PARENT INFORMATION

BELL TIMES: 

8:15 Morning Supervision begins

8:30 - 10:30 Classes 

10:30 - 10:45 Morning Recess 

10:45 - 11:45 Classes 

11:45 - 12:15 Afternoon recess

12:15 - 12:45 Lunch

12:45 - 2:45 Classes

2:45 Dismissal 

 

🧍VISITOR POLICY: Public School Branch policy requires that visitors to schools MUST report to the office immediately upon arrival, identify themselves to the administrative assistant or the administration and explain the purpose of their visit. Visitors must sign in using the sign-out book in the office. No visitors can walk through the school unaccompanied by a staff member without permission from the administration assistant or administration.

🥜PEANUT FREE POLICY: Due to the presence in the school of one or more students with life threatening allergies to peanuts, parents must ensure that their children do not take to school peanuts, peanut butter or food items containing peanuts. 

🧴SCENT FREE ENVIRONMENT: due to the presence in our school of one or more staff and students with an intolerance to scents we ask parents to ensure that their children do not wear or use scented products at school.

✅ATTENDANCE AND REPORTING SCHOOL ABSENCES: If your child is going to be absent for the day or arrive late, it is important that you call the office first thing in the morning at 902-887-2505 and leave a message with the school secretary. 

📝 HOMEWORK REQUEST: If your child is going to be absent and you would like homework sent home, a request should be made by 9:30 am by calling the office and leaving a message with the secretary at 902-887-2505. This will provide teachers with time throughout the day to compile homework assignments and leave it in the front office. 

📱BUS NOTES (REQUESTING ALTERNATE BUS TRANSPORTATION): Bus students are required to travel to and from school on their assigned school bus. Your child's bus number(s) can be obtained by calling the transportation department at the Public School Branch at 902- 888-8400. In order for a student to travel on another bus after school or get off at another bus stop, a note signed by a parent or guardian must be submitted to the office first thing in the morning, prior to 12:00 pm., requesting a bus pass. Bus passes should only be given if there is an emergency need for child care. Bus notes may be denied if the requested bus is already full.

🚗CHANGES TO AFTER- SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION: If your child is to take an alternate form of transportation after school or is being picked up by someone different, please advise your child's home room teacher with a signed note. This note is to be submitted to the home room teacher first thing in the morning. If you are not aware of this ahead of time, please call the office and the secretary will let your child know the change in routine. 

✏️SIGN OUT POLICY: Students are not permitted to leave school property during the school day unless signed out by a parent or guardian using the Sign-Out book in the office. A student who has been signed out but who returns to school must sign back in using the Sign-Out book in the office. 

🛻DROPPING OFF AND PICKING UP STUDENTS: Parents are reminded that children should NOT be dropped off prior to 8:15 am unless their child is attending a supervised school sponsored event such as early morning band practice. Supervision of students begins at 8:15 each morning. Parents picking up students during the school day are asked to wait in the front foyer area. For safety reasons, students being picked up by parents at the end of the day are asked to check in with Ms. Condon at the flag pole before walking to their car. 

🅿️ PARKING LOT SAFETY: The parking lot at Somerset Consolidated is a busy place. Drivers of all vehicles are asked to exercise caution as they enter, drive through, and exit the parking lot. When you drop off in the morning or pick up your child(ren) up at the end of the day, please park in the designated parking area and out of the path of students travelling to and from the school.

🤳COMMUNICATION WITH THE SCHOOL: Parents wishing to speak with a teacher are encouraged to call ahead and leave a message for the teacher with the secretary. Parents wishing to speak with their child throughout the school day are encouraged to leave a message with the secretary. 

❄️EARLY MORNING SCHOOL CLOSURE PROCEDURES: If schools are cancelled for the day, an announcement is made on the radio prior to 7 am. In the event that a decision cannot be made by 7 am, a one-hour delay is announced. In the event of a one-hour delay, school starts at 9:30 a.m. as opposed to 8:30 am. 

🏫SCHOOL CLOSURES THROUGHOUT THE DAY: Sometimes it is necessary to close school during the school day when it is already in progress. Announcements are made on the local radio stations and a mass email will be send out. Parents are responsible for making alternate arrangements for the care of their children in the event of early school closures. 

📸STUDENT PHOTOS IN THE MEDIA: Photos of school events that are not open to the public are often for inclusion on our Facebook page or the local newspaper. If you do not wish to have your child's photo appear on Facebook or the newspaper in conjunction with a school event not open to the public, it is important you indicate such on the Student Information form sent out at the beginning of each school year. 

🎒 SCHOOL SUPPLIES: The Province of PEI will provide school supplies for students in kindergarten to grade 9. 

