Winona News – Jan 6

Welcome Back and Happy New Year.  We hope that all families had an enjoyable break and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to school tomorrow.

Upcoming January Days of Significance and/or Importance

January is Tamil Heritage Month
6 Birth of Guru Gobind Singh (Sikhism)
7 Christmas/Feast of the Nativity (Orthodox Christianity)
14 Maghi (Sikhism)
14 New Year’s Days (Orthodox Christianity)
19 World Religion Day (Baha’i Faith)
21 Lincoln Alexander Day (Government of Canada)
24 International Day of Education (United Nations)
27 International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust (United Nations)
29 Hamilton’s Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia (Legislative Assembly of Ontario)
29 Lunar New Year (Buddhism/Confucian/Daoism)

Upcoming Events at Winona

Jan 9 – Pita Day
Jan 9-10 – Senior Kindergarten Vision Screening
Jan 16 – Pizza Day
Jan 24 – PA Day – No Classes

Snow Clearing – With winter weather here, we wanted to remind families of the HWDSB snow-clearing guidelines.  Snow clearing is a shared responsibility between board staff, contractors, and city staff.  Details can be found by following the link below.  As surface conditions can change rapidly, be sure to take your time on wet and snowy mornings even in areas that have been cleared. Snow-clearing-Infographic-revised-Oct-2022 (hwdsb.on.ca)

Inclement Weather – We also wanted to send a reminder regarding the HWDSB’s severe weather policies.  School boards have varied policies on cancellations.  The HWDSB Rule is Severe weather + Bus cancellation = No school. When HWDSB cancels busing due to inclement weather, we have deemed the roads unsafe and this triggers the closure of schools.  To better understand HWDSB’s severe weather policy please refer to the following handout or visit our HWDSB Severe Weather page. Severe Weather | Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (hwdsb.on.ca)

A Message From Hamilton Public Health – The Immunization of School Pupils Act (1990) is an Ontario law that requires children under the age of 18 years attending school to have an up-to-date immunization record, or valid exemption, on file with their local public health unit for designated publicly funded childhood immunizations.

For the 2024/2025 school year, Hamilton Public Health Services will be enforcing the Immunization of School Pupils Act which may include suspension for students who do not have up-to-date vaccine records.

To ensure that your child has an up-to-date vaccine record, please follow up with your health care provider and report your child’s vaccination record to Hamilton Public Health Services at: 905-540-5250 or https://hph.icon.ehealthontario.ca/#!/welcome. You will need your child’s health card to access online records.

Should you have any questions, you can email: [email protected]