School Information

Everything you wanted to know from "A to Z"

Absences Due to Family Vacation

Parents are asked not to request homework for their child to do on family vacations that take place during regularly scheduled class time. It is the teacher's duty to provide programming for in-class activities. Parents are asked, instead, to encourage their children to read age-appropriate material, as well as to record their experiences in a journal that can be shared with their class upon their return.

Allergies

Some staff members and students are very allergic to perfume, hair spray, and aftershave. As well, many students have life threatening allergies to a variety of foods and substances and require an Epi-Pen if exposed to them. We would appreciate your consideration in these matters.

Assemblies

Assemblies are an excellent method of encouraging student participation, recognizing student achievement, promoting individual talent and developing school spirit. They may include guest speakers, sport and academic award presentations, mini concerts and other special events of interest. Each class will enter and exit the gym with the teacher and sit in an assigned area. Polite, mannerly behavior is expected at all times. Parents are welcome at all assemblies. Preschoolers are also welcome, but out of respect for our student performers, should be taken out if unable to sit quietly throughout the assembly.

Attendance Procedures

Student attendance is checked upon entry each day and by classroom teachers after each recess. Parents are requested to inform the school on days when their child will be away from school or late arriving by sending a note to the teacher via email or agenda or for same day absences, calling 613- 828-5027.

If a student is going to be away and it is known beforehand, please let the school know. This will help in planning programs. To report your child’s absence on a day to day basis, or to advise of a late arrival at school, please leave a message on our answering machine which is on all night and early morning until 8:30 a.m. This will save time, since we must contact your home or business and account for all the absences each day if we have not heard from you. Parents are required to sign students out through the office when picking their children up before the end of the day.

Bicycles

It is impossible for the school to protect students’ bicycles from vandalism. It is understood that every effort will be made to protect student property, but a bicycle is brought to school at the owner’s risk. Riders must wear helmets. All bicycles should be locked with a secure bicycle lock while at school. As a safety concern, no other modes of transport, such as skateboards, scooters and roller blades, are permitted.

Book Buckets & Student Desks

Student desks and student buckets should be kept tidy. Buckets are placed under each student’s chair during class hours, then put away when the student goes home.

Bus Loading Zone and Student Safety

The bus drivers have been instructed to pick up and drop off students along the paved bus zone in front of the front door of the school. If you wish to pick up your child, please meet your child on Carlaw Ave. behind the school or on Parkfield Crs. beyond the bus loading zone.
In order to avoid a potentially serious situation and traffic congestion in the bus lane on Parkfield Crescent, the following suggestions have been made by the City of Ottawa Police and Briargreen Public School:

  1. Drop off location.
    Please enter the Briargreen Community via Meadowbank Drive (instead of Ashgrove) and drop off or pick up children on Carlaw (at the back of the school )instead of Parkfield. There is a path that runs from Carlaw to the back of the school.

  2. No Parking or Stopping
    Vehicles are not allowed to park or stop in the School Bus Zone in front of the school during school arrival (8:30 to 9:15 a.m.) and departure times (3:15 to 4:00 p.m.). Vehicles found in these locations, at these times, are subject to hefty fines by the City of Ottawa. This is a student safety issue of considerable concern.

  3. Parking lot closed
    For safety reasons, the parking lot is closed for morning drop-off. Please drop your child off in one of the above recommended areas.

Please help us keep our students safe.

Bus Transportation

Transportation is authorized from home to school and return. Pick-up and/or drop-off points for elementary students must be consistent. Pick-up and drop-off points for school buses are established by the OSTA Transportation Officer. Empty seat applications are available at the office and are considered in October.

Changes in Lunchtime or After School Routine

If a student plans any change from normal routine, it should be arranged the day before and the student must bring a note signed by the parent. Pupils should bring the note to the office or give it to their teacher. Only students registered on a bus are allowed on the bus.

Briargreen is on a "Balanced Day" schedule as follows:

Daily Time Schedule

Time

Event

9:15 am

School Entry Bell

11:15 am

Morning Nutrition Break(Lunch)

11:35 am

Morning Recess

12:00

Classes Resume

2:00pm

Afternoon Break(Snack)

2:15 pm

Afternoon Recess

2:45 pm

Classes Resume

3:45 pm

Dismissal Bell

PLEASE NOTE: Parents need to be aware that there is no yard supervision before 9:00 am.