STUDENT INFORMATION

🚌 BUSSING: We are extremely fortunate at Somerset Consolidated to have a wonderful group of bus drivers who have a definite interest and concern for the safety of children. The bus driver's main area of focus must be driving the school bus.  Every student who misbehaves on the bus decreases the degree of concentration of the bus driver, thus, chances of becoming involved in an accident are increased. Here are some rules while waiting for and getting onto the bus from the PSB:

·         Be at your stop 5 minutes before it is scheduled to arrive

·         Wait for bus to come to a complete stop and have its RED lights flashing

·         If you have to cross the road, establish eye contact with driver 

·         Wait for the driver to beckon you to cross to road

·         Always look both ways before entering any roadway

·         When safe to do so, walk at a brisk pace

·         Always cross the road in FRONT of the bus

·         If you hear the bus horn, get off the road immediately

·         Absolutely no headphones, cell phones, or other distractions during the process

·         Stay focused until safely seated (or safely off the roadway when disembarking)

 Here are some rules to help support your bus driver when they are driving the bus:

 

1. Students must sit in the seat that they are assigned, This decision is made by the Bus Driver and Administration. 
2. Students must remain seated while on the bus. 
3. Students must not throw objects inside the bus or outside the windows of the bus. 
4. Students must not use inappropriate language, fight, push, shove, take others’ items, etc…, while on the bus. 
5. Students must get on and off the bus in an orderly manner. 
6. Students may not leave a school bus at a place other than their normal pick up/drop off locations without a bus note. 
7. Sitting near the back of the bus is a privilege and must be earned to stay there. These seats are usually for our Grade 7 and 8 students, who show strong leadership skills and display appropriate bus behaviours. 

 

Students who misbehave on the bus are first spoken to by the bus driver and if issues persist, the student is reported to Administration.  The Administration communicates with the parent regarding the misbehaviour. Depending upon the misbehaviour or if the misbehaviour continues, the student may be suspended from using the bus for a period of time. If this occurs, it is the parent (caregiver’s) responsibility to provide transportation to and from school.

 

🛝 PLAYGROUND GUIDELINES: Students at Somerset Consolidated must play safely.

Remember: Rough play or any play which could result in injury is not allowed.

Please respect the following rules:

1.   Stay within the boundaries of your assigned walkway/play area. 

2.   Do not throw objects such as rocks, sticks, sand, grass or snowballs.

3.   Use playground equipment appropriately.

4.   Use the slide sitting down, feet first.

5.   Use the swings properly.  Do not jump off swings, or play in the impact zone.

6.   Team sports, such as soccer and ball hockey, should follow the sports rules and be played by grade level.

7.   All students are expected to dress appropriately for weather conditions.

8.   All students are expected to return to the school promptly, following recess breaks. 

 

📵CELL PHONE POLICY: Cell phone use is prohibited in classrooms unless otherwise stated by the teacher. During the instructional day, cell phones must remain in lockers out of sight and in silent mode. Students are not permitted to go to their locker during instructional time to check their cell phone or to make a call without teacher consent. If students need to place an emergency phone call during the day, they should request to go to the main office to use an office phone or get permission to use their own personal device. Students are not to be taking pictures or videos during the school day. A student caught texting or calling during these times, without teacher/administration consent will have their phone taken away. If a student’s cell phone is taken, they will be required to pick it up at the end of class or the end of the day from the staff member who took it. If this happens a second time, the student’s phone will be taken and brought to the office (administration) until the end of the day. If there is a third violation, the phone will be taken by the teacher and held in the office. The administration will contact parents to come pick up the phone at the end of the day. A fourth violation could result in phone privileges being lost at school for a period of time. 

🚴BICYCLES: With parents' permission, students may ride their bicycles to school. Heelies, skateboards, scooters and roller blades, however, are not encouraged. For safety reasons, students must get off of their bike when they arrive on school property and walk their bike to the bike stands located at the frontwing entrance. Students who ride their bikes to school are expected to wear helmets and are strongly encouraged to lock up their bikes. At the end of the day, students riding bikes will be dismissed only after all school buses have left the parking lot. 

👟FOOTWEAR: Each student is expected to have footwear that will be used for indoor use only. Outdoor footwear is to be removed upon entering the school and placed in their boot shelves. Indoor footwear should be the same footwear that is used for the Physical Education Program. All footwear should be labelled and properly fastened. 

📚TEXTBOOKS AND LIBRARY BOOKS: Lost or misplaced books must be paid for at the end of the school year. This applies to books borrowed from the library as well. 

