General Reminders

ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES 

Our morning bell rings at 8:50 a.m. Outdoor supervision is provided at 8:35, therefore we ask that you drop your child off from 8:35 on.  Please contact the school if, for unusual circumstances, you will be dropping your child(ren) off much earlier than this.  At the end of the day, students are expected to leave the building at 3:25. Again, if on occasion your child will be waiting a lengthy period of time before being picked up, please advise the principal or vice-principal.

HOMEWORK

The assignment of homework should provide students with the opportunity to complete, reinforce and extend classroom learning. Homework also helps students develop responsibility, organization skills, and good work habits. While all students must review their classroom work on a regular basis, the amount of homework should reflect the individual development and needs of each student. Parents should feel free to call their child's teacher if they have any questions or concerns about homework by phone or via email.

Note:  Homework assignments must be written in the student's agenda and parents are asked to review the agenda with their child on a daily basis. Parents are also encouraged to review the classroom links on the school web page, as homework is regularly posted on-line.

ABSENTEEISM

If a student is absent from school, we request that parents advise us by: 

1. calling between 8:30-9:30 a.m. 
2. leaving a message on the school's answering machine if calling earlier 
3. sending a note in advance to the homeroom teacher.

This saves a lot of time and is greatly appreciated by the office personnel.  A follow-up will be conducted if necessary.

Students who are absent from a class for any reason have the responsibility to communicate with their teachers in order to catch up on all work missed.

Parents are asked to communicate with their child's teacher and/or the administration in the event of regular absences for medical reasons.

Please note: Days during which there are field trips or special activities (e.g., sock hops, track and field) are considered regular school days. Absences on such days will be pursued by the school and students determined to have unexcused absences will be required to make up the missed work and/or time.

LEAVING SCHOOL FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME

If a student is absent during the course of the year for an extended period, the school should be notified and informed of the reason for the absence and the expected duration of the absence.

It is the student's and parents' responsibility to ensure that all work missed (e.g., quizzes, assignments, tests, etc.) is made up upon returning. Special arrangements may be possible when a student misses an extended period of time due to illness. Students should make every effort to try and do as much work as possible during their absence. Please contact your child's homeroom teacher as early as possible.

LATENESS

Students who arrive late for the morning or afternoon classes must report to the office to obtain a late-slip. It is up to the receiving teacher to determine if the reason for lateness is valid. After three unjustified lates, the student will be referred to the administration. Lost time must be made up by the student after classes or at lunch time.

APPOINTMENTS

Students and parents are asked to try to make appointments outside of the regular school day (8:50 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.).  If this is not possible, the student is asked to present a dated note to his/her homeroom teacher as well as to the office secretary for permission to leave during a class.  A record is kept of all students who leave early. If your child travels by divisional buses, please advise the driver that you have already picked up your child at school.

ILLNESS

If students become ill during a class, they should immediately report such illness to the teacher in charge of the class. If it is necessary to go home, they should go directly to the office. Parents will be called and arrangements made with them to take care of their child.

Fifth Disease

Fifth disease, also called erythema infectiosum, is a contagious infection that gives children a rash, low grade fever, headache, and occasionally swollen glands. Fifth disease takes its name from the fact that it was discovered to be the “fifth disease” to commonly cause a rash in children (the other four are measles, rubella, scarlet fever, and a form of atypical scarlet fever).

Fifth disease is a viral infection caused by parvovirus B19. It spreads in the fluid droplets of coughs, sneezes and runny noses, and tends to affect school-age children between five and 15 years old. When outbreaks of fifth disease occur, it is usually during the late winter and spring months in northern climates. The virus can also be passed from person to person in transfusions of blood and blood products.

In most healthy children, fifth disease is usually a mild illness that passes without serious complications. However, it can cause serious destruction of red blood cells in children who have certain blood disorders, including sickle cell disease, thalassemia, hereditary spherocytosis, and pyruvate kinase deficiency.

What to look for

A child with fifth disease may have a mild fever, headache, and a stuffy or runny nose for a day or so, before their rash begins. Once the rash starts, it is usually very red and affects the face first, giving child a “slapped-cheek” appearance. 

When an older child (especially a girl) has fifth disease, her joints may become swollen and tender as a complication of the infection. Fingers, wrists, knees, and ankles are most often affected, but the symptoms usually disappear within two to four weeks without causing permanent problems.

