Dear Thomas B. Riley Families,

Welcome to another wonderful week at TB Riley School!

No School Friday

There is a professional learning day on Friday December 8, 2023 for all school staff. There is no school for students this day.

School Council Meeting – Thursday December 7 at 6:00pm

We have made a change to our originally scheduled School Council Meeting. We will be meeting in the school learning commons this Thursday at 6pm. We have some exciting events coming up at the school including our School Casino Night and we will be discussing last minute details. As well, the school will be sharing our School Development Plan for the 2023-24 school year along with school learning data to support this plan.

We hope you are able to join us.

Band Concert – December 14, 2023 at 6:30pm

A reminder that TBR will be holding a Winter Band Concert on Thursday December 14, 2023. The evening will begin at 6:30pm. There will be staggered schedule for performances. The Grade 7s will perform first, followed by Grade 8 and then Grade 9. Students are families are asked to exit the school following their particular performance to allow for flexible parking and for us to maintain gym capacity limits. It is mandatory for all students in band to attend.

Only two family members per child are permitted to the concert. We ask that you please leave small children at home if possible. Our space in our gym is limited and we will not be able to hold the concert if we exceed capacity limits.

Vaccination Updates

A reminder to parents/guardians of Grade 9 students to please return their vaccinations forms by Tuesday December 5, 2023.

Bussing After School

The bus pull out time is 2:38pm. Many of our students are congregating on the school lawn to socialize rather than getting on the buses so that they are able to leave in a timely manner. We are asking our bus drivers to stick to the scheduled times from Southland so that all students are not delayed in their return home after school. We would appreciate a conversation with your child about this, and a reminder that when the buses pull away they will not be stopped or called back. In the event students miss the bus, it is the family’s responsibility to arrange transportation home.

Student Code of Conduct

During Monday Morning announcements this morning, which are always conducted through a live teams link, all students were reminded of the school expectations for behaviour related to their student code of conduct. We want to highlight a few key messages that were shared with students, so that you are able to continue the conversation at home to support a welcoming, caring, safe, respectful learning environment for all students.

The key messages from announcements today included:

• a)Physical fighting, “play-fighting” and pushing, shoving, slapping, hitting, kicking, etc is in no way permitted at school.
• b)Intolerant, racist, and homophobic language, racial slurs, offensive gestures, and generally words and actions that are discriminatory in any way will not be tolerated and are grounds for serious consequences not only at school but potentially with our school resource officer.
• c)Students who are witness to a physical altercation in school are instructed to immediately leave to seek the support of an adult in the building. Staying behind to take videos on cell phones, cheering, or any encouragement of this behaviour is also grounds for serious consequences including suspension.

We appreciate any follow up you have with your children about the key points outlined above. It is important we are working together to produce positive change in our school community. We ask that you also encourage students to report all incidents directly to their teacher or school administration for follow up as close to the incident as possible so that we are able to respond in a timely manner. We appreciate your partnership in making this school a welcoming, caring, and safe school community.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Tiffany Austin

Principal, Thomas B. Riley School