PARENT HANDBOOK

Our Faculty

Colleen Murray, Founder & Director

Leslie Bremner, Principal, Grades 4-5

Emily Gock, K-1

Sue Mercer, Grades 2-3

Sam Gaudette, Grades 6-7

And a whole back-up team comprised of:

Grant Freeman, Intermediate Music

Allison Shaw, Primary Music

Pat Andrews, Educational Support

Michael Barry, French & PE

Lois Riley, Career Education Grades 2-7

Our Students

All of us have come to this school for our children; to offer them an inspiring and nurturing environment. To help them to grow into free-thinking and creative individuals who will go on as responsible and moral beings, capable of affecting positive change in our world.

Our Parents (PAC)
All parents are part of the PAC as long as your child is enrolled at Arrowsmith Independent School. The Parent Association is a vital part of maintaining a vibrant and welcoming school community. PAC members volunteer to help with fundraising for field trips and other special events throughout the year.

Our Community

As a community school, Arrowsmith Independent gives us the chance to grow socially, emotionally, spiritually, and practically as we work together towards the common goal mentioned above. As part of a living learning community, we support each other as we move in and out of our comfort zones to plan events, meet challenges, offer suggestions and attend community gatherings. Embrace the experience of lifelong learning!

Potlucks

Arrowsmith Independent School Potlucks are a welcome tradition during the school year, a chance for everyone to meet, socialize, and EAT! We are asking for parents to either bring their own dishes to our events or help with clean up afterwards. Also, we would like to remind families to bring healthy, homemade dishes if possible. Remember to label your serving dishes with your name to make it easier to return.

Communication

Strong communication between parents, staff, and faculty is crucial to the inclusion of everyone in the success of events, parent education sessions, social functions, etc. Communication is also the key to community…the backbone of our school.

Parents can find out about what is happening via email, parent’s cubby box in the lobby, or by reading the bulletin board.

**It is your responsibility to ensure you keep yourself informed. Please notify the office immediately if your email or telephone # has changed, and check your cubby before and after family or scheduled school holidays.

All Community Meeting is a mandatory ‘touchstone’ meeting held two to three times a year to ensure that all families get a chance to meet with Directors and Faculty and discuss our school vision collectively.

Suggestions/Comments are welcome and encouraged best by email or in writing to ensure they are addressed in a timely manner. Anonymous suggestions can be made by placing suggestions in an envelope under the office door.

Parent/Teacher Interviews are generally scheduled in November and March through your class Teacher (see school calendar).

Phone/Email List will be made available to parents the first month of the school year, only contact info from the registration form will be used. Please only use the phone list for school reasons not marketing or sales, if you have a service or product to promote send a notice to the office so it may be posted on the bulletin board. If you do not wish to be on the list, please contact the office.

Conflict Resolution

Communication challenges are part of the human experience and recognizing that help is needed is essential. There are procedures in place for dispute resolution which can be found in the Appeals Policy in the School Policy Binder in the Main Office.

Expectations of Adults in Arrowsmith Independent School Community

As adults, we are modeling behavior for our children and would ask that issues be discussed in an objective and respectful way at an appropriate time and place. The expectation of Arrowsmith Independent School Adults is to discuss PREFERENCES over DEMANDS and SOLUTIONS over POSITIONS.

Gauging our own responses to certain circumstances is the first step, and we recommend that parents/teachers wait at least one or two days before entering discussions on an emotionally charged issue. Talk and listen during discussions and work together towards a solution for all involved.

If you are having a problem or concern regarding your child, take time to be clear on the issue, and then make an appointment to speak to your class teacher.

If your concern involves an adult, please speak to the individual first in an appropriate location (ie. Not in the parking lot or in front of the children.)

You can ALWAYS ask for assistance in approaching a conflict situation from the Director or a Faculty member.

If necessary, you may request a third party be present by contacting the Director. If a solution still cannot be found, a professional mediator may be called in, paid for by all parties involved.

Exit Interviews are typically held with families that leave the school for any number of reasons. Arrowsmith Independent School sees these events as a chance to allow families to comment and for the school to take away any learning opportunities

Questions/Concerns

ASK AWAY! As a quick guide, here’s who to ask in certain situations but just ASK if you have a question!

For questions about:

Finances – Colleen Murray, Director

Curriculum – Class Teacher

Administration/School Policy – Office Manager or Director

About Volunteering/Events – Office Manager or Director

Student Behavior/Discipline

Arrowsmith Independent School faculty and supervising staff/parents strive to provide consistent boundaries that are expected to be followed. Preference is given to positive reinforcement and natural/logical consequences whenever possible to encourage self-determination, responsibility and problem solving in our children. Teachers, supervising adults, and parents on-site are expected to model appropriate behavior so that students can learn respect, politeness, and a caring attitude. Consequences of misbehavior and solutions are determined on a case-by-case basis with physical, social, emotional, and intellectual developmental stages, personality, and any other circumstances outside of school in consideration. Severity of the behavior and its impact on the school community will also be considered.

Teachers prefer to work together with parents to address concerns in the best interest of the child, and of the other children in the classroom. The Student Behavior and Discipline Policy can be found in the School Policy Binder in the main school office.

