2014-2015
HIGHLANDS SCHOOL
HANDBOOK
3300 7th Street South Cranbrook, BC V1C 5G3
ph: 250.489.4391 fax: 250.489.0600
Principal’s email:
School District Web Page: www.sd5.bc.ca School Website: http://hes.sd5.bc.ca
Principal’s Message
I am pleased to welcome students, parents, and staff to another exciting new year at Highlands School. I am pleased to be your Principal and I look forward to helping make the school year another great one. Once again we have a number of new students, parents, and school staff starting this year and I look forward to meeting and working with all of you. I welcome the opportunity to be part of the Highlands’ team that helps to provide a fun and exciting educational experience for all of our students, provides parents ways to support their child’s learning, and help to ensure a good working environment for everyone. It is exciting to be part of a team that is dedicated and strives to provide quality learning experiences for all of our students in a safe, caring, friendly, supportive, and inclusive environment. Our school code is: Things are cool when we are kind, safe, respectful, and responsible. I know that “living the code” truly enhances a child’s learning and social development. Listen for the jingle on the school announcements in the morning.
It is important for all of us to work as a team in your child’s education. I believe regular communication is critical between parents and their child and between the parent(s) and the child’s teacher in order to support the child’s learning. Building a positive working relationship with all the concerned parties will help the child develop a positive attitude towards learning and the school. Everyone on the team has the job of working towards communication and the building of positive relationships. I highly recommend parents get involved in the school. Some ways are by joining the PAC, helping out with reading, going on field trips, helping to coach, to name a few. I know from experience that those parents who do get involved gain insite and perspective on how the school works. If you have a few hours to help out in the school, please feel welcome to come in and make the school a better place for your child.
We have had a lot of work done in the school over the summer with general maintenance. The City of Cranbrook imposed some changes to be done to the parking on 7th Street. They have eliminated the angle parking and this will now be a red painted drop off zone for parents dropping and picking up their students. This change has also created the need for more staff parking and we have expanded our staff parking lot to address this need. A fence and a sidewalk are going in on the east side of the parking lot to make things safer for our children. Our school custodians have also been very busy cleaning and getting our school ready for school start-up and everything is looking great.
Please contact me if you have any concerns or ideas that will make Highlands Elementary School a better place. Steve Rogers
Medical Alert Program
At Highlands Elementary School we have a Medical Alert program. If your child has a medical condition that may require special attention or special emergency medication, please let us know in the office and we will add your child’s name and concerns to the Medical Alert file. The school district has a Medical Alert form that needs to be completed and this form can be obtained in the office. This information will be brought to the attention of staff and will be kept confidential and handy in the Medical room should it be required. We will also require a current picture of your child for easy identification by staff.
Administration of Medication
It is the District’s expectation that the administration of prescription medication in the school is the responsibility of the parent/guardian. There are, however, times when an employee of the school district will be asked to administer or supervise the self-administration of prescription medication to a student. The school cannot accept the responsibility of administering medications until the proper arrangements are made for whatever medical authorization, instructions and supervision are required. Parents with a child receiving medication will be given a copy of the Board Policy #3.4. In all cases, Medical Alert Planning and Request for Administration of Medication at school must be completed. Parents are asked to please check with the office to get the appropriate information. School staff will not administer any medication that is not prescribed by a physician or provide any medical services other than first aid.
Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
The Highlands School Parent Advisory Committee includes all interested parents who have children that attend our school. The purpose of the PAC is to assist, support, and advise the school in its efforts to provide excellent programs and services in a warm and supportive environment. On the first day of school in September, our PAC holds a “Welcome Tea” in our Gym and we encourage all parents who bring their children on that first morning of school to stop by the library and meet other parents and our PAC.
All parents are encouraged to attend our PAC meetings. Further information such as date, times, and other details will be communicated on the reader board and monthly in our newsletter prior to each meeting. Information about PAC and the PAC meetings are also available on our school website.
Parental Involvement
We believe in, and value, teachers and parents working together as partners in a child’s education. Parental involvement is closely related to significant gains in several measures of school and classroom success. For example, student performance is improved, attitudes and self-concept are more positive, suspension rates are lower, and opportunities for at-risk students improve.
We encourage you to join us in the education of your child. For specific information on how to be involved and parent volunteer opportunities, please contact your child’s teacher, the school office, or join in our PAC group.
School Planning Council
Highlands School wants an active School Planning Council. The council consists of the principal, a teacher representative, and three parent representatives. The SPC meets throughout the year to look at and discuss data regarding student achievement, to look at and discuss the school budget, to discuss parent concerns and suggestions, and to help create and implement the School Growth Plan. If you are interested in taking part in the committee please feel free to contact Mr. Rogers at the school (250-489-4391) for more information.
Parents’ Roles and Relationships to the School
Parents have the right and responsibility to participate in the process of determining the educational goals, policies and services provided for their children.
They have a primary responsibility to ensure that children are provided with the healthy and supportive environment necessary for learning. They have a responsibility to help shape and support the goals of the school system and to share the tasks of educating their youngsters.
