Dear Junior School Parents,

What an absolute pleasure it has been to see your children back at school! Our new and returning students have spent their first day at school developing relationships, building classroom culture, and understanding the rights and responsibilities of being a Havergal student. 

We are very much looking forward to the weeks ahead, and settling into classroom routines, and starting our work together as learners and contributing members of the school community. As a reminder, please be sure to reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher, as a first point of contact, with any questions or concerns. Our partnership with you is important, and we value these opportunities to connect. 

Wishing you all the best for a happy and healthy weekend ahead.

Sincerely,

Kate

LATEST NEWS

Safe Arrival and Dismissal of Students

A huge note of thanks to our families for remembering to complete the Wellness Check, on SchoolPass, for your child(ren) prior to their arrival at school! This is a critical piece of our health and safety protocols. Each student was provided with a QR code earlier this week that has been attached to their backpack. This enables us to check each child in upon arrival.

Updating Your SchoolPass Account

Please review all of the tips provided in this quick reference guide so that you know how to add drivers and make other changes as necessary; if you need assistance to change who has been designated as “Parent 1”, please email jsoffice@havergal.on.ca to request that we facilitate that change

In order to expedite the arrival and departure of students, we ask the following:

Drop-off  (8:00 am – 8:20 am)

• Only families with children in JK or SK are permitted to park on school property and accompany them to the JK/SK door. If you have a child in Grades 1 – 6, you are not permitted to park on property during drop-off.
• If you are driving your child to school, stay in your vehicle. A Havergal employee will be on hand to provide assistance and to walk-in those students that are not yet ready to do so independently.
• Have your child exit the vehicle on the curbside only, rather than onto the driveway.
• Have your child’s backpack and school materials in the backseat, and not in the trunk, ready for a quick drop-off.

Pick-Up

• In order to manage traffic, the JS has a staggered dismissal system.  Please adhere to your child’s dismissal time. If you have children with different dismissal times, please come at the later time. 
  • 3:00 pm – JK
  • 3:15 pm – SK
  • 3:25 pm – Grades 1 – 3
  • 3:40 pm – Grades 4 – 6 
  • Grade 1 – 6 students can be picked up between their dismissal & 4:00 p.m.

• Upon arrival at the school, please have your “Carpool Number” ready on the SchoolPass app, so that it can be inputted quickly into our system and your child’s teacher can be alerted to your arrival. 
• Here is a screenshot of where this can be located:

Independent Dismissal for Students in Grades 4 – 6

• If you plan to pick up your child(ren) by car, and they have been given a green tag indicating they have been registered to leave the school property independently, please collect them from the northern side of Rosewell, across from the school (there is a crosswalk available for students to use), OR from a location a block or two away from Havergal. This will assist us in alleviating congestion on school property.
• If your would like to grant your child this permission, please register as soon as possible, using the following link: Independent Dismissal Registration

Rapid Testing for the Entire JS Community: 

• An email will be issued from Shemina Ladak, Director Administration Department about the Thrive website; please ensure you reply by Tuesday, September 14 to sladak@havergal.on.ca to clarify which email address you would like the invitation from Thrive to go to. This email will serve as the basis of your Thrive account.
• If your child has had an infection in the last 90 days, they should not participate. Please contact covid@havergal.on.ca to share your child’s name and/or if you have specific questions about whether or not they are to be included.
• We are in the process of planning a Webinar for parents to further explain how to complete Rapid testing in conjunction with your Thrive account. Stay tuned!

Athletics and Arts Registration Information 

• We are reintroducing before and after school athletics and arts co-curriculars: please review the options and how to register here.

Orange Shirt Day – Thursday, September 30 

• Havergal is recognizing Orange Shirt Day on Thursday, September 30th.
• Orange Shirt Day is designed to promote the message that every child matters and to commemorate the residential school experience, honour the journey of survivors and their families, and commit to the ongoing process of reconciliation. We will be sharing the purpose of the day, in developmentally appropriate ways, with the students on Monday, September 27. 
• Students are invited to wear an orange shirt on this day, on top of their regular HC uniform.

REMINDERS

Gator Care Opens Next Week! 

• Parents are asked to ensure they have completed the Wellness Check on SchoolPass before dropping off their children at Gator Care; 
• Morning Gator Care 
  • No Charge
  • Registration required by 8 pm the evening before (gatorcare@havergal.on.ca)
  • Hours of operation: 7:30 am – 8:00 am
• Afternoon Gator Care
  • $15/hr; this will be charged to your Havergal account
  • Registration required by 9 am the day you would like your child to attend  (gatorcare@havergal.on.ca)
  • Hours of operation: students’ dismissal time –  6:00pm
• Please note that if you would like your child to attend Gator Care on a regular basis, simply indicate what the schedule is in one email.

People and Program Night – Tuesday, September 14, at 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm 

• We are excited to be hosting the JS People and Program Night for parents on Tuesday, September 14th 
• For all the information you need to know (including Zoom links and the agenda) click on the following link: People and Program Evening: Junior School 

Lunch Services

• Lunch services commence on Monday, September 13. 
• Please note that orders must be submitted each Wednesday by midnight for lunch service commencing the following Monday.
• Here are the step-by-step instructions on navigating how to register and order.

Student Photos

Student photos will start to be taken next week. Your child’s photo day can be found on Seesaw, Google Classroom, and the Veracross calendar.

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Tuesday, September 14 

• JS People and Program Night

Friday, September 17 

• 8:30 am – Principal Prayers with Dr. Katrina Samson
• Principal Prayers Zoom Link

Wednesday, September 30  

• Orange Shirt Day (JK – 12)

Thursday, October 7 

• Virtual Harvest Festival – 8:30 am (link to come)

Friday, October 8

• No classes
• PD day for faculty and staff

Monday, October 11

• Thanksgiving Monday – No classes