Middle School - AUGUST 31, 2023

Dear Parents,

York’s Middle School faculty and staff are pleased to welcome you and your families back to school! Over the next few weeks, we will be focusing on establishing routines and building a community. 

Please see important information below. And please also consult the Family Handbook on YorkNet, which we highly recommend as a valuable tool for all parents.  

Timetables & Class Placements

• Student timetables will be available on YorkNet on Friday, September 1.
  An email will be sent alerting you to its availability. 

• Class placement is a long process involving a team of teachers who create balanced classes. Helping your child navigate their new homeroom placement is a step toward developing a resilient, inclusive and open mindset. Experience has shown these skills develop with each new challenge. 

School day:  8:25am - 3:30pm

• Students should arrive between 8:00am - 8:20am and make their way to their homeroom class. If possible, please have your child walk/bike to school or drop them off a few streets from the school, such as Rosehill, Balmoral, Roxborough, Jackes Ave.  Woodlawn and Farnham can be congested. You can also drive and drop your child off in the laneway (by the garage) between 1300 and 1320 Yonge street starting at 8:00am. Students are dismissed at 3:30pm and are required to depart from the front doors of 1320 Yonge Street. Please make arrangements to meet them after school at a specific location. 

• Morning snack and stretch break:  Students have a 10-minute snack break between 10:00-10:45am. Students are encouraged to bring a snack from home. There is no cafeteria service for morning snack.

• Lunch in the cafeteria: Students eat between 12:05pm - 12:35pm in the cafeteria. Lunch may be brought from home. There is a communal microwave for students to use. Students may also purchase food from the school cafeteria . The cafeteria menu is posted regularly on the school website. Students will provide their 6-digit student number to make purchases in the cafeteria. Students will receive their I.D. number on the first day of school from their homeroom teacher.  The business office will invoice families on a monthly basis.

• Lunch recess:  A break is scheduled  from 11:40am - 12:05pm and is a time to have independent /free choice to play on the turf, courtyard, gym, read, join a club which starts the week of September 11. The laptop will not be permitted during recess time.  We see recess as a time to connect with fellow classmates and release /gain some energy. 

• Lunch out: Grade 8 students may enjoy a regular Friday lunch out on Yonge Street. The first optional Grade 8 lunch out will be on Friday, September 8. Grade 7s students will have the opportunity to have monthly lunch outs and grade 6s will enjoy the opportunity once per term.  The HR teacher will be reviewing the guidelines with students. These dates will be communicated in the Flash.

Cell Phone and Technology Policy

• Cell phones are not permitted from the moment students enter the school until the end of day at 3:30pm. If students are found using their cell phone without permission from a teacher, the phone will be confiscated to the main office and returned at the end of the day. 

• If parents need to reach their child please call the school to relay a message.

• Students are expected to use their laptop responsibly. Teachers, IT department and the principal will be reviewing responsible digital citizenship and school IT policies regularly throughout the year.