Family Handbook

2023-2024

“We C.A.R.E”

Hello and welcome to a new school year at Eramosa PS.

This handbook has been prepared for you to use as a general resource and reference.  It provides you with the opportunity to familiarize yourself with general school information and common school routines.  Some policies have also been summarized here.  All Upper Grand School Board policies are available at www.ugdsb.ca.

We look forward to working with you to provide an excellent education for your children.  Given the special circumstances of this year, we appreciate your understanding as we navigate a host of new ways of doing things.

The Eramosa school website is available to you at www.ugdsb.ca/eramosa.  It will contain information and reminders for you, so please feel free to connect with it often.  We will also make use of a number of other ways to stay in touch.  Please read about that in the “Communication” section.

All the best,

Paul Tribe and Eramosa Staff

School Hours

8:10: Bus Arrival – Students play outside in their designated area.

8:25 Entry Bell – Students line up at their designated door. – Classes begin.

10:05 Outside Recess – Students play in their designated area of the yard

10:30 Snack Time in Classrooms

10:50 Classes Resume

12:30 Outside Recess – Students play in their designated area of the yard

12:55 Lunch in Classrooms

1:15 Classes Resume

2:55 Dismissal

Code of Positive Behaviour

Our Eramosa Public School Code of Positive Behaviour is based upon the Ontario Code of Conduct and the Upper Grand District School Board Code of Conduct. This code ensures the maintenance of a safe and inclusive learning and teaching environment, where all members of the school community feel safe, comfortable and accepted. 

The school follows a progressive discipline plan that includes a range of interventions, supports and consequences. These include learning opportunities for reinforcing positive behaviour while helping students make good choices. For a complete copy of our Code of Positive Behaviour please follow the link from our web-site www.ugdsb.ca/eramosa or request a printed copy from the school. 

Staff

Communication

Maintaining open communication between home and school is crucial to students’ performance and success. To ensure that our school community is kept up to date, we will be posting important school news and information on our school website, which includes a calendar of events for the entire school year. 

In addition to our website, there are other ways to stay connected.   Following are some useful apps:

• UGConnect (http://launch.customschoolapp.net/uppergrand/), 
• School Messenger (https://go.schoolmessenger.com/#/home) 

These will help you stay in touch effectively since Agenda Books will not be travelling back and forth between home and school.  Every child will also receive an agenda book, which is a great organizational tool.

In addition we also use our Twitter Account @EramosaPS to communicate with you.  Another good source is the Eramosa Public School Parents Group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1816259111991300).

Teachers also send home regular newsletters with information specific to their classes. Each teacher also has a voice mailbox (see staff list) which is checked daily. Please keep in touch! 

Attendance – Safe Arrival

It is essential to your child’s academic success to attend school on a regular basis. Teachers present skills and knowledge that increase in complexity throughout the year and students learn through regular, repeated practice. Persistent absenteeism or lateness creates a genuine disadvantage for a student and is regarded as a serious problem. 

If a student is going to be absent please call 519-856-9529 extension 100 and leave a message (day or night) giving the child’s name, teacher’s name, and reason for absence. If a student must be away for an extended period, please notify the teacher (in writing) in advance. 

According to Upper Grand District School Board Policy, it is the responsibility of parents to: 

• Provide current telephone contacts such as: home phone number, cellular phone number, and work number of parents, number of caregiver 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. 

Any unexpected absence will be checked by the school’s office coordinator. Please call the school each day your child is absent or late, unless you can tell us exactly how long he/she will be away. Except when a bus is late, any pupil who is late must obtain a late slip from the school office. A note or phone call is required for all pupil lateness. 

When students are absent without explanation, parents and caregivers will be contacted in the following order: at home, at work, caregiver (if appropriate), emergency contact and if warranted, the police. 

Please do not leave children at the school before 8:10 a.m. Supervision is provided from the unloading of the first bus (8:10 a.m.) until the departure of the last bus at the end of the school day. When your child arrives, please have them deposit their backpack in line and join their friends in their designated part of the playground. Students do not enter the school until the bell rings at 8:25, unless they have been given permission, and are supervised by a teacher. 

Classes end at 2:55; at which time students who are going home by bus line up outside. 

