Ridgemount Update Week of Sept 9-13, 2019

Thanks to all staff, students and families for making our first week so successful. It was great to see our returning families and to meet so many new Ridgemount Roadrunners! As we continue to monitor our classes and numbers we may need to make some changes. If your child is giong to be moved to another class you will be contacted directly by the Principal or VIce Principal. We hope to have the least amount of disruption possible however, due to high numbers in classes there are likely some upcoming changes. We congratulate Ms. Jones as she was offered and accepted a permanent ful time job at another school. We had a short time with her but she will be missed! Welcome to Mr. Hampel as he will be teaching gr 5-8 music 3 days of the cyvle with us. We also welcome Ms. Wren (working in Ms. Skudra’s gr 1/2 class  and Ms. Carey (working in Ms. Caton’s gr 1 class) as occasional EA’s filling in at Ridgemount! We look forward to having all of you as members of a great team!

Please continue to  inform and update teachers regarding your children (i.e., medical, allergies, special education needs, parent/guardian changes, address / phone) and to complete the Student Package of forms that will be sent home during the first few days of school.  If your child will need to have medication administered at school, there are mandatory forms to be completed and signed by the treating physicians so please request these forms from the office and have them completed as soon as possible. (NOTE: WE CANNOT ADMINISTER ANY FORM OF MEDICATION INCLUDING OVER THE COUNTER MEDICATIONS WITHOUT THE APPROPRIATE PAPERWORK COMPLETED).

If you require assistance or have any questions about completing these forms please contact your child’s teacher or the school office ( 905 575 1535).  Accurate and updated completion of these forms helps us to communicate better with you and to stay updated.

A reminder that playground supervision begins at 8:30 am and goes until the bell at 8:45am. Do not leave students unattended before this time please.  Supervision is also provided from 3:05-3:20pm so be sure that all students are picked up by 3:20pm. Kindergarten families will pick up their children just outside of the Kindergarten Area.

We ask that parents and guardians avoid entering the building during the first week of school unless you have made an appointment or need to speak to a staff member. Please come by the office and we will do our best to accommodate you.  This ensures the safety of all students and allows our staff to successfully carry on their responsibilities with as little disruption as possible.  We understand that many of our Year 1 Kindergarten students will have a difficult time with parents/guardians leaving and we will ensure that we have extra staff and support on hand to deal with these situations, but we do ask that you try to avoid remaining in the classrooms or halls for extended periods.

Our busing situation will be an ongoing one for the first few days. We will need to ensure that the Transportation Department has all the information required to allow students to ride the bus. It will take us the first week or so to determine how many buses we need and how much space is on each bus. Families may request a Courtesy Transportation form from the office but there is no guarantee that this will be approved as many of our assigned buses are already quite full.  We will begin to approve courtesy transportation forms this week. If your child has been granted busing but you have not heard anything from the Transportation Dept. please contact them at 905 523 2318.

In order to ensure the safety of everyone at Ridgemount please adhere to the traffic / parking signs posted around the school premises. There are designated parking spots and areas that must be kept clear for our buses. Our buses stop on Hester Street and on Ronaldshay Avenue so please keep these areas clear at all times. There is parking/stopping on the East side of Ronaldshay and further up Ronaldshay adjacent the staff parking lot. We ask that parents/guardians not enter the school parking lot during entry and dismissal as we also have our students with special needs loading and unloading buses in the parking lot.  The City By Law officers do monitor our school and will ticket so please be diligent in abiding by these rules.

Be sure to subscribe to our school website at:  www.hwdsb.on.ca/ridgemount  (under the school photo is the link to “Subscribe”) to keep updated on upcoming school events and news!! Follow us on Twitter at @Ridgemount_hwdsb

We will attach the upcoming Week at a Glance in each website post on Sunday evenings. Please click on the link below to view the Ridgemount Week at a Glance for the week of Sept 9-13, 2019   Week at a Glance Sept 9-Sept 13, 2019

Stay tuned for information about our Pizza and Sub Days. We have Pizza available weekly on Wednesdays and will have a Sub Day each month as well!  Information will be posted once it is available.  Be sure to mark your calnedars for Thursday, October 3rd from 5:00-7:00 PM as Ridgemount will be hosting our Meet the Teacher night. We will have food trucks on site and you will have an opportunity to meet our staff!

A reminder that if you need to stop by the school you will need to enter at the front entrance on Hester St. As we are a secure facility you will need to push the doorbell button and wait for an office staff to identify you and then open the door.  If you are dropping off lunches for your child you can place it on the lunch cart outside the office labelled “Student Lunches”. Be sure to prearrange this with your child so that they know to come to the office at the Nutrition Break to pick up their lunch as we are unable to keep lunches in the office area.

Our school day schedule is as follows:

8:30-8:45am – Supervision begins on playground

8:45-9:45am – Period 1

9:45-10:25am – Period 2

10:25-10:45am – Lunch in classrooms / 10:45-11:05am – Recess outside

11:05-12:05pm – Period 3

12:05-12:45pm – Period  4

12:45-1:05pm – Lunch in classroom / 1:05-1:25pm – Recess outside

1:25-2:25pm – Period 5

2:25-3:05pm – Period 6

3:05-3:20pm – Dismissal and supervision provided on playground

A reminder to all Grade 7 and 8’s – Students MUST complete the form that is being sent home to be granted permission from parents/guardians to go off the school premises for lunch on Thursdays and Fridays during the Second Nutrition Break ONLY (12:45-1:25pm). Students are reminded to follow the school code of behaviour while off school grounds. Phone calls and notes will not be accepted as permission. PARENTS MUST COMPLETE THE PERMISSION TO GO OUT FOR LUNCH FORMS AND RETURN TO THE SCHOOL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FOR US TO ALLOW STUDENTS TO LEAVE. 

Thank you and we look forward to a Spectacular September and a great 2019-2020 school year!! If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child,  please see your child’s teacher.

Mr. G. Carey – Principal

Mme. N.  Kucic – Vice Principal