Killarney Beach P.S Back to School Information
FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
*The first day of school for students in Year 2 (Senior) Kindergarten to Grade 8 is Tuesday, September 5,
2023.
*Year 1 (Junior) Kindergarten students will begin school on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Students should arrive on their first day of school between 9:15-9:30 am.
Our staff will be meeting students at the following areas and will have grade signs for the students to navigate.
Parents are not permitted past any gated area onto the school grounds at all at arrival/dismissal time.
On the entry dates noted above students, please proceed to the following areas and wait for your name to be
called.
Senior Kindergarten – South Side (Murphy, Raines, Hasspieler)
Grades 1-3 and Steyn Kindergarten: Primary Tarmac, rear of building
Grades 4-8 Meet on South Tarmac
Junior Kindergarten students will begin attending on Thursday, September 7, 2023.
Student will enter the Kindergarten/Primary gate and meet their teacher on the Tarmac.
Parents are not permitted past any gated area onto the school grounds at all at arrival/dismissal time.
WELL-BEING
We believe that looking after our physical and mental health is essential to our well-being. We are committed to creating an inclusive school environment where students feel safe, welcome, and included. For helpful information and resources to support student mental health and well-being, visit the SCDSB website
ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL
All school doors are locked during the school day. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority.
We have several procedures in place designed to keep our school safe.
Please note that often there will only be one staff member available in the office meeting the needs of all the students and staff. Due to these circumstances, we will require your assistance and patience when contacting the school office.
VISITORS are not permitted on school premises during school hours. All visitors to the school premises must ring the front doorbell intercom to speak with the office.
Approved Visitors must always sign in at the office and receive an identification tag. You will then be met at the office by the person you are meeting. Our students are advised to look for these tags when they see someone they do not recognize.
SAFE ARRIVAL
New Safe Arrival system for SCDSB schools – call 1-888-885-8065 to report an absence!
The Simcoe County District School Board (SCDSB) has a new Safe Arrival system at elementary schools. This system will support us in continuing to improve our home-to-school communication process and streamline absence reporting.
To report a student absence, call 1-888-885-8065. Callers will be prompted to identify the school before leaving a message. Parents should include the student’s name, teachers’ name, dates and reason for the absence. When schools do not hear from a parent/guardian, and a student is absent, the school will call home to find out the reason for the absence. If you have questions about the new system, please contact the school office.
SIGNING IN/OUT AT THE OFFICE
• Any late students are required to Sign IN at the office via the front doors to receive a late slip before going to class.
• If you are picking up your student early, please call the office in advance at 705-456-2630.
• PHOTO IDENTIFICATION WILL BE REQUIRED TO PICKUP STUDENTS.
• Students must be signed OUT at the office by an adult on their emergency list. If you need to add someone to the pickup list for your student, it must be sent in writing to the office. No persons not on the list will be allowed to pick up your students.
PARKING LOT
Our parking lot is very busy especially at arrival and dismissal time. For everyone’s safety, we encourage parents to have students in the bused areas to please take the bus to and from school daily and that walking students to be walked to and from school.
THERE IS NO PARKING OR DRIVING IN THE BUS LOOP
Parents that are dropping off students may access the small parking lot at the front of the school. Both parents and students must cross at the designated crosswalk. Please do not allow your child to walk between the buses, this is very dangerous.
Thank you for keeping our students and school community safe!
DISMISSAL PROCESS FOR END OF DAY
Forms will be going home at the start of the school year for all Kindergarten – Grade 3 students to be completed regarding end of day arrangements (PINK sheet). Please complete these as soon as possible and return to the school.
We have a detailed map of this process above.
Once again, we ask that parents not pass into the fenced in areas of the school.
Students will be dismissed from the following areas based on grade level and cohorts:
Kindergarten-Grade 3 Kindergarten/ Primary Entrance-South side. Parents/Guardians, please do not crowd the area and allow students to reach their pickup person safely.
Grades 4-8 – dismissed on their own and will be exiting the property on the North side of the school.
BOOMERANG LUNCHES
A boomerang is a curved piece of wood that when properly thrown will return to the thrower. A boomerang lunch is a lunch that has every piece of it return to its source. In other words, everything in the lunch goes back home at the end of the day. No matter if it is leftover food, containers, recyclables or garbage, it all goes back. Yes, even the garbage.
Purpose:
• To increase awareness of the amount of waste created in one’s own lunch
• To encourage the use of reusable containers
• To discourage the use of disposable containers
We are encouraging all Killarney Beach Sharks to participate in support of our student led Eco Squad and environment. This school year, waste reduction activities in our building and classes will be implemented. We will encourage everyone to not only take their lunch garbage home with them, but also attempt to reduce their production of garbage, at lunch and throughout the rest of the day. There are schools in the province that do not collect any lunch garbage from students. There are also field trip centres that do not collect any garbage at all from visiting classes. In these areas it is common practice that everyone takes out what they bring in. It is a process that may take some adjustment, it is very feasible, and is one step we can take together to make a difference in the health of our planet.