First Incident – Verbal Warning

Second Incident – Phone call home

Third Incident – Student is sent home for the day

Fourth Incident – Parent/Student/Teacher meet to discuss behavior issues with possibility of suspension

*Physically or verbally abusive behavior, bullying, vandalism, theft, or extremely disruptive or disturbing behavior will not be tolerated, and are grounds for suspension or expulsion.

Safeguarding personal information of parents and students is a fundamental concern of Arrowsmith Independent School. The school is committed to meeting or exceeding the privacy standards established by British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) and any other applicable legislation. Our Privacy Policy is available to you in the School Policy Binder in the Main School Office.

Parent Information and School Policy

Pick-up/Drop-off

School begins at 8:30. Being on time demonstrates responsibility to your child and prevents the disruption of classroom routine. After three late arrivals, the teacher will want to discuss with you as a family to look at solutions. Teachers are preparing for their day with your children so please keep discussions to a minimum. Make appointments to discuss your child’s behavior, progress or any other concern that will take time to fully engage in.

Pick-up of children is at 3:00 Mon – Thurs. and 12:30 on Fri. Call if you are going to be late and to report any carpooling or change of pick-up arrangements to the school ASAP.

*Please ensure that the office has the correct/up to date Authorization Pickup with information on who may pick-up your child from school. After 3:15 or 12:45 you will be charged $10 per half hour or any part of a half hour after above times.

Field Trips

Parents must sign a consent form for each child attending a field trip. These will be made available by class teachers or office staff. Sufficient supervision will be sought among parents as well as teachers and class assistants. Driving/Carpooling parents require a

valid driver’s license and insurance with minimum $2 million liability on file at the school in advance of the field trip. Vehicle must have adequate seat belts and booster seats.

Lunches and Snack

Please pack healthy food for your child that is sufficient enough to get them through a busy day. A non-toxic water bottle is also a good idea, especially in warmer months.

Appropriate Attire

We aim to create an authentic environment for learning that focuses on people, not things. With a goal to reduce peer pressure, we ask that children wear comfortable, age/weather appropriate, and simple clothing.

Arrowsmith Independent School discourages the following:

Logos, brands, caricatures, death or media based images i.e. Dora, Barbie, Glee, skulls
Exposed mid-drifts, spaghetti straps, short skirts or shorts
Cosmetics, excessive jewelry

A cubby for extra clothes is also provided and should include rain pants/coat/rain boots, extra sun/winter hats, gloves, indoor shoes-Not Slippers, runners for daily use and a complete change of clothing for the season, extra underwear and socks for younger students.

Media

It is becoming more widely recognized in mainstream society that electronic media and television are not healthy for growing minds…creating a more passive relationship to the world. Arrowsmith Independent School focuses on developing a child’s creative capacities to become active problem solvers, and patient, long-term and integrated thinkers.

Arrowsmith Independent School discourages exposure to electronic media.

However, if your family is already on the electronic media path, we would like parents to think about and practice the following guidelines out of respect for younger children and families who do not engage in media.

Limit television/movie watching to one day per week
Watch with your children, to assure what they are watching is age appropriate

During school hours, Arrowsmith Independent School discourages

Talk about television shows and video games
Bringing cell phones, iPods or other electronic game systems with them

Children who bring these devices with them to school will have them put away until the end of the day.

Illness/Attendance

Please keep your child home if they are sick. Teachers encourage hand washing throughout the day. Encourage your child to wash their hands after they get home from school, to prevent the spread of germs.

Arrowsmith Independent School will do their best to inform parents via email, note, or telephone call of any health issues that arise that may affect the school community as a whole ie. lice, chicken pox, etc.

So, please check your email , cubby or voicemail regularly!

Arrowsmith Independent School will only dispense medication to a child under written authority from parents.

Absent Notes for Students in K to 7

Parents must fill out an absence slip for each period of time their child is away from school, located by the bulletin board in the main school foyer. Please keep answers clear and simple. These notes are necessary for our Ministry funding and are reconciled by the accountant during the May attendance audit. Sick, cold/flu, Doctor/Dentist appointments, emotional/mental or homesick days would be considered a sick day. Family vacations taken outside of the school holiday schedule must be discussed before leaving with your child’s teacher and have homework assigned in order to be a valid excuse for absence.

If the office or Teacher writes out absent notes, please fill out reason and sign and return as soon as possible. Please return to labeled envelope on the bulletin board in the main school foyer. If student file information is requested please bring to the office. Blank forms can be requested from the office.

** Parents will be asked to reimburse the school for Ministry of Education funding lost due to too many or unexcused absences.

School Closures

In the event of inclement weather or an emergency, you will be called by your child’s teacher or the office staff. In the event that teachers and staff are unable to get a hold of you to pick up your child, staff will remain with your child at the school until you are contacted. In the rare event it is not safe to wait at the school, children and staff will be transported to the nearest RDN emergency shelter/meeting place.

We do not reimburse tuition for lost days due to bad weather, power outages or illness quarantine.

Note: The school is equipped with a phone that is operational during power outages unless communications are down as well.

Please contact the Office is you would like access to the Arrowsmith Independent School Policy Binder or for any questions relating to school policies.