To: Parents/Guardians From: C. Bartlett/J. Beckett-O’LearySeptember 2018

“You are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, & SMARTER than you think!”

Christopher Robin

Welcome/Welcome BackOn behalf of Mary Queen of the World School, we would like to extend a warm welcome to all students and their families as we begin

another new and exciting school year!! It is great to see so many eager and excited faces and we extend a special welcome to all new families who have joined our school community.

We would also like to welcome some new and old staff members this year while bidding farewell and good luck to former ones. Welcome to Ms. Amanda Kent (Grade 2), Kate Cooper (Grade 5), Ms. Jill Power (IRT), Ms. Danielle Benoit (TLA), Ms. Chantelle Kelly (TLA), Ms. Kirsten Connors (SA), Ms. Michelle Hollahan (SA), and Ms. Ann Woodrow-Bruce (SA).

Farewell to Ms. Cheryl Snelgrove, Ms. Janine Rogers and Ms. Ashley Hickman. We wish you the best of luck in your new school year.

We look forward to working with all students and families throughout the school year. Together, we can ensure the best educational and social opportunities for all students.

MQW StaffWe would like to take this opportunity to introduce and welcome our staff members for

the year:Kindergarten – Ms. Whitten, Ms. McDonald, Ms. Fifield and Ms. HeddersonGrade 1 – Ms. Chubbs, Mr. Day, Grade 1/2 - Ms. Murphy Grade 2 –Ms. Mills, Ms. KentGrade 3 – Ms. Nolan, Ms. Gibbons Grade 3/4 – Mr. MolloyGrade 4 – Ms. Galway, Ms. HanrahanGrade 5 – Ms. Butt, Ms. Buckle, Ms. CooperGrade 6 – Mr. Walsh, Ms. HudsonTeacher Librarian - Ms. McIsaacReading Specialist – Lisa Guzzwell

Inst Support Teachers – Ms. Gibbons, Ms. Garlie, Ms. Bartlett, Ms. Mercer and Ms. PowerPhys Ed – Ms. Careen Music – Ms. StokesBand – Mr. LaingGuidance – Mr. BonnellSecretary – Ms. Case

Student Assistants – Ms. Connors, Ms. Thornhill, Ms. Marples, Ms. Hollahan, Ms. Woodrow-Bruce, Ms. Snook and Ms. Somerton.Maintenance Custodian – Mr. SomertonEvening Custodian – Mrs. SomertonEvening Cleaner – Ms. Butland and Ms. McleanAssistant Principal – Ms. Beckett-O’LearyPrincipal – Mr. Bartlett

School Calendar 2018 - 2019

September 4 - Administration Day

September 5 - School Reopens/Students

October 8 - Thanksgiving Day November 9 - Mid Fall Break November 12 - Remembrance Day December 21 - Last Day Prior to

Christmas  January 7 - School Reopens February 18 - Mid Winter Break March 18 - St. Patrick's Day April 18 - Last Day of School -

Easter April 29 - School Reopens May 20 - Victoria Day June 27 - Last Day for Students June 28 - Administration Day

Premiers Task Force: Phase 1 SchoolAs you already know, our school was 1 of 40 in our

beautiful province chosen to lead this initiative which will help improve student achievement. Thank you for your co-operation during the first week of school and we will be communicating all the updates on this phase as the year continues. A couple of big changes that you will notice at our school due to being a Phase 1 school are:

- We have 2 teacher learning assistants

- A full-time teacher librarian- A reading Specialist- A new transformed library called

a Learning Commons

Monthly NewsletterOnce again, this year we will be sending home our newsletter electronically to

as many families as possible. Therefore, we will require a household or primary email address to forward on our monthly newsletter or memos.

Mary Queen of the World News

Student Information SheetsStudent information sheets have been

sent home. We would appreciate it if you would complete these and have your child return it to his/her

teacher as soon as possible. It is very important that you include an emergency phone number and procedure if we close early or should we ever need to contact you. In the event of an emergency evacuation or school closure we need to follow the procedure outlined on this sheet.

