Inside the Circle – September 2, 2025

From September 2 – 29, join our Step Count Wellness Challenge for a month of friendly competition, healthy habits, and great prizes. Whether you’re walking for fitness, fresh air, or just for fun, every step brings you closer to your goals and maybe even the top of the leaderboard.

How to Join (3 options): 

1. Join the StepUp App Group
   • Download the free StepUp App
   • Join the “Circle of Steps ” group on StepUp by pressing the + sign in the top right corner, then press “Enter link to add friend/group,” then copy and paste this link to join: https://join.thestepupapp.com/dGjc
   • Once you’re in, you can see the leaderboard, track your progress, and cheer each other on.
2. Track and Submit Manually 
   • Log your steps in our Step Count Tracking Sheet
3. Email HRDept@circleofcare.com with a screenshot of your total weekly steps (from any fitness tracker, pedometer, or app).

Prizes will be awarded to employees with the top 4 highest step counts:

• 1st place: $250 Walmart gift card
• 2nd place: $200 Walmart gift card
• 3rd place: $150 Walmart gift card
• 4th place: $100 Walmart gift card

*All employees who accrue 56,000 steps at the end of the challenge (equivalent to 2000 steps/day) will be entered in a draw to win the participation prize ($50 Walmart gift card).

All step counts must be entered by 3:30 p.m. on October 3. Winners will be announced in the October newsletter.

Toronto International Film Festival

• When: September 5-9, 2025
• Where: King Street West (Peter St. to University Ave.)
  
• TTC Route Changes: 503, 504, 303, 304

Taste of the Kingsway

• When: September 5 -7
• Where: Bloor St (from Montgomery to Prince Edward Dr N) will be closed to traffic.
• TTC Route Changes: 300 Bloor-Danforth Night Bus

Cabbagetown Festival

• When: September 6 (6:00 AM) – September 7 (11:00 PM), 2025
• Where: Parliament Street (from Gerrard St. to Wellesley St.), and Carlton Street (from Parliament St. to Ontario St.) will be closed to traffic.
• TTC Route Changes: 65, 506, 365, 306

Constantine Yorkville Run

• When: September 7 (8am to 11am)
• Where: Bay St (from Davenport to College), College St (from Bay to Spadina), Spadina (from College to Bloor), Bloor St (from Spadina to Bay) will be closed to traffic.
• TTC Route Changes: 13 Avenue Rd, 506 Carlton, 94A to Ossington Stn, 19 Bay

Appointments must be booked through Circle of Care Training Hub or by calling 905-272-9214 or by texting 647‑496‑5189 with the following details (full name, email address, training location, and preferred session time).

Important Reminders:

• Please arrive 15 minutes before your training session starts.
• After booking, speak with your Service Coordinator if you need help rescheduling or have client conflicts. Try to choose a time when you have no client visits.
• Your schedule will be marked as unavailable during training. No need to sign in via phone.
• You’ll be paid 4 hours for CPR training and 1 hour for mask fit. This will be added to your schedule 1–2 weeks after the session and listed as ‘Miscellaneous’ on your paystub.
• All bookings and cancellations must be done through the online portal. You’ll receive confirmation and reminders via email/text.

Circle of Care has policies to stop workplace violence, harassment, hate, and discrimination.
If you see or experience any of these at work or during work hours, tell your Supervisor or Human Resources. We have steps in place to handle and follow up on all reports.

You can read more about our policies here:

• Workplace Violence
• Workplace Harassment
• Discrimination Policy

If you want to report violence, harassment, discrimination, or hate anonymously, you can click here to fill out a confidential form. Your report is important, and we will treat it with care and respect.

• When: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (12:00 PM)
• Where: Online (Zoom)

As the weather get colder and the leaves start to change colours, fall is a great time to enjoy nature and get some exercise.

Here are some of the best parks close to Toronto to see fall colours, all accessible by public transit. 

Enjoy a 25% discount on any GoodLife Fitness membership with $0 enrollment fee. To register, use your employee ID number found in your Dayforce profile or at the top of your paystub.

Questions? Please reach out to HRDept@circleofcare.com.

Ready to get started?

• Rewards & Contests 
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We are pleased to welcome the following new PSWs to Circle of Care:

• Nalda Barnswell
• Tenzin Tselha
• Janat Naluwu
• Britnie Morris
• Kechena Barrett
• Juliet Masade
• Edelyn Inoncillo
• Tricia Pobocan
• Priyanka Christian
• Grace Wanjohi
• Diane Bailey
• Myra Florence Abao
• Akhila Urumbil

Has someone gone above and beyond at work? Give them a High Five!

The High Five program lets you publicly recognize staff members for their outstanding work. High Fives will be posted in your weekly Inside the Circle newsletter.

To give a high five, just click on the button below or use the link in the rotating banner on the Portal home page.

Please note: We do not accept anonymous submissions for this program. High Fives must be submitted by an individual person, whether they are a staff member or member of the community.

If a PSW does not following the care plan, it causes problems for future PSWs because we have to argue with the client about what we can and can’t do. And usually the client will compare us to their previous PSW.

Thank you for raising this—it’s such an important point. When a care plan isn’t followed, it can create confusion for clients and added challenges for fellow PSWs. Consistently following care plans helps ensure smooth care for everyone.

The scrub top I was given is now old, can the company give us another one or the one we got was a one off?

Each PSW can request and receive two free sets of scrubs per year. Please speak with our Reception/Administrative team about ordering a new scrub top.

I am a PSW currently working full time, but for the last couple of weeks I am not even getting 40 hours for full time availability and my clients are also reducing in my schedule. What is the reason behind this? I am working with Circle of Care for more than 2 years so why I am not getting enough hours now?

Our volumes fluctuate based on the authorized hours the funder provides. There are often changes to clients schedules that impact your hours including but not limited to cancellations, hospitalizations, decrease of funded hours, vacation, discharges etc. We also have no control over how many new clients we may receive and this applies to all geographies. We encourage you to speak to your service coordinator directly to review your availability. It is challenging for us to respond to your specific inquiry on this platform as it is an anonymous post.

Have a question? Submit your questions or feedback anonymously below!

Please note that it may take us longer to provide some answers. If your question hasn’t been answered yet, we will get back to you as soon as we can.