École Elmwood School

École Elmwood School is dedicated to nurturing the Whole Child. This requires creating a safe and caring community. The Code of Conduct is an expression of this goal. It is the responsibility of the students, staff, and families to behave in a manner that is respectful to the intellectual, emotional, and physical welfare of the children in the École Elmwood School community.

We believe that children thrive when they are part of a community. Within that community are benchmarks of conduct that guide the behaviour of the participants of École Elmwood School. They are:

A healthy learning environment;

Modeling behaviours we wish our students to adopt;

Responding to inappropriate behaviours with positive strategies;

Specific and deliberate teaching of skills that lead to positive school experiences.

(The complete Code of Conduct policy is at:

http://www.blsd.ca/Staff/admin%20procedures/Pages/default.aspx)

ASSEMBLIES

Assemblies are part of the ÉES culture. Birthday assemblies celebrate students who had birthdays on the preceding month and occur on the last day of each month. Parents are welcome to attend assemblies.

ATTENDANCE

School-age children are expected to attend school regularly. If your child is absent from school please notify the school or your child(ren)'s teacher as soon as possible. The school will attempt to contact you if no notification has been made prior to school starting (after 9am and; after 12:45). Student attendance and lates are recorded.

BICYCLES

Bicycles are a common way for children to get to and from school when the weather permits. Bicycles MUST be stored in the racks provided for that purpose.

BUS PROCEDURES

Staff are on bus patrol duty before and after school each day. Please call the school or tell your child's teacher if he/she will not be returning home on the bus. The school will make every effort to ensure students are ready for their bus at 3:30 p.m. at dismissal time. If buses cannot run at 3:30 p.m. because of poor weather, the school will be notified by 2:00 p.m. The school will make arrangements with parents regarding care of their children. Parents of children whose residence is outside of town limits will be called first. Parents are free to pick up their child from school prior to dismissal.

BUSING ELIGIBILITY

Students living outside a school division defined radius of Elmwood School are eligible for busing. If you have questions regarding your child's eligibility for busing, please call Border Land School Division: 324 - 6491

CLOTHING

Children will need a pair of shoes to wear indoors and that stay at school. The indoor shoes need to be appropriate for gym. As well, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, especially cold, windy, and/or rainy days. We would also appreciate you putting your child's name on all of your child's clothing.

COMMUNICATION

Please check your child's backpack daily. Newsletters and notes are sent home on a regular basis. If you have questions and/or concerns regarding your child at school, please contact your child's teacher or the principal. General enquiries can be made to the office directly. The school welcomes your calls.

EMERGENCIES

In the event of an emergency involving an individual student, parents will be contacted immediately (For this reason we strongly recommend you provide us with up-to-date contact information). Should the necessity arise, we will transport the child to Emergency. An Accident Report must be filed by the supervising teacher.

EMERGENCY CLOSURES - SEV ERE WEATHER

Go to http://blsd.ca for a complete description of policy and procedures for school closures.

In the event that weather conditions are such that bus transportation is deemed to be unsafe, divisional policy will guide the procedure for school closures. Furthermore, with respect to inclement weather, Border Land School Division will be divided into three regions:

a) Western region including all schools from Dominion City to Altona. This includes the following schools: Roseau Valley, Emerson, Letellier, Blue Clay, Ridgeville and Glenway Colonies, Gretna, New Hope, Elmwood, West Park, Parkside, W. C. Miller, and Rosenfeld schools.

b) Central region encompassing the Vita area: Shevchenko School.

c) Eastern region encompassing Piney and Sprague communities: Ross L. Gray school and Pineland Colony school.

1. In the morning, if weather conditions are such that bus service is deemed unadvisable, the school division will make the decision between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. This announcement will be posted on the following radio stations:

CAN-AM 105.1 FM

CFAM 950 AM

CJOB 680 AM

CBC 990 AM

KG 102 FM (Roseau, MN)

KQ 92 FM ( Warroad, MN)

Schools will be closed for that day for the announced region.

In the afternoon, at regular dismissal, if weather conditions are such that buses are not running, the decision will be made at 2:00 p.m. so that schools have ample time to notify parents and/or arrange for the appropriate billets.

FIELD TRIPS

Parents will be notified in advance regarding any Field Trips. Some Field Trips will require an extra fee and this information will be included in the notification sent to parents.

