Safety is our first priority here at Bri-arcrest. The follow-ing routines help en-sure that your chil-dren are in a safe and secure environment when at school. Par-ents are asked to please support our safety routines.

PLAYSCAPE

The playscape is closed before school each morning, and throughout the winter. During the school day, the playscape has a set recess schedule for our primary students. After school, the playscape is open to grade 1 to 5 students who are supervised by a parent. If your child is staying to play after school, please en-sure you have your child in sight at all times.

Please note that staff super-vision continues to 3:15. Our staff will reinforce the school rules during this time. Stu-dents are allowed to use the playscape only if they are wearing running shoes, and do not have gloves, scarves or any strings on their coats/hoodies. Grades 1 and 2 stu-dents do not use the glider, and grade 3s may use it only if they are tall enough to reach it. We ask that parents do not

bring younger children to the playscape, and reinforce our safety rules when using the playscape after school or on the weekends.

BUS/ DROP OFF ZONE

The bus drop off zone on Ran-goon is used by approximately 10 buses. Parents are asked not to drop off students in this area

Don’t forget about the Kiss and Ride directly behind the bus loading zone. Look for the pylon and two staff members ready to receive your child eve-ry morning between 8:10 and 8:25, and look for Mrs. McKel-vey after school until 3:10.

If you want to park, the safest place to drop off your child is on Rangoon behind the bus drop off zone.

ANAPHYLAXIS

The 10 priority allergens in Canada include: Peanuts, tree nuts (cashews, almonds, hazel-nuts, pine nuts, pistachios, wal-nuts), shellfish, fish, milk, wheat, eggs, soy, sesame seed, and mustard. Some of these al-lergies require a child to carry an EpiPen.

Briarcrest Staff have had train-ing on allergens and administer-ing an EpiPen.

All parents are encouraged to take the time to know how to

use this life-saving device. Go to: http://www.allergyaware.ca/ for a free on-line course.

At Briarcrest, the most com-mon life-threatening food aller-gies are nuts (all nuts and pea-nuts), and seafood (fish and shellfish). Many food products “May Contain” these allergens. Therefore, it is imperative that children do not share food. We have continued to reinforce our “no sharing of food” policy, however we ask that you rein-force this at home.

We also ask that you do not send in food to share for birth-days etc. Instead, you are wel-come to send in non-food treats such as bookmarks, stickers etc.

We also ask that you ensure your child washes their hands with soap and water before coming to school, especially if they have had any of the above allergens for breakfast!

Our public health nurse re-minds us that handwashing is the very best way to prevent the spread of germs. Attached is a copy of Public Health’s Proper Handwashing that you might consider posting. Our public health nurse will be training student leaders to help encourage proper hand washing technique.

Safety Matters!

Safe Schools Committee

Every year Ministry legislation and the Toronto District School Board require that each school establish a Safe Schools Committee. This committee is comprised of staff, parents, students, and community members. The purpose of this committee is to address safe school concerns. Our focus will be developing good mental health strategies, starting with a focus on Gratitude, Grit and Growth Mindset. However we also look at all areas of safety, includ-ing playground rules, traffic safety, controlling the spread of germs and bullying prevention. If you are interested in being part of this committee, please contact Ms. Stafford.

At Briarcrest, current members of our Safe Schools Committee are Mrs. Reilly and Ms. Smart. B

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Volume 6, Issue 2

October, 2017

“Stay Safe, Work Hard and Be Nice.”

If you receive a letter from Toronto Public Health, please update your child's immuniza-tion record with us using one of the follow-

ing options:

Phone: 416-392-1250

Online reporting

Fax: 416-338-2487

If your child does not have all the needed vaccines, please contact your health care pro-

vider.

Perfect Attendance!

We are working to improve our attendance at Briarcrest. We acknowledge students with perfect attendance each term.

A reminder that students in Extended French that miss 15 days in a row are demitted from the Ex-tended French program. They must return to their homeschool. If parents contact us, we will coor-dinate a French assessment that they must pass before returning to the program.

Tips for Parents - How to Improve Your Child’s Attendance:

•Talk with your child about the importance of attending school regularly;

•Discuss with your child what happened at school each day;

•Make sure your child stays healthy by eating nutritious food and getting enough sleep and exercise;

•Help your child prepare for the next school day;

•Avoid family trips or doctor’s appointments during school hours;

•Support school rules and consequences for being late or absent;

•Show your child why education is important. Give specific examples of how education helps people suc-ceed;

•Make sure your child stays home only when he/she is sick with a fever, vomiting or with a doctor’s note.

