Dave Blanchhazel Masonsuzanne Nurse

A PARENT’S

Information GUIDE

2017-2018

Dave BlanchHazel MasonSuzanne Nurse

PrincipalSuperintendent of EducationSchool Trustee

905-840-2135905-451-2862905-495-3423

Brisdale Public School is a community of learners where staff, students and parents encourage excellence, a sense of belonging, respect, responsibility and acceptance.

BRISDALE'S BEST – our school song

We are learning together and having fun

Helping each other because we're number one

We are number one

Try your best, best, best

Do your best, best, best

Be your best, best, best

We work together to grow and learn,

an opportunity at every turn

Hand in hand we celebrate

this family that we create

Try your best, best, best

Do your best, best, best

Be your best, best, best

Listen to our voices as we all speak

Respecting one another because

we're all unique

We're all unique

Try your best, best, best

Do your best, best, best

Be your best, best, best

Brisdale's Best

Yeah!

Try your best!

Do your best!

Be your best!

PERSONAL ITEMS & THOSE NOT PERMITTED IN SCHOOL

Please ensure that your child's name appears (with a permanent marker) on all personal items which he/she brings to school. Lost items are much more easily returned if this precaution is taken.

We maintain a lost and found box at the school. At the end of each term, all unclaimed items will be donated to a local charity.

Please note, the school is not responsible for lost items.

KINDERGARTEN

Back-to-school time: the first day of kindergarten inevitably brings many changes for children and families.

Making a smooth transition between home and school requires teachers and early childhood professionals to help children feel good about themselves and learn to trust other adults and children. Helping children adapt to new situations can ease parents' minds and give them a chance to become involved in their children's education.

Transitions are exciting opportunities for children to learn and grow. Parents and early childhood professionals share a role in making children feel safe and secure as they move to new educational settings. Of course, such milestones in children's lives can cause anxiety, too. Strengthening the ties between educational professionals and families will help create smooth transitions for both adults and children.

How parents can help:

Be enthusiastic about the upcoming change. If you are excited and confident, your child will be, too.

Prepare yourself. Take note of how your child reacts to separation. If possible, visit the new setting together.

• Introduce your child to the new teacher or early childhood professional in advance.
• Arrange a play date with another child from the program, preferably one-on-one, so that your child will see a familiar face.
• Start daily routines that will add continuity.
• Let your child become involved with packing lunch or laying out clothes.
• Put aside extra time, particularly on the first day of school, for chatting and communing together. But remember not to prolong the goodbye. If your child whines or clings, staying will only make it harder.
• Always say goodbye to your child. Be firm but friendly about separating. Never ridicule a child for crying. Instead, make supportive statements like, "It's hard to say goodbye."

(rif.org)

OUTDOOR PLAY

All kindergarten students participate in outdoor play, twice a day, all year round. It is extremely important that students come to school prepared for the weather

EXTRA CLOTHES

Teachers will need a set of extra clothes (including underwear and socks) for each student in case of an accident.

INDOOR SHOES

All students will need a set of indoor shoes that will be kept at school. It is recommended that they are running shoes as they will be used when students go to the gym. Please label your child’s shoes.

LUNCH AND SNACKS

Kindergarten students will have a set lunch time but snacks can be eaten throughout the day when students feel hungry. Please provide your child with a reusable water bottle and as many snacks as you think they will need. Kindergarten teachers will work with you to help your child to recognize when they are hungry and need a snack.

BRISDALE'S DRESS CODE

• Students are encouraged to wear clothes that are clean and in good repair
• Clothing should align with the positive morale tone in the school
• Clothing should be sufficient to cover the entire body from shoulder to mid thigh
• Clothing displaying inappropriate language, gestures, or comments offensive to any race or group are not to be worn at school.
• Headwear (other than religious headwear), wristbands and bandanas are not to be worn in school
• Short shorts and skirts, spaghetti straps and tops that expose the midriff are not appropriate
• Flip flops, and/or sandals without an ankle strap are not to be worn at school

SCHOOL TELEPHONE

Students will be allowed to use the office telephones only for emergencies. Students are to pre-arrange how they will be getting home from school before coming to school. They will not be allowed to use the school telephone for calls of this nature.

The school telephone should not be used for students who have forgotten school work, clothing, etc.

WHEN CHILDREN ARE ILL

• Parents are not to send a child to school if there are signs of ill health in the morning.
• We have neither the facilities, nor the personnel to care for sick children.
• Students who are ill should receive proper medical attention and should not attend school until they feel well.

If a student is well enough to come to school, he/she is well enough to go out for recess and will not be permitted to remain inside.

MEDICATION FOR STUDENTS

The Peel District School Board and the Medical Officer of Health for Peel have established procedures for the administration of prescribed drugs during the school day.

