CALVIN PARK UPDATE
Week of November 16-20, 2020
This week we welcomed our new Office Administrator, Mrs. Christine LeClair. We would like to say a huge thank you to Ms. Gale Martin who has been our interim Office Coordinator. She will be greatly missed by all of us. Welcome to Mrs. LeClair!
Individual school photos were taken by LifeTouch last Thursday and Friday. Any students who were absent for their photos will be able to have them taken on Monday. Each student will receive a Picture Day order form and you will be able to order photos from mylifetouch.ca using your Portrait ID and Access Code on your order form. If you need assistance to order school photos, please contact our office. Students who are attending the Virtual School will have an opportunity to book an individual school picture session at the LifeTouch Studio in January.
Thank you for continuing to screen your student before school each day - it is essential that students who are showing any symptoms stay home and follow the directions that are provided on the screener. We all need to work together to stay safe and healthy so that we can continue to be together at school.
Thank you and take care,
Elizabeth Suriyuth, Principal
Wilma Pettingill, Vice-Principal
DAILY COVID-19 SCREENING
Together, we will do our best to keep kids, adults and our community safe.
THIS WEEK AT CALVIN PARK
November is Indigenous Education Month and Hindu Heritage Month
Monday, November 16
Day 5
Day 1
Wednesday, November 18
Day 2
Thursday, November 19
Day 3
- LDSB Pink Shirt Day (to support anti-bullying awareness)
Friday, November 20
Day 4
- Progress reports sent home
- Sports Jersey Spirit Day! Wear your favourite jersey to school!
UPCOMING DATES
November 23-27 Student Census week (more information below)
November 27 School Colours Spirit Day! Wear blue and red or your Calvin clothing. Show your school spirit Comets !
IMAGES OF REMEMBRANCE
Elementary Progress Reports
LDSB PINK SHIRT DAY in Support of Bullying Prevention
On Thursday, November 19, we are encouraging our school community to WEAR PINK in order to support bullying prevention. At Calvin Park, we are committed to providing a healthy, supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff. We know that students achieve their best when they feel safe, nurtured, welcomed, engaged, respected and included. We are continuing to educate our students about bullying awareness and prevention in order to help them learn how to support themselves and others if bullying occurs. Bullying is defined by the Ministry of Education as “aggressive and typically repeated behavior by a pupil where, (a) the behavior is intended by the pupil to have the effect of, or the pupil ought to know that the behavior would be likely to have the effect of, (i) causing harm, fear or distress to another individual, including physical, psychological, social, or academic harm, harm to the individual’s reputation or harm to the individual’s property, or (ii) creating a negative environment at school for another individual..."). Bullying is very different from conflict which naturally occurs between individuals. Bullying prevention strategies that we have in place at our school include a focus on creating and maintaining a positive school climate through character education programs, restorative practices, and supporting and celebrating our diversity; meetings with our Safe and Healthy Schools Team; classroom lessons that focus on developing healthy relationships and character, including preventing, recognizing, and responding to bullying; and, clear expectations for behaviour outlined in our school's Code of Behaviour.
School boards across the province are asking students to complete a census to identify and eliminate discrimination and bias from schools and classrooms. In Limestone, See Yourself in Limestone Student Census will take place the week of November 23, 2020. The data collected through the census will help us learn more about our students – their backgrounds, experiences and needs.
The Census will be available for families to preview beginning November 9, 2020 on the Board website. There are three versions of the census: one for Kindergarten to Grade 3 students, which will be completed by families at home, a census for students in Grades 4 to 6 and a census for students in Grades 7 to 12. Students in Grades 4 to 12 will complete the survey during class time.
See below for a video outline of the census and see HERE for more information from the LDSB website.
NOVEMBER IS INDIGENOUS EDUCATION MONTH
Indigenous Self-Identification
The Limestone District School Board, like other school boards across Ontario, is inviting students to state voluntarily and confidentially self-identify if they have Indigenous ancestry. Elementary and secondary students with First Nations, Métis and Inuit ancestry can self-identify.
This self-identification is based on any degree of Indigenous ancestry and is not based on whether a member of the family has a status card. The self-identification can be withdrawn at any time. No proof is required.
To self-identify, complete the Standing Proud Self-Identification form and return it to your school.
For more information and FAQs please visit our LDSB website: Indigenous Self-Identification
HINDU HERITAGE MONTH
CALVIN PARK SCHOOL COUNCIL
Co-Chairs: Claudine Elvidge, Krystle Holton
Secretary/Treasurer: Sarah Phinney
Our School Council welcomes new members from our parent/guardian community throughout the year so please contact the office if you would like to join! Currently, we have a new position to fill on our School Council and are looking for a parent/guardian to become the Indigenous Family Representative on our council. This position is open to a Calvin Park parent/guardian who self-identifies or has a child who self-identifies as Indigenous. Please contact Mrs. Suriyuth if you are interested in this important position. The major areas of focus of our School Council for this year are supporting purchases of diverse books for classroom libraries, parent/community engagement and supporting technology purchases for students.
Meetings are held on the second Monday of each month at 6:00 p.m. and are virtual for the time being. We will not be holding a meeting in December and our next meeting will be in January.
SPECIAL EVENT: Navigating Special Education: For Parents
Human Development and Sexual Health Instruction Exemptions
Moving forward, at the beginning of every school year, parents/guardians will be informed that they can choose to have their child or children exempted from instruction related to Human Development and Sexual Health expectations by completing and returning an exemption form for each child. Parents/guardians can access a list of all Human Development and Sexual Health expectations by grade for Grades 1 to 8 from the Ministry Health and Physical Education curriculum on the LDSB website. Prior to classroom instruction, teachers will inform parents/guardians that the expectations related to the Human Development and Sexual Health expectations will be covered. The deadline for the exemption request will be five school days before the start of instruction. The link to the exemption form is here .
A REMINDER ABOUT IMMUNIZATIONS
POTENTIAL BUS DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS
Tri-Board Student Transportation has indicated there will likely be more bus delays and cancellations this year due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Transportation to and from school is not guaranteed. Families should have a backup plan to transport their student(s) to school, and to arrange child care where required, if their bus is cancelled for any reason and they cannot transport their student to school.
Families should ensure they are signed up to receive direct notifications, either by email, or Tri-Board’s app. Delays and cancellations are also posted to Tri-Board’s Twitter account.
LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION?
Please continue to check these Limestone District School Board platforms for the most up-to-date information from our Board.
LDSB Website https://www.limestone.on.ca/
LDSB Twitter: https://twitter.com/LimestoneDSB
LDSB Facebook https://tinyurl.com/wbhjtku
LDSB Instagram https://instagram.com/limestonedsb/
In addition, please follow our:
Calvin Park Twitter account: @CalvinPark_LDSB or https://twitter.com/CalvinPark_LDSB
Calvin Park Website: https://calvinpark.limestone.on.ca/
Calvin Park Public School Office: (613) 542-2796
Mrs. Christine LeClair, Office Administrator
Calvin Park Public School
Email: calvp@limestone.on.ca
Website: www.calvinpark.limestone.on.ca
Location: 153 Van Order Drive, Kingston, ON, Canada
Phone: 613-542-2796
Twitter: @CalvinPark_LDSB