September Communigram
Our Curriculum Night is scheduled for tomorrow evening, Thursday, September 12th. Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 parents and guardians will meet with their child’s teacher at 6:30 pm. Grade 3, 4 and 5 parents and guardians will meet with their child’s teacher at 7:30pm.
We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to our dedicated staff for their hard work and organization in making this event possible.
We sincerely hope to see all of our Gould’s families at Curriculum Night. Your presence and engagement are vital to your child's educational journey, and we believe this event will help strengthen our school community.
The Breakfast Program starts on Monday, September 16th at Gould’s Elementary and each year we welcome parent/family volunteers to help with our program! There are many ways to help, such as preparing food in the morning (cutting fruit, bagging up cereal, etc.) or you can stand at one of our breakfast tables and greet children as they come in and get their breakfast.
The Breakfast Program here at Goulds Elementary offers your children a healthy meal before beginning their school day. This program is offered to all children regardless of need. However, the success of this program is very much dependent on the support and volunteer efforts of our parents, grandparents, caregivers and community members. If you are able to offer a half hour or so of your time one, two or three mornings a week please contact Krista Finn, kristafinn@nlschools.ca
Ms. Finn will make contact with you to arrange a convenient time for you to help. We will also have Volunteer Sign-up Sheets available at our upcoming Curriculum Night (tomorrow, Thurs. Sept. 12). We would be most appreciative of any help that you might lend to this very worthwhile initiative. Further, a calendar will be sent out each month and you can sign up for as many or as few days as you like once you volunteer. Any participation would be appreciated and would go a long way in helping our program be a success!
All volunteers must have a current certificate of conduct and a vulnerable sector.
https://www.rnc.gov.nl.ca/criminal-records-screening-certificate-vulnerable-sector-check/
We’re excited to announce our Breakfast Program Blitz on September 27! On this day, we’ll be collecting donations of the following items to support our students and staff:
Mini Wheats
Cheerios
Arrowroot Cookies
Goldfish Crackers
Kirkland Granola Bars
Nutri Grain Bars
Cheese Strings
Yogurt Tubes
Bags of Iogo Yogurt
Jam
Butter
Donations can be dropped off at the main entrance and the Kiss and Ride area (back parking lot) on Friday, September 27. Our dedicated volunteers will be there to collect your generous contributions.
Your support is greatly appreciated and will make a positive impact on our breakfast program. Thank you for helping us nourish our students!
We have students attending our school who have severe allergies to the following products: peanuts/ tree nuts, egg , avocado, and fish/shellfish. We ask for your cooperation in not sending these items to school with your child. As well, given the similarities in appearance, texture and taste of peanut butter replacement products ( Ex: Wow Butter), we ask that these products not be sent to school . We also have students/teachers with allergies to various perfumes / scents. For this reason we ask that students and parents refrain from wearing scented products when on school property. In the event we become aware of other known allergens we will alert you as soon as possible. If your child is new to our school and has a life threatening allergy, you are asked to contact your child’s classroom teacher as soon as possible
The parking lot has been very busy this week as it is the first week of school. We would like to remind parents and caregivers to take your time and proceed cautiously in our parking lot. Parents are asked to accompany their children across the back parking lot to the crosswalk if choosing not to use the kiss and ride lane in the morning.
Please wait for the direction of the crossing guard before proceeding across the crosswalk. Thank you to Mr. Ryan our Crossing Guard for helping our students get to and from school safely. Even in the worst weather, you'll find Mr. Ryan there.
We would also like to remind you that you can only make a right turn as you leave our parking lot. A reminder to parents that the front of the building is reserved for buses, teacher parking and accessible parking spaces. Parent parking is available at the side and back of the building.
On the first day of school, your child’s demographic form was sent home. This information is extremely important to us. We ask that you complete 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.
This system will allow families to make online payments to the school for most things ie. paying for a field trip fee, making a donation or simply paying a facility rental fee; this can now be done through our Rycor online system.
Gould’s will reduce the number of hard copy forms for families to complete; most of these forms can now be done through Rycor using its online forms functionality!
Kindergarten to Grade 6 Families: Families of students in Grade K-6 will need to go to Rycor's NLSchools login page and create an account. Once created, they will be able to add their child to their account by entering their child's Student Number and some other student information (for confidentiality purposes).
Parents & School Community Members - Support:
For NLSchools Rycor account support, please complete a Rycor ticket here.
The School Lunch Program will continue to provide our cafeteria service for students this year from Monday – Friday each week. All children ordering from the School Lunch Program must be registered again this year. Registration and ordering is available online at www.schoollunch.ca
School Lunch ordering is now open. The deadline for ordering is Tuesday, September 17. Meal service will begin Wednesday, September 25.
The start of the 2024-25 school year also signals the final phaseout of the 1.6-kilometre bussing policy in Newfoundland and Labrador. All students in Newfoundland and Labrador who attend schools with bus services can now avail of school bus transportation to their zoned school. Consequently, all students have the ability to avail of a bus seat. We now have seven buses servicing the students of our school this year. All students are encouraged to use our busing system. Safety rules for traveling on the buses will be reviewed with all students.
Your child's busing information can be found on the BusPlanner Web Parent Portal. Bus planner login information has been shared with students. Your child's bus number will be the final digit in the route number. Please note that we have a 1 and 01 and 2 and 02. We will refer to route 23-251-01 as Bus#6 and route 23-251-02 as Bus#7.
Courtesy Seat
If you wish to avail of a bus stop that is different from your assigned stop you will need to apply for a courtesy seat. Courtesy bus seat applications are available at the office or online. Completed applications can be submitted to Ms. Hann at jillhann@nlschools.ca by Friday ,September 13th. Parents will be notified as soon as possible if a courtesy seat is available.
