September 2024 Newsletter

Principal's Message

We are excited to welcome our students back to school this fall, and look forward to meeting any new students to our school. Our First Day procedures, as well as other important information, is below and we ask that you take the time to read through each one.

We hope you enjoy the last week of summer, and we look forward to seeing you next week.

Mr. G. Donaldson

Principal

John T. Tuck P.S.

First Day of School

As a reminder, your child's teacher name will be sent to you via email on the Labour Day weekend. We will also have staff with lists of students who can direct you on the first day. When you arrive, please look for your teacher in the following places:

KF-1 & KF-3 - Meet your teachers by Door#3
KF-2 - Meet your teachers at the Kindergraten Pen at the front of the school
KF-4 - Meet your teachers at the Kindergarten Pen beside Portable 3
Grade 1 -2 - Meet your teacher on the blacktop outside Door #2 (including Class 23-1)
Grade 3-4 - Meet your teacher outside your portable doors
Grade 5-6 - Meet your teacher outside Door #6 (including Class 45-1)
Grade 7-8 - Congregate on the blacktop near Door #7. At the 9:20am bell, enter Door #7 and head to the large gym for an assembly. Sit in rows beside your teacher's name that is posted in the gym.

We ask that after students are with their teacher that the parents do not hang around the class, as this can cause some anxiety with some of our younger students. That being said, our Parent Council will be offering some coffee for parents if they wish to remain on the blacktop after 9:20am to connect with other parents while the students enter the school.

End of Day Student Pick up

We try to avoid interrupting instructional time as much as possible; therefore, we kindly ask that, unless it is absolutely necessary, you wait until dismissal at 3:40 p.m. to pick up your child(ren). We will not be calling students down for early pick up past 3:30pm. Please ensure when picking up and dropping of your child(ren) that you are following all posted traffic signs, including stop signs, no parking, and no stopping. It is best to take an active transport route to school, or park on a side street and walk the rest of the way to school. Our parking lot is only large enough to accommodate staff cars, and parents are not to enter the parking lot unless they are volunteering at the school that day.

Parent Council

Please see this welcome back letter from our School Council. Parent Council will be meeting on Monday, September 30, If you are interested in joining parent council, please fill out this nomination form by September 20th, if you have not done so already.

Lunchroom Supervisors

As we plan for our student supervision needs for the new school year we are currently hiring for a part time Lunchroom Supervisor Position beginning the first week of school. Our Lunchroom Supervisors are responsible for supervising our students both inside and outside during our scheduled break times. This paid position requires an updated Police Check that includes a vulnerable sector screening. If you are interested in joining our Lunchroom Supervisor Team at Tuck please email Mrs.Klomp at klompm@hdsb.ca.

Volunteers in School

We are excited to be able to welcome volunteers into our school this fall. Please ensure that if you are volunteering at the school (or visiting the school) that you only use the front door buzzer system and check in at the office. Once we start programs, such as Pizza Day, we will require volunteers. At this time, all volunteers will be required to fill out the Offence Declaration form if we have a Police Check/Offence Declartation form on file, otherwise a new Vulnerable Sector Screening is required from within the last six months. We encourage all families to get the Police Check with Vulernable Sector Screening, then fill out the Offence Declaration Form each year, so that they are available to help at the last minute if volunteer opportunities arise.

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. If you would like to find out more please contact Library Technician Blanche Mills (millsb@hdsb.ca) who is at the school on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Medical Conditions - 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 and updated every school year. If you have not yet filled out the annual review medical forms for the upcoming school year please see the forms below and email our Vice Principal Mrs. Klomp as soon as possible to ensure that your child’s Medical Plan of Care documents and information have been updated. We also require updated medical prescriptions to be brought with your child on the first day of school or dropped off at the main office. We ask that you leave the prescriptions (e.g., Epi-Pens, inhalers, seizure medication) in the original packaging with your child’s name on it. We also require two prescriptions - one to be stored in the classroom or in a hip pouch on your child and one to be stored in the main office. Please see the form below: PDF Version (download and save prior to filling in): Annual Review of Medical Information Form

If your child is new to John T. Tuck or has a newly diagnosed medical condition please email Mrs. Klomp to arrange a meeting to create a plan of care. Thank you for completing the Annual Review of Medical Information Form. Please contact our Vice-Principal, Mrs Klomp (klompm@hdsb.ca) if you have any questions.

Updating Student Information

It is necessary to notify the School Office of student information changes (e.g., address, phone number, contacts in case of emergency). It is most important to ensure that the school does have a number for at least one emergency contact. It is essential that the school is able to make contact with a parent or designate at all times. Please contact the office if you have new contact information at any point throughout the school year. We will be sending home the electronic start up forms in the second week of school - please complete them ASAP.

Active Transport

We always encourage our students to come to and from school with an active transport route each day. including walking, biking, scooter, or skateboarding. Bicycle, scooter, and skateboard racks and storage are provided at the school for those who choose to ride to school. All bicycles, scooters, and skateboards must be placed in the racks or storage unit and must be locked. For safety reasons, students are not allowed to ride bicycles, skateboards, long-boards or scooters on school grounds and should never be inside the school. Bicycle helmets are now required by law and should be worn at all times. The school cannot accept responsibility for damaged, lost or stolen transport. For safety and storage reasons, students should not use rollerblades or hoverboards to get to and from school.

National Truth and Reconciliation Day

On September 30th, we are asking all students to wear orange to recognize National Truth and Reconciliation Day. The day has been created to give everyone an opportunity to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, which more than 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forced to attend between the 1870s and 1997. Our students will also go through some learning within their classrooms about this day.

Dogs on School Property

While we are asking that adults remain off property, if possible, during pick up and drop off we do recognize that many parents find the walk to and from school to be a good time to also walk the family dog. If this is the case, please keep your dog on the grass areas and do not bring the dog onto the blacktop, as some students are allergic and/or fearful. It is also difficult to predict a dog’s behaviour when confronted with a large group of excited children. As students will be entering the school when they arrive, there is no need to remain on the property with your pet.

Coyotes in the Neighborhood

As you may already be aware, we coexist with Coyotes in the John T Tuck area. The creek and forest areas are great places for coyotes to live among urban sprawl. Some years, they will come out more than others. We have had a couple of sightings by neighbours in our community at Tuck this year, therefore it is essential for you to have conversations with your children about how to handle themselves if they see a coyote, as well as tips to ensure coyotes do not become domesticated. Please see this link for more information on tips for kids - https://www.burlington.ca/en/services-for-you/Coyotes.asp#

There is a lot of information in the link, but in a nutshell, here is "What to Do If a Coyote Approaches": Coyote sightings are commonplace. If you see a coyote, keep your distance and the animal will most likely avoid you. If you encounter an aggressive coyote:

Shout loudly and wave your arms high in the air.
Use hazing techniques: Air horns, whistles, etc
Back away slowly while remaining calm. Never run or turn your back on a coyote.
Never feed coyotes

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 - Installation of the Holy Scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib Ji

2 - Labour Day

3 - PA Day (Elementary/Secondary)

4 - First day of instruction for all students

7 - Ganesh Chaturthi

7 - Ukrainian Heritage Day

8 - International Day of Literacy

8 - Nativity of Mary

11 - Coptic New Year - Feast of Nayrouz

11 - Ethiopian New Year

14 - Holy Cross Day

16 - Anant Chaturdashi