Grade 2 Information Package

NOTE: This package has been emailed to all families who have registered for Grade 2 French Immersion.

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s):

Bienvenue à École Pine Grove! In order to assist in your child’s preparation for the first day of school, here is an outline for our Grade 2 students that are new to École Pine Grove School in September.

On Friday, September 2^nd after 2:30 p.m., parents will receive an email indicating your child’s teacher and class code. We must caution you that there is always the chance that these classroom configurations may change depending on fluctuations in enrollment due to families having moved in and out of the school area during the summer and not having yet notified the school, which then impacts class organization and teacher placement upon registration or demission. We must adhere to Ministry caps on primary class sizes.

Your child will need a minimal amount of school supplies on the first day of school, such as a lunch/snacks and a backpack, both clearly labeled with your child’s name. Supplies, such as indoor shoes, will be required later in the month. More information will be shared by your child’s Grade 2 teacher once school begins.

If your child will be riding on a school bus, the bus routes are finalized during the last two weeks of August. Information such as the route number and stop location, as well as pick-up and drop-off times, must be accessed through Halton District Student Transportation Services. Visit www.haltonbus.ca and click on “Parent/Student login”. In order to access your child’s transportation information, you will need your child’s 9 digit Ontario Student Number (OEN). Students that have attended a Public or Catholic school in Ontario will already have an OEN which is located on past report cards and can be found highlighted at the top of this package. If your child does not have an OEN, a letter from Halton Transportation will be mailed to your home in mid-August. This letter will provide information about bus stop location, and pick-up and drop-off times. Please take some time prior to the start of school to familiarize your child with the stop at which he/she gets on and off. We will try to provide your child with a bus tag on the first day of school, which will be secured to your child’s backpack. Please do not remove this bus tag, as it is used by bus drivers to identify Pine Grove Grade 2 students at drop-off sites. We are primarily a “bussed to” school and students who qualify for bussing should be using this mode of transportation. Please note, students are only allowed to ride the bus they are assigned to and cannot go home with a friend on another bus. Other arrangements are to be made by parents. The teacher and office should be advised of alternate plans.

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 6^th. The entry bell rings at 9:25 a.m. (9:23 a.m. warning bell) however; on the 6^th there will be a delay due to the usual excitement that is associated with the “first day of school”. The Grade 2 students will be assembling at the Primary Entry Door/Hall A Entry Door where the Grade 2 teachers will be holding up signs with their class code and name, meeting their new students. When your child arrives by bus, on foot or by car on that first day, school staff will be escorting them to this door.

IMPORTANT: If your child qualifies to ride a school bus, then that is the preferred mode of arrival to school. Please refrain from the temptation to drive your child to school during the first few weeks. It is best to have them ride the bus from the first day so that they learn the routines quickly and can participate in our initial orientation exercises while extra staff are on duty during the first few days of school.

If parents feel they must drive their child to school on the first day, we ask that:

a) you arrive by 9:10 a.m.

b) you park on neighbouring streets and escort your child to the Grade 2 entry gate (the front loop is exclusively for busses/Kiss and Ride and the parking lot is for staff parking)

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

1. We request that all parents of our Grade 2 students please send the neon green form (enclosed) with their child indicating how their child is expected to go home on the first day or where their child will be going after school (e.g., bus, YMCA, being picked up by parent/grandma). Have your child wear the provided name tag (also enclosed) on the first day of school.

2. If you are picking your child at the end of the day, please note that student pick-up (and drop-off) occurs at the front of the school. Parents are asked to wait behind the fence and not on school property where students are departing. There is no parking on school property at the beginning or at the end of the day during drop-off and pick-up times. Parents that are dropping off/picking up their child will have to park on adjacent streets and walk to the school grounds to drop-off/pick-up their child from the staff member on duty and supervising the students at the drop-off/pick-up area. Alternately, you can wait in your car in the Kiss and Ride area, and your child will be escorted to the blacktop (drop-off) or brought to you (pick-up) by school staff. Student safety is paramount to us and we thank you for your co-operation.

Important Things That You Should Know About Pine Grove

GRADE 2 FRENCH IMMERSION = ALL SUBJECTS ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH

Mathematics French Language Arts

Science and Technology Social Studies

Drama & Dance Visual Arts

Health Physical Education

PEANUTS/NUTS

Pine Grove School endeavours to be a Nut Free Environment. Please do not send peanut butter, nuts or items such as granola bars containing nuts to school.

