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.

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:

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/ 

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.  Please follow the directions provided in the COVID-19 school and Child Care screening and stay home if your child is sick.

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 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 Accessible 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,

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. 

Thank you,

Mr. Carey, Principal Central Elementary