Westview Welcome 2025

August 29^th, 2025

Dear families,

We are excited to welcome students back for the 2025/2026 school year.  My name is Sue Neville, and I am the principal here at Westview.  Here are some important reminders as we start the new school year:

Parent Portal

This tab is located on the HWDSB webpage and is accessible to all parents/caregivers who have children registered in the HWDSB. If you are having difficulty logging into the Portal, please message us at [email protected] for assistance. There are several services and forms located on the Portal that you will be required to complete over the course of the school year.  Please use School Messenger to report any absences or late arrivals.

Contact Information – it is of upmost importance that we have relevant and correct contact information for you and all emergency contacts.  Please update any changes on the student information verification form in the portal.  If you are allowing anyone other than custodial parent/guardians to pick up your child, we require notice in writing and the person (if unknown to the school) will be asked to show ID upon pick up. We will also require permission in writing for students to leave at second NB (this permission is granted either by way of the lunch form in the Parent Portal or by emailing the school.

Cell Phones are NOT allowed – The Ministry of Education has passed policy (PPM 128) that students in Grade 1-8 must have their cell phones turned off and out of sight for the entire school day (including nutrition breaks).  Children have three choices – keep phone off and in their locker (make sure they have a lock), give the phone to teacher to lock up, or give it to Principal to lock up.  If children need to call home, they are welcome to ask permission to come to the office where they will be allowed to call home.  Please help your children with this policy by not texting/phoning your child during the school day – if it is an emergency please call the office and we will be happy to call your child to the phone. Violations of this policy will result in progressive discipline – such as cell phone plans, banning the phone from school, suspension, etc.  Please see the updated HWDSB cell phone policy at Responsible Use of Digital Technology Procedure Consultation | Engage HWDSB. Please see below for school behaviour expectations.

Smoking/Vaping

There is a significant fine for smoking or vaping on school property – this is for adults and students.  Smoking and vaping are not allowed in school or within 20 metres of the school property.  Any vapes will be confiscated and progressive discipline, including suspension, will be in effect.  PPM 128 also addresses this. 

Visiting our School

To support a productive, safe and healthy learning environment, we do limit visitors to school during instructional time. We ask families to call or email our school to supply information or contact a staff member. It is recommended that parents not drop off items during the school day. If this is absolutely necessary, please ring the doorbell at the front entrance and we will collect the labelled item for your child.  If you do attend the school, you must go to the office – no one is to be walking the halls or visiting classes when teachers are teaching and school is in session.

Late Arrivals/Attendance

Please be on time and ready to learn.  It gets very disruptive to classes, and to the overall running of the school, when we have so many children coming in and entering school/classes at different times.  If there are continued issues with late arrivals, students will have to wait at the office until a break in the schedule. ALL students must check in at the office and there is NO wandering around the building. Continued absenteeism will result in referral to the board social work department.

Elementary Reorganization

Each year at the end of September the HWDSB must undergo a ‘reconciling’ of enrollment numbers from the spring with actual attendance numbers in the fall. This can result in classes being added or deleted across the system. In the event Westview is affected by re-organization, parents/caregivers can expect to be notified of a classroom change/teacher change before the end of September.

Busing

Eligibility for busing is as follows:

• Grade 6-8 must live greater than 1.6 KM away from the school

We can offer limited courtesy busing this year utilizing only existing bus stops.  Courtesy will be granted based upon need due to medical reasons and to accommodate siblings.  If you fall into one of the above categories, you must complete a courtesy bussing form and await a decision.  Courtesy is granted based upon space on the bus – if new children arrive that are entitled to busing and space is at a premium; courtesy seats could be lost.  Thank you for your patience and understanding as our new drivers become familiar with our community. Go to www.hamiltonschoolbus.ca  and click on the “Parent’s Portal” on the Home page, OR “Bus Stop Finder” on the landing page.

Personal Items – Westview is not responsible for any personal items brought to school (cell phones, IPADs, ear pods, books, stationary, calculators, stuffies, purses, money, etc.), bring at your own risk.

Communication

We are committed to using effective communication practices. We will continue to send updates using postings on the webpage and School Messenger as appropriate. Your child’s teacher will convey the preferred methods for communication for them. We do recommend subscribing to our school webpage for regular reminders/updates. https://www.hwdsb.on.ca/westview/.   Any questions or concerns around classroom practice should be addressed first with the classroom teacher.

Supporting a Positive School Environment

HWDSB will continue to offer a wide variety of mental health supports for students, knowing that the pandemic fallout and the onset of adolescence impacts well-being. This is especially important during the return to school, which can be stressful for some students after any breaks. Explore our We Help web page for more evidence-based and timely school-based mental health services and supports.  The HWDSB Human Rights code explains clearly that it is the duty of educators to prepare students for their role in society by learning to be responsible citizens. We do this by providing equitable and inclusive environments that address discriminatory biases and barriers. We need to educate students about diversity and inclusion so they can be respectful and kind to everyone. Please see the policy section on the HWDSB website for all applicable policies.

