Garden Avenue Public School PARENT HANDBOOK

Welcome to Garden!

225 Garden Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M6R 1H9 Office Telephone: 416 393-9165

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TABLE OF CONTENTSThe School Day 2

Kindergarten 2Healthy Snacks 2Grades 1 – 6 2Arrival 2Bad Weather Days 2Recess 2Dismissal 2Lateness or Absence 2

Help the Office Help You: Keep Your Contact Information Up to Date 2

School Routines 2Entry 2Hallways and Stairs 2Washrooms 2The School Yard 2

Lunchroom Routines 2Peanut Allergies 2Special Lunch Days 2

What to bring. What to wear 2Dress Code 2Indoor Shoes 2Lost and Found 2“Can I Bring it to School?” 2

When is the School Closed? 2Religious Holidays 2Professional Development Days 2Severe Weather 2

Parents and Teachers 2Reports 2

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Responsibilities of Teachers and Staff 3Responsibilities of Parents 3Student’s Responsibilities 3Student’s Rights 3Vandalism 3

Learning at Garden 3Reading Programs 3Physical Education - Clothing 3Teams 3Special Activities 3Excursions/Field Trips3Parents in the Classroom 3

Homework 3TDSB Homework Policy 3Homework at Garden Avenue 3

Learning Supports 3Resource/Learning Centre 3School Support Team 3Special Education 3Safe Schools 3

Eco-schools3

School Advisory Council3Communication3

Health Concerns 3Prescribed Medicines 3Anaphylaxis 3Dental Clinics 3Lice and Other Catching Things 3

The School Day Kindergarten Morning classes…………….9:00 – 11:30 a.m.

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Afternoon classes……… 12:45 – 3:15 p.m.

The children are not expected to arrive at the Kindergarten gate before 8:45am/12:35 pm. Please remain outside the gate. When you see one of the Kindergarten staff members on duty you may hand your child over to them. Kinder-garten students enter the school 5 minutes before instruction begins with the Kindergarten staff.

It is intended that only school children and staff occupy the kindergarten yard. The teachers and staff have worked hard to establish and maintain expectations for the play yard. By keeping non-kindergarten children out of the play yard we can ensure that the school children’s safety needs are met.

Kindergarten students are always dismissed at the same time daily. Please note that we never dis-miss students into the care of someone other than the caregiver without written notification from the parent or caregiver prior to pick-up.

Healthy SnacksPlease provide a piece of fruit and a cereal item (such as crackers, rice or wheat, bagel, etc.) daily, with cheese or some other spread (but never peanut butter or other nut products). No drinks. Water fountain is available.

Grades 1 – 6 Monday to FridayEntry bell 8:55 a.m.Class time 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.Recess10:10 a.m. to 10:25 a.m. Lunch 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.Entry bell 12:45 p.m.Class time 12:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.Recess2:05 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.Dismissal 3:30 p.m.Remediation Dismissaluntil 4 pmClassroom closed 4:00 p.m.

Grades 1, 2, 3 are the Primary grades; Grades 4, 5, 6 are the Junior grades.

Arrival Teachers are on yard duty at 8:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m. There is no supervision before 8:45 in the yard. Un-less arrangements have been made previously with the teacher, students are to remain in the schoolyard until regular bell and entrance times.

Students who leave for lunch are not ex-pected back until teacher supervision is in place at 12:30 p.m.

Our bell rings at 8:55 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Students have 5 minutes to assemble and prepare for class, at which time attendance is taken. Parents, please let your child enter the school on their own so they may develop their inde-pendent skills.At 3:30 there is supervision at the east door until 3:45 to ensure all students are safely picked up.

Bad Weather DaysOn rainy or unusually cold days, please send stu-dents to school so that they arrive as close as possible to 8:55 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. Students will be permitted to wait in the stairwells or under overhang (supervised by on-duty staff) before pro-ceeding to their classrooms.

