SCHOOL OPENING PROCEDURES AND GENERAL INFORMATION

August 28, 2016 - 9 minutes read

Parking Guidelines
Please DO NOT ENTER or PARK in the STAFF LOT adjacent to the Portable. It is for STAFF ONLY between the hours of 8:15am and 3:30pm. Parents dropping off or picking up from “La Maison” daycare are asked to park in the spots in front of the school and walk your child to the portable after 8:15am or before 3:30pm

Student safety is paramount PARKING FOR PARENTS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY IS LIMITED TO THE SPACES MARKED “VISITOR” in the turn-around in front of the school

Between the hours of 8:40am and 3:15pm, if travelling by car, parents of primary students (Kindergarten – Grade Three) will be able to drop off and pick up their children at the main entrance of the school and make use of the turnaround. Please remain in your vehicles, children can safely enter and exit from vehicles using the sidewalk directly in front of the school.

Parents of intermediate students are asked to drop off their children and/or park either to the south of the school on Margaree Place (accessed from Keith Road) or to the north of the school along Inglewood via the playground.

Parking is available along Inglewood, Burley, and Margaree, although we encourage parents to carpool in addition to respecting our neighbors, and municipal bylaws.

First Day

Tuesday, September 6th 9:00 – 10:00 am
Grades 1 – 7 students report to rooms by Grade as posted on all exterior doors.

All parents (including Kindergarten parents) are invited to the PAC sponsored “Welcome Tea” in the Gym.
Parents are reminded to please access street parking on Burley, Inglewood or Margaree and to be respectful of our neighbors by not parking in or blocking driveways.

First Week Hours
Wednesday September 7thth to Friday, September 9th will be full regular days (8:50am – 3:00pm) for students in Grades One – Grade Seven

Office Hours
Regular Office Hours are 8:00am – 3:30pm. Parents wishing to contact staff members are requested to please do so by email to set up an appointment or phone conference time. Staff may be contacted via email by using their first initial, last name and wvschools.ca (i.e. jsmith@wvschools.ca)

School Supplies

Orders placed through EduPac in May/June
should arrive for the start of school. If you did not purchase school supplies through EduPac, please send them with your child on Wednesday, September 7th. Supply lists by grade are accessible on the school website. Fees for Agendas and consumable workbooks such as JumpMath and Handwriting Without Tears, will be collected the first week of school.

Timely Arrival

Please assist your child in arriving to school on time. Schedules and routines are extremely important to a child’s development and academic achievement as key concepts and lessons begin promptly at 8:55 am. If your child will be late or absent, please call the school at 604.981.1390. Our parent volunteer-run “Call Back” is in place to help ensure the safety of our children and we call all contact numbers in priority sequence if a child is not accounted for. Please assist us by ensuring that you have called in to report your child’s absence.

Extended absences

We encourage all families to please use our school calendar when making plans for family vacations and ask that families do not use school time for family holidays. Absences due to family holidays may negatively affect student achievement and any work missed is the responsibility of the family. Teachers do their best to support missed work but may not be able to provide materials in advance of time missed due to family holidays.

Weather Closure of Schools

Decisions to close schools for the safety of children are made by the Superintendent. Parents, students and staff will be informed of the Superintendent’s decision via the District Website, an email sent to all parents, and the 24-hour information line at 604 981 1234, Special Announcements. Please DO NOT call the school as our priority will be to ensure the immediate safety of those in our care.

Early Dismissal for Personal Reasons

Please, whenever possible, make appointments for your child outside of school hours, it is very disruptive to the learning environment of all learners when other students leave early or arrive late. If you do need to pick up your child early, we would ask that you advise your child, child’s teacher and the office in advance so that whenever possible, the child is ready to leave without interrupting their classmates. All students must be signed out in person from the office.

Lunches

Please send your child with a snack, lunch and a refillable water bottle in the morning. If for some reason your child did not come to school in the morning with their lunch, lunches can be left in the office for your child to pick up during their non-instructional times.

Ecole Cedardale is part of the Metro Vancouver waste-free initiative, as such, we ask that you help our learners to make healthy food choices and pack their food in re-usable containers. Packaging from lunches, including Fun Lunch orders, will be sent home for disposal. Please refrain from sending juice boxes with your child, and instead send a re-fillable water bottle. Filtered water-bottle filling stations are found throughout the school.

Fun-lunch is a PAC organized and run service that provides parents with the ability to order lunch for their child and is a fundraiser for the PAC. More information will be coming in the first few weeks regarding ordering and purchase of Fun Lunch items. If you are able to volunteer on Fun Lunch days, please contact our PAC.

Student Messages

Parents with emergency messages for their children are asked to contact the office. Notification of these messages will be passed on to the classroom teacher. As we are protective of the learning environment of all of our students we cannot relay messages to students during the day regarding issues concerning social arrangements or playdates.

Student Illness

If your child is ill, please keep them home to rest and contact Mme Vaartnou via email at lvaartnou@wvschools.ca or call and leave a message at 604 981 1390.

Medical Plans

Parents of students with life-threatening allergies and medical conditions are asked to contact the school so that Mme LaBounty can meet with parents to set up a Medical Plan to educate staff on appropriate ways to support the child.

Electronic Devices

Cell phones, iPods, game systems, etc. are not appropriate for the classroom in most cases. As some of these devices are costly and potential targets of theft, the suggested best security plan for students is to leave these devices at home. If students are bringing Cell phones to school for safety reasons, they are asked to leave them in their school bags.

For student in Grades Five-Seven, classroom use of personal computers is encouraged, and teachers will outline their expectations at curriculum night to parents.

All Cedardale students will have access to Cedardale-owned electronic devices that will include iPads, iPods, and laptops and parents will be asked to discuss and sign the Cedardale Agreement for Appropriate use of technology that will be sent home.