• Please inform the office by 2:30 if you are picking up your child. Please have direct contact with the office coordinator.  Messages may not be retrieved, given how busy it is at the end of the day.
• If the school has not been contacted by the parent/guardian by dismissal, pupils will be sent home on the bus. 
• Students going home by car should be picked up at 3:10 in the front of the school. Please park on the road to avoid interacting with school buses.
• if pupils are being picked up by someone other than the parent/guardian, it is necessary to contact the school

For the safety of all at our school we require ALL visitors to always first report to the office to sign in when entering and to always sign out when leaving the school. 

Custody of a Child

Unless otherwise directed by a court of law, custodial parents/guardians have full access to their children and their school records. If for some reason these rights are restricted, legal documentation must be on file at the school. 

Students Picked Up During the Day

If you are picking up your child, please inform the main office.  When you arrive, knock on the front window and we will bring your child to you.  At this point adults are not allowed inside the school building unless for emergency purposes.

Visitors and Volunteering

At this point, volunteers and visitors may come into the school building.  If this changes, we will be in contact with you.

School Council

Education is a partnership involving parents, students, teachers, school boards, government and the community. Within our school community, joining the Eramosa Public School Advisory Council (EPSAC) is one way to become more involved in this partnership. Members meet monthly throughout the school year with the purposes of hearing updates of school initiatives, discussing ways in which they can support these programs, voicing opinions and strengthening social contacts within our community. There are parent and teacher representatives on EPSAC. Co-chair, Secretary and Treasurer positions are elected each September. We invite and encourage you to attend our monthly meetings which are held (usually) on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm in the school library.  For those not able to attend in person, they are able to connect via Google Meet. 

Transportation

The Upper Grand District School Board and our bus drivers consider the safety of students to be of paramount importance and will take all reasonable precautions to ensure that all aspects of the transportation system comply with the appropriate Acts, Regulations and Safety Standards. 

All students in junior kindergarten, senior kindergarten and grade 1 who ride on a school bus must be accompanied to their bus stop in the morning and met at their bus stop after school. Furthermore, for safety reasons, it is strongly recommended that all students enrolled in Grade 2 and Grade 3 be accompanied to the bus stop and met at the bus stop. For more information, please go to the Wellington-Dufferin Student Transportation Services website at: http://www.stwdsts.ca/ 

Riding the Bus

Bus transportation is an important part of our daily routine at Eramosa Public School. The safe arrival of our students in the morning and back home in the afternoon is very important for everyone involved. It is critical that all students regardless of age understand the need to respect and follow all bus rules. Please take time to review the importance of these expectations with your child. Parent/guardian support in this matter is greatly appreciated. 

Student Rules/Expectations for the Bus (visible on the bus): 

• Follow the driver’s instructions. The driver is responsible for all students on the bus. 
• Stay seated quietly while on the bus. Keep your hands and feet to yourself, away from others and out of the aisle. 
• No eating or drinking, chewing gum, swearing, bullying or fighting on the bus. 
• No transporting animals on the bus. 
• No throwing objects out of the windows of the bus. 

Riding the bus is a privilege that must be maintained. If a child is unable to follow the rules, the following consequences apply: 

First Incident: Driver warns the student and submits a dated written bus incident report to the office. 

Second Incident: The Principal is notified with a second written bus incident form. Parents are informed and bus privileges are restricted. 

Third Incident: Bus privileges are suspended for a period of time and parents are responsible for transporting their child to school. 

Serious Incident: The first to third consequences may be by-passed and bus privileges suspended immediately. 

Thank you for supporting our efforts to maintain the safety and well being of all our students on the school buses this year. Your attention and recognition of the importance of safe bus transportation is appreciated. 

A safe bus ride to and from home contributes to a healthy learning environment. 

Bus Patrols

All buses transporting Eramosa P. S. students have trained Bus Patrollers on board. The patrollers are trained in emergency procedures and attend meetings once a term. The job of the patrollers includes ensuring the rules of the bus are followed and supporting the driver. All students have a responsibility to respect and listen to the instructions of the bus patrols. 

School Bus Code of Conduct 

1. Follow the directions of your driver. 
2. Be at your bus stop 5 minutes before your pickup time. 
3. Stay seated while the bus is in motion. 
4. No smoking, eating, chewing gum or swearing. 
5. Keep books, lunch boxes, and other bulky items on your lap. 
6. Students are responsible for any deliberate damage done to the bus. 
7. Whenever possible, leave the last row of seats vacant. 

