Huron Happenings – May 14, 2018

COFFEE HOUSE

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone on Thursday May 17th, beginning at 6:00pm for Huron’s first COFFEE HOUSE. This is a wonderful opportunity for families within our Huron School community to come and socialize, have a coffee if you want, and listen to some ‘home grown’ entertainment. Come for 15 minutes or an hour – come for as long as you’re able, from 6:00-8:00pm. See you on Thursday. (Just a reminder that children must be accompanied by an adult.)

BIKE TO SCHOOL WEEK

Bike to School Week (http://www.bikemonth.ca/getting-started) is a celebration of active transportation and biking and builds on the success of Bike Month (http://www.bikemonth.ca/news). Schools participate in Bike to School Week by encouraging their students to walk and roll to school, and by promoting the benefits of active transportation (walking) and biking. This year, Bike to School Week is happening at Huron and in the TDSB from May 28th – June 1st, 2018.

SUNSENSE

We are starting a new initiative at Huron called SunSense. It was created by the Canadian Cancer Society to increase awareness about sun safety. From now until the end of June most days will have high to very high UV ratings between 11:00am and 3:00pm. Although it is often recommended that children stay out of the sun during these times, we know that’s not possible, so the emphasis is on sun protection such as seeking shade, sunscreen, sun hat and long sleeve shirts. This is a good reminder to adults as well. You will see SunSense posters around the school (and one is attached for your reference) and teachers will be speaking to their classes about this issue. It is important that students come to school with sunscreen on in the morning, and bring some with them to apply before going outside. It is also recommended that students wear a wide brim hat, sun glasses and long sleeves.

Some key information to keep in mind:

- 80% of sun exposure occurs before the age of 18 years old

- One bad sun burn before the age of 18 doubles your chances of Melanoma later in life

If you would like more information see the following links:

http://newfamilyrule.com (great resource about making sun protection a new family rule. Just like we make sure children are dressed for cold weather, we need to make sun protection a new rule)

http://dcmf.ca

http://www.cancer.ca/en/prevention-and-screening/reduce-cancer-risk/make-healthy-choices/be-sun-safe/skin-cancer-facts/?region=on

Thanks for your support with this.

DROP-OFF/PICK-UP ‘PARKING’

As we all know, our parking lot is very small and often does not have enough space for staff and visitors to the school. We are asking for the community’s support in NOT using the parking lot as a drop-off/pick-up spot for your vehicles. On several occasions recently staff have had to wait, drive around the block and in some cases pay for parking for the day, only to come back to the lot and find spaces that were only temporarily occupied while someone was being dropped off. Please leave our limited parking spaces open and available for staff. For everyone to think about – rather than just increase the congestion of vehicles on the street (which we also recognize as being problematic) perhaps as a community, especially being a Platinum Level Eco-School, we could think about solutions such as dropping off a couple of blocks away and allowing for a little walk to school, or is it really necessary to drive in the first place? Alternative methods of coming to school are something we can all think about as we try and reduce our carbon footprint. Also a reminder that the SCHOOL BUS LOADING/UNLOADING area must always be kept free from vehicles! Please do not stop your car in this area during the times indicated on the signs.

ENTRY INTO THE SCHOOL IN THE MORNINGS

A reminder to everyone that unless students need to come into the office in the morning, all students and their families should walk around directly to the schoolyard and be prepared to meet classes when the bell rings. Students and their families should not be coming into the school unless there is a reason to do so. Families please be conscious of the fact that the office is a very busy place in the mornings and it’s not always possible for us to answer the buzzer immediately when it rings. Please support Ms. Vallely with this and let’s try and reduce the number of people coming into the building unnecessarily. Of course no changes for families coming to Superfriends in the morning.