A Message from the Head of the Junior School: Friday, October 29, 2021

On By havergaljuniorschool

Dear Junior School Parents,

It was such a pleasure to see our Junior School students in their costumes today, as they get ready for the Halloween weekend. They had the opportunity to attend an assembly organized by Tomisin, our JS prefect and her council, as well as participate in a variety of Halloween themed activities in their classes. Everyone went all out again this year in our annual door decorating contest, and it was amazing to see how creative they all got! Be sure to check out Havergal’s social media pages for pictures!

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween.

This week’s blog contains information on the following:

Sincerely,

Kate

UPDATES

COVID-19 Vaccination for Children (5 – 11)

Consultation About the COVID-19 Vaccine for Children

  • We invite our parents and member of our community to make use of this service should they have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine for children

Diwali

  • Diwali, or Dipawali, is India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. To learn more about Diwali, watch this VIDEO. 
  • This year Diwali begins on Thursday, November 4th, and lasts for five days. Students will have an opportunity to learn more about this important holiday in prayers on Monday, November 1.
  • Students wishing to wear their Diwali outfits are invited to do so.

Lost and Found

  • We currently have several lost and found items: please take a careful look at this picture. 
  • We would like to draw particular attention to these glasses.

Launch of Junior School Safety Campaign 

  • Did you know that the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) found that children aged 14 and under are the most at-risk pedestrian group? While the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries decreased in 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions, 10 pedestrians [have been] killed and 47 seriously injured in Toronto so far this year. That compares with 21 pedestrian deaths one year ago.
  • Join us in ensuring that our Junior School remains a consistently safe environment for everyone in our community. In particular, we have concerns about traffic safety.  We would ask everyone to observe the following:
    • Use designated stopping areas only
    • Always obey the crossing guard
    • Avoid using the school parking lot if at all possible 
    • Watch for pedestrians in unexpected places
    • Take extreme caution when turning left out of the driveway
    • Drive very slowly
    • Follow the road signs 
    • Take care to have students exit cars on the right side near the sidewalk
    • At the edge of each driveway, look all ways before crossing  
  • Our Grade 6 leaders will be providing  reminders during the morning drop-off next week.

REMINDERS

Chartwell’s Ordering Form

  • This week’s Chartwell’s Order Form is due on Wednesday, October 25 by 12 noon for the week of November 1. 
  • Please note that Chartwell’s has included several simpler menu items starting the week of November 1 for families to choose from. 

Swimming Lessons Available at Havergal with Frank’s Swim School

Student Photographs

  • This is a final reminder for parents to check their student photos online at the following link: Echo Photography  
  • The password required is your child’s student identification number.
  • If you need help with identifying this number, please visit the Veracross portal and view your child’s profile carefully. 
  • Retakes are only being held on one date: Friday, November 5
  • Deadline for ordering student photos: November 20th
  • Should you require further assistance or wish to have your child’s name added to our list, please email: jsoffice@havergal.on.ca

Rapid Antigen Testing Reminder

  • Thank you to everyone who has registered for the Thrive Health app and logged results for their child. 
  • If you have not yet received an invite to set up your account, please send an email to covid@havergal.on.ca. You must set up your Thrive Health account from the email invitation, using the email address that the invitation was sent to. 
  • For further assistance with account creation see the Thrive Account Setup Instructions. If you require any changes to your account, such as a name or email change after registration, or have difficulty setting up your account, please contact support@thrive.health for further assistance. 
  • If you have not yet started, please commence testing next week, uploading test  results into Thrive Health for your child by the end of the day on Mondays and Thursdays. For info on how to upload a test result see here. Please isolate your child, arrange for PCR testing and notify covid@havergal.on.ca if there is ever a positive Rapid Antigen Screening result. 
  • As students are required to complete a self-assessment through SchoolPass on each school day at Havergal, they do not need to complete the detailed self-assessment feature of Thrive Health. Therefore, next week you will see that the self-assessment questionnaire within Thrive is just a confirmation that you have completed the SchoolPass wellness screen. Please complete this confirmation with each test result that you upload for your child.
  • Our Health Centre has been monitoring reports from Thrive Health and next week will begin to send follow-up emails to families to provide confirmation that results are being logged correctly, and provide instructions for families that have not yet logged results. See our Rapid Antigen Screening Guidance document here for any further questions.

Travel Outside of Canada and What to do if your Child is Ill

  • With the November Mid-Term break  and the Winter Holidays coming up, we would like to remind families about the requirements around returning to school if you are travelling outside the country. If you and your unvaccinated child are travelling internationally, it is important to underscore that your child is unable to attend school for 14 days after their arrival back in Canada. Please note, there is no access to remote learning during this time; however, students have the option to follow along with instructions and class notes on Seesaw (JK – 3) or Google Classroom (Gr. 4 – 6) if they are not at school. If you have any specific requests, please contact the Head of the Junior School. 
  • If you have any specific requests, please contact the Head of the Junior School. 
  • For additional guidance, please review our Student Return to School after Illness, Exposure or Travel procedure, which is included in the Family Handbook’s Return to Campus COVID-19 Protocols section. You may also reference the federal government travel advice for those travelling with unvaccinated children.

DATES ON THE HORIZON

Monday, November 1

  • Diwali Prayers

Thursday, November 11 – Monday, November 15

  • Midterm break: no classes

Monday, November 29 – Thursday, December 2

  • Junior School Book Fair

Friday, December 3

  • PD Day
    • No classes for students
    • JS Faculty and Staff participating in Professional Development

Thursday, December 9

  • Report Cards available for online viewing

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

  • Last day of term

Thursday, December 16. 2021 – Monday, January 3, 2022

  • Christmas Break

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

  • Classes Resume

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