Westdale School Community Newsletter – October 2024

Westdale Secondary Community Newsletter – October 2024

Background:

As follow up to the Summer Letter shared with our school community in August, I am beginning a monthly newsletter for Westdale families to support with home-school communication and to enhance access to important school information and events. A copy of this newsletter is shared here on our school website as well so families can utilize the “translate” feature to access this information in their preferred language. As Westdale is a busy and dynamic school, there may be some events and dates not listed as events and opportunities evolve during the school year. Please continue to reference our school website: hwdsb.on.ca/westdale and our Instagram page: whatsupwestdalewarriors, for ongoing schools news, events, and celebrations. As always, I invite your suggestions and feedback so we can better serve our Westdale students and families.

Sincerely,

Brian Goodram, Principal

Upcoming Calendar Dates:

Date:	Event(s):	Audience:
Tuesday Oct. 1st	Grad Photo Session Booking Period Opens	Grade 12 Students
Friday Oct. 4th	Nat’l Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Homecoming Event (4-9pm; Lower Gym and Sports Field) *See enclosed poster for details	All   All
Tuesday Oct. 8th	Photo Retake Day	Students who missed September photo days
Thursday Oct. 10th	Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC) Info. Session (Period 3 Sr. Lunch)	Grade 12 Students
Monday Oct. 14th	Thanksgiving Holiday (no school)	All
Monday Oct. 21st	Preliminary Report Cards Sent Home	All
Tuesday Oct. 22nd	School Council (6:15-7:15pm; Library/Learning Commons)	All
Thursday Oct. 24th	On My Way  Event (5:30-8:30pm; Liuna Station) *See enclosed poster for details	Grade 11 / 12 Students and Families
Tuesday Oct. 29th	Family-Teacher Interviews (5-7pm; by appointment)	All

Shout Outs / Good News:

This school year, we are excited to welcome new staff, and some returning staff, to Westdale: Mr. Barr (VP), Mr. Behiel (English), Mr. Borsc (CWS/English), Mr. Gage (Tech), Ms. Jongsma (Office), Ms. Khalid (ESL), Ms. Peace (French Immersion), Mr. Robson (EA), Ms. Spadafora (HPE/Student Services), Ms. Wilde (Humanities), Ms. Hughes (ESL), Mr. Cripps (CWS/Student Services). Welcome (back) to Westdale!

Other News:

Setting the Conditions  – Relationships:

At Westdale and in HWDSB, we continue to emphasize the foundational significance that classroom culture and conditions play in supporting student achievement and well-being. Created by HWDSB educators, we are fortunate to have 3 key resources: Reimagining Wellness (mental health and well-being promotion), On the Horizon (inclusive classrooms), Learn.Disrupt.Rebuild (human rights and equity), to support our work in building a positive and inclusive culture in school so students can feel safety, belonging, mattering and connection. These resources can be accessed in the search feature of the board website: www.hwdsb.on.ca. During the month of September, our focus was on building class community and getting to know our learners. This foundational work will be instrumental as we continue to revise our school improvement plans.

PPM 128  – Personal Mobile Device (PMD) Procedure / Smoke and Vape Free Schools

In April 2024, the Ministry of Education announced its plan to reduce distractions in classrooms and improve the health of students. This strategy involves the implementation of provincewide measures and mandatory learning to address cell phones and vaping in schools. Policy/Program Memorandum 128 took effect on September 1, 2024. This message was shared with students at our Grade Assemblies this past month. This PPM and the actions we take together as a staff and school community, are about reinforcing and further minimizing distractions from student learning and well-being. As we implement the Personal Mobile Device (PMD) procedure and support focused learning for our students:

• Consistent messaging and application of the PMD procedure is important so we are supporting our students and one another in this new expectation. Our collective and consistent efforts now in promoting focused learning will help support student learning and achievement later on. Parents are asked to contact their student(s) during non-instructional time. For urgent communication, parents can contact the main office.
• For our Westdale students, they must have their devices stored out of view and powered off (or on silent mode) during instructional time unless permitted by the educator. There are exemptions to this, for example, students who use their PMD as a health/medical support tool.
• We are discouraging “tech breaks” during instructional time as students within one class will likely be connecting with students engaged in learning in other classes.
• As a way to support students with distractions from their PMD, we have provided classroom teachers with lunch bags. The educator will ask a student who has needed multiple reminders to get a lunch bag or “pouch” from the teacher, turn off their PMD, place it in the bag, secure it, and store it away for the remainder of the period. This will take the responsibility away from staff in terms of taking responsibility for personal student belongings as they are not being confiscated.

Breakfast / Nutrition Program:

We are grateful for the support of our community partners (Tastebuds, Bulldogs Foundation) of our nutrition program at Westdale. Our breakfast program began in mid-September. Breakfast items are available in the Main Foyer from 7:30-8:00am each day. Snack items are available during the day in the Learning Resource Room (rm. 1062). Students are asked to take only what they need to ensure everyone has access.

Accessing Support Spaces:

Student success is supported through a team approach. At times, students may need access to Learning Resource, Library/Learning Commons, Graduation Coach to support their achievement during class time, with teacher permission. Below is the process for students accessing these spaces during class time:

• The classroom teacher will provide the student with a paper slip when they need to visit these spaces.
• The teacher will complete the form and remind the student that they are to return to class in the last 10 minutes of the period to have their attendance verified.
• Staff receiving students in the common spaces will ask students for the completed form upon arrival and will note their departure time to bring back to the sending teacher. The student will be able to check in with the teacher to see what they have missed and to receive any follow up direction.
• If the student does not return the form to the sending teacher, the teacher is to remind them of this expectation and to verify their attendance with the appropriate staff member (e.g., LRT).

Students will not be sent to the Cafeteria to complete work as it is not supervised.

Parking Lot Safety and Accessibility:

As you have noticed, our PVP team has been out in the parking lot before and after school to ensure students can safely access and exit the building. As we have students with accessibility needs and vehicles need to access the area by the ramp door, we are asking parents to drop their students off by the back central door (by the new fire escape) and proceed through to the Paradise Drive exit. This will help to alleviate congestion from Longwood while ensuring those with accessibility needs can safely access the ramp door. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Parent Portal:

Parent Portal is a great way for parents/guardians to stay connected and support student success. On Parent Portal, parents/guardians can enter and check absences, access on-line forms (e.g., Athletics, digital tools permission) and access historical grades for their student. Please contact the school by phone (905-522-1378) or email ([email protected]) to get an account set up.