Attendance/Extended Absences/Vacations

Bikes/Skateboards

Birthday/Treats

Boomerang Lunches/Eco Team

Busing (Field Trips)

Busing (Student Transportation)

Cell Phones/Electronics

Child Care

Class Building

Communication With Staff

Crossing Guards

Dismissal

Dogs

Drills

Dropping Off Items

ATTENDANCE:

Regular attendance at school creates the foundation for your child’s learning.  If your child is going to be absent or late, please call the attendance line prior to 8:15am, 519-896-4159, Press 1 or by email, jwg-attendance.wrdsb.ca (please put your child’s name in the subject line).

EXTENDED ABSENCES/VACATIONS:

If your child will be absent for 5 or more school days, you are required to complete a Temporary Student Withdrawal form prior to the absence.  Please see the office staff for this form.

BIKES/SKATEBOARDS:

If your child rides their bike, scooter or skateboard to school, they must walk it when they arrive on school property to avoid collisions.  They must also be locked outside in our bike racks as storage for larger items is not available within the classroom or school.

BIRTHDAYS/TREATS:

Birthdays and seasonal classroom celebrations are an exciting time but can also be very stressful for students with allergies.

With this in mind, we are asking all parents to follow a “no treats” rule. Sending treats to the classroom to celebrate can exclude those children who have food allergies, diabetes or other dietary restrictions.

If you would like to send stickers, pencils, or any other non-food items; please check with your child’s teacher first.

We ask that you do not send any items that may be a distraction to the learning taking place in the classroom, such as large balloon bouquets.

Your child’s teacher will send further communication prior to classroom special events.

BOOMERANG LUNCHES / ECO TEAM:

J.W. Gerth is proud to be recognized as a Platinum level school by Ontario Eco-Schools. Boomerang lunches have been a part of our environmental portfolio since the school’s opening.

Students are required to return all waste that comes to school home in their lunch bags each day. Reusable zippered bags for waste are a great way to keep your child’s lunch bag clean if you are unable to pack a waste-free lunch.

A new initiative by our Eco-Team this year is to reduce the amount of single-use plastics being used in our school, we will no longer be providing plastic cutlery for students during nutrition breaks. With this in mind, please send your child with all needed cutlery for their lunches. The Eco-Team thanks you for your continued support!

BUSING (Field Trips):

Off Campus trips will take place during the school year and student safety is very important.  All students will participate in a bus evacuation drill and information session in the fall.

BUSING (Student Transportation):

Student bus eligibility is determined by our Student Transportation Services department (www.stswr.ca) and is based on distance from the school as per the age of the student.

It is very important for our students to board the bus quickly at the end of the day.  Buses will not be held for dawdling students, so please reinforce this with your child, as riding the bus is a privilege.

Student Transportation Subscription Services Instructions

The Student Transportation subscription service allows parents to receive delays and cancellations to their email address.  These notices come directly from Student Transportation, not the school.

For Parents and Guardians who use the Student Login to retrieve their child(ren)’s busing information, there is a section at the bottom of the Student Login to enter an email for the subscription as well.

For instructions on how to set up this email service, please click on the following link:   http://www.stswr.ca/parents/subscription-service-instructions/

Kindergarten First Rider Program – introduces new riders to the school bus and teaches them how to be a safe and responsible rider.  Families will learn how to board, ride and get off the bus safely and become familiar with transportation procedures for Junior and Senior Kindergarten students. More information will be included in a summer mail out prior to the start of the school year.

CELL PHONES/ELECTRONICS:

Students may bring a cell phone to school, during the travel to and from school for safety reasons; otherwise they are stored in their backpack.  They are not permitted during the school day or nutrition breaks.  However if a teacher allows electronics time (older grades) they are permitted for project work (data use).  It is up to the parent and the student to decide if the cell phone/electronics are necessary and that the student is responsible for storing the item safely.  The school is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

CHILD CARE:

We are pleased to have a third-party provider, YMCA offering child care from 7am to 6pm.  Please contact them directly at 519-748-4356 for more information.

CLASS BUILDING:

We would like to share with you our class building process.  Below are the criteria that staff use to guide their decision-making when placing students in their new classes.

Criteria for class building:

• grouping reading/math levels together to support small group instruction
• grouping grade level modifications together to support small group instruction and special education support
• how students with social emotional learning needs are grouped to maximize the availability of resource supports and promote a positive class culture
• the ratio of boys to girls
• learning styles

Other Considerations:

• Class placements are tentative based on enrolment with the composition of the class (grades/number of students) pre-determined by our Board
• Our School Based Team will review all class placements considering learning and social emotional needs
• Administration will review final class lists

Class building is Step One in ensuring a positive classroom and school culture. This complex process takes a great deal of time and thought, but time that is well spent in ensuring a successful school year.

Parent requests for certain classes will not be considered.

**Class lists are final.**

In order to determine your child’s classroom teacher for the next school year, instructions will be provided via School-Day in late August just prior to the start of the new school year.

COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF:

If you need to speak to a staff member, we ask that you use our voicemail system or email. It can be accessed by using the school phone number 519-896-4159, press 2 and select the appropriate extension.

You may also send a note with your child. Many staff members have chosen to provide their email addresses to you.

Time sensitive or emergency matters may be directed through the office staff.

CROSSING GUARDS:

The City of Kitchener determines where a crossing guard will be placed.  Currently, our Crossing Guard is on duty at Pine Valley Drive and Apple Ridge Drive during the following times:

–        Morning – 8:30 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. and

–        Afternoon – 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

School designated crossings are identified with signage as well as white lines.  When there is no one on duty, pedestrians must wait for an appropriate gap (no vehicles present in either direction at the crossing facility) since vehicles have the RIGHT of WAY.  Vehicles are not required to stop when the Crossing Guard is not on duty; please use care even if a vehicle should stop out of courtesy.

In our community, we have a number of construction vehicles, as well as drivers new to our area, so please spend some time with your children discussing how to cross safely.  We also ask that you obey the crossing guard as they are there to ensure the safety of all at the crossing.  This includes adults, as well as our students.

Always look both ways prior to crossing.

Any questions or concerns may be directed to:  City of Kitchener, at 519-741-2200 x 7232

DISMISSAL:

Upon dismissal, please meet your child at a predetermined location. We ask that you avoid standing near the exit doors as the congestion creates a safety issue for our exiting students. Please do not enter the building with the intention to wait inside due to inclement weather.

Be on time to pick up your child from school.  Construction traffic has become a daily part of our lives here in the Doon area.  Allow extra time or have an emergency pick up plan in place.

DOGS:

As per School Board Policy, dogs are not permitted on school property during the school day which includes our Y daycare program from 7am to 6pm.  After hours, dogs may access the grounds but must be leashed as required by the City of Kitchener. While you may consider your family dog as friendly, they may react very differently in the presence of many children.  We also have a number of students with severe anxiety/or allergies to dogs.

Service Dogs are the only exception.

 DRILLS:

Students will participate in a number of emergency drills.  These will include Fire, Tornado, and Lockdown.  Staff will prepare our students for these drills.

DROPPING OFF ITEMS:

We kindly ask that parents avoid dropping off forgotten items such as water bottles, projects, money, etc.  Each circumstance creates an interruption to the learning taking place in the classroom.  Please send your child with proper clothing for the weather, their complete lunch, etc.  We encourage students to be responsible for their own items and to possibly contribute to the morning plan at home.