RecessFifteen-minute recess breaks for students in Grades 1-6 are scheduled at 10:10 a.m. and 2:05 p.m. daily. On particularly rainy or cold days, students will be kept indoors for recess, at the Principal’s discretion. Dismissal Dismissal is daily at 3:30 p.m. Students whose work needs to be finished, revised, or corrected can re-main with their teachers until 3:45 p.m. Extra help from the teacher may be given to individual students between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. Please inform your child’s teacher if your child must be dismissed di-rectly at 3:30 p.m. Students remaining behind until 4:00 p.m. will be asked to telephone and inform par-ents of this situation.

If your child has to leave the school during the regular school day, please send a note to the teacher. Then, at the time you need to pick up your child, please come to the school of-fice and inform us. We will notify the class-room teacher, and your child will meet you at the office. Parents should not go directly to the classrooms. You must sign out your child before you leave the school.

An authorized adult must pick up children leaving early. If someone other than the parent or guardian

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will be picking up your child, contact the school to let us know in advance.

For safety reasons, children cannot leave the school except at dismissal times, unless the above proce-dures are followed.

The adventure play area is closed to children at the end of the school day from 3:30-3:45, i.e. just as it is closed to students as they arrive to school in the morning. While we do provide supervision from 3:30-3:45 as students are dismissed and leave for home at the east door, there is no school supervi-sion at the Adventure Playground Apparatus during that time.

Lateness or Absence For student safety, the Toronto District School Board has mandated a Safe Arrival Program for all its schools. Teachers submit attendance reports at 9:45 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. In the event of an unex-plained absence, the office will contact parents after attendance is taken. Please telephone the school at (416) 393-9165 before 8:30 in the morning (or 1:00 in the afternoon) every day your child is away (for whatever reason) or when you know your child will be arriving late. For your convenience, we have a voice-mail system to receive calls during non-school hours, or when we are unable to answer the telephone.

All students arriving late – morning and afternoon – are expected to report directly to the office before continuing on to their classroom.

Help the Office Help You: Keep Your Contact Information Up to DateIf you change your home, work, Internet, cell, fax, childcare, or emergency contact telephone numbers, please let us know immediately.

We must have, on file, the name and telephone number of a person who can be contacted if you are unavailable. This person should be available to pick up your child in the case of an emergency or illness. Please make sure that you have informed this per-son of the responsibility this requires.

It is very important that you keep this information up-to-date. If we cannot reach you – in case of an emergency, a serious illness, or an extremely late after-school pickup – and there is no emergency contact, the Principal will have to ask for the assis-

tance of the most appropriate child welfare agency. To avoid this course of action, please keep us in-formed of your pertinent information, and any diffi-culties, as they arise.

School RoutinesEntryWhen the bells ring outside, stop playing. Use stu-dent (east) entry door and walk inside to your class-room. Report to the office upon arriving late. Then proceed directly and only to your classroom.

Hallways and Stairs School halls during recess and lunch should be used in emergencies only. Students are not allowed entry to the second floor without permission, and only with adult supervision at these times. The East Stairwell is used for entry and dismissal, and during school hours with adult supervision. Students between classes and when unsupervised are to use the Foyer Stairwell.

WashroomsFirst floor washrooms can be accessed from the hall at all times when the school is open. The first floor washrooms are unlocked from the outside at recess and lunch. Washroom hall doors are to be kept open at all hours of school operations. Permission from your teacher is necessary in order to go to the washroom on either floor when classes are in ses-sion. Primary students use the Buddy system.

The School YardStudents are supervised in the yard 10 minutes be-fore the first bell from 8:45-8:55, at recess, at lunch, and after school by the east door for 15 minutes (un-til 3:45).

No food or running is permitted in the Adventure Playground. Slides must be used for going down only. Pebbles remain on the ground. Equipment such as balls and skipping ropes are not to be used in the Adventure Playground area.

Skateboards, hockey sticks, bicycles, scoot-ers, baseballs and hardballs are not allowed in the school grounds between 8:30 and 4:00 unless they are part of a supervised school activity (i.e. gym classes, team sports).

