Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year! Thank you for your patience with the ‘Return to School’ during a pandemic. This year we have 315 students registered at St. Joseph CES. A total of 255 students are learning In-Person and 60 are participating in Remote Learning!
To prepare for the first day of school, parents are responsible to check www.schoolbuscity.com to find their child’s busing information: bus number, drop off & pick up locations and times. Please write a note to your child’s teacher stating the bus number and tell your child the bus number. Please communicate with your child how they will be getting home from school on the first day and the days that follow.
St. Joseph is a vibrant and exciting school community however, some of our routines and procedures will be a little different this year due to Pubic Health and the Ministry of Education regulations. Please visit the YCDSB website to view the Re-Entry Plan.
Currently NO VISITORS are permitted inside the school. Parents are encouraged to call the office 905-727-5782 or email the Principal at Lynne.Oliphant@ycdsb.ca. It takes a village to raise children and please feel free to communicate any concerns that you may have with your child’s teacher or the Principal.
Your child’s safety is our priority. The teachers will be teaching the students about hand hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing. Routines are being established to ensure that Entrances, Exits and Recess time are safe.
Students in grades 4-8 must wear a mask and students in grades 1-3 are encouraged to wear a mask. Parents are expected to supply masks for their children. Please always include an extra one in their knapsacks. Please send your child to school with a paper bag or a breathable cloth bag for your child to store their mask during snack time, lunch and recess.
Parents are asked to please label all of their child’s belongings such as pencil cases, lunch bags and water bottles to avoid any incidents of sharing. Please label all of your child’s clothing so we can return them when they are lost.
All YCDSB schools are Scent Free now. If you are purchasing your child hand sanitizer please make it scent free.
NO Indoor Shoes: For the time being students are NOT required to have indoor shoes. (We will let you know if/when this changes)
NO Gym Clothing: Due to the small size of change rooms, our students will not be changing into gym clothing this year.
Standardized Dress: We understand that parents are reluctant to spend a lot of money purchasing standardized clothing (navy and white) with so much uncertainty surrounding the school year and whether the schools will remain open. We also are cognizant that parents are now purchasing multiple masks and pencil cases with school supplies which can be quite expensive. We are also aware that many families will be washing clothing after one use.
This year we are asking that parents do their best to try and have their child wear clothing that is clean, modest and navy and white most of the time. We understand that this is a pandemic and 100% compliance of the school dress code may not be possible for everyone.
For parents wishing to buy other types of clothing:
- Preferably navy bottoms (pants, shorts/skirt or skort of an appropriate length)
- White (preferred) or navy top –Please avoid brand logos and be plain in colour
- White or navy sweater/sweatshirt for cooler weather -Please avoid brand logos and be plain in colour.
Please Note Unacceptable Items:
- Yoga pants or any other brand of very tight stretch pants
- Denim or any pant that resembles a jean fabric
- No mesh shoes or flip flops
Civvies Days: There is a tradition at St. Joseph that the last Friday of each month is a non-uniform day. As with all Catholic schools, the students are to dress in a modest nature on these days.
Students to bring a Lunch, Snacks & Refillable Bottle: Students must bring their lunch and snacks to school with them each day in the morning. Parents are not allowed to drop them off. Parents are asked to send their child to school with a refillable plastic water bottle. The water fountains are closed but the water refilling stations are open. There will be NO Hot Lunches this year. Students are to remain at school for lunch.
The Grab & Go Healthy Snack Program is on Hold: For the time being we are going to focus on safety protocols and learning routines. Once these have been established we will consider beginning the Snack Program.
Life Threatening Allergies: In order to maintain a safe environment for all our students, parents are reminded that St. Joseph is a Allergen Safe School.
Within our school community there are several students who have a potentially life-threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) to foods, predominantly to peanuts, sesame seeds and nuts. Please ensure that you do not send any nut or nut products to the school in your child’s lunch or snacks. Information about other specific anaphylactic causative agents such as egg products, potatoes etc. will be sent directly to the students in that classroom
Stay in the Know: The St. Joseph Aurora CES website will be updated on a continuous basis to include important news, the school calendar, school forms and highlight school events. Make it a habit to check out the St. Joseph website and be sure to make http://sja.ycdsb.ca a favourite.
Frequent emails will be sent to parents via School Messenger. If you are not receiving any emails from the school please check your junk mail OR contact the office.
Follow us on Twitter @SJA_YCDSB for the most up to date news
May God bless you and your loved ones!
Ms. L. Oliphant