Bishop Abraham School

Welcome to Bishop Abraham Elementary! To those of you whose children are returning, we look forward to working with you again this year. To those of you whose children are attending Bishop Abraham Elementary School for the first time, we especially welcome you.

Your input into the school is welcome. We encourage you to take an active part in your child(ren)'s education and to volunteer in some capacity in the school if it is possible and convenient for you to do so. We encourage your comments re: programming (including special services), fundraising, etc. Please make an appointment to stop by and discuss your thoughts with the classroom teacher or administration at a mutually convenient time. We look forward to seeing you around the school.

Several ways to support the school:

· Get your child to school on time and ensure he/she has the necessary school supplies.

· Send nutritious snacks. Please make every effort to not send soft drink, chips, or chocolate bars.

· No pets allowed in the building due to allergies.

· Be aware that there are children in some classes with severe peanut allergies. While we can’t ban products containing peanuts, we do ask that you do your part to make the school environment safe for ALL children.

· No smoking on school grounds. This is a smoke free area as designated by Eastern School District.

· Send a dated note when your child is absent.

· Children may only use the school phone in the event of an emergency. Please make every attempt to finalize plans with your child prior to coming to school.

· Parents will be informed in advance of assemblies and are encouraged to come along.

· School newsletters will be sent home the first Thursday of each month. Reading this will keep you better informed as to school events.

· Students are requested to not bring cell phones to school; if they must be brought, they are to be passed in at the office and collected at the end of the day.

· Strollers, toddler wagons, etc. must be left in the main entrance.

Because all classes are based on the top floor, effective September 2007, there was a fire safety concern when that corridor became crowded with parents in early morning or at after school dismissal. For that reason, parents are asked to wait with/for their children in the lower floor common rooms.

By supporting us in these ways, you strengthen the image of the school, help your child(ren) attain success at school, and provide a positive role model for all of our students.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of Bishop Abraham is to promote learning in a positive, caring and motivating environment in which all students reach their potential through promotion of life long learning and mutual respect among home, school and community.

STAFF LIST

Principal       Ms. J. Skinner
VP/Lit.            Ms. L. Butland
Kdg.               Mr. W. Jameson
Guidance      Ms. H. Martin
Grade 1         Ms. V. Noseworthy
Grade 2         Ms. M. McDonald
Grade 3         Ms. V. Wells
Grade 4         Ms. W. Wall
Grade 5         Ms. M. Power/Ms. C. Cahill
Grade 6         Ms. D. Winsor/Ms. C. Cahill
Music             Ms. D. Winsor
Phys. Ed.      Mr. P. Kennedy
L.R.C.             Ms. C. Cahill
Sp. Ed.           Ms. L. Cassell
Sp. Ed.           Ms. C. Soper

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE POLICY

Our school wide theme is “Getting Along” with an emphasis on keeping hands, feet, and harmful words to yourself and zero tolerance to aggressive behaviour.

The general expectations for students at Bishop Abraham are:

1. Speak and act respectfully to others.

2. Respect personal boundaries and personal and school property.

3. Act in ways which ensure the personal safety of themselves and others.

Students and staff will work together to help in the achievement of these goals.

Suspension Policy

Deliberate physical aggression results in an immediate suspension. Use of foul language is also cause for suspension. In those cases, every effort is made to contact a parent, but if we cannot contact a parent and a child leaves the building, there is a concern for safety. In that case we resort to contacting the RNC to attempt to locate the child. The length of any suspension is generally determined by the nature of the incident. Following a suspension, it’s generally expected that the student return to school, accompanied by a parent if possible, and generally meets with either Principal, Assistant Principal, or Guidance Counsellor prior to returning to class. Suspension letters giving full details of the incident are made available to parents on the same day or within a day of the incident occurring. Letters are then copied to appropriate Board Office staff.

Procedure for students to leave school:

The following measures are taken to ensure student safety:

· If a student has to leave school during the instructional day, the child is required to make contact with a parent/guardian first and a member of school staff will speak to that adult to verify the plans for the child.

· If a student leaves school during instructional time without permission, the school will immediately contact a parent or other adult as listed on the student’s data form. If no one can be reached, we contact the R.N.C. and request their support in locating the child in an effort to ensure child safety.

· Children who normally eat their lunch at school but from time to time have parent permission to leave the school between 12:00 - 12:50 p.m. need to bring a dated note, signed by parent/ guardian to their teacher stating that you are giving that permission.

PROTOCOL FOR ISSUES/CONCERNS

To ensure that concerns are addressed in the most efficient, effective manner, we use the following process:

1. Contact your child’s teacher first to discuss concerns (may include specialist teachers as well).

2. If issues aren’t resolved at that level, a meeting will be arranged with parent, teacher, and administration.

3. If issues can’t be resolved at this level, School Board personnel may be involved.

Bypassing any of these steps will lead to unnecessary backtracking and result in delays in resolving the issue.

TIMES, SCHEDULES, AND SUPERVISION

Lunch Supervision

In accordance with School Board Policy, students who wish to eat lunch at school are required to follow certain expectations. If a student’s behaviour interferes with good discipline and order then that student may lose the privilege of remaining at school for lunch for a period of time. In the case of a student who is disruptive at lunch time:

· First incident - child is given an incident form which is to be signed by parent and is informed that a future incident will result in loss of lunch privileges at school.

· Second incident - parents are notified. Lunch privileges are lost for 1 week - i.e. student goes home for lunch and returns at 12:45 p.m.

· Third incident - parents are contacted. Eating lunch at school will not be permitted for an extended period of time.

· In cases where behaviour warrants, particular students are not permitted to remain at school for lunch due to safety risks to self and/or others. Parents are requested to please support the school in this effort to better ensure student safety.