Student AgendaThe student agenda is a great tool for communication with home. Please look in it every night for teacher memos or notifications. Included you will find general

information, procedures, guidelines, curricular and extracurricular information as well as our bus code of conduct. We will review this section with our students. Please support the school in our initiative of providing a Safe and Caring environment.

School Messenger ~ Home School CommunicationThe School Messenger Communication system is a

valuable system in delivering messages and notifications to parents in a timely and efficient manner. This service is particularly helpful for situations such as unscheduled school closures due to weather or electrical failure. To assist with this process, it is essential that we have accurate and updated information regarding home contact and emergency numbers. Please notify the office immediately if you have changed address or telephone numbers throughout the year.

School HoursPlease note the timetable for the upcoming year is as follows: 8:30 Doors open, supervision

begins 8:45 First Bell; Morning announcements 8:50 Classes begin10:30 Recess10:45 Classes resume12:00 Lunch 12:55 Afternoon classes begin3:00 Dismissal

Parents are asked to kindly refrain from dropping off children prior to 8:30am. Supervision does not begin until this time and for security reasons, our doors will remain locked until supervision time. It is also important to note that parents are not allowed to accompany their child to their classroom due to safety and confidential factors. We really appreciate your cooperation in following this procedure.

When picking up your children at dismissal time we ask that you please wait outside until 2:55 unless you are taking them early for a reason and if at

all possible please pick up your children at the student entrances located on the church side of the building. This will help with consistency, safety and privacy of our students.

All students are asked to enter the school through the student entrance at the east side of the school or through the gym doors. The office entrance is for staff only.

Parking and Bus Information Please take note of the parking

lot lines for vehicles coming onto the parking lot each day. As you

know, this is a continuous safety concern and we ask for your cooperation. Always be conscious while driving in this area especially when busses are off loading the children. Parents who drop off and pick up children are asked to use the parking lot by the Church. This area has more space and better flow for traffic. Please do not park in the convent parking spaces or handicap area on the west side of the school unless you have a permit. On our parking lot we have 5 busses that need to get on and off the parking lot each day. They park at the top of the Church lot next to the playground area. If you can avoid this area and the spaces where they start their exit next to the church, we would greatly appreciate it.

We are in the process of organizing our bus lists and will have it finalized by early next week to ensure we have seats available for all eligible riders. Please contact Mr. Bartlett if you have any questions at all about courtesy seating or bussing issues. More information is available for your review at www.nlesd.ca

Kiss and Ride LaneWe have initiated a Kiss and Ride Lane for those families that drive their children to school each day. We ask you to use

this lane as much as possible when bringing your children to school in the morning because this eliminates any student walking through the parking lot during the busy morning time. Please follow and obey the pylons and proceed to the stairs by the gymnasium and a volunteer will meet you there to help your child enter the school. The ultimate goal of this program is to keep our student’s safe, so we thank you for your cooperation. We are always looking for parents that would like to volunteer one day a week to help us with this valuable program. If you are interested please do not hesitate to contact the school.

Curriculum NightOur curriculum night is scheduled for Thursday, September 13th 7:00 p.m. Parents are invited to go

directly to their child’s classroom to discuss grade level academic programs

and curriculum as well as classroom routines and expectations.

This night provides you the wonderful opportunity to meet your child’s teacher as well as all members of our school community. We look forward to seeing you all there!

School CouncilA School Council is a legally constituted body of elected and appointed representatives of the

local school constituency. It is established for the purpose of enhancing the quality of school programs and improving the levels of student achievement in the school. The School Council meets on a monthly basis to receive and disseminate information and review policy on school issues. We are in the process of establishing the council and if there are any available positions we will be sending home more information this week.

Kindergarten DismissalStarting this week, we will be asking the Kindergarten parents to meet your child’s teacher outside the students’ entrance. Each Kindergarten teacher will be walking their whole class out of the building and we would like for you to meet your child in the appropriate area: Ms. Fifield and Ms. Whitten’s class meet at the student entrance by their classroom while Ms. McDonald’s and Ms. Hedderson’s classes will meet you on top of the stairs by the gym student entrance. Once the pickup students are accounted for the teacher will proceed to each bus with their class. This procedure will help keep our dismissal smooth and consistent. Thank you for your cooperation.

