Welcoming You Back
We are excited for the re-opening of the school in just over two weeks’ time. Along with our returning students, we would like to wish a warm welcome to 57 new students, 4 new teachers and our new Head of School!
Going into 2020-2021 we have new programming; including French for all students in the school, dance up to grade 4, and a dedicated timetable for a new Grade 6, 7 and 8 Orchestra. (NB: we will not start this quite yet but have timetabled it). Even with increased enrollment, our capped class size of 15, spacious common areas, and large outdoor spaces mean that we start the year with several advantages over our public counterparts, and even most other independent schools. We have also replaced all existing filters in the building with a MERV-13 system that is the gold standard for removing airborne contaminants.
During our Pre-Week of school, staff and faculty will be meeting to run through our opening of the school and safety protocols, as well as team building. A large portion of our time will be devoted to an inventory of our mathematics teaching and curriculum, under the advice of mathematicians from the University of Waterloo.
Our policies have been built in consultation with public health advice, school boards, and other independent schools, including the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (cais.ca) and the Conference of Independent Schools Ontario (cisontario.ca). We also encourage families to install the Government of Canada COVID-19 alert app.
All staff and faculty will be tested for the coronavirus the week before school opens, and we may look at periodic testing moving forward.
If there is any question of your child being ill, please err on the side of caution and keep them at home that day.
We would ask that all families read this message carefully; while we have tried to anticipate any and all questions you might have, we recognize there will be issues raised, so don’t hesitate to reach out to discuss any concerns.
What the first week of school will look like:
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 - First day of school
8:40-8:55am - Drop Off
Opening day your child may either wear the full uniform or the summer uniform (please see uniform guidelines). We recognize that our supplier, McCarthy Uniforms, has had a backlog regarding fittings, so do not fret if there are pieces of the uniform that you were unable to secure.
As you drive into the school, there will be someone at the gate who will direct you to where you should park and enter the school, depending on your child’s grade, siblings, etc. You may also drop your child off at the designated Drop Off Zone, which you may wish to do if you have a returning student in an older grade. If you enter the building please ensure that you and your child are masked; there will be hand sanitizer stations at the entrances, and teachers/staff will greet you, wearing Blue “Wild” tee shirts/Oxford Golf shirts. We will direct your son or daughter to the appropriate classrooms, where teachers will be waiting to welcome you and your child. To ensure good flow, please follow the directional signage and exit the school at the North entrance only.
Masks will be required of everyone in the building in all common areas; once in class, students from JK through grades 3 may remove them, while everyone from grade 4 through 8 will wear masks in class; this is the requirement as per the provincial ministry and the recommendation for private schools. As per all policies and procedures, this is a living document and will be tweaked and revised on a regular basis. Our credo is to be especially vigilant to begin and possibly ease up when and where it is indicated we can safely do so.
If your child is in grades 5 through 8, please purchase a bottle of hand sanitizer that will live on your child’s desk.
All students should come to school with at least two masks, and these should be changed and/or laundered regularly.
9:00-9:05am - O Canada and Daily Affirmation
Led by classroom teachers and/or remotely throughout the school.
9:05-10:45am - Period 1 and 2
10:45-11:30am - First Lunch & Recess
All students will start the year eating lunch in their classrooms with their teacher. After this, students may play outside and will be appropriately separated under teacher supervision. Our hot lunch programme has been put on hold until further notice. We will be able to microwave food brought from home.
11:30-1:10pm - Period 3 and 4
1:10-1:55pm - Second Lunch & Recess
1:55-3:30pm - Period 5 and 6
3:15pm - Dismissal for Pre-School, JK and SK
Mrs. Houseman, Mrs. Dorken & Mrs. Miller will contact parents with complete details.
3:30pm - Dismissal of Remaining Grades
We ask that families drive through to the designated pick-up zone, there are 5 spaces outside the East entrance. Identify yourself to our staff/faculty, who will in turn direct your child safely to your vehicle.
We recognize that there are several siblings at the school, and rather than complicate this message with specific family instructions, we will personally contact each family with how, when, and where we will dismiss your children.
NB: In the first week, we believe that allowing access to the building for families will help ease the transition for back to school; after week one, we require that you drop off and pick up in the designated Drop Off/Pick Up Zone to the east of the building. There will be staff/faculty to welcome your children and ensure that your child moves to their classroom.
If your child is in Pre-School, JK or SK, you may walk them to their classroom, provided you and your child are masked while in common areas. The same will apply to pick up. Mrs. Houseman, Mrs. Dorken and Mrs. Miller have some discreet tweaks to this and will contact parents with complete details.
Additional Information
Friday Tea, between 2:40pm and 3:30, is suspended for the time being. We are hopeful that we may be able to move to a Junior/Senior tea respectively, without refreshments, at some point down the line, but will keep parents updated with developments. This last period will effectively become a reading/play/study time at the discretion of the classroom teacher.
On the day that your child has PE, we would ask that they come to school in their PE uniform, which will cut out having to change in and out of clothes for that activity.
With The Oxford Hall and kitchen not being used for lunch, Mrs. Forgie will deploy some of this space for instrumental music, along with her classroom; she will contact families who wish to have private lessons after the first week of school.
If you are interested in our Before & After School programme, please fill out an application form; we are fortunate to once again have Marnie Bowcott with us in the morning up until the end of the first period lunch. Marnie worked for several years as a school nurse at Lakefield College School.
Since it is going to take some getting used to, we recommend you have your child wear a mask for some time each day before school starts—while colouring, playing, or during any screen time.