HEARING & VISION SCREENING

Hearing and vision screening is carried out in the fall term each year for students in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 3, as well as students who are concerns in Grade 2. Parents are contacted if the screening reflects a suspected weakness or if there is a concern regarding the child. Parents are then requested to arrange for the appropriate medical check.

HOT LUNCH DAYS

Hot Lunch Days are organized by the Home and School Association and are held several times in a school year. Students are asked to pre-order and pay for their food a week ahead of the actual day. The menu will generally include the main course (ie. hot dog), a drink (juice) and fruit. Orders and money can be sent to your child's teacher.

INTERNET USE POLICY

Internet use is a privilege in BLSD. For the Acceptable Use Policy for technology, please refer to the Code of Conduct at http://www.blsd.ca/Staff/admin%20procedures/Pages/default.aspx

KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Kindergarten is a program that BLSD offers. To qualify for Kindergarten, children must be five years of age on or before December 31 of the year they begin Kindergarten. Kindergarten registration occurs in February at the school.

LICE CHECKS

Lice checks are organized periodically by the Home and School Committee. The Home and School Volunteer Coordinator will be calling throughout the year and asking for parent volunteers willing to check children's hair. We would also ask that parents check their child's hair regularly at home and report any occurrence of head lice to the school.

When a case of headlice is found through our parent volunteer checks, parents will be notified and asked to pick-up the child for treatment at home. The child may return to school when the child's hair has been treated and the nits removed.

The following facts will hopefully clear up some frequently asked questions parents have about headlice.

• Headlice are never grown at home because of any lack of cleanliness or personal hygiene.They are always imported from a head that is already infected.
• Headlice are not considered a health hazard by Public Health and as such are the primary responsibility of the home.
• Checks at school are not a guarantee that your child is lice free.
• If your child has been identified as having headlice, you will be asked to pick up your child and to go home for treatment.

Please consult Public Health for details about treating head lice.

LOST AND FOUND

During the school year we accumulate many lost items in our "Lost and Found' box. We would appreciate if parents would periodically check the box and collect their child's belongings. During the Christmas Break and Summer Break we will donate all the Lost and Found items remaining to the local MCC store. Please help us by labeling all your child's clothes, boots, backpacks, etc. with your child's name.

LUNCHROOM RULES

The school realizes that at times students need to stay for lunch and the school does provide lunch supervision. Please remind your child that staying for lunch is a privilege and that negative lunch room behaviour can result in a suspension of school lunch time privileges.

1. Children should speak quietly and remain seated until dismissal time at 12:10 to 12:15 unless permitted by an adult.
2. Children are to eat items packed in their own lunches.
3. Children needing assistance opening containers should ask for help from the teacher on duty.
4. At dismissal time (12:10 - 12:15), children will be directed to clean up their lunches, throw away any garbage, and check the floor.Uneaten food should be put back into lunch kits so parents can see how much food was not eaten.
5. Children will be expected to go outside for the remainder of the lunch hour unless they have a written note to stay indoors or are scheduled to complete work by the teacher. work.

PARENT COUNCIL

The following information is taken from the Elmwood Home and School Association Constitution.

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE

ADVISORY COUNCIL MANDATE

The Elmwood Home and School Association will work in cooperation with school staff, trustees, parents and members of the community in the following ways:

1. As an advisory structure to principal and staff, presenting parental and community concerns and perspectives on issues related to programs, school planning, budgeting, and the management of the school, including the following:

a) As a means of disseminating information about the school and about parental priorities and of promoting community understanding and involvement in the school.

b) As a liaison between the school, parents, community and other school support organizations for the purpose of information-sharing and cooperation, including the use of community resources and agencies to support the educational program and meet community needs.

c) As an advisory structure to the school board in matters relating to the school and school division including:

-curriculum

-cultural and extra-curricula activities

-student discipline and behavior management policies

-community access to school facilities

-transportation

-fund-raising

-school closures

d) To provide recommendations to the school board with respect to the process of hiring and assigning principals.

-to participate in the development of the annual school plan.

-to participate in the development of the school budget.

e) As parents, foster high ideals of citizenship and patriotism, and to promote, through educational means, international goodwill and peace.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

1. Any adult interested in the objectives of this Association and residing within the school area or whose children are attending Elmwood School may be a member of this Association.