Wall ball games are to be played against school walls where there are no windows. Bicycles, scoot-ers etc. ridden to school should be locked at the bi-cycle racks in the east front yard. Bikes should not

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be attached to the white rail at the front of the school. Leaving the schoolyard during recess or lunch is strictly forbidden.

Please note that dogs and animals are not al-lowed on school property.

Lunchroom RoutinesStudents are encouraged to eat lunch at home or at a suitable alternative location arranged by the parent or guardian. A supervised lunchroom is available for students whose parents are unable to make other lunch hour arrangements. Students may eat lunch at school provided that parent or guardians completes a lunch registration form. At lunchtime our gym be-comes a supervised lunchroom for students.

Students must follow the routines and rules of the lunchroom or parents will be asked to make other arrangements.

We practise “Litterless/Boomerang” lunches. We ask that you provide healthy choices for your children and avoid ‘junk food’ treats. Students are asked to take home the uneaten portion of their lunch, so that parents are aware of their likes and dislikes and the lunchtime eating practices of their children.

Students must follow the rules of the lunchroom or parents will be asked to make other arrangements. The rules are as follows:

· To follow all directions given by school staff and lunch supervisors at all times.

· To avoid bringing peanuts, or foods contain-ing peanut products, nuts and sesame seeds as part of lunch or snack.

· To leave their eating area only after seeking permission from the supervisors

· To clean their eating space in the gym be-fore being dismissed.

· To take turns as monitors in the program.· To bring lunch and drinks in plastic or card-

board containers only. (No glass please – to avoid breakage). A plastic container for juice is recommended.

Please remember:· Students who remain at school for lunch are

required to remain on school property for the en-tire lunch period. Students are not allowed to leave the school grounds to purchase a lunch

and then return to school to eat it. The school cannot be responsible for students who leave the school grounds without permission.

· Attendance is taken in the lunchroom. If a student is absent from the lunchroom and the school has not already been notified (e.g., by a letter from the parent or guardian, or by notifica-tion that the student is home from school for the day), then the parent or guardian will be con-tacted. This is done for safety reasons.

· Milk is currently available for purchase at cost.

· There is no provision for heating food. Hot food can be brought from home in Thermos con-tainers.

Be sure to label lunch bags and containers with the student’s name, so that these items can be returned. We encourage you to send the lunch in the morning and not to drop it off at the of-fice. Bringing lunch late creates extra work for the Office Administrator and disrupts the class when ringing up to let the teacher/student know that lunch has arrived.

Peanut AllergiesWe have a number of students who have life-threatening allergies to peanuts. We ask you for that reason to avoid sending students to school with peanut products. Our supervisors often check stu-dents’ lunches for peanut products, and may remove any food containing peanuts from a child’s lunch.

Special Lunch DaysOccasionally, the School Council plans special lunch days (for e.g. pizza days) as fundraisers. In-formation is sent home in advance and all primary and junior, but not kindergarten, students are in-vited to participate.

What to bring. What to wear At the beginning of the year, students are issued the materials they need in order to complete their work and assignments. Art materials are provided, as are paper and specific notebooks. If materials are lost, students are expected to provide their own.

Except for certain consumable items, all school equipment and supplies are on loan. Parents are asked to sign a letter agreeing to take responsibility

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for the replacement of lost or vandalized books and equipment. Dress Code A Dress Code is mandated by provincial Safe Schools legislation. Currently the Code of Conduct stipulates that children wear appropriate clothing for a school and workplace environment.

Indoor Shoes During the muddy and snowy months, students may need to keep indoor shoes at school. Running shoes make useful indoor shoes, since students need them for gym classes.

Students are asked to wear appropriate footwear at all times. Should a fire drill or emergency evacuation take place in winter, students will be expected to leave the building without having the time to put on shoes or boots.

Lost and Found Please label all items of clothing – boots, shoes, hats, coats, scarves, mittens, sweaters – in fact, anything that the child might remove, put down, and then forget!

The Lost and Found is located in the North East stairwell. Every year the Lost and Found overflows with beautiful and expensive clothing (including many, many, many hats, mittens, and scarves!) as well as a great many backpacks and lunch bags.

