From the Principal’s Desk
 February 2010
From the Principal’s Desk
There are so many things to talk about this month! We continue to be very proud of the achievement of our students. They have learned so much socially and academically due to the efforts of our entire school community, including our volunteers. It is indeed a pleasure and honour to be the principal at Beavercrest.
The Ministry of Education has been very busy lately. Today I will discuss Bill 157 Keeping our Kids Safe at School. I will also briefly discuss the information I have received concerning the Early Learning Program (all day kindergarten.
On Feb. 1, 2010 Bill 157: Keeping Our Kids Safe at School will come into effect. It requires all school staff to report all behaviour incidents in writing that could lead to possible suspension or explusion to the principal within 24 hours. These incident can also be things that staff has heard about that have happened off school property. (ie. Cyber-bullying, issues at a community sporting or social event) This helps to teach students that real character is about doing the right thing no matter where you are. They will be held accountable for their actions no matter if they are on or off school property. (This will surely increase the workload for all administrators. However, I know it will be worth it as this is what it will take to build a safer society for all.) The principal then will be required to issue a receipt to the teacher and to indicate whether action has been taken or not. This makes all school staff (including bus drivers) more accountable. Principals
will re required to follow progressive discipline. It also allows the principal to provide information to the parent of the victim to inform them that appropriate action has been taken. As with anything there are exceptions but they will be very rare and would only happen if the safety of the victim or school staff is in question. Due to privacy regulations principals cannot disclose the name(s) of the other student or students involved so there will be no change there. The tracking of these incidents will then allow principals to put plans in place for areas concerning behaviour that need attention at the school level.
At Beavercrest teachers have already been reporting incidents to me verbally so the only difference will be that they must now do it in writing. We also already engage in progressive discipline. Progressive discipline simply means that students need opportunities to be taught how to make better choices and suspension is never the first choice. Younger students get many more chances to learn. However, by the time students are in the intermediate grades they should be very aware of the expectations and at this point in the year you can expect that if they have had repeated issues then suspension will likely be required for certain issues.
Students with identified special needs will receive additional learning opportunities before/if suspension would occur due to their learning style. This is required and has always been taken into account at Beavercrest. We continue to be proactive in addressing any recurrent issues in behaviour. Playfighting continues to be an issue as 95% of the time it leads to a real flight. Please review with your children again that the expectation is that they need to keep their hands and feet to themselves. Pushing, tripping, tackling is not acceptable on a school playground while playing sports or simply playing. I would truly appreciate your help to reinforce this expectation.
I will be visiting junior and intermediate classes next week to inform them of these changes so they have an opportunity to ask questions to ensure that they understand. More information for parents is available at the Ontario Ministry of Education website. Please feel free to call me if you have additional questions as the positive and cohesive partnership between home and school is key in your child’s academic and social development.
The Early Learning Program is a Ministry directive to help Junior and Senior Kindergarten students develop additional skills and to help address daycare issues. Beavercrest was selected as a pilot site for the 2010 – 2011 school year. This program will eventually be included in all schools. Information concerning how the Early Learning Program will look is a work in progress. What I know at this point in time is Bluewater has been allocated a specific number of spaces. Schools were chosen that met specific criteria. Each class will have approximately 26 JK and/or SK students in it depending on the numbers for that school. Each class will have a classroom teacher and a Early Childhood Education worker. There will be an in-school daycare component for only those
students involved and possibly their siblings. (There is still much information to come in this area.) Students who are not in the Beavercrest catchment area CANNOT attend this class. Parents are not legally required to have their children attend school until they are six. As far as I know at this time, parents must make a commitment to either have their students either attend full time or not attend. As we all know, information can change. I will include updates in all future newsletters to ensure that you have as much information as possible. It is likely that the Ontario Ministry of Education will post information on it’s website as new information becomes available. It will be a learning experience for all.
Leigh Morris
Principal
Beavercrest Community School
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