Junior School Student Health & Wellbeing

The Student Support Team is a cross-divisional, multidisciplinary team whose goal is to meet the diverse needs of our learners in collaboration with classroom teachers. Parents are encouraged to reach out to any member of the team. In addition to the team members listed below, we have access to Occupational and Speech therapy as required. Referrals will be made through the Student Support Team.

Social Emotional Learning & the Junior School Counsellor

In the Junior School, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is taught to all students by the Junior School Counsellor in dedicated SEL classes. Additionally, SEL is integrated throughout the day by the homeroom and specialist teachers. The SEL programme, which is informed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence’s RULER programme, is structured to support student development in areas of relationships, self-management, self and social awareness and decision-making skills. 

In addition to SEL instruction, the Junior School Counsellor is available to work individually with students to support these skills. Referrals to the Counsellor can be made through teachers, parents and/or students. Parents are encouraged to reach out to the Counsellor if they wish to share any additional information regarding their child. The Junior School Counsellor will liaise with the Student Support team and external support services as needed. 

Junior School Learning Strategies

Learning support for all students begins in our inclusive classrooms where teachers differentiate instruction to meet the needs of a variety of learning styles. Our Junior School Learning Strategists support and advocate for exceptional students to help them access the curriculum and implement appropriate accommodations. Booster Plans are a York School document which encapsulate individualized learning strategies to support students who do not have a formal identification of a learning exceptionality. These are designed to ensure clarity for the student’s family and the teaching team as well as to track progress. These are reviewed and updated regularly. Student Learning Plans (SLPs) are formal documents written for students with identified exceptionalities. These plans include the exceptional identification, the student’s learning strengths, needs and the accommodations that are necessary to support the student’s learning. SLPs are reviewed and updated annually. The Learning Strategists are enlisted for support by the teaching faculty and/or the student’s family.

School Nurse

The school nurse provides direct health assessment and intervention to students experiencing acute or chronic health conditions during the school day, collaborates with school staff around health promotion and education and liases with public health as required. Parents are encouraged to reach out to the school nurse to ensure home /s school partnership on student health issues.

Allergies

There are a number of students in the Junior School with life-threatening allergic reactions called anaphylaxis. Typical anaphylaxis triggers include:

  • insect stings

  • medication

  • latex

  • and, most often, specific foods.

In order to protect children with nut allergies (the most common food allergy) we ask that when you pack snacks and lunches, you do not send any foods that contain peanuts, nuts, or nut-related products.

Foods that have the “May contain…” label are unacceptable, as are foods that specify nuts in the ingredients list. If your children have peanut butter or any other nut-related product for breakfast please ensure that they brush their teeth and wash their face and hands before going to school.

In an effort to provide the care that severely allergic children may require, the allergy is noted on our database and we post Anaphylaxis Alerts for these students in the staff room, in the main office, in the kitchen, and in the child’s homeroom. The students are required to have 2 Epipens with them at the start of each school year (each Epipen should include that child’s name). The students are required to wear one Epipen on them at all times; as well, we keep one in the office or homeroom.

Please note: The York School makes every effort to be a nut-aware environment. Foods prepared in our cafeteria do not knowingly contain peanuts, nuts or nut-related products, or sesame. sesame. We do not permit any sharing of food or utensils. The tabletops are washed between each lunch shift. In addition, we do have mechanisms to accommodate other personal dietary restrictions. Should you have any questions, please reach out to the principal to discuss your child’s needs.