September 2020 Website: http://schools.peelschools.org/1357 e-mail: clifton.ps@peelsb.com Twitter: @CliftonPS Telephone: (905) 277-2611 Fax: (905) 277-4965

Principal: Mrs. J. Ballance Vice-Principal: Ms L. May Office Manager: Mrs. B. Ornat Office Assistant: Mrs. M. Dave Superintendent: Mr. P. da Silva Trustee: Mr. J. Marchant

Welcome Back to School! Welcome back to all of our Clifton Public School students and families and a warm welcome to those who are new to the school community. We hope that you had a wonderful summer and that you were able to spend valuable time with your family and friends.

This year will be a very different start to school for all of us. The safety and well-being of our students, staff and Clifton families is our top priority in the face of the global pandemic. The Peel District School Board has estab-lished strict guidelines and procedures for all schools to follow as we re-open to students. Learn more about the Peel District School Board’s Reopening Plans for 2020-21 available at www.peelschools.org/reopening. You can download the full document or jump to specific topics of interest on the board’s Reo-pening Plans website. There, you will find information about enhanced health and safety measures, in-person and online learning models, revised schools routines, transportation, child care and more.

We are looking forward to an engaging and exciting year of learning for our students. Thank you to all of the Clifton staff and families for your patience and support as we worked towards getting this school year under way. It will be a year like no other!

Here’s to a safe and enjoyable year ahead and a rewarding partnership with all of our Clifton families.

Mrs. J. Ballance

Morning Supervision and Student Safety School yard supervision starts at 8:20am. Children should NOT be arriving at school before that time. Nutrition Breaks are supervised by teachers and Lunchroom Supervisors. School yard supervision ends at 3:10pm. Students should be picked up from school by this time.

Returning Loaner Devices

Please return any iPads or Chromebooks that you have from the school during the first week of school.

Please put your child’s name on the device (on tape), place the device in a plastic bag for return.

Remember to include the

charging cable!

Medication

If your child requires medication to be administered at school either regularly or in an emergency, you need to complete a PDSB Medical Form A. This form can be obtained from the office and should be returned as soon as possible.

Please inform us immediately if your child has any life threatening allergies or a serious medical condition so emergency procedures can be put into place. Students who require an epi-pen due to allergies or an inhaler for asthma are required to carry these items with them at all times.

Screen your child(ren) daily to help prevent the spread of COVID-19

We all have a role to play to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The most important thing families can do to help limit the transmission of COVID-19, is to screen your children daily for any COVID-19 symptoms and keep them home from school if they are sick or have had close contact with anyone diagnosed with COVID-19.

Each day, before arriving to school, parents/caregivers MUST perform a daily screening to determine if your child should stay home.

Students should NOT come to school if they: · are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 (see the Peel Public Health website for a full list of symptoms: https://www.peelregion.ca/coronavirus/prevention/#about).

· have returned to Canada in the last 14 days.

· have been in close contact with a person who has returned from outside of Canada in the last 2 weeks with new COVID-19 symptoms (like a cough, fever, or difficulty breathing).

· have been asked to self-isolate by public health authorities.

· have had close contact with someone who is ill with suspected or confirmed COVID-19.

When in doubt, we ask that families err on the side of caution and keep their child home from school. A safe school is always more important than a perfect attendance record.

More information about our screening protocols and procedures in the event of a positive COVID-19 case is available at www.peelschools.org/reopening in the Enhanced Health and Safety Measures section.

What to bring to school

Students are able to bring their own personal items to school, but will be required to return home with them daily. Use this chart to help determine what to bring to school, and what to leave at home.

· A mask and/or face covering (required

for all grade 1 to 12 students)

· A reusable water bottle

· Lunch (elementary only)

· Weather-appropriate clothing

· Backpacks · Any items that need to be locked away

· Any personal items from home (e.g. a book to share)

If cubbies are used, they will be spaced appropriately to maintain physical distance, and will be cleaned and disinfected between use. Lockers will not be used—any locks put on lockers will be removed. Every effort will be made to provide lockers later in the school year when it is deemed safe to do so.

Parents/guardians should avoid dropping off lunches or other items during the school day. If necessary, they must phone the school ahead of time and establish a time that they could be met at the entry door by either their child or office personnel. Lunches from third-party services will not be accepted.

Wearing a mask and following hand hygiene routines

Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our students. To help en-sure safer schools, we will be following Peel Public Health’s recent recommenda-tion that all students in Grades 1 to 12 be required to wear a mask or face cover-ing while indoors at school, including in classrooms and hallways. Peel Public Health has also indicated that the wearing of masks or face coverings is strongly recommended in Kindergar-ten.

