Queen Elizabeth School Parent-Student Handbook

Queen Elizabeth School Office Staff:

Principal: Mr. Chris Kirwan

Vice-Principal: Mrs. Cassandra Jager

Administrative Assistants: Mrs. Gabrielle Richards and Mrs. Vivian Smith

A complete list of staff and their contact information can be found on our contact page

Early Education 

Early Education (Pre-Kindergarten) programming at Queen Elizabeth supports children who are between the ages of 2 years and 8 months and 4 years and 8 months of age by September 1 of the current year to reach emotional, social, intellectual and physical developmental milestones. Children are often referred at different ages through community agencies (such at the Wetaskiwin Health Unit), and may be eligible for PUF funding.

Kindergarten

At Queen Elizabeth, our Kindergarten classroom provides literacy-rich, responsive, play-based programming. Communication (often daily!) with home by our Kindergarten staff is one of the cornerstones of our program as we believe the home-school connection to be one strategy in seeing our students be successful at all ages and grades. Might as well start in Kindergarten!

Our Kindergarten program offers Tuesday/Thursday full-day programming, with children attending all regular school day Fridays from January to the end of May on the Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools Regular School Year Calendar.

Complementary Courses

Complementary courses are based on the Career and Technology Foundations Curriculum, and are designed to reinforce learning in core courses; while also providing learning experiences that allow students to explore interests that they may wish to study in more depth in High School.

Career and Technology Foundations (CTF) helps students build their understanding of the world around them as they identify and apply career and life skills. Students develop communication, collaboration, critical thinking, time management and problem solving skills through hands-on learning experiences. CTF supports the development of literacy, numeracy and competencies, which can be developed through student-focused learning opportunities that can include an interdisciplinary approach.

CTF provides a foundation for students to transition into Career and Technology Studies (CTS) in Grades 10 through 12.

Complementary courses are offered to students in grade 7 and 8 at in the areas of:

• Industrial Arts (Construction)

• Home Economics (Food and Fashion)

• Fine Arts (Art, Drama, Band)

• STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math)

The registration process begins by visiting the Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools website and completing the online registration form. Shortly after the form has been submitted, the QES administration team will be notified of new registrations for families whose address is within our attendance area and/or if they have filled out a school of choice application. 

When registering, please ensure you have the following: 

• Canadian provincial birth certificate

• Canadian citizenship document

• Foreign Birth Certificate

• Student Visa

• Student immigration papers, student visa, or study permit. Landed immigrant documentation or permanent/temporary residence care will also be required for parents.

• Guardianship Letter: if parents live outside of Alberta legal guardianship must be applied for through Alberta Government.

• Verification of residency such as driver's license, utility bill, lease agreement, property tax bill.

Students will be registered using their legal name. Following Administrative Procedure 178: Student Names, parents/guardians may indicate a preferred name by filling out Form 178-1 and filing it with the school. 

Accurate contact information for all parents/guardians and emergency contacts is crucial - please ensure this information is up-to-date at all times.

Please be aware of signage along the West side of the school indicating there is no parking from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM except for buses. This includes Early Education drop-off and pickup at mid-day.

Parents/guardians may not park in the front (East) or side (North between the school and the church) parking lots as these are reserved for WRPS employees. Parents/Guardians may park across the street on the West side of the school (across from the playground) or along the street on the East side of the school (front doors).

Please be aware that Law Enforcement frequently patrols our school area and will educate and ticket inappropriately parked drivers and parents/guardians choosing to jaywalk. Please use the crosswalks at all times. 

Parents/guardians have the responsibility to inform the school about any illnesses or medical conditions their children may be diagnosed with (diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, allergies, etc).  This information is usually provided on the student registration form or verification form.  Please inform the school office as soon as possible if If your child’s medical information changes over the course of the year.

Administration of Medication

WRPS Administrative Procedure 315: Administration of Medication prohibits staff members from administering non-prescription drugs to a student (Tylenol, Advil, etc.).  Parents may request that prescription medication be administered to a student during school hours when the following conditions have been met:

When a parent requests that prescription medication be administered to a student during the school day, or on the course of an extra-curricular or co-curricular activity, the Principal shall ensure that the parent provides the following documentation prior to the administration of medication to any student by school staff:

• Authorization for Administering Medication (Form 315-1)

Responding to Severe Allergies

Anaphylactic reactions are severe, life-threatening allergic reactions. While we cannot guarantee an allergen-free school environment, we recognize the dangers faced by students and staff with severe or anaphylactic reactions (allergies) to foods and take reasonable measures to ensure a safe environment for all. 

