During the course of the 2008-09 school year, our staff members observed large numbers of students leaving school grounds to go to local convenience stores and restaurants. Some concerns were: students were unsupervised at these locations; individuals not attending T. D. Baker were loitering at these locations; and incidents of poor behavior occurred, to name a few concerns. Further, often parents were unaware that their child had left school grounds.

The administration began a consultation process to propose this policy. This included consulting student representatives, staff members, School Council members, the Partners With The Principal Questionnaire in the February and March 2009 newsletters, on School Zone, and shared with all parents at our Open House in March. The feedback received was overwhelmingly in favor of supporting this new policy.

Students will continue to have the space available to eat their lunch at school. For most of the school year this occurs in our amphitheatre. Students may still make use of the outdoor areas on school property to eat their lunches and enjoy activities with their friends.

Our school store and vending machines will continue to sell both hot and cold lunch items, snacks, as well as various beverages so that students will not need to leave the school. If your child prefers alternative snacks we suggest you purchase these items prior to school and send them along each day.

We realize that there are students who live in immediate vicinity of the school and wish to return home for lunch daily. If this is the case, please complete the exemption form called Permission To Go Home For Lunch form. If you wish to allow your child to go off school grounds for lunch please complete the exemption form called Permission To Leave School Grounds form. These forms are also available in the office or on School Zone.