Welcome Back Bears

*Morning Supervision on Pavement 8:00—8:15 am

Morning Bell: 8:15 am [For All Students Kindergarten to Grade 6]

RECESS:

Early Recess Crew Times: 9:40am—9:55am & 1:40pm-1:55pm Late Recess Crew Times: 10:00am-10:15am & 2:00pm-2:15pm LUNCH:

Early Lunch Crew Times: 11:20 – 11:40 eating with teacher, 11:40 – 12:20pm Outdoor Play

Late Lunch Crew Times: 12:00 – 12:20 eating with teacher, 12:20 – 1:00 Outdoor Play Note: Kindergarten outdoor play/ learning times will be shared by homeroom teachers.

End of Day Bell: 2:50 pm [For All Students Kindergarten to Grade 6]

*Afternoon Supervision on Pavement 2:50pm-3:05pm

New Updated Teacher & Classroom Allocation:

A great start to this year includes taking a peek at our Welcome Back to School (Fall 2020) video again https://www.dropbox.com/s/kbhwa6tb1ifenct/Adam%20Beck%202020.mp4?dl=0

Mask Wearing:

All students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 must wear masks indoors. Students are not required to wear masks outdoors during recess, lunch or outdoor learning. Parents/guardians and visitors must wear masks when outdoors on TDSB property as per the TDSB Mask Procedure. Please connect with us directly if you have any questions or concerns.

We love it so when you “Drop & Go”:

Given our tiny property and large school population we are asking all visitors to not congregate/stand on the field and pavement areas. Please utilize the perimeter of the property so that students can safely be seen by staff and keep distance from each other. We understand the first day is difficult as many things are new. Kindly review the class line map ahead of time. Please make room for others to arrive by standing away from high traffic zones after you drop your child off to their line. This is truly important for all our staff especially during our first few days together.

First Day & Morning Line Locations:

You will see your room number and class line location on the map below. Teachers will be outside with a sign that has their name and class room number on it for the first few days of school. Students will be asked to present a note that states they have completed the Fall 2021 Health Pass screener on the first day. A hard copy of the TDSB Student Health Pass will be provided to all students to take home for future use.

Student Health Pass for Fall 2021: Please send a note on the first day of school confirming you have completed the screening. student health screening self-assessment

Recess time means “mask break” time. If a child would like to keep their mask on during outdoor recess play they are welcome to. Students will store their masks on themselves and staff will provide a paper bag with a clip if students forget/need a compartment for their mask. Each class will always use the same staircase and head out to their specific recess zone.

The charts above outline any cohorting, based on where students will be playing outside. Students will be shown their zone by their homeroom teacher and will be picked up from and dropped off by their home room teacher at every transition time.

Students must remember to stay in their own “Bubble” while outside. We cannot allow touching between students. We will need to phone home if students are unable to follow this expectation. Keeping serious about this expectation is our duty for safety. We truly appreciate any time you can take reminding your child(ren) of this before the first day back.

Recess zones promote cohorting and reduce exposure. Thank you for your understanding. We will adjust the recess model as suitable when the time is right based on Board and Toronto Public Health recommendations. Students may or may not have a class cohort (buddy classroom) depending on their size and scheduling layout. If your class is placed with another class to create a cohort, the total amount of students will not exceed 50.

We’ve designed a 5 minute “buffer time” for transitions between early and late recesses to ensure students coming out for recess are not crossing with students coming in from recess. We aim to rotate recess locations for classes after a few months (while still maintaining the same cohort groupings) as it takes a while for everyone to become accustom to locations. It is essential that students remain in their designated recess zones at all times.

Lunch Crew Information:

Given the size of our property we had to once again proceed with 2 different lunch hour sessions. We understand siblings not having the same lunch is unfavourable when it comes to at-home lunch opportunities. Given the amount of families with siblings, it would be impossible to create a schedule that harmonizes everyone. Please connect with your children’s homeroom teachers if you have any questions / concerns around taking students home for lunch. Please communicate directly with your homeroom teacher about your lunch plans and provide a note in advance or the morning of any special lunch arrangements. The main office does not oversee lunch plans for individual students, we connect with teachers to find out details when necessary. Any students going home for lunch should return at the end of the lunch hour so they can sanitize at class entry time.

