Principal’s Message

I want to extend an invitation to all parents/guardians to join us Wednesday, October 4th for our Curriculum Night. Curriculum Night is a wonderful opportunity for parents to meet teachers in an “open house” forum beginning at 6:30 pm. We will begin the evening in the gym with a presentation by myself providing information about Allenby and how to best support your child(ren) at school and at home. Parents are then invited to see the classrooms and meet the teachers in two sessions running from 7:00 to 7:30 pm and 7:30 to 8:00 pm. The sessions are the same but hosting two sessions allows parents to visit two different classrooms. Teachers will share long range plans developed in grade teams outlining the curriculum content for the school year. Specialty teachers will also be on hand in our special education classes, music room, gym, drama/dance studio (which doubles as our lunchroom), and library (for our teacher-librarian, french teacher and digital literacy teachers). Signs will be posted assisting parents in finding classrooms and teaching spaces. This evening is for parents only as we cannot accommodate parents and children in our gym and classroom spaces. We look forward to seeing you on the 4th!

Have a Question or Concern?

Attached is a poster outlining who to contact regarding specific questions or concerns. All tdsb staff are available by email (first name.last name@tdsb.on.ca) and will follow up with you in a timely manner regarding questions or concerns, however, it is important to know who to contact. As outlined on the Allenby website, please do not send emails to the general delivery mailbox listed on the website. This mailbox is for external emails only and as it fills with spam, it is not checked daily. All Allenby staff names are available on the website under Staff Directory. Staff can also be contacted by phone at the 416-393-9115 and Jamie or Renee will take a message for the staff member to return your call when they are available. Please note that messages cannot be delivered during teaching times.

If a parent contacts me regarding a classroom concern, my first question will be, “Have you spoken to the teacher?” If you have any questions or concerns that have been voiced but not addressed by the classroom teacher or questions about school procedures, safety, etc. then please feel free to contact the vice principal, Deborah Zamin or myself. We are a team and the continued communication and partnership is essential to student success and well-being.

Spirit Day and Pizza Lunch

Next Friday, September 29th, is our first Spirit Day for the 2017/18 school year and pizza lunch. The deadline for pizza lunch sign up, should your child(ren) wish to participate, was last Friday, using Amilia.

For many years, Allenby staff and students have participated in monthly Spirit Days with students dressing up in common themes once a month (i.e. crazy hair day, beach day). Spirit though comes from more than similar wardrobes on a given day. When I think of the times in my life when I have felt real spirit it is during those times when I am doing something to bring awareness or make a difference. We see this with Allenby students as well, if you want to see great spirit visit during the Terry Fox Run, when a class donned capes in support of Holland Bloorview, or when our grade six students have worked to make a difference through Me to We.

This year, every Spirit Day will be tied to learning about a cause for the month. Classroom teachers are signing up to bring awareness to a cause while educating students about the world beyond their own backyard. In addition to announcements for students, we will be posting the Spirit Day focus under Important dates on the Allenby website as they become known and will be including a piece in the newsletter in the week before the Spirit Day so that parents understand the theme and message.

September’s Spirit Day is Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event. It grew out of a young girl having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission, and it has become an opportunity to keep the discussion on all aspects of residential schools happening annually. The date was chosen because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools. Orange Shirt Day is also an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Having this be our first Spirit Day at Allenby provides an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year.

We encourage everyone to wear orange next Friday. Don’t have a shirt? Don’t worry, just try to wear some orange (e.g. orange sign, ribbon).

If you would like more information about the significance of Orange Shirt Day and how it is being recognized, please check out the Orange Shirt Day website.

Hey! I was Stung by a Bee!

The warm September temperatures have not only resulted in hot classrooms, but a greater bee and wasp population. Over the first few weeks at school, we have had a number of students with bee/wasp stings. We had a wasp’s nest removed from school property before the start of the school year, have been doing daily inspections looking for any other to appear, have been emptying the outside garbage daily (sometimes twice daily as needed), and yet they continue. We encourage children to avoid bright clothing, leave sweet snacks that may attract bees/wasps at home (e.g. juices, pop, juicy fruit) and to let an adult know immediately if they are stung. When a student is brought to the office following a sting, we will:

If your child has a severe allergy to bee/wasp stings, ensure that they are always carrying their EpiPen and when informing an adult outside that they have been stung, they need to communicate their allergy. In these cases, office staff will monitor symptoms and administer the EpiPen as needed while communicating with parents and 911 (as required).

Toys at School

Parents please assist us in ensuring that toys (including trading cards) do not come in backpacks to school. Sports equipment (i.e. balls, skipping ropes) are welcome, however, toys lead to solitary non-active play, broken and lost items. Thanks you for your assistance.