Mary Honeywell Elementary School

Sept 15 - Sept 19, 2025

SCHOOL COUNCIL

The School Council held a productive meeting last week, and it was a pleasure to welcome both returning and new members. Council is currently planning a number of activities for students and families, with further details to be shared in the coming weeks. The next Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 14, and all are welcome to attend.

IEP CONSULTATION

If your child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP), parent consultation forms were sent electronically this week. If you have any questions, please contact our Learning Support Teacher, Christine Seabrook, at Christine.Seabrook@ocdsb.ca.

EARLY PICK-UP

Thank you to families who let teachers know when their child will be leaving early—it really helps with organization and making transitions smoother. If possible, please also copy the office at maryhoneywelles@ocdsb.ca when you send your email so everyone is in the loop. We appreciate your support!

SCENTS – We Need Your Help

We want to remind everyone that our school is a scent-sensitive environment. Despite previous messages, we are still noticing strong scents from some visitors. Because several of our students and staff have severe allergies, we kindly ask that you avoid wearing scented products when coming to the school. Your cooperation helps keep everyone safe and healthy.

DROP-OFF SAFETY

• The driveway in front of the school is a designated bus lane and cannot be accessed and used for student drop-off.
  
  
• The daycare parking lot is off-limits for drop-off and parking.
  
  
• Please consider using OSTA walking route maps to support safe walking to school.
  
  
• Parents are encouraged to park a few blocks away to reduce congestion.
  
  
• Remind your child about traffic safety if walking or biking.

BUS TRANSPORTATION

The Ottawa Student Transportation Authority (OSTA) regularly lists route changes and cancellations on their website. Families are encouraged to:

• Check the list regularly.
  
  
• Have a backup transportation plan if needed.
  
  
• Sign up for the OSTA Parent Portal to receive updates, including bus cancellations, and confirm your child’s bus status.

MEDICAL INFORMATION

If your child attended our school last year, you should have received a notification to complete medical forms if required. If you are new or did not receive the email, please use the forms linked below:

• Plan of Care for Students with Life-Threatening Medical Conditions
  
  
• Medication Form

Please drop off all medications at the office.

CELEBRATIONS INVOLVING FOOD

We know that many parents like to celebrate birthdays and other occasions with special treats. Due to many allergies in our school, we encourage parents to celebrate with non food items such as stickers, pencils, themed  erasers, or  other  trinkets,  rather  than  food.  Any  food  sent  in to  share  with students should be pre-packaged and contain an ingredient label. Please check with your child’s teacher before sending items in for distribution.

RESPONSIBILITY

Each month this year at Mary Honeywell, we will be focussing on a different character trait that will equip our students for success at school and beyond. You can read more about OCDSB’s Community of Character HERE. For the month of September, we are starting off the school year learning about RESPONSIBILITY, learning to take responsibility for our choices with our words and actions this year. Here are some ideas to help support your child’s growth in responsibility this school year: 

1. Brainstorm with your child something that they can take responsibility for at home ex: taking their lunch out of their backpack everyday after school, keeping track of library books, feeding a pet etc. Encourage them when you see them taking responsibility!  
2. Go for a community walk & bring gloves and a garbage bag to collect litter as you go. Let’s take responsibility to care for the world around us! 
3. As we get settled back into school routines, brainstorm together what kind of responsible choices they can make at school to help them learn and grow this year. Make and decorate a poster together and hang it in their bedroom to remind them of their commitment “I will…”. 

 

Check out our new lines!

We now have painted lines at the end of our parking lot to help with drop-off. If your child is in Grades 1–6, you may drop them off near the end of the lot, and they can make their way directly to the back yard. We kindly remind all drivers to move slowly and watch carefully for students when using the parking lot. Please do not park in this area.