Lunch @ Home:

Any students heading home for lunch will be picked up from their classrooms by our lunch chaperon and brought to the “Home for Lunch” Exit Door in the back alleyway on the south side of the building for parent/guardian pick-up. All information or notes about going home for lunch should be shared with the homeroom teacher. Upon returning back from lunch at home, students will line up at the back-alleyway door they exited from where a staff member will help them sanitize; and head directly to their classroom.

Grade 6 Friday Lunches:

Our Grade 6 tradition involves Grade 6 students signing out for lunch on Fridays with friends upon submitting written permission from parents. This will begin Friday September 17th as we are still collecting student information the first week of school. Calls cannot be made form the main office about going home for lunch. Students will need to bring their note to school with them Friday to show upon exiting for lunch. Students are reminded they are to return to school at the end of lunch so they can sanitize upon entry before connecting with their homeroom group. The Grade 6s who have been signed out will re-enter via the back- alleyway door where a staff member will greet them at the end of lunch. Hanging around in

the back alleyway without a parent during lunch is not permitted for Grade 6s as it is not a lunch hour monitored zone.

Staff Screening & Procedures:

All TDSB staff members entering the building are required to complete a screening process in advance. This process includes an app where information about each staff member is uploaded for TDSB access. Further details with regards to vaccination updates will come as soon we receive. We are currently following all specific protocols outlined for staff and will continue to prioritize promptness with any communications we may share with our community. Thank you for your trust in us and your partnership during such unique times.

Outdoor Learning Spaces:

Walking Excursions and taking students outside between recess times will be a priority. On the map you will note we are creating a new outdoor space for Music (Integrated Arts with Mr.

Mason) in our back alleyway. We have also processed the orders for an additional outdoor learning space, chalkboard and benches for the Scarborough Road side of the school beside our circle of rocks. More news to come about when construction will begin!

Washrooms: When students visit the washroom they will have a buddy from their class with them and can utilize the elbow tap lights that were installed outside the washroom entrances to see when the space is at capacity. Check out our back to school video from 2020-2021 for a reminder of what everything will look like here

Adam Beck Calendar & Agendas:

We will soon be distributing our school agendas and calendars! More details will follow as we may have some minor adjustments to make on the already printed copies such as a pause on Pizza Lunch planned dates for the time being. We aimed to plan proactively, but our Operational Guidelines are what keep us safest. We will keep you posted on any updates as we receive them.

Arriving on Time:

As we are responsible for many intricate COVID-related procedures, we ask that everyone make their best possible effort to arrive on time. Students will need to be checked in late at special station which may be a slow process due to distancing and not being able to enter the main office as usual.

Volunteers & Visitors:

Please note volunteers and visitors are not permitted in-person at this time. When necessary, we will arrange calls or virtual meetings to accommodate communication needs. This is a board-wide situation and we truly appreciate your patience and we love having you in the building!

Timetable Considerations:

As a further precaution to keep both our students and staff safe, a great deal of care has been taken to create a timetable where rotary, specialist teachers will see the smallest number of classes each week as possible but will still be teaching their specialist subjects. This

means some subjects (ie. Music, Dance, Drama, Media Literacy) will be taught in blocks throughout the year, while all students will receive Physical Education periods outdoors every week.

Recess Toys Manipulatives:

We are pleased to say that with appropriate supervision, distribution, collection and sanitation of objects we will begin to re-introduce recess and classroom manipulatives for sharing. Cleaning will need to be done and will be organized by staff. We thank you, in advance, for your patience as classes will make their own decisions based on collaborative readiness.

Leaving Personal Objects/Toys at Home:

In an effort to keep clear open spaces, reduce clutter and ensure a reduction in opportunities for spreading anything; we are asking that students only bring what they truly need to school. At times it is tempting to bring stuffies, cards, figurines or other items of comfort and joy. We value the importance of self-soothing materials such as squeeze balls or sensory cubes. Please connect with your homeroom teacher if there is an important item that will help your child(ren). We will work together to ensure it is stored safely and not shared with others. Desks will be kept neat and clear to facilitate increased sanitation daily so the less we have to move around, the more time we spend learning together!