RECESS

All students are expected to play outdoors at recess time. Children need to be dressed appropriately for weather conditions. Recess supervision is provided by staff . A windshield threshold of -28 (as reported by Environment Canada) is established at the beginning of winter to indicate that the children will remain inside for recess. As the winter progresses and the children adapt to the cold weather, the threshold will increase to -30 and then a max of -32. Discretion is allowed to staff to determine if the weather constitutes a danger to the children outside (for example, length of time outside, how well a child is dressed). As well, a staff member may provide supervision to any children who choose to play outside on excessively cold days but only if they are adequately dressed.

REPORT CARDS

Report cards are issued in November, March, and June. Unclaimed report cards on the last day of school in June will be made available to parents at the school division office.

General Rules for Students while at School

Students must be taught to respect persons and property. Good behavior will be acknowledged and rewarded in a genuine manner. Unacceptable behavior will be actively discouraged in an appropriate manner.

INDOOR RULES

1. Walk inside in an orderly and quiet manner.
2. Practice quiet and respectful behavior.
3. Bathrooms are to be used in the way they were intended.
4. Students cannot be in the gym without adult supervision.
5. Indoor Gym equipment should not go outside.Specific equipment will be designated by the school to be taken out.This equipment must be returned inside at the end of recess.

OUTDOOR RULES

1. Students remain outside during outdoor recess.
2. Equipment must be used in an appropriate and safe manner.
3. Playground balls can only be thrown outside.

   Soccer balls can only be kicked outside.

   No running on the playground equipment.

   One person on the slide at a time, sliding feet first.

4. Only Kindergarten students are allowed to play on the Kindergarten Hill.

No running games on the grassy areas in front of the bus loop.

SCHOOL INSURANCE

School insurance forms are sent home with students each year in the fall. This is an optional program which provides extended medical, dental, and life insurance for your student at a reasonable cost. Please mail your completed forms directly to the company.

SCHOOLS OF CHOICE

Students who live outside the Altona schools catchment area, but wish to attend École Elmwood School, are required to complete a School of Choice transfer form. This includes transfers to a school of choice within our school division (ie. you do not live in the Altona catchment area) or transfers to a school of choice from outside our school division (ie. you do not live in the Border Land School Division). The forms are available at Elmwood School and contain basic information regarding a parents desire to transfer a student to a school of choice. Deadline for application is May 15 for the upcoming school year.

SCHOOL ROUTINES

Morning Bell 8:50 a.m.

AM Classes begin 9:00 a.m.

Morning Recess 10:30

Lunch 11:45 a.m.

PM Classes begin 12:45 p.m.

Afternoon Recess 2:15 p.m.

Dismissal 3:30 p.m.

Students arriving at school prior to 8:30 a.m. are not supervised by Elmwood staff. Parents, therefore, are responsible for their child(ren)'s safety until then.

SCHOOL SUPPLIES

École Elmwood School purchases school supplies for all students. Student are charged the designated fee at the beginning of the school year. Cheques should be made payable to Border Land School Division. Students provide their own backpack and a pair of indoor shoes.

STUDENT PLACEMENT PROCESS

In the process of composing classes, we consider the following criteria:

1. Class Size
2. Gender balance
3. Student needs
4. Language requirements

School administration, resource, and classroom teachers create draft scenarios of each class based primarily on the criteria outlined above. Final decisions will include consideration of student relationships, best teacher fit, and where possible, parental requests. NOTE: Parental requests must be made directly to the principal and in writing, which includes email.

The Grade 3 students going to Grade 4 are assigned to classes by the administration of École West Park School.

TELEPHONE CALLS

Parents are welcome to contact the school at any time. Office hours are 8:30 - 11:45 a.m. and 12:45 - 4:00 p.m. Messages for your child or your child's teacher may be left at the office during regular office hours.

TRANSPORTATION - (to and from school)

The front driveway loop is for SCHOOL BUSES ONLY.

Please use the north driveway when dropping off and picking up your children.

For those children who use or cross Centre Avenue, please review safety procedures frequently. An adult patrol person is on duty at the crosswalk before and after school and occasionally at lunch time. The Town of Altona is responsible for the cross walk on Centre Avenue. If you have have questions, please contact the Town.

VOLUNTEERS

École Elmwood School welcomes parents, grandparents, and community members as volunteers. People interested in volunteering the school must contact the school first.

All volunteers must complete the Child abuse Registry and Criminal Record Check. Information about this is available at the school and sign-in at the office prior to any activity in the building. After all that, we're glad you're here!