October 2023 News

School Council

We will be holding our first School Council meeting of the year in the Library at school on Monday October 2nd at 7:00pm.  At our first meeting, we will share our financial records from last year, update parents on start up, and complete the nominations and formation of the new council.  All parents are welcome to attend.

Halloween Parade

This Halloween season, we plan to continue our tradition of having a Costume Parade for all of our students from Kindergarten to Grade 8 on Tuesday, October 31.  Students can come to school dressed in their costumes for the first two periods of the day, or can wear Orange and Black.  It is expected that students in costume have a change of clothes so that they are out of their costumes by the end of first nutrition break. As a rule, students should not be wearing any masks during the morning, except for during the parade itself.  In addition, please think carefully about the props that you send with costumes to ensure that nothing gets damaged, or nothing is too scary for our younger children, could be used as a weapon, or is insensitive to ethnic, religious, racial or gender identity groups. If you do not wish to have your child participate in the Halloween parade, please let your child's teacher know in advance so that we can organize an alternate activity.  More details will follow closer to the date on how parents can watch the parade of students.

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.  Not only is our parking lot on the wrong side of the school for pick up and drop off, it is only built to accomodate staff cars and volunteers who are working in the building. Thank you for your diligence in keeping our roads, and our students, safe!

Child & Youth Counsellor

At John T. Tuck Public School we look for opportunities to enhance student skills in the area of mental health and well-being that reflect their ability to sustain good relationships with one another.  We are very lucky to have a Child & Youth Counsellor (CYC) attached to our school to work with educators to enhance our students' well-being. Our CYC, Celina Gillis, supports staff and students in the implementation of mental health and wellness initiatives, as well as the development and co-facilitation of class and school wide learning opportunities.

School Cash Online

In the HDSB Multi-Year Plan, it states a goal that “90%+ of all funds received through schools will be collected through a Board approved online system.” Here at John T Tuck, we have dropped below this threshold as new families have arrived. If you are one of those families, please contact the office for instructions on how to get registered.  By collecting school funds online, we eliminate the risk involved in collecting money at the school through loss or theft, or NSF cheques. In addition, it frees our teaching staff up to focus on teaching each morning, rather than collecting money and forms.  We will no longer be sending home forms, unless we require a signature, and ask that all parents register at https://hdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ to ensure that you don’t miss out on anything this year!  Thank you, John T Tuck, for your prompt attention to this.  We have started with some field trips already to be paid online, as well as food service days coming soon! 

Notification of Delays to Families

Every September, when students and drivers are getting accustomed to new routines, there tends to be a higher frequency of delays. We thank families for their ongoing patience and understanding during this time. We expect Bus Operators to promptly communicate any delays and provide updates so that families have the chance to make necessary adjustments to their plans. We encourage families who have not already done so, to sign up for a Parent Portal account and add their child(ren).  This will ensure they are automatically signed up to receive email notifications when delays are posted.  For detailed instructions please click here.  

We highly encourage anyone with a mobile device to download the free BusPlanner Delays app and sign up to receive instant notifications of route delays affecting their family. For detailed instructions please click here.

Prescribed Medication

There is a board policy on dispensing prescribed medication to students.  As with epiPens and inhalers, all prescribed medication to be dispensed at school requires a Physician’s signature.  Therefore, if you are heading to the doctor’s office, and think that your child may require medication at school, please ensure you get the physician’s signature on the correct form before you leave.  These forms can be found in the Student Health Page of our school and board website.  If you are not sure which form to use, please contact the office.  Over-the-counter medication (e.g., tylenol, advil, cough syrup) will not be dispensed by school staff at any time.  If you wish to provide this to your child, please come to the front doors of the school and we will call them down for you to administer.  Students should not be carrying any medication on them while at school, other than epiPens and inhalers.

Mental Health Matters

The Halton District School Board has created 16 parent videos sharing how HDSB staff roles support student’s mental health and well-being including the role of a Guidance Counsellor, how does an ECE assist students, and what teachers doing in the classroom to support elementary students' mental health and well-being. See here for all 16 videos and learn more about how our school supports students in an area of interest. 

PA Day Summary of Activities - October 6, 2023

The HDSB, along with all school boards in Ontario, have several Professional Activity (PA) Days throughout the school year. The purpose of these days is to enhance student success. Staff focus on professional development activities, participate in training or planning sessions. There are no classes for students on these days.

