June 2025 Newsletter

Principal's Message

Once I again, I would like to reiterate how lucky I feel to have served at John T Tuck’s Principal since the 2018-19 school year. Our Grade 8s were then in Grade 2...time sure flies! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all your support over the years and for giving me the privilege of leading the school and teaching your children. After speaking with our new Principal, Mrs. Smith, during our transition meetings I know that you are in great hands to continue the great work at John T Tuck in the fall. As we finish up our school year in June, and welcome the warmth of summer, I am delighted to share our June newsletter with you. From outstanding academic achievement to exceptional extracurricular accomplishments, our students have truly showcased their talents and abilities this year. As we approach the end of the school year, I want to express my gratitude to our dedicated teachers and staff who have gone above and beyond to provide a nurturing and enriching environment for our students. Together, we have created a supportive community that fosters growth, learning, and character development.

We wish you all a Jolly June! Please check out the items below from our staff about what is happening at our school this month.

Mr. G. Donaldson

Principal

John T Tuck PS

Special Dates

As we finish up the school year in June, there are a lot of dates for things like Track & Field, Soccer teams, Flag Rugby, Field Trips, etc. As a reminder, if a student is not on the team or registered for the event, it is expected that they are in school and they do not attend an event for something they are not a part of to ensure proper supervision and safety of the students who are participating. Thank you.

Traffic Safety

We would like to remind our parents to be extra careful if they are driving in the school zone. While we hope you can walk to and from school with your children, we ask that you follow by-laws and street signage if in your car. Please note that the front of the school is a no stopping zone. and we ask that you park on side streets and walk to grass area to meet your children after school or drop them off in the morning. The Halton Region Police department has been and will be at our school during drop off and pick up to monitors speeds, parking, and unsafe driving such as three point turns in heavy traffic areas. Thank you for your diligence in keeping our roads, and our students, safe!

June 2-5 is Bike to School Week!

This annual weeklong event supports students' physical and mental health, improves school performance, and reduces traffic and pollution - making school zones safer! Also, biking/walking to school with friends is just plain fun! The long range forecast looks great-we hope to see you and your bike/scooter next week!

Parent Coffee Morning and ROCK drive – June 11

Please join JTT Parent Council the morning of Wednesday, June 11 for a free coffee or tea on the blacktop at school drop off time. This month, we hope you are also able to bring a contribution to our charity drive in support of Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK). ROCK provides mental health supports across Halton, including for children and their families here at Tuck. During the school holidays, many families struggle to feed their children and the supplies at ROCK’s Infant Food Bank and Food Pantry are running particularly low. If you are able and can spare a few items, please help us restock their shelves.

Most needed items:

Diapers sizes 5 and 6
Baby wipes
Any type of baby food (food pouches)
Oatmeal cereal
Baby mum mums
Baby puff snacks
Baby formula
Pull ups
Feminine hygiene products

Non-perishable food items:

Pasta
Canned vegetables
Soup
Sauces
Cereals
Snacks

We are also collecting financial donations via the ROCK. You can donate funds right here https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/halton-child-and-youth-services-foundation/. Any amount is greatly appreciated. In the message box, it would be appreciated if you could write "on behalf of the John T Tuck Community" so that we can track our donations.

Vaping and e-cigarettes Information Centre

The HDSB and Halton Region Public Health are hosting information sessions at four secondary schools to raise awareness about the impact of vaping on youth and how parents/guardians can support their children. At the sessions, parents/guardians will gain a better understanding of vaping, including how to spot the risks, recognize the signs, talk to children about vaping and discover tools, strategies and resources to support their child. The Burlington session will be held at Nelson High School on Tuesday, June 3. Learn more and register at hdsb.ca. Search: vaping and e-cigarettes.

Social Media Trend Awareness

We are writing to inform you that we have become aware that some students in the HDSB may be participating in a trend known on social media as the “Chromebook Challenge”. This challenge poses a risk to student and staff safety, and causes significant damage to HDSB-owned Chromebooks. The Chromebook Challenge involves students intentionally inserting objects into the ports of their HDSB-provided Chromebooks in an attempt to cause sparks or smoke, and then sharing a video of the incident on social media. This behaviour creates serious fire and electrical hazards that pose a risk to the safety of students and staff. We are reaching out to you to make you aware of this issue and seek your support in reinforcing some important messages with your children about using technology and social media safely and responsibly.

Any incidents of inappropriate use of technology that impacts HDSB students or staff will be followed up by school administrators. At our school, we follow the HDSB Student Code of Conduct to provide clear expectations for how we respond when a student behaves inappropriately. Intentional damage to HDSB-provided technology, including Chromebooks, is not covered by warranty. This means that any repairs or replacements resulting from intentional misuse or vandalism become the financial responsibility of students who inflict intentional damage. As a reminder, students are expected to follow the Responsible Use Procedure for Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which outlines appropriate and respectful use of HDSB-provided devices. If you have questions or concerns about this matter at school, please contact the office.

