Practices and Procedures

Getting to School

Daily COVID-19 Checklist: Please continue to monitor your child daily for COVID-19 symptoms before sending them to school. The current COVID-19 Daily Checklist can be found at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/Daily-COVID-checklist-en.pdf If a student exhibits COVID-19 symptoms throughout the day, we will call you to come and pick them up at school. Please ensure your contact information is up to date, as it will be important they are picked up in a timely manner.

School Bus Routes and Stops: Please make sure you check your school bus information as soon as possible before school starts. You can check online at https://transportation.avrce.ca and click on ‘Parent Portal’. You can also email transportation@avrce.ca or call 902.538.4641 if you have transportation-related questions.

Arrivals/Drop Off: We will follow the same drop off routine as last year, with parents dropping students off at the main office doors where a staff member will greet them. This saves congestion in hallways and allows for solid routines to begin in the morning which is a very busy time in an elementary school. Staff will ensure your children make their way to their classrooms after the initial drop off days.

Buses will be arriving after 8:05 am. Students will not be permitted to enter the building until 8:05 am as supervision isn’t available until this time. Although teachers may arrive earlier, they are in their classrooms, meetings or work areas preparing materials for the day. Thank you for your cooperation.

Parking Lot Reminder: please be aware that parents dropping off students should use the drop off loop and not be entering the lower parking lot close to the school. Students are walking in this area and it can be very dangerous.

Handwashing/Hand Sanitizer: Everyone will be expected to clean their hands when they enter the school, before and after eating, and regularly throughout the day. Depending on schedules and location in the building, students will either wash their hands with soap and water or they may use hand sanitizer. We will routinely be reminding students about the importance of good hygiene such as regular hand washing and proper coughing and sneezing etiquette.

No Toys or Stuffies: We do not want to see them get broken, lost or cause a distraction at school.

End of Day Routines

Dismissal/After-School: Our school will continue to dismiss at 2:30 pm. Students will follow the same routine on buses in the afternoon as they did in the morning. Buses will be loaded first and then walkers and pickups will be dismissed. Families are asked to wait in the grassy area at the front of the school (between the upper and lower parking lots). Teachers will continue to walk their students outside to be safely dismissed rather than parents entering the school for pickups.

Change of Plans: Should your child have a change of plans for the end of the day for bus/pickup, please communicate with the child’s teacher or call the office by 2pm. If there is a change for pickup/bus, we must be notified by the parent/guardian. This year, it is permitted to travel to a friend’s house on the bus, provided permission is given by the parent and there is space available. Early communication for a change of plans is important, so that bus notes and notifications to teachers can be communicated in a timely manner.

Outdoor Activities

Students will spend time outdoors every day, weather permitting. Your support is valuable in helping children understand the importance of enjoying the outdoors by dressing them appropriately for the weather. If you have a younger child, you may want to send a change of clothes with them in case they get their other clothes wet due to outdoor play.

During the winter months, wind chill may affect the decision to allow students outdoors for recess or other activities. Wind chill is the cooling sensation caused by the combined effect of temperature and wind.

0C to -20C Wind Chill: Care should be taken in assessing the appropriateness of sending students outside.
-21C to -27C Wind Chill: Serious consideration should be given to whether it is appropriate for students to be outside
Below -27C Wind Chill: Students should not go outside during the school day.

How do I find out if school is cancelled due to weather/road conditions?

The Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education (AVRCE) shares information in several ways when school is cancelled due to weather or road conditions. Parents/Guardian will receive a text/email via PowerSchool using the contact information you provided in September. Please let us know if your email or cellphone number changes.

School Community Members (grandparents, childcare providers, etc.) can sign up for Notify Me texts/emails on the AVRCE website. If you signed up before, your information is still on file (message delivery timing will depend on your cellphone provider).

AVRCE also shares announcements on:

-www.avrce.ca
-@AVRCE_NS on Twitter
-AVRCE phone line, 902.538.4600 or 1.800.850.3887
-Local media (AVR/Magic 94.9, 89.3 Rewind, CBC Radio 1, CTV Morning Live Atlantic)

For more information, visit www.avrce.ca/storm-daysschool-cancellations.

Parents/Guardians: Opt In for Text Messages

We have a new messaging system that allows parents/guardians to receive text messages from their school and AVRCE.

If you haven't already received an opt-in text and would like to receive text notices for important updates, such as school cancellations, text "Y" to 978338 from a mobile number that is on file with your child's school.

If you need to update the mobile number on file with your child's school, contact your school office anytime. You can also update this information each fall when your school sends home registration forms.

To opt-out from receiving school/AVRCE text messages, text STOP to 978338. More information is at http://schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg. 

Whether you choose to opt-in to AVRCE/school text messages or not, you will continue to receive emails and automatic phone calls from your child’s school according to your notification preferences; no action is needed. You can change your email and phone notification preferences by contacting your child’s school office, as well. 

*For grandparents, childcare providers, and other school community members, AVRCE operates a separate text/email system called Notify Me for school cancellation announcements. If you have signed up for Notify Me in the past, you will continue receiving Notify Me texts and emails from AVRCE--no action is required. Parents/guardians do not need to subscribe to Notify Me if your contact information is on file with your child's school. To subscribe or unsubscribe from Notify Me, visit https://www.avrce.ca/content/notify-me.