SCHOOL POLICIES

Safe Arrival

Attendance

Attendance continues to be part of our daily routine (both face-to-face and virtually) and a mandatory legal requirement of our province. However, face-to-face schooling during the 2023‑2024 school year is voluntary and based on parent choice, per the Ministry of Education guidelines. For parents who choose not to send their child(ren) to school in person, their child(ren) log on to the class Google Meet and participate in the class live. Families have the choice to have their child(ren) learn remotely for as long as they wish.

How to Contact the School

Parents, please inform the school if a student will be absent or late. Notification is requested as early as possible. Absences should be emailed to reception@hts.on.ca or called in to 905-737-1114; parents should state the student’s name, homeroom and reason for the absence. If a student is marked absent and the school is not previously aware of this absence, an automatic email will be sent to the parents.

Please note, if your child is learning from home and will not be attending class, parents must follow the attendance procedure and contact the school.

Arriving Late and Leaving Early

Students who arrive late must sign in at the Front Office. All students, JK to Grade 12, are required to sign in at the Front Office, receive a late slip, and give it to their teacher.

Parents are encouraged to schedule appointments outside of School hours to the extent possible. If a student has an appointment during School hours, they must sign out at the Front Office, with proof of permission from a parent by email or phone. Students who return to School after an appointment must sign in at the Front Office.

Parents will be contacted if a student’s tardiness becomes an ongoing issue.

Parking Lot Rules

Safety in our Parking Lot

In the mornings and afternoons, there is a great deal of traffic on the campus. 

• Everyone must exercise extreme caution when driving on and around the School grounds. 

• Please follow the instructions of our staff, watch for other drivers and watch for families crossing the road. 

• Drivers should note that traffic flows one way, and no U-turns are permitted. Our objective is to ensure the safety of the students and the drivers in our parking lot. We expect everyone’s cooperation to ensure this.

• The Bethel Canadian Reformed Church driveway is private property and should not be used as a shortcut to enter the HTS driveway. Our partnership with the Church is crucial as we request their support throughout the year to accommodate overflow parking. Your cooperation and respect of their private property is required to ensure our relationship remains positive.

• When drivers choose to use the Church’s driveway, it prevents the drivers from leaving HTS to go north which causes a backup in the HTS driveway loop. We ask that all drivers turn into HTS from Bayview Avenue, not from the Church driveway.

Please share this information with any friends or family members who drop-off your children in the morning.

Parking

• There are no assigned spaces with the exception of the ones that are designated as accessible, those that are auctioned off as fundraisers and denoted as such, and carpooling spaces for staff.

• Drivers are allowed to park in the main parking lot or in the Bayview Avenue parking lot.

• Only drivers with proper handicapped licence designations are permitted to park in the handicapped parking spots. (Municipal fine of approximately $300.00)

• Do not park in the fire routes. (Municipal fine of approximately $200.00)

• Do not park in the Drop off and Pick up zones. Drivers sitting in their cars in these zones are a contravention of the bylaw controlling fire lanes.

• The by-law enforcement officers for the Town of Richmond Hill have the authority to hand out tickets on our property. HTS assumes no responsibility for drivers parking where they shouldn't park.

• Student drivers are required to obtain a parking permit from the Front Office and must use extreme caution when driving in and out of the property. Failure to do so may result in the loss of parking privileges.

Student Pick Up and Drop Off

Parents are not permitted to come into the building for pick up and drop off. Kindergarten to Grade 5 teachers walk their students to the exit door to meet their parents outside.

Middle and Senior School students enter and exit independently.

Parents may drop-off students on the right side of the main driveway. During morning drop-off, parents must park in a parking spot if they would like to walk their child to their entrance. Pulling up to the curb side is only intended for letting your child out of the car.

Parking spaces are limited. Please arrive at your child’s designated arrival and dismissal times to avoid congestion in our parking lot.

School Closure

Inclement Weather Closure

If the weather has made driving dangerous, or if the forecast is such that the weather may become inclement, our bus company, Stock Transportation, will contact the Head of School early in the morning to inform her that the buses will not run. Cancellation of the Stock Transportation bus service due to concerns of road safety, is taken into consideration in the decision to close the school campus as the majority of families and staff would be travelling to get to campus. Our community’s safety is our number one priority, and as such the Head of School will make the decision to close the school campus.

All students will participate in remote learning through Google Meet on days where the school campus is closed due to inclement weather. Attendance will be taken on these at home days. Students can access their remote learning classes through Google Calendars and will follow the regular schedule.

In order for us to communicate with you, please check that we have the most up-to-date contact information on file for your child. Kindly update your profile in Edvance here.

The decision to close the school campus in the event of inclement weather is generally made between 6:00am and 6:30am. Once the decision to close has been made, the following steps are taken to ensure that our parents are informed as quickly as possible:

1. A News Alert will be immediately placed on the HTS website.

2. Parents will receive an automated phone call and email from HTS, with a message indicating that the school is closed.

3. Notifications will be posted on the HTS Facebook page, Twitter feed and Instagram. The Head of School will also post on their Twitter and Instagram pages.

4. Alerts will be shared on the following radio stations: CFRB, CBC and CHUM.

5. Parents may call the school at 905-737-1114 ext. 401 to hear an automated message if the school is open or closed.

Special events scheduled to take place in person during school hours, such as field trips are cancelled when the school campus is closed.