Back to School

École Goulds Elementary

46 Doyle’s Rd., Goulds, NL, A1S 1A1

www.ges.k12.nf.ca

@Goulds_Elem

Wanda Cassell

Principal

wandacassell@nlschools.ca

Jill Hann

Assistant Principal

jillhann@nlschools.ca

Hello Everyone!

I hope this message finds you well and enjoying quality time with loved ones this summer. I am thrilled to introduce myself as the new Principal of Gould’s Elementary and am excited to join such a fantastic team. I am eager to work closely with all of you and ensure that your children are in the best of hands. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me via email at wandacassell@nlschools.ca or contact the school to schedule an appointment.

Having worked alongside Mr. Jamie Kieley in the past, I know the tremendous dedication he brought to his role. His contributions will be greatly missed, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to him for his hard work. We wish him all the best in his new role at the NLTA.

As we embark on a new and exciting school year, I want to extend a warm welcome to all students and their families, especially those joining us for the first time. We are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead and appreciate your cooperation and support as we work together to achieve another successful year.

Our building is ready, and our dedicated staff is eager to welcome you back. We’ve been working hard to prepare for a fantastic year ahead, and we can’t wait to see all of you—students, parents, and staff—back together again.

Your cooperation and support is appreciated as we work together to navigate our way through another successful school year.

Thank you for taking the time to read this Communigram. I look forward to working with you all!

Warm regards,

Wanda Cassell

Principal

Parents are welcome to accompany their child to their classroom on the first day, although we are encouraging student independence where possible. Goulds Elementary has a student population of approximately 450 students and our stairways and hallways get quite full with students, teachers, parents and caregivers on the morning of the first day. Again this year, staff will be assigned at each entrance to greet students coming independently, to escort them to their new class safely and efficiently, if they need that. As we did last year, to ensure a safe return to school, your child’s teacher will be reaching out to families by 2:30 pm on Tuesday, September 3rd. This early connection is a great way to ensure consistent communication between the school and home and your child will know who their teacher is before the first day

All Grade 1 - 5 students will start classes on Wednesday, September 4th. Please see below for Kindergarten first day information. Doors will open at 8:05 am. As we did in previous years , we will extend the opening time and stagger the arrival times in order to reduce traffic and congestion on our parking lot. In order to reduce congestion in and around our school, we are asking parents to drop off at times based on last name.

Students with last names starting with:

A – H Drop off at 8:05 am

I – Q Drop off at 8:10 am

R – Z Drop off at 8:15 am

Anyone dropped off after this time will need to come in through the main door and check in at the office.

If using the Kiss 'N Ride lane, we are asking parents to please ensure their child is prepared to exit the vehicle. Drivers are asked to not get out of their vehicle as this will slow the process. We are looking for volunteers to assist with our Kiss 'N Ride - all that is required is the ability to open vehicle doors, let the children out, close the door.

If you choose to walk your child(ren) to the door in the morning, please park your car in the back lot and walk them to the crosswalk area. Do not let children out in other areas of our parking lot to walk across alone. We have an extremely busy parking lot and the safest methods are using our Kiss ‘N Ride or parking and walking them across yourself. A reminder that the front of the building is for bus traffic only during morning drop off and afternoon pick up. Walkers should also enter through the main entrance.

Parents who are interested in volunteering for our Kiss 'N Ride program are asked to please contact wandacassell@nlschools.ca .

A memo to Kindergarten parents went home in June. Kindergarten teachers will be emailing parents on Tuesday, September 3rd regarding the first day. Teachers will email parents about pick up time and where to meet them at the end of the day. It is very important to be on time for pick up as another group will be waiting to use the exit.

Because we want to ensure a smooth transition beginning for your child’s entry to kindergarten, your child will start classes an hour later at 9:20. This delayed start will enable your child to start school in a more settled environment after the majority of the students are in their classes.

Kindergarten - Playground Entrance

Grade 1 – Kennedy and Howlett-Side of ramp

Grade 1 – Winsor -Alcove behind portable

Grade 2 - Cafeteria

Grade 3 - Cafeteria

Grade 4 - Ramp

Grade 5 - Grade 5 Exit and ramp

Daycares - Wait to receive students at Gym Entrance.

If you have not done so already, please sign up for your Rycor account. A letter will go home on Wednesday with our Kindergarten students which has instructions on how to use Rycor.

Rycor is the school funds online payment and forms system. Please login and fill out the Media Consent, and Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement forms. You can also fill out your courtesy bus seat application on Rycor.

Information Sheets on the first day of school, a Demographic Information form will be sent home. This information is extremely important to us. We ask that you fill out these forms as soon as possible and return them to your child’s teacher. It is very important that we know immediately if your child has a medical condition. If any of the information changes throughout the year it is extremely important that you inform the office so changes can be made to your child’s file. Not informing the office of changes could prevent us from contacting you in the event of an emergency or an early school closure.

Registration and menu ordering is set to open on Sept 9th and close on Sept 17th.

Lunch Service is set to start on Sept 25th.

If you haven't done so already, Please register on the school lunch website: www.schoollunch.ca Registration and ordering will no longer have a paper option, everything will need to be done online or over the telephone.

If students are availing of School lunch, please remember that a packed lunch will need to be provided from home until School Lunch start up on the 25th.

We are a peanut /tree nut / fish / shellfish / avocado and scent and latex aware school.

We ask for your cooperation in not sending these items to school with your child. In the event we

become aware of other known allergens, we will alert you as soon as possible.

Due to the severity of these food allergies, we will not be accepting any “treats” to be passed out to students at any time throughout the school year.

We will have seven busses servicing the students of our school. This is an increase in bus traffic in the front of our building both during the morning drop off and afternoon dismissal. Please be cognizant of the increase in traffic flow. As well, our front parking lot will be for bus traffic only during drop off and pick up. Please see https://www.nlschools.ca/studentsfamilies/studenttransportation.jsp for detailed information on bus routes, stops and times.

If you do not have login information for the Bus Portal, you can get your child’s student number from their report card. Login information for Kindergarten parents was sent out last week. Please ensure your address is correct and that any change of address is emailed to our secretary, kimwalsh@nlesd.ca, with proof of address in the form of a utility bill.

Safety rules for traveling on the buses will be reviewed with all students. On our school website you will find a section on the Bus Policy for our school. We ask your support by reviewing the rules and expectations with your child.

Courtesy bus seat applications are on Rycor or our website. Completed applications can be submitted to Jill Hann at jillhann@nlesd.ca by Friday, September 13th . Parents will be notified as soon as possible if a courtesy seat is available.

For late arrivals, parents are required to ring the buzzer in the main entrance and the secretary will open the door for the student to enter. For students leaving school early for appointments, parents/guardians are asked to let the child’s homeroom teacher know ahead of time so that the child can come to the office at the time required for dismissal. Parents/families are asked to ring the buzzer and wait at the main entrance for your child to arrive. Please note: If you need to communicate any changes in dismissal times for your child, it will be important to do so as early as possible, as teachers will be unable to check emails during instruction.

Our Curriculum Night is scheduled for Thursday, September 12th.

Details to follow.

Wanda Cassell - Principal

Jill Hann - Assistant Principal/LRT

Blair McDonald - School Counselor

Donna Dalton - Student Support Services Dept. Head

Crystal Chislett - Reading Specialist

Kim Walsh - School Secretary

Julie Chafe - K - ENG

Brenda Condon - K - ENG

Krista Wilcott - K - ENG

JoAnn Decker - K - EFI

Heather Ryan - K - EFI

Jennifer Howlett - 1 - ENG

Heather Kennedy -1 - ENG

Lisa Winsor -1 - EFI

Jessica Boland - 2 - ENG

Stephanie Sutton -2 - ENG

Michelle Leawood - 2 - EFI

Jennifer Coady - 3 - ENG

Nancy Corbett - 3 - ENG

Tanya Higdon - 3 - EFI

Kathy Lee Hearn - 4 - ENG

Barb Hennessey - 4 - ENG

Chris Howell - 4 - EFI

Erin Etchegary - 5 - ENG

Terri-Lynn Kavanagh - 5 - ENG

Ashley Power - 5 - EFI

Mary Hayden - IRT

Trina Russell - IRT

Jaime Snow-Parsons - IRT

Kim Brophy - IRT

Heather Coleman - LRT

Crystal Stone - LRT

TBD - Physical Education

Beth Reckling -Music

Peter Laing - Band (.25)

Debbie Collins -TLA

Krista Finn - TLA

David Morgan - TLA

Karen Hickey -Student Assistant

Kim O'Leary - Student Assistant

Toni Strait - Student Assistant

TBD - Student Assistant

TBD - Student Assistant

Kyla Brockerville -SLP

EAL- TBD

Garry MacRoberts - Custodian

Josie Bantilan - Night Time Custodian

Michelle Collins - Night Time Custodian

Sherry Spurrell - School Lunch

Dana Wiscombe - School Lunch