Parent Information

Parents are encouraged to contact the school if their child/children will be absent or late for school. The school phone number is 780-962–8787. If it is before 8:30 a.m. there will be an answering machine for you to leave a message. Please include the name of your child, the reason for their absence and their teacher. Information provided on the St. Marguerite Catholic School Registration Form is used in tracking a child who is absent from school in the event we are not contacted. It is extremely important for the safety of your child that the school is notified of any change in telephone numbers or email addresses at home or at work. It is also important that we have an emergency contact number in case we cannot contact a parent or guardian.

St. Marguerite School will provide an atmosphere for both students and staff, which respects the rights and freedoms of all individuals to grow, learn and work. The administration, in consultation with our staff, have developed our sense of community and build it around three simple positive tenets that children can understand and be given concrete reinforcement for: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect Property. Any behaviours or conduct, which do not comply with these three simple tenets, will be considered inappropriate.

Administration approaches each student conduct issue referred to them as “a problem to be solved.” Students may need to work through a process to identify alternatives to their behaviours. Follow-up and monitoring to support better choices is an important part of this approach. Our administration is committed to communicating this process to parents. We document incidents, track problem areas and relationships. We work closely with our school counsellor with follow-up, should repeat behaviours warrant further intervention. 

In the best interests of students, we ask you to please respect the following procedures:

• Under no circumstances may a volunteer or parent in the school discipline or reprimand other parents’ children. If you witness something you believe needs adult intervention, please report it immediately to the nearest staff member or the office.
• All visitors are expected to check in at the office during school hours.
• Volunteers who have completed the appropriate Criminal Record Check and Confidentiality Agreement, will be provided with a name tag that must be worn while in the school.

We believe that effective problem solving occurs when those most directly affected by a problem situation are involved in its resolution. Consequently, we request that the following protocol be followed in addressing parental concerns:

• Discuss the situation with the teacher or staff member.
• If a situation cannot be resolved at that level, discuss your concern with the administrative team – principal and/or assistant principal.
• Concerns that are of a general school nature should be discussed with the administration of the school.

Student safety and traffic movement efficiency are the principles that guide our parking and drop off procedures. If you are dropping off or picking up your child, please obey all school parking lot signs and bus lane signs. All parent/visitor parking for both St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School and St. Marguerite Catholic School will be in front (north) of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School.

There are “drop-off” and “pick-up” zones on the west side of St. Marguerite Catholic School. These zones are intended for parents to stay in the vehicle and they are not to be a parking spot. If you intend to leave your vehicle you will need to park in other designated parking areas. Please refer to the traffic flow map on the school website. We ask that all visitors and parents use the marked crosswalks to and from the school. We appreciate your cooperation to ensure student safety and traffic movement efficiency.

The staff at St. Marguerite Catholic School pays close attention to weather conditions. We do not send our children outside if conditions are not appropriate for an enjoyable recess break.

Cancellation of Recess and Indoor Mornings: Recess is important to children in that it provides a break from regular school routine, a chance to get some fresh air, and an opportunity to run off excess energy. An indoor, supervised recess break will occur when

the temperature, combined with wind chill is below -20℃. When students arrive for school and the weather is below -20℃, we will have an “Indoor Day” sign on the front sidewalk telling students to go directly in their entrance.

In the event of extreme weather conditions, announcements of bus cancellations will be made on various radio stations and on the ECSRD website http://www.ecsrd.ca as well as Parkland School Division http://www.psd70.ab.ca When weather or road conditions deteriorate during the school day, a decision mandating the early dismissal of bus students may be made (by the department of transportation and the Superintendent of Evergreen C.S.R.D. #2) and broadcast on all the designated radio stations. Please ensure

an alternate contact for your child is listed in our office record system. If busses leave early, we will need to get in touch with you or an alternate to ensure that your child will have someone waiting for them when they get off the bus. Your child’s safety is our first concern.

First aid is administered to any child experiencing an injury at school. If the injury is a minor scratch or bump, first aid is administered and no school contact is made with the home. If the injury or illness is more than a minor one, the student’s parents are notified by phone. It is therefore extremely important that you provide the school office with current home and emergency telephone numbers.

The administration of medication is the responsibility of the student’s parent or guardian. In special circumstances when a student must take medication during school hours, school staff will assist. Given the young age of the students at St. Marguerite School, it is not a safe practice for students to administer medication to themselves. The following guidelines and procedures are required.

• A signed request from the parent indicating the type of medication to be administered, required dosage and action to be taken in the event of possible hazards or side effects should be given to the office staff.
• A request form is available on our website, AUTHORIZATION FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION.
• Discuss the medication and administration with your child’s teacher.
• A medication file on your child will be kept in the office.