Students walked around the neighbourhood and then ran around the field for our Terry Fox Run.

Snack time after the walk!

Terry Fox Run

Our Terry Fox Run took place on September 28. If you are interested in donating to this wor-thy cause, you may do so by visiting www.terryfox.ca/BriarcrestJunior

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Keep up with all the Briarcrest News by visiting our school webpage @ http://schoolweb.tdsb.on.ca/briarcrest/home.aspx

Follow us on Twitter

@Briarcrest_JS

Grade Four Mixer This month, all Grade Four students from our English, Extended French and Special Ed-ucation classrooms came together to get to know each other better. They participated in an afternoon of exciting ice breakers and get-to-know-you activities. We hope that new friendships were made and that students new to Briarcrest felt our warm welcome. It’s

great to have you here!

Boys and Girls Soccer:

Briarcrest has selected its Girls and Boys teams for this year's Soccer tournaments. The Girls will be playing their tournament at Rosethorn on Wednesday, October 11, and will be facing Broadacres, Princess Mar-garet, and Rosethorn. The Boys will be playing their tournament at Hol-lycrest on Monday, October 16, and will be facing Broadacres, Princess Margaret, and Millwood. Both the Girls and the Boys teams will be

having friendly games after school to prepare for their tournaments. We wish them good luck -- Go Bulldogs!

Cross Country

The Briarcrest Bulldog Cross Country team has been working hard! They're doing a wonderful job encouraging others and learning new skills. The first race for Grade 2-5 students will be on October 5th.

A special "shout out" to the following students who are really trying to push themselves to new speeds! Kai in 4, Daniella in Grade 2 and Kelly in Room 20.

Those who qualify from Grade 3-5 will move on to the West Championships on October 17th. Those who qualify from Grade 4-5 move on to City Championships on October 26th.

Congratulations to our new School Advisory Council Executive 2017/2018.

Lorraine Kratt and Julie Clements were acclaimed Co-Chairs.

The school council has already been very active, organizing the Corn Roast, Briarcrest T-shirts, Pizza Days, and the Chocolate Fundraiser. We had a small but productive meeting on September 26th. This year’s plans include a movie night, a professional sporting activity (e.g. Raptors905), and an in-school evening show. Other ideas are most welcome. We are always looking for volunteers. If you are able to help out even just for an hour or two during the day or evenings, please reach out to Julie at BriarcrestAd-visoryCouncil@gmail.com.

We are still looking for an event Champion for each of the 3 planned events to ensure that it is a financial and social success. The Champions would be in charge of organizing volunteers and ensuring tasks get completed. If you are interested in Championing an event, please reach out to us at BriarcrestAdviso-ryCouncil@gmail.com. As most events are repeats from last year, you would not be starting from scratch. We are happy to provide info and contacts to make it as easy as possible. Unfortunately, if we are unable to find event Champions, we will be forced to cancel the event(s). These are fantastic ways to get involved with the Briarcrest community

The Parent Council is still looking for a secretary. Please email us or call the school if you want more in-formation about what is involved in this position.

All JK and SK student in Rooms 1 and 4

Room 2: Liam, Renee Room 3: Alex, Nishika

Room 5: Nyasia, Thai Room 7: Claire

Room 8: Evora, Joseph 4A: Maggie, Daniel

4B: Cienna Room 12: Azarius

5A: Karis, Nathan 5B: Sarah, Nikesh

Room 17: Aiden, Caitlyn Room 20: Kelly

This month’s character education theme was Respect. Next month’s theme is Responsibil-ity. Adam, in room 17, was recognized one month early for exemplary responsibility.

The Social Justice Club will be collecting donations to support two orphanages in the Dominican Republic that have been badly affected by Hurricane Maria. Donations can include school supplies, small toys (not battery operated) and sporting equipment (deflated soccer balls, basket-balls, etc.) as well as monetary contributions. All dona-tions will be packed in suitcases and delivered by Mme. Bryson's family who are travel-ing to the Dominican Republic in mid-November. Donation boxes will be located in school foyer. Thank you for your support!

Congratulations September Future Aces

The Grade 4 Extended French classes featured original works of art in their Open House on Friday, September 29 in honour of Nuit Blanche. Students created Aboriginal inspired art and some pieces will be held in the display cases at the front of the school as a permanent exhibit.