PARENTS, VISITORS AND VOLUNTEERS

Parent Role In Supporting Learning

Parents and guardians are important partners in their children’s education. They are their child’s first teacher.

Parents play a critical role in making sure their children attend school each day, arrive on time and are ready to learn. Connecting with your child and your child’s teacher on what students are learning in school helps promote student progress and success.

Parents are encouraged to reach out to their child’s teacher(s) and take advantage of opportunities throughout the year to engage with the school and classroom. We value and foster partnership with our families and will create opportunities to share information, ask for input and work together to support student learning and engagement. If you have questions about specific topics, please reach out to your child’s teacher or school.

Students complete more work independently as they progress through school. Parents can help students in developing organization skills and routines that support productive engagement in learning activities. Supporting students in finding a quiet place to study, away from distractions, and accessing basic supplies and resources helps create the conditions for learning.

Dropping Off Items

If you are dropping off an item such as an iPad, homework or school materials, go to the school office. A school staff member will ensure the item is delivered to the student at an appropriate time during the day.

Visiting School

We welcome visitors into our schools to enhance the educational experience for students and engage families in the education of their children. Arrangements should be made with the school in advance to ensure visits are informative for the visitor and do not disrupt learning activities, tests or other school and classroom routines.

A visitor is anyone who is not on staff or a student currently enrolled in the school. This means parents, community members and high school students who have completed all their classes or are enrolled full time through the Post-Secondary Education Opportunities (PSEO) program and taking classes off campus.

For everyone’s safety, all visitors must enter through the main school entrance and sign in at the main office. Some form of identification may be requested by office staff, such as a driver’s license. Visitors are given a visitor’s badge or pass to wear so that staff and students know you have been cleared through the office.

Each school has special events and activities that all families are invited to participate in. You will receive special notice of these events.

Students are not permitted to bring friends, younger brothers/sisters or visiting relatives to school. Parents volunteering or visiting a classroom are also asked to not bring along young children.

Volunteering

We welcome volunteers in our schools. Opportunities to volunteer in a student’s classroom or at the school for special events, field trips and other activities will be shared through your student’s classroom teacher(s) or the school. Some volunteer opportunities may require a criminal background check of adult volunteers.

Telephone Calls And Text Messaging

To maximize learning time, we ask that parents/guardians refrain from calling or texting their students during the school day. Please make arrangements for after-school activities or any other family logistics prior to the school day. Students may use school phones for emergencies only.

Phone calls to teachers will only be forwarded to voicemail and not directly to the classroom when class is in session. Teachers will check for messages and return calls at an appropriate time during the day and within 24 hours.