Riverside Education Centre September 2014 Newsletter ADMINISTRATORS’ MESSAGE Dear Students and Parents/Guardians, Welcome back to REC for the 2014-2015 school year. This school year promises to be an exciting one for the 585 grade 6, 7 and 8 students. Staff have been busy the last couple of weeks planning and getting organized so that all students have a successful start up to their school year. A big focus during the first two weeks will be the importance of school procedures and routines. Staff and students will be building a solid foundation and fundamental understanding of the need for both classroom and school wide procedures to ensure academic success for all. Middle school is an exciting place to be! We look forward to working together to ensure your child(ren’s) academic success. Please take time to sit with your child and go through the information sent home. Take the opportunity to keep in touch with what your child is doing by accessing the Public Portal and checking out our website. Please be sure to call or e-mail if you have any questions or concerns. Mike Topshee, Principal Simon Gatto, Vice-Principal Lee Anne Arsenault, Guidance WHAT'S HAPPENING IN SEPTEMBER! STUDENT REGISTRATION PACKAGE Please complete the registration package that was sent home the first day of school and return all forms to your child’s homeroom teacher by Thursday, September 11th. Please take a few moments to read and go over the Policies / Procedures. Please note there is no student fee this year. QSP FUNDRAISER QSP "Family Reading" fundraiser will start on Friday, September 12th. Students participating in this fundraiser are rewarded with fun prizes for their efforts. Riverside appreciates your support of the worthwhile fundraiser. GRADE 7 IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM The first of three Grade 7 Immunization sessions will take place on October 27th & 28th – parental consent forms and information was sent home the first day of school and are due back to your child’s homeroom teacher by Friday, September 12th. ANTI-BULLYING DAY On Thursday, September 18th, all schools in the CCRSB will be focusing on Anti-Bullying. All students are encouraged to wear PINK on this day to show support for our efforts to make the message the clear. PARENT ORIENTATION All parents/guardians are encouraged come to meet your child's teachers on Thursday, September 18th, note the change in date from the school calendar that was sent home. There will be two sessions for grade 7 & 8, the first session will be at 6:30 p.m. and repeated at 7:00 p.m. Grade 6 parents will have a 1-hour session from 6:30-7:30 p.m. beginning in the Cafetorium. PICTURE DAY Picture Day for all students is Wednesday, September 24th. Pridham’s is the School Photographer. A proof picture envelope will be sent home with your child picture day, no payment required until this comes home. “Riverside Education Centre is a learning environment that challenges all to become respectful and responsible citizens” 6 Riverside Drive, Milford, NS B0N 1Y0 Telephone: 902-758-4660 / Fax: 902-758-4666 Website: http://riverside.ccrsb.ca Riverside Education Centre September 2014 Newsletter SCHOOL DANCE REC will be having its first school dance of the year on Thursday, September 25th from 6:30 to 9:00 pm. Admission is $4.00 with a canned good, $5.00 without. Students are required to sign-in upon arrival. Parents/Chaperones are required to sign students out at the end of the dance. Please come to the Foyer to sign them out. TERRY FOX RUN The Terry Fox Run will be on Friday, September 26th, more information and permission slips with sent home soon. INSERVICE DAYS FOR 2014-2015 REC will have the following In-Service Days this year, no school for students: Friday, Oct 24 – Provincial Conference Day Friday, Nov 14 – Site Based InService Friday, Nov 28 – InService am & P/T pm Friday, Mar 6 – InService am & P/T pm Friday, Apr 17 – Site Based InService REC NEWS! SPECIAL WELCOME REC would like to welcome the following new/returning staff: • Alex Pegg 6-3 • Virginia King 6-7 • Angie Campbell Gr 6 French • Drew Moore 7-3 • Brittany Garvie 7-4 • Dave Smith 8-2 • Tom Aucoin 8-5 / Tech Ed • Kaelin Gillis Phys Ed • Jennifer Noel LD • Jayne Peter Literacy Mentor • Cecile Marr First Nations Support Worker POWERSCHOOL PUBLIC PORTAL It is the expectations that parents and students are accessing the Powerschool Public Portal (https://sisccrsb.ednet.ca/public) on a regular basis in order to monitor attendance, academic performance, classroom behavior and school announcements. Teachers may also be posting information as it relates to homework, assignments, tests, quizzes, etc. on the portal. Parents will be receiving information in early September on setting up and activating user accounts. Parents who currently have a user account from the previous school year can continue to use this account. There is no need to set up or activate a new account. Students will also be able to access the public portal by using their Novell username and password. ALTERNATE DISMISSAL If a student needs to be picked up at anytime throughout the day or at afternoon dismissal (when they normally go home in another manner) please remember that he/she must be signed out by an adult. DOORBELL AT MAIN ENTRANCE We now have all exterior doors locked for security reasons and, therefore, we have a doorbell at the Main Entrance for all visitors to use. Please ring the bell for entry and the door will be released for you. VISITORS TO OUR SCHOOL Visitors/Parents/Guardians are to report to the Main Office immediately upon entering the building and will be issued a visitor’s pass. Students are not permitted to bring guests, friends or relatives to school unless there is prior approval from administration. “Riverside Education Centre is a learning environment that challenges all to become respectful and responsible citizens” 6 Riverside Drive, Milford, NS B0N 1Y0 Telephone: 902-758-4660 / Fax: 902-758-4666 Website: http://riverside.ccrsb.ca Riverside Education Centre September 2014 Newsletter ATTENDANCE Student success is directly related to attendance at school. Therefore, it is important for students to attend school every day from 8:25 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. All absences/late arrivals must be confirmed by phone call, email or note from parent/guardian. If phoning, please contact the administrative assistant before 8:25 a.m. and leave your child’s name and reason for absence, this helps us in tracking public health issues. The teacher’s register is a legal document. It must be recorded to indicate why a student is absent from school. Parents please ensure that your child is present for the whole day. It would be most helpful for students to arrive on time. Students miss out on valuable organizing time at the beginning of the day when they are late. We appreciate all efforts that parents