Welcome Back!

Hello parents and caregivers of Spring Valley School students:

Welcome to our 2021-22 school year! I hope everyone enjoyed a healthy and happy Summer break.  It is exciting to be welcoming students back into our building and to our remote class. Our staff have been working very hard over the past week to ensure that we have everything in place for a safe and welcoming opening on Wednesday, September 8th. We understand that this falls on the last day of Rosh Hashanah, and will be working directly with families who require accommodation for this day. Please reach out to the school if you have any questions.

There will be many new routines to learn and we know that some of our students may be feeling mixed emotions about their return to school. Our staff are very aware of this and will be focussing on rebuilding our school community and supporting our students as they transition from an extended time at home back to in-person or remote learning.

We also know that safety is on the minds of every family sending their child(ren) back to school. We are taking many actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our classes while giving our students meaningful learning experiences which also focus on their physical and emotional well-being.

Attestation:

Parents and caregivers, and students over 18 years of age, are asked to complete onetime attestation to declare that you will participate in active daily screening. The attestation can be completed in the Parent Portal.

Daily COVID-19 Screening:

Students will submit a daily screening to an educator for review. If the student does not have verification, they will remain in class, with a mask and distanced as much as possible from others. Parents will be contacted to verify screening.

Learn more about COVID-19 precautions at HWDSB at www.hwdsb.on.ca/covid19.

We invite families to keep up with communications from HWDSB by subscribing to email updates or following @hwdsb on social media.

Class Placements: Class lists are completed and, although several parents have requested changes, we will not be making any revisions at this point as our classes are large and changes would mean switching other students who have not requested changes. Our staff worked to ensure that classes were built to support students’ learning and social needs. We will be looking at class sizes at the end of September, and if we are in a reorganization position we may look at the requested changes at that time.  I am aware that some parents were able to see their child’s placement through the Parent Portal earlier in August, but that seems to have been changed and no longer available. We cannot change this at the school level, but have requested an update from our IT department. If you were unable to see the placement information, please call the school. Teachers may also be making contact with parents via email or telephone. If you are not able to connect prior to the first day of school (Wednesday, September 8th for Grades 1 to 8 and Thursday September 9th for Kindergarten), rest assured that we will help each child find their teacher as they enter the playground.

Please see a list of our current staff posted in the staff tab on the school website. There have been several changes as a result of postings and staff leaves.

Arrival and dismissal process

AM Arrival:

Bus students will arrive and be met by teaching staff as they exit the buses. Lines will be escorted to the playground. Bus seating plans will be developed over the first few days as we finalize who will be riding the bus.

Walking students-Please use the closest entry point to the playground. If you are walking up the Rembrandt path you will enter the playground at the entry gate. There may be slight delays as bus lines will also be entering via the same gate. We ask that everyone please maintain a safe distance between student groups.

If you are arriving via the Taylor Road path please enter the playground from that side of the building.

We ask that parents who are accompanying their children please do not enter the playground. The staff will greet students and help them to find their teacher and class line. Staff will be wearing orange vests so they are easily visible.

Kindergarten students-parents are asked to please walk your child/ren to the kindergarten play area on the Rembrandt Path where you will be met by Kindergarten staff.

Parking Lot-Our parking lot is very busy with school staff, daycare staff, and daycare parents. Please do not drive into the school parking lot or bus area to drop students off at AM entry or PM dismissal times. We realize that parking is an issue in the immediate area, but we also need to ensure the safety of everyone.  Please park off site and walk with your children to the school grounds where they will enter the playground

If you are visiting during the day, there are two visitor parking spots near the front entrance.

PM Dismissal-Teachers will dismiss students to the playground area where bus students will go to their bus lines via the Rembrandt Path, and walking students will leave the playground via the Taylor Road Path/area . Once again, we ask that parents wait on the Taylor Road path/side to collect your children if you are walking, as we will need to keep the Rembrandt gate free for bus student lines. It is a good idea to arrange a meeting place where you will collect them each day.  We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring the safety of all of our students.

Please feel free contact me at Spring Valley School 289-946-9534, or via email, if you have any questions or concerns.

B. McVittie

Principal,

Spring Valley School