Gonzaga Welcome Back Memo

Good afternoon,

Welcome and welcome back to all of our students and families for the 2024-25 school year! We are busy making preparations for our back to school plans and we would like to share some important information with you.

We would like to introduce ourselves to our new students and families as the administrative team this year at Gonzaga. The administrative team consists of Mr. Andrew Cluney, Principal; Ms. Gillian Browne and Mr. Peter Keough, Assistant Principals. If throughout the year you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Our email addresses are as follows: andrewcluney@nlschools.ca; gillianbrowne@nlschools.ca; peterkeough@nlschools.ca.

Please review the information below for important updates for the new school year.

For the opening day of school we will follow the schedule below:

Level 1's

• 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

• Doors open at 8:30 am

• The buses will run at their regularly scheduled time in the morning. Buses will not be making a return run at 12:00 pm. Any student who requires transportation home may wait in the LRC for the afternoon bus run at the regular time at 3:00 pm.

• Upon arrival, students are expected to go to the gymnasium for a brief presentation by the administration before moving on to their homeroom (Period 1 of Day 1).

• Students will be able to locate their homeroom teacher and class by various lists posted on the walls of the gymnasium or by looking at their schedules on PowerSchool.

• At 10:30 am students will proceed to their 2nd period, slot B, class for 20 minutes followed by their 3rd and 4th period classes of Day 1 to meet their teachers and determine where their classes are located.

• Students will be able to collect their free Gonzaga t-shirts in the gymnasium.

Level 2’s, 3’s and 4's

• 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

• The buses will not be making an afternoon run to the school. They will be making their regularly scheduled run departing the school at 3:00 pm.

• Upon arrival, students are expected to go to the gymnasium for a brief presentation by the administration before moving on to their homeroom (Period 1 of Day 1).

• Students will be able to locate their homeroom teacher and class by various lists posted on the walls of the gymnasium or by looking at their schedules on PowerSchool.

Any student wishing to register as a Level 4 student should email a member of the administrative team to arrange a meeting.

Regular classes will begin on Thursday, September 5th at 9:00 am for all students. It will be Day 2 on the schedule.

PowerSchool is currently disabled as we are finalizing students’ schedules. Students will be able to log into PowerSchool to view their schedules on Tuesday, September 3rd at 3:00 pm. Any student or parent who does not have a PowerSchool account is asked to email the administration. It is imperative that all parents/guardians have a Parent PowerSchool account in order to access students’ attendance; grades; student transcripts; RYCOR - our online financial system that will have to be used to pay the majority of school/athletic fees; among other important information. Using your child’s PowerSchool account will not work with these functions.

Students will have an opportunity to request course changes on Wednesday, September 4th at 3:00 pm. We will open the following Course Change Request Form for students to access and request changes to their schedules. No changes will be made due to teacher or friend requests. Our courses are near capacity and movement will be limited. Priority will be given to Level 3 students, based on graduation requirements. This form will open at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, September 4th and will close at 3:00 pm on Friday, September 6th, 2024.

Gonzaga High School will continue to use the SafeArrival system this year starting on Wednesday, September 4th. This system reduces the time it takes to verify student attendance, makes it easy for you to report your child’s absence, and helps staff respond to unexplained student absences. To learn more about this system and how to set up your account, please see here.

If your child will be absent for only part of the day, please email gonzagaabsences@gmail.com. If your child returns to school after the 9:00 am bell, please have them sign in at the office, unless they are a Level 3 or 4 student and they have a free period and have permission from a guardian to leave the building.

The upper parking lots are for staff use only. Students are NOT permitted to park in those parking lots. Students may park in the courts lower parking lot, the side parking lot by the field and the back parking lot by the cafeteria. We encourage students to carpool or avail of bussing as much as possible throughout the year as parking is very limited.

The Bus Planner Parent Portal is now open and activated for your busing information. Parents who created an account last year can now login and view their child's eligibility, and if eligible, view their transportation schedule for first day of school here:

Parent Bus Portal Login

Parents who have not already created an account (and wish to do so) can go in, create an account and add their child to their account at the above link as well.

Parents will need the following information in order to add their child:

1. Student Number (found on PowerSchool)

2. Student Date of Birth

3. '24-'25 School

4. '24-'25 Grade

Gonzaga's school buses will no longer be using the ANC parking lot for pickup at the end of the school day. There will be 14 full size buses parked on Smithville Crescent as per the photo shown. Parents will no longer be able to drive up the round about to pick up their children until after all buses leave. Parents are not permitted to park on Smithville Crescent where the buses will be parked. Buses will start to arrive at 2:30 pm and should depart starting at 3:10 pm.

If your child is not eligible for the bus, we will be looking at the possibility of issuing courtesy seats. In order to issue a courtesy seat, it is important that all eligible students are seated first. Once we are aware of the availability of seats on each bus we can begin issuing courtesy seats. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please email completed Courtesy Seat Request Form to gillianbrowne@nlschools.ca.

Cafeteria service is planning on returning on Monday, September 9th, 2024.

We have students and staff at Gonzaga with severe life threatening allergies to: all fish products, all tree nut products, peanuts including peanut butter and all peanut butter products, and eggs. Nutella products will not be permitted. Also, since it is very difficult to distinguish between peanut butter and Wow / Soy butter, the NLSchools does not permit any food items containing these ingredients in schools. It will be very important for us to work together to help create a safe learning environment for all. If your child has a diagnosed allergy by a medical doctor, please contact one of our guidance counsellors, Ms. Tracy Gardiner, tracyanngardiner@nlschools.ca, or Ms. Catherine Rose-Jackman, catherinerosejackman@nlshools.ca, or Ms. Catherine Tansley, catherinetansley@nlschools.ca, to complete the necessary forms. Also, these forms must be completed each school year and can be found on the NLSchools website.

Picture day will take place for all students on Tuesday, September 24th. Information on Graduation photos will be sent out when it becomes available.

Our office will be open for your inquiries starting on Friday, August 30th from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm.

For your information, we will be sending home weekly memos to families on most Fridays. If you or someone you know are not receiving these emails, please reach out to one of us and we will add you to the email list. Please be sure to check our newest school website often for any and all Gonzaga related information.

Please enjoy the last few days of your summer break! We look forward to working together throughout the year to ensure that all our students find success and have a great year.

Kindest regards,

Andrew Cluney, Gillian Browne & Peter Keough