4
JOSEPH HOWE SENIOR PUBLIC SCHOOL
20 Winter Gardens Trail
Scarborough, Ontario M1C 2E4
416/396-6405
Ms. S. Boland, Principal
Ms. J. Solman, Vice-Principal
http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/josephhowe
SEPTEMBER 2015
Sept. 17 Picture Day – Gym
Sept. 17 Curriculum Night -6:30 p.m.
Sept. 28 School Council Meeting – Library – 7:00
Oct. 5 School Council Applications Due 4:00
Oct. 12 Thanksgiving Long Weekend
Nov. 2 Picture Re-take Day
Nov. 13 PA Day – Students Do No Attend School
Nov. 16 Immunization Clinic – Gym
ALLERGY ALERT
Prevention is the best approach. Therefore, for the safety of our students, we ask your cooperation in not sending any snacks or lunches containing peanuts or nut products and to refrain from bringing aerosol products to Joseph Howe.
REMIND 101
Sign up and receive short weekly texts from the Principal! This is a one-way text that will remind parents/guardians of events that are happening at the school each week.
Text 437-800-2358 with the message @josephh and you will be a member of Remind 101!
PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING
Welcome Back! The staff of Joseph Howe would like to welcome everyone to another exciting school year. We hope everyone had a great and relaxing summer.
We would like to introduce some new staff members:
Mr. Al-Badri, Evening Caretaker
Ms. Beadle, Office Administrator
Ms. Miller-Caise, Guidance Itinerant
Mr. Sheridan, Chief Caretaker
Ms. Tam, Strings Teacher
Welcome to those staff and families new to the Joseph Howe community. A new year brings excitement, change, opportunities and challenges. We are looking forward to working with our enthusiastic students, hardworking staff and caring parents to help students become the best that they can be.
CURRICULUM NIGHT
September 17 will be our Curriculum Night. The school will be opened to parents and students from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Please come and meet your child’s teachers. There will be information available about the curriculum.
CLASS SIZES
This year we will have 6 grade 8 classes and 5 grade 7 classes. We also have one split grade 7/8 class. The average number of pupils in each class is 32. At this time we are using one portable for classes.
Please watch for our monthly newsletters which will be posted on line at our school site:
http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/josephhowe
We will also be sending home hard copies with each student the first week of the month. School newsletters, the calendar of events, links to important board and Ministry of Education information can be found at this site.
A 2015-2016 school calendar was provided to you in the “first day package” at the beginning of the year. If you look closely, you will see that below each day of the month there is a tiny number indicating what day of the five-day school cycle it is at Joseph Howe.
A magnet with the school phone number on it should be kept on your refrigerator for easy access when you need to contact the school to notify us of your child’s lateness or absence.
SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM
If your child is going to be late or absent you can greatly assist us by writing a note in advance or by calling the school the evening before or calling before 8:45 a.m. on the day of the absence to let us know. If the office is closed, please leave a message on the answering machine. The safe arrival of all of our students is very important to us. Those parents who do not notify the office will receive auto dialer calls. The auto dialer will call cell and home numbers several times. The auto dialer does not call business numbers. The only way to stop the auto dialer is to respond to it by making a selection. Please send a note to the teacher and the main office regarding absence.
Students must sign in and out when arriving at any time after class has begun or if they are leaving before the end of the day. A NOTE IS REQUIRED. If your child has been absent in the morning and returns at lunchtime, he/she must come to the office to sign in so we know he/she has arrived at school.
Students are not permitted to go to the local plaza for lunch. If students are leaving the building at lunch time they must have a note from their parent and the only place they should be going is home or to an appointment. Students are not to leave the school property. If you wish for your child to come home every day for lunch you may provide a note saying so and their name will be put on a lunch sign out sheet. Each day they go home they must sign out and back in when they return. Please bring notes for lunch sign out to the office so we can add your child’s name to the list.
Please assist your children in developing life-long habits of punctuality by encouraging them to be on school grounds at least five minutes prior to the entry bells. You will be notified in writing or by telephone if your child develops a pattern of lateness.
SCHOOL SAFETY
We would like to remind parents that students are not to be dropped off or picked up in the parking lot or at the parking lot entrance. Please, for your child and other children’s safety, do not stop directly in front of the school to let your child out as it poses a traffic risk. Request that your child meet you a little ways down Winter Gardens Trail (starting at the chain link fence). Police often patrol the area for safety reasons. It is VERY dangerous to pull a U-turn in our busy driveway on the sharp corner. Please take that extra minute to make sure your child and others will not be in harms way.
The school yard is open at 8:30 a.m. with teacher supervision. Know that if you drop off your child earlier than 8:30 a.m. or pick them up later than 3:04p.m., you are responsible for the supervision of your child. Please make prior arrangements with your child so they know where and when the prearranged time and drop-off and pick-up zones are.
JOSEPH HOWE IS LOOKING SHIP-SHAPE
The school is looking great thanks to the custodial staff and we appreciate their efforts.
AFTER SCHOOL IN THE LIBRARY
When teacher negotiations have been completed the library will be opened most days after school until 4:00 p.m. It is a great place to finish homework, work on group projects or print off an assignment. The computer lab is located in the library. Computers are available for students to do research or finish up work. They are not available for gaming.