Lockdown/Hold & Secure/Fire Drill Procedure Heads-Up:

In order to be prepared and ease stress from the unexpected on top of COVID challenges, we will share the window of time before we proceed with planned Lockdowns/Hold & Secure/Fire Drill procedures. If an unexpected process or emergency takes place, we will connect with you via email as soon as possible to let you know as much as we can. We will be distancing during these processes and will communicate what that looks like to students in advance.

Centre 55 & After School Property Usage:

Centre 55 will be collecting students from their classrooms few minutes before the end of day bell in order to have them exit the hallways and head to their designated outdoor space in time. Immediately after school hours the kindergarten playground areas and North section of the field will be reserved for Centre 55.

We are also happy to announce we have Mr. Cosburn, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Epitropou and Mr. Symonds who have spent hours and hours, days, weeks and months making Adam Beck a safe, clean and clear place to be! How lucky we are to have such great energy and effort to motivate us all to push through such interesting times! Biggest thanks from the bottom of our hearts for being so positive and so happy to help with anything and everything to keep us safe and on point! Your joyful natures, hard work and charisma make Adam Beck a healthy and fun place to be!

And now a special something to show off all the countless hours and hard work teachers and staff have put into setting us off on the right paws. Thank you to all for your awesome initiative!

Sneak Peek Gallery:

Large windows, spaced out working spots, lots of neat, organized and open areas! Every classroom is equipped with a Hepa filtration unit and we run our BAS (automated air system) every morning before students and staff arrive via the ceiling ventilation systems. Fans will be used while pointed in the appropriate direction and upwards away from students as well as outlined in our Operational Guidelines. Windows will remain open for circulation and all windows at Adam Beck open easily and safely! Please send layers/a sweater as the weather gets colder as windows will be open.

We now have 2 water bottle filling stations installed and ready for use!

Fountains are still closed so students are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles for refilling as needed throughout the day!

A few Q & As you may be thinking of:

What if I have two kids that enter on opposite sides of the building at the same time?

Before and after school supervision is here to help. Feel free to drop off the youngest sibling first or whatever works best for you. Homeroom teachers will be happy to help keep an eye out or be ready for anything.

How can I contact my child’s teacher – how will they contact me?

Teachers will be asking parents for their email addresses/best contact information on the first day of school. They will share how best to connect with them if you require assistance as well.

What if we pivot to online learning?

We would return to a one lunch hour and standard recess times for everyone schedule. School start time and end time would remain the same and we would email you details regarding expectations immediately.

What if we pivot and we need technology to learn from home?

All central devices were returned to TDSB therefore we will loan Adam Beck technology to families. An email with instructions on how to request technology from us would go to our community promptly and we would work hard to get you connected to a device right away.

What do staircase and hallway transitions look like?

We use a single file snake line approach for all transitions. Teachers lead their lines and ensure areas are clear before proceeding. The same designated staircases and corridors are consistently used based on cohorts and class locations.

What happens if there is a positive case confirmed in my child’s class- when will I know?

We connect with families immediately after receiving confirmation of positive cases. At times, we may email you before or after school office hours, or email and call you during the school day. We know it can be very challenging but when a class cohort is sent home; we must call to have students picked up. Toronto Public Health works around the clock to help keep us all safe. Principals are connected to TPH via cell phone at all hours. We will confirm the accuracy of all emails on file in the first few weeks of school to ensure we can get a quick hold of you when needed.

Will we get more information about Covid related policy updates & procedures?

Yes, a community email will be sent to everyone anytime we have important news to share with you. Our goal is to be timely, clear, concise and approachable. Please feel free to ask us anything you’re wondering- we are happy to help!

Now last but absolutely not least…

For years now many members of our community have been working tirelessly in “overdrive mode” with little to no break. How impressive it is to see such resilience and grit in the face of such a prolonged challenge. We send our thanks continuously for constantly keeping us going with the everyday necessities that make our lives safe and healthy. You are heroes in more ways than you’ll never know – way to go!

P.S A shout out to Birchcliff and their brilliantly clever staff. Their school sign states

“Thursday is the new Tuesday” for back to school! Good one!!!!!!

THANK YOU ALL AND LOOKING FORWARD TO HAPPY TIMES; LEARNING AND GROWING TOGETHER!