The Gator Gazette Sept. 22-26

Safety Week - 2025

The York Region School Board is committed to ensuring the safety of students, staff, and visitors in the event of an emergency situation. As such, during Safety Week (Monday, September 22 to Friday, October 3, 2025) and throughout the school year, schools in our Board practise various safety drills, including Fire Drills, Lockdown Drills, Hold and Secure Drills and Bomb Threat Drills. It is critical that all members of our school community become familiar with emergency protocols as they are designed to keep all of us safe at school. Please refer to Board Policy #669.0 for more information about Emergency Preparedness and Crisis Management.

Practising drills may create some anxiety for some students. If you are concerned about how these situations might impact the mental health and well-being of your child, please contact school administrators, as we have school mental health professionals available to support your child.

Contact Information

We ask families to ensure the school office has the most up-to-date contact information. This is important in case of emergency situations. If your contact information has changed, please notify the school office. 

School Cash Online

A reminder that Phoebe Gilman uses School Cash Online to process payments being made to the school including hot lunches, school trips and other exciting opportunities. It takes less than 5 minutes to register and you can choose your preferred language by selecting Google Translate. Click here for more information. If you need more support, please email the office at phoebe.gilman.ps@yrdsb.ca

School Start-Up Forms

Parents/guardians received an email from YRDSB Update with instructions to complete start-up forms. It is important that these forms are completed as soon as possible at the start of the school year as they contain information and permissions. 

The forms can be found in the family dashboard at family.yrdsb.ca.  Click on the arrow by your child’s name and select the start-up forms button. You can choose your language. Please follow these steps for each child.  Forms will automatically populate with your child’s information through the Dashboard. 

Learn how to create a Family Dashboard account if you do not have one. 

The forms are also available online at https://startupforms.yrdsb.ca. You will need your child’s student number.  Tips are available on the Board website. Translation is also available on the website. 

Please note:  You must complete a separate form for each child attending school. If you prefer to complete the forms on paper or have questions about the information in the forms, please contact the school office. 

Terry Fox Run - September 25 

In honour of Terry Fox Day, Phoebe Gilman P.S. staff & students will be running /walking on September 25^th. Each year, we run /walk to continue his legacy in the fight against cancer. The Terry Fox Foundation is a national investor in cancer research, directing over $17 million to its programs last year.

Let’s Get Walking!

Celebrate active modes of transportation like walking and wheeling along with other students and staff across Ontario during IWALK Month, which officially kicks off Wednesday, October 1, 2025.

International Walk to School Month (IWALK) is an annual celebration of active transportation that takes place around the world throughout the month of October.

 When walking to school, here are important safety tips to remember:

• Look all ways before you cross the street. Always STOP, LOOK and LISTEN before crossing.
• Always cross at designated intersections and crosswalks, where possible.
• Before crossing, stop at the curb and make eye contact with drivers – make sure they see you.
• Obey all traffic signals and signs.
• Stay alert and minimize distractions – place cell phones and headsets in your bag
• Always walk on a sidewalk, where possible.

 For anyone who cannot walk or cycle to school every day, we encourage you to try choosing an active mode of travel two or three times a week. If you drive, consider parking a few blocks away and walking the rest of the way. Even using active travel a few times a week can make a big difference.

If you choose to drive, please be mindful of students who walk and cycle, drive slowly and be highly vigilant of your surroundings. If your child is eligible for the bus/student transportation, have them walk to the bus stop. Riding the bus is sustainable!

Benefits of Active School Travel

• improve physical and mental health and academic achievement

• encourage social interaction and build connections

• develop road safety skills

• develop lifelong healthy habits

• improve air quality, traffic congestion and safety around school zones

• parents and family members meet other families in your neighbourhood and at the school

• give you additional time to connect with your child

• enhance the sense of community in our neighbourhood

 For more information about IWALK Month please visit, Ontario Active School Travel IWALK Month.

Grade 8 Open House

The Grade 8 Open House Information Nights for 2025-2026 are published on the WWW. Open Houses are held from September 17, 2025 to December 10, 2025. 

Chippewas of Georgina Island Pow Wow September 27 & 28, 2025 at Sutton District High School.

PowWow 2025  

Hot Lunches with Lunchbox- OPEN for ORDERS! 

Hot lunches will be ordered using Lunchbox again this year and will start the week of September 22.  Lunch can be ordered weekly or in advance for any number of days within the school year. There will be a slight change in the cost and ordering of pizza this year as we are returning to individual boxes for students. 

Ordering will be done using your SchoolCash Online credentials. Please see below for more information and stay tuned for further start-up dates and details.

Orange Shirt Day Family Event

The First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Education Team is inviting self-identified students, families, and staff for an evening gathering to build connections and learn about supports and services available to families and students. Attendees will be invited to create an Orange Shirt Day pin and engage in teachings with a knowledge holder. All Ages Welcome. Snacks will be provided.

Date: Thursday, September 25, 2025 | Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Location: Education Support Centre, 39 Dunning Avenue, Aurora

For more details, please see our event flyer. Please register by Wednesday, September 24, 2025. For more information, please contact the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Education Team at indigenous.education@yrdsb.ca.

Women’s History Month

In 1992, the Government of Canada proclaimed October as Women’s History Month. This month is dedicated to honour and recognize girls and women of the past, present and future who work collectively to create inclusive and equitable environments. 

Korean Heritage Month

The month of October is Korean Heritage Month as proclaimed by the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario in 2017. Ontario is home to approximately 80,000 Korean Canadians. The migration of Koreans to Ontario began after the Second World War (1939-1945) and Korean War (1950-1953).

Korean Canadians have and continue to make important contributions to the economic, political, social and cultural fabric of Ontario’s society.

 Hungarian Heritage Month

The month of October is Hungarian Heritage Month as proclaimed by the Legislative of the Province of Ontario in 2022.

After the Hungarian Uprising on October 23, 1956, Canada welcomed over 37,000 Hungarian refugees. Since then, Canada is now home to more than 350,000 Hungarian-Canadians. The Hungarian-Canadian community has made and continues to make significant contributions to cultural, social, and political fabric.

Latin American Heritage Month

The month of October is Latin American Heritage Month. As proclaimed by the Government of Canada, October is a month to recognize and celebrate the significant contributions of the Latin American community to the social, economic and political fabric of the nation. 

Latin American heritage and identities are vast, diverse and intersectional. People with Latin heritage and of the diaspora may come from Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean.

 Islamic Heritage Month

October is Islamic Heritage Month. The Government of Canada declared the month of October as Canadian Islamic History Month in 2007. In 2016, Ontario passed the Islamic Heritage Month Act to recognize, celebrate and affirm the significant contributions that Muslims continue to make as part of the vibrant social, economic, political and cultural fabric of this province.

 2SLGBTQIA+ History, Education and Spirit Day

The month of October commemorates and celebrates the impact that Two Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual and individuals with related identities have had in our local communities, nationally and internationally. 2SLGBTQIA+ people have not only existed, but been active contributors in fields including (but not limited to) medicine, the arts, and social justice, despite the intentional erasure of their identities from these histories.  This month is an opportunity to build awareness of the contributions the 2SLGBTQIA+ community has made in Canada and abroad.

October 16 is Spirit Day, founded in 2010 by Canadian teen Brittany McMillan to honour youth lost to suicide after bullying related to sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. Each October, millions of people across North America wear purple, the colour of spirit on the pride flag, to support 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and stand against bullying. 

Click here for the Persian Translation.  Click here for the Russian Translation. 

Please email the school if you need the Gator Social translated into a different language. phoebe.gilman.ps@yrdsb.ca