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities 

• The safety and conduct of their children at bus pick-up points. 
• Determining if it is safe for the children to go to school in inclement weather.

Student Responsibilities 

These regulations are intended to help ensure the safety of students: 

• Students are expected to behave in accordance with the School Code of Conduct at the pick-up points, and while traveling on the school bus. 
• Students must follow the rules outlined by the driver and must respect the authority of the bus driver. 
• Students will cooperate with and assist the patrols in carrying out their duties. 
• Students must remain seated on a moving bus. 
• Students are responsible for compensation for any damage or destruction to school buses. 
• Students may only be picked up or discharged at designated stops. 
• Books, lunch boxes and bulky items must be kept on the student’s lap. 
• A student must keep his or her arms and head inside the bus at all times. 
• No eating or smoking is allowed on the bus. 
• Profane language is not permitted on the bus at any time. 
• Students must be aware that serious or repeated misconduct will be recorded. Repeated offences may result in removal from the bus. 

Loading Procedures 

Students must: 

• Be at the bus stop 5 minutes before pick-up time. 
• Stand away from the road until the bus is stopped, line up in a single file and board the bus in an orderly fashion when the driver indicates it is time to board. 
• Wait for the driver’s direction before crossing the road to board the bus. 
• Stay 5-8 paces in front of the bus when crossing. 

Unloading Procedures 

Students must: 

• Stay in the seat until the bus comes to a stop. 
• Leave the bus in an orderly fashion; continue up his or her laneway if it is directly beside the door of the bus. 
• Stand away from the bus and wait until it has departed before walking to his or her laneway if it is on the same side of the road as the bus. 
• Wait for the driver’s direction before crossing the road if his or her laneway is across the road. 

Field trips and school-to-school trips are part of the regular school program and students are subject to the same rules and code of conduct as regular bus students.

Equipment 

The following regulations guide the transportation of equipment: 

• No firearms or anything of a dangerous nature.
• Skate blades must be covered by guards, tied together, carried in a bag, and placed on the floor of the bus at the student’s feet.
• No hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, or baseball bats on the bus.
• The decision to transport other objects shall be determined in advance by the principal, the bus driver, and the Transportation Department. 

In case of severe winter weather, with poor driving conditions and for bus cancellations and delays, please listen for bus cancellation announcements on 1460 AM CJOY, 106.1 FM (Magic), Oldies 1090 AM, 99.1 FM CBC, 105.3 Kool FM, NewsTalk 570AM, 96.7 FM CHYM, CKCO-TV. Parents can also check the Board’s web site (www.ugdsb.on.ca) for bus cancellations by clicking on the link in the yellow box on the home page. Information will be posted daily by 6:30 a.m. from November to April or as required at other times of the year. 

Transportation information is also available at: online – www.stwdsts.ca , twitter – @STWDSTS or by downloading the new UGDSB smartphone app as mentioned in the communication section of this handbook. Information is continually refreshed and you will find up-to-date bus information at any time. 

Announcements for Eramosa Public School are included in the blue division ‘Centre Wellington the Town of Erin and the Town of Rockwood . 

Please note that if buses are cancelled in this division (blue card), Eramosa School will be open to students who can be safely driven to and picked up from the school. Students cannot be dropped off before 8:10 am and must be picked up promptly at the end of the day by 2:55 pm. 

We keep enough personal information about your child on file to handle emergencies. This information is confidential to the Board staff and is kept secure. 

It is important that this information be kept up-to-date. If during the year you change your address, home or work phone number, emergency contact, place of employment, etc. please phone the office so that appropriate changes can be made on our records. Telephone numbers, addresses, medical information and emergency contacts are vital in emergencies. 

In September, we send home a pre-printed verification form. Please check that all information on this form is correct, make changes, sign and return it to the office immediately. We update our school records from this information. 

The school does not release this information without your consent. Please do not ask for the names, address or telephone numbers of other parents/children because we cannot give them to you. 

The Upper Grand District School Board strongly recommends that parents have student insurance coverage and has endorsed the plan offered by the Reliable Life Insurance Company. 

