Thomas L Wells Public School

November 6^th, 2018

The time has now changed and we have completed our first two months of school! It has been an exciting couple of months of learning and laughter! With the winter weather right around the corner, please ensure that your child comes to school dressed to spend some time outside. All students are expected to go outside for recess and lunch times.

On Friday, November 9^th, we will be holding our Remembrance Day assembly to honour those who have fought for our country and have proudly served for Canada. Students will be given a poppy to wear on this day, and are asked to bring a donation which will go towards the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Campaign. You are welcome to join us for our assembly on Friday, November 9^th at 10:20 a.m. in the gym.

Over the past couple of months, several cases of Head Lice have been reported. The head louse is an insect that lives and breeds on hair. This is a common occurrence for school-aged children. It is spread directly by head to head contact and indirectly by contact with personal belongings (e.g., hats, coats, hair accessories).As lice spreads quickly and easily, we are asking for your help in addressing the problem. Please inspect your child’s hair regularly for signs of lice (e.g., greyish, brown small insects and/or “nits” which are yellow, brown or white eggs).To help stop the spread of head lice at Thomas Wells, we will be conducting a school-wide lice check on Friday, November 9^th.If your child is found to have head lice, you will be contacted and we would ask that you keep your child home until he/she is free of all lice and nits.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you at our upcoming Parent-Teacher Interviews being held on November 15^th and 16^th.By now, you should have received a letter from your child’s teacher asking you to indicate your preferred time to meet. We encourage you to take this opportunity to find out more about your child’s progress. Interpreters are available upon request. Our interim Progress Report Cards will be going home on Tuesday, November 13^th.The progress report will give you an indication of the progress your child is making to date. Here are some questions you may wish to ask your child’s teacher about your child’s progress:

• What are my child’s strengths?
• What skills does he/she need to continue to work on?
• Does my child complete her/his work and assignments efficiently and conscientiously?
• Is my child facing any struggles in class not related to his/her school work?
• October 9th, 2018
• As we begin our second month of school, we would like to thank our students, parents, and staff for all of their hard work for supporting such a positive start to the school year! We had a wonderful Curriculum Night, and a very well attended School Council Meeting.  I am so pleased that I have got to meet so many families!! Thomas L. Wells is a very special school and I have very much enjoyed being a part of such a caring and supportive community! Please note that our next School Council Meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 5th at 6:30 p.m. We welcome all new members!!
• On behalf of the students and staff, I would like to thank you all for your generous contributions to the Terry Fox Association. Together, we were able to raise over $900 for cancer research! Our students have also been busy participating in our extra- curricular activities. Cross Country, Bordenball, Basketball, Flag Football, Soccer and our New Debate Club, are all activities that have already begun. Thomas L. Wells offers many co-curricular programs for our students. We encourage you to have your children take part as extra-curricular activities are a great way for students to learn new skills and develop new relationships outside of the classroom.
• Our EQAO results are in!! We are pleased to share with you the highlights of our school’s results on the provincial standardized test that was written in the Spring. We will continue to review our detailed EQAO results along with other school assessment data, in order to build on our strengths and address areas requiring further improvement. By now, the students who participated in the assessment received their individual results. For additional information about this and other province wide assessments, please visit www.eqao.com
• EQAO Achievement Data Results for 2017-2018
• Students At or Above the Provincial Standard (Levels 3 and 4)
• Grade 3                            Grade 6
• Reading 87%                  Reading 96%
• Writing 87%                    Writing 97%
• Mathematics 71%           Mathematics 84%
• th at 6:30 p.m. in our gym. This is an important opportunity for students and parents to meet with our guidance counselor and find out more information about secondary school. Interested parents of our grade 7 students are also welcome to attend.
• In our busy lives, it is important to take time to be thankful for our many gifts that we all have. I do hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!
• Sincerely,
• Ms. Reilly
• Principal
• 416-396-3040
• Monday, September 10th, 2018.
• Dear Parents and Guardians,
•  I write this letter to introduce myself as the new principal of the school.  I would like to begin by thanking Mr. Carson, Ms Chadha, for their leadership of this school over the last few years. They have been extremely helpful as I transitioned to the school this past summer. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to them. 
• I am humbled and honored to be the principal of Thomas L. Wells Public School. I can assure you that these next years will resemble, as much as possible, what you are used to and I will do everything I can to ensure that students are at the core of what we do daily in this building. 
• The admin team, the staff and I will ensure that we maintain the high standards for all, and support every student so that they can achieve their potential. We will continue foster and build the home and school connection that you are so familiar with. Thank you for your support of your child and the school. When we work together as a team, the children will flourish. 
• It would appear by all accounts that everyone has adjusted nicely to back to school. As a reminder, lunch is from 11:30 am – 12:30 p.m. Lunches are to be prepared ahead and brought with the students. Please ensure an adult is there to pick up your child promptly for the 3:20 p.m. dismissal. There is always a teacher on duty at the back of the school and the front of the school after school for 15 minutes. They watch to ensure that all children are picked up. Please reinforce with your children that they can go to that teacher if the person who is to pick them up has not arrived.
• For families new to Thomas L. Wells, the staff supervised Kiss & Ride Program is available every morning from 8:30 to 8:45. If you must drive your child to school, please consider the Kiss and Ride. Teachers are on duty in our yard at 8:30 to supervise students. If you are not going to use the Kiss and Ride, please park legally on the street. Please do not stop or park in our bus loading zones as it prevents our school buses from being able to drop off our students safely. The school parking is for staff only. Police enforcement may occur at any time throughout the year. Thank you for your cooperation and support with the goal of student safety above convenience.
• Finally, I do hope to meet all of you at our Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 26th at 6:30 p.m.  This is a great opportunity to meet your child's teacher and learn about the curriculum they will be taught this year.  As well, for parents interested in joining our School Council, we will have our first meeting on Wednesday, October 3rd at 6:30 p.m. If you have any questions or queries before these evenings, please do not hesitate to contact me using the school phone number, or follow us on Twitter @TLWTDSB
• Sincerely,
• Ms. Reilly
• Principal
• 416-396-3040
• Anaphylaxis-Taking the Necessary Precautions
  
  Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that can be life threatening. This medical condition can cause a severe reaction to specific foods or other materials, and can result in death within minutes. Although foods such as peanuts, milk, eggs, and sesame seeds are the most common cause of anaphylaxis, insect stings, medicine, or latex can also cause a reaction. In recent years, anaphylaxis has increased dramatically among students. The TDSB is committed to maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for all students and works with Toronto Public Health and other partners to ensure the successful implementation of Sabrina's Law, which came into effect on January 1, 2006.
  
  Sabrina's Law requires every school board to establish and maintain an anaphylactic policy that includes strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms and common school areas. The TDSB has procedures for the prevention and management of anaphylactic reactions.
  
  Although this may or may not affect your child’s class directly, we want to raise awareness about this life-threatening condition. Students who have severe allergies to such food substances are exposed to a severe health risk when such products are consumed in their environment or shared with them. As prevention is the best approach, we ask that you speak with your child about not sharing their snacks or lunches with other students and please do not send any snacks or lunches with your child that contain peanuts.
  
  If your child has health problems of any kind, please inform your child’s teacher or office staff immediately so that the necessary health protection steps may be taken and to ensure everyone’s co-operation for a safe learning environment.
  
  Whether you are living with the allergy yourself, caring for someone who is, or concerned about people in your community, more information about life threatening allergies is available on the Anaphylaxis Canada’s web site at http://www.anaphylaxis.org/ or by calling 416-785-5666.
• Please ensure that lunches are free of peanut products. Our kindergarten classes WILL NOT be distributing any treats for birthdays as a precaution. If parents wish offer something for a birthday in kindergarten we would suggest something simple like fun stickers or pencils etc. Please ask any member of our kindergarten team if you have a question.
• For the remainder of the school only store bought items with ingredients clearly listed may be shared.
• We appreciate your attention and cooperation.
• Safe Arrival
• Thomas L. Wells  values the safety and security of its students. To assist the parent/guardian in ensuring their children's safety we have a safe arrival program at the school.
  
  A Safe Arrival program is a system of procedures performed together with daily attendance-taking. The parent/guardian is responsible for their child's safety. Safe Arrival programs are a mechanism that the parent/guardian and schools can use to account for any pupil's unexplained failure to arrive at school.
  
  The parent/guardian is expected to notify the school when their child is absent or late.
  
  As soon as a child is identified as "unaccounted for," the principal or designate will attempt to contact the parent/guardian of each child. Three attempts will be made to contact the parent/guardian at both home and work telephone numbers, and if the parent/guardian cannot be reached, the child care or relative will be contacted.
• Our answering machine is available 24 hours. Please call and leave a message in the Safe Arrival Mailbox (416-396-3040).
• Safe and Caring School Communities
• The Toronto District School Board has a primary responsibility and goal to ensure a safe learning environment for all of our students and staff in our school community. As part of our safety plan, Thomas L. Wells along with all other schools in the TDSB will be practising a variety of safety procedures with students and staff. We will be rehearsing a variety of emergency school procedures to acquaint students and staff with the precautionary steps to take in the event of such things as an intruder in the building, or a gas leak in the community. In addition, throughout the year we will hold practice drills to acquaint students with various emergency protocols. If you have any questions regarding our emergency procedures, please contact the school.