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General School Information General School Information School Hours 8:30 a.m. - Doors open 8:40 a.m. - O’Canada & Announcements 8:50 a.m. - Classes Begin 10:20 a.m. - Recess 12:10 p.m. - Lunch time recess 12:35 p.m. - Students eat lunch 1:00 p.m. - Afternoon classes begin 2:40 p.m. - Dismissal SIX DAY CYCLE We, like other schools, operate on a six day cycle. Any day the students are present at the majority of schools counts as a day. So, on days there is no school in the district, the day carries over to the next day the students are there. Confused? Don’t worry, we will keep you informed. SCHOOL SAFETY Please, always report to the office when coming in to the school. EARLY ARRIVALS Children who arrive before the 8:20 a.m. bell are expected to wait outside, therefore we ask that students not arrive at school prior to 8:30 a.m. Bus students are supervised outside upon arrival. ATTENDANCE Regular attendance is an important factor in a student’s success. If your child is going to be absent, please call the school between 8:00 and 8:45 am, so the teacher can be alerted and any homework can be prepared. Notes or phone calls explaining student absences are a courtesy to the homeroom teacher. On the practical side, they help ensure that students are absent from school with parent approval and help to make the teacher aware of problems which might affect student performance. STUDENT PLACEMENT In June, teachers will inform parents/guardians of their recommendation for the following year. According to Eastern School District Policy, students working below grade level in Language Arts or Math, and students on modified programs or IEP’s will be placed. CLASS ASSIGNMENT Arranging classes is a monumental task that takes much time and discussion. Factors, including academic strengths and limitations, social and emotional needs as well as group dynamics are examined as classes are arranged. Only under exceptional circumstances will we entertain requests for placement in certain classes. Please address your requests to the Principal or Vice Principal. PARKING LOT SAFETY/PICK UP OF STUDENTS We have a very busy parking lot. Please use extreme caution when entering, driving through and exiting our parking lot. Students who are walking or being picked up at the end of the day will exit the building only after the buses are gone. This is at the same time as the walking students. If you are picking up your child early from school, please send a note to your child’s teacher so they can be ready for you in the lobby. We cannot page students during the school day as it is very disruptive to classes. If leaving early, students must be signed out at the office. SCHOOL CANCELLATIONS, DELAYS AND EARLY DISMISSALS Decisions to cancel or delay the opening of schools are made by the Eastern School District Transportation Supervisor in consultation with various contacts. When there is a radio announcement referring to either the Eastern School District or Bluefield Family of Schools, then Eliot River is affected. Decisions to close early will be also be announced on the local radio stations. Children should have their "emergency plan" in place on the first day of school so that they are comfortable with where to go if there is early dismissal. Parents/guardians are asked to fill out a "plan" form at the first of the school year. EMERGENCY EVACUATION PROCEDURES This plan is in place in the event we have to evacuate the building/premises: 1. Exit the building and assemble in a predetermined area. 2. Teachers complete an attendance check. 3. Walk to Westwood Primary, if not reentering the building. 4. Students proceed home by bus or if early dismissal, according to student’s emergency plan. 5. Parents would be notified by local radio announcement in case of early dismissal. 6. Debriefing with staff and parents notified with explanation of why the evacuation happened. EMERGENCY LOCK DOWN PROCEDURES A lock down procedure would be used in response to an emergency situation that involved potential serious physical threat/harm to students and staff. We have developed a procedure at Eliot River and will be practicing lock down drills, as well as, discussing the procedure with our students. CONSENT FORMS AND NOTES We regret being responsible for the seemingly endless number of consent forms and notes that the school requests, but these requests are necessary for home communication and school board policy. Consent forms serve a definite purpose. They indicate parental approval for special events. The signed consent form is tangible proof that parents are aware of, and, in agreement with what is being done through the school. TEXTBOOKS Students must take good care of their textbooks as they are on loan to them for the year. Students must cover the cost of lost or damaged books which have been assigned to them. This includes library books. LABELING Please label all students’ clothing and possessions. PROGRAMS STUDENT LEADERSHIP Students are given many opportunities to show their leadership abilities and their strengths through a variety of extracurricular programs at Eliot River. Various clubs and organized activities are available throughout the year outside of classroom hours. Some of these include juggling, chess, cheerleading, crafts, knitting, card trading, gardening, as well as monitoring responsibilities in the hallways, library and office. Many extra activities for students are centered around the Phys. Ed. and Music programs. PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM The Physical Education program at Eliot River is an important part of our students’ total development. Through the delivery of our program students will be given the opportunity to develop physical skills, personal/social skills and an understanding of the importance of physical activity in a healthy lifestyle. We believe it is important to provide our students with a wide variety of activities. All students are encouraged to learn at their own level and to take pride in their accomplishments. Activities covered in the class instruction include orienteering, flag football, volleyball, basketball, juggling, wrestling, lacrosse, fitness activities, low organized games and others. Many of the games are modified to suit the developmental level of our students. Activities outside class time often complement class instruction