Safe and Caring Schools

Last week, students participated in our Safe and Caring Schools Assemblies. The Safe and Caring School presentations are designed to underscore behaviour expectations as we create a caring, safe, and inclusive school environment. As families are critical partners, please continue discussions at home about school safety by asking your child what they learned in the presentation. The topics included:

• racism and types of discrimination
• progressive discipline
• standing up for each other and including methods of reporting incidents of racism, discrimination and bullying

We also reviewed with students school routines including:

• bus safety
• recess play areas
• lunch time procedures
• cell phone & food delivery service policies

Thank you for helping us create a caring, safe, and inclusive school community.

Spotlight - Grade 6 & Grade 2 Classroom Buddies

We love seeing students across divisions working together! This week, Ms. Currie's grade 6 class partnered with Ms. Payne's grade 2 class in the library to read some books. 

Community Night BBQ & Meet The Teacher - OCTOBER 4

We are very excited to welcome back all our students and their families to our Community Night on Wednesday, October 4th. This year we will have a BBQ outside from 5pm - 6pm and families can pre-order food for dinner on SchoolCash Online (coming soon). Parents are welcome to bring a blanket and picnic on the field.

What would dinner be without dessert though? An ice cream truck will be here selling yummy treats for you after dinner.

Then at 6pm, everyone is invited inside to meet their teachers.

BBQ items will only be available by pre-order on SchoolCash Online (coming soon). There will not be any extra BBQ items to purchase on Community Night so make sure to purchase your order ahead of time on SchoolCash Online. 

BBQ Orders Due Date: September 30, 2023

Orders after this date will not be accepted.

Ice Cream will be available for purchase on site. The King Kone Ice Cream truck accepts cash only.

See you there!!!

Date: Wednesday, October 4th

BBQ: 5:00pm - 6:00pm

Meet The Teachers: 6:00pm - 7:00pm

Ice Cream: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

NOTE: ​​We anticipate that parking will be limited so please plan on using side streets or, if possible, consider walking to school.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening will go back to the school to support field trips, school events, guest speakers, and more.

Safety Week

The York Region School Board is committed to ensuring the safety of students, staff, building occupants and visitors in the event of an emergency situation. As such, during Safety Week (September 25 to 29, 2023) and throughout the school year, schools in our Board practise various safety drills including Fire Drills, Lockdown Drills, Hold and Secure Drills and the newly established Bomb Threat Drill. It is critical that all members of our school community become familiar with emergency protocols as they are designed to keep all of us safe at school. Please refer to Board Policy #669.0 for more information about Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management.

Practising drills may create some anxiety for some students. If you are concerned about how these situations might impact the mental health and well-being of your child, please contact school administrators, as we have school mental health professionals available to support your child.

General Supports for Emotional Well-Being:

• 310-COPE: 905-310-COPE (2673) or 1-855-310-COPE (2673) - available 24/7
• KidsHelpPhone: 1-800-668-6868, text 686868 - available 24/7, https://kidshelpphone.ca/
• Mental Health Helpline: 1-866-531-2600 - available 24/7
• York Hills Help Phone Line: 905-503-9561 Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. for children and
• youth (0-18 years) and their parents, caregivers or adult supporters. Visit www.yorkhills.ca for more information.
• Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/
• Black Youth Helpline: https://blackyouth.ca/
• Naseeha Helpline: https://naseeha.org/
• 2SLGBTQ+ Youthline: https://www.youthline.ca/

Terry Fox Walk/Run

 Dear Parents/Caregivers:

We are ready again to proudly support Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope at Aurora Grove Public School.  Our goal is to raise funds for cancer research. Let’s all use Terry’s message of hope and strength to inspire us during these challenging times. The date for our school event will be Thursday, September 21st, 2023. Our rain date will be Wednesday, September 27th, 2023.

It is our priority to maintain the safety of students and staff while supporting this wonderful cause. To help support safety measures in all schools, the Terry Fox Foundation has created an online fundraising page for our school, Aurora Grove’s Terry Fox.

How to Support our Terry Fox Run at Aurora Grove Public School

1) Donate online at: https://schools.terryfox.ca/33632/donate

·       Click the link above to donate or search for our school name at terryfox.org

·       There is no minimum donation - every dollar counts!

·       Receipts are issued immediately to donors by email

 2) Sending in a Loonie/Toonie during the week of Monday, September 18th until Thursday, September 21st, 2023.