QES is an allergy-aware school

• When parents disclose a severe food allergy, we will respond on a case-by-case basis, adjusting classroom/school expectations to help maintain safety for all students. 

• We rely on parents to communicate information about children with severe or anaphylactic reactions.  All students who have anaphylactic reactions, either to food or insect stings, are expected to provide an EpiPen to be stored at the school

Illnesses at School and Student Accidents

If a student becomes ill, the student should notify the classroom teacher. When the student is too ill to remain in class:

• The teacher will send the student to the office and inform the office staff  

• If a child is too sick to remain in class, they are too ill to remain at school and parents will be contacted and asked to come pick up their child. Parents who are unable to pick up their children should make alternate arrangements with a friend or relative to pick up their sick child.  QES does not have a sickroom and are unable to keep sick students at school.

Minor abrasions or cuts will be cared for at the school.  If the accident is suspected to be of a serious nature, including any trauma to the head, the parent/guardian will be notified immediately, and asked to come to the school to assess their child, and/or pick them up.

Student Absence Due to Illness

While regular school attendance is important, we all share responsibility for the overall health of our school community and we strongly urge parents to keep students home from school where they can be properly cared for if they have been exposed to an illness where isolation from others is recommended and/or when suffering from a fever, persistent cough, vomiting, diarrhea or pink/crusty eyes. 

It is recognized that by taking the time to rest and recover from illness, students often resume their full learning capacity more quickly and help to limit the spread of infections.

Please see WRPS Administrative Procedure 330 Student Attendance

Regular attendance at school maximizes students' opportunities to: participate more fully in learning activities, form relationships with others, increase the likelihood of school bonding,  and  successfully complete High School. 

Attending school regularly contributes to a students' sense of belonging, and their ability to develop mastery and independence of learning outcomes in all subjects and in all grades.

According to the Education Act, children between the ages of 6 and 16 are legally required to attend school and it is understood that the responsibility for maintaining good attendance rests with the student and the parents/guardians.

At QES, we believe that achieving regular student attendance should be a cooperative endeavour between parents, teachers, and school student support teams, including administrators, and we are here to support families in achieving regular attendance.

Queen Elizabeth School is a safe learning environment for everyone. Students will be dealt with accordingly for: bringing anything illegal, or any object or substance that does not belong in an educational environment, to school; uttering threats, showing aggressive behaviour or in any way not contributing to a positive safe learning environment.

Students are to please dress appropriately for school. Clothing with images of alcohol, drugs or illicit substances are considered inappropriate. 

We are a hat free school for safety and security reasons. Students are expected to take their hat off when they enter the building. Once a student leaves the building for recess or at the end of the day, they may wear a hat. 

Hoods are considered a form of hat and are not to be worn while inside the school.

The exception to hats and hoods is for special occasions or theme days which will be advertised, and as a part of a student's learning accommodations, to be determined by the Inclusion Coach and School Administration.

Please see Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools Administrative Procedure 141 Cell Phones and Electronic Devices.

Cell phones (and other electronic devices) are to be kept in a student’s locker, backpack or pocket and not to be brought out during instructional time. Parents/Guardians, please do not contact your child during class time via text message. You are able to leave a message at the school office. Cell phones that are being used inappropriately will result in a warning from staff, confiscation for the period, or confiscation by the office. Repeated issues with cell phones will be dealt with by school administration and parents/guardians.

Wetaskiwin Regional Public Schools and Queen Elizabeth School will be issuing permission forms and documents needing parent signatures digitally through PowerSchool. If you do not have an account, please contact the office. 

At the beginning of the year, each student is assigned a locker to use for the school year. Students are expected to keep their lockers closed throughout the day, and to keep them clean and tidy.

Only items that are necessary and appropriate for school should be kept in the locker.  The school administration reserves the right to search any locker if it is suspected of containing dangerous or illegal materials, or items that are inappropriate for a school setting. Students in grades 7-8 are required to place a school supplied lock on their locker door, and school staff will not be responsible for helping students to unlock locks. 

School Council consists of a group of parents and administrative staff who collaboratively promote the well-being and effectiveness of the school community.  The school council is an effective way of providing input and support to the school. All parents are encouraged to become involved in our school council. Meetings are generally once per month and are announced through our school website (calendar) and School Messenger.

As per WRPS Administrative Procedure 357: Surveillance Technology, Surveillance technology is in use at QES in order to promote the order, safety, and security of students, staff, and property.