LATES/ABSENCES

In all instances where your child will be late or absent, please:

• call 1-877-409-6310, or;

• log on to the website: go.schoolmessenger.ca​ or;

• use the School Messenger mobile app from either GooglePlay or Apple App Stores

This automated service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You must report a late or absent student before 9:30 a.m., which is when the system cuts off for that day’s absences. In all instances when your child will be late or absent, a call to the Attendance Line is mandatory. All students arriving late (after 9:25 a.m.), or away due to absences or vacation, must be called in to the Attendance Line by their parent/guardian.

ENTRY AND DISMISSAL

School hours are 9:25 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Supervision outside begins at 9:10 a.m. The dismissal bell rings at 3:45 p.m., and supervision ends at 4:00 p.m. Students must not be dropped off prior to 9:10 a.m. in the morning, as there is no adult supervision, and must be picked up by 4:00 p.m. at the end of the day.

Students who arrive after the morning or afternoon entry bell has sounded will be recorded as late and must report to the office and sign in before proceeding to class. Also, if students have to leave the school before regular dismissal time, parents are asked to inform the teacher, sign them out at the office prior to 3:30 p.m. and ask one of the office staff to call them out of class. Students are not permitted to meet parents in the parking lot and must be signed out in the office by a parent/guardian. After 3:30 p.m., calls are not made into the classroom, and parents are asked to pick up their child(ren) from the front of the school at the pick-up fence at the regular end of the school day.

CLOTHING AND BACKPACKS

Self-reliance is most definitely encouraged in this area, even at this young age. It is important to have your child in on the decision-making process about what he/she will be bringing to school. Therefore, when shopping for a large school bag, have your child try to open and close it at the store prior to purchasing it (e.g., does it also have a clasp that is too hard to manage?). Please label all articles of clothing as some children wear similar looking items. A change of clothes should also be kept at school, just in case.

NUTRITION BREAKS

There are two 40 minute nutrition breaks throughout the day. The first one (lunch) is at 11:05 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. Students go outside from 11:05 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. and they then come in to eat. The second nutrition break (recess) is from 1:25 p.m. until 2:05 p.m. Students go outside first, and then come in to eat at 1:45 p.m. Please pack enough food to cover both breaks. Students are required to go outside for the nutrition breaks and therefore should come to school with outdoor clothing appropriate for the weather. Weather conditions are assessed prior to nutrition breaks and at that time it is determined whether students will go outside, stay indoors or go outside for a shortened time period. On occasion, parents request that students stay indoors because they are not feeling well. Supervision is not available indoors as staff have outdoor duties or are involved in other activities at this time. Parents should keep their child at home when they are not feeling well in the morning and require special attention.

PREVALENT MEDICAL CONDITIONS

If your child has a prevalent medical condition (e.g., anaphylaxis, asthma, diabetes, epilepsy/seizure), please be sure that you've indicated this on your registration forms and notified our office staff. There are forms that must be completed prior to the first day of school and we will contact you to arrange a time to meet during the week of August 28, 2022.

PARKING LOT

The front loop at Pine Grove School is used exclusively for our busses and Kiss and Ride (drop-off and pick-up). We are primarily a “bussed to” school and students who qualify for bussing should be using this mode of transportation. Cars may not enter the school parking (located at the side of the school) lot between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and between 3:40 p.m. and 4:05 p.m. If parents are dropping students off or picking them up for an appointment between 9:30 a.m. or 3:30 p.m., short-term parking is allowed in the parking lot during this time only. At drop-off and pick-up times, parents are required to park on adjacent streets and walk to the front fence of the school. If a student walks to school, they should not be arriving prior to 9:10 a.m., as supervision does not begin until this time. Additionally, dismissal is at 3:45 p.m. and supervision ends at 4:00 p.m. Please ensure that you have a back-up plan for the times when an unexpected event prevents you from meeting your child at the end of the school day.

