Guardian Angel Advance September 2020 - Cssd.ab.ca
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Guardian Angel Advance September 2020 Message from Administration Needless to say, this has been a very different and interesting start to a school year. We are extremely excited to see students in our building and to be interacting with them in person. However, it is not the same as it was in September last year. We are quickly learning that being flexible is key to all that we do at this time. We are seeing daily changes in what is considered best practice when it comes to safety and we want to make sure we are current and keeping our students safe. As a district we are also looking at how we can best adapt to changing populations in schools and changing in funding models. Rest assured although we may be adjusting to changes as we move forward; we will take the best steps we can in meeting the needs of our students. Our students have done an amazing job in adapting to our new normal. They are doing a wonderful job in wearing their mask and keeping their environment clean. They are working hard at social distancing from each other, a real change. Thank you to our parents who are being very responsible especially in making sure students who are not feeling well stay at home. Also, if they have any symptoms similar to Covid 19 they are having them tested. A great job by all and a great demonstration on how to respect each other. We will do our best to keep you informed of any changes in practice and we are also working on ways we can make school “more normal”. We are currently working on ways to access technology, use our coat hooks and boot racks and looking at ways we can be actively involved with our learning commons services. Calendars Attached to this email are 2 calendars. The “Regular School Calendar” will provide you with a view of the entire year and non- instructional days. The “Six Day Schedule” will let you know what day number it is i.e. Day 1, Day 2 … A hard copy of the “Regular School Calendar” is also being sent home for your convienience.
Traffic Calming Survey
Our school community has been asked to participate in a survey on, “Traffic Calming
Implementation around Calgary Elementary Schools”. This is a voluntary survey and there will
be 2 dates to take the survey, now and in October. Your participation is optional, but we feel we
are on a very busy street and your input would be important. Please see the information below.
The City of Calgary and the University of Calgary (U of C) are partnering on a traffic calming study
to understand parental perceptions of active transportation (e.g., walking and bicycling) safety
around their child’s elementary school. Understanding how the current road design around the
school contributes to feelings of safety and can provide information on how to make travel safer
for children walking or bicycling to school.
You are invited to take part in a study on Traffic Safety at Calgary
Elementary Schools. You are a possible participant as you are a
parent of a child at a Calgary elementary school Your participation
in this research study is voluntary.
To obtain additional information, or complete the survey, please
select this link:
https://redcap.ucalgary.ca/surveys/?s=T7PFFTRYFM
This study has been approved by the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board
(REB19-1455).
Vaccinations
AHS will be resuming the school-based immunization program this fall. They are also looking at
catching up on the vaccinations missed last year as a result of Covid 19. Please see the
attached letter and we will inform you once we have been given the dates.
Curriculum Updates
• The implementation of the new Alberta Elementary Curriculum has been delayed and
the new implementation date will be in September 2022.
• Provincial Achievement Tests for 2020 – 2021 – The District will not be taking part in the
Provincial Achievement Testing program during May and June 2022. This means grade 6
and grade 9 students will not be writing Provincial Achievement Tests.
• Progress Reports – we will only be issuing written Progress Reports twice during the
school year in January and June. In the past we issued 3 written Progress Reports. We
will be adding an additional interview session to the school year to report on student
progress. Interviews will take place in September (meet the teacher), November a
progress update, January following written Progress Reports, April a progress update
and the ability if required to meet with the teacher after the written June Progress
Report.
• There will not be a Grade 5 Religion Assessment this year. Instead teachers will be using
the assessment tools throughout the year as they work through the program.