Thank you for your participation and support of this important practice at our school.
SCHOOL BUS ‘BUS TAG’ PROGRAM HELPS STUDENTS GET TO AND FROM SCHOOL SAFELY
The Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium’s Bus Tag program supports safety for JK/SK and other school-identified students. The program helps match students to their assigned afternoon school bus and identifies that they must be met by a parent/guardian at their afternoon bus stop. The program provides a colour coded bus tag with the assigned p.m. route number, to be attached to the student’s backpack, and a colour-coded route card with route number in the windows of the school bus that the bus tag is matched to. The program can also provide tags for students who are walkers and/or who remain at an on-site childcare centre to make sure they do not get on a bus in error. For more information, visit https://main.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca and click on the ‘Safety’ tab.
KEEP CONNECTED WITH OUR SCHOOL AND WITH THE SCDSB
It is important to get accurate information about what is going on at your school and at the SCDSB. Here are some ways to do that:
• Subscribe to our school’s website by visiting the ‘What's New’ section at https://kbe.scdsb.on.ca/
• Sign up to receive SCDSB media releases by clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button at www.scdsb.on.ca.
• Follow the SCDSB on Twitter (@SCDSB_Schools), Facebook (facebook.com/SCDSB) and Instagram
(instagram.com/scdsb). Follow Killarney Beach P.S @killarneybps
For school bus transportation information, visit the Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium’s
website at main.simcoecountyschoolbus.ca. Also, remember to bookmark the school bus information page at
simcoecountyschoolbus.ca for bus delay and cancellation information on inclement weather days.
PROCEDURES HELP KEEP OUR SCHOOL SAFE
We have several procedures in place to keep our school safe. You can help your student understand and feel safe by:
• talking to them about the situations below;
• reminding them that emergencies are rare; and,
• telling them it is important to follow staff instructions in these situations.
Parents/guardians should talk about the following emergency drills with their student(s):
• Shelter in place is used when there is an environmental or weather-related situation, like a chemical spill outside the building, or a major storm. Activities continue inside the school. Students and staff are
not allowed to leave the building. The ventilation system may be shut off temporarily.
• A hold and secure is used when there is a situation in the community, not related to the school, like a bank robbery nearby. Activities continue, but all exterior doors are locked. No one is allowed to enter or exit the school.
• A lockdown is used when there is a major incident, or a threat of violence related to the school. Students and staff move to secure areas, away from doors and windows. Interior doors are locked,
lights are shut off and blinds are drawn. Students and staff remain quiet. We practice lockdown drills at least two times per year. In the unlikely event of an actual lockdown situation, police ask that
parents/guardians do not go to the school. Information will be communicated through the school board social media sites (www.facebook.com/SCDSB and www.twitter.com/SCDSB_Schools) and website (www.scdsb.on.ca), through local police and local media.
• All schools have evacuation plans in case of gas leaks, bomb threats or fire incidents that would require everyone to leave the school. We hold drills to practice our evacuation plan. In a real
evacuation, students and staff may go to the evacuation site, depending on the situation. Parents/guardians will be informed about pick-up procedures by the school, school board and local media. When parents/guardians are at school during a drill or emergency event, they must follow direction from school staff, police, fire and/or emergency personnel. Parents/guardians may not have immediate access to their student(s) during drills or emergencies. They may need to wait until the situation is resolved and school staff and/or emergency personnel release students into parent/guardian care. It is important for you to know we will always take whatever precautions are necessary to keep our school and students safe.
Please note the following:
• Public school main doors are locked during the school day. Visitors must use the intercom system and wait for assistance. Staff may not be available to answer the door immediately, so please be patient.
• Staff must complete a criminal record check before having contact with students.
• We ask parents/guardians to contact us when their student is absent from school as part of our Safe Arrival program. When we do not hear from a parent/guardian and a student is absent, we will call
home to find out the reason for the absence.
• At least two staff members in every school are trained in first aid and CPR. All SCDSB schools have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs).
STUDENT DRESS CODE
Students are expected to respect the guidelines when dressing for school. Our school is a safe space. We work to be equitable and inclusive and understand that students may choose to express themselves through their clothing choices. Student clothing cannot pose a safety concern or conceal identity. Exceptions are
granted to students who wear head coverings or other garments/objects for the purposes of religious
observance, medical or sensory needs, or other reasons protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code. The SCDSB dress code is available in the student agenda and online at www.scdsb.on.ca/elementary/dress_code. If you have questions about the dress code, you can contact your school principal.