make to get our students to school on time. However, if arriving late, parents are required to sign their child in at the Office. If leaving early, please come into the Office to sign your child out and your child will be called up from their classroom. School Connects – an automated message system the school will be using to notify parents/guardians of student unexcused absences. Poor attendance may result in the student not being permitted to attend the next dance. REC TV MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS / CABLE CHANNEL 10 At approximately 8:25 a.m. each morning our local school news (REC TV) is broadcasted throughout the school and community. Check your Community Channel 10, as we broadcast from the school. The school is responsible for the public service announcements and the programming. We look forward to broadcasting special events during the school year. Check the community channel or visit the website for more information. CELL PHONE / PERSONAL ENTERTAINMENT DEVISES Riverside Education Centre is aware of the ever-changing means of communication in today’s world. Our school has telephones throughout the school and, with this in mind; there is no need to have cell phones in school. Due to the interruptions to teaching and learning that occurs when cell phones are used, cell phones are not permitted to be used by students in the school building, on school grounds or on the bus. For purpose of clarity, this means any electronic device that can send text messages, emails, make and receive phone calls, takes pictures or access the internet. No cameras (video or digital) may be used without permission by administration. It is expected that students keep their electronic devices in their lockers throughout the day. If these electronic devices are seen or heard, they will be confiscated for one week or until the parent/guardian comes to the school’s office to pick it up. Any refusal by a student to turn the device over to staff will be considered defiance and the student will face consequences as outlined in the CCRSB Code of Conduct. After the second time for having the device confiscated, the student will receive 2 Steps for Defiance. Should there be a third offense, the student will face suspension for defiance. “Riverside Education Centre is a learning environment that challenges all to become respectful and responsible citizens” 6 Riverside Drive, Milford, NS B0N 1Y0 Telephone: 902-758-4660 / Fax: 902-758-4666 Website: http://riverside.ccrsb.ca Riverside Education Centre September 2014 Newsletter HOMEWORK If you are absent and need your homework, email teachers (email addresses on the REC website), call a “buddy”, check the website and/or check the Community Channel 10. LOST & FOUND All lost and found items are kept on a table outside the main office door in the foyer for one month. All items not claimed will be removed from the school the last day of school every month. Be sure to check the table in main foyer if you lose an item (lunch bags, book bags, clothing, etc.) If you lose keys, glasses, jewelry, electronic items, etc. please check in the main office. MEDICATION If a student must take any type of medication during the school day (ie, Tylenol, cough medicines, prescriptions, etc.), please notify the office to receive the appropriate CCRSB form to be completed. Students must give medication to the office for safekeeping. The student’s name must be written clearly on the dispenser. HEALTH CONCERNS Parents/Guardians must notify the office if their child has any infectious or contagious disease. Appointments with the Public Health nurse may be arranged through the Guidance Counsellor. The office must be informed, via the Emergency / Registration Form, of any chronic health problems a student may have. CAFETERIA Chartwells is the food service company providing daily healthy eating choices in the cafeteria. A menu is on the REC website. BUSSING Only students who attend REC are permitted to travel on the bus. Hockey sticks, skateboards and other large objects are not permitted on the bus by order of the CCRSB Transportation Policy. Students cannot change their daily busing arrangements and must travel on their regularly assigned bus (ie: transportation for appointments and other after school activities must be arranged from home). No bus slips will be issued. All busing issues should be directed to Allan Elliott at 758-4614. PEANUT / NUT SENSITVE We ask parents and students to support this transition by refraining from bringing snacks, lunches, classroom projects, activities or celebration materials, etc. that contain peanuts or other nuts. With your support we can prevent a future tragedy. While this may appear to be a “new” policy for REC it is in fact our way of reminding everyone that we are obligated under board policy to be aligned with the current CCRSB policy in this regard: OS-G-05 - Anaphylaxis (Life-Threatening Allergies) [BOARD MINUTE #06-97, Page 4] The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board believes that the school environment should be clean, healthy and safe. Accordingly, the Board recognizes that while it is impossible to eliminate all risks, the Board has a responsibility to maximize the safety of each individual who may be subject to severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). To this end, the Board expects the Superintendent of Schools (or designate) to prepare, implement and monitor guidelines, “Riverside Education Centre is a learning environment that challenges all to become respectful and responsible citizens” 6 Riverside Drive, Milford, NS B0N 1Y0 Telephone: 902-758-4660 / Fax: 902-758-4666 Website: http://riverside.ccrsb.ca Riverside Education Centre September 2014 Newsletter procedures and standards to promote the following: • exposure to life-threatening substances is avoided; • responses to exposure are prompt and appropriate; • parents of anaphylactic children identify their children to the school principal; • anaphylactic adults who work/volunteer in the school-system identify themselves to their immediate supervisor; and, • if appropriate, parents/guardians and the physician attending the child authorize the administration of medication and or treatment of the child by Board personnel. And, to ensure that: • each school/work-site establishes and follows a plan which is appropriate to the needs of the anaphylactic individual. SCENT SENSITIVE SCHOOL Many persons are extremely sensitive to perfumes, colognes, hair sprays, aftershave and other scented products. Please do not wear/bring them to school. Thank you for supporting this safety concern. Issued September 8, 2014 “Riverside Education Centre is a learning environment that challenges all to become respectful and responsible citizens” 6 Riverside Drive, Milford, NS B0N 1Y0 Telephone: 902-758-4660 / Fax: 902-758-4666 Website: http://riverside.ccrsb.ca