Family Handbook

Guelph Lake Public School Handbook

This Family Handbook will provide you with easy access to basic information about our school. We ask you to read the information carefully, discuss the pertinent sections with your children and keep it handy for future reference.

If you have any questions or concerns at any time throughout the school year, please call the school for assistance. We welcome open communication between home and school, and look forward to maintaining a strong community partnership.

Nicole Hamilton – Principal  Email: [email protected]

Safe Arrival:

It is essential to call the office before 9:05 a.m. if your child is going to be absent or late. The voice mail (519-822-9271) can take your messages 24 hours a day. Please supply us with student name(s), class(es) and reason(s) for absence/lateness. We follow the Board’s Safe Arrival Policy and must call parents of absent students if we have not been informed, by a parent/guardian, of the reason for the absence. Your call will save us multiple phone calls and worries. Late students must report to the office for a late slip before going to class in order to properly be accounted for on the attendance register.

Board Policy on Safe Arrival:

It is the responsibility of parents to:

  1. provide current telephone contacts such as: home phone number, work number of both parent(s)/guardian, number of caregiver, number of safe arrival contact and emergency contact numbers on the student admission/information form
  2. update the information during the school year
  3. 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
  4. provide written permission for their child to leave the school during the day
  5. 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, a phone call must be received by  the office. For the safety of your child, we request that you come into the school to sign them out at the office. As soon as you arrive, your child will be called out of class for you. Please send authorization in writing if someone other than the legal guardian is going to pick your child up from school. The authorized adult may also be asked for photo identification. Unless we can confirm otherwise, it is our practice to dismiss the child as per their usual routine at the end of the day. We appreciate your efforts to make all foreseen alternate arrangements ahead of time accompanied with a note so that our office is not inundated with phone calls regarding departure arrangements. Under an urgent circumstance, a call may be made to the office before 3:25 p.m. and we will do our best to get a message to your child.

Telephone Use:

Phone calls home by students will be made for emergencies and under the supervision of a staff member. All student social arrangements, off property permission, etc., should be made by families ahead of time, and be submitted to the classroom teacher in the form of a signed and dated note which will be sent to the office with the morning attendance. This will ensure that school phone lines are not tied up and will be available for our safe arrival program. Note that Board policy states that students may only board the bus to which they have been assigned and may only disembark at their assigned bus stop. Students are not permitted to use their celluar device at school to arrange for pick up.

Valuables and Electronics

As our society becomes more and more technologically advanced, we are noticing that many students are bringing valuable items to school. These items, especially those electronic in nature, are attractive and we cannot be responsible for theft or loss of such items. Lockers, desks and backpacks are not always a secure place to store them. We prefer that students use recesses for physical and social interaction with others. Therefore, we strongly recommend that no electronic equipment be brought to school. This includes but is not exclusive to items such as iPods, MP3s, electronic games, cameras, video cameras, PDAs, listening devices and cell phones. Please note that any device which is capable of taking pictures will not be allowed for use at school unless authorized by staff for instructional purposes. This is due to privacy concerns. While we understand that children sometimes carry cell phones for safety reasons, this is not necessary while at school because if a family emergency arises, they would be given access to the school phone. We appreciate your support in keeping valuables and electronic devices secure at home.