- “Statement of Education Policy Order, School Act, School Act Regulations and Ministerial Order cited in Building Partnerships in Schools (September 1996), p. 29”
As the above quotation asserts, parents should become active partners in their child’s education. There are many ways of doing this:
· modeling and demonstrating enthusiasm for learning;
· complementing the teacher’s role by working with your child at home;
· maintaining ongoing dialogue with the school to share and exchange information about your child;
· planning and supporting school-wide special events;
· attending open houses, conferences, and other activities;
· taking part in the life of the classroom and the school in a variety of ways, such as working as parent helpers in collaboration with the teacher, helping on field trips, acting as a resource for a variety of personal, cultural, occupational, or specialized interest experiences; and
· participating on Parent Advisory Councils (PACs)
· participating on School Planning Council
Rights and Responsibilities
You can support your child’s learning by:
· ensuring regular attendance and promptness;
· assisting your child in developing regular study skills;
· communicating concerns directly to the school (teacher, principal, counselor);
· insisting that your child follows the rules and does no harm to others;
· advocating for your child by keeping informed about educational change and educational issues;
· keeping informed about your child’s learning progress, effort and behaviour
· providing a nurturing environment where learning and working is valued.
Call Back Program
The safety of your children is important to us. We will be using a Call Back Program to help ensure the safety of all students as they travel to school. Parents are asked to call before 8:55 a.m. if:
( Your child is going to be absent
( Your child is going to be late
You may call at any time during the night and leave a message on the voice mail.
If you find during the morning that your child is going to be late, please call our secretary, Lorraine at 489-4391. If your child is absent and not accounted for, we will try to reach you. Please make sure that you notify the school of any changes in work or home phone numbers, or emergency contact people.
Monthly Newsletters
The school will issue monthly newsletters to parents, during the last week of the month. These newsletters outline upcoming events and items of interest. Since they contain a great deal of information for parents, it is important that it arrives home. This newsletter is also available on our school website. You will find a link to our website on the District Website at www.sd5.bc.ca or go to the school website at: http://hes.sd5.bc.ca
Parental/Legal Guardian and Emergency Phone Numbers
In order for the staff to provide a safe, secure environment for students, it is necessary that parents or legal guardians provide the following information, if not already done, to the school administrator:
· Parent / legal guardian home address and home and work phone number (where appropriate)
· Emergency Contact, address and phone number
· Custody issues/Guardianship awareness
Illness
Thank you for keeping your children at home when they are sick. This helps in maintaining a healthy environment for all the students.
Visitors Reporting to the Office
All visitors to the school are asked to report to the office.
Communication
As parents and teachers, we are aware of how important it is that children view themselves positively. Their self-concept directly influences their ability to learn. Our goal is to communicate your child’s progress to you clearly and honestly on an ongoing basis. We attempt to do this through a variety of ways, including written reports, personal conferences, phone calls, and informal notes. Dates for parent/teacher conferences and report cards will be included in our monthly newsletter.
If you have a concern, problem, or issue regarding your child’s learning, we encourage you to consult with your child’s teacher at any time during the school year. Please do not feel that you are required to wait for a scheduled conference date. If you feel that you have worked with the teacher to try to solve a problem and you are still concerned, please contact the principal to discuss the issue.
Lunch Policy
It benefits students to have a break from school over the 50 minute lunch period and all students who live within walking distance of the school are encouraged to walk home for lunch.
Those students who remain at school for lunch will be expected to act in a responsible, respectful manner. It is a privilege for students to eat lunch at school. The microwave ovens will not be available for student use at lunch hour. We are concerned about safety issues related to having many more students wanting to have access to the microwaves. Some of our concerns include the fact that the noon hour supervisors need to be in the classrooms monitoring the children eating their lunch rather than in the hallway overseeing the operations of the microwaves. Students who want hot lunches are encouraged to use a thermos. Students who remain at school for lunch may not leave the school grounds unless they have a note from their parents requesting such permission. We request that parents seek such permission for their child only in those cases where the child must conduct some essential business.
Nutrition – Highlands Elementary School Food Policy
Highlands Elementary School will continue to promote healthy eating and active living through our food programs, nutrition education and physical education. We will ensure that all decisions involving food and drink at Highlands Elementary will be carried out in the best interests of our school communities’ needs and will follow the guidelines as set out by the Ministry of Education for British Columbia. Our continuing education will incorporate Canada’s Food Guide for Healthy Eating and will focus on nutritional foods during classroom and school functions. Please check with your child’s classroom teacher as to when and what is an appropriate treat to send to the school.
Highlands Elementary School Food Guidelines
· Fundraising in the school will not rely on the sale of non-nutritious foods.
· School community members will be encouraged to bring only snacks belonging to one of the four food groups of Canada Food guide to Healthy Eating as a school day snack.
· School groups will be encouraged to offer healthy lunch choices on hot lunch days as recommended in the Nutrition Guidelines for Schools – More often – Sometimes – Least Often choices.
· Our school will continue to offer specialty physical education breaks throughout the school year.
Thank you for your support and modeling the importance of making healthy food choices!
HES IS A PEANUT FREE SCHOOL
Some of our students have very severe allergies to peanuts as well as nuts and nut products. Because of the seriousness of this allergy, please be very aware and do not send peanuts, nuts, or nut products in your child’s snacks, lunches or party foods. We want our classrooms / school to be a safe place for all of our children. Thank you for cooperating in this matter. Please feel free to contact the school for more information.