Face coverings include disposable or cloth masks, bandanas, scarfs or similar items. All face coverings must cover the nose, mouth and chin, without any gaps.

Families are encouraged to practice wearing a mask at home so students are used to this routine by the time they return to school. View these tips from Peel Public Health.

Reasonable exceptions on the requirement to wear masks will apply (e.g. staff or students with sensory or breathing difficulties). More information about these exemptions will be shared at www.peelschools.org/reopening.

Students will also not be required to wear a mask while outdoors or while participating in a moderate or vigorous activity for Health and Physical Education classes.

Hand hygiene

Hand sanitizer will be available at all school entrances and in every classroom and gymnasium. Before entering the school, students, staff and all visitors must sanitize their hands. All classes will also have scheduled washroom and hand washing breaks throughout the day.

Students and all staff will wash/sanitize their hands:

· upon entry/exit of the building (mandatory for anyone who enters the building)

· upon entry to their classroom

· before and after eating

· before and after using the washroom

· and at other intervals (e.g. after handling shared items)

Posters are placed around the school to remind stu-dents and staff to:

· avoid touching their eyes, mouth and nose as much as possible

· avoid contact with people who are sick

· cover their coughs and sneezes with a tissue or into their upper sleeve or elbow · wash their hands after coughing and sneezing

Keep students safe in school parking lots

Clifton offers a Kiss N’ Ride program, where par-ents can drop off and pick up their children at a designated area at the school. To ensure the safety of staff and students, we ask all parents be mindful of the following guidelines:

There is no parking and no waiting in the Kiss N’ Ride lane. Pay attention to the traffic in front of you and pull forward as cars move for-ward. If you choose to park in the parking lot, please escort your child to or from the nearest foot patroller and use the main crosswalk.

Vehicles entering the Kiss N’ Ride lane must stay in the designated lane, unless otherwise directed by a staff member or volunteer.

The Kiss N’ Ride program is only available to students who are able to disembark inde-pendently.

Have your child ready to exit the car when you reach the curb. Students may only exit from the passenger (right) side of the vehicle.

After picking up or dropping off your child, leave promptly so that others can get in behind you.

If your child is not standing at the Kiss N’ Ride when you arrive please park in a designated parking space to wait.

Always respect traffic flow and abide all traffic laws and signs.

Ask your child’s teacher or principal to learn more about our school’s

specific Kiss N’ Ride procedures.

How to prepare your child(ren)’s lunch

During the 2020-21 school year, lunch routines have been changed with the health and safety of students and staff in mind. Each day, students will eat their lunch in their classroom during their designated lunch time. Stu-dents are asked to bring their own lunch and will be pro-vided with a designated storage space.

Parents and caregivers are advised to follow the helpful tips below to plan for safe lunches and snacks.

· Prepare a lunch that your child can open and eat with-out adult assistance.

· Avoid dropping off lunch during the school day. If nec-essary, you must phone the school ahead of time and book an appointment. Lunches from third-party services (e.g. Skip the Dishes) will not be accepted.

· Pack a water bottle for your child. Water fountains will be available to refill water bottles or cups. Students will not be allowed to drink directly from the fountain .

· When packing snacks, consider sending snacks like granola bars or any other food items that should not re-quire the use of a microwave.

· Keep lunches and snacks peanut-free. If the label of any food you plan to send to school with your child says, "May contain nuts or peanuts," please do not send it to school.

When your child is

absent please call

1-855-209-6155

or log into:

go.schoolmessenger.ca (download the SchoolMessenger mobile app for Apple/Android)

users)

Plan Ahead for the 2020/2021 School

Year

School year begins:

September 1, 2020

School year ends:

June 29, 2021

# of Instructional days: 187

Number of

Professional Activity days: 7

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

Labour Day:

September 7, 2020

Thanksgiving Day:

October 12, 2020

Winter Break (inclusive)

December 21, 2020-January 1, 2021

Family Day: February 15, 2021

Spring Break (inclusive):

March 15-19, 2021

Good Friday:

April 2, 2021

Easter Monday:

April 5, 2021

Victoria Day:

May 24, 2021

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY DAYS

Reporting to Parents:

November 13, 2020

Report Card Writing/Assessment Days:

January 18, 2021 & June 7, 2021

Professional Activity Days:

September 1-3, 2020

Last day of classes for students:

June 29, 2021

What to expect upon school arrival and dismissal

As we begin the start of a new school year, our priority will be getting students to and from their classrooms in a safe, distanced manner.