Valuable items such as keys, glasses, retainers, watches, and electronic gear are kept in the school office.

Please label your children’s belongings in perma-nent ink – clothing on the inside tags, bags and backpacks on the outside. And please check the Lost and Found regularly. Clothing left behind after each term is bagged and donated to a charity.

“Can I Bring it to School?”All items valuable to a student – including personal electronic equipment such as MP3s, Gameboys, CD players, iPods – are best kept at home. School is not responsible for loss or damage to personal items.

Teachers may remove toys (including trading cards) from children who are using them inappropriately.

Students who bring their bicycles to school are re-quired to park and lock them in the bike racks. Please make sure that you have a second key at home in case your child locks his or her bicycle and then loses the key! The school cannot be responsi-ble for bicycles that are lost or stolen at school, at any time, whether they are locked or left unlocked.

Rollerblades, skateboards, scooters, bikes etc. are not permitted in the school, or in the playground, be-tween 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., when other children are usually present on the site. These items cannot be easily stored during the day, making it hard to protect them against loss or theft. Bikes may be locked on the bike racks.

When is the School Closed? School Calendar is posted on the TDSB website http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=10190&menuid=12355&pageid=10911

And the Garden School Website http://schools.tds-b.on.ca/gardenave/.

Religious Holidays The Toronto District School Board recognizes that religious observances are important to many of our families. In an increasingly diverse population, we try to schedule activities so that we avoid holidays of significance to members of our community. Should we fail to notice a holiday important to you, please advise the school and your child’s teacher.

Professional Development Days The Ministry of Education and the TDSB approve Professional Development (P.D.) Days. Teachers and administrators use days set aside for:

Curriculum and program development and evaluation

Participation in profession in-service and workshops

Evaluation of students in consultation with parents.

There are no classes for children on these days, and parents are requested to make alternative arrange-ments for their children.

Severe Weather There is a separate page with this handbook de-scribing how to get information about school clo-sures for reasons of severe cold or snowstorms. Various radio stations broadcast this information so

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that it is not necessary to telephone the school. Schools in Toronto are rarely closed. On days when the weather is especially cold or when a smog alert has been issued, children with certain conditions may remain indoors, if their health warrants this pre-caution.

Parents and Teachers We have a Curriculum Night every year in late Sep-tember or early October, at which parents have the opportunity to visit the classrooms. This is not a time for discussion of your child’s progress with the teacher, who will have many people to meet and greet, but it is a chance to introduce yourself, and for your child to show you his or her work. It is our practice for teachers to contact parents whenever they have questions about a student’s so-cial, emotional, or academic progress, in an effort to plan together for the student’s benefit.

Parents may contact teachers at any time to arrange an interview. Please speak to the teacher, or call the office at (416) 393-9165 and speak to the Office Ad-ministration, to arrange a time. When you visit the school for an appointment, Toronto District School Board policy requires that you report first to the of-fice.

We ask you to avoid discussing your concerns about individual children when the teacher is supervising students – for example, at arrival or dismissal times or when a teacher is on yard duty.

Reports Kindergarten Parents of Junior Kindergarten students are ex-pected to meet individually with the teacher in No-vember to discuss their children’s progress. A writ-ten report is sent home in February. Parents of Se-nior Kindergarten students receive a written report and interview in November. SKs receive an interview in February. JKs receive a summary report in Febru-ary and JK interviews are at the discretion of the teacher or by parent request.All Kindergarten students receive a written report in June.

Grades 1-6 An elementary progress report is sent home in No-vember. There are 2 Provincial Report Cards, one in February and one in June. Parents are provided with an opportunity to meet with the teacher follow-

ing the November Progress report and the February Provincial Report Card.

Responsibilities of Teachers and Staff Meet all professional obligations set out in pro-

vincial legislation and regulations, as it pertains to the duties of a teacher, or those set out in the Education Act.

Meet all other obligations delineated by the Toronto District School Board and the Principal.