Ms. S. Boland, Principal
JOSEPH HOWE T-SHIRTS
Show your Howe spirit! An order form for a Howe t-shirt was included in the first day package. T-shirt sample sizes will be available to try on in Ms. Solman’s office for those who wish to order but aren’t sure what size to get. Orders for t-shirts should be brought to the office directly. We would appreciate exact change please.
SCHOOL COUNCIL NEWS
The School Council meets from 7:00 p.m. to approximately 8:00 p.m. in the staffroom on the first floor directly across from the office. Meetings are held five to six times a year. Parents, staff and members of the community make up the council. Meeting dates will be established at the first meeting on September 28.
Our school council purchased a popcorn maker two years ago. Volunteers make fresh popcorn on a regular basis to sell to the students for $1.00 to raise funds that go towards enhancing our program at Howe. In addition, we have dedicated volunteers from the council who run a pizza lunch event throughout the year. During pizza lunch events the cafeteria servery is closed. Those students who do not wish to participate in the pizza event must bring their lunch from home that day.
If you would like to join the School Council please find a yellow nomination form in the “first day package”. This form should be returned to the Principal by 4:00 on Oct. 5.
BUYING YOUR LUNCH AT HOWE
At Joseph Howe the lunch break is approximately 60 minutes. The lunch break is divided up into two sittings. Those students eating first go outside after 25 minutes in the cafeteria and the other grade comes in to have their lunch while the first group gets some fresh air and sunshine.
We are fortunate to have cafeteria services available to our students. A private company runs the cafeteria food service. Our cafeteria manager, Mrs. Morgan, works diligently to ensure that she prepares a good selection of healthy choices daily. A nutritious lunch can be purchased for approximately $5.00 depending on what is selected. There is a different “main event” meal each day of the week. In addition, students may purchase items a la carte such as: a slice of pizza (delivered daily from Pizza Pizza, veggies and dip, baked fries, fruit, garlic bread, a variety of sandwiches and wraps, hamburgers, meat patties, milk, cookies, brownies, ice cream and muffins. The cafeteria is not open in the morning. Mrs. Morgan cannot give students food on credit. If your child has forgotten their lunch they must come to the office to phone home. We recommend keeping a juice box and a nut-free granola bar in their locker to tide them over until they reach home after school.
Every effort is made to keep our school peanut/nut-free with many posted reminders. Please do not bring peanut or nut products to school or to school events that take place off school property.
Students are given approximately 25 minutes to eat their lunch and 25 minutes of fresh air out of doors. Students should come appropriately dressed for the weather.
STUDENT INFORMATION
It is essential that we have up to date information when we need to contact parent/guardians. Please be sure to send your student information card and the big all-in-one permission form back to the school as soon as possible.
If your child has an EPI PEN, inhaler, Benadryl, etc. they may be stored in the office. EPIPENS and inhalers should not be kept in the backpack in a locker as several precious minutes can be lost to look up a combination, hurry to a locker and search the backpack to bring aid to your child.
AGENDAS
We encourage each student to maintain an orderly agenda, and together with your parents, carefully read through it remembering to label it with your name and homeroom class. Your agenda has a wealth of useful information between the covers. Students are encouraged to bring their agenda to every class. Make this a habit!
It is the responsibility of each student to make sure that they keep up with work while they are away. Please check the Joseph Howe website or contact a classmate to find out what has been going on in your absence.
SCHOOL PHOTOS
This past year we have switched photographers to Edge Photography. Edge will be at Joseph Howe on September 17. Please do not send payment on picture day. When the proofs arrive at Joseph Howe a few weeks after photo day it will come complete with a price list. Please mark your selection on the order form and send the payment to the office in a sealed envelope prior to the stated order deadline to avoid late fees.
Edge Photography will return to Howe on Nov. 2 for retake photos for those who were absent on Sept. 17.
JOSEPH HOWE TELEPHONE POLICY
The telephone in the office is not available to students to make social plans. These plans must be made the night before. Students will not be permitted to use the phone to call parents regarding forgotten items other than lunch or if they become ill or are injured. Parents should also be aware that students are not permitted to use cell phones on school property. Picture taking is absolutely forbidden. If a teacher specifically requests that the students in their class bring cell phones to that particular class for a specific reason it is permitted. Those students who do not have a cell phone will be provided with an alternative to use in class. Cell phones that go off will be confiscated.
Other than the above circumstance of a specific request for a telephone to be brought to the class, phones are to be turned off put away (they can be left in lockers). We are not responsible for lost or stolen phones or any other electronic device. Each year we will revisit this policy as more sophisticated telecommunication devices become an even bigger part of our lives.
Students who wish to make a call to let their parents know they will be home from school late, have music practice, a detention, or a group project to work on after school in the library may use the payphone in the hall by the gym. The pay phone is for after school not during school. The cost is 50 cents. Please ensure that your child has money for the pay phone in case they wish to contact you after school. We do not take telephone messages for students unless it is AN EMERGENCY.
IMMUNIZATION CLINIC
The Public Health Department will be at Howe to inoculate our students on Nov. 16.
BICYCLES AND SKATEBOARDS
We encourage our students to ride their bikes to school, however, all bikes need to be kept in the bike rack and locked.
The school cannot take responsible for damage or theft of bikes.