School Opening Liturgy Our School Opening Liturgy will be a video link from St. Michael’s Church. It will be sent out online for parents to enjoy and our students will take part in it from their classrooms. We will be celebrating it on Thursday, September 24th. Guardian Angel Feast Day Celebration Our Guardian Angel Feast Day liturgy will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 10:15am. This will be an online liturgy which will be zoomed to all our students. It will be broadcast to all home rooms from out conference room. Terry Fox Run Guardian Angel School will be participating in the Terry Fox Run on Friday, September 25th. We are encouraging students and staff to bring in a toonie to support Cancer research! Remember to wear red or white. This year we will be going out in homerooms throughout the day for a walk or run. Families are encouraged to donate online if they wish to make a larger donation. We know cancer impacts many families and all your help is appreciated. Orange Shirt Day Orange Shirt Day is a growing movement of reconciliation, and legacy of the 2013 St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event, held in Williams Lake, B.C. It grew out of a former student’s account of having her brand-new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school. Wearing an Orange Shirt is meant to recognize the harm done to residential school students and show a commitment to the principle that every child matters. A date in September was chosen because it is the time of year when children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti- bullying policies for the coming school year. Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for Indigenous people, local governments, schools, and communities to come together in the spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. Guardian Angel School will be supporting orange shirt day on Wednesday, Sept. 30. Safety Over Convenience As a school, we know that student safety is our priority. If students are not, or do not, feel safe they cannot maximize their learning. Our team works very hard each day making sure our students are safe, but we need your help. In the first couple of days we have seen examples of behaviors that put our students at risk when picking up and dropping off students. Most of
these choices are being made as a matter of convenience. Taking a little more time would make things much safer for all. A near miss is too close of a call for all of us. Here are some procedures that need to be followed to make sure our students are safe. Bus Zones – This is the Section of Aspen Hills Drive in front of the school. Signs clearly mark the zone and it is for buses only from 7:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Hug and Go – The west side of Aspen Stone Boulevard is a “Hug and Go” zone. This means in the morning you may drop off your children and they may go up the stairs to the back of the school. Supervisors are on the tarmac at 8:45 am and will make sure students are safe. The idea of “Hug and Go”, is to provide a safe location where you can move in and out quickly. Parents cannot leave their vehicles while dropping students off. We also notice many parents, double parking in this area and Jaywalking. Not only is this extremely unsafe it is also illegal, and we want to provide positive modeling for students. Remember safety before convenience, always. Parking Areas – The east side of Aspen Stone Boulevard and the south side of Aspen Hills Drive are open for parking. We ask that you use the crosswalk at the intersection of Aspen Hills Drive and Aspen Stone Boulevard to cross the street. Once again, we have many people Jaywalking and it is only a matter of time before somebody is hurt. You can also park in the parking lot for the public playground if you need to walk your child to the school. Please do not use the condominium for parking or turning around. Driveway – We ask that parents do not enter our driveway as having small children in an area with cars is not safe. There are plenty of other options available for a safe drop off for students. Those families involved with Maple Roots are welcome to use the driveway as your entrance is at the end of the parking lot. U-Turns and Jaywalking - Every day we see numerous instances of U-turns and Jaywalking in front of the school. It is just a matter of time before we see a serious accident. Please model safe driving and respect for the law for your children. Riding Bikes and Scooters – It has been great to see the number of people riding bikes and scooters to school. We have many bike racks in the back of the school to lock these items, and it really fits well with promoting a healthy lifestyle and the concept of a L.E.E.D. School. We ask that everyone dismount their bikes and scooters as they come on to the sidewalk area around the school and walk them to the bike racks. Families with Dogs – Thank you for keeping dogs on the city sidewalks when they join you for the walk to school. Dogs are not allowed on school property for safety and sanitary reasons. Some of our students become very anxious around dogs and we want all of our students to feel at ease in their school environment. (It is also against the law to have a dog on a playing field, playground or school ground. Remember we are models for our youth, the by-law is listed below) No Dogs on The School Grounds (City Bylaw Number 23M2006)
DOGS IN PROHIBITED AREAS 15. (1) The Owner of a dog shall ensure that such dog does not enter or remain in or on: (a) a School Ground, Playground, Sports Field, Golf Course, Cemetery, Wading or Swimming Area, or a Pathway; or (b) any other area where dogs are prohibited by posted signs. (48M2008, 2008 November 03) By taking a few extra minutes and emphasizing safety over convenience we will make Guardian Angel a much safer place for all students. Entering the School— If you are coming to the school please make sure you are wearing a mask and sanitize your hands on entering the building. We are limiting traffic in our halls so we will assist you with all your needs. If you need to see your child, we will call them to the office to meet with you. School Emergency Response Plan—the school has a plan in place should a disaster (fire, gas or water leaks, waterline breaks, intruder in the school, etc.) occur. A fan out system is in place should we have to contact parents. Further instructions will be given at that time. Please ensure we always have your correct and current contact information. School Patrols Our school patrols are suspended at the current time due to Covid 19. We will monitor this as the year progresses. Bell Times 9:00 am Entry Bell 11:45 am Kindergarten Dismissal 11:45 am Noon Dismissal (Gr. 1-3 outside, Gr. 4-6 lunch) 12:05 pm (Gr. 1-3 lunch, Gr. 4-6 outside) 12:30 pm Entry Bell (Gr. 1-6) 12:45 pm Kindergarten begins 1:45 p.m. Recess Gr. 1 - 3 2:05 pm Recess Gr. 4 - 6 3:30 pm Dismissal Weather and Proper Dress As we are all aware Calgary weather can change quite quickly during our days! Please make sure that students are dressed for the possible weather conditions that could occur during the day. As a district, we look at indoor recess if the temperature falls below -20oC or if we have other conditions such as significant rain, wind or air quality issues. Students love and need fresh air and we make every attempt to get them outside if it is safe to do so. Please make sure they are
