Hello LKS Parents,
We did it! Along with your willingness to bring your children back to school we made it through the first day and are settling nicely into our mid-week routines.
We have much information to share with you and recommend you make yourself a coffee and have a seat as you work your way through this one. A Table of Contents is included to assist – never good when a Table of Contents is needed!?
- Corn Roast and Meet the Teacher Night – Tuesday September 10, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
- Cell Phone Use at LKS.
- LKS Parking Lot.
- School Cashonline.
- Beginning of the year forms.
1. Corn Roast and Meet the Teacher Night – Tuesday September 10, 5:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Please join Parent Council and the LKS staff on Tuesday September 10 from 5:00-7:30 p.m. for Curriculum Night and a corn roast! Corn will be available from 5:00 p.m. until we run out. As this is the first time we have hosted this event, we were not sure how much to order so don’t be late!!
On behalf of our Parent Council please join us at the corn roast, compliments of Kevin Kane. Kevin is an LKS dad and a realtor in our community who has kindly offered to sponsor this event.
Parent Council is really excited to welcome all of our new families to LKS and say hello to everyone. Stop by our table near the corn roast, say hello and learn about all of the fun ways you can volunteer and be part of the LKS community!
A schedule is attached to this e-mail for the Meet the Teacher portion of the evening. As a side note, we ask that all corn please be eaten outside of the school. Please do not bring any corn into the building and use the garbage cans provided outside.
2. Cell Phone Use at LKS
As you may recall, during the 2018-19 school year a group of parents and staff worked together to develop a Cell Phone/Personal Device policy for Lambton Kingsway. Ms. Norton and I also met with our Student Council to discuss and get their input.
In June 2019, we ran a ‘Pilot Project’ of the following draft policy.
In order to promote a culture where students can fully immerse themselves in their learning and build positive peer relationships, we are proposing that LKS be a device-free community during school hours.
Families who choose to send students to school with personal devices should ask their children to ensure they are safely stored away once they enter school property (i.e. the schoolyard).
If teachers wish to invite students to bring their devices into the classroom for a specific initiative, they reserve the ability to do so.
Parents wishing to communicate during school hours are kindly asked to contact the school office. Texting or emailing students during the school day is distracting to your children and their classmates, and disruptive to their educational and social activities.
We encourage parents and students to have ongoing conversations around the appropriate use of technology.
As we wait for the TDSB to implement their policy – all school boards have been asked to have a policy in place by Monday, November 4, 2019 – we will continue to use our ‘Draft Policy’. Once the TDSB implements their policy, we will meet with our parent committee and student council to discuss before rolling out the official policy.
If you have any questions or concerns, as always, please feel free to contact us at the school.
3. Parking lot use during drop-off and pick-up
In order to keep traffic moving please do not to park or idle in the exit lanes of the parking lot. Please pull up to the entrance of the playground, let your child(ren) out and please keep moving. Please do not let your child out of the car from the left turn lane.
If you do need to get out of the car, please be sure to park safely on a side street, or if space allows the community parking lot to the south and walk to the playground. Parking in non-designated spots causes severe traffic backups and potential safety concerns with limited space for cars trying to leave the parking lot.
Please do not let your children out of the car if you are still driving on the street (i.e. moving on Prince Edward/Government/Marquis). It is extremely unsafe and it creates traffic jams on the street.
Thank you in advance for keeping things moving and for helping keep all of our students safe.
4. School Cashonline
Schoolcashonline.com – LKS is a cashless school. This means that all payments for school related activities are done on-line. Please make sure you visit www.schoolcashonline.com to create an account. When you sign in, you will notice that there are several items available for purchase.
Mandatory Police Checks for Volunteering at LKS Please note that you must have a Vulnerable Sector Screening done to volunteer for the school. If you do not have a police check you cannot go on any trips, volunteer at the school for classroom parties, reading, etc. If you have done one for other community volunteering (ie coaching), you can bring your “clear” stamped form to the office. THIS MUST BE A VULNERABLE SECTOR SCREENING. You cannot get this done directly through the police station. You can request a Police Check form from Ms. Stefanowicz in the school office. Once you have paid and submitted your application, Ms. Stefanowicz will send your form to the TDSB who in turn sends it to the police. This is done for the police to verify all the information and ensure there are no offences relating to any person(s). We are told the process usually takes 4-6 weeks. You will receive a copy of the form with a “Clear” stamp on the upper right-hand corner. That is the original that you must submit to Ms. Stefanowicz, who will make a copy for you and send the original to the Board. The police check is valid for one year and following that you can come to the school and renew it at no cost.
School Planner Each student in grades 1 to 8 will use an agenda for recording learning, homework and communication with parents.
LKS Gym T-Shirt Students are invited to purchase an LKS Dri-Fit T-Shirt. The shirt will have the LKS logo on the front and the last name of the student on the back (first initial as well, for students with the same last name). The shirt will be used for the following purposes: 1) Phys-Ed. Classes ~It will be an expectation in all Grade 4-8 classes that each student wear this shirt along with proper shoes and gym attire to all Phys-Ed. classes this year. 2) School Teams ~ Students who participate in school teams will be asked to wear this shirt for most occasions. This includes Track and Field, Cross Country and many other school sports. 3) School Spirit! There will be many days throughout the year when students will be able to wear these shirts to show their LKS spirit! These include days such as Terry Fox Walk, School Track Meets and other Student Council Spirit Days.
Lunchtime Milk (October to December) Students can enjoy a fresh cold glass of white or chocolate milk at lunch.
Subway Lunch (October to December) Students can order a sub from Subway for lunch.
The Lunchlady Hot lunches are available to be ordered for delivery Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please go to www.thelunchlady.ca to see ordering information and a complete menu.
Pizza Lunch This will be available for purchase online by Friday. Our first Pizza Lunch is Friday, October 4th.
Terry Fox Cookie Order (October to December) In support of our annual Terry Fox Campaign, our Terry Foxers will be selling delicious, nut-free cookies from Terra Cotta Cookie Company. Cookies will be delivered every Wednesday. There are many delicious varieties to choose from.
5. Beginning of the Year Forms
Start of the year forms such as consent packages, medical information and more, will now be completed online. This new model is easy, simple and secure and will help streamline the process of a number of standard forms as well as save paper and resources. All parents will or have already received an e-mail from the TDSB with this information and more specifics should be coming shortly.
That should do it for now. Looking forward to working with all of you this year!
John, Kimm, and the entire LKS Staff
LKS Parent Council 