McKellar Park Central Public School
301 North Archibald Street P7C 3Y3 Thunder Bay, ON, Canada

A message to families regarding student transportation...

Happy Halloween from all of us to you!!! Stay safe!

Today was wear Blue day. Mrs. Graham thought it was crazy hair day. What great spirit!

The time is here! Please cast your vote for the door you love the most. Voting needs to be complete by midnight today! Happy Halloween!

Dear McKellar Park Families, With Halloween quickly approaching, we wanted to give our families some guidelines about the events that will taking place on Friday, October 30th at our school. Costumes will be allowed; however, students must wear them to school all day. In other words, students must come to school in their costumes and leave with their costumes. Staff are not permitted to help students get into their costumes and students are not allowed to put their costumes... on at school or take them off. Students must still wear their masks (Grades 3 to 8). Halloween masks do not replace cloth masks. Please ensure that costumes are comfortable as students will need to be wearing them all day. Students are not allowed to bring in treats for other students. If they wish to bring in treats for themselves, they will be permitted to do so. Please ensure that the treats are peanut free as we have many students that have allergies to nuts. We understand that children love to bring treats for their classmates, but this will not be permitted as we are following the guidelines outlined by the TBDHU to maintain safety. Teachers will be planning activities in their own classrooms. We will not be having a dance or a parade. We hope that these guidelines find you well and give you some guidance in advance for Friday's activities. Please do not hesitate to contact the school should you require further assistance @ 623-2289. Yours in education, Mrs. Giertuga See more

Every Child Matters

McKellar Families please sign up for school cash online. It's fast, easy and convenient. We are really trying to reduce the limit of cash flow in our building to maintain safety for everyone.

McKellar Families: Wednesday Sept. 30 is Orange Shirt Day. Wear something orange to show your support as we honour residential school survivors. Every Child Matters

Important information for Elementary Families: October 13 is the first of 3 set dates where Elementary students can move between remote and in-person learning.... Facilitating these moves is a complex process - class and school sizes must be assessed to determine if staff need to move classes or schools in order to maintain appropriate class sizes. Please consider any moves carefully and be sure to have discussions with your child(ren)’s teacher(s) regarding potential moves. Should you choose to have your child move from their current school location follow these steps: 1. Have a conversation with the teacher/ECE and school principal about the concerns you have with your child(ren)’s current situation and the reasons for wanting a change. Schools will work to provide solutions to concerns and barriers. 2. If, after those discussions, you still feel a change is preferred, contact your school principal directly to request the change. These requests must be made between 9 AM September 25 and 4 PM on October 2. We are not able to honour requests made after October 2nd due to the impact of staffing changes in the system. 3. The principal will document the request, and during the week of October 5th, new class lists and school reorganizations may occur. 4. You will be contacted by your child(ren)’s new teacher on October 8 or 9 and your child(ren) will start in their new placement on October 13, 2020. The next date to have your child move between learning environments is February 1, 2021. The final date for Elementary student moves back to in-school learning is March 22, 2021. Any questions can be addressed to your current school principal.

If you are keeping your child home because they are ill, or if your child is sent home, please follow the directions in these guidelines from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

To reduce the risk of COVID-19, it is important that students and staff with any symptoms do not attend school until they are no longer at risk of spreading infection. Parents and caregivers must screen their child(ren) every day and keep their child(ren) home if they have symptoms. Schools must send anyone who has symptoms or appears to be unwell home from school. If your child has any Covid symptoms, even if mild and particularly if they are new or unexplained, it is recommended that they be tested for COVID-19. Call the assessment centre for further direction. Please see instructions under the section "When your Child has Symptoms" at https://www.tbdhu.com/safereturn_parents regarding testing and when they can return to school and other activities.

Someone is happy to be back!

A huge THANK-YOU goes out to Mama's Sew Crafty for donating masks to our students!!!! Thank-you for your generosity! We are so grateful

ATTENTION MCKELLAR PARK SCHOOL FAMILIES. Due to a shortage of bus drivers, South 20 will not be operational before and after school. Parents will need to find alternate transportation for their children. Student Transportation is actively trying to recruit bus drivers. Our sincerest apologies to all those families affected. Please read below.

Screening tool for families from the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. Please screen your child daily before they come to school.

We are so grateful for the donations Tbaytel. The items will be put to good use! Thanks for your support

Attention Thunderhawks: Please see our September Newsletter. A paper copy will be given to students when they arrive. Students in Gr. 3/4, 4/5, 6/7 and 7/8 will start school on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Students in Gr. 3/4 are required to wear a mask. On the first day of school please come to the back playground. Students in SK and Gr.1/2 will start school on Wed. Sept 9. A reminder that SK's and 1/2's will meet in the front playground on the South side of the school. All students in SK-8 will attend on Thursday, Sept. 10. Looking forward to seeing you all!

Info for families...

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR THUNDERHAWK FAMILIES! School is just around the corner and we are getting ready for you! START DATES: September 8th Grades 3/4, 4/5, 6/7 and 7/8 (AS WE ONLY HAVE A GRADE 3/4 CLASS ALL GRADE 3 STUDENTS WILL COME THIS DAY. ALL STUDENTS IN GRADE 3/4 WILL BE REQUIRED TO WEAR A MASK AS WELL)... September 9th Grade SK and Grade 1/2 September 10th ALL SK- 8 students JK Staggered start. The secretary has set up appointments with all JK students. When you and your child visit McKellar Park School on your schedule visit your JK/SK team will let you know your child’s official start date. PLEASE: 1. Bring your own masks 2. Bring your own reusable water bottle clearly labelled with your name on it. All water fountains will be closed except for the water refilling station 3. Students will require backpacks, lunch bags and indoor shoes 4. Students are encouraged to bring in their own pencil case to store crayons, pencils in 5. NO MICROWAVES will be available for heating up food 6. Students must be able to open all packages and containers independently 7. Students will remain in their classrooms to eat lunch and snack 8. Do not share any food items with others 9. Parents/guardians/visitors will be permitted to enter the building by appointment only (other than emergencies 10. Anyone entering the building must self-screen, wear a mask and sanitize hands and report to the office 11. Playground structures are off limits Please follow us on facebook McKellar Park Central School for the most recent updates! We look forward to seeing you!

For our students participating in remote learning...

Dear Families, Please review this very important information regarding the start times of school in the fall! Students in Grade 4-8 ONLY will start on Sept. 8 all day. Students in Year 2 Kindergarten and Grades 1-3 only will start on Sept. 9. ALL students will start on Sept. 10. JK students will be contacted by their teachers next week for classroom VISIT to be conducted on either Sept. 3, 4 or 8. The Kindergarten team will let JK families know when their child's official start date will be as it will be a gentle entry plan. Please continue to look for updates on the LPS website and McKellar website.

A full transcript of our Return to Learning Town Hall is now available on our website: https://www.lakeheadschools.ca/return-to-learning-town-hall Updates to this document, as we receive them, will be marked in red font.

Updated School Calendars: Our updated school calendars reflect the changes outlined in our Return to Learning Fact Sheet. The Elementary calendar has not chang...ed. The Secondary calendar now highlights the start and end dates for each quadmester, as well as the new exam dates. School still begins on September 3rd for all students. For more information on the Secondary Quadmester Schedule, and to learn more about our Return to Learning plan, download our fact sheet here: www.lakeheadschools.ca/returntolearning See more

We would like to share the following letter from Ian MacRae, Director of Education, regarding the Ontario Ministry of Education's announcement today.

Congratulations to all our Grade 8 Graduates. Special thanks to Ms. Jonas for capturing these wonderful moments!