Plan of Care

All students with a prevalent medical condition (i.e., anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy) are required to have their Plan of Care document reviewed annually. Should there be recommendations provided by your Health Care Practitioner, these may be incorporated into a revised Plan of Care for your Child when this document is finalized when we return to school. Thank you for completing the Annual Review of Medical Information Form now, so that we can be ready for start up in the new year. Please contact our Vice-Principal, Mrs. Moazzam (moazzamz@hdsb.ca) if you have any questions. Please see the form below:

PDF Version (download and save prior to filling in): Annual Review of Medical Information Form

Staffing Update

As we plan for next year, we know that some of our staff will be moving onto other opportunities. We would like to wish all the best in retirement to Mrs. Swire after a long and successful career. We also wish well to Mrs. Khalil, who will be heading to Cedar Ridge PS in Milton and we thank her for her work at John T Tuck this year.. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ms McLaughlin and Mr. Davies as our Long Term Occasional Staff who have done an admirable job filling in for maternity, medical and/or other leaves in our school. We will be working over the Spring and Summer to complete our staffing process, and will share that with our community in the new school year.

Parent Council

We would like to thank Freda Vanopoulos and Krista Craig for their leadership as co-chairs of our parent council this year, as well as the rest of the council who committed to attending our bi-monthly meetings. Through council's dedication, we were able to support the school in a variety of ways from the proceeds of Dance-a-thon, Pizza and Subway days. Council has supported school initiatives in whole or in part for the Grade 8 Graduation, Jungle Sport, our Movie License, Flexible Seating in Grade 1 & 2, Chick Hatching, Kindergarten Tricycles, a new Outdoor Tent, Board Games Club, Play equipment, Robotics, 3D Printer, STEM Carts, Literacy Resources, Chromebooks, and various teacher resources in each classroom through Teacher Support Funds. This year, council also focused on initiatives that give back to our community with the fall Food Drive, organized two successful Movie Nights and our Family Cookie decorating evening! We are thankful for the continued support of our community and look forward to working with our new council next fall.

Camp Kawartha

This year we tried something new for our Gr 7 trip to camp, and headed off to Camp Kawartha! The weather was PERFECT, and our grade 7's had a great time learning how to make fire, embrace their inner flying squirrel and learn how to throw the Atlatl. It was great to see our Grade 7's disconnected from their devices, and embracing the outdoors! Thank you to all our grade 7's for being such active participants, and for bringing their positive Tuck spirit! Another big thank you to the staff who took time away from their families to ensure our 7's had a great time away - We couldn't have done it without you. Until next time!

Guest Speaker in Grade 6

The Grade 6's will be having a VIRTUAL lesson on the effects of space on the human body with Doctor Leigh Gabel from the University of Calgary on June 3rd in our Library. Dr. Gabel works with NASA and the CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and helps us understand the effects of long term space travel on the body, especially bone density. Dr. Gabel is the Aunt of a former Tuck Student and has offered her knowledge to our grade 6's for a few years now, we are VERY lucky to have access to such a well respected research scientist that has a real impact on the future of space travel.

Ticks in the Community

As the presence of ticks is on the rise in Southern Ontario, we wanted to give you information from the Public Health Department on managing and living with Ticks in the community. Public Health has made a Fact Sheet available on their website: HE-tick-id-card-fact-sheet.pdf (halton.ca). Health Canada has also recently posted new resources on blacklegged ticks on their website. There are videos, posters, games that can help you and your children know more about managing these pests.

Chick Hatching

The grade one classes enjoyed learning about the chicken life cycle by watching our chicks hatch. We learned about the development of the chicks during their 21 days inside the egg and were amazed with their growth over the first 10 days of their life. Many other classes shared in our excitement and we are pleased to report that the chicks are doing well at the farm!

Days of Significance this Month

Here are the days of significance listed in our HDSB calendar this month. We encourage families to share your traditions and celebrations with your child's classroom teacher, fostering a rich tapestry of learning, celebration and understanding.

1 - Beginning of Filipino Heritage Month

1 - Beginning of Italian Heritage Month

1 - Beginning of National Indigenous History Month

1 - Beginning of Portuguese History & Heritage Month

1 - Beginning of Pride Month

2-3 - Shavuot

2-6 - School Crossing Guard Appreciation Week

4-9- Hajj

5-6 - Waqf al Arafa

6 - PA Day

6-10 - Eid al Adha
8 - Pentecost

16 - Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Ji