September Newsletter

PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE

Dear Parents and Guardians,

With one week into the school year, and our staggered start behind us, I am happy to inform you that the return to school has gone well. It is great to hear children’s voices in the halls again and seeing them hard at work and learning in the first few days of classes. I would like to thank you for your continued support and patience as we have implemented a number of new measures and routines this past week. Please read below for important news items and reminders for September.

Eldon Keon, Principal

STUDENT RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY

We will hold our Student Recognition Assemblies virtually at the end of every month to recognize students who have best demonstrated our Lord Aylmer values. “Respect” is the value we are promoting throughout September. We are very proud of our students and appreciate their efforts in living our values.

OPEN HOUSE

Open House will not occur as it has in the past for obvious reasons. Teachers have been asked to instead provide parents with a Parent Syllabus, a breakdown of what will be taught, how students will be evaluated throughout the year as well as the names of all teachers working with your child’s class. Class expectations and other pertinent information will be included in the syllabus. You will receive the document during the month of September.

ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR PARENTS

Elections for Parent Representatives to Governing Board – Outdoor Meeting

On Wednesday, September 16 at 7:00 p.m., parents will be invited to assemble outside the front entrance at the senior campus to elect representatives to the school’s governing board from among the parents in attendance. The Governing Board is comprised of parents, teachers, support staff, the principal and community representatives. Parent members serve for two consecutive years. The purpose of the Governing Board is to make decisions about the aims and objectives for the school and to monitor how these are being achieved. This includes voting on policies and overseeing the implementation of the Educational Project, fundraisers, Code of Conduct, budget, school fees, school trips and other important items. Meetings usually take place one evening per month. If you are interested in becoming part of this organization, please ensure that you attend the Annual General Assembly. All parents present will be able to nominate themselves or another parent, and then vote for the candidates of their choice to fill the vacant positions that are up for election this year.

Elections for Representatives to Parent Committee

Once governing board parent representatives are elected, all parents attending the AGA will elect one representative and one alternate to the school board’s Parent Committee from among the parent reps on governing board.    

Parent Participatory Organization

Any parents who are interested in forming a Parent Participatory Organization are invited to submit their names during the meeting. The PPO acts as a consultative body and can help the school through fund raising activities and school events.

Special Education Advisory Committee

Parents who wish to take part in the school board’s Special Education Advisory Committee (S.E.A.C.) will also have an opportunity to submit their names for consideration. Interested parents must have a child with an Individual Education Plan (I.E.P.). Selection of parents for this committee will be made later by the school board’s Parent Committee.

Home and School Committee

Finally, after the AGA, the president of our Home and School committee will be on hand to explain all of the wonderful things this committee does to support the school. She will take names of anyone interested in joining the Home and School. Our Home and School is extremely active and contributes greatly to many of the school’s projects. It also plans and runs many events for our students and school community throughout the year.

ALLERGIES

Please note that we have many people with severe allergies at the school. Exposure to these foods either by eating them, touching them, or touching a contaminated surface, can result in death if not immediately treated. As such, we ask that all lunches sent to school be nut free. Some classes may have other food allergies of which you will have been made aware already. We also do not permit any food to be brought into the school by students or parents for birthdays or other special celebrations for safety reasons. We thank you for your understanding.

HEALTH AND CONSENT FORMS

If you have not yet returned your health and consent forms, please do so as soon as possible. If for any reason you need another copy of the forms, please contact the office at either campus and we will be happy to send them home with your child.

IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS FOR PARENTS-WEBSITE

Our website is being rebuilt and will soon be completed. We will send out a Reminder notification when the work is done. Our website contains all of the pertinent information you need as parents regarding COVID-19 information pertaining to parents. Lord Aylmer’s site also has other important documents you may want to access such as:

Standards and Procedures for Evaluation and Reporting

While the Parent Syllabus document is prepared by each teacher and is specific to each classroom, a more general document explaining the types of evaluations and reporting methods throughout the school has been prepared for you as well. It is called the Standards and Procedures and can be accessed on our school website.

Curriculum Documents

The Quebec Education Program, Progression of Learning, and Framework for the Evaluation of Learning in Quebec are the official curriculum guides for educators across Quebec.

Lord Aylmer Code of Conduct

Another document you can access on the site is the Lord Aylmer Code of Conduct, which outlines school rules, expectations and possible consequences.