Pediculosis

As with other health matters, management is the responsibility of the parent, not the school nor other agencies. Detection of head lice is best managed by the parents checking their children’s heads on a regular basis. Each school is expected to identify a school contact person who, under the direction of the school administrator, will be responsible for the follow up of children with head lice.

1. At any suspected cases of pediculosis the administrator or designate, who has been trained by the Public Health Nurse, shall facilitate verification.

2. Upon verification of pediculosis the parents must be contacted immediately and arrangements made to have the student taken home.  The following documents will be sent home to the parent/guardian:  JHC-E1, JHC-E2, “”What You Should Know About Head Lice.”

3. A letter will be sent home to all parents/guardians in the classroom where pediculosis has been identified indicating that a case of head lice has been identified in the school.  The informational Manitoba Health document, “What You Should Know About Head Lice,” is to be attached.

4. If applicable, upon verification, the administrator shall contact the Transportation Department to identify bus partners.  The administrator shall notify administrators of schools whose students have close bus contact with the student infected.  It is that school’s responsibility to inform parents of bus partners.

5. Re-entry to the school is permitted 24 hours after treatment and upon verification on a school form letter that the appropriate treatment was accomplished.  After the student returns he/she will be monitored to ensure effective treatment.

6. In a case of a student being re-infected, the Public Health Nurse will be notified and may assist the parents/school with identifying the source.

7. An ongoing log of pediculosis incidents will be kept by the school.              

ARRIVING AND LEAVING THE SCHOOL GROUNDS

Parents are asked to ensure that children who walk to school do not arrive on school grounds much before 8:50 a.m. Students traveling by school bus will not leave the school grounds between the time of their arrival in the morning and the time their bus picks them up at the end of the school day. Under no circumstances will students leave the school grounds during class time without parental authorization.

ENTERING THE SCHOOL  

Students must remain outside in the morning until 8:50 a.m. during nice weather. Students are allowed to enter the building if they need to use the washrooms or if it is raining.           

WIND CHILL

Children are expected to be properly dressed for changing weather conditions. Unless wind chill warnings are announced, the children stay outside in the morning and at recesses.

The staff at École Regent Park will use the following as a guideline: When there is a wind chill of –27, students will enter the building at 8:30 a.m. Outdoor lunch recess will be reduced to 15 minutes. Therefore students will go outside at 12:30 p.m. When there is a wind chill of –35, students can enter the building upon arrival and all outdoor recesses will be cancelled.

BICYCLES

Bicycle racks are set up in the school yard. Bicycles must be locked. The school will not be responsible for stolen or damaged bicycles. Students are expected to respect the property of others and of the school. Therefore, bicycles are not to be ridden during break and lunch time, either in or around the school grounds.

REMINDERS            

For safety reasons, physical/ aggressive play (including tackle football and wrestling) and snowball/ rock throwing are not allowed at school. Also, gum chewing, sunflower seeds, hairspray, aerosol cans, laser pointers, felt markers that are not water-soluble are considered inappropriate for school use.   

Walkmen/Discmen/MP3 players and all other electronic music/listening devices brought to school must be stored in school bags or lockers during the school day. Gameboys, Nintendo DS’s and all other portable electronic game devices are strongly discouraged. These devices may not be used during class time and must be stored in lockers or bags.

Students coming to school on skateboards, roller blades or scooters must respect the following procedures: They and their parents must review and sign our contract and return it to the office (contracts are available at the office). Grades 5 and 6 students can leave their “vehicles” at the office in the morning and retrieve them at 3:30 p.m. Grades 7 and 8 students must store their “vehicles” in their lockers. This equipment cannot be taken out during recess or lunch breaks and must not be used on school property. Students who do not comply with this policy may have their “wheels” confiscated by school personnel.

CELL PHONES

All electronic communication devices must be kept out of sight and turned off while on divisional transportation, during school programs/presentations and in the classroom except when used with the prior permission of the teacher/school for the purposes of calendaring, calculating, note taking or other activities as directed by the teacher/school.  Unauthorized use of these devices disrupts the instructional program and distracts from the learning environment.

At early years, middle years and junior high schools, student use of cell phones and other electronic communication devices is not permitted in the school and on school property unless directed by the teacher/school.  This applies to recesses, locker breaks, class changes and lunch hour.  It is expected that communication during the school day will occur through the school office or as directed by school policy.