All students who require prescribed medications to be administered during the school day must have the doctor complete a form annually. This form authorizes the school staff to administer the medication. Please come to the office to pick up this form if needed.

ATTENDANCE AND PUNCTUALITY

Regular attendance and punctuality are inherently linked to academic achievement and individual growth.

• It is very important for students to attend regularly, to arrive on time and to remain at school for the duration of classes.
• If your child has an appointment, please try to schedule it at the beginning or end of the school day.
• For any absence, a note is expected by the teacher upon the child’s return. The note should explain the absence and be signed by the parent or guardian.
• We do not provide homework for missed instructional time because of vacation or extended family leave.

ATTENDANCE CHECK

If your child is going to be absent or late, please call the school attendance line at

905-840-2135 extension 3, by 8:30 am.

Please leave your child's name, teacher's name and the reason for the absence. Messages can be left anytime at this number. Children should not return to school unless they are healthy enough to go outside.

Students arriving late for school (after 8:45 am) must check in at the office for a late slip prior to going to their classroom. Please note that Brisdale has a "Lates Policy" in effect in order to further support timely arrival of all.

SCHOOL SAFETY PROCEDURES

Rules are developed to keep our school safe and orderly. Please take some time to review the school, as well as hallway, classroom and outdoor rules on the previous pages.

In addition to these rules, there are some common sense guidelines that the school communicates to students at appropriate times during the school year. They are listed for you below.

• All adults, parents, visitors MUST use the office entry door at the front of the school and sign in at all times for the safety of our school

• students should arrive after school at 8:30 am when the yard is supervised

• students use the student entry doors at the back of the school (except when they are late)

• if a student arrives late (after 8:45 am) they must come in through the front doors and go to the office to get a late slip

• children walk all bikes and scooters to the bike rack and lock them on school property

Please call the school office before 2:45 pm at the very latest, if you need to communicate arrangements for the end of the day pick up. Otherwise, we will not be able to get the message to your child in time. It is very difficult to sign out children as classrooms are very busy with end of the day routines.

PARENT VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

A Parent Volunteer Information form will be sent to you in the fall. Please contact the school’s Vice Principal Mr. Gray, if you are interested in volunteering.

All parents must have a Criminal Record Check completed before they can attend a school trip or volunteer in the classroom.

SMOKING POLICY

The Peel District School Board has declared all its schools, school ground and offices non smoking areas. We request that parents accompanying classes on field trips NOT smoke in the presence of students.

ACCIDENT INSURANCE

Please read the information your children will bring home early in September. Consider the service and, if you wish to have insurance, please follow the instructions on the envelope and return directly to the insurance company.

KISS AND RIDE

If you drive your child to school, please use the Kiss and Ride located at the front of the school and follow the established student route. This is the best method of ensuring student safety.

Students are asked to use the sidewalk to go to the playground and not walk through the parking lot.

CONTACTING YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER

To leave a message with your child’s teacher, please call the school’s main phone number at 905-840-2135 and enter the teacher’s extension.

The teacher will call you back when they are available.

Agendas are for students and reminders. Please share messages of concern with your child’s teacher via a separate note, phone call or face to face discussion.

SCHOOL HOURS FOR 17/18

8:30 outside supervision for students begins

8:45 school entry/school day begins

8:45 – 9:05Home Room

9:05 - 9:45Period 1

9:45 - 10:25Period 2

10:25 – 11:05Nutrition Break #1

Grades 1 – 3 eat/Grades 4 & 5 outside 10:25– 10:45

Grades 4 & 5 eat/Grades 1 – 3 outside 10:45 – 11:05

11:05 - 11:45Period 3

11:45 - 12:25Period 4

12:25 - 1:05Period 5

1:05-1:45 Nutrition Break #2

Grades 1 – 3 eat/Grades 4 & 5 outside 1:05 – 1:25

Grades 4 & 5 eat/Grades 1 – 3 outside 1:25 – 1:45

1:45 - 2:25Period 6

2:25 - 3:05Period 7

3:20 END OF DAY Supervision

FOOD BROUGHT TO SCHOOL

There are several students at our school with severe or life-threatening allergies to peanuts, nuts and other foods. We ask that you help care for these students by choosing lunches and snacks for your child that are nut-free.

Also in keeping with the spirit of PPM150 “Healthy Eating in Schools”, we ask that when celebrating birthdays: please send non-food items, such as pencils or stickers. We will not be accepting food items for treats due to the potential risk to students and the wish to set healthy eating standards. We apologize in advance but cannot make exceptions to our policy.

SYNREVOICE Messaging System

You have been receiving calls from the school using the SYNREVOICE messaging system for important information from the school.