VOLUNTEERING AND POLICE CHECKS

Pine Grove School welcomes parent involvement. Volunteering at Pine Grove requires a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening completed by Halton Regional Police Services. If you are planning on volunteering in the school or helping out on a field trip, the school office must have a copy of your Police Check, complete with a Vulnerable Sector Screening, on file. This “Police Check” must be dated within the last 6 months. This is a one-time screening and is mandatory for any type of volunteering associated with the school. If this Police Check is done in September or October, there is usually a 6-8 week wait period due to the high volume of requests at this time. In order to avoid these busy months, it is advisable to go to Halton Police Services or apply online during the summer months in order to avoid this wait at the beginning of the school year when you might miss out on some volunteering opportunities. Police Stations are located at 95 Oak Walk Drive (Oak Park and Dundas Street East) or at Police Headquarters, 1151 Bronte Road (Bronte Road south of Upper Middle Road). You will require a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector Screening in order to volunteer in any Halton school. Once you have a valid Police Check on file, you are required to sign an Annual Offence Declaration stating that you have no convictions since the time of your Police Check – no further Police Check is required.

HOW TO BECOME INVOLVED AT PINE GROVE SCHOOL

It is essential to develop a positive relationship between the home and school. We are very fortunate to have a very active parent community and School Council. Here are some examples of the volunteer opportunities available at our school.

• Classroom Volunteer

• School Council

• Library Helpers

• Field Trips

• Pizza Days

• Special School-Wide Events such as Dance-a-thon, Year-end BBQ, Green Thumbs, Staff Appreciation, Wellness Night, French Carnaval, Healthy Snacks Program

FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Pine Grove is a "cashless school". What this means is that at those times that a payments is due for field trips, pizza and food days, spirit wear sales, etc., the preferred option of payment is this online payment method. School Cash Online is the vendor that HDSB uses – this method eliminates the risks and concerns associated with bringing cash to school, no risk of loss or theft and parents have a record of payment. An information page explaining how to register for School Cash Online is included in this package. You will use your child’s Student Number (also found highlighted at the top of this package) to register/make changes to indicate your home school.

HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION

Communication between school and home is critical to the success of students. As such, there are a number of ways to communicate with your child’s teacher, and to obtain information about Pine Grove School events and Halton District School Board news. Grade 2 students at Pine Grove have access to their Google Classroom, and parents will receive an invitation to join in order to receive updates. Please accept this invitation and check the classroom regularly. This is the primary means of communication between teachers and parents, in addition to emails, phone calls and newsletters. In addition, parents can always call the school and leave a message for the teacher, or they can email their child’s teacher, as all teachers have an email address (lastnamefirstinitial@hdsb.ca with a few exceptions… refer to our school website).

As far as Pine Grove School information is concerned, we communicate by email (for things such as school-wide events, upcoming purchase deadlines, school emails and important dates), and we also provide information on our website: http://pin.hdsb.ca, so we encourage parents to visit our homepage often. In addition, we use our Twitter feed (@pinegroveoak) regularly to highlight things going on at the school. Please register for a Twitter account (it’s FREE!!) so you can start following us today.

The Halton District School Board also has a webpage consisting of important information, and the Board will occasionally send emails and phone calls to parents (if there is an important Board event).

YMCA

If your child is part of the before or after school YMCA program, you will receive a reminder from the organizers reinforcing that the YMCA drop-off and pick-up is done strictly at the gym doors at the end of our parking lot. You may use the parking lot for drop-off only until 9 a.m., after which we ask you to use a side street (and then walk your child to the supervised blacktop area). This allows Pine Grove staff to park in their designated spots when they arrive for their work day. When picking up from the YMCA program, entry to the parking lot is not available until 4:05 p.m. in order to ensure the safety of our students leaving the school at the end of the day.

Ways to make your child’s first experiences at

École Pine Grove Public School

positive ones...

1. Encourage your child to accept responsibility for personal hygiene, dressing and tidying up.

2. Provide a well-balanced diet.

3. Designate a specific bedtime. 10 to 12 hours of sleep is recommended for children at this age.

4. Label all personal belongings, such as lunch bags, coats, shoes, boots and mitts.

5. Review safety rules frequently.

6. Select and monitor television programs.

7. Limit screen time.

8. Establish an area where your child will do homework.

9. Save some time each day for sharing experiences.

10. Praise and display your child’s work.

11. Enrich your interactions through indoor and outdoor play experiences.

12. Provide opportunities for socializing with other children.

13. Plan for computer time and games.

14. Be consistent and fair with discipline.

15. Read together every day.