Dear Families,
Welcome back to school! We are so excited to welcome your children to St. Francis of Assisi for a wonderful year ahead, and I am honoured to be serving our school community as Principal.
New this year, we are on a 6-day schedule. The days are posted on the St. Francis of Assisi School Calendar, that can be found on the bottom left of our school website.
Over the past week, our staff have been hard at work with collaborative planning, preparing classrooms, and getting everything ready to greet students next week. This newsletter includes important information about school reopening procedures to help keep our students, staff, and community safe.
Later today, you should receive a message from your child’s teacher to provide details about the first day. You’ll also find some key first-day procedures outlined below.
This year we continue with the OCSB theme: “We are called to open doors, build bridges, and nourish new beginnings.” Our focus is on building bridges—through small acts of kindness, fostering trust, and prioritizing relationships by listening before acting.
Thank you for your partnership as we begin this new school year together. Wishing you a restful weekend—we look forward to welcoming our students on Tuesday!
Ms. Allison Wawryn, Principal
Arrival: Our first day of school is September 2, 2025. Students in grades 1-6 can be dropped off between 9:00 - 9:15am at the gate and picked up at 3:45pm. Educators will be ready and waiting to welcome your children and assist them in where to go.
Please do not drop students off at the office.
Kindergarten students will follow their staggered entry schedule that was emailed to them:
Returning SK Students will begin school on September 3.
JK Students and new SK students will begin on September 4 or 5, depending on when their intake meeting is scheduled for.
Dismissal: Students who take the bus or go to childcare will be dismissed to their correct location.
All other students will be picked up at the gate, by the parking lot.
Student & Parent Handbook:
Please review the student & parent handbook before school on September 2.
Student Information Verification
*This is required every year* Please log into the PARENT PORTAL HERE to verify that all information is correct. If there are any changes to be made, please fill in the form and email the school with the correct information. Let us know which information to remove and information to add. Should any information change over the course of the school year, please ensure you let us know.
2. Responsible Use of Technology Agreement *This is required every year* Please log into the PARENT PORTAL HERE to review the Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement. Please read over this with your child/ren. Both student and parent initial and sign.
3. Consent for Use & Disclosure of Information *This is required every year* Please log into the PARENT PORTAL HERE to review the Consent for the Use and Disclosure of Student Information.
4. Off-School Property Permission *This is required every year* Please log into the PARENT PORTAL HERE Complete the following Electronic Permission Form regarding off-school property activities. One form must be completed for each child.
5. Medical Conditions and/or Medications URGENT *This is required every year* If your child has a serious medical condition, allergy, etc., it is your responsibility to:
1. Inform us of the condition using the Medical Condition Form
2. If there are NO changes, Submit a Plan of Care Annual Review sheet
3. All medications must be accompanied with an Administration of Medication Form.
4. Email all forms to Francis.Assisi@ocsb.ca.
All information and forms are located on the Board website.
6. SchoolCash Online Are you signed up? If not, SIGN UP HERE! All school purchases are done through SchoolCash Online (pizza, subway, milk, field trips, etc).
7. SchoolMessenger Are you signed up? If not, SIGN UP HERE! All school correspondence is done through SchoolMessenger so it is imperative to sign up to not miss anything school/classroom news. All broadcasts will be sent via Emergency Broadcast for the month of September only. After that, they will be sent out as General Broadcasts and you will not receive messages unless you have signed up.
8. OSTA - Bus Are you signed up? If not, SIGN UP HERE! OSTA sends out emails informing parents of late or cancelled buses.
9. Volunteering information Should you wish to volunteer on a regular basis or periodically, ALL volunteers must complete the OCSB Volunteer Application and a Level 3 Vulnerable Sector Check from the Ottawa Police (even if you are volunteering for a field trip or assisting in the classrooms).
Once you have completed the OCSB Application and have received an email confirmation from the school board, your name will appear on our school master list (compiled by the OCSB).
Once you are on the list, at the end of each school year, you will receive an email asking you to submit the Offence Declaration and then you are on the list for the next school year. If you do not submit the declaration, you will need to start the process over from the beginning.
If your child has a medical condition, please see below.
In order to best care for your child, parents/guardians must download and print the OSCB Life Threatening Medical Condition and Request and Consent for Administration form and provide it to the school at the beginning of the school year. This form must be updated every school year and/or if the information or medication dosage changes.
In the link provided please also download and print out the corresponding Plan of Care Form that pertains to your child. The Plan of Care Form must be filled out by all new students or if there are any changes to an existing student's plan of care.
If there is no change to your Plan of Care then you can skip it and download and print out the Annual Review Form which can be found at the bottom of the first link.
Please hand in all applicable forms to the front office at St. Francis of Assisi.
If your child no longer has a medical condition please go on to your Parent Portal, log-in, under the purple banner select Forms, select OCSB Student Verification for the child you want to make the change for. Fill out the areas only where there is a change and click submit.
Medication must be sent to school in the original container with your child's name clearly on the label.
Epipens and Asthma Inhalers – Two are recommended , one with the child and one at the office.
Please fill in the linked forms for your child and send them in to the office. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.
All the above information and more can be found at https://www.ocsb.ca/parents/student-health/.
Sept. 2 - First Day of SChool
Sept. 10 - Meet the Educators, Open House (4:15 - 5:15pm)
Sept. 24 - Picture Day
Sept. 30 - Orange Shirt Day
Please send your child with the appropriate cutlery to eat their lunch. We do not have supplies at school. Thank you!
By your side: Parent/caregiver resources to support mental health learning and well-being for every family. Click here.
Key topics in the Parent/Caregiver Learning Hub include:
· understanding mental health
· promoting mental health at home
· supporting mental health at school
· stress and anxiety management
· substance use prevention
· navigating digital technology use
· reaching out for help
Volunteer with us!
Click here to submit your vulnerable sector check and become a volunteer at the school!