We now have the ability to email and text out to the school community, in a timely fashion, important school information. SMS text and email are of particular interest as many parents are not always available via phone at their work locations. If you would like to receive a text and/or email to be contacted in addition to your home number, please follow the following instructions.

1. Ensure the school has your updated cell number on file.
2. If the school did not have your cell phone number on file and just added it, wait 24 hours before proceeding to the next step.
3. From your cell phone, text the word join to the number 56360.

If our messaging system finds a match for your number in its database, you will receive a confirmation message thanking you for joining school alerts. At anytime you can unsubscribe by texting stop to 56360.

Please create a contact on your phone with the name of your school or school district (if you have children who attend different schools in the district) example: create contact Brisdale Messages and phone number 56360 and type join.

BRISDALE WEBSITE

Please visit our school website at

for school updates.

BRISDALE TWITTER

Stay current with our Brisdale Twitter feed. Follow us @brisdaleps

Brisdale Homework Policy

At Brisdale we believe that elementary school homework is an opportunity for students to develop positive habits (quiet place, specific time and routines at home) and learning skills. Students will be given an opportunity to reinforce taught concepts from the Ontario Curriculum. We believe that homework is a shared responsibility between school and home to support our students. Homework should be a positive experience for all. Homework should never be frustrating or punitive in nature. Students should complete their homework and feel positive about themselves as a learner and a student.

The frequency of homework will be set by the classroom teacher and will be communicated to parents in early September. We believe that the quality of homework is much more important than the quantity of homework. Young students in K-2 will not exceed 25 minutes a night and that would include a portion of time assigned to shared reading or discussions on read topics. Grade 3, 4 and 5 students could expect no more that 40 minutes a night and parents are encouraged to communicate with the teacher when a child is spending more than the allotted time on assigned tasks.

At Brisdale, we believe homework expectations should be balanced with the student’s life outside of school. As a result, homework will not be assigned on scheduled holy days and holidays as outlined on school calendars. We also respect that many of our children are actively involved in arts, sports and other extremely important community functions beyond the school day. We recognize that many of our parents work long hours in support of their families and we want to work positively with you. We will provide families with flexibility in completing work that is assigned over a period of time.

Homework will not be assigned for students on prolonged vacations as per Board policy and at times when natural breaks from school occur. Children will be encouraged to partake in community opportunities, family time. Parents can always choose to give students assigned work they deem as important or appropriate. Many resources can be found on the board website at

Teachers commit to communicate assigned tasks through their My Class website and that homework should be clear and purposeful. Homework will not include untaught or difficult to learn concepts but rather reinforce the learning children have already exhibited. Homework will be checked but not evaluated to be part of a subject mark.

Parents commit to helping their child by providing the space and structure required. Parents will help students with taught concepts and communicate with their teacher if and when difficulty with assignments occur.

We all agree that we want our children to - Try their Best! Do their best! Be their best!

BRISDALE B.Y.O.D

(Developed in conjunction with School Council)

At Brisdale PS we understand that the 21st century learner will have many tools at their finger tips and as educators and parents we are always looking at ways to enrich the learning experience. Students are welcome to bring devices to school that can be used to support their learning.

Teachers

 Communicate when having a device would be beneficial to your child in terms of the content or skill being taught in the classroom and the length of time the device would be beneficial at school

 Model how to use devices(s) responsibly and as a learning tool

 Teach the importance of digital citizenship into the 21st century (being safe, being kind, being responsible with technology)

 Provide equitable access to technology for those who do not have access to one from home

 Provide a routine for storing devices in the classroom

Parents

 Decide if their child will bring a device to school or not if the teacher has requested such

 Reinforce with their child that the device is for school work that is assigned in the classroom

 Check their child’s device and digital signature on a regular basis and communicate any concerns to the school principal, vice principal

 Be financially responsible for the device at home and school

Students

 Use the device as a learning tool only

 Learn and establish their own digital citizenship

 Will not use it in the bathroom, change room or at recess time (failure to do so will result in the tool being confiscated till the end of the day)

 Will not take pictures unless discussed with their teacher

TEN WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD SUCCEED IN SCHOOL

1. Talk regularly with your child’s teacher and work together for student success.

1. Attend school functions and celebrate your child’s achievements (big or small).

1. Use positive language about all students in the school; a strong support for all children help your child too.

1. Model excellent behaviour in dealing with challenges at school children learn by what they see and hear from us all.

1. Periodically look at their school work and focus on one or two areas for growth at a time, your teacher can help you with this.

1. Read their report card and focus on your child’s learning skills; they become employability skills into adulthood.

1. Know that you are welcome at Brisdale and we want to know how we can help our children and community.

1. Talk with the Principal or come to school meetings if you have suggestions for improvement.

1. Read and discuss academic topics with your child at any age.

1. School should be challenging and childhood should be fun.