Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over and that we will be back to school next week!
Phase 2 of our school renovations are complete! You will have an opportunity to come into the school soon to see all of the amazing changes. Everyone worked together to have the renovations completed on time. Thank you so much to our custodians Mrs. T and Mr. S and staff for working so hard to get the school ready for kids to return.
Below you will find the information you may be wondering about related to the start-up of our 2023-24 school year!
- Your child’s teacher will be reaching out via email to introduce themselves and to give you details about the first day. Meeting locations will be dependent on your child’s grade and teacher. These details will be provided by your child’s teacher.
- There will be 2 JK/SK classes this year!
- Class placements and teachers are tentative until late September. In every elementary school, there is the possibility of a school reorganization.
- All JK/SK students will gather at the back of the school to meet. Students who ride a bus will have a staff member meet them and will walk them to the meeting area. Parents who walk or drive their child will walk their child along the WEST side of the building. The meeting area will be marked for you.
- WE ARE ASKING THAT PARENTS DROP THEIR CHILD OFF AND REMAIN OFF OF THE SCHOOL YARD. Staff supervision takes over once your child is dropped off. The same rule applies at pick up time Morning supervision starts at 8:40 a.m. After school supervision ends at 3:20 p.m.
- The first day of school is very exciting and very busy. We ask for your patience as we help students find their teacher and meeting place.
SCHOOL DAY
8:45 a.m. – Student drop off
8:50 a.m. – Entry Bell -students will line up in their class lines
9:00 a.m. – Announcements
9:00 a.m.-10:50 a.m. – Instructional Block
10:50 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. – Nutrition Break #1 – All students eat for 20 minutes and then head outside for 20 minutes.
11:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. – Instructional Block
1:20 p.m.- 2:00 p.m. – Instructional Block – All students eat for 20 minutes and then head outside for 20 minutes.
2:00 p.m. – 3:10 p.m. – Instructional Block
3:10 p.m. – Dismissal
SCHOOL STAFF
Principal – Krista Bell
Office Professional – Nancy Anderson
Head Custodian – Anne Trushinski
Night Custodian – Tyler Sweiger
Educational Assistants: Dan Kerr, Jaclyn Parker, Elizabeth Newman
Early Childhood Educators– Jenna Sachan and TBD
JK/SK – Courtney Alexander
JK/SK - TBD
Grade 1 – Emily Welsh
Grade 1/2– Marilyn Wilkinson
Grade 2/3 – Michelle Rivet
Grade 3/4 – Allison McLeod
Grade 4/5 – Emily Berry
Grade 6/7/8 Homeroom and 7/8 Guidance Teacher – Matthew Muma
Primary/Junior/Intermediate Coverage – Marnie Snoek
Coverage – Donalda Boyd
Learning Resource Teacher – Sheena Middleton
Core French – Emily Berry
Junior/Intermediate Music and 7/8 Art – Allison McLeod
FIRST DAY
Teachers will be on the yard with a name tag and their class name. They will be greeting their students and will help them get to their class line ups. There will be staff available to help students find their teacher.
We will have a whole school assembly at 9:30 a.m. to celebrate being back together.
ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL
Supervision on the yard begins at 8:40 a.m. There is no adult supervision before this time.
Please use the sidewalks provided. All drop off’s are along the East side of the school.
NO DROP OFF’S ARE PERMITTED IN THE BUS LOOP before and after school for safety reasons. Please drive slowly in the bus loop. Parents are asked to walk across to the school to pick up their child rather than having their child cross the bus loop and parking lot. Look both ways when crossing the bus loop from the parking lot. It is a very busy place. Parents are to “drop and go” in order to alleviate congestion at the drop off location and on the school yard.
All JK/SK students will gather at the Kindergarten entrance on the west side of the building by the Kids and Us Daycare Center.
Walkers – need to arrive NO EARLIER THAN 8:40 a.m. There is no adult supervision before this time.
BIKES
Students may ride their bike to school. Students are responsible for wearing a helmet when riding and for locking their bike on the bike rack upon arrival. Scooters are to be kept at the main office and not by coat racks for safe keeping.
LATE ARRIVALS – All students are expected to arrive ON TIME. Students are considered late after 8:50 a.m. ALL EXTERIOR DOORS WILL BE LOCKED. Those who arrive late will need to have their parent call the school and/or sign their child in by ringing the doorbell at the front of the school. Mrs. Anderson will sign students in upon arrival.
EARLY DEPARTURE
If you are picking your child up during the daytime, please inform your child’s teacher by writing a note and/or please call the main office. Older students may not make arrangements with a parent for early departure by using a cell phone. It is critical that the main office is the point of communication for any early departures by students.
DEPARTURE
Dismissal is at 3:10 p.m. Younger children will be supervised by an adult to ensure that students are picked up by their parent or caregiver. Bus students will exit from the front doors. All other classes will depart from their assigned exits once the 3:10 p.m. dismissal bell has gone.
The JK/SK classes will be dismissed from the back of the building and into the care of the parent by the Kindergarten door.
