Welcome Back to the 2022-23 School Year at Sir William Osler

Dear Families of Sir William Osler School (SWO Eagles),

We would like to extend a big welcome and hello to all of our new and returning students and families in the school community! We are excited to welcome students back to class – in person and remote learning – for the 2022-23 school year. We know that the past two years have been challenging, and we are thrilled to see students, staff and families again. Each new year is a great new opportunity! Here is some information to help you get ready for school.

First Day: A friendly reminder that the first day of school is Tuesday, September 6, 2022. (First day of Kindergarten is Wednesday, September 7, 2022, with pre-arranged class visits on Tuesday). School Hours are 9:15am – 3:35pm.

• Students in Grades 1-8 will enter the school yard/pavement area at the back of the school and back field, where they will be greeted by their homeroom or period one teacher prior to the 9:15am bell.
• Each teacher will be holding a sign with their class code on it for students to find. There will be staff circulating with class lists to further support and clarify student placements.
• Students will enter and exit the building via their designated entrance/exit doors (staff will communicate with students on the first day of school.)
• Kindergarten students will be dropped off at the K fenced area. Staff will be at the gate to welcome students and parents. ECE and EA staff will escort students directly into their classrooms upon arrival.

 Staff Supervision: Each morning, students will be supervised by staff on supervision duty on the back field, paved playground, and K entry areas starting at 9 am. Staff will also be supervising and supporting student dismissal at the front/back/playground/field at 3:35pm. Students K–Gr. 3 (unless on buses) will be brought outside the primary doors (supervised by their teacher) to parents/guardians waiting on the hill or at the front. Older students Gr. 5-8 will be dismissed first (from the top floor and out the front doors) to facilitate younger sibling pick-up if needed.

 Safety and Security of all Students: Parents and guardians please do NOT enter the school yard -paved playground or school field with your children after the first day of school. School staff will always be there to support all students in arrival and dismissal. Families should communicate with teachers and their child(ren) to determine the best location to meet after school. These expectations were a huge success in the 2021-22 school year… Thank you in advance for working together with Osler staff in keeping all students safe, we could not do it without you!

Parking Lots: Families will be expected to park/drop-off/pick-up children in the lower lot only. *Please do NOT park or drive into the upper lot. This is only for busses, daycare agreements, and disability permits. We do not want to have students entering the lot simply because they see their family vehicle there. It is a serious safety concern.

 Transportation: School buses will continue to unload and load in the same area as in previous years (upper parking lot bus lane). *Courtesy seating requests will be considered at the end of September. We have been supporting HWSTS, our local transportation consortium, as they adopt a new platform for their Parent Portal. If your child qualifies for transportation, please follow the steps listed to access your child(ren)’s information via the online portal. Please keep in mind that last minute changes sometimes do occur and that it is important to re-check the information prior to sending your child(ren) to their assigned pickup location on September 6, 2022. Go to www.hamiltonschoolbus.ca  and click on the “Parent’s Portal” on the Home page, OR “Bus Stop Finder” on the landing page. Learn more. Bus contactors will continue with regular cleaning routines, to ensure that students and drivers have a sanitary environment. Masks are optional but encouraged while riding the bus.

Dogs on Property: Please do NOT bring family dogs onto school property during school hours including arrival and dismissal. There are bylaws to keep all staff, students, community members safe while on school property. As much as we all love our furry companions, we do not want to have any animal-related mishaps and/or negative experiences for anyone. If you have a certified service dog please contact administration.

 Nutrition Breaks: NB 1: 10:55-11:35, NB 2:  1:15-1:55, each NB is divided into two 20-minute periods… half of the school goes out to play the other half stays in to eat and then the groups switch.

• Students will eat in their classrooms at their workspace area. (No food or beverages outdoors, no exceptions). Students are not permitted to move their desks or switch seats with others.
• There is no sharing of food or beverages, due to food allergies and other safety considerations.
• Please continue to strive to be ‘nut safe’ and keep nut products out of our school. Other life-threatening food allergies will be communicated by individual classroom teachers.
• Personal devices/phones will NOT be permitted for use by students during the inside eating portion or outside recess portion of the Nutrition Breaks. Digital Citizenship and device expectations will be shared by classroom teachers. Devices will be welcomed into the classroom by the educators for educational purposes only. Students can use the office phones to contact parents/guardians if necessary.
• No personal equipment will be permitted on the playground at this time. Please leave all balls, bats, frisbees, etc. at home.
• Students will not be permitted to leave school property (unsupervised) at nutrition break unless they are going home for lunch.
• If your child will be going home for lunch, there must be prearranged and documented parent/guardian permission on file with classroom teacher and office staff prior to a student leaving the building to go home.

Addressing a Concern: Together as a school community and partner’s in learning, we continue to encourage positive, respectful, calm, and kind interactions and communication with all of our stakeholders. If you have a specific concern, question, feedback, or info regarding your child(ren), please contact their homeroom or rotary teachers as your first point of contact. *Please partner with school staff in building trusting and collaborative relationships, while working together on solutions to issues regarding student needs. Students and families with classroom concerns are encouraged to contact their student’s classroom teacher. School-wide concerns can be addressed by the principal and/or vice principal. Addressing a Concern (PDF).

 School Organization: Prior to the new school year, staff and administration collaborate in an intentional and informative class building process. Student learning profiles including strengths and needs, teaching and learning styles, and many other factors are carefully considered when placing students and staff in various classrooms. Please know that until we have accurate numbers (see students in person) we may need to make further changes. *We are unable to consider requests for classroom changes at this time. If we are asked to re-organize the school at the end of September, we will meet again as a staff and then we will contact families/students who will be, or who have requested changing homerooms. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through any required changes due to reorganization.

 Welcome to the SIR WILLIAM OSLER School Team 2022-23!!