Be a positive role model.

Encourage appropriate means of handling anger and dealing with conflict.

Maintain confidentiality.

Implement the Code of Conduct.

Teachers reflect the professional standards & ethics outlined by the Ontario College of Teach-ers.

Responsibilities of Parents Be a positive role model.

Encourage self-discipline and the develop-ment of responsibility at home, school and in the community.

Encourage children to work their best aca-demically and socially.

Ensure that each child attends school regu-larly and punctually. Participate in the Atten-dance Verification Program. Ensure prompt pick up and drop off of students.

Fill in and keep up to date the Emer-gency Contact Form.

Inform the school of special circumstances that may affect your child’s progress or behav-iour.

Keep yourself aware of your child’s function-ing at school and be open to a mutual sharing of concerns.

Encourage appropriate means of handling anger and dealing with conflict.

Instill respect for public and personal prop-erty. Make restitution for damage to or loss of property.

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Call the teacher or Principal at anytime to discuss concerns.

Support Garden’s Code of Conduct.

Student’s Responsibilities Follow the TDSB and Garden Rules of Con-

duct.

Be a positive citizen of the school and com-munity.

Student’s RightsStudents have the right to a quality education, in a clean and safe environment, with well-provisioned classroom and consistent teaching. They have the right to respect and polite behaviour from other stu-dents and staff, and to be dealt with in a just and re-sponsible manner by all concerned. Students can speak to the Principal directly if they feel that their concerns have not been dealt with fairly by others, after they have attempted to resolve the matter with the person involved.

Vandalism Under current provincial legislation, the parents of students or of other children found vandalizing the school and /or school property can be made respon-sible for the recovery of costs. This can be as simple as paying for the replacement of lost or damaged textbooks, library books, or other materials. It also includes paying for the replacement of windows, re-painting of washrooms or hallways, repeated clean-ing of the site due to graffiti, repair of breakage, and so on.

We hope that everyone will respect the building and site and realize that these kinds of abuses make it more difficult for those of us who wish to grow, learn, and work in an environment of mutual respect, un-derstanding, and tolerance.

Learning at Garden Reading Programs Literacy is a basic building block of school success, At Garden we encourage reading with programs such as “Forest of Reading” (www.accessola.-com/forest2011) at school and books to borrow for reading at home. Sharing of stories, books, po-ems, information retrieval from the Internet, going to the Public Library, etc. can be done in any language,

and all these activities encourage children to see themselves as readers.

Borrow-a-Book is a program provided by teachers in the early grades. There is significant evidence that students who share reading of stories and books at home with their parents or others develop good liter-acy skills. Each classroom has a small library of books that students can borrow to read nightly or weekly, as the teacher determines. Often the books borrowed go home in Book Bags provided by the school.

Students share reading and books with their Read-ing Buddies. This is a program that establishes partnerships between older and younger students, who love this sharing time and often look out for their “buddies” during the school day.

Physical Education - Clothing In order to allow for freedom of movement and safety during a Physical Education lesson, it is es-sential that the students wear loose, light clothing, and socks with running shoes. Changing before a gym class is not practical, so please plan your child’s wardrobe accordingly. The class teacher should let you know when gym classes take place, so that your child can be prepared. Children without running shoes may be exempted from an activity if the teacher decides that safety is a factor. Other-wise, the child may be able to join in with bare feet. Students must remove jewelry, including watches, during phys ed classes.

TeamsEvery year our teachers coach various sports teams. Sometimes these teams are competitive, inter-school, and designated by age and gender. Some-times they are less competitive, and mixed in gen-der. School teams are generally open to all Junior students (Grades 4,5, 6). Should the number of stu-dents interested exceed the number of spots on a team, discussion and explanation will take place with students before the team is established. As well as inter-school teams, we generally are able to orga-nize before-school in-house sports activities for both our Primary (Grades 1, 2, 3) and Junior (Grades 4,5,6) students.