and are run with the assistance of student leaders. Our school presently participates in interschool competitions in cross-country running, badminton and track and field. Also we have a very popular before school activity program from November to May. Students are welcome to drop in to the school four days a week (Tuesday through Friday) from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. to participate. Students at Eliot River are expected to prepare for Physical Education by changing into appropriate clothing. This includes shorts, t-shirts and indoor non-marking running shoes. We encourage students to develop these habits to ensure safety and good hygiene. MUSIC PROGRAM Students receive instruction in music as part of their regular curriculum. There are a number of other opportunities for participation as well. Our school choir begins practicing early in the school year, with any grade four, five or six students welcome to join. The only requirements are a love of singing and attendance at all rehearsals, which are at lunchtime. As well, concerts will be presented throughout the year. LIBRARY The primary focus of the library at Eliot River is to inspire the development of literate lifelong learners. The library strives to keep its collection current, dynamic and challenging as one means of enhancing both recreational reading and developing information literacy skills. Our library currently houses over 10,000 books (both English and French) in its print collection which focus on a multitude of genres and reading abilities. Regular scheduled book exchanges are offered and in addition the library is open for borrowing at 8:30 a.m. and all morning. The teacher librarian works cooperatively with classroom teachers at each grade level on a variety of "projects" designed to teach effective research skills employing both print materials and technology. This year we are looking for adult volunteers interested in reading with individual students or small groups on a regular basis. We believe strongly that reading with students and listening to them read must both be practiced daily in order to maximize reading potential. In addition we can always use volunteers to help in the everyday operation of our library. RESOURCE PROGRAM The Resource teachers work closely with the classroom teachers to focus on students needs in order to succeed. The Resource teachers evaluate students through informal assessment to determine strengths and needs in order to develop appropriate programs and strategies. They work with students in all grades to give extra assistance in many subject areas. Besides having students in Resource class time, the Resource teachers often provide the classroom teachers with program materials for various subject areas to be used by students within their regular classroom. SCHOOL COUNSELOR Eliot River has a full time counselor and a part-time youth service worker. The counseling program offered at our school is available to help students, parents/caregivers and educators develop positive learning experiences. The program consists of a variety of services and activities, including individual and group counseling, parent consultation, teacher consultation, information services, preventative education and referral assistance to services in the community. Some specific areas where a school counselor might be able to offer help: - Develop positive relationships with family, friends, school and community. - Build positive feelings towards self and others. - Develop skills in interacting and communicating with others. - Cope with change in themselves and their surroundings. - Change unhealthy life choices to healthy ones. - Establish effective study skills. - Identify and accept their own and others’ strengths and weaknesses. - Recognize the causes and effects of one’s actions. - Cope with difficult situations and feelings. - Become responsible for own behavior. - Adjust to a new school HEALTHY EATING Our school nutrition policy states that eating properly is very important in helping us to grow, learn and play. Parents, students and teachers should work together to help develop positive attitudes and habits in healthy eating. Parents are encouraged to ensure that children eat a good breakfast each day and help their children make good choices for snacks and lunch food (no pop, candy, etc.) Lunches should always include a nutritious main course such as a sandwich, salad, pasta or cheese and crackers. Fruit or a milk based pudding is a healthy dessert. We are a peanut aware school and require that all food sent with children be free from peanut or peanut product. School Lunches The following food programs are made available through the generous time and efforts of parent and community volunteers who collect money, as well as, prepare and serve some of the food items. Any donation of time would be greatly appreciated. Just call the school to volunteer. Monday - Chicken Nuggets with veggies - $2.50 Tuesday - Potato - $1.00 Wednesday - Hamburger - $2.00 Thursday - 6" Subway sub - $3.50 Friday - Pizza - $2.00 per slice. Food coupons and milk tokens will (only) be sold on the second Tuesday of each month. Please ensure that your child purchases enough coupons and milk tickets for a months supply. Students must use the coupons to order their lunches. Lunch orders will be taken on Monday mornings by 10:30. We cannot accept late orders. Breakfast Served every morning free of charge to students who don’t have breakfast at home. Students who have parent permission are issued a breakfast pass which must be presented to receive breakfast. Donations of money or food items much appreciated. As well, volunteers are always needed to help prepare and serve breakfast. Milk The School Milk Foundation provides a subsidized program for white milk. A 250ml carton of milk is .50 cents. Chocolate milk is also available at a cost of .75 cents. Students may purchase milk tokens on the second Tuesday of each month. CARING PLACES TO LEARN/CODE OF CONDUCT The Eastern School District Caring Places to Learn Policy is designed to ensure that schools provide healthy, safe and supportive working and learning environment for all students and staff members. This policy is an "umbrella" policy which supports each school’s own policies and practices in this area. www.edu.pe.ca/esd |
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