Handbook Bus Information School Supplies Safe Arrival and Reporting Pupil Absence Visitors and Parents in the School Inclement Weather Early School Closing Medication and Public Health Bus Information Busing For Kindergarten Students Bus drivers will be calling each family with information regarding noon drop off and pickup times. You can expect to receive this call a day or two prior to the staggered entry date. All families who have a student entering Adrienne Clarkson Junior Kindergarten or Senior Kindergarten should have received a letter with the information regarding their date for staggered entry. Information regarding morning kindergarten pick up and afternoon kindergarten drop off will be the same times established in the routes for grades 1 to 6. (See below) Busing for Students in Grades 1 through 6 Information regarding bus routes, timing for each drop off and pick up point will be published and distributed to grocery stores and libraries during the last week of August. Bus runs are identified by a route number. Safety While Riding the Bus A large number of our pupils take a bus to and from school. For the safety of all, it is expected that all pupils will behave appropriately and follow appropriate bus safety and the instructions of the bus driver. If such is not the case, the following steps which follows the Board procedure, will be implemented: The bus driver will attempt to seek the cooperation of the student. Failing this, the bus driver will report the student to the vice-principal or the principal who will: a) warn the student, and/or b) phone or write to the parent to indicate the problem and the possible consequences. If the problem persists, the parents of the offending pupil will receive a letter indicating the suspension of the student's right to transportation until such time as cooperative behaviour on the part of the student is ensured.   School Supplies As the Board requires families to purchase supplies for their children (see below), on the first day of school, teachers will be distributing a letter listing the supplies and the quantities that will be needed for each of their students. For Students in Kindergarten to Grade 3: pencils and pens rulers erasers glue sticks crayons blunt scissors For Students in Grades 4 to 6: The above items plus: 3-hole lined notebooks 3-hole lined refill paper. We will be asking you to provide other items such as binders, duo-tangs, coloured pencils, markers, and geometry sets, etc. Your cooperation in ensuring that your child has the required items is greatly appreciated. While you can feel free to go ahead and purchase some of the basics as listed above and we know the students are anxious to "get ready", you are advised to wait for more specific details which will be contained in the letter that your child will be bringing home. Safe Arrival and Reporting Pupil Absence In order to ensure the well-being of all of our students, parents are requested to phone the school (825-8600) between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. to inform us that their child will be absent or late the following day. It is school practice to telephone home if a student is away, if no notification of the absence has been received. Parents must also phone at anytime, if their child, who was present in the morning, will be absent or late in the afternoon. We ask for your help in this matter as when families "forget" this important step, it causes us to have to make many calls. This can be a challenge, particularly in cold and flu season. "Please let us know if your child is going to be absent." The school is on an answering service from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. Please remember to leave your child's name, your child's class, your name, and the reason for his/her absence from school on our voicemail. The messages are played back as close to 8:00 a.m. as possible in order to relay the information to your child's teacher. Change of Telephone Number and Emergency Contact Information It is very important, for emergency and administrative reasons, that every student maintain an up-to-date address and telephone record at the school office. It is also imperative that we have an emergency contact person identified in case we are unable to reach you at home or at work. Please notify the school in writing immediately if you change any of this information during the school year. REMEMBER ! We need the name and phone number of someone who can be called in an emergency, if you cannot be reached.   Visitors and Parents in the School All schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board require visitors and parents to report to the office regardless of the length of your visit. Sometimes this is short in the case of picking up your child or longer if you are helping out in some capacity. Upon entering the building, please report to the school office to sign in and to receive an identification badge to wear while in the school. Inclement Weather It is important to remember that inclement weather includes not only a snowstorm which makes driving or walking dangerous, but it also includes days when the temperatures go very high and conditions in classrooms become unbearable. The policy regarding inclement weather is as follows:s: a) On mornings when it appears that the school will be closed because of inclement weather, or that buses will not run due to poor road conditions, please listen to one of the local radio stations for a public announcement. b) When buses are not running and the school remains open, teachers will be in attendance. In the case of parents who drive their children to school in the morning, it is expected that they will pick them up at the REGULAR dismissal time or if the school closes earlier. The bus service when cancelled in the morning, remains cancelled for the afternoon run as well. No supervision is available in the school after the dismissal time. Early School Closing During any school year, occasions may arise when it becomes necessary to dismiss students from school prior to our normal dismissal time. An early school closing can occur for a variety of reasons, all of which are situations which could endanger the health or safety of students: inclement weather, power failure, or an emergency evacuation. In these situations, parents must ensure that their children have access to their home or that arrangements have been made for them to stay with a neighbour. Each child should know where he/she is to go if the school closes early. Please review this information with your child regularly, as such a closure could occur at any time throughout the school year. A form will be sent home early in the Fall, for information related to Early School Closing. We need your assistance to help us ensure that your children get home safely. With a very limited number of phone lines in the school and a large number of families, it is simply impossible to call everyone with information about an early closing and to receive directions for each child. In the event of an early closing, teachers will review the instructions on your form with the student to ensure that he/she knows where to go and what to do. Phone calls will only be made when children are unsure of the procedure or of the arrangements parents have made for them. Medication and Public Health School staff are not permitted to administer medication to students without authorization from the parent and physician. An authorization form can be obtained at the office if your child requires medication during school hours. Remember that forms must be renewed in September for the new school year.  This form MUST have the signature of your family physician before school staff can administer any medication. Please remember that your child should be kept at home when they are feeling unwell. This speeds the healing process and also prevents the spread of germs. Encourage your child to wash their hands frequently to discourage the spread of communicable diseases. Our Public Health Nurse can be reached at the Ottawa Public Health (613-580-6744). What you should know about head lice Q.  What are head lice? A.  Head lice are tiny insects with no wings that live in human hair. They are not easy to see because they move quickly and take on the colour of the hair. The eggs of the lice are called nits and are easier to see. Q.  What do nits look like? A.  Nits are oval shaped. They are light grey or yellowish-white. Nits are glued to the hair. They are not like dandruff. They cannot be flicked off, washed or brushed out. Q.  How do you get head lice? A.  Lice need human hair and a source of food (blood from the heat) to live. They are spread through head-to-head contact. They cannot jump or fly. They also can be spread by sharing combs and brushes. They can be spread at school, child care facility, home or other places. Q.  Who gets head lice? A.  Anyone of any age, sex, race or social class can get head lice. Children are more likely to get heat lice because they play very closely together. Q.  How can you check for nits or lice? A.  Usually the first sign of lice is itching and scratching. Check your child's head weekly in the sunlight or under a bright light. Look for nits by parting the hair in small sections. You usually find nits close to the scalp around the base of the neck or behind the ears. They cannot be flicked off like dandruff, they stick to the hair. Q.  If you think your child has lice, what should you do? A.  Notify the school or child care facility right away so that his or her classmates can be also checked. Tell other people who have been visiting or playing with your child so that they am be checked. You can get information about treating head lice at your child's school or child care facility or a pharmacy. You can get a head lice shampoo or cream rinse at your drug store. Talk to the pharmacist to choose the best treatment. Follow the instructions on the container. Do not use more of the treatment that it says in the instructions. Do not we it more often that the instructions indicate. Only treat those family members who have head lice. Public Health Nurses of the Ottawa-Carleton Health Department work together with the schools, child care facilities and community groups to control head lice. They provide workshops for parents, teachers, child care providers and community groups on request. Information is available from the Ottawa-Carleton Health Department Child and Adolescent Director - 722-2281 (ask for the information Line)