All the teachers and coaches at Garden stress good sports behaviour and co-operative spirit on and off the playing field with all the adults and students par-ticipating. A parent assistant coach must have a cur-

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rent Toronto police check in place. As well, students are to meet the contractual obligations of school at-tendance and academic progress necessary to re-main on a team that represents our school.

Our goals are to teach the game skills to students, allow participation, and have fun. Winning champi-onships is not our primary goal, but we do work to-wards that end, and we like it too!

Special Activities During the course of the year, a number of activities (clubs, sports, etc.) are offered to students. These activities may be held before school, during lunch hours, sometimes after school (in the event of inter-school team games). Announcements are made and letters sent home to parents of interested students with the relevant information. Your permission will be required, and each child is expected to meet specific expectations, which are set out in the sign-up and letter of permission.

Excursions/Field Trips From time to time, students are involved in excur-sions outside the school that require the use of pub-lic transit or a chartered bus.

Teachers plan field trips as part of the regular cur-riculum, and it is expected that students will partici-pate in these excursions. These excursions some-times extend beyond the regular school hours or over the lunch period. If your child is involved in such an excursion, you will be informed in advance in writing of the details of the trip.

From time to time, teachers will ask parents to vol-unteer to help supervise students during a field trip, particularly in the primary classes. This can be an enjoyable way to spend time with your child’s class.

Often parents will be asked to make a contribution towards the costs of a field trip. Families needing help with the cost of the trips should not worry. All our students participate in field trips, and students needing financial support receive this help automatically.

If there is an unusual or particular reason why an in-dividual child cannot participate, this should be dis-cussed in confidence with the teacher or principal before the field trip takes place.

While we try to include all our students in every area of the curriculum, there might be particular reasons why a teacher will not allow a student to participate in a field trip or special activity. These reasons will be shared with the parents in advance and an alter-native placement in the school during the event will be planned for those students.

Parents in the Classroom Many teachers welcome the assistance of parents in the classroom during the year. If you are interested in volunteering in your child’s classroom, contact the teacher and ask how you can help. Often parents have exciting suggestions for classroom learning, but teachers have a heavy curriculum load for the year and can’t always take advantage of unrelated activities.

The school also welcomes volunteers for special events, helping in our library, or over the lunch pe-riod. If you have an idea or suggestion, feel free to share it with your child’s teacher, the Principal, or the School Council.

Homework TDSB Homework Policy The policy can be accessed at www.tdsb.on.ca/boardroom/policies/d/d03.htm.

The TDSB Policy states “Homework is an out-of-classroom learning experience assigned by a teacher to enhance student learning. The purpose of homework is to ensure it is both effective in pro-moting high quality student learning and achieve-ment and it nurtures a desire for students to keep learning.”

In the TDSB Effective Homework: Is curriculum based and meets the develop-

mental and individual needs of the student through differentiation and modification

Wherever possible, homework shall be as-signed to be returned using blocks of time so that families can best support homework completion by balancing the time required to complete homework with extra-curricular activities scheduled outside of the school day and activities that support personal and family wellness;

May be used to provide feedback to the stu-dent

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Is designed to require no additional teaching outside of the classroom and is engaging and relevant to student learning

Has a direct link to the topic or skills that have been taught in class

Ensures that students understand what is ex-pected of them before leaving school

Is intended to be a positive experience and not punitive

May be designed to involve parents/guardians in supporting their children’s learning but does not require them to teach concepts

Is communicated to parents in many ways in-cluding curriculum nights, parent-teacher con-ferences, student agendas, School Council meetings and newsletters.

Homework at Garden AvenueOur teachers develop homework expectations around the age and stage of development of the child. Primary students (Grades 1, 2, 3) may be asked to complete simple daily assignments at home for homework. Junior students (Grades 4, 5, 6) may be doing research for project work, finishing incomplete work, studying for quizzes, or editing and revising personal writing. Each teacher will inform you of his or her expectations in terms of homework. The amount of time a student spends on their home-work is individual and depends on that student’s learning and work habits. Should you find the amount of work going home a challenge for your child, please discuss this with your child’s teacher.

