Arthur Ford School Council and Home & School Association
617 Viscount Road N6J 2Y4 London, ON, Canada

Heads up FIREBIRDS Families! Firebirds Festive Spiritweek starts on Monday! You have this weekend to dig out all the stuff you want to don each day next week!... Participate as little or as much as you want! Show your Festive Firebirds Spirit! Full remote students feel free to share this list with your class if they don't have anything planned and join in! Please feel free to share a picture with us if you are participating!

*****LOST AND FOUND***** Where possible, lost and found items are returned to the classroom area if it is obvious which classroom the item came from. Items that cannot be traced are kept displayed for about a week before being bagged up and stored elsewhere.... Items currently in our LOST and FOUND must be claimed by Friday December 18th. Pictures below! Please see the email sent out by the school for more details and how to contact the school to claim items!

Hi Firebird Families, Here is a reminder for both the in school and at home learning families for reporting of lates and absences as well as signing students in/out for appointments etc. Use the School Messenger Attendance Reporting System:... Here is the link to all the information https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/parents/attendance-reporting.aspx Keep in mind that all the same guidelines apply for students in Full Remote Learning that apply when a student attends school in person. You can download the app or sign in via the web.

Passages 2020 is going virtual! LDCSB, TVDSB, and TVCC will be holding a virtual informational fair with representation from both school boards and multiple community agencies. The focus will be on supporting students with special needs through elementary to secondary transitions and to a variety of post-secondary pathways including school to work, college, university, or community. Passages will be providing information to families and youth regarding supports and services ...that they may access in pursuit of their goals. https://sites.google.com/gotvdsb.ca/passages2020/home

This is a great survey to just "check-in" with families to see how this year is going so far. Open for in school and remote learning families to participate. TVDSB families, students in grades 5-12, and staff are invited to share their experiences this year through a check-in survey.... Family and student surveys are available in 9 languages: English, French, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu. Please consider participating in the survey if you can! Survey will be open until December 4th.

Hey FIREBIRD Families and Staff! This is a friendly reminder that there's only just over 48 hours left to place your spiritwear orders! Check out all the items in our Estore at :... http://positiveidentity.com/spiritwear/arthurford/ We don't want any students, parents or staff to miss out! Orders will be ready the week of December 14th. Thanks! Spiritwear Team

#TVDSB STUDENTS: We need YOUR input on our upcoming EVERY STUDENT BELONGS survey! Go to www.tvdsb.ca/EveryStudentBelongs to preview the survey and send us your thoughts.

*Reminder* Virtual MEET THE TEACHER is tonight for our Firebird Families! Please refer to info sent out from your child's teacher to login and attend!

*Reminder* If you registered for this virtual event it is happening this evening!

FIREBIRDS Spiritwear 2020 info was sent out by email yesterday. Please check your inbox! Here is the link to the Estore for anyone who may have missed it : http://positiveidentity.com/spiritwear/arthurford/ ... ***Delivery/Pick- Up/Shipping options will show up when you go to "Check-out". Delivery to the school - FREE (orders will be sent home with students like we have done in the past) Pick-Up from the vendor - FREE Ship to Home - cost of shipping is based on weight Please email [email protected] if you have any questions! Thanks! Spiritwear Team

Dear Firebirds, This is just a reminder to please check the school website fairly regularly for additional information. With less access to the school for both in school learning families as well as full remote families we may be out of the loop with getting that little bit of additional info.... Today we are sharing the link to the section "Parents and Community Handouts" Typically this info may have been sent home on paper in backpacks or may have also been available outside the office. Please check out the links in this section...there are quite a few events/activities being offered that your child(ren) may be interested in participating in! Some are provided for a fee but some are also FREE! https://arthurford.tvdsb.ca//paren/community-handouts.aspx

TVDSB's Seasonal Art Contest is open! Students in all grades and programs from jk-8, secondary, special education as well as adult and continuing education can submit their original designs. Contest closes on December 4th. So please make sure you send in your submissions by that date!... Please check out the link to the TVDSB website for more details!

This week is Bullying Prevention and Awareness week at #TVDSB. Schools across the district are taking the iPledge challenge to #LIstenLearnAct. This year's focus is on anti-racism and anti-discrimination. Check out http://bit.ly/tvinnovates for more information.

For our community members, teachers, staff or admin that are interested in a Virtual Event for EVERY CHILD MATTERS. Consider signing up to share this with your class tomorrow during Orange Shirt Day! FIREBIRD Full Remote Learning Students are invited to also wear an Orange Shirt tomorrow!

For more information please check out https://www.orangeshirtday.org/

Every year students across the world participate in the Terry Fox Run at school! This year is no different! The RUN may look different this year but the memory and legacy of Terry Fox live in all that continue to fight with every stride to find a cure! Please consider helping to raise funds for this years 40th Anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope by making a donation online if you are able! Help our FIREBIRDS raise funds for the Terry Fox Foundation!... ALL FIREBIRDS are able to participate in the run as well as raise funds! Remote learning families can run or do an exercise during their breaks or lunch while our FIREBIRD Family at school do their run in October! Arthur Ford Families can find an email in their inbox for more information sent out by the school! http://www.terryfox.ca/ArthurFordSchLondon

Is your family part of the Full Remote Learning Program? Is your child's class using Brightspace? For families that are interested in learning more about the platform there is a LIVE information session for PARENTS happening tomorrow night. Wednesday September 23, 2020... 7:30 - 9:00 pm There are links to the info session, FAQs section, and videos about Brightspace and Google Classroom from April and May as well as contact information for tech support. Here is the link for more info!