3) Engage at home to learn more about Terry Fox at “Kids’ Corner” 

• Welcome to Kids’ Corner where you can explore, discover and learn everything you can about Terry using these fun resources. Fun for the classroom or even at home with your family – great for all ages!
• Share some of the fun and creative ways you learned about Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope.

4) Wear Black and Teal or your Aurora Grove clothing on Thursday, September 21st, 2023.

We are very excited to be a part of this year’s Terry Fox event.  This is our opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those suffering from, or impacted by, cancer - as well as build school spirit. We hope you will join us as our school community works together in the fight against cancer. Thank you in advance for your support!

Stay safe, stay strong and let’s support Terry!

Aurora Grove Staff

Spotlight - Kindergarten

The kindergarten students and staff were delighted to discover that the seeds they planted in the spring grew and grew over the summer!

Just look at our wonderful flowers.

School Start-Up Forms

At the start of each school year, schools share with families a package of information about the school. We also ask families to complete some important forms. These forms are now available online.

Please complete and submit these online School Start-Up Forms through your child's YRDSB Google account.

You can access your child's YRDSB Google account via a web browser. For best results, use a computer rather than a mobile phone.

The username is your child's YRDSB student number. If they don't remember it from last year or if they are new to YRDSB, your child will receive their login information from the school soon. If you or your child do not know the password to log into their Google account, please contact your child's teacher.

Frequently asked questions and additional information on how to complete the forms are available on the Board website under Family Resources (click on the "Need Help" link for Family Start-Up Forms.

It is important that these forms are completed as soon as possible at the start of the school year. There are both mandatory and optional forms.

Please complete a separate form for each child attending a YRDSB school.

If you prefer to complete the forms on paper or have questions about the information in the forms, please contact the school office.

Important Reminders for Entry and Dismissal

We've had a great start to the school year and we're so glad to see all our returning and new students' smiles every day!

A few important reminders to keep all our students safe:

• School begins at 9:00am with supervision beginning at 8:45am. We kindly remind families that all students should be dropped off no earlier than 8:45am. 

• As always, we encourage our families and their child(ren) to walk to school or park lawfully on one of the nearby streets and walk to school. 

• When parking on the north side of Stone Road, please ensure that you are parked legally.
• Do not park directly next to the bus loop.
• Do not block private driveways, parking lot entrances, or bus stops.

• As well, please avoid parking in front of community members' driveways.

• Cars should never drive through the designated bus loop between Aurora Grove and Holy Spirit during the school day (8:30am - 4:00pm).

• When dropping your child(ren) off in the Kiss N' Ride, we kindly ask that families drive all the way up to the top of the loop to allow for the maximum number of cars to unload at a time.
• When one car stops early, it creates a traffic jam that leads all the way out to Stone Road.
• It also creates a dangerous environment if children are let out of cars where a teacher is not supervising.
• The Kiss N' Ride is a designated fire loop and drivers should not leave their car while in this loop. If families would like to walk their children to their door, they must first park their vehicle legally and then accompany their child to the school.
• Families cannot park their car in the Kiss N' Ride and walk their child to a door. When possible, children must exit their vehicle independently. If families need to help their children out of their vehicle, once they are on the sidewalk, teachers will supervise them as they walk into the building. Families should return to their vehicles and exit the loop following the cars in front of them.
• Please understand that all families have schedules to keep and driving up to the top of the Kiss N' Ride loop is the best and safest way for everyone to drop off their children and continue on with their day.

• When picking up your child(ren) at dismissal, cars should not park in the Kiss N' Ride loop. It is a designated space for school transportation vehicles.
• Families are welcome to park in the parking lot or park lawfully on one of the nearby streets and walk to school.

• By-law officers frequently visit our school and will ticket all vehicles that are parked illegally (fire routes, blocking entrances, bus stops and driveways). The school is not responsible for illegally parked vehicles.

• Finally, please follow the instructions of the staff on duty in the Kiss N' Ride. They are there to ensure student and family safety and a positive start to the school day for everyone.

We thank you in advance for following these entry and dismissal guidelines. 

Indigenous Languages and International Languages Program

 

Lunches & Hot Lunch Program

 

Packed Lunches
Please make sure to pack your child’s lunch and a reusable water bottle in their backpack each morning.

We strive to be an allergen safe school. There are a number of students who have anaphylactic allergies. Please be aware of food that may contain allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and shellfish, etc.

Please connect with your child’s teacher if you have any questions.

Food Delivery Services (new this year)
If you choose to send lunch via a food delivery service (e.g. Uber Eats), parents must call the school ahead of time, each time, so that we are prepared to welcome in the delivery person. Without advance notice, the delivery service will be turned away.

