Reopening Schools: Kindergarten Information

Kindergarten Registration

How do I register my child for Kindergarten?

• Complete the online pre-registration form
• Registration day is scheduled for Tuesday September 1st, 2020.  You will need to visit the school or set up a virtual meeting to share your supporting documentation and complete the registration process. By the end of August, each school website will outline the process for completing new registrations and available dates and times. Continue to check back on your school website for steps to complete your registration (this will be updated by the last week of August). 
• Parents will not be able to enter the school and are asked to follow school guidance that will be outlined on the school website to complete registrations. 
• You will be asked to indicate if your child will be attending class in person or participate in distance learning. 
• For more information about Kindergarten in the Upper Grand District School Board visit our website at https://www.ugdsb.ca/kindergarten/

If I completed registration documents for my child after the school closure in March, how do I provide the school with required documentation to complete the registration process? 

• School websites will outline their process for completing registration, including available dates and times for bringing in documentation by the end of August. Continue to check the board and school website for steps to complete your registration (to be updated by the last week of August). 
• Please ensure you have completed the parent pre-registration survey by August 14, which asks parents to identify if their child will be attending school in-person or participating through distance learning in September. 
• Parents will not be able to enter the school to provide documentation and will need to follow school guidance to complete registrations.

*Please note that kindergarten pre-registrations are different from the pre-registration SURVEY, and therefore all steps will need to be completed for kindergarten registration*

Getting Ready for Kindergarten: Information for Families

• Staggered Entry: Elementary schools are preparing for a staggered entry for JK to Gr 8 students during the first
  two weeks of school. This is a change from our original plan of only one week. This extra
  week will allow extra time for both staff and students to learn new routines and for new health
  and safety practices to be reinforced. To view the staggered Entry Plan, visit the Elementary Reopening Model.
• Visit your school website during the first week of September for any updates to school entry, including drop-off and pick-up information. 
• Busing information will be sent directly to families from Student Transportation Services Wellington-Dufferin. The new ‘parent portal’ opens on August 22, 2020.  Please be sure to update your email and contact info when the portal opens so you can stay up to date with all transportation information. If you plan to ‘opt out’ of busing for the fall please help transportation with their planning by completing an ‘opt-out survey’. 
• Schools will share plans for letting students know their class placements and teacher names in early September.  Please be aware that with organization in place to support class cohorts, changes to class placement cannot be accepted. 
• All students are required to wear a mask at school.  It may be helpful to practice wearing a mask with your child at home before school begins.  Consider where the mask might be stored during times it is not worn (e.g. while eating, outdoor learning time). We recommend small belt bags (fanny packs) or lanyards with the easy release in case they get caught on something.  We recognize that physical distancing can be challenging for three to five year olds. Children will be gently reminded and the rule of no physical touching (hands to ourselves) will be reinforced. 
• Learning activities will be designed for smaller groups and furniture will be arranged to help create some physical separation within the room. Plush toys that cannot be wiped down will be temporarily stored during the pandemic. Toys and manipulatives will be reduced where possible while still providing students a wide variety of play-based learning opportunities.  
• Are you planning to have your child participate in distance learning to begin the school year? Class placements for children participating online will be shared prior to the first day of school. These classes are created specifically to support Kindergarten-aged children. Opportunities to build oral language, literacy and math skills will be provided. There will be synchronous sessions (via Google Meet) with a teacher or ECE and parents will be provided with additional activities to support their child’s learning at home.
• Schools will provide direction through their website and/or newsletter for procedures on dropping off medications or other updates families may need to provide.  You may also contact the school office when it reopens on September 1, 2020. 
• Families who need ‘Plan of Care’ forms can request them from their school.

Junior Kindergarten French Immersion (JK FI)

My child is registered to begin JK FI this September. Can I hold my child back until January or until next year and not lose my spot in FI?

• JK remains the only entry point for FI. 
• JK will be offered both in person and online. You may choose either option. 
• In order to maintain your spot in FI students must remain enrolled and be participating in the program.  If you withdraw from the program, the resulting opening will be offered to the next child on the waitlist. Where there is no waitlist, students may continue to enroll in the program until the cap has been reached. 
• You may withdraw your child and reapply later in the year. However, this will be considered a new application and placement will be subject to available space at that time (within designated class caps). If there is no available space your child will be placed on the waitlist. 
• The waitlist will remain in place for the length of the child’s JK Year (so long as the student remains enrolled in a UGDSB regular track (English language) school).

My child is on the waitlist JK FI this September. Do they need to attend their English school in order to remain on the waitlist, or can I keep them home? 

• JK remains the only entry point for FI. 
• JK will be offered both in person and online. You may choose either option. 
• In order to maintain your spot in the FI waitlist you must remain enrolled and be participating in a UGDSB regular track (English language) school.  If you withdraw from the UGDSB, the resulting waitlist opening will be offered to the next child on the waitlist. 
• You may withdraw your child and reapply later in the year. However, this will be considered a new application and placement will be subject to available space at that time (within designated class caps). If there is no available space your child will be placed at the end of the current waitlist.
• The waitlist will remain in place for the length of the child’s JK Year (so long as the student remains enrolled in a UGDSB regular track (English language) school).

Visit the UGDSB website for more information about JK FI Registration.

Child Care Centres and Before/After School Program

• All of our Child Care Centres and Before/After School Programs (BASPs) are operated by third party Operators. Students attending a BASP program would be included as part of two separate cohorts (BASP and classroom). 
• Student attendance lists and information for each cohort will be maintained and available to public health for contact tracing purposes in accordance with all applicable legislation, including the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act . 

Please submit any inquiries about child care or BASP registration directly to the Operator. The board website includes additional information and contacts: Before and/or After School Program