DAYCARE
If your child attends the before and/or after school program at Kids and Us, it is critical that you inform the school AND the daycare of any changes in after school care arrangements. Open and clear communication helps us to make sure that your child gets to their after school care safely and without confusion. Please call our main office or send an email to [email protected]. Thanks for your help with this. BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM IS NOW RUNNING OUT OF THE LIBRARY😊
BUSSING TO SCHOOL
The bus operator should have reached out to you to share bussing arrangements by now. I highly recommend subscribing to the bus operator subscription at https://brucegreyschoolbus.ca. I will be meeting with all bus students on the first day of school to review how to ride the bus safely to and from school.
BUS CHANGES
Bus changes need to be indicated in the student planner, on a written note that is signed and dated by the parent, a phone call to the office or an email to [email protected] is fine as well.
ABSENCES
All student absences MUST BE CALLED IN to the safe arrival mailbox no later than 9:15 a.m. each day. Please leave a voice mail or send an email to the address above. (519-353-5691). Please be sure to leave your child’s name, grade, teacher and reason for the absence. If for some reason we did not receive a call regarding your child’s absence, Mrs. Anderson is required by law to make a safe arrival call to ensure your child’s safety.
UPDATED MEDICAL INFORMATION
If there have been any changes in your child’s medical needs, please call the school to let us know. Paper work needs to be completed in cases where there is a diagnosed medical need by a physician. Students who need medication of any type (including an epi pen, Tylenol) need a form to be signed and medication to be stored at the office. Students are not permitted to keep medication in their back pack for safety reasons.
PHOTO CONSENT
During the school year, we like to take pictures of students having fun and learning. A photo consent form is included in the school year paper work that will be sent home. If you do not want your student having their picture taken or shared in any way, please indicate this on the form. We certainly do not want to post pictures to our group email or on our Face Book feed if you prefer that we don’t.
SCHOOL CASH ON-LINE
Any item that is available for purchase through the school goes through a system called school cash on-line. In order to use this service, you will need to sign up. Programs like milk, pizza and fundraising items that are run through the school are paid for through school cash on-line. Please see the page that is attached to this letter for instructions on how to sign up.
COMMUNICATION HOME
Communication between home and school is very important. There are many times when the Principal sends messages home to parents. These messages are sent through School Messenger. Visit the app store to download School Messenger. It’s super handy! If you notice that you aren’t receiving any emails from the Principal, please reach out to the school and inquire. If your email has changed, please let us know so we can update our contact information to make sure that you are getting all of the information that is sent home.
You can reach your child’s teacher by calling the school or by using their board email using the following format:
[email protected] (e.g. [email protected]).
ELECTRONIC DEVICES (e.g., cell phones)
We understand that many students have electronic devices such as cell phones. Cell phones need to be turned off and stored in the options provided by the teacher during school hours. For added security, classrooms have a cabinet that locks and is secure for cell phone storage. Cell phones are not to be used for phone calls, texting, videoing or photography. These devices have a negative impact on learning and jeopardize the safety and privacy of other students. The staff are not responsible for missing or damaged cell phones. Parents/Guardians can contact their children through the main office. Personal devices may be used during agreed up times with their teacher for instructional purposes. If there is a learning reason and specific purpose for the use of a device, this will be at the discretion of the Principal.
WATER BOTTLES
Students are encouraged to bring a refillable water with them to school. We now have 3 water bottle filling stations!
BREAKFAST PROGRAM
In order to run breakfast club, we need your help! WE ARE ACCEPTING VOLUNTEERS! Breakfast club will begin Sept. 11th. There will be no breakfast club the first week of school. Thanks to Mel Brown who is organizing our menu and volunteers!
VOLUNTEERS
ALL VOLUNTEERS ARE REQUIRED TO FILL IN A PACKAGE that includes a current police check. If you would like to volunteer in some capacity and/or expect that you will want to go on a field trip with a class, please call the school to ask for a volunteer package. Once it is completed the first time, it is easy to maintain and keep up to date. If you have already completed a package, then you will only need to sign an Offense Declaration that is provided by the school.
Food Contracts
Pizza days and milk orders will be available again this year! All orders need to be placed through School Cash On-Line. We will be sending information about these special days soon! Milk starts Oct. 2. Pizza Days are every Friday starting Oct. 6.
Important September Events
- Tuesday, Sept. 5 – First Day of School
- Friday, Sept. 22– PD DAY – No school for students
- Wednesday, Sept. 27 – Parent Council Meeting – School Library – 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. More info. to come
- Friday, Sept. 29 – Orange Shirt Day/Every Child Matters Day
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this information. As always, please reach out via phone or email if you have any questions or concerns. We are happy to help😊 Let’ go Panthers!
Sincerely,
Krista Bell – Principal
Paisley Panther Cheer
We are the panthers, yes we are!
When we work together we can get so far.
We love to laugh and we love to play,
We will try our best, every day.
When things get tough, when things go wrong,
We remember that we are panther strong.
So see our smiles and hear our roar,
Then get ready to watch us soar!
OOH OOH AH AH
(stomp, stomp, clap, clap)
OOH OOH AH AH
(stomp, stomp, clap, clap)
GOOOOOOO Panthers!