🏠 PERSONAL PROPERTY:The school does not accept responsibility for loss or damage to personal property. 

 

🗒️ ITEMS THAT ARE NOT ENCOURAGED AT SCHOOL: Parents are asked to ensure that their children refrain from bringing expensive items to school that might get misplaced/damaged/go missing/lost/ etc. such as video games, trading cards, expensive jewellery, cell phones, digital cameras, etc. The school will not be held responsible for such items. (See Code of Conduct) 

 

For safety reasons, we also ask that students not bring or wear to school, heelies, skateboards, scooters,  etc. All above named items when found in possession of students may be taken from the student and held in the office until the end of the school day. The item may be returned to the student at the end of the school day, or the parent may be called to the school to retrieve it. Grade 7 and 8 students are able to bring these items to use for the sole purpose of going down to the Irving at lunch time. They are not to be used on school grounds and should have helmets when using them at school. 

 

E-Bikes and Electric Scooters - These items are prohibited at our school. For both electric bikes and electric scooters, there is Provincial Legislation that requires the operator:

• to be at least 16 years of age
• to wear a helmet
• to not operate on sidewalks

In order to honor this legislation, these items are not allowed on our school premises. 

 

🏸REQUIREMENTS FOR PHYSICAL EDUCATION: Students at Somerset Consolidated participate in Physical Education classes three times in a six day cycle. This is part of their prescribed curriculum and students are expected to come to school prepared with the proper attire. For students in grade K-4, the expectation is to have well fitted indoor shoes that are properly fastened. Grades 5-8 have the option to change into gym clothes if they wish, with the expectation of clean indoor shoes for gym. For safety reasons, there may be times when students are asked to sit out if they do not have indoor footwear (not always, but if it is related to safety concerns). Phys Ed teachers at Somerset Consolidated ask for students to participate by trying their best, being respectful and by having a positive attitude. Students, who are not participating due to medical reasons, must provide a note to their physical education teacher. 

🔒Lockers: Grade 7 and 8 students will be provided a locker to use for the school year. Here are the following rules related to locker use at Somerset Consolidated:

1. Students must rent a lock to ensure security of the valuables placed in the lockers. The cost to rent the locker is $5.00. 
2. Only locks sold by the school will be allowed on the lockers. 
3. The lock and its combination becomes the student’s responsibility. 
4. The school will accept no responsibility for items lost or stolen from lockers. 
5. Students will be held financially responsible for damage to their lockers. 
6. Students are responsible for maintaining neatness and cleanliness of their lockers. 
7. Lockers are to be locked at all times when students are not using them. 

 

HEALTH AND SAFETY

😷ILLNESS: If a child indicates that they are not feeling well and/ or is showing signs of being ill while at school, a call will be made to a parent or guardian to come to the school to pick up the child. If parents cannot be contacted, a call will be made to the emergency contact person listed on your Student Information Form. Parents are asked to ensure that a reliable emergency contact person is available at all times for such situations. 

💊ADMINISTERING MEDICATION: Students may take medication at school provided it is under the direction of a physician.  A permission form for administering medication should be completed by parents for those students.  This form is available from the administrative assistant upon request.  The school does not give Aspirin or Tylenol to students.  Any medication will be stored and located in a locked medicine cabinet in the office.

🗒️SPEECH AND LANGUAGE REFERRALS: The Speech Language Pathologist visits the school from time to time and if parents have concerns around their child's speech, they may request a referral form from their child’s teacher. 

🌟Public School Branch STUDENT SERVICES TEAM: To access the services of Public School Branch Student Services personnel (the School Psychologist, the Inclusive Education Consultant, the Autism Consultant, the Counselling Consultant, the Student Services Consultant) a referral must be compiled and submitted by the school’s Student Services team. Parents' permission must be obtained for students to receive services from board personnel such as psycho educational assessments, consults etc.

💻SCHOOL-BASED STUDENT SERVICES TEAM: Somerset Consolidated’s Student Services team is made up of our resource teachers (behavioural and academic), the school counsellor, vice principal, and principal. The team meets regularly to monitor the progress and supports in place for students who are struggling academically, socially and/ or emotionally within the school environment. 

☕SCHOOL COUNSELLING SERVICES: Somerset Consolidated has available the services of a fully qualified school counsellor, Lauren Hall. Ms. Hall offers an extensive program to support the social, emotional, behavioural and intellectual needs of students. 

🚫ALLERGIES: It is the responsibility of parents to inform the school if their child suffers from any form of allergies. In the case of severe allergies and/ or life-threatening allergies, it is parents' responsibility to provide the school with medical documentation and to work with the office to devise an Extreme Allergy Management Plan.