Safety

A safe and welcoming school environment is essential for students to grow and develop in mind, body and spirit. Establishing and maintaining this positive and safe atmosphere is achieved by staff, students, parents/guardians and the