Students are not allowed to order from a food delivery service.

Hot Lunches Program Coming Soon...

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be putting a pause on using the LunchBox program. Please stay tuned for details about our hot lunch program.

Edsby

If you’re new to the York Region District School Board or have not yet set up an Edsby account, you will receive an email invitation to do so. Invitations are unique for each person. Please do not share your invitation with a spouse or a friend.

Edsby is a digital tool that allows families to communicate with the school in various ways, including:

• Reporting student absences

• Scheduling Parent-Teacher interviews (in November)

• Communicating with teachers (if that is their chosen method of communication with families) 

If you require any assistance with setting up your account, please don’t hesitate to contact the school office.

Introducing...The Aurora Grove Team

Hello Aurora Grove community!

It's day 2 at the Grove and we would like to introduce you to our school staff. 

Kindergarten Team:
K12-1  Ms. Baumann & Ms. Walkley
K12-2 Ms. Fraser & Ms. Panina
K12-3 Ms. Meglio & Ms. Summerville
K12-4 Ms. Meyers & Ms. Donkin
K12-5 Ms. Di Cristofaro & Ms. Drodge

Primary Team:
GR1-1 Ms. Jeffery
GR1-2 Ms. Wolf
GR1-3 Ms. Breedon
GR 2-1 Ms. Aikins
GR 2-2 Ms. Tarrant
GR 2-3 Ms. Nugent
GR 2-4 Ms. Payne
GR 3-1 Ms. Chan
GR 3-2 Ms. Georgacopoulos

Junior Team:
GR 3/4-1 Ms. Serbu
GR 4-1 Ms. Rubino
GR 4-2 Ms. MacRae
GR4/5-1 Ms. Beal-Nacevski
GR5-1 Mr. Zunker
Community Class: Mr. O'Reilly

Intermediate Team:
GR 6-1 Ms. Currie
GR 6-2 Ms. Muzzo
GR 7-1 Mr. Macdonald
GR7/8-1 Ms. Blom
GR 8-1 Mr. Cuello

Itinerant Teachers:

French: Mme. Dekkema, Mme. Koros
Music: Mr. Nicolaou
Kindergarten & Primary: Ms. Kuk, Ms. Ko, Mme. Koros, Mme. Dekkema
MLL & Primary: Ms. Merchant
Teacher Librarian: Ms. Morgan

Educational Assistants:
Ms. Fortin, Ms. Li, Ms. Palermo, Ms. Patrick, Ms. Robinson, Ms. Stockman, Ms. Vasilos

Caretakers:
Mr. Adolphus, Ms. Baber, Mr. Diamond

Office Staff:
Ms. Hayworth, Ms. Lawrence, Ms. Tsukada

Administration:
Mr. Leang, Ms. Pollishuke

Message From Our Trustee: Melanie Wright

Dear families, 

It is my pleasure to welcome all new and returning families to school for the 2023-2024 school year. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and wish you a positive start to the new school year. I know it can be a time of transition for many, and am grateful for the dedication and professionalism of our school staff for all that they do to support students as they start the new school year, and create a warm, welcoming and inclusive environment in our schools.

The education of your children is a partnership, and we recognize that you are our most important partner when it comes to your child’s education. As a family member, there are many ways you can engage in your child’s learning, from speaking with your child about school and connecting with school staff to volunteering or becoming involved with the school council. You know your child best and we place great value on the relationship we have with families. I look forward to connecting with you throughout the school year. 

As your school trustee, it is my role to advocate for quality public education in York Region, and to ensure that our students remain at the centre of all of our decision making. The Board of Trustees has many responsibilities, including making policy and budget decisions, and communicating with the public. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns, and I will continue to keep you updated throughout the year on what is happening in the board. You can also visit our newsroom, listen to our podcast and connect with us on social media to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the board. 

This year, we are pleased to welcome our new Director of Education Bill Cober, who took on the role on August 1 this year. He brings nearly 30 years of experience in public education in York Region, a commitment to student achievement and well-being, and a strategic and collaborative approach. 

Later in the year, we will be undertaking a comprehensive strategic plan review. One of our roles as a board is to set the Multi-Year Strategic Plan that establishes our priorities and guides our direction as a school board. We will be reviewing that plan this year, and engaging with communities is a priority for us. Your input will be important and I look forward to sharing more information with you on this in the future. 

I wish you all a great start to the school year and a happy, safe and successful year ahead. 

Melanie Wright

Trustee, Aurora and Whitchurch-Stouffville