dressed for the weather and do not assume it will be an indoor recess. Extra pants/socks can always be in the backpack. Birthday Treats Birthdays are very special days for our students. We recognize all of our student’s birthdays at the school by announcing their name on the intercom. With the concerns of Covid 19 we can not hand out birthday pencils and students cannot bring in food treats or non-food treats. We are sorry but we need to minimize any risks of transmission. Label Your Child’s Belongings We appreciate that clothing and belonging are expensive and understand that it would be nice if students never misplaced these things. To help students get their belongings back, we ask that you put their name on them. Writing their names on the tag of the item greatly assists us in making sure the item is returned to the owner. In keeping in mind, the possible of spreading of Covid 19 we will not have an open and accessible lost and found because of contact. We will institute a new method of Lost and Found during Covid 19. We will email photos of the items we are collecting. Hopefully this will help students and their property be reacquainted. School Council Guardian Angel School will be having our first School Council Meeting Thursday, September 24th at 6:30 pm. All parents are members of School Council and we really value your input as we build our school community. This will be an online meeting and we will send out information on how to join. Please reply to the email below if you wish to be invited to our zoom session. guardianangel@cssd.ab.ca Cell Phones and Digital Devices We recognize the use of cell phones are common with many families as a communication device making sure students are safe. While we allow cell phones in the school, we do not allow students to use the cell phone during the instructional day. Students always have access to the office phone if required for purposes other than setting up “play dates”. It is important that students use the school phone, so our staff is aware if there is a concern that we can assist with. We also do not allow students to use cell phones during outdoor
recesses as they can get damaged or lost easily. We feel that students should be taking the time to socialize with other students and not playing online. Newsletters via Email or Website Website: https://www.cssd.ab.ca/schools/guardianangel We have now completed our email list for sending home information to parents. All communication will be distributed through email, unless there is a strong reason to print copies for everyone. We also send new transportation routes home in print. We will not be sending home monthly calendars as we keep our on-line calendar current. You may print your own from our website and updates are also sent in weekly Angel Notes. Angel notes is our primary communication tool and will be sent home on Fridays. We will add attachments as required to Angel Notes. Please make sure this is not going to your junk email. Milk and Juice Our milk and juice program will be suspended at this time as well as Fun Food, Pizza Friday and Popcorn Thursdays. We will revisit these once we have more direction from Alberta Health. Medications Many students have medical needs of which the homeroom teacher and school staff need to be made aware. If staff is asked to administer medication at school, we must have a current set of medical forms, including a doctor’s section of the district form outlining the medical conditions involved and its treatment. An Annual Medical Condition form needs to be completed the first year the medication is required. After the first year, the Authorization for Medical Waiver Form must be completed every three years, unless there are changes. If you have not received a form and have medication at the school, please contact the office. In severe cases, a meeting with the school nurse, teacher and administration is needed to ensure we are prepared to handle related emergencies the best we can. Medication sent to school must be clearly labeled in a Ziploc bag with the student’s name and condition. Please check the expiry date on the medication. Epi-Pen – if your child needs an Epi-Pen, we would like to have one in our office where we will keep it with your child’s picture. Ultimately, as well one should be carried with the student. Please check the expiry dates on the Epi-pen before sending them to the school. If any medical information has changed from last year, please let the office know.
Allergies We have several students who have nut allergies. We ask that you help us in trying to ensure that you avoid bringing nut products to school. This would include avoiding sending peanut butter sandwiches, Nutella spread, cookies and other products that contain actual nuts. These allergies are very serious and cross contamination of items occur very easily. We cannot offer a “nut free” environment, but we do offer support in reducing the risks for our students. Lockdowns and Fire Drills Each month we practice a safety drill to ensure student safety. Students will become very familiar with the various drills we practice and will respond in a calm manner. During the month of September, we will practice a fire drill. We will practice a lockdown in October. Teachers have reviewed the drills with the students beforehand, so everyone understands what is expected. We work closely with emergency services in developing these drills to achieve the safest environment for all. If you are in the school during a drill, please follow the directions given to you by staff. Student Agendas The student agenda is a valuable tool used to convey information. Teachers will also use this as a communication tool between home and school. We ask parents to check this on a daily basis. Student Absences You need to call the school if your child will be absent or late for school (403-500-2111). We do have an answering service so that you may leave messages in the evening or early morning. Please state your child’s name, homeroom and reason why they will not be at school. Your phone call will greatly assist our office staff. We have an “Absence sign in/out sheet” at the front office for appointments, etc. We ask that parents always utilize this sheet for safety reasons, and sign students in/out of the building. Please keep students who are sick at home. We do not want to spread illnesses and students do not learn effectively if they are sick. Telephone Calls We ask for your cooperation in minimizing telephone calls at the end of the day to keep our phone lines open for urgent calls. Please try to make after school arrangements for your child before they come to school.