NLESD As you are all aware the English

schools in our province are under the jurisdiction of the Newfoundland Labrador Eastern School District. Please visit the new website for any information www.nlesd.ca

Door Security Parents and visitors to our

school should use the main office entrance located on the west side of our building. This door will be

locked during the school day and you are kindly asked to ring the doorbell, identify yourself and Ms. Case, our school secretary, will buzz you in. For safety reasons, it is important that we are aware of visitors in our school at all times. We are asking any person that picks up or drops off a student to please use the sign in /out log in the main office. Parents and visitors are not permitted in the classroom areas unless permission is given by the administration. The corridors must be accessible for all students should we

need to evacuate in an emergency. Your support is appreciated.

VolunteersVolunteers assist in many of our school and classroom activities from doing breakfast club, photocopying, Library aid, fundraising, special

events, school initiatives, field trips and a variety of other school events. If there are parents, grandparents or guardians that would be interested in helping out this year please contact the office.

As per District policy, all volunteers are required to have a certificate of conduct and should complete a Volunteer information and contact form. There is no cost for the certificate of conduct for school volunteers. The school will provide you with a letter that will waive that fee.

Music Currently at Mary Queen of the World we have primary grade level choirs that

include all students in grades 1, 2 and 3. In addition, we have an optional Elementary Choir

for 4, 5, 6. All students that express an interest in joining this choir can obtain a form which is available from Ms. Stokes. All Elementary students also participate in a recorder program and are asked to please bring both their recorders and books to class on a daily basis as it is an important part of the music curriculum.

Physical EducationWe would like to remind students to check their calendars for Physical

Education Days. Students are encouraged to wear proper attire on these days, i.e. sneakers, t-shirt and shorts/track pants. Thank-you for your cooperation.

Nutrition policyPlease note that the English School District has a Nutrition Policy that encourages students

to eat healthy and bring snacks that are appropriate and nutritious to school. Please take the time to discuss with your child healthy choices for recess and lunch. Refrain as much as you can from sending fizzy pop, potato chips, chocolate bars etc. during the school day.

Kids Eat Smart Breakfast ClubWe have partnered once again with KES and will serve a

breakfast snack every morning during the coming year. This is a free service for students wishing to have a piece of fruit, breakfast bar, cheese string or milk before they begin the school day. Donations are always welcome to assist with this program.

School Lunch Association Program

We are delighted to once again partner with the School Lunch Association for hot lunch service at MQW Monday – Thursday of each week. A registration form is now posted on line and the SLP would like for you to register using this method if at all possible. Students who have not registered will not be able to order lunch from this program so please do this ASAP. A menu for the month of October will be forwarded to you to select the meals you would like your child to avail of for the following weeks and this menu is also available on-line. Please mark the envelope with your selection, enclose your money and send the envelope back to your child’s teacher. You should keep the menu at home so you will know when your child is on SLP or when they need to bring a bagged lunch. There is no lunch service at MQW until September 26h. All students will need to bring a bagged lunch from home for the next couple of weeks.

PIZZA FridayEach week we will be offering a slice of pizza and milk to all of our students at a cost of $3 per student. A pizza form will

be sent home on Wednesday of each week. It must be returned on Thursday morning as we place our order before noon with the pizza company. No late orders are accepted after this time period. We will begin this on Friday, September 14th.

Going Home to LunchPlease note, that when students go home to lunch we encourage them to return to school at 12:50pm to be ready for afternoon classes.

If you give your child permission to go out to lunch you must provide a written note to the classroom teacher stating this, dated and signed (Grade 6’s only). No students will be permitted to leave school grounds without a note during the lunch hour.

Allergy ALERT Please take note that we have students who have severe life-threatening allergies in our school. Parents are requested

not to send the following items to school: Nuts, tree nuts or Peanut butter, fish, eggs and Kiwi. Contact with these foods may result in a severe allergic reaction requiring immediate medical attention. We thank you for your support.