Normally children who are too ill to go outside for recess are encouraged to remain at home. This is particularly true in the case of severe colds or flu. Children who come to school with severe colds or high fevers are unable to function well in class and often provide a source of infection for other children.

St. Marguerite is an allergy safe or allergy aware environment rather than an allergy “free” environment. The management of students at risk of life-threatening allergies is a shared responsibility among the student, parents, and school staff. We recognize the dangers faced by students and staff with severe reactions to certain allergens. We can not guarantee an allergen-free environment, but will take reasonable steps to ensure a safe environment for students with life-threatening allergies, further to the goal of maintaining an appropriate learning environment for all students

Should an emergency situation occur which leads to the evacuation of the school building, the students and staff will relocate to our designated evacuation site. Calls to the school will automatically be forwarded to the Evergreen C.S.S.D. board office, where parents will be informed of the emergency situation. St. Marguerite Catholic School does have emergency and crisis plans and staff will put these plans into effect should an emergency situation occur. We regularly practice fire drill procedures – a good reason why students should always be wearing shoes.

The reporting process is recognition of learning with an emphasis on celebrating the child’s growth. Parents are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher whenever they have concerns with respect to learning, behaviour and programs. The reporting process is ongoing between home and school throughout the year. 

Evergreen Catholic schools are using ongoing reporting through a new student information system called PowerSchool.  We encourage parents to create a parent account so that they can view their child’s progress throughout the year.

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

November: Student-Parent-Teacher Conference

March: Celebration of Learning takes place

June: A final report and placement recommendation for the following year can be found in PowerSchool.

Basic school supplies are available for purchase from a second party vendor. Parents may pay for supplies directly to this vendor. This payment provides supplies for your child for the school year and are dropped off at the school for the first day of the new school year.

Families who wish to purchase supplies from sources other than the school will be provided with a “supplies list” when registering. Students should have a backpack or book bag and indoor shoes preferably with non-scuffing soles. Look for School Supply ordering information and lists on our website home page in JUNE! 

Please label all of your child’s belongings (shoes, mitts, coats, backpacks, etc.) with a permanent marker. We have two lost and found boxes for clothing, footwear and outerwear. Small miscellaneous items that are found are kept in the office. Unclaimed items are donated to charities.

It is recommended that children not bring “precious, irreplaceable treasures” to school. Although children are filled with good intentions, items do go missing from time to time. We do our best to help children locate missing items, but some items cannot be found. We ask that children not bring toys, trading cards, ipods, phones, etc. to school. The school cannot be held responsible should any items be lost, damaged, or stolen.

Many students choose to ride their bicycles to school when we have fair weather in fall and spring. All bicycles must be locked individually in the bicycle racks located on our school grounds. Please ensure that a safe and durable lock is used. For the safety of all the students, bicycles, roller blades, scooters, and skateboards must not be ridden on school grounds. Students are to dismount and walk their bikes to the bike racks. Bicycle racks are an off limit area during the school day. Students access them only for the purpose of riding to and from school. Roller blades are to be taken off, carried into the school, and stored in a locker. Skateboards should be carried once students arrive on school grounds and stored in a locker during the day. All students riding bicycles, rollerblades and skateboards should wear an appropriate helmet.

The purpose of the School Council is to promote the exchange of ideas and involvement of parents and school staff in matters relating to school programs. The School Council provides a vehicle for parent and staff communication and an opportunity for positive support of the educational vision of St. Marguerite Catholic School. Look for further information on the council in newsletters regarding dates of School Council online meetings.

The Emile Mercier Good Shepherd Award is voted on by the classmates who choose one student, who, in their opinion, best exemplifies the spirit of Christian sharing and caring. The purpose is not to say that only one student deserves the award, but rather that the class chose a particular representative to receive the award on their behalf to reflect the Christian attitude present in all of them. This award is presented at the year-end liturgy.

Bite to Eat is proud to be providing Hot Lunches to St Marguerite Catholic School again this year. They’ll be a variety of homemade, delicious menu options twice a week. Meals provided for students will be prepared fresh daily and with quality ingredients. Hot Lunch days will be on Tuesday and Thursday. Bite to Eat will have 2 rotating weekly specials as well as 15 standard menu options to choose from. You’ll be able to order online for the entire year. at stmarguerite.hotlunches.net or bitetoeat.ca. Our Code is BITE 

Lockers are assigned to students. Because some students share lockers and because of the age of the children at St. Marguerite Catholic School, locks are not permitted. Lockers are cleaned out periodically by our custodial staff to ensure a safe and healthy environment, but students and parents are encouraged to check the lockers often, particularly for leftover food.

Students eat lunch with adult supervision. Staff members provide supervision for students boarding buses after school. Playground supervision is not provided after school. Students are asked not to use the playground after school unless their parent is present to supervise them.