Southwood Public School

Southwood Public School is part of the Vincent Massey Secondary
Family of Schools

June 2024

Dear Southwood Families, 

It has been an honour and a privilege to serve in the role of Southwood’s principal for the last nine years! Together we have accomplished many great things! Thank-you for your partnership. It’s been an amazing journey working alongside Southwood parents, guardians, staff, and students. I take with me great memories as I come to the end of my time at Southwood. I wish you a restful, fun-filled summer and a great start to the new school year in September. - Mrs. Lowes

Thank you for the incredible learning journey and for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful school community. My time at Southwood has been filled with countless memorable moments. Watching our students grow academically, socially, and emotionally has been the most rewarding part of my role as Southwood’s Vice Principal. As I move on to new experiences, I carry with me the many lessons learned and the cherished memories from my time as a Sabre. I wish you all the best! - Mrs. Dugan

On behalf of the Southwood Public School team, we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to our departing staff members for their dedication to the Southwood School community. Congratulations to Mrs. Mamo and Ms. Dragicevic on their retirement. We deeply appreciate their leadership and commitment over the years. Their influence has not only fostered a love of learning in our students but has also set a high standard for excellence.

We extend our best wishes to Mr. Dunlop, Ms. Drouillard, Mrs. Hamadani, Mrs. McKane, Mr. Scherer, Mrs. Seibel, Mr. Fitzsimmons, Ms. Clark, Ms. Lopez, Miss Quinn, and Mrs. Tessier as they embark on new journeys. We wish you all the best in your new assignments and know that your new school communities will be as fortunate as we have been to benefit from your exceptional talents.

We are excited to announce our staff for the upcoming school year! Please refer to the staff section of this website for the tentative teaching assignments for September. We appreciate your partnership regarding class placements and assure you that great care has been taken in creating the class lists. Class assignments are tentative until on Reorganization Day, September 16th, 2024. We look forward to welcoming all of our Sabres back on Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024! We would like to wish our families a fun-filled, relaxing, and safe summer. Please check the board/school websites and Edsby for information about September. We will miss everyone at Southwood Public School! #SabreProud!

With heartfelt appreciation and best wishes,

Mrs. Lowes                            Mrs. Dugan

Principal                                Vice Principal

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May 27th, 2024

Dear Southwood Families,

Your voice matters!

School boards are required to conduct anonymous school climate surveys of their students, parent/guardian/community, and staff every two years.
In the GECDSB, we have developed our own survey with themes of school climate, equity and inclusion, anti-bullying, and mental health. The results of the school climate surveys will help inform next steps for schools.

Please use the link below to complete your parents/guardians/community survey between Monday, May 27th and Friday, June 28th, 2024.

Parent/Guardian/Community School Climate Survey 2024

The 2024 Parent/Guardian/Community Survey is also available on our Board and our school’s websites for parents/guardians to access.

As always, thank you for your continued support and participation.

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May 2024

Dear Southwood Families,

With the warmer temperatures and spring weather finally here, we are into our last two months of the school year! Many exciting things are happening at Southwood, be sure to follow us on Edsby, Twitter @SPSSabres, and bookmark our website Southwood Public School (publicboard.ca) to stay informed.

We are excited about our Readathon that is happening Friday, May 3rd, 2024.Students are encouraged to bring in pledge money for the opportunity to win some amazing raffle prizes. On that day, students are invited to dress as their favourite book character, wear pajamas, wear Spiritwear or dress in orange and blue. We have invited Director Vicki Houston and other guest speakers from the community to our school to share their love of reading with us!

We continue to learn about how positive FRIENDSHIPS and PROBLEM-SOLVING skills are the best ways to counter bullying! Children rely on the adults around them - parents/guardians, teachers, support staff, coaches, etc. - to teach them how to solve their problems. Students are encouraged respond to bullying by being Upstanders! Our students have learned that their voice is powerful and that together, all their voices will make a difference! This is a skill that will serve them well their entire lives.

May is the time of year when we start reflecting on the year that was and begin planning for the next school year. Each year, great time and effort is made to determine the appropriate classroom placement for our students. Classroom placements are a school decision that is based on careful collaboration with our school team, including sending and receiving teachers. Considerations for classroom placements include classroom dynamics, specific grouping needs such as academic, behavioural, and social needs, student profiles, personalities, gender balance, and the availability of support services. We always keep in mind the learning needs of the child when determining class placement. With this said, parents/guardians are invited to write a letter to our Principal, Mrs. Lowes, where there are specific requests regarding class placement based on what is best for a child’s learning. While we cannot accept requests for specific teachers, we do try to grant requests that are based on the learning needs of our students. All requests must be made in writing, dated and signed, prior to May 10th, 2024. If you have made the same request in a previous year and it is still relevant, please make the request again this year. Please note that all class placements are TENTATIVE until Reorganization Day in September.

Your Partners in Education,

Mrs. Lowes & Mrs. Dugan 

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A Message from our Director:

Dear GECDSB Families:

The Greater Essex County District School Board is committed to building inclusive learning and working environments where all students and staff feel valued, accepted and know they belong. No student or staff should be harmed by the words or actions of others at school. All members of our board community should feel safe, welcome, accepted and included at every GECDSB school and work site.

In keeping with these values, the following conduct is not permitted by anyone in GECDSB schools or in GECDSB environments:

• discrimination;

• harassment and bullying;

• spreading hate including sharing hateful images;

• the use of the n-word;

• the use of any hateful slurs or epithets; and

• reprisal (retaliation) for trying to have an incident addressed.

Students are not allowed to say, write or read out any version of the n-word (including with the “a” ending) and are not allowed to ask for a "pass” from Black students to use the n-word. GECDSB staff have also received direction that they are not allowed to say or read out the n-word.

Please talk to your child(ren) and make them aware that the conduct listed above is not allowed – this includes on social media or in any other context that can negatively impact the school environment.

All GECDSB students have the right to safe, respectful, and non-discriminatory learning environments. Students or parents/guardians who hear or learn about hateful or discriminatory acts or language should report it to the school principal, vice-principal or another staff member right away. When these incidents happen, they are treated seriously and addressed by the school/board.

For more information on addressing school-based human rights concerns, please see our Human Rights webpage.

Thank you for your ongoing support as we deepen our commitment to safe and welcoming environments for all students and staff.

Yours in Education,

Vicki Houston, Director of Education