Right to Disconnect

Healthy work-life boundaries, including the ability for all employees to disconnect from work after hours, is an important part of maintaining one’s health and well-being. HWDSB has implemented a Right to Disconnect Procedure to support educators, administrators and other HWDSB staff. While all urgent communication will continue to be shared after hours, please note that families communicating with educators and administrators may receive a delay in response to all non-emergency inquiries received after hours.

We know the return to school can be stressful for some students. We are here to support, encourage and motivate.  Please carefully review the behaviour expectations outlined below and review them with your child.  If you think your child might struggle with school, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Sue Neville – Principal Westview P.S.

Westview Public School – Behaviour Expectations 2025/2026

A large part of any school principal/VP’s job is to handle student discipline. School discipline has two main goals: (1) to ensure the safety of staff and students, and (2) to create an environment conducive to learning.  Disruptions interrupt lessons for all students, and disruptive students lose even more learning time.  For this reason I would like to share with you our policy on student discipline which is based upon the HWDSB’s Code of Conduct Policy which can also be accessed here: http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/aboutus/policies/#ss (Policy #7.22 and Provincial Policy Memorandum (PPM) Directive PPM128), and the HWDSB’s Progressive discipline (policy # 11.02 and PPM 145).

We try our very best at Westview to ensure that all pupils have a safe, caring and accepting school environment to maximize their learning potential and to ensure a positive school climate for all members of the school community. It is important to remember that students are responsible for their own behaviour. Please review the following rules and expectations with your child(ren):

Expectations of Student Behaviour: Respect, Responsibilities and Rights

We expect high standards of behaviour from all our students. We will not tolerate bullying, harassment, discrimination, physical aggression, or any other behaviour that makes students feel uncomfortable about being in school or prevents them from studying to their best level. The expectations apply to all students and not just in classrooms but in all areas of the school and outside of school – if it impacts the school environment.  However, bullying is a specific and pervasive behaviour and should not be mistaken for singular acts of agitation, upset, or aggression. I will be highlighting more information about bullying in each month’s newsletters to promote a consistent understanding of this issue among all school stakeholders.

Westview Public School Expectations for Behaviour

• Arrive to class everyday on time and ready to learn
• Try your best in all assigned tasks
• Take an active role in the class without disrupting lessons
• Co-operate, respect and communicate with all school staff and other students
• Follow the class rules agreed upon with your teacher
• lockers are for storage, not for socializing – move quickly between classes
• do not leave school property without permission
• do not leave the classroom without permission and NO wandering without supervision
• NO Cell phones
• NO SKATEBOARDS OR SCOOTERS

Respect each other – this means that you:

• Are polite and do not use language that can offend others
• Will never be violent, aggressive or intimidate others. If it looks like a fight, it will be treated like a fight – which will lead to suspension.
• Will not bully or discriminate against others – bullying. personal or cyber, can lead to suspension or expulsion
• Listen to your teacher and other students and allow others to take part
• Look after the school environment and equipment
• Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated – be tolerant of everyone’s uniqueness 

ALL OF THE ABOVE APPLIES ON THE BUS AS WELL AS IN SCHOOL

Consequences for Inappropriate Behaviour 

Although we strive to be consistent in both expectations and consequences for behaviour it is important that the board policies mentioned above are followed and each incident is investigated fully.  We do ensure that all incidents reported to the office will be investigated fully and all parties spoken to before any decisions on consequences are made.  Many mitigating factors impact our decisions, and we are always happy to share our reasoning both with students and with their parents.  However, due to all individuals’ right to privacy please understand that we do not share the consequences for one child with the children or parents of another.  Please also be aware that there are sometimes mitigating circumstances that we are mandated to consider that may or may not impact decisions.

Examples of Possible Consequences

Detention

Calls home/behaviour form

Meetings with parents

Behaviour plan

Loss of privileges

Inability to play on sports teams (one game/all games)

Inability to attend trips

Temporary withdrawal

Suspension and/or Expulsion

Parking Safety — The parking here at Westview is for staff only and is not to be used for drop-offs and pick-ups.   I have had reports of students and adults being almost hit by cars that are reversing during the very busy dismissal time and the safety of all staff and students is always of paramount importance.  We have students walking through the lot to get to the buses and have special buses that picks up our special needs students in the parking lot. Please, please have safety in the forefront of your minds if you are dropping off/picking up your children. Please do not park OR STOP in the parking lot – please decide with your child where to meet you in another location and please do not block buses.  Please help us keep all our Westview students safe! Thank you for your support and cooperation.

Ms. Neville

Staff 2025/2026	HR Class
C. Gesse	6A
P. Mousseau	6B
E. Reid	7A
Feeney	7B
E. Dobrowsky	7C
A. Ferrelli	7D
J. Elston	8A
C. Cipolla	8B
A. Kuchma	8C
P.  Martindale	8D
E. Toohey	ASD
N. Ritson	Music/prep
B. Flewelling	Core French 7-8
K. Josevik (LTO TBD)	Core French 6-7
S. Tapuska	LRT
A. Guiney	ESST
J. Rolfson	ASD EA
K.  Merritt	ASD EA
N. Sorenson	6a/6b EA
A. Parchimowicz	8a EA
S. Paterson	Office Admin
S. Neville	Principal

As outlined in the May and June newsletter, requests for class changes will not be considered.