Upper School College Blog – Friday, May 21, 2021

On By Havergal Upper School

Latest News

Vaccination Updates for Children 12 and Over

  • The COVID-19 vaccination roll-out is a government/public health directed initiative and currently there are several pop-up clinics for youth aged 12+ in public spaces such as community centres, arenas, public school spaces. As the vaccine roll-out progresses we will continue to collaborate with our public health unit to facilitate vaccination within our school community. 
  • Beginning the week of May 31, youth between the ages of 12 and 17 who have not received a vaccine will be eligible to book an appointment to receive their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
  • We encourage you to get your child vaccinated when available and continue to monitor updates about vaccination opportunities for individuals aged 12+ through Toronto Public Health and organizations such as Vaccine Hunters Canada. 

Please note that Toronto Public Health has asked that the following documents are shared with you:

Legacy Prayers May 28, 12:20 AM – 12:50 PM

The Upper School Legacy Prayers will be held on May 28 from 12:20 to 12:50 pm. For your reference, the zoom link is included below. Legacy Prayers will celebrate the long-standing relationship with the school between Old Girls who are current parents and their daughters. 

Guest speakers, Louise Stevenson 1985 and Allyson Whyte Nowak 1986 will share their experiences at Havergal College and reflect on the school values of integrity, inquiry, compassion and courage. 

Zoom Meeting:

https://havergal.zoom.us/j/93841485101?pwd=UHcxNVhQMTNkTmcwcVdCQ3lUc05sQT09 Meeting ID: 938 4148 5101 – Passcode: 570566

House Shout is now ‘House Whisper’ May 28, 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM

This year House Whisper will be taking the place of House Shout. It promises to be a fun-filled afternoon of House challenges and photo scavenger hunts. This event for students in Grades 7-12 will take place on Friday, May 28 from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. At 1:30 pm students will meet in their House Zoom and students will join activities they have signed up for such as: digital escape room, athletic challenge, cooking challenge, Jeopardy, Spelling Bee, and Scattergories. Following the activities, students will participate in a photo scavenger hunt and will upload their photos to their designated House folder. The House Captains have been hard at work organizing this and we are thankful for their creativity and dedication.

Grade 7/8 Immunization Update

As previously communicated, the Toronto Public Health (TPH) grade 7 and 8 school vaccination program was cancelled for the 2020/2021 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this vaccination program TPH typically provides the meningococcal vaccine, the hepatitis B vaccination series, and the human papillomavirus vaccination series to students in Grade 7 and 8 in schools. With the cancellation of this program, many students have not received any of these vaccinations, or have only received one dose of their two dose Hep B or HPV vaccine series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto Public Health has not yet provided any information about when they will resume the grade 7 and 8 vaccination program and is not currently offering any catch-up clinics to administer the vaccines typically given in schools. 

Primary care providers and family doctors can order and administer the meningococcal, Hep B and HPV vaccinations from TPH for any students who have not already started or have not completed their Hep B, HPV or Meningococcal vaccines. Healthy individuals between the ages of 9 and 14 only require two doses of the HPV vaccine. When individuals are 15 years and older, they require a three dose schedule of the HPV vaccine series. Similarly, between the ages of 11 and 15, students may be given two doses of the Hep B vaccination series, whereas they require three doses over the age of 16. We encourage you to reach out to your child’s family doctor or primary care provider to obtain these immunizations to avoid delaying this essential health service while the school vaccination program is not running. 

Please keep in mind that the Ontario College of Family Physicians recommends that the COVID-19 vaccination not be given at the same time as other routine vaccinations, so that side effects from one vaccine are not confused with side effects of another vaccination. Other vaccinations should not be given within the 14 days before a COVID-19 vaccine, and individuals should also wait 28 days following the COVID-19 vaccination to receive any other immunizations.

If you are unable to have these immunizations administered by your family doctor or primary care provider at this time, rest assured that TPH will have some form of catch-up clinic in the future, however we do not have any information on what the structure of what these catch up immunization programs will be. 

Upcoming Parent Events

Thursday, May 27, 6:30 – 8:30 PM – An Evening with Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe

  • Parents of students in Grade JK to 12 are invited to an informative session by Dr. Robyne Hanley Dafoe. She is a multi-award-winning psychology and education instructor who specializes in resiliency, navigating stress and change, and personal wellness in the workplace. 
  • Dr. Hanley-Dafoe will also be speaking to Grade 7-12 students in the morning and she will share the insights learned through the student presentation with the parents in the evening. 
  • Please visit the link to her Bio: https://www.speakers.ca/speakers/robyne-hanley-dafoe/
  • Link to webinar is:  HERE    Webinar ID: 932 26675 2578     Passcode: 801982

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