We expect that parents share activities like reading daily (parent to child, child to parent). For this pur-pose, our library and all our classes have a collec-tion of books that can be borrowed. As well, some classes send home Calendar Math – activities to de-velop math skills that can be done at home by the whole family.

Parents can help with homework by providing en-couragement and a quiet work place, but also by supporting the expectation that homework assign-ments will be completed and handed in as re-quested. An Agenda will be provided for each Grade 4 to Grade 6 student in the hopes that they will learn to become responsible for keeping track of home-work assignments and completing them on time. A sign-off is part of the Agenda. Parents of younger students who are having trouble keeping track of as-signments and returning them on time might find that

a homework notebook provides a solution, and they should discuss this with the teacher.

Learning SupportsResource/Learning Centre Our Resource Centre is a child-friendly room on the second floor beside the Library. The Resource teacher plans, co-ordinates, teaches and provides precise descriptive feedback to students to improve student achievement. Students access this support through the School Support Team.

School Support Team Our School Team is comprised of the Principal, HSP/Resource teacher(s), classroom teachers, and the school special education consultant, social worker, psychologist and speech and language con-sultant. The Team meets regularly to review student progress and other concerns which are brought to the Team’s attention through a referral either from a staff member or parent. Concerns can be social, emotional, or academic in nature.

All students receiving help in our Resource Centre have their issues discussed privately and confiden-tially. The School Team also looks at academic con-cerns across classrooms or across the school and advises teachers or parents on how to improve our effectiveness.

Special Education Access to formalized Special Education support is usually made available after a process that begins at the local school, through meetings of the School Team. These meetings always include the parents, whose concerns, questions, and participation are paramount in planning appropriately for each and every child. There are many Special Education programs avail-able throughout the TDSB. At Garden there is the Learning Centre, for students who need consistent, monitored remediation for a short time and the Home School program meets the specific needs of the student. Special Education students may receive an Individualized Education Plan.

Safe Schools Garden’s Anti-Bullying policy is posted on the school website.

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Eco-schoolsGarden Avenue is a gold level Eco School. “Next to home, the school is the place where young people spend most of their waking hours. The school (Gar-den Avenue) aims to provide an environment that measures up to the standards of a healthy, safe and caring home. In working together to care for our chil-dren, whether at school, at home, in our neighbour-hoods, or in some distant part of the planet, we cre-ate connections that foster respect and create life af-firming communities.” (EcoSchools Certification Guide and Planner, 2010) Some of the ways at Garden we foster eco aware-ness are involving students in energy conservation, waste management, and vibrant school grounds.

School Advisory Council Garden Avenue Public School is supported by an active and enthusiastic School Council, which pro-vides a link for parents to the school and to the broader school system. School Councils are man-dated by provincial legislation to offer input and ad-vice to school administration.

Elections are held each year for positions on the School Council Executive. In addition, the Council welcomes as many parents as are interested to par-ticipate as Members at Large and attend the monthly Executive meetings when they can. Both the Princi-pal and a teacher representative sit on the Council Executive.

Much of the focus of the School Council is on fundraising – annual events generally include, among other things, bake sales, a craft fair, and the ever-popular Fun Fair. Volunteers are always needed to help out with these activities.

Funds raised by the Council are put towards educa-tional enhancements – additional classroom sup-plies, field trips, playground equipment, invited pre-senters, and concerts for our students. A survey is distributed to parents at the beginning of the school year asking for input as to the use of these funds, and the Council makes every effort to address the priorities of the parents.

The Council also initiates projects of benefit to the school, such as long-range planning for playground renewal or school enhancements such as a new sound system and technology improvements. Issues that affect the community might also come to the School Council for discussion and parent input.

Many parents find that joining the School Council gives them a welcome opportunity to contribute, through their time and effort, to making our school the best environment for learning. The work of the Council also gives parents a better understanding of how our school and the broader education system work. And Council involvement sends a message to our children that we care. We look forward to seeing parents at our Council meetings.