The use of electronic communication devices to invade personal privacy or contribute to behaviour that is injurious to another will be addressed through the divisional code of conduct.

Students who use an electronic communication device to send or receive personal messages, data or information that would contribute to or constituted cheating will be subject to consequences as determined by the school.

School officials, including classroom teachers, may confiscate electronic communications devices from students if they are used for unauthorized purposes or at unauthorized times.  Repeated unauthorized use may lead to further action as determined by the school.

River East Transcona School Division will assume no responsibility in any circumstance for the loss, destruction, damage or theft of any electronic communication device or for any communication bill associated with the unauthorized use of such devices. Students and families are responsible for locating such lost or stolen items.

LOCKS AND LOCKERS

All lockers are the property of River East Transcona School Division and  may be subject to locker searches at any given time during the school year. They are provided by the school to the grades 7 and 8 students to allow them to store their personal possessions. They must be kept locked at all times. 

Locks are also provided, by the school, at no charge to the students. A replacement charge of $6 will be levied in case of loss or damage to locks.

TEXTBOOKS          

Student textbooks will be handed out by the teacher and duly labeled with the student's name. Each teacher keeps a record of the number and the condition of the textbook. Students are responsible for ­the proper care of their  textbooks. If students damage, vandalize or lose a textbook, they will be responsible for paying  the cost of repairing or replacing the text.

Payment must be made as follows:

-  1/4 of cost price for damaged books which are still usable.
-  1/2 of cost price for books lost or damaged beyond use.

LIBRARY

The library has a large number of books in circulation. To allow for the best use of the facility, students have the responsibility of taking care of library books and handing them in on time. If any books are lost or vandalized, cost of a replacement book will have to be paid. All reference books must remain in the library.

TRANSPORTATION

The transportation department sends a reminder that the interior of each bus has been designed to provide each passenger with maximum protection. The seat backs and padding provide each child with non-hazardous environment. The transportation policy states that all carry on items including musical instruments must be:

- Educationally related, and
- Able to sit securely on the pupil’s lap without encroaching onto the next seat or into the aisle.

Following is a list of eligible and non-eligible items including musical instruments:

Eligible

Instruments with a * must be placed under the seat

-   Recorders
-   Piccolo
-  Oboe
-   Flute
-   B Flat Clarinet
-   *Trumpet / Cornet – slim case
-   *Trombone – narrow black case
-   *Alto Saxophone

Please note: Only the above-mentioned instruments are allowed on River East Transcona School Division buses. 

Non-eligible 

-  Hockey sticks
-  Curling brooms
-  Skis
-  Ski poles
-  Roller blades
-  Snow skates
-  Skateboards
-  Snowboards
-  Any large object such as science fair backboards

Transportation for industrial arts grades 7 and 8

During the winter months, there are possibly occasions when the divisional school busses will not be able to run, and this will have an impact on the industrial arts classes for Grade 7 and 8 students. Bus cancellations are broadcast on most radio stations in the morning. On days when students have industrial arts and school busses are not able to deliver them to Arthur Day or Bernie Wolfe, students should go directly to the required school via transportation arranged with parents/guardians. Arrangements should also be made for students’ return to École Regent Park at lunchtime. Carpooling is certainly encouraged. Students should not come to École Regent Park, as their teachers are assigned to other classes and are therefore unable to supervise.

If you are unable to have your child transported to industrial arts, then he or she should remain at home for the morning and resume regular classes at École Regent Park in the afternoon.

FIRE DRILLS, ALARMS, LOCKDOWN PROCEDURES

In the event of a fire alarm, students are to exit the building by the assigned doors in an orderly fashion and proceed directly to their pre-assigned meeting place. Upon arrival, students are expected to line up quietly for attendance. Students will only be permitted to re-enter the building upon authorization from the principal or person-in-charge.

River East Transcona School Division and the province of Manitoba require that each school have procedures in place to use in situations where students need to be kept in a safe location within the school. This is referred to as our lockdown procedure. This procedure might be used in a variety of circumstances: a medical situation in which the hallways must be kept clear, a situation outside the building, such as a fire in the neighborhood, an unknown person in the school or any or any other situation the administration feels would warrant keeping the students safe in their classrooms. Lockdown is practiced twice a year.