Applications for the Student Accident Insurance Plan are sent home with students in September. The plan supplements the Ontario Health Insurance compensation for specific major accidents and includes the treatment of specified injuries. 

Applicants are covered during the enrollment period. Parents’ contact is with the insurance company, not with the Board of Education. 

The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act sets guidelines that Boards of Education must adhere to when protecting the personal information of their students. 

The Act refers to personal information that would make an individual identifiable; for example, student’s work, photographs, videotapes and information on student registration. We will continue to seek your consent before releasing confidential information on your child; i.e., academic assessment or marks, etc. 

Usually, throughout the year we have special events (assemblies, plays, choir performances, etc.) to showcase the talents of our students. We welcome and encourage families to be part of our audience. Hopefully we will return to this at some point.  We will keep you posted!

If you take photographs or record video of these events, we ask you to respect the privacy of all families. Personally recording school events and then subsequent public posting of those recordings on social networks is not respectful of the privacy rights of all those parents, staff and particularly students whose images they share without their knowledge or permission. Please do not post photos or videos on social networks like Facebook or YouTube. Thank you. 

Students enjoy playing outside during recess times. It is important that they dress appropriately for the weather conditions. We recommend sunscreen and hats for sunny days in the fall and spring, splash pants and raincoats for wet days. In winter we urge children to wear snowsuits (or jackets and snowpants), hats, boots and mitts. Students in all grades benefit from having extra socks, mitts and hats in their backpacks to use when these items get wet. 

We recommend that all student belongings are labelled with each child’s name. Often several children wear the same brand and size of boots, coats, etc. It is surprising how quickly our Lost and Found Box gets filled and how many of these items are never claimed. EPSAC has arranged for convenient labels for purchase at www.mabelslabels.com. Unclaimed clothing is cleaned and donated at Christmas, March Break and at the end of the school year. 

Appropriate dress shall be free of images, logos or language that portray ethnic prejudice, racism, sexism, vulgarity, gang-related markings, obscenities, profanity, hate speech or pornography, or reference alcohol, drugs or related paraphernalia, or other illegal conduct or activities. 

Dress code implies a range of approved apparel and/or general dress protocols that are deemed appropriate for students regardless of their race, age, ability, sex, gender identity, gender 

expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, cultural observance, socio-economic circumstances, or body type/size. 

Please refer to the UGDSB Student Dress Code guidelines. 

All student medication must be stored and administered from the office. This is important for the safety of the child taking the medicine and the other students in the school. In order to give any medication, we must have the appropriate form completed and signed by a parent or guardian. Please call the school when you require these forms. As well, the container must have the pharmaceutical sticker on it indicating the name of the child and directions for administering the medication. Over the counter medications such as Tylenol, Gravol, etc. must be in their original container indicating the child’s name. 

Children requiring medication such as EPI-PENS or Puffers for life-threatening medical conditions are required to carry these medications with them at all times. We suggest a fanny pack. Additional EPI-PENS and Puffers need to be kept in the school office. 

If your child has a life threatening medical condition, please call the school for more information and to set up a “Plan of Care”. 

Some students at Eramosa have allergies to specific foods. In order to create as safe an environment as possible for all students, we ask parents not to send products that contain nuts or peanuts to school. We also ask students not to share or trade items from their lunch with other students. Students are not permitted to bring food products that resemble peanut butter to school. 

Ongoing communication between home and school is essential to maximize student learning and progress. All teachers meet with all parents at least once between September and December.  We will keep you posted about how this will occur.  At this time connecting via email and/or telephone is encouraged, as well as using UGConnect (https://www.ugdsb.ca/parents/ugconnect-app/).

Effective instruction follows a cycle of assessment-teaching-assessment-teaching. Teachers assess students’ understanding on a regular basis and design lessons and activities to match learning needs. In November, students in grades 1 to 6 receive progress reports which indicate whether they are progressing with difficulty, well or very well in all subject areas. There are no letter grades for subjects on this report. In February and June students receive report cards that evaluate their knowledge and skills in different subject areas and indicate letter grades. Kindergarten students receive two “Communication of Learning” reports as well throughout the year. 

We encourage parents to look for and celebrate successes that are documented on report cards, and work with your child(ren) to set goals for improvement. If you ever have questions or concerns about your child(ren)’s progress, please contact your child’s teacher.