Topic: Learning and Growth: Student Literacy and Mathematics

Length: Full-day

Format: In person

Description: Elementary school teams will engage in learning related to effective practices and strategies for student literacy and mathematics learning and growth. Educators will review the new Language Curriculum and plan for implementation. They will also focus specifically on reading instruction strategies aligned with the new curriculum and recommendations in the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC)’s Right to Read Inquiry Report. Educators will work collaboratively to develop a greater understanding of high impact instructional strategies for mathematics as detailed in the curriculum as well as the HDSB Math Plan.

Presenter(s)/Facilitators(s): The learning will be led by school administrators and school based staff, supported with materials and guidance from the School Programs Department. Learning/Delivery Method: Whole group presentations and small group work

Principal Message

We have a great month of September, and it is amazing to see our students transition to their new grades and get involved across our school.  It was also great to see all of the parents come into the school for our Open House to check out all of the neat things our students have been up to, and show off their classrooms. The school is alive and buzzing, and it is awesome to be back!

We are, however, struggling with many interuptions by parents through the school day to sign students out for appointments, extra-curriculars, etc.  While we ask families to try to schedule appointments outside of the school day, we recognize that this is not always possible.  When signing out your child, we ask that you first communicate with your child's homeroom teacher and have them ready to leave at the beginning or end of break time only, rather than interuppting class time.  Times to pick up children that do not interupt the learning of others to call into the classroom would be 11:00am, 11:40am, 1:20pm and 2:00pm.  By picking up a little earlier than needed and having students come to the office on their own at that time, it helps keep classroom disruptions at a minimum. All parents will need to come into the office to sign students out. If you come into the office during break time, and your child is not already at the office, we may have difficulty tracking them down outside so planning in advance is always appreciated. Thank you for your assistance in ensuring less interuptions to the teaching in our classrooms.

Please see below for some important updates for the week.  This is a lengthy newsletter and we appreciate your attention to each item.  Have an outstanding October!

Community Collection

Over the past few years, John T. Tuck has shown their overwhelming generosity and kindness by donating a variety of items to Halton’s “Friday Night Community” which since the pandemic has changed and is now known as the “Community Food Program”.  In past years, we collected over 55 bins of items!  This year, students in Grade 4 will be organizing our annual collection to support this wonderful initiative that will run from October 12 to the 14th.  A detailed email will be coming shortly to families with more information about donations.

Library Volunteers Needed

Would you like to volunteer in the library for this school year?  No experience necessary! Your child’s school library needs you. It would be great to have your help at shelving books and keeping the library tidy.  You would need a police check which needs to be given to the office, or an Offence Declaration if you have a police check on file already.  If you would like to find out more please contact our Library Technician Blanche Mills (millsb@hdsb.ca) who is at the school on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Thank you!

Pizza Day

We are currently in the process of organizing Pizza Days on Thursdays again this year.  Stay Tuned for ordering information in the coming days! As we get organized, we are looking for parent volunteers to help deliver pizza to classrooms. If you are able to help on Thursdays from 10:40-11:40, please fill out this form to show your interest. We are asking that you complete the form by October 5th if you can help. Once we have enough volunteers to run the program, we will communicate this to our community.  If you have any questions, please contact Robin Richter (robinrichter2020@gmail.com) and Mary Catharine Graham (mcgraham@cornerstoneretirement.ca), our Pizza Day Parent Co-Ordinators.

A Police Check is required to volunteer in schools. If you do not have a police check on file at the office from previous years, you can get this by going to the Police Headquarters, and it does take several weeks. However, you can now also apply online (http://www.policesolutions.ca/checks/services/halton/index.php) and we are told that the process is much shorter.   Once you have submitted your Police Check to the office, you do not need to do it again, although you will have to sign this Offence Declaration each year.  

Cross Country

Cross Country has kicked off our sports school year with a wonderful turn out and positive attitude. The Cross Country athletes have been working extremely hard in September, to prepare for their upcoming race on October 6th, 2022 at Sherwood Forest Park. Parking for parent spectators is on the west side of Sherwood Forest Park, accessed via Burloak Ave.  Congratulations to all the students that have been coming out regularly to our morning practices. Good luck at the race!

Intermediate Run Club 

Tuck’s Intermediate Run Club has started for the year. Our club is not competitive, instead it provides an opportunity for students to explore the neighborhood, connect with friends from different classes and develop a love for running. We intend to run all year long, weather permitting, so students are welcome to join at any time. Forms can be picked up from Mrs. Mills.