Community Weekly Time Lion September 18-22

Community Weekly Time Lion September 18-22

SWL School Council Nomination Form

 

Important Updates

Safe School Procedures

SWL will be holding 6 fire drills this year, 1 evacuation drill, 1 Shelter in Place drill, 1 Hold and Secure drill, and 2 lockdown drills.  Some of these drills will be announced prior to the drill occurring and shared with community, while others may be more spontaneous so we can help better prepare our students and staff in the event of an emergency.  Our first fire drill will occur on Tuesday, September 19 during our morning and our first hold and secure drill will occur on Wednesday, September 20.  We will continue to practice two more fire drills through the month of September and three more during the spring.  One of the two Lockdown drills will occur in early to mid October and the second in the spring as well.  The remaining drills will occur throughout the fall.

An announcement will be made to students the day of the first fire drill and when we initiate other secure procedures for the first time.  The Principal or Vice-Principal will review important safety procedures for students and staff prior to beginning the drill.

You can also learn more about HWDSB’s secure schools’ protocol at https://hwdsb.info/secureschools

Entry/Dismissal

Entry:

Thank you to our SWL families for your support this week helping your child find their classroom teacher and lines.  Now that students are aware of their teacher and classmates, families do not need to remain on our pavement area during entry time.  Our educators are out supervising at 8:35AM, just as we do at nutrition break.  We encourage students to visit with peers and get active before our morning bell rather than waiting in line.  We ask students not bring any equipment out during this time as it is a high traffic area with all Grades on the pavement.  We also encourage parents/guardians to say their goodbyes and leave the school ground area once dropped off at 8:35 or later.  If there is special circumstance we ask families wait on the field area.  This is to avoid crowding on our pavement and allow for movement for all our students.  Thank you for your understanding here.

Dismissal:  Please do not arrive early before dismissal and request to pick up your child, unless there is a special circumstance (i.e., appointment, event to attend, illness etc.).  We encourage our students to be at school for a full day of learning to achieve optimal success.  Our office is very busy throughout the day as well and this will help limit unnecessary traffic at our main doors and office as we near the end of the day.  We appreciate your understanding here.

Student Medical

We want all children and those with a life-threatening allergy, to feel safe, supported and accepted at school.

Please be aware that there are students in our school that have severe life-threatening food allergies to nuts and eggs.

This life-threatening allergy is likely to result in anaphylaxis, a sudden and severe allergic reaction that can be fatal.

We can all help foster a safe and inclusive environment by preventing such a dangerous and frightening situation at our school.  All staff know about this risk and have been instructed on the correct procedures regarding anaphylactic shock.

To help reduce risk, please help your children understand the seriousness of this allergy and encourage empathy for the child. Please do not send to school any lunches or snacks containing nut products.  In addition, students should not be sharing food and please do not send food for special events (e.g., student birthday, holiday party).  Educators may arrange alternate ways to celebrate while maintaining safety.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Previous Updates

Nutrition Breaks

HWDSB provides two 40minute nutrition breaks for students.  All students should remain at school for these nutrition breaks to engage in active play and socialize with peers.  Students that must go home for a nutrition break due to a special circumstance, require a form signed by a parent/guardian that is located in the Parent Portal.  Parent/Guardian will need connect with the school and provide the student’s schedule of when they will be specifically leaving for safe attendance tracking. Students must sign in and out at the office prior to leaving and upon return back to school.  This process must be completed daily.  Any student that needs to leave for nutrition break should be going directly home and returning to school on time for class at the end of the nutrition break.  Due to the elementary age, we do not encourage students to leave school property at nutrition break as we will not be able to monitor student safety in this capacity.  The office is also a high traffic area and will only be able to manage necessary student leaves for the day as per safety protocols.

Student Attendance

Students should be arriving on time, no later than 8:50AM.  Please make every attempt to have your child arrive at school between 8:35-8:50AM.  Student attendance will be taken during the beginning of Period 1 and during the beginning of Period 4 after our first nutrition break.  Attendance is monitored throughout the day by our educators, however the system monitoring will occur during these time frames only for the day.

School Council

Every school in Ontario is required to have a School Council and work collaboratively with the Principal to improve student achievement and enhance accountability of the school with parents.  Information about School Councils can be found here:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/school-councils-guide-members

We welcome all parents/guardians who are willing to volunteer their time to participate on our School Council for the 2023-2024 school year.  School Councils must hold an annual election to identify voting members which will occur at our first meeting.

Our 1^st School Council first meeting and elections is scheduled for September 28^th at 6PM.  School Council forms are attached in this update for parents/guardians interested in joining our council this year.  All families are welcome! Families do not need to be on council to attend our meetings.  We encourage parent/guardian voice.  Meetings will occur in-person and virtually throughout the year to accommodate families’ schedules.  Please see our website, School Council Page, for further details about Council.

Parent Portal

Families will need to access our Parent Portal and complete the following forms this week;

• Media Consent
• Student Verification

 

Supporting a Positive Return to School

HWDSB will continue to offer a wide variety of mental health supports for students. This is especially important during the return to school, which can be stressful for some students. See some supportive tips  in our recent We Help Update on our blog. Explore our We Help web page for more evidence-based and timely school-based mental health services and supports.

Across HWDSB, we are also reintroducing a welcoming, inclusive initiative to help students as they return to school. Reimagining Wellness 3.0 is a series of lessons and activities for elementary students which address needs that have arisen in the past few years.

Re-Imagining Wellness First 30 Days and

Top 5 Bullying Prevention Lessons this month

Educators will instruct and engage students in a variety of lessons this month to support student wellness and bullying prevention.  Mental Health Literacy will be covered in October. Themes of these lessons will include the following;

1. Healthy Relationships – Human Rights
2. Mental Health Literacy in the Classroom – Thoughts, Emotions and Actions
3. Introducing Bullying Prevention – Teasing, Aggression and Bullying
4. Collaborative Classroom Agreements
5. Barrier-free Reporting – HWDSB Helps