Feb 24, 2022

Concussion Awareness Week, Black History Month, COVID Update

Topics covered in this post:

children using plasticine — Gr4 creating the covers for their Ologies

JICS Concussion Awareness Week
Black History Month
COVID-19 Updates
1. Changes in the school
2. Vaccination Update
Late Student Arrival
Photos of Pink Shirt Day
Upcoming March Events

1. JICS Concussion Awareness Week

Monday, February 29 to Friday, March 4

The JICS Lab School has paired up with Dr. Nick Reed, OAK Concussion Lab, Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy (University of Toronto) to design and run the JICS Concussion Awareness Week: Monday, February 28 to Friday, March 4.

Research shows that concussion rates are very high in children, even with underreporting being quite common, and that children can take longer to recover than adults. Since immediate recognition helps with recover, our goal is for children, parents, and school staff to know how to identify and communicate symptoms. On Monday, we will begin with a presentation by Dr. Nick Reed to the children, followed by lessons co-designed by the JICS teachers to help children learn:

How the brain works
When to suspect a concussion
What to do next
What recovery looks like
What friends can do
The misconceptions we have about concussions.

In addition to increasing our community’s understanding of concussion prevention, identification, and treatment, our goal in our partnership with OAK Concussion Lab is to create age-appropriate program materials that will be used in public elementary schools. Currently, only high school educational materials are available.

TONIGHT 7:00-8:00pm

To launch this important week, we are asking that all JICS parents, teachers, and staff attend tonight’s (adult-only) talk: The Importance of Recognizing, Treating, and Preventing Concussions in our Children with expert Dr. Charles Tator (7:00-8:00pm)

RSVP HERE

Dr. Charles Tator trained in Neurosurgery and Neuropathology and was Chair of Neurosurgery, at the University of Toronto. He was chief of Neurosurgery at the Toronto Western Hospital, and was a founder of ThinkFirst, Canada, a national brain and spinal cord injury prevention foundation, and Parachute Canada, a national injury prevention agency. He held two research chairs at the University of Toronto, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an inductee of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. Currently, he is a Scientist in the Krembil Brain Institute and Director of the Canadian Concussion Centre at Toronto Western Hospital. His book on Catastrophic Injuries in Sports and Recreation was published by the University of Toronto Press, and his Practice Primer on Concussions appeared in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. He is the author of 437 publications in peer review journals. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurotrauma and the Neuroscientist and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Concussion.

2. Black History Month

A History of Motown Assembly

We enjoyed the school-wide (JK to Gr 6) zoom assembly on Tuesday with Krystle Dos Santos entitled: A History of Motown. Thank you, parents for your donations to the Patrick Harvie Arts Fund which serves to enhance our arts education and arts experiences at JICS. The children had a peak of the many hits by The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations and the Jackson 5 and had an opportunity to ask questions. We are providing Krystle’s playlist so that parents can enjoy sharing and singing these classics with your child/ren at home:

Dancing in the Streets – Martha and the Vandellas
The Tears of a Clown – Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
Freedom – Aretha Franklin
Stop! In the Name of Love – The Supremes
Baby Love – The Supremes
I Can’t Help – The Four Tops
You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes
Rockin’ Robin – Michael Jackson
ABC 123 – Jackson 5
One More Chance – Jackson 5
My Girl – The Temptations
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough – Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Marvin Gaye
You Can Feel It All Over – Stevie Wonder
Superstition – Stevie Wonder

3. COVID-19 Updates

a) Changes in the School

This week, we have returned to two grades sharing the recess yard, Special Friends, mixed cohort clubs, and sports teams.

b) Vaccination Update for eligible students (182 students)

All eligible JICS Lab School children must be fully vaccinated for the 2022-2023 school year and provide proof of vaccination.

1st dose: 6.6% (Feb 10 - 7.7%)

2nd dose: 43.9% (Feb 10 - 37.9%)

47.3% (Feb 10 - 52.7%) of students have an unknown vaccination status. Please log in to your SFO account to update the school on your child’s status. At the end of the form, you will find a link to upload their vaccination certificate as well. Please be sure to also submit the SFO form!

https://sfo.inresonance.com/oise-utoronto/index.php

4. Late Student Arrival

Being on time for school sets a child up for a successful day at school. Not only is punctuality an important life skill, it also communicates respect for the classroom community, the teachers, and each child’s own learning. Being late affects a child’s connection to the learning that is taking place in the classroom. Entering into a room where a class has begun and students are already engaged in the work, means missing part or all of the lesson and instructions, and can make it challenging for the child arriving late to transition and settle into the class. It may also create a disturbance for the other students, and draw the focus of the teacher away from the class. Sometimes arriving late throws a child off as they realize what they have missed, and may affect their sense of well-being throughout the day.

Our hope is for all JICS Lab School students to have the best possible start to their day. We find that it is ideal for children to have time at the start of the day to gather with friends and chat, sharing news with each other, and to be ready and waiting when the teacher draws the class together as the school day begins. The school doors open for (JK to Gr 6) children starting at 8:30; the optimal time to arrive is between 8:30-8:45. Any student arriving in the classroom after 8:50am is considered late.

New!

You can now log into your FAM profile to view the dates that your child has been absent or late. Once you have logged in here: https://www.jicsfamily.com/sfo, click on Family Access Module to view more details. Attendance is published here on a weekly basis.

We understand that morning can be a challenging time of day for families yet we know that arriving on time is possible from our experience with our “no late school entry policy” in 2020-2021. Please let Richard or Chriss know if you would like to discuss your morning routines and strategies. We are happy to help! Alyson Schafer, renowned Adlerian parenting expert, suggests that parents of older children release responsibility for their child’s participation in this process: https://alysonschafer.com/getting-kids-to-school-on-time/ . This approach requires parents to calmly get themselves ready and be waiting by the door for their child – leading by example rather than prodding from behind, a strategy which Alyson echoes in this article: https://alysonschafer.com/dont-make-me-late/. For some children, providing a simple checklist of what they need to accomplish each morning with a clock or a timer may help them achieve independence. And sometimes what’s needed to maintain a calmer routine is for the morning process to start 15 minutes earlier for the whole family! Of course, everyone is better able to cope in the morning if they’ve gotten enough sleep the night before. Here is a great website with information about how much sleep children should be getting each night: https://raisingchildren.net.au/newborns/sleep/understanding-sleep/about-sleep#Sleep%20cycles. However you choose to organize the morning, it is in your child’s best interest to make being on time for school a priority. We value our partnership with you as we work together to provide the best educational experience possible for your child/ren.