· Children who leave school for lunch should not arrive back until 12:45 p.m.

· As elementary students are in the cafeteria, no supervision is available in elementary classrooms or in the elementary common area from 12:25-12:50 and classroom doors are locked.

· Parents of children who leave the building for lunch must notify the home room teacher in a written, dated note for that day according to School Board policy.

· All children who stay for lunch must remain on the school grounds during the entire lunch period. Scheduled supervision during non-teaching time is in place but the co-operation of parents and students is required to ensure greatest safety.

After School

All students are expected to leave the building and school grounds as soon as possible after dismissal unless they are to stay in for a specific reason (e.g. choir, after-school sports, clubs, etc.). In these cases, teachers are responsible for supervision. When students are kept in to complete school work, detention, etc., parents will be notified. All students must be out of the building by 4:00 p.m.

Seven Day Cycle

Our school follows a 7 day cycle. This facilitates the sharing of teachers and instructional time. Basically, the timetable does not follow the day of the week but follows a regular 7 day rotation throughout the school year. If you are not already familiar with this cycle, you will get used to it quickly.

Daily Schedule

The school day for Grades 1 - 6 at Bishop Abraham Elementary is as follows:

8:30 a.m. Main, East & West Doors open (Teacher supervision begins)

8:40 a.m. Home room

8:45 a.m. Classes begin

10:15-10:30 Recess

12:00-12:50 Lunch

2:50 p.m. Dismissal

Kindergarten students attend school 8:45 -11:30 a.m. and 12:30 - 3:00 p.m., rotating on a monthly basis with generally two scheduled “double” sessions where both groups attend together.

Teacher supervision DOES NOT BEGIN until 8:30 a.m. Children should not arrive prior to that time.

Kindergarten students and parents arriving for classes are asked to wait in the main corridor and the teacher will meet the children there. If your child is to be released to someone other than a parent then the school office must be contacted.

Teachers may usually be contacted at the school until at least 3:20 p.m. or by appointment. If you wish to speak to your child's teacher, please contact the office to have him or her return your call if he/she is in class.

From time to time throughout the school year, students are asked to bring in small amounts of money for transportation, field trips, and special guest artists. We try to keep this to a minimum and we ask for parents' co-operation. Also, throughout the year, there will be several fund raisers, as well as book fairs. We make every effort to give parents ample notice of events that require children to make a financial contribution. Events such as school pictures involve outside agencies who may require payment in advance. The school does not have the funds to provide credit to parents for such expenditures.

· Students are encouraged to take pride in their appearance and to be neat and clean.

· T-shirts and other items of clothing with alcohol advertising and/or inappropriate sexual comments are not to be worn at any time during the school day. When children come to school unsuitably dressed their parents will be contacted.

· Students should change their footwear upon entering the building, especially during wet and/or winter weather.

All students will have Gym four times each 7 day cycle. Parents should take note of these days and ensure that students are properly dressed for these classes.

· Both boys and girls must be dressed in T-shirts and shorts or sweat pants.

· For safety reasons only stud earrings are to be worn during gym activities.

· Blue sole sneakers which leave marks on the Gym floor are not acceptable.

· The front door is used primarily by staff, Kindergarten students, delivery and service personnel, and visitors to the school. To control the traffic within the office area we require students to use the two entrances leading directly to the common rooms.

· Grades 1, 2, and 3 students will use the East Door and wait in the Common Room until directed by a teacher to proceed to their classrooms.

· Grades 4, 5, and 6 students use the West Door to the Common Room and are supervised there until directed to classrooms.

With respect to the use of driveways and parking areas around the school, our primary concern is the safety of our students. When driving on the school grounds we ask you to use extreme care to ensure the safety of our young children. The parking lot directly in front of the main entrance is for the sole use of staff. Parents are asked to use the parking lot opposite the gym as a turn site when dropping off students. Children can then proceed safely along the sidewalk to the proper entrance. Parents are asked to park on the lot across from the gym door or on the lot by the West Common Room and to use the front door after 8:45 a.m. The East and West doors are locked at 9:00 a.m. under the direction of the School Board for the safety and security of the building and those in it. Students who arrive late for any reason must use the front entrance and speak to an adult at the office before proceeding to their Common Room and/or classroom. Keeping the side doors locked during the day may be inconvenient but necessary due to the amount of theft experienced.

· If locks are used, classroom teachers must be given either the combination or a spare key.

· Expensive items of clothing, C.D.’s, tape players, etc. should be left at home.

· Students and their parents are provided the option of putting locks on lockers, however, the school is not responsible for students’ property even if it is in a locked locker.

Bishop Abraham is on the School Lunch Program. Children should bring recess snacks from home. Due to the high number of children with severe peanut allergy, we ask that you make every effort to avoid sending peanut products to school. Soft drinks and chips, etc. should not be sent as a snack. Please encourage your children to bring juice boxes (not glass bottles) and other nutritious snacks. School Lunch is not served on the last Friday of any month; instead students may pre-order pizza at 9:00 a.m. for $1.00 per slice or bring lunch from home, as well as a drink (juice or water).

· Our Learning Resource Centre is completely automated and will not allow students to take out books if they have not returned books previously checked out.

· Parents are required to complete a student user contract with their child to permit Internet use.

· Bishop Abraham Elementary offers an Elementary Choir for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6. Information on this is sent home with the children.

· We hope to be able to offer a variety of after-school activities such as Drama, Chess, Tutoring, and various Sports. These are available depending on the volunteer efforts of staff and parents.

· The School Council and Parent Volunteers at Bishop Abraham Elementary have provided excellent support to the staff and students. Parents are encouraged to participate in these efforts.