Health Curriculum Preview for Parents (Grades 1 – 8)

Parents and Guardians are invited to attend an information session. This live session will be held on March 23^rd at 6:00 p.m. via MS Teams.

A letter was sent to parents of Grades 1 – 8…

This letter is to inform you that your child will begin a unit on Human Development and Sexual Health starting at the end of May 2022.

The following expectations of the Ontario Curriculum will be covered in the Grade 1 program.

By the end of Grade 1, students will:

• identify body parts, including genitalia (e.g., penis, testicles, vagina, vulva), using correct terminology and body-positive language
• identify the five senses and describe how each functions (e.g., sight: the eyes give the brain information about the world to help us see colours, shapes, and movement; touch: receptors in the skin tell us how things feel – if they are hot, cold, wet, dry, hard, soft; hearing: the ears pick up vibrations and send messages to the brain to help us hear sounds that are loud or soft, high- or low-pitched; smell and taste: the tongue is covered with thousands of taste buds and the nose has tiny hairs and nerves that send messages to the brain about how things taste and smell)
• demonstrate an understanding of and apply proper hygienic procedures for protecting their own health and preventing the transmission of disease to others (e.g., washing hands with soap, using a tissue, sleeve sneezing, brushing and flossing teeth, not sharing hats or hairbrushes)

The following resources will be used to assist in the delivery of this unit:

• OPHEA resource document

As the Ontario Curriculum indicates, “Parents are the primary educators of their children with respect to learning about values, appropriate behaviour, and ethnocultural, spiritual, and personal beliefs and traditions, and they are their children’s first role models. It is therefore important for schools and parents to work together to ensure that home and school provide a mutually supportive framework for young people’s education” (page 14). This unit offers you, as the most significant influence of your child’s values and behaviours, the chance to discuss the classroom lessons and consider them in light of your own family beliefs.

Parents and Guardians are invited to attend an information session. This live session will be held on March 23^rd at 6:00 pm via MS Teams.

If Parent/Guardians would like their child(ren) exempted from all expectations, they will need to complete an exemption form in the Parent Portal. Paper copies and/or phone calls will also be accepted.

Please feel free to contact the school if you have questions or concerns regarding this upcoming unit.