Central Weekly Update – February 14-18, 2022
Central Families,
Monday, February 21st, 2022 is Family Day so there will be no school. Student report cards will be going home this Friday, February 18, 2022. If you have any questions about report cards please contact your child’s teacher. You will notice that due to falling snow and ice from the rook we have place several pylons and caution tape around the perimeter of the school. Please remain a safe distance from these pylons and ensure students do not go inside the pylons. Thanks to our Facilities Management and Health & Safety teams for helping us to problem solve this situation to ensure the safety of all. Please report any incidents of snow/ice falling from the roof to the office immediately. Thank you.
We have mixed emotions about saying good bye and good luck to Mr. Ordowich as his last day with us will be this Friday. Mr. Ordowich has devoted many years to teaching and supporting our students and families at Central. We wish him all the best as he embarks on a new chapter. Ms. Jude will replace Mr. Ordowich in the grade 4 class starting on Tuesday, february 22, 2022 and we look forward to having Ms. Jude move from the Kindergarten class to the Grade 4 class. We also welcome back Ms. Cometto who will be returning to her Kindergarten class with Ms. Peterson (DECE) this Wednesday. We look forward to having Ms. Cometto back in the school and thank Ms. Jude for replacing her while she was away. We also welcome Ms. Kosakowski who will be taking on the role of the ESL teacher at Central until further notice.
A reminder that our School Council meets regularly and all parents/guardians are welcome to attend. Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 1, 2022 and will be on MS Teams. Please contact the school at 905 522-9690 or email the school at [email protected] to request an invite to the meeting.
The school council is comprised of the principal, teacher, parent, and community representatives. The purpose of school council to discuss any updates and plans regarding school programming and operations. This includes updates from the principal and the teacher representatives. We also discuss the current goals of the school council, including fundraising initiatives, school improvements etc. Elected members of the school council are allowed to vote on decisions being made, but anyone is welcome to attend meetings in order to stay informed on what is happening at Central. This is also an opportunity to give feedback, ask questions, or raise concerns regarding the overall operation of the school. If you have a specific question you would like to ask or would like to be discussed at our next meeting, please email the principal to have this item added to the school agenda, or contact one of the school council representatives listed on the website.
Please note, school council meetings deal with broad curriculum, operational, and facilities issues. We do not deal with concerns related to specific situations or concerns related to individual students, staff etc. If you have a specific concern about an individual or a particular situation, please speak to your child’s teacher directly, or contact the school at 905 522-9690 to discuss your concern.
We would like to invite all parents the option of attending the remaining school council meetings for the 2021/2022 school year. The remainder of the meetings will be held on MS Teams on the following dates:
Tuesday March 1, 2022 – 7pm
Tuesday May 3, 2022 – 7pm
Please contact the school at 905 522-9690 or email the school at [email protected] to request an invite to the meeting.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, minutes are posted on the school website https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/central/school-council/
We have received a lot of the iPads that we loaned to families so thank you to those families that have returned them. Please continue to return the school iPads so that we can use them at the school. A reminder that they will be locked soon so please label with your child’s first and last name and return to the school as soon as possible. Please continue to check your emails for updates from the school and register t0 receive updates on our school website at https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/central/
To protect our school community from COVID19, our emphasis going forward will be on rigorous screening. The updated screen is attached and linked here: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/
Please also find attached a calendar 1.01B – Daily COVID-19 Screening Verification Log (1) (paper copy went home in December) that will need to be signed each day to verify that your student(s) have completed the screen every morning before coming to school. Some students with devices may show their teacher that they have passed the screener instead of using the calendar. Please reach out to your child’s teacher to see which options are in place for that class.
I have also included the updated flowcharts for you to refer to refer to when you have a child at home with symptoms COVID At Home Protocol-01-05-2022 or what happens when a child becomes ill at school COVID At School or Child Care Protocol-01-05-2022
Please be sure to keep students with symptoms at home so that we do not need to contact you to return to pick your child up and will also prevent exposure to others in the school
Please reach out to your child’s teacher or call the office at 905 522-9690 if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you to all families for ensuring safety and exercising caution in our parking lot which becomes a very busy area during arrival and departure. As we have families that need to park in our Accessbile Parking spots to drop off students please be sure to not park in these designated parking spots and do not block other vehicles in. If you are dropping off or picking up students please be sure to do so as quickly and safely as possible. Drive in from Bay St. and make an immediate right turn and follow a circle around the parking lot as it is one way traffic only. Drop/pick up students, make sure that they get to the playground/to your vehicle safely and then circle around the parking lot to exit on Bay St.. Please avoid backing up as this creates a lot of congestion and can be unsafe as many students enter the school through the Bay St entrance. Dismissal is at 3:05pm so please be sure to be at the school to pick up your child or children on time.
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 905 522-9690. We are unable to release students before the dismissal bell unless you have entered the dismissal in Safe Arrival. Thank you to Ms. Gaston, our office assistant for all of her support with monitoring student attendance and calling families to ensure the safety of all of our students on a daily basis. This is a big job and takes up a lot of time in the morning so please assist us by using the Safe Arrival app or phone number to report absences. Contact the school if you require support with this. Thank you.
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. If you are late, please do not send children in without calling the office and do not drop off in the Kindergarten area as we must ensure supervision of all students 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. Our protocol remains in place indicating that parents/guardians are not permitted into the school due to covid restrictions. Thank you,
We ask that you please continue to ensure that you do your daily screening very thoroughly. Students that do not pass the screener must remain at home.
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.
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 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 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.
Testing for COVID-19
To slow the spread of COVID-19 and to continue to support school communities, HWDSB is pleased to offer rapid antigen test kits for symptomatic students and staff who are in person. This testing option is voluntary. Information has been shared with families as they received their tests this week. Learn more about Testing for COVID-19 at HWDSB.
Communicating self-reported positive test results
Although Ontario has stopped COVID-19 case management in schools, we have created a process to share information when staff and families tell a school about positive test results. This process is new and will be monitored and adjusted as we receive feedback.
Starting Monday, January 24, a parent/guardian can notify their child/ren’s principal of a positive student test result (PCR or RAT). Staff also have the option to self-report a positive test result. The school will post to their website without disclosing the name or position of the case. We encourage families to subscribe to their school website to get notifications of updates.
Self-reporting a test result is encouraged but voluntary. Any information that schools share with communities will not be confirmed by Hamilton Public Health Services (HPHS). This means that we cannot confirm the infectious period, but we want families to be able to make an informed decision about sending their child to school.
Guided by the Ministry of Health, HPHS will no longer dismiss cohorts of positive cases. Students and staff in schools are generally no longer considered high-risk contacts requiring isolation. Students and staff who do not have symptoms, who have not been advised to isolate, and who pass the COVID-19 School and Child Care Screening may go to school.
Families are reminded to continue following all public health protocols, including masking, physical distancing, and close monitoring of symptoms. Please follow the directions provided in the COVID-19 school and Child Care screening and stay home if your child is sick.
School Closure Preparedness and Advisories
Parents and guardians should be prepared if there is a school closure due to a public health concern or challenges with staffing. In these situations, a school may temporarily transition to remote learning and some classes may close if there is not an educator available. Families will be notified of the closure through School Messenger. We will give as much notice as possible, although in extreme circumstances, a decision could be made by 7:30 a.m. on the day impacted. School closures will be also be communicated through the HWDSB website.
Thank you for your support,
Mr, Carey,
Principal
Updated on Sunday, February 13, 2022.