Students have access to a school phone throughout the day should they need to call home.
Students are not permitted to use cell phones during the school day. It is important that we
know why a student is calling home, so we can help if required.
School Photos
School Photos will be taken on Wednesday, October 7th. Please wear your
smile!
Supervision and Recess
We provide supervision 15 minutes prior to school at the bus zone and at the back of the school.
During inclement weather we bring students inside to sit and wait for the entry bell. Please do
not drop your child off before 8:45 a.m. as there is no supervision. Staff members are busy
preparing for their day or are in meetings. During morning recess and the lunch hour, supervision
is provided to ensure students stay safe. It is expected that if a student is healthy enough to come
to school that he/she is healthy enough to go out for recess.
At the end of the day, supervision is provided until the buses have left at 3:45 pm in front of the
building once the buses depart. We do not provide supervision after school for using the
playground. Students must go home and check in or have a parent present at the playground.
The playground is closed from 8:45 am – 9:00 am and from 3:30 to 3:45 each school day.
Lunch Procedures
Students who stay at school for lunch eat in their classrooms this year in consideration of keeping
cohort groups intact. Students are expected to remain seated while they eat and raise their hand
if they need help. Once they clean up their area students are asked to raise their hand and wait
until a Noon Hour Supervisor permits them to leave. Students in grades 4, 5 & 6 eat first from
11:45 – 12:05 and then are dismissed for recess. Students in grades 1, 2 & 3 go outside first and
then come in to eat from 12:05 – 12:30.
Ambulance Calls
Parents should be advised that EMS will be called when a student’s health is
at risk (injury, illness, etc.) and the Principal (or designate) determines if this
is an appropriate step. All efforts will be made to contact Parents/Guardians
or Emergency Contacts.
Parents / Guardians are eligible to claim the cost of EMS services (whether the patient is
transported). Under the Student Accident Insurance policy, claims are made directly by theparent / guardian. Note that there may be some exclusions of coverage (pre-existing condition, health problems not related to accidental injury, etc.). Volunteers We feel a volunteer program is a very important part of our school. However, at this time we are delaying starting the program in attempting to keep our cohort groups as protected as possible. We will provide information of volunteer orientations once we are prepared to open the volunteer program. Once we open the volunteer program all volunteers will have to take a volunteer orientation and will need to answer the Covid 19 screening tool before entering the school.
Staff List for 2020 – 2021
ADMINISTRATION GRADE 5
Paul Dorin (Principal) Lori-Ann Harvey
Bruce Mac Donald (Vice Principal)
GRADE 6
KINDERGARTEN Doreen May
Sarah Staley am/pm Jolene Mundt
GRADE 1 Diverse Learning Teacher
Lori Dick Kristin Freitag
Anna Ross
SUPPORT STAFF
GRADE 2/1
Erin Fyfe (Secretary)
GRADE 2 Carla Koch Gagliardi (School Assistant /
Michelle LeBlanc Education Assistant / Noon Hour Assistant)
Lori McLeod Margie Meakin (Learning Commons
Librarian / Noon Hour Assistant))
GRADE 3
Cecilia Valdebenito (Education Assistant /
Korena Labute
Noon Hour Assistant)
Judi MacEachen
Gabriela Cordovez (Education Assistant /
GRADE 4 Noon Hour Assistant)
Stephan DeFreitas Rachel Carter (Noon Hour Assistant /
Kindergarten Assistant)
GRADE 5/4
Mike Osiowy CUSTODIAL STAFF
Delano Flores (Daytime Caretaker)
Julito Galeon (Evening Caretaker)
Roel Lopena (Evening Caretaker)September 2020 School Feedback How were your child’s first weeks of school? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Do you have any thank kudos, you would like us to share with our staff about Guardian Angel School? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Do you feel we are making reasonable efforts to keep your children safe at school? Do you have any other ideas we should be considering? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Do you have any ideas on how we can improve our school that you would like us to share with our staff? ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Other comments: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Please print this page and send to the school with your child as feedback is key to us. Student(s) Name and Homeroom: ___________________________ Email Address: ___________________________________________ Parents Signature: ____________________________________
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