Health & Safety

Accident Insurance

Voluntary student insurance may be obtained from the Reliable Life Insurance Company. This plan is recommended by the Manitoba School Boards Association. The school distributes application forms each September.

Accident Procedures

Our staff will attend to any child who receives a minor scrape, cut, or bruise.  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.

Emergency Procedures

Emerson School has an Emergency Preparedness Plan that outlines our school’s systematic handling of an emergency or tragic event. Our on-site Crisis Response Team is responsible for coordinating and implementing the plan and maintaining stability in the school in the event of an emergency.

Fire Drill/Lockdown Drill/Bus Evacuation Drill

The students participate in at least ten fire drills, two lockdown drills and two bus evacuations drills every year.  If the alarm goes off in inclement weather, staff will evacuate the students immediately to Maple Leaf School (see below).  A complete summary of our fire drill procedures is available at the school in our Emergency Preparedness Plan.

Emergency Evacuation

In the event of an emergency situation at the school such as a fire, mechanical problems or power failure it may be necessary to evacuate students from the school. If there is inclement weather, we will call the school division busses to meet and transport the students to our primary evacuation site, which is Maple Leaf School at 251 McIvor Ave.   The following points should help clarify procedures in the event of an evacuation:

1. School staff will supervise the students in the gym at Maple Leaf School.
2. The school division office will be informed of the evacuation.
3. Students will be supervised on site until we are allowed to return to school or until regular dismissal times.  Bus students will go home by school bus.  Parents of students who are not bussed will be contacted to arrange for pickup.
4. When parents come to pick up their children at Maple Leaf School they are asked not to park in the Maple Leaf parking lot.
5. Parents are to go to the classroom teacher and sign out their child from the evacuation site.

Emergency Closure

If the school is to be closed due to severe weather conditions, this decision will be communicated to the radio media:

CBC AM and FM               99.9 BOB FM                      CFRW 1290 AM
CJOB 68 AM                        KY58 AM                         92.1 CITI-FM              CKMM Hot 103.1

Listen to one of the above radio stations regarding school closing and/or cancellation of bus transportation due to severe weather conditions.  Please note that if the buses are cancelled in the morning, they will not run at the end of the day.

Patrols

Our school safety patrols consist of grade 5 and 6 student volunteers.  We have two patrol co-captains who help supervise the patrols.  Patrols are on duty for 10 minutes before school commences and 10 minutes after dismissal.

Posts: Emerson/Rothesay, Emerson/Hanson, Emerson/Dundoon, Knowles/Hanson, Glenway/Green Box, Emerson Bus Loop, Kindergarten Patrols, Bus Patrols

Times on duty: 9:15-9:25 a.m., 12:15-12:25 p.m., 1:00-1:10 p.m., 3:55-4:05 p.m.

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

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

*Parents of patrols are asked to check the temperature with windchill at the forks 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 extreme weather conditions.

Visitors

All visitors/volunteers and parents/guardians are required to report to the school office upon arrival. Visitors/volunteers are required to sign a school register and wear a visitor/volunteer badge.

To help protect student and staff safety, All doors will be locked between 9:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. and from 1:10 p.m. onward, except for the front door.

Parents/visitors wishing to meet with a staff member are asked to make an appointment through the office.

Health-related Care

Allergies/Medical Conditions

Health care plans will be developed in consultation with families for any student with a life-threatening or serious medical condition, which could affect the student during the school day. As some children have life-threatening allergies, children are not allowed to share or trade any food or drink with others.  For children’s lunches or for contributions to classroom snacks or parties, please do not send any items with nuts or nut products. Please check with the teachers about any other food or medical restrictions.

Medication

Prescribed medication will only be administered to students in accordance with school division policy. In the interest of safety, parents must complete a form and hand deliver the medication to the school prior to the school administering medication.  These forms can be obtained from the office. 

Communicable Diseases

Occasionally we find that cases of communicable disease occur in our school.  Pediculosis (head lice), pink eye and other skin infections are some of these.  We ask that you keep your child at home until either your family doctor or the Public Health Nurse has indicated it is safe to return. Should we discover such cases, we will notify the Public Health Nurse and the child's parents.  In the case of lice, a pamphlet describing how to identify and control the spread will be distributed to all members of a class where lice are found.  It is the parents’ responsibility to monitor their child’s health and to notify the school if you suspect a case of lice, scabies, pink eye etc.

Lice

Pediculosis (head lice) occurs from time to time. Parents are provided with information on the identification and treatment of lice from Public Health. Children with head lice may return to school after treatment as described by Public Health (RETSD policy JLCC-E). All parents within the class are informed of a report of lice.

Nutrition

The school will continue to promote healthy eating and active living through our food programs, nutrition education and physical education. All children are encouraged to bring healthy food and snacks to school.