his/her class. Afterall of the classes have entered the school, the doors are locked! Students in JK-Gr. 2 should be accompanied by an adult to and from school. If you have arrived at school late to drop off your son/daughter, please ring the doorbell and proceed directly to the office. After collecting a late slip, your child will go directly to his/her class.
Our school has completed its first Fire Drill (of 6 annually), and our first Lockdown Drill (of 2 annually). Teachers have routinely practiced safety drills with all classes during the month of September. Additional safety drills will take place throughout the school year.
The school parking lot is for the use of St. Andrews and ASE 1 staff who share our school building.Thus far, there are 3 vehicles with accessibility permits that may enter the parking lot to use the accessible parking space. During peak a.m. and p.m. drop-off and pick-up times, the parking lot is also used as a pedestrian walkway.Parents:Please hold the hands of your youngsters in the parking lot, as staff vehicles are entering or exiting the parking lot.Please do not drop off your children in the school lot at any time, including lunch time! For your convenience, cars may stop or park alongside the school on Brimorton Drive (outside the bus zones) Please note the school bus stopping zones where school buses will stop to drop-off and pick-up children at entry and dismissal times. To avoid traffic collisions, do not make three-point turns, or back into neighbouring driveways. Park your vehicle in the signed Green P areas. Thank you for your cooperation with these safety measures.
Students who walk to school should establish outdoor meeting places for after school pick-up by parents, caregivers and siblings.Students in grades JK-2 should be escorted to and from school by parent/caregiver. Please inform the classroom teacher if an adult other than a parent or caregiver will pick up a child at school. Children should watch out for traffic and observe safety rules. All students and parents/caregivers should use the designated cross walk to cross Brimorton Dr. Assistance for road and crosswalk safety from Toronto Police Services has been requested.
Students should be in the school yard, with staff supervision between 8:30-8:40 in the morning and 12:20 -12:25 in the afternoon.Students should not be at school before 8:30 a.m. (unless during mandatory Kilometre Club or a co-curricular activity with staff). After school, students are permitted to play on the playground equipment at 3:30 if their parents/caregivers are present. All parents/caregivers are asked to use caution when walking to and from the school in the ball playing areas. Thanks.
St. Andrews P.S. welcomes school volunteers.Please note that as per TDSB policy, all school volunteers on a regular or an occasional basis (e.g.,school trips/excursions) must have a CBC (criminal background check) form registered with the TDSB volunteer office. Please see school office staff for volunteer procedures, forms, and areas of need in the school.We appreciate many volunteers who work in our classrooms, and assist the students and staff in our school.Please consider this opportunity to become involved in the school and your children’s education.
After school hours or on weekends, parents and community members may report concerns on school property to Toronto Police Services- 43 Division at (416) 808-4300 Communications Department or TDSB Security at (416) 395-4620.Thank you for your partnership with safety for our students, school building and grounds!
Students are reminded that the use of cell phones is not permitted at school during the school day!All cell phones are required to be powered off and out of sight from 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.Parents are asked to reinforce this requirement with their children.
SCHOOLCOUNCIL and MEET THE TEACHER NIGHT
The School Council is open to all parents. New and returning members are welcome and encouraged to attend meetings.Please consider volunteering your time and efforts to become more involved in the life of your child’s school.Future School Council meetings andParent Workshops will be held at St. Andrews PS.The last Thursday of every month at 6:00 p.m. in theLibrary is a designated School Council meeting date. The October meeting will determine this year’s School Council executive.If you have an interest in a Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer position, please contact the principal for information and details of the election/acclamation process. Our first School Council meeting was held at 6:00 p.m. in the library on Tuesday September 25th.Thank you to the School Council for leadership with the first monthly Pizza Lunch fundraiser and with a Parent Workshop with Karen Kerry from Aisling/Discoveries Child and Family Centre re: anti-bullying.Child minding is provided for the children during parent meetings thanks to Ms. Hendershot’s leadership and the very helpful grade 8 students! All families are invited to attend our annual Meet the Teacher Night event on Oct. 4th .Students are expected to attend with their parents to introduce their teachers and provide their parents with a classroom tour. This is NOT an interview night!Parent-Teacher interviews will be held in November.
CO-CURRICULAR NEWS
Special thanks to all of the staff at St. AndrewsP.S. for volunteering their time and talents to co-ordinate, organize and supervise co-curricular activities to enrich learning opportunities for our students. We encourage students to take part in many planned activities throughout the school year.Currently, the Cross-Country team is practicing, alongside the Kilometre Club, under the leadership of Mrs. Roberts, Mr. Volpe, Mr. Withrow, and staff supervision.Parents are welcome and encouraged to join our Kilo Club Daily Physical Activity (DPA) to run /walk the course with your children.The provision of extra socks for morning runs are helpful, as the grass is often wet with dew.On Friday September 28th, our students and staff successfully completed the Terry Fox Run, while wearing our orange shirts to honour Indigenous peoples and to recognize the need for reconciliation because of residential school injustices in our county’s history.
Thank you to Ms. Neal for sharing staff resources for Orange Shirt Day.Thank you to Mr. Volpe for his leadership with the Popcorn Sale fundraiser this month.Thank you to Mrs. Silver for her leadership with our school partnerships.Thank you to Mrs. Engbloom for her leadership with Student Office Ambassadors and to Mr. Lewis for his leadership with the Student Announcement (PSA) Team. Thank you to Mrs. Awara for coaching the girls’ and boys’ soccer teams.Thank you to Ms. Brown and Mr. Gregg for coaching the girls’ Borden Ball team. This and other future newsletters will highlight staff and student contributions in co-curricular areas. Learning inside and outside of the classroom helps our youngsters to build their character and model the TDSB character traits, such as Respect for the month of September and Responsibility for the month of October.
Global Citizenship and Social Justice are values promoted by St. Andrews PS.Thank you to Mrs. Awara and Ms. Punia for escorting the Me to We students to the annual WE Day event at the Scotiabank Arena to be motivated and inspired by special speakers and musicians. Mrs. Awara and Ms. Hendershot, the Intermediate Student Council, and the WE Club students will engage students and staff to continue to support programs and activities to provide relief to children locally and globally.Thank you to Mrs. Bots for her leadership with our school website!Thank you to Ms. Punia for her on site leadership with the Faculty of Education Teacher Candidates, in collaboration with York University Adjunct Professor Mr. I. Brodie.St. Andrews welcomes many Teacher Candidates to our school on a weekly basis to learn from and with our teaching staff.
The TDSB Chart of Consequences is an important section of your child’s agenda. Parents should review these important agenda pages with their children. Of special interest to parents is the Ontario Ministry of Education’s website at www.edu.gov.on.caThe school curriculum expectations and other related educational information can be located at this site. In addition, parents are encouraged to frequently visit the TDSB website at www.tdsb.on.cafor Board and school information.
We look forward to a positive and productive year with our students, staff and families.Best wishes for September days of significance observed and upcoming holidays and special days in October!
Sincerely,
Ms. K. Rainford
Principal