Routines

Our school day start and end times have been established to coordinate with bus arrivals and departure times. School will begin at 8:30 each morning and ends at 2:50 in the afternoon. Nutritional breaks will follow a balanced day schedule, which means there will be two indoor/outdoor breaks, with three teaching blocks.

SAFE ARRIVAL PROCEDURES

It is essential to call the office before 8:15 a.m. if your child is going to be absent or late. The voicemail (519-942-9590 ext. 100) can take your messages 24 hours a day. Please supply us with the student name(s), class(es) and reason(s) for absence/lateness.

We follow the Board’s Safe Arrival Policy and must contact all parents of absent students, if we have not been informed by a parent of a child’s absence. Your call will save us multiple phone calls and allow us to ensure the safety of all students as soon as possible. All late students must report to the office for a late slip before going to class, in order to be properly accounted for on the attendance register.

BOARD POLICY ON SAFE ARRIVAL:

It is the responsibility of parents to:

  • provide current telephone contacts such as: home phone number, work number of both parents, number of caregiver, number of safe arrival contact, and emergency contact numbers on the student admission / information form
  • update the information during the school year
  • communicate with the school, prior to the start of school in the morning or afternoon, when the child will be absent or late for any reason
  • provide written permission for their child to leave the school during the day, and
  • inform the school when their child will be returning after an absence of more than one day.

SAFE DEPARTURE

If it is necessary for a child to leave early, or to leave for a period during the day for an appointment, an email or phone call must be given to the office or classroom teacher. At this time, we request that you call the office when you arrive at the school and a staff member will meet you at the front doors for pick-up. 

SUPERVISION

Yard supervision starts at 8:15 am, which is 15 minutes before classes begin at 8:30 am. Please do not send your child to school before that time, as we do not support students to be unsupervised on the school grounds. There is no yard supervision after school. 

ATTENDANCE, ABSENCES AND LATES

Consistent school attendance and punctuality are important to maximize school achievement, and are good habits to develop. Attendance is taken in the morning and afternoon, of each school day. Students are marked late or absent if they are not in class on time. Students arriving late must check-in at the school office so that the official attendance register can be amended. 

EXPECTATIONS FOR ATTENDANCE

The Education Act and regulations outline expectations for school attendance. Children of compulsory school age are required to attend every school day unless excused. It is the duty of the parent to ensure the child attends school as required and to provide the school with reasons for absence.

EXTENDED ABSENCES DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR AND HOMEWORK

It is the expectation that students will attend school on scheduled school days and take holidays according to the school year calendar.  We do however understand that this is not always possible. If parents choose to take their child(ren) out of school at times other than school holidays, the school cannot provide academic activities that replicate the missed schoolwork.  Parents are encouraged to plan activities such as daily writing in journals or travel logs, reading, mathematics, science and technology activities.

Another excellent source of excellent learning activities and assignments can be located on the www.ugdsb.ca/ug2go/ website. Your child will need their login and password.

VISITORS

We are not able to permit visitors or volunteers in our school at this time.