Staff member(s)	Class code/Homeroom
R. Gushie, L. McAlpine (*LTO -TBD)  & A. Gonzalez (ECE)	K- JSA   -Rm. 105
S. Rosenblatt & A. Tofano-Howson (ECE)	K- JSB   -Rm. 107
A.Dunsiger & P. Crockett (ECE)	K- JSC   -Rm. 108
N. Persaud	1A        -Rm. 135A
C. Smith	12A      -Rm. 133
L. Wilkinson	12B      -Rm. 134
V. Whillier    (*LTO – C. Schwendiman)	23A      -Rm. 130A
N. Lebon	34A      -Rm. 131
A.Forman (Patzalek)	34B      -Rm. 129
S. Montesi	4A        -Rm. 140
T. Neely	5A        -Rm. 219
S. Hilbert	56A      -Rm. 217
C. Widdup	6A        -Rm. 221
S. Rogers	F6A      -Rm. 230
L. Mastroluisi	67A      -Rm. 236A
J. Venema	67B      -Rm. 214
M. Beale    (*LTO – J. Alavata)	F67A    -Rm. 232
R. Chiniborch	7A        -Rm. 215A
M. Phippen	F7A      -Rm. 229
E. Potichnyj	78A     -Rm. 222A
A.O’Neil	F78A   -Rm. 238
F. Nicholaides	8A       -Rm. 224
J. Douglas	8B       -Rm. 225
K. Lewis  (*LTO – L. Allum)	F8A     -Rm. 227
L. Cianfrini & N. Atkinson (EA), L. Albertson (EA)	ExSL    -Rm. 205
S. Acevedo	Learning Resource Teacher (K-5)   -Rm. 136
J. Robar	Learning Resource Teacher (6-8)   -Rm. 211
R. LeRoy	Reading Specialist
P. Kortmann	Intermediate Music   -Rm. 203
P. Kott	Physical Education     -Rm. Gym
A.Young	Intermediate Core French
P. Smilie & L. Garner	Junior Core French & Music
K. Wilkins	Learning Commons/Prep Coverage (Art, Media)
D. Du	Prep Coverage (Day 4)
S.An, E. Dincer,  J. Hobbins, W. Pluim, M. Rice	Educational Assistants (EA)
L. Linkert, B. Maunder, F. DeJong, TBA	Caretaking team
J. Hitch & L. Scime	Office Administrators
T. Walsh & U. Qureshi	P, VP

Covid 19 Updates: We know that many families remain concerned about safety, and we are too. We continue to take COVID-19 precautions, such as doing daily COVID-19 school and child care screening and staying home when sick or instructed within the screening tool. As we move through the pandemic, we will continue to update families on important developments. We know that families may have a lot of questions. Most health and safety guidance from the province is unchanged from the end of the 2021-22 school year, but here are some items we want to bring to your attention:

• It is still recommended that staff, students and visitors continue to self-screen every day before attending school using the COVID-19 school and childcare screening tool. We no longer verify student screening results in schools. Please stay home if you have COVID-19 symptoms or are waiting for test results after experiencing symptoms.
• HWDSB is a mask-friendly environment. We continue to support the wearing of masks in schools, administrative buildings and buses, as an effective public health measure. We will continue to offer free masks for students and visitors to our schools. Although masks are not required, our schools, offices and buses are respectful, welcoming and inclusive environments where individuals can choose to wear or not to wear a mask.
• HEPA filter units are installed in every occupied kindergarten class, in all occupied learning spaces without mechanical ventilation, and in mechanically ventilated learning spaces without MERV-13 level filters. HWDSB will continue to deploy HEPA filter units in learning spaces in a manner that maximizes their benefit. We will continue to publicly communicate ventilation measures on our website.

 Supporting a Positive Return to School: HWDSB and SWO will continue to offer a wide variety of mental health supports for students, knowing that the pandemic has impacted student well-being. This is especially important during the return to school, which can be stressful for some students. See some supportive tips on our recent web post. 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 2.0 is a series of activities and lessons which address needs arising during the pandemic.

 Right to Disconnect: Healthy work-life boundaries, including the ability for all employees to disconnect from work after hours, is an important part of maintaining one’s health and well-being. HWDSB has implemented a Right to Disconnect Procedure to support educators, administrators and other HWDSB staff. While all urgent communication will continue to be shared after hours, please note that families communicating with educators and administrators may receive a delay in response to all non-emergency inquiries received after hours.

Device Return: Students who still have a device from last year are asked to bring it to their educator on the first day of school. Please label the device with your child’s name.

Elementary Remote Learning and Transitions: Elementary families interested in switching between in-person and remote learning will have an opportunity to register their student starting Monday, August 29. The Remote Learning Registration (2022/2023) form will be available on the Parent Portal from 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 29, and will close at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, September 7. Families can complete this form if they wish to: transition from in-person to remote learning, or transition from remote learning back to in-person. *Families selecting a new learning option will be choosing this for their student for the full 2022-2023 school year. Students will begin attending their new classes when the re-organization process in early October takes place. Only families looking to switch their learning options are required to complete this form. Please contact our school if you have difficulty accessing the Remote Learning Registration (2022/2023) on the Parent Portal under the “Remote Learning” section.

We know the return to school, especially for those who had been learning remotely, can be stressful for some students. We are here to support every student. If you think your child might struggle with school, please let us know. We also invite families to keep up with communications from HWDSB by subscribing to email updates or following HWDSB and SWO on social media. Please continue to check our school website and school messenger notices for up to date and important information. We are very excited to meet and/or reconnect, and learn with all your children each and every day.

Sincerely, your partners in learning,

Tracy Walsh           Umar Qureshi

Principal                 Vice Principal

Sir William Osler Elementary School