School Safety

Accident Insurance

RETSD maintains Universal Student Accident Insurance coverage, underwritten by Industrial Alliance Insurance, for all students attending our division's schools.  

Voluntary Student Accident Insurance, underwritten by Old Republic Insurance, provides enhanced accident coverage for accidents and benefits beyond that of the Universal Student Accident Insurance held by RETSD or through a parent's benefits plan from their employer.  This plan is recommended by the Manitoba School Boards Association. 

The school distributes application forms each September.

Voluntary Student Accident Insurance

Accident Procedures

Any child who receives a minor scrape, cut, or bruise, will be attended to by our staff. Should a child receive a more serious injury the following procedure is followed:

1. Parents, guardians or the designated emergency contact person will be phoned. If possible they will transport their child to the family doctor or to the hospital.
2. Should no one be available to contact, we will transport the child to the nearest hospital for medical assistance or call an ambulance.

The school administration requests that all parents leave the name and phone number of someone to be contacted in case of an emergency. The school contacts these people only when we cannot contact the child's parent or guardian in an emergency situation.

Bicycles/Skateboards/Scooters/Rollerblades/ Electronics

If students ride their bikes to school, they are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to bring and use a lock. The school cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage of bicycles. As there are dangers associated with riding a bike in high traffic areas around the school, please review safety rules with your child before allowing them to ride to school. Skateboards, scooters, roller blades and toys that represent weapons are not permitted at B.E. Glavin.

Students must leave electronic devices and other valuable items at home. The school cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage of such items.  

Lockdown Drills

Each year we are required to have fire drills in school. As part of our job to keep your child safe we also practice “lockdown” drills at our school. Here is some information about a “lockdown” you might find helpful.

• A school lockdown is a procedure for securing a building so that no one enters or exits, until it is deemed safe to do so.
• It is an emergency response to an immediate threat to the safety of staff and students requiring all building occupants to take shelter in a designated location in the school.
• School administration or police can activate a school lockdown.
• Types of lockdowns: partial, full external, full internal.

Partial

• This is used when a serious incident is occurring somewhere in the neighborhood and there is no immediate danger for staff and students as long as they remain in the school building.
• All outside doors are locked.
• Daily inside routines continue as usual.

Full External

• This is used for danger immediately outside the school.
• All outside doors are locked; provisions for police access must be made.
• Lights are turned off.
• Curtains/ blinds are drawn.
• Daily routines are suspended.
• Students are in a secured area and on the floor if required.

Full Internal

• This procedure is used when there is an immediate threat to safety inside the school building.
• All outside doors are locked; provisions for police access must be made.
• Lights are on and curtains/ blinds are open to allow for visual inspection by police and other emergency personnel.
• Daily routines are suspended.
• Students are in a secured area and on the floor if required.

Initiating Lockdown

Using the PA system, everyone in the school will be informed:

“Attention all staff and students. The school is now in (partial, internal or external) lockdown. All students should report to the nearest classroom immediately.”

Fire Drill/Bus Evacuation Drill

The students receive at least ten fire drills and two bus evacuation drills every year.  If the alarm goes off in inclement weather, staff will take the students to Valley Gardens Middle School.  A complete summary of our fire drill procedures is available at the school in our crisis response plan.  

Parking and Stopping

In the interest of safety for all of our students, parents are not to enter the parking lot to drop off their children or to park. Traffic control signs are posted in the parking lot indicating that there is no stopping or parking anywhere in the lot.

Also, there is no stopping or parking in the school bus loading zone in front of the school. Parents may drop off their children on the south side of Antrim Rd. in the loading zones.

Traffic control signs are posted in the following areas:

• Parking Lot: The parking lot is designated for staff and school buses only. It is registered parking only.
• South side of Antrim Rd. in front of the school: School bus loading zone. Vehicles are NOT to stop/park at all in this zone between 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, September to June.
• South side of Antrim Road: No parking - loading indicating that you can stop briefly to drop off and pick up children (east side of parking lot driveway.)
• North side of Antrim: No parking: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, September to June. Dropping off your children on this side means they have to cross a busy street in the middle of the block without the benefit of patrols. This is not a safe option. Please drop off and pick up only on the south side of Antrim or where your child can cross with patrols.

Also, please do not use the driveway between the school and Norilyn Bay as a turn around point as this is a safety issue.

We realize that this may not always be convenient but we ask you to remember “safety over convenience.” We ask all families for their support and co-operation in keeping our children safe.

Please relay this information to anyone in your family that might, on occasion, pick up or drop off your children.

Patrols

Our school safety patrols consist of Grade 5 students. Patrols are on duty at five posts for 10 minutes before school commences and 10 minutes after dismissal, unless bad weather is a factor. (see below)

Posts: Reay and Antrim, parking lot, Norilyn and Antrim, Antrim and Louelda, Treger and Louelda

Times on duty:     

8:45 - 8:55 a.m.
11:45 - 11:55 a.m.
12:35 - 12:45 p.m.
3:25 - 3:35 p.m.

To ensure safety, students must obey our patrols at crossings and must cross only at intersections where patrols are stationed.

Cold Weather Guidelines for Patrols

All parents are asked to note the divisional policy for patrolling during extremely cold weather according to the temperatures listed below (including wind chill):

-27 to -34: 10 minutes on post. Warm clothing is essential. Facial protection is recommended.

-34 to -42: Five minutes on post. Posts located more than a five minute walk from the school will not be patrolled. Warm clothing and facial  protection is essential.

Below -42: No student patrols on post.

Parents of patrols are asked to check the temperature with windchill and send their patrols out according to the schedule. All parents are asked to make any arrangements necessary for their children to get to school safely during these extreme weather conditions.

Winter Storms and School Closure

In the event that it is necessary to close schools and/or cancel transportation because of severe weather conditions, the following procedure will be followed:

1. The decision to close schools and/or cancel transportation will be made by the Superintendent in consultation with the director of transportation.
2. The decision to close, if it is made, will be conveyed to the director of transportation in Sunrise School Divison for all affected Springfield students.
3. The decision will be communicated to the media and will be placed on the RETSD website:

• Everyone is asked to listen to the media for announcements regarding school closing and/or cancellation of transportation.
• If it is necessary to close schools or bus students home early during the school day because of severe weather conditions, schools will be contacted by phone by the superintendents' department.
• In the event that transportation is cancelled in the morning, this cancellation will apply for the whole day.

Processes specific to school bus transportation cancellation are found in Policy EEAEF.

Please note: On stormy days when student transportation is cancelled but schools are open, it is expected that all staff will be in attendance.

Where to go for information after 6:30 a.m.

• Please listen to the major radio stations. Generally they broadcast cancellations about every 15 minutes. Additionally, turn on CITY TV or CKY TV.
• Also, if you have access to a computer, please click on the RETSD website where we will post a message if buses are cancelled.
• If by 6:45 a.m., we have not announced or posted a cancellation message, buses are running.

 Please do not call our transportation office, our administration offices or the media outlets. Doing so ties up the phone lines. Instead, please access information as outlined above.