END OF DAY PICK UP AT THE JUNIOR CAMPUS

We continue to adjust end-of-day procedures to improve the flow and timing for parents and students. You may have noticed City of Gatineau officials, the Gatineau police and WQSB personnel observing the process. Starting Friday, September 3, both cars and buses will enter into the bus lane on Rue Barsac for both pick-up and drop-off. There will be a staff member directing traffic. We have also created a walking area along the bus lane to help students identify the safe areas to walk. The City of Gatineau has decided to temporarily make the area directly across the street from the bus lane a NO PARKING/NO STOPPING zone; the signage will be changed within the next two weeks. If you are in a vehicle, please remember to remain in your vehicle during these busy times. If you walk your child to school, please do not gather on the median or in the bus lane itself as it blocks the flow of traffic.

Some of our initial procedures had to be adjusted to comply with city bylaws. Officials have since reversed their earlier ruling and deemed our initial procedures were more efficient and safer so we have been given the approval to resume our original plans. We would like to commend the staff for their work during the drop off and pick up times and would also like to thank you for your cooperation and patience as we implement these new procedures. While there will still be delays in coming days, they are getting shorter and the overall process is getting smoother.

PRINCIPAL’S CIVICS LESSONS

Every year, principals across Quebec present the school’s rules to the students. This year, instead of holding assemblies, Mr. Keon will conduct the sessions virtually with the classes. This will take place soon.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANS

The school will be conducting fire evacuation drills and Lock Down drills throughout the year. Next week, we will hold our evacuation practices but will wait for later to conduct the Lock Down ones. While the latter are done in a very age-appropriate manner and are approached sensitively, we have decided to wait until we can assess all of the children’s needs and ability to cope with the many new routines in place.

SENIOR CAMPUS STUDENTS – WALKING TO JUNIOR CAMPUS

Students from the senior campus are not permitted to walk to the junior campus to be picked up by their parents there. The junior campus is more difficult to manage because of the ages of the students involved and therefore adding students at the end of the day will only complicate an already challenging task. Also, we do not have the room for senior students to be waiting at the bottom of the bus lanes as these need to be clear. Thank you for your understanding. However, senior campus students may continue to pick up a younger sibling at the junior campus to walk home. If a senior student walks to a different location to be picked up by the parents, that is not a problem. Please advise your child’s teacher of this if you decide to do so.

BUS PICK UP TIMES

As noted in the message from the transportation department sent September 3 via Remind, bus pick up times in the morning have been adjusted to earlier times effective Tuesday morning (September 8).

PD DAY AND DAYCARE

September 18 is a PD day and the daycare will be open. Our daycare closes at 5:00 p.m. on this day. The PD day registration forms were sent out on Sept. 4. The due date for registration is Sept. 14. Our daycare payment schedule is posted on the Lord Aylmer website.
Junior campus morning daycare drop off is between 7:00-7:40 a.m. After 7:40 please go to regular drop off. Senior campus morning daycare drop off is between 7:00-7:45 a.m. After 7:45 please go to regular drop off. Please call daycare at 819-684-1494 for any changes in your child’s daycare schedule (change of days, withdraw from daycare etc….) A two-week notice is required.

SCHOOL FEES

School fees will be invoiced later in the fall. Parents will be advised by Remind when statements of account are available on the parent portal and procedures for processing payments.

TRANSPORTATION

Transportation information has been removed from the parent portal. Please contact Karen at the Sr. Campus (819-684-6801) or Donna at the Jr. Campus (819-684-4888) for any transportation inquiries.

MOZAIK PARENT PORTAL

If you have not yet set up your parent portal account and need assistance, please contact Corinna Abraham at the Sr. Campus. You may also find detailed instructions on our school website. It is necessary to access the parent portal to view your child’s upcoming Oct. 15 progress report and all subsequent report cards.

HOME & SCHOOL

Our Lord Aylmer Home & School is welcoming new members. Families may visit our website at lordaylmerhs.ca or Like our Facebook page @lordaylmerhs to learn about our organization. You may also join us on September 22 via Zoom to meet our executive and find out more about our volunteer non-profit. If you would like to join the meeting, please email us at lordaylmerhs@hotmail.com. All are welcome!

Our Pizza and Subway fundraisers are a go this year. We will share more info on our website at lordaylmerhs.ca or Like our Facebook page @lordaylmerhs to find out when the shop opens.

STUDENT ABSENCES

Please don’t forget to call the school if your child will be absent or late. When leaving a message please include the date and the reason for your child’s absence. If you wish to make any changes to your child’s after-school routines, you must contact the office and the daycare before 2:00 pm. Messages left after 2:00 may not be heard until after dismissal.

• Jr. Campus: 819.684.4888
• Sr. Campus: 819.684.6801
• Daycare: 819.684.1494

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER