Our school will continue to use School Messenger to communicate need-to-know information to families in a timely and efficient way.

The “Communicate” system allows us to share important school information with families via text, email or phone message. We will use this tool for urgent items like event cancellations or school emergencies. We may also use it for sharing information such as upcoming progress reports, school council meetings, weekly updates or special events.

Registered parents/guardians will receive these messages through contact information collected in our student information system. Parents/guardians may choose how to receive these alerts by text message, email or phone call with the exception of emergency events which will always be communicated via all contact methods on file with the school. If parents/guardians choose to receive text messages, they must opt-in due to potential charges from their cell phone carrier.

It is important that parents/guardians ensure schools have the most up-to-date contact information at the beginning of the school year. If your contact information changes during the school year, parents/guardians are asked to contact the school with the updated information.

In addition, teachers and coaches/leaders of extra-curricular activities will also be able to take advantage of an instant message option to keep students and families up to date regarding classroom activities or practices/games in a timely manner. Students and parents/guardians will be invited to join a group and receive messages related specifically to their group. Information on how to join groups will be shared directly with students and families by the teacher, coach/leader.

School Messenger App Account

All of our new electronic communications tools can be accessed anytime, anywhere online and/or via Smartphones. To take advantage of this new convenience and functionality, we encourage you to create a School Messenger account on your desktop, laptop, tablet and/or download the School Messenger app. While an account is not required to use these new tools, it will allow you to review your contact information and communication preferences, and it stores all of your messages in one place. Please watch the video below for more details.

As the weather gets colder, please be aware that buses may be delayed or cancelled. Families should ensure they are signed up to receive direct notifications, either by email, or Tri-Board’s app. Delays and cancellations are also posted to Tri-Board’s Twitter account. Please have a back-up plan and transportation home if your child's bus is cancelled! A reminder that supervision of students is not available until 8:55 am. Please do not drop off your child at school before that time.

· Subscribe by email to specific bus routes

· Instructions on how to download the BusPlanner Delays App

· Follow TriBoard on Twitter

Please call the school's attendance line (1-855-257-9349) if your child is going to be late or absent. Our attendance system is automated and will call you if we do not know the reason for your child's absence or late arrival. You can also report an absence using the SchoolMessenger app.

• Park only in designated spots. *No parking or stopping in the bus lane at the south side of the school* Please do not drive into the playground area.
• Do not drop your child off before 8:55 am as there is no supervision until that time.
• Wait for your child at the front entrance of the school at the end of the day.
• Dismissal is at 3:30 and students will be dismissed at this time. *If end of day bus or pick up plans change, please make sure to let the office know as early as possible in order to make sure there is time to notify your child and staff*
• If your child is registered to ride a bus we ask that you not drive them to and from school on a regular basis as this will help limit the amount of car traffic and congestion at the busiest times of the day.

Thank you for your assistance!

Information has been sent home with each student. The following items in particular deserve special mention:

1. STUDENT DATA VERIFICATION FORM

Please review and update carefully all four pages of the printed information on your child’s Data Verification Form, and return it as soon as possible. We cannot stress enough that the information on this form is essential for us at the school to respond properly to emergency situations. If your child takes medication at school or has a medical condition that we need to be aware of, please note it in the “Medical” section. If any information changes over the course of the year (address, phone number....anything), please be sure to notify us promptly so that if an emergency should occur, we can respond with accurate, up-to-date information.

2. STUDENT ACCIDENT INSURANCE

Some parents/guardians may have Dental/Health insurance coverage through their employer, but many of these plans are limited in one way or another. The Limestone District School Board makes available, without any gain for itself, a Student Accident Protection Program. Various plans are available, but the Basic is around $17.00 per year. A recent claim under the $8.00 plan was the result of a child sliding down a snowbank on the way to school. Immediate dental treatment was $2,980 and future dental costs could reach $4,600. Information is contained in the Student Accident Insurance envelope in this package. The Limestone District School Board policy requires insurance coverage for every student who is on a sports team in any school under the Board’s jurisdiction.

3. School Day Secure Key Card match sign up

Information sheets were sent home with families who are new to our school or have not yet registered for School Day, an online payment system. If you have not received this information, please contact our main office administrator.

On October 7, staff and students will be taking part in the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope.

We are honored to support and continue the legacy of Terry Fox! We are proud of this amazing tradition at our school and are looking forward to learning more about Terry Fox through various classroom activities and raising funds for cancer research. Through our participation, we hope to encourage leadership in our students and create positive agents of change in our wonderful school community.

Any amount of donation is greatly appreciated. To donate, you can visit https://schools.terryfox.ca/BathPS and follow the follow the prompts.

We are very excited to be a part of this year’s Terry Fox Walk/Run. This is our opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those suffering from cancer. We hope you will join us as our Bath PS school community bands together in the fight against cancer.

Thank you in advance for your support!

It's that time of year! Our first School Advisory Council meeting and elections for Executive Positions is coming up very soon! The first SAC Meeting of the 2022-23 school year is on Wednesday, October 5th at 6:30 pm.

We warmly welcome all parents to be a part of any and every council meeting, whether you are an elected member or a parent who would just like to listen in and hear more about what is going on at Bath PS. Meetings usually include an administrator's sharing component, reports from members in particular positions (treasurer, chairs etc) and some discussion items. We will meet in our school library and babysitting for school age children will be available.

At our first meeting we will take nominations for executive positions. Please use the link Here to submit nominations. Nominations are anonymous and you can nominate yourself or someone else for a position. The person you nominate must be available to be present at the meeting. Your nomination does not count as a vote; you must be present to vote. Nominations are due by 4:00pm on Tuesday, October 4th.

Below are a description of the responsibilities and duties of each executive position:

CHAIR/CO CHAIR- chief administrators of SAC- creates meeting agendas, liaisons between parents, school, administration and staff. Coordinates and supports volunteers, publishes newsletters, chairs Council meetings, keeps in touch with all coordinators. If Co-Chairs are elected than the two parties will share the duties.

TREASURER - duties include handling all Council money, produces financial statements/reports and presents these at monthly meetings.

SECRETARY - duties include attendance at Council meetings, recording minutes at monthly meetings and distribution to appropriate parties, maintains records as necessary.

And while we don't vote on the following position, MEMBERS AT LARGE play a very important role. Every parent/guardian is welcome to attend any and all Council Meetings throughout the year!

MEMBERS AT LARGE - along with the executive, SAC relies on the parent community to come to meetings and have a say in issues that affect our students. There is no need to nominated these members. We need parent representation to vote on how our fundraising efforts are allocated and to volunteer at various events and initiatives throughout the school year. Everyone is welcome!

Milk orders and Hot Lunch orders will soon be sent out to families via a School Day email. Signing up through this online portal will allow your child to receive these orders. Please ensure you check your inbox as well as your "junk" or "other" areas so that you do not miss the opportunity to order. The Hot Lunch and Milk Orders will begin in the week of October 17.

How Can I Ensure our family is receiving School Day emails?

• Sign up with your child's unique secure key code at http://www.school-day.com
• Within School Day, go to settings (gear icon) and ensure that you have your preferences set to receive email notifications. Without this setting turned on, you will have to
• You can also often set a "rule" within your email account/platform (Outlook, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.) to have emails from School Day go directly to your inbox, i.e. "this is not junk".

• Sept. 26 P.A. Day ( No School for students)
• Sept. 30 Orange Shirt Day, National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
• Oct. 5 School Advisory Council meeting and elections
• Oct. 6 School Open House
• Oct. 7 Terry Fox Walk/Run
• Oct. 10 Thanksgiving Holiday
• Oct. 11 School Picture Day