Ross Glen Road Runner Reporter
2021-2022 Start Up
Preparing for a Successful 2021-2022 School Year
Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year!
We hope you enjoyed the summer break and your children are excited about starting the new school year.
As always, please reach out to me with questions or concerns and we can work as a team to meet the needs of your child(ren) as they continue to grow their educational journey. You can reach me by phoning the school (Monday-Friday) or through email (natosha.mastel@sd76.ab.ca). I always do my best to return calls and emails in a timely manner.
Ross Glen Staff
TEACHING STAFF
Early Learning Program (ELP): Ms. BlythKindergarten: Mrs. J. Johnson
Play and Learn: Mrs. L. Tumback
Grade 1: Mrs. M. Brudevold
Grade 1/2 combined: Mrs. K. Biech
Grade 2: Mrs. S. Boodhoo
Grade 3: Ms. K. Fuerst and Mrs. T. Pfeifer
Grade 4: Mrs. E. Gebhardt and Mr. M. Tschritter
Grade 5: Mrs. S. Mandel and Miss J. Roth
Grade 6: Mrs. S. Barnes and Miss A. McDougall
Literacy and Numeracy Support teacher: Mrs. Paynter
Classroom Support Teacher (CST): Mrs. H. Gust
FSLW: Nick Paquin
Success Coach: TBD
Vice-Principal: Miss A. Weisgerber
Principal: Ms. N. Mastel
SUPPORT STAFF
Educational Assistants: Mrs. Cottrell, Mrs. Neufeld, Miss Sulz, Mrs. Henders, Mrs. McNaughton, Mrs. Czember, Mrs. Seitz, and Mrs. Vargo
Administrative Assistant: Miss J. Foster
Library Clerk: Mrs. Woolridge
Custodial Staff: Mr. C. Vick, Mrs. Caceres and Mrs. L. Lewis
Teachers on leave:
Mrs. Campbell
Mrs. Ast
Bell Times
Doors unlock at 8:05am - students can enter the school and go directly to their classroom
Grades 1-6
Warning Bell: 8:15amInstructional block: 8:20-2:40 (recess and lunch times are staggared)
Dismissal: 2:40pm
Kindergarten
Morning Program Afternoon Program
Warning Bell: 8:15 Instruction: 12:00-2:40
Instruction: 8:20-11:00
School Supplies
Parents are responsible for purchasing school supplies for their children this year. There is a list on our Ross Glen School website if you have not purchased these items yet:
https://rossglen.mhpsd.ca/news/what_s_new/2021_-_2022_school_supply_list
Please bring supplies on the first day of school labelled with your child’s name.
Due to the amount that children will be washing their hands/sanitizing, you may want to send a small bottle of lotion with them.
Daily Health Check
Each day, before leaving home, staff, students, visitors, and volunteers who will access the school for work or education, must self-screen for symptoms of common cold, influenzas, COVID-19 and other infectious respiratory diseases. By completing the Alberta Health Daily Checklist before leaving the home, members of the school community are committing to working to ensure that no one attends to a school building with COVID-19 symptoms.
Meet YOUR Teacher
All families should receive an email from their child(ren)'s teacher with an introduction email/letter and a video at the end of the day on August 26 or on the morning of August 27th. The email will inform you of who your child's teacher is for the 2021-2022 school year and will reinforce the process for the first day (Monday, August 30) and which door the class will be entering through for the school year.
Class Cohorts
We will follow health guidelines and create cohorts of students by grade levels. ELP, Kindergarten, and grade levels for 1-6 class will form their own cohort. Within the school, students will stay with their cohort. We will have 2 separate recess times, one for grades K-3 and one for grades 4-6.
First Day of School
Students will arrive between 8:00 and 8:15 (normally arrival is after 8:05, but the first day will be busier).
Teachers will be at a location by their door, holding up a sign with their name on it. Students should recognize the teacher from the video, but the sign will make it easier for the students to locate the teacher.
The warning bell will ring at 8:15 and the teacher and students will enter the school through their designated door. If 2 or 3 classes are using the same door, the teachers will coordinate who goes first into the school. This is a time for the teachers to teach the students which door they will always access, and will teach them to sanitize their hands when they get into the school, and as they enter their classroom.
At the end of the day, teachers will take their class outside to the same spot where they met in the morning. This will allow parents to meet their children (ensuring physical distancing from classroom cohort and other parent), or send them off on their walk/bike home, or to catch the bus.
Designated cohort doors:
Front main door
Ms. Barnes (Gr. 6)
Mrs. Mandel (Gr. 5)
Kindergarten door
Mrs. Johnson (Kindergarten)
Miss Roth (Gr. 5)
Division 1 door (back of school- in previous years grades 1-3 used this door)
Mrs. Brudevold (Gr. 1)
Mrs. Biech (Gr. 1/2)
Mrs. Boodhoo (Gr. 2)
Portable door
Mrs. Pfeifer (Gr. 3)
Ms. Fuerst (Gr. 3)
Division 2 door (back of school - in previous years grades 4-6 used this door)
- Miss McDougall (Gr. 6)
- Mrs. Gebhardt (Gr. 4)
- Mr. Tschritter (Gr. 4)
ELP classroom Door
Ms. Blyth (ELP)
More information will be sent home in an email from your child(ren)'s teacher(s).
Masks
*A guest, with respect to masking, is any person not part of the cohort. (Principal, EA not part of the cohort, Custodian, etc.)
