St. Andrews Junior High News

St. Andrew’s athletics are well under way. With tennis teams having just completed their tournaments (set to return in April), cross country running meets beginning this week as well as volleyball, baseball, basketball, soccer, and bordenball teams beginning their seasons, the students are primed for yet another outstanding year representing St. Andrew’s.

There are so many teachers who are giving their time to coach students early in the morning or late after school – way to go coaches! Hopefully you will be able to support your child and the various school teams by making some time in your busy schedules to dust the pompoms off and get the cheering voices ready.

In addition, a number of St. Andrew’s teachers have also started some of our many co-curricular clubs. Students have been afforded opportunities to get involved in the Art Club, Chamber Strings, Senior Strings, Anime Club, English Conversation Club, Games Club, Library Helpers, Working in the D & T shop, Robot Club, Scrapbooking Club, Student Council, and Student Newspaper…I don’t know about you but I am exhausted just listing all of these amazing opportunities!

I hope your children are getting involved as there are so many opportunities to tap into so many different interests. Please encourage them to get involved in school life…these are where the memories are made. Watch out for new and exciting opportunities that will begin in the New Year.

For more information, please see the co-curricular schedule (see top menu on this page) or pick one up in the main school office.

The TDSB mandates that schools have six fire drills during the school calendar year. Therefore, it is imperative that all volunteers remember to sign in at the main office and wear a volunteer badge. In addition, in the case of an emergency (drill or real), all volunteers are asked to gather in the front of the school in one group. This will enable us to take the volunteer binder from the main office and ensure that all adults are safely out of the building. Thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.

During inclement weather, it is always a challenge to find things for students to do while in the cafeteria during the lunch hour. An indoor lunch can be a very long stretch for students to sit inside causing them to, sometimes, make inappropriate choices. As a result, we have gone out and purchased a number of board games, decks of cards etc. to provide to students during these inclement weather days.

If you are looking to clean out the closets or games room, we are still looking for additional games to keep our students interested and active during those inclement weather days. Please bring any donations into the main school office (age appropriate only please). Your support is greatly appreciated.

Over the past month, we have had many staff and students attend cross-country meets, baseball games, field trips etc. Many of our students have not been taking the school bus, but instead, getting driven by their own parent or a friend’s parent.

As per board policy, all volunteer drivers must complete a form (available in the main office) for liability and insurance purposes. On the form, only student names that are listed are allowed to ride in the vehicle. Therefore, if going to or coming from an event, parent volunteer drivers may only drive the same children – no switches may be made. Otherwise, students will go to the event or return to the school on the board-supplied bus. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact the main office.

The cold weather is fast approaching. Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for school and for the weather as they will be going outside during lunch recess unless the weather is deemed too cold or too wet. Possibilities may include: a warm coat, hat, gloves, and/or scarf.

In the hope of minimizing colds and illnesses, we will be diligent as a staff in monitoring what students wear outdoors.

As we progress through our second month of the school year, it is the hope and expectation that students who stay for the lunch program have adjusted to the lunch hour rules and routines. For the most part, the lunchroom has been running very smoothly as students are beginning to understand the need to be safe and clean when eating at school.

Unfortunately, there are still some students who are unable to abide by the lunchroom routines This has caused the lunchroom supervisors difficulty and created an eating environment that is not always safe or manageable. If your child stays for lunch, please spend some time going over the expectations outlined below to make it more pleasant for all those involved.

• all food must be eaten in the cafeteria
• if going off property for lunch, students must arrive back to school on time and without food or drink
• all students staying for lunch will eat in the cafeteria for the first 20 minutes and then will be let outside for fresh air (one lunch room supervisor will remain in the cafeteria for those slower eaters)
• all students must remain seated while in the cafeteria unless purchasing food or asking to go to the washroom
• all students will use the appropriate hall passes (received from the lunch room supervisors) when in need of going to the washroom or locker while on lunch

In addition, our students have been very diligent in following our new “BOOMERANG” lunch program. All items, non-recyclable go home in student lunch bags. This is a great opportunity to teach our children about the environment as well as an opportunity for you to see what your child is or isn’t eating. Please consider sending Tupperware instead of saran wrap or tin foil where possible.

Thank you for helping St. Andrew’s in its effort to be an eco friendly, “Green” school.

Do not drop by the classroom unannounced

Please make every effort to pre-arrange a visit to the classroom as teachers’ primary focus during the day must be the students. Teachers are happy to speak with parents via phone or in person, but find it very difficult during the actual school day.

Avoid Phone/Email/Texting your children

Please do not to attempt to contact your child during the school day via your child’s cell phone, blackberry etc. Students must power all electronic devices off while on school property at all times. Electronic devices used for safety or enjoyment are acceptable as long as they are off school property.