Children walking to school, or being dropped off at school, are requested not to arrive before 9:00 a.m.

Staff members begin their supervising yard duty at that time. Special events, such as field trips, track and field, are the exception to this rule and student participants and parents will be advised well in advance.

Emergency Dismissals

During severe winter weather when the buses may not be running, please listen to local radio stations in order to determine if your child’s bus is cancelled. If buses are cancelled in the morning, there are no buses in the afternoon to transport the students home either.  If you choose to bring your child to school on a day when the buses are cancelled, you must make arrangements for them to be picked up as well. Children who are bus students are not counted absent on days when the buses are cancelled.

Entry to School

  1. At the Bell
    a) At the bell, students go to their door and line up at their assigned place outside the closed doors.
    b) Each teacher goes outside and waits until the line is orderly, then brings the class in quietly.

  2. At Recess, Lunch hour and Before Classes
    a) Students must have a teacher’s permission to go to the washroom or to enter the school at recess, noon-hour or before classes begin.
    b) If children need to use the washroom, they enter the front door or the door by the gym, with a teacher’s permission, and use the washrooms near the staff room.
    c) Pupils should be encouraged to use the washroom before they go outside.
    d) No students, except appointed monitors, are permitted in the gym storage cupboard or the supply room unless they are supervised by a staff member.

Footwear/Dress Code

For safety and health reasons, students are required to wear shoes in the school. To help keep our carpeted teaching areas clean, students need to have an extra pair of shoes for indoor use. Gym shoes that are only worn indoors can serve this double purpose.

All students have the right to express themselves in school through their choice of clothing, hair styles, jewelry, and accessories. While a student’s style is their choice, we want to keep school a place where everyone can feel comfortable. To learn about the OCDSB's Student Dress Code, please visit ocdsb.ca/dresscode.

Gym Wear, Labels, Lost Articles

Some teachers require students to have running shoes, shorts and a t-shirt for gym. Periodic washing is necessary. Please label clothing, lunch kits, school bags and footwear to prevent loss. Check the Lost and Found box if things disappear. Ask a staff member for assistance if necessary.

Habitat

Our ‘Briargreen Habitat’ is a source of pride for all of us. Through much hard work, staff, students and volunteers have created a natural environment whereby birds, insects, trees and wild flowers live in ecological balance. To preserve this area, we ask that students not use this space as a play area. Rather, in spring and fall, they are invited to sit on one of the benches to read a book or to have a quiet conversation, outside of school hours. This area is not part of the supervised recess area during the day. The Habitat was part of a special project that we worked on towards reaching our goal of becoming Nepean’s first ‘green school’.

Homework

The school does not always assign homework but there will, at times, be work to be completed at home. Most homework should be completed in a short time. If a student is having undue difficulty and they have given it an honest try, please contact the teacher the following morning so that we can help and monitor the situation.Parents may write a note if needed to excuse incomplete homework, based on family circumstances - you know best when homework is just one thing too much on the family agenda!

Generally, teachers assign homework for a variety of reasons. These include: completing work begun in class; providing additional practice and/or further study in previously introduced material and subjects; building interest in reading and learning; making up work missed due to absence; encouraging parental awareness of student learning; and developing independent study habits and the ability to organize and complete assigned homework tasks.

Most of the time, homework completion is the sole task of the student. There are times, however, when parental involvement is encouraged, such as proofreading a writing assignment or using tools to create a project. It would be appreciated if parents could advise teachers about the degree of parental help provided to the student.

Notebook Standards

Students must keep their notebooks, textbooks and library books in good order. No scribbling or doodling should be permitted on books.

Permission Forms

Permission forms are required for students participating in extra-curricular sports, class excursions and school activities off school property which are an integral part of the school program. Please sign and return these forms promptly to the teacher supervising the activity. For legal reasons, we are not allowed to accept handwritten notes as permission forms.

Students who do not have a signed form will remain in the school, working under the supervision of a staff member.