It is helpful if your child becomes familiar with putting on, wearing, and taking off a mask to support the transition when school starts.
Regular SCHOOL ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL
Students can enter the school at their designate door at 8:05 (a bell will ring) and go directly to their classroom where the teacher will be to supervise.
Children who have lockers will not go to their lockers until their teacher permits them to go put their stuff in their lockers at the appropriate time. This is to ensure we don't have too many students at the locker area at once.
The warning bell will ring at 8:15. With the strict guidelines, due to COVID, it is very important that students arrive between 8:05 and 8:15. ALL doors (including the front ) will be locked shortly after the bell.
Late students will have to sign in at the office and we have to ensure physical distancing occurs in the office.
Instructional day is from 8:20 to 2:40. Recesses and lunches are staggered so we limit how many students are outside/moving in the school at a time.
If you are picking your child up throughout the day, for appointments or if they are sick etc., please call the office and we will have them wait in the office. Parents will need to sign their child out.
If you are dropping something off for your child, please call the school and someone will come to the door and we will ensure your child receives the item(s).
If you are picking up your child at the end of the day, please arrange a meeting spot that ensures physical distancing from other families and school cohorts.
Staggered Recess and Lunch Times
- We will be offering 3 different recess times during both morning, and 2 different lunch recess times making for smaller groups of students outside during recess.
- Students will also need to stay with their homeroom class cohort group in their designated recess area each recess. We will have a rotating schedule so students can enjoy different areas of our field and playground.
- Students and staff will not be required to wear masks while outside for recess.
- Playgrounds will not be cleaned between uses, however students will sanitize their hands before and after utilizing the equipment to help mitigate risk.
- All students will eat lunch in their classroom. As always, students are not to share food, utensils, or drinks. Students will be hand washing and hand sanitizing regularly throughout the school day. Students must be able to manage their lunch and snack items independently. Please practice opening containers with your children.
Sickness While At School
- No person should enter the school if they have symptoms of COVID-19.
- We ask parents of children who have a pre-existing condition with symptoms similar to COVID to contact the school to provide this information. This will allow us to update our computer system with the necessary information.
- Each day, before leaving home, staff, students, visitors, and volunteers who will access the school for work or education, must self-screen for symptoms of common cold, influenzas, COVID-19 and other infectious respiratory diseases. By completing the Alberta Health Daily Checklist before leaving the home, members of the school community are committing to working to ensure that no one attends to a school building with COVID-19 symptoms.
Visitors in the school
Once permitted in the school all parents and visitors must sign in at the office. If an emergency situation arises, we can ensure all students, staff and visitors are accounted for whether we remain in the building or evacuate. When you sign in, we will provide you with a visitor pass so all adults and children know you have signed into the school.
Honoring our Instructional Time
Safety
Transportation 2021-22
School bussing during the upcoming school year will be the most challenging place for us to support physical distancing and respiratory hygiene.
We are encouraging families to have their children walk or ride their bikes to school or to drive their children to and from school whenever possible in order to reduce the number of riders on each bus.
REGISTER TO RIDE
We will continue with rider registration for the 2021-2022 school year. Students that will ride the bus at any point during the year will only be permitted to ride the bus if they are registered.
In order to apply for 2021-22 school bus transportation please:
email: robert.olson@sd76.ab.ca; or
call: 403.528.6572
RIDER ELIGIBILITY
The Board may provide transportation service for resident students in the following categories:
- Students within the school division boundaries who reside over 2.4km from their designated school.
- Grades K-6 students residing beyond 1.2km from their designated school.
School bus transportation is provided by our partners at Southland Transportation. If your child's bus is late or if you have questions about scheduling or routes please contact Southland Transportation at 403.526.4655.
Some students who have been permitted to ride in the past, but who do not qualify under provincial regulations or MHPSD policy, may not be permitted to continue to ride in the 2021-2022 school year. These measures will allow us to provide appropriate contact tracing if someone tests positive for COVID-19 and has used school bus transportation.
SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION - GUIDELINES
- Students in Grades 4–12 who are physically, psychologically or developmentally able to wear a mask will be required to do so.
- Parents and children/students should not be in the pick-up area or enter the bus if they have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Our service provider, Southland Transportation, will provide clear expectations to families around school bus behaviour.
- Drivers will be provided with a protective zone.
- Students will be assigned seats and a record of this seating plan will be kept to assist with contact tracing. Students who live in the same household may be seated together.
- Schools will develop procedures for student loading, unloading and transfers that support physical distancing when possible.
- If en route to school, upon arrival, the student will move directly to the isolation space and arrangements will be made for parents to pick up the child/student. If a driver becomes aware of a child that is symptomatic after school, they will communicate with the school to get the child home as safely and as quickly as possible.
- En route to school, unless the parent is present, no student will be denied access onto the bus if they are symptomatic. However, after school, any child that is symptomatic will not be permitted access on the school bus.
- Buses will be sanitized after every trip to prepare for the next bus cohort.
Ways to Connect
There are many ways to stay in touch with our school.
Please feel free to connect with us through our multiple platforms.
Our website is: http://rossglen.mhpsd.ca/
Email: rossglen@sd76.ab.ca
School Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RossGlenSchoolMedHat/
Twitter: @RossGlenSchool
Contact Us
Email: rossglen@sd76.ab.ca
Website: http://www.rossglen.ca/
Phone: 403-529-2960
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RossGlenSchoolMedHat/
Twitter: @RossGlenSchool