Digital CitizenshipThe NLESD has implemented comprehensive Digital Citizenship expectations for all schools under its jurisdiction. The policy can be viewed in its

entirety HERE or by visiting (http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/k12/safeandcaring/procedure_5.pdf). Within these expectations, students will be taught

guidelines concerning online behavior. Topics to be covered include cyber bullying, privacy and communicating online. Please visit our school website for information from the district and other relevant resources regarding this important topic.

SCENT AWARE We have students and staff who have allergic reactions to scented products. We ask you to please refrain from using perfumes and

cologne when visiting the school.

Student MedicationsMedication is administered at the

school only when absolutely necessary. If at all possible,

we ask that parents administer medicine at home and avoid bringing any medicine to school. Medication may only be administered from the office with the signed consent of parents and medical professionals. Non-prescription drugs should not be sent to school.Please alert your child’s teacher as soon as possible if your child has any serious medical conditions or life-threatening allergies. (There is also a place for this data on the student information sheet.) Where necessary, a medical alert form will be sent home for parents to complete.

ImmunizationsSchool immunizations will take place for Grades 4 and 6 this

year. There will be a consent form sent home prior to the immunizations. Please ensure that consent forms are signed and returned by the date that is printed on the envelope with all questions on the form answered. Date form with day/month/year and indicate relationship to the child. Please do not remove the adhesive label attached to the consent form because it is used for office use. The immunization dates are:Grade 6- October 11th and May 13th Grade 4- February 19th Recycling

If you would like to contribute your recyclables to our school we have a program set for every Thursday. Students who pass in

recycling will have their names submitted for special prize draws. Please ensure you remove caps and straws from the containers. Thank you to our parent community for your past support.

Telephone messages: To ensure your child receives appropriate instruction in all subject areas we try to avoid interruptions to the classroom throughout the

school day with phone messages. Please discuss with your child after school arrangements before they come to school. Mrs. Case cannot keep up with the phone messages to all classrooms at dismissal times. If you email or call the

office or teacher it doesn’t mean that we will receive the message in a timely fashion but we always try our best. Your cooperation with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Electronic Equipment We have encountered some problems concerning the use of electronics in the past few years and we are trying to be pro-active to help

eliminate these problems. The current NLESD regulation states that “technology cannot be used during class time for personal or private use unless permission is granted by the school principal. Permission shall only be granted for exceptional circumstances”. We appreciate your support on this matter and if at all possible please tell your children to leave their technology at home. We will continue to provide a safe place for phones if it is necessary for them to bring them to school but if they are put in their book bags, desks or lockers we cannot be responsible for the safety of those items. Please do not text your child during the school day because this creates problems of communication and the cooperation of school rules. If you need to relay a message please call the school number and we will do our best to pass any messages along to them.

Unfortunately, we have also had instances where students are taking photos and videos without another student’s knowledge. This is a serious situation as many of our students do not have consent to be photographed. Students are not permitted to take pictures or videos while at school on their personal electronic devices. We really appreciate your support in this area.

Student BelongingsEach year we accumulate a large number of items in our Lost and Found and a great percentage of

these are never claimed. Most families have spent a considerable amount of money to get their children ready for the new school year. In order to protect against loss of sneakers, clothes, lunch bags, school bags etc…you are urged to write your child’s name with a permanent marker on all of these items so if retrieved it can be easily returned to the children.

Terry Fox / Kids Eat Smart WalkOnce again, we are delighted to inform you that MQW students will be participating in the Terry Fox / Kids Eat Smart Walk. More information will be shared shortly. Let’s hope for a warm, sunny day on Thursday, September 27th, 2018.

MQW Website and TwitterWe are currently in the process of updating our website. We will post information, memos and newsletters for your reading pleasure. Please visit the website for up to date information. www.maryqueenoftheworld.comDon’t forget to follow us on Twitter

Important Dates:

Thursday, September 13th: Curriculum Night 7:00pm

Friday, September 14th: Pizza Day

Wednesday, September 26th :School Lunch Starts

Friday, October 5th: PD tentative Date

Thursday, October 11th: Grade Immunizations

Tuesday, October 16th: Picture Day

Have a Great First Month of School