CommunicationCouncil sponsors information meetings and school community potlucks for all parents. It also produces a newsletter and provides weekly email updates about upcoming school events to interested parents. Notices, flyers are sent home on Thursdays, which is designated as mailbag day. Exceptionally, notices may be sent home on other days of the weeks.

Council acts in an advisory capacity to the school administration. Each year parents from the Council advise the Principal on our School Staffing Commit-tee, our Safety Committee, our Budget Committee, and help work on the School Improvement Plan. In addition, the School Council provides a point of con-tact between the school and the Toronto District School Board. A parent from the Council is invited to attend regular meetings with our trustee to get infor-mation and to provide parent input on matters of Board policy and practice.

Health ConcernsPrescribed Medicines If your child requires prescribed medication to be ad-ministered during the school day, this can be done only under the following conditions: Provision for administration of this medication at

school is essential for your child’s attendance at school

Your child cannot administer his/her own medi-cation

The medication has been prescribed by your child’s physician

The medication cannot be administered outside school hours.

The Office staff must receive a written note with ex-plicit instructions for the administration of the medi-cation. Only the Office Administrator or the Principal can administer prescribed medications. The EPIPEN for anaphylaxis can be administered by other staff in cases of severe allergic responses in

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those students who have been identified by their parents, and for whom there is an EPIPEN provided in the school.

All medications are to be kept in the office. The child may carry the EPIPEN. We ask that you teach your child the safety rules in regards to medications, pre-scribed or otherwise, including vitamin pills, etc. These should never be brought to school and should never be distributed to others in school.

Anaphylaxis Anaphylaxis is the extreme allergic response some people experience to very specific substances, such as peanuts, shellfish, or bee stings. This reaction can be life threatening. If your child experiences this kind of allergic response, please contact the Princi-pal, who will explain the TDSB policy in regards to anaphylaxis and the immediate injection of adrena-line through the EPIPEN.

There may be students in your child’s class who are severely allergic to a specific substance. If this is the case, you will be informed and asked to cooperate by not sending this item to school, as a safety pre-caution.

Dental Clinics An annual dental clinic at the school, in which all stu-dents are given a dental examination, is another ser-vice of the Department of Public Health. Parents are notified if follow-up dental care is recommended.

Lice and Other Catching Things Pediculosis infestations are more commonly referred to as lice and nits – the small insects that live on the human head and multiply in great numbers. A louse enjoys nothing better than finding another head and beginning a new infestation, and then doing it again. Fall and summer seem to be times when the spread of these infestations is rampant, although winter hats and scarves also help spread the problem.

If students are found to have lice or nits, parents are contacted and asked to pick up the student and treat the condition immediately. Information is offered concerning the various ways in which the infestation can be treated. Careful and persistent treatment is necessary to halt the infestation. Students whose parents refuse to treat the infestation can be denied re-entry to the school. Children must be checked by the Principal and found to be free of nits and lice be-fore they will be allowed to return to the school.

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Sunnyside-Garden Daycare

Sunnyside-Garden Daycare is a non-profit daycare on site at Garden Avenue P.S. It provides care for students between the ages of 2 ½ and 12 years in both Pre-school and School-Age programs. The Daycare is run by a volunteer Board of Directors, elected annually from the general membership, and meets all legislated and regulated requirements.

Waiting lists for Daycare are kept and are prioritized according to specific criteria. Students enrolled at an in-school daycare are considered “in-district” as long as they are enrolled at the daycare. They are not re-quired to fill out an Optional attendance form. If the child is withdrawn from the daycare centre, they will be required to return to their designated school based on their home address. However, if space is available at the host school, an application may be made through the TDSB Optional Attendance process. (The School Principal can provide more in-formation concerning the TDSB’s Optional Atten-dance Policy.)

All inquiries regarding the Daycare should be di-rected to the Supervisor, Judith Malcolm-Barnes, at 416-533-2008 or judith@sunnysidegardendaycare.-com.

The Parent Handbook was originally pro-duced in May 2004 and then updated Novem-ber 2010. Information will not reflect any changes to staff, programs, or procedures that were made after that date.

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