Please discourage your child from bringing expensive electronic devices to school as they can get damaged, lost or stolen if not properly cared for at all times. All correspondence with your child should be handled through the main school office. The cell phone ringing, vibrating or beeping during instructional time is prohibited and obviously very disruptive to the teacher and the students.

Limit emails to teachers to important issues

Many St. Andrew’s teachers have provided parents their personal email account as a means of correspondence – a wonderful opportunity to communicate electronically in this new world of technology. We are asking parents to please respect this method of communication by not taking advantage of the ease with which one can send an email (computer, blackberry etc.). Teachers, unfortunately, do not have the time during the day to check their emails on a regular basis. Sending emails for important items that go beyond placing a note in the student’s agenda is completely understandable. Thank you for taking this into consideration prior to sending your next email to your child’s teacher.

Follow these safety rules for dropping-off students

St. Andrew’s is very fortunate to have so many parents/caregivers who are able to drive their children to school in the morning. As a result, it is extremely busy outside of the school. Please ensure that you are following proper drop-off and pick-up procedures – entering the parking lot, driving around to the back, letting your child off in the clearly marked safety zone and then proceeding out of the parking lot.

In addition, it is absolutely crucial that parents do not stop on Fenn Avenue in front of the school on either side of the street (signs are there clearly marking a no stopping zone) as this is an extreme safety concern. Students are running in between cars to get from one side to the other, cars are frustrated trying to make their way through the narrow lane and, ultimately, someone is going to get hurt. Please park on a nearby side street to let your child off and have them walk in thus creating a safer environment.

Our ghosts and goblins will be treated to lots of Halloween fun – filled with tempting treats.

If you are sending snacks and treats for class parties, please remember that some of our students have life-threatening allergies to nuts and nut products. All items coming to school must be completely free of nuts or nut products. Thank you in advance for your careful consideration prior to sending anything to school.

In addition, throughout the school year, if you are planning on sending in any snacks for birthdays or classroom celebrations, once again, please be very careful to only send nut free products. If you bake something for the classroom, please be sure to send a list of ingredients and notify the classroom teacher well ahead of time so that families of children with anaphylaxis can be properly notified.

The TDSB will has been spreading the word about the importance of learning environments where all staff and students feel safe and secure during Safe and Caring Schools Weeks in September. The TDSB works very hard throughout the year to raise awareness among students, staff and parents about the factors that make a school community safe and affirming.

The Board’s Safe and Caring Schools Team recently undertook the task of updating the Board’s Threats to School Safety Procedure to provide a better framework to help prepare schools to effectively manage emergencies and to reflect a significant change in the terminology associated with lockdown procedures.
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SPC Cards (Student Price Cards)

Our Student Price Card (SPC) sales went very well. We hope everyone enjoys their discounts at the many retailers who support this program. Thank you to our student volunteers, Ms. Dubeau and Stephanie Achkarian for organizing this program.

Magazine Fundraiser

Deadline: Tuesday Oct. 13

Our magazine subscription fundraiser was launched with a successful assembly last Thursday morning. There are great prices on over 600 magazines! By subscribing to magazines you are raising money for and benefitting your child at St. Andrew’s Junior High. You can sell subscriptions to your family and friends and help raise even more money for St. Andrew’s. There are some special days for magazine sales coming up: Monday, October 5 is Lollipop Day (kids win cash!) and Wednesday, October 7 is Mystery Card Day. The last day for magazine subscription orders is Tuesday, October 13th.

There’s a great prize program for all levels of magazine subscriptions, and the top-selling class in each grade will win a pizza party!!

All students should have brought home their magazine packages, but if you did not receive one please feel free to contact the office to get one or go on-line to order your magazine subscriptions at www.QSP.ca (be sure to put in St. Andrew’s school group number 9522).

Parent Council Meeting

Our first Parent Council meeting was a resounding success! We had a large turnout for an interesting presentation on internet safety by Constable Scott Mills of the Toronto Police and Youth Crime Stoppers. He talked about Facebook (especially the need to ensure your privacy settings are adequate), Twitter and YouTube. He stressed the need to take care what you post as once it is out in the public domain it will be there forever.

Our speaker was followed by our Parent Council meeting where the Principal, Andrew Howard, provided an overview of the school enrollment and staffing, its policy on electronic devices (there should be none during school hours) and extra-curricular activities. The Parent Council provided a summary of finances and upcoming fundraising activities. For more details please see the minutes attached.

Flag Football intramurals to begin next week, Monday and Wednesday after school from 3:15 – 4:00pm.

Please encourage your child to sign up on the Intramurals board outside the gym doors by Thurs Sept 24th.

The St. Andrew’s Athletic Committee will post a schedule (on Fri Sept 25th) of games to be played, so all players will know date and game times for next week.