We hope that our Arthur Ford - Full Remote Learners and Educators - had a great first day.....

If you have not had the opportunity to see Mr Waud’s Welcome Back Video for all students, in particular those students who will be returning to In person learning, here is the YouTube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=hM1xbBt6oj4

We hope the staff and students of Arthur Ford P.S. returning to school, in-person or virtually, have an amazing first week back! @ArthurFordPS

Hello Arthur Ford FIREBIRD Families!!! ***Please check your inbox for the Welcome Back Newsletter from our Principal!*** More specific info should also be coming from your child's teacher!... Thank you to all our Firebird Families, Staff and the Arthur Ford community for all your patience, help and support as we head back to school next week both in the building and online! *Additional information for the many different areas for the RETURN TO SCHOOL plan can be found at: https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/our-board/return-to-learn.aspx

Check out Heeman's! They are reaching out and supporting our teachers and helping to bring something green into classrooms!

Here are the TVDSB Elementary School updates...

***IMPORTANT*** Families have the opportunity to reassess the information given out by the Ministry and Board and switch the learning model they chose for each of their children and submitted earlier this month. ***Parents are to contact their child's school directly.***... Deadline is noon on Friday August 28th. See more

Here is the latest information from TVDSB. Tonight's Board meeting is still ongoing at this time. https://www.tvdsb.ca//COVID19-D/ReturntoLearn_Aug-25_3.pdf

For anyone interested in tuning in...there is a special Board meeting tonight.

The following is a video that was posted on the #TVDSB website on what to expect in the elementary schools for when students return to in-person learning....

With teachers and staff heading back this week we thought we would share the amazing services that the London Public Library is offering to help support educators!

Thames Valley District School Board administration and office staff start back today and we would like to take this opportunity to welcome back our Principal, Mr. Waud and the Arthur Ford teachers, admin and office staff...

A Return to Learn Update communication was sent out via School Messenger today by the Thames Valley District School Board and here is what was sent... The #TVDSB Return to Learn plan continues to change based on shifting Ministry of Education direction and they are working to keep families informed. You can review the Plan resources (https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/our-board/return-to-learn.aspx ) and frequently asked questions (https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/our-board/faqs.aspx) for the ...most current information on the TVDSB website (https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/index.aspx) Staggered Entry Based on recent Ministry of Education announcements, Boards are permitted to stagger entry of students up to a two-week period for the return to school. Staggering entry means that not all elementary in-person students will start school on Tuesday, September 8. This staggered entry will allow for more time to learn new school routines in smaller group settings. The staggered schedule for elementary in-person students will be determined and sent to families as soon as possible. Parents and guardians should be prepared to make alternate child care arrangements for the first two weeks of the school year. Return to School Confirmation The Return to School Confirmation received a response from 94% of our families. TVDSB will reach out to families who we have not heard from to collect information on their intention for school in September. Of the 81,000 students, approximately 69,000 will be attending In-person Learning and 12,000 have selected Full Remote Learning. Based on this response TVDSB are creating several virtual elementary and secondary schools that will be staffed by qualified Thames Valley teachers, principals and support staff. Mask Requirements Students in Grade 4 to 12 will be required to wear non-medical or cloth masks while in school and on school transportation. Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 will be encouraged, but not required, to wear masks in common spaces and on school transportation. Families are asked to please prepare your children for school by having them wear masks now for short periods of time throughout the day. The TVDSB will send further updates as they approach the school year and are developing a series of videos to help students and families understand what to expect in September. Watch for the elementary video on the Thames Valley YouTube channel (https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC7gI3i9uXKwj0U97x-4Z8dw) where all of their videos will be posted. Please stay tuned for kindergarten, secondary and special education videos. For further info please go to the Thames Valley District School Board website (https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/index.aspx) or #TVDSB link.

Here is a video to go along with the emails sent to parents and the information that is being updated on the Thames Valley District School Board website. https://youtu.be/uHx28M5KGhU

The FAQ section on the Board website is continually being updated. Please check it frequently for the most up to date information.

As you all know the Thames Valley District School Board has been sending out communications to parents and guardians on return to learning in September. A Return to Learn Update #1 was sent out via the School Messenger system and is also posted on the #TVDSB website. In the update #TVDSB sent to families their: ... 1) Return to Learn Plan (https://www.tvdsb.ca/en/our-board/return-to-learn.aspx) As well as a newly developed: 2) Return to Learn Community Resource (https://www.tvdsb.ca//Thames-Valley-Return-to-Learn---Reso). In these documents, you will find additional information on the #TVDSB learning models and health and safety practices for September reopening. We hope you will find this information helpful.

For anyone who is interested: At the TVDSB Board Meeting on August 12th they discussed plans for the reopening of schools in September. If you missed the meeting it is now available to watch on the TVDSB YouTube channel...