At the start of the day, students arriving to school will be directed to an outdoor entry area assigned to their cohort. They will be supervised by school staff.

Students arriving by car will follow Kiss N Ride procedures, while fol-lowing Peel Public Health physical distancing guidelines. Specific pick-up/drop-off instructions will be provided to families who are dropping off student(s) with special needs.

Staff will be on-site to ensure physical distancing when students get on-and-off from the bus loading area. Students who take the bus will be loaded from back-to-front and unloaded from front-to-back in an orderly fashion for safe physical distancing.

As in previous school years, all doors will remain locked until entry time and be locked after students have entered the building.

To help ensure a smooth arrival and dismissal, parents/caregivers are en-couraged to:

Follow instructions shared by school staff

Have the same adult drop off and pick up their child.

Leave immediately after dropping off or picking up their child. To

help with physical distancing measures, families/caregivers will not

be permitted to enter the school to drop off or pick-up students.

Maintain physical distance from other adults and children.

Wear masks outdoors if physical distancing is not possible.

Remain outside the play area, for families with kindergarten students.

What if a student arrives late for school?

If you are dropping off your child after the morning bell, you will be required to call or buzz the school from the front door to let them know your child has arrived. Of-fice staff will sign the student in, notify their Teacher, and the student will go di-rectly to class without entering the office. Parents/caregivers will not be permitted inside the school to accompany their child. For kindergarten students, a member of the kindergarten Educator team will escort the child to class.

Procedures help keep students safe at school

Dear Families,

Peel schools provide a safe environment for students and staff to learn and work. The board has many procedures to ensure safety including regular fire drills, evacuation plans, criminal record checks for new staff and volunteers, and lockdown, hold and secure and shelter in place drills. Together with Peel Police, OPP and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic School Board, the board developed procedures for critical situations including lockdowns, hold and secure, shelter in place and bomb threats in order to help keep schools safe during a potentially serious or violent incident.

Every school will review the key points of the lockdown process with students. We rehearse the drill twice per year to make sure staff and students know what to do if we have to initiate a lockdown.

During the rehearsal, the principal will make an announcement to "initiate lockdown procedure." The school bell will ring continuously for a period of time and our goal is to make the school appear vacated.

Students and staff inside the school will:

go to the closest room, close the door and lock it, if possible

turn off the lights and lie down on the floor away from doors and windows

remain on the floor quietly until further directions are given

Students and staff outside the school will:

move as far away from the building as possible

remain outside until further directions are given

Depending on the situation, students and staff outside the building may be directed to an evacuation site. When the rehearsal is over, the principal will make another announcement.

Important things to note when an emergency occurs

1. Students and staff must not use cell phones

It is important to note that in these critical situations, safety is our number one priority. During rehearsals or in real critical situations, Peel Police have advised that cell phone usage can cause more safety risks and danger than benefits.

We recognize that when an emergency occurs, students and staff may feel the need to communicate immediately with their families. However, increased cellular traffic in these critical situations can result in more dangers and the following consequences:

- Cause signal delays for emergency services to attend to the situation.

- Prevents police from being able to communicate with each other and other important personnel in a timely manner.

- Public posts and messages may identify where individuals are in the building and a pose a safety risk.

- Cell phones can create a safety hazard by attracting attention to the area of the school where the phone is being used.

Parents are requested to NOT call the school or your child’s cell phone during emergency procedures.

2. How parents can get updates during emergency procedures

There are a number of ways that parents can stay connected and get important, timely updates in the unlikely event of an actual lock-down, hold and secure, shelter in place or bomb threat. We will try to make every effort to keep parents informed using the methods listed below.

- Monitor your child’s school website.

- Get updates by following posts on the Peel District School Board Twitter account (@Peelschools), www.twitter.com/peelschools

- Visit www.peelschools.org. All important updates are posted on the homepage under the What’s New section.

Listen to local media

Parents are requested NOT to go to the school

In the unlikely event of an actual lockdown, hold and secure, shelter in place or bomb threat, police ask that parents do not go to the school. For safety reasons, you will not be allowed to enter a school that is in lockdown, hold and secure or shelter in place and students and staff cannot leave the school. In some cases, police will designate a Parent Information Site for you to attend and get up-to-date, accurate information. Please monitor your child’s school website and do not come to the school unless requested to do so.

If you have any questions about our lockdown drill, or any of the procedures we have in place to keep students and staff safe, please call the school.