Picking up students during the school day

Please report to the office to sign out your child. We ask that you do not seek your child out on the yard if you are picking him or her up during recess. Office staff will call for you child to report to the office. If you are picking up your child during the day, we ask that you please send a note to your child's teacher and that you make every effort to schedule your pick up during break times.

Phone Numbers You May Need

All Emergencies 911
Briargreen Public School 613-828-5027 School Fax: 613-828-1485
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board 613-721-1820 / 613-596-8211- including Trustees
Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police - Information only 613-829-2211
OSTA 613-224-8800

Planners

Many of our teachers choose to use agendas as a communication tool between students, parents and themselves. Students are encouraged to use their planner to organize short and long term homework assignments. Parents are requested to read and sign planners daily. This makes for effective communication between home and school.

Release of Students During School Hours and Late Arrivals

If you wish to have your child leave the school during the day, please send a note to the teacher indicating the time and the reason for leaving. Parents are asked to pick up their child from the office and sign him/her out. When it is necessary for a child to go home during the day because of illness, or for any other reason, you will be contacted before the child is permitted to leave. If an unidentified call is received requesting the release of a student, the office staff will call the home and, if necessary, the parents’ office numbers, in order to verify the authenticity of the request.

Children who arrive late are asked to report to the school office before going to class.

Return to School Following an Illness

Children returning to school following an illness should be prepared for outdoor lunch break, recesses and physical education classes. We ask that you ensure that your child is in good health before returning to school. This will benefit your child in the long run, as well as his/her classmates. Upon returning to school, your child is asked to bring a note describing the reason for the absence unless reason has been provided beforehand.

Rink (Outdoor)

Nepean Parks and Recreation permits the school to use the rink, unless otherwise notified, during school hours. Classes may use the rink during their phys. ed. time or at any other time that the rink is free. Skating at during recess times is organized with the help of parent volunteers. The teacher on duty to the north of the school will clear students off the rink 5 minutes before bell time. Skates should be carried in a knapsack or blades protected by skate guards.

Sports

Briargreen School offers intramural and competitive sports activities.

  1. Intramural
    The intramural activities are offered to all students and participation is encouraged. These activities are usually held during recess to accommodate our bus students.

  2. Competitive Teams
    While not all school teams are competitive, some school teams will be competing with other schools in OCDSB. The students on the school teams are to maintain their school work, to exhibit good sportsmanship, to foster school spirit, and to arrive on time for practice. Students failing to comply with these criteria may be removed from the team.

While the above rules apply to all sports in general, specific rules for each sport will be sent to the parents by the coordinating teacher.
Team shirts and equipment used by these teams are to be properly cared for and returned to the school immediately following each sporting event

Student Information Records

Every effort is made to keep our student information files up to date. Please let us know if your address, telephone numbers or other pertinent information has changed.

Student Reporting

For student success, it is important that the teachers and parents work as a team. This communication will help develop and maintain proper attitudes, achievement and work habits in our students.

For grades 1 to 6, the school will send home a written report twice in the year-January and June - as well as a Progress Report in November. Student-led conferences usually occur during the year. Senior Kindergarten students receive a report in January and June and Junior Kindergarten children receive a report in June only. In addition, we have parent- teacher interviews in the November. In January, teachers will request interviews with the parents of students who need more attention or who have made significant improvement.

Parents may ask for an interview at any time if there is a problem with their child in or out of school. All that is required is a phone call or a note to the teacher or office. Teachers, likewise, will contact parents on an “as needs” basis at other times throughout the year.

Technology

Computer technology is integrated into classroom curriculum in a variety of ways. It is considered a learning tool that supplements the more conventional resources such as texts and print copy. Students must demonstrate responsible appreciation and behavior while using school computers. Respect for hardware, software and security procedures is essential. Access to computers including the internet is allowed only with teacher permission, and only to complete specific assigned tasks. All students and parents are required to complete the OCDSB Internet Policy form on appropriate computer use before students access the internet at school. Non-compliance may result in the student being restricted to conventional resources.

Visitors

Visitors are welcome at our school. Please check in at the office when you first enter the school. This will limit program interruptions and let us know who is in the school, for safety and security reasons. As our students' safety is our priority, parents are not permitted in the open classroom area during school hours unless they are volunteering or are escorted by a staff member.

Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.