Responsibilities of the Parent/Guardian:
- To ensure the safety of your child prior to the pick up and after the drop off by the bus.
- To ensure your children are at their bus stop 5 minutes before the scheduled time of the bus arrival.
- To ensure your child is appropriately dressed for the weather.
- To check forms of media such as radio, television or Internet to obtain information about school closures and bus delays.
- To take responsibility in finding another means of transportation for your child if he or she has missed the bus.
- To ensure that your child does not carry anything on the bus that would violate the rules of the bus. Such objects include things that can inflict harm to a person, or which do not comply with the standards for school bus carry ons.
- For parents/guardians of Kindergarten students please note - students identified as a kindergarten student are met at the door of the bus by an adult. If an adult is not present at the door of the bus, the driver is to return the student back to the school.
- Review Busing Brochure
We use the Responsive Teaching and Learning Model to guide instruction. With Universal Design for Learning at the forefront of Responsive teaching and learning, we use the principles of this model in order to effectively instruct a diverse group of learners.
When Universal Design for Learning is being fostered and implemented, it creates a positive and motivated group of students. This model empowers our students to learn and achieve. They experience high quality teaching and the best conditions for learning to meet their individual needs.
The RTL Model with students at its center, allows for all students to achieve and grow as learners. Students are empowered to take ownership of their learning and to make purposeful contributions to their learning environments.
Comprehensive Assessments:
A Service Delivery consultation will be made if the following occurs:
-Intensive interventions are in place for an extended period of time but the student is still experiencing learning difficulties or progress has stalled.
-Team questions if the prescribed curriculum is appropriate for a student either because the student is experiencing difficulty or exceeding prescribed curriculum expectations.
If you have any questions, please contact our Student Support Services Department Head, Ms. Donna Dalton at donnadalton@nlschools.ca
As the use of cell phones during instructional time does not support optimal learning environments for students, we are encouraging parents, guardians and families to have thoughtful discussions with their children and teenagers about the use of cell phones in K-12 schools.
Students are not permitted to use their cellphones in classrooms except
in circumstances where their use is required to support the documented learning needs of individual students in accordance with the NLSchools Acceptable Use of Technology Policy.
The Department of Education is drafting a new personal electronic device policy to support students and teachers which will consider increasing restrictions on the use of personal electronic devices, including the use of cell phones in schools.
- 8:05am - Doors Open and Morning Supervision Begins.
- 8:15am - Warning Bell.
- 8:20am - Instruction Begins.
- 9:50am - Recess.
- 10:05am - Instruction Resumes.
- 11:35am - Lunch. ( Grades 3, 4, 5- Playtime / 11:57- Kdg, Grade 1 and 2- Playtime)
- 12:20pm - Instruction Begins.
- 2:20pm - End of Day (See Grade Level Dismissal Times Below)
As we begin a new school year, I want to emphasize the importance of consistent school attendance for your child's success. Studies show that students who miss excessive amounts of school often face learning and social-emotional challenges. Regular attendance is crucial for their academic progress and overall well-being.
As educators, we are committed to supporting our students and their families. However, we must follow protocols when attendance issues arise. We understand that students may occasionally need to miss school due to illness, and we appreciate your communication with your child's teacher in these instances. Maintaining open lines of communication is essential for us to work as a team to ensure regular attendance.
In addition to attendance, punctuality is crucial. Arriving on time sets a positive tone for the day and ensures your child does not miss important instructional time. Much learning occurs in the first 15-30 minutes of school, with our main learning blocks starting at 8:05 a.m. Please make every effort to ensure your child arrives on time, ready to learn. We know that no child enjoys walking into a lesson or activity late.
By ensuring regular attendance and punctuality, you are helping to create a positive and productive learning environment for your child and their peers.
We are recycling within our building, please encourage your child to place their recyclables in their bin or take them home for recycling.
Start saving your recyclables as we will have our first RECYCLING BLITZ on September 25. Details will be sent home via email.
If you would like to donate your recyclables to Gould’s Elementary, please drop them to Ever Green Recycling and tell them it is for Gould’s Elementary.
We are thrilled to announce that this year, Gould's Elementary will be launching several new sports programs for our students! To foster school spirit, encourage physical fitness, and build a strong sense of community, we will be offering the following sports:
Volleyball for Grades 4 and 5
Basketball for Grades 3, 4, and 5
Ball Hockey for Grades 3, 4, and 5
Soccer for Grades 1 and 2
These programs will be held in our school gym after regular school hours. To make these activities a success, we are seeking enthusiastic volunteers and coaches to help guide our students and ensure a positive and enriching experience.
If you are interested in volunteering or coaching, or if you would like more information about any of the programs, please contact our Physical Education teacher via email at alysonking@nlschools.ca. Please respond by September 20 if you are interested.
Thank you for your support, and we look forward to a fantastic fall season of sports at Gould's Elementary!
September
3 - School Reopens for Staff
4 - School Reopens for Students
9 - Menus open for School Lunch orders
12 - Courtesy Bus Applications due to the office
14 - Curriculum Night (6:30pm K-2, 7:30pm 3, 4, and 5)
16 - Grab & Go Breakfast begins at the school
17 - Menus close for School Lunch orders
20- Terry Fox Walk (weather permitting)
25 - School Lunch starts at school
25 - Recycling Blitz
27 - Breakfast Program Blitz - donations accepted
27 - ORANGE SHIRT DAY-EVERY CHILD MATTERS
October
11 - Grade 2 Thanksgiving Assembly at 10:30am
14 - Thanksgiving Day Holiday (No School)
22 - Picture Day