Central Weekly Update – October 25-29, 2021

Central Families,

A reminder that our school day starts promptly at 8:45am. If students are arriving late they must enter at the parking lot doors by ringing the doorbell and waiting for a staff member to escort them to class. Please do not send children in without calling the office or through the Kindergarten area as we must know where they are at all times and we do not want to  disrupt the learning of the other classrooms or take staff away from their supervision and teaching responsibilities. Parents/guardians are not permitted into the school due to covid restrictions. Thank you,

As we approach Halloween, our school staff may be looking to engage students in Halloween activities
while at school. Please ensure the following practices are in place to ensure safety for students and staff
during COVID times.
 Students can wear costumes to school as per prior years practice (e.g., no cultural appropriation,
no offensive and insensitive costumes, no weapons, no costume masks that might impede vision,
no inappropriate images, etc.)
 Students choosing to wear a costume should come to the school already wearing the costume and
keep the costume on for the duration of the day.
 Student costumes must be able to accommodate a face covering as per COVID requirements.
 A costume mask is not a substitute for a face covering. A costume mask should not be worn over a
non-medical mask or face covering because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard
to breathe.
 No costume parades are permitted indoors or outdoors.
 No in-person assemblies are permitted.
 Activities must take place within a student cohort and not involve a mixing of cohorts.
 If classes would like include treats for students during activities, these must only be purchased and
individually packaged treats (no home baked foods). There is no need to clean or disinfect prepackaged treats. PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER FOR ALLERGIES (WE ARE NOT PERMITTIG ANY FOODS WITH NUTS, EGGS, PUMPKIN OR LEGUMES )
 Maintain safe practices including physical distancing and hand hygiene.
 Don’t assume that all students will participate in Halloween activities. Remember there are
students who do not celebrate and/or participate.

Cultural Appropriation and Costumes:
Cultural appropriation means taking or borrowing a look or trait from a culture that is not your own.
Costumes that are based on people’s culture are offensive, harmful and insensitive. The following are
suggested questions, to reflect on when choosing a costume to avoid being disrespectful or offensive, that
schools can share to their school community:
 Is my costume making fun of a group of people, their culture, religion and/or belief systems?
 Does my costume reinforce jokes and stereotypes about certain groups, cultures, religions and/or
belief systems?
 Am I altering my skin color, facial/body features to make it like a particular race, ethnicity, or
cultural group?
 Am I dressing up as a culture or borrowing from a religion that is not my own or is not part of my
background?
Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.

We ask that you please continue to ensure that you do  your daily screening very thoroughly and sign your child’s daily tracking. Students that do not pass the screener must remain at home. Click on the attachment to review the Central Daily Covid Tracker –  CENTRAL Daily COVID-19 Screening Verification Log (1)

Students showing any symptoms at school will be removed from their classrooms and sent home. Please contact the school if your child has been impacted by a covid case in their classrooms and you are unsure of their return date or the process that you are to follow. (905 522 – 9690).

A reminder that as we approach the colder months students will be coming in with a lot more clothing and gear. It is very difficult to manage lost and found items at Central amongst a pandemic so please label your child’s belongings very clearly using a sharpie if possible. 

Be sure to register for our website to receive updated notifications. Go to [email protected] and click on the register tab, input the information requested and receive up-to-date notifications when information is added to our school website.

Please ensure that your child’s teacher is aware of any medical conditions, allergies etc. as there are forms that we need to have you complete with us for our records.

Be sure to complete all forms on the parent portal for your child or children. These must be completed for all students attending Central Elementary. 

Please be reminded that we are to limit the number of visitors to the school so be sure to call (905 522 9690 or email at [email protected]) if you require assistance or need to contact us for any reason. 

Please work with us to be at school on time. Our day starts at 8:45 am and please avoid engaging in lengthy conversations with our staff as this interrupts our school day and supervision of our students as our staff are supervising beginning at 8:45 am so if engaged in conversations this becomes quite challenging. This is particularly challenging in the Kindergarten area where it is very busy. We ask that you drop off and pick up as quickly and safely as possible to avoid congestion and difficulties for our staff while supervising. Dismissal is at 3:05pm so please be sure to be at the school to pick up your child or children. Feel free to contact the school or your child’s teacher by email to set up a time to meet if you need to do so. 

Ensure students dress appropriately for the weather and attend with enough healthy snacks for both Nutrition Breaks and that they come to school with a water bottle with their name on it. Our fountains are not operating and we are running out of cups to give students!

Please contact the school using SafeArrival   (click for instructions) to report student absences or if you need to pick up your child from school early for an appointment. If you require assistance accessing the SafeArrival app please contact the school at 905 575 1535. We are unable to release students before the dismissal bell unless you have entered the dismissal in Safe Arrival. 

Please follow the bylaw parking signs posted on the streets surrounding the school. Bylaw officers have been monitoring our area and will issue tickets for those violating parking bylaws.

A reminder that our play structure if off limits at this time. If you decide to allow your child to play on the play structure before or after school they must be supervised by an adult. We again, apologize for the overgrown bushes, grass, weeds etc. in the playground. We are working very hard on trying to resolve these issues to keep our playground safe for our students. Thank you for your patience. 

Have a safe and healthy week everyone!

Be sure to contact us with any questions or concerns (905 522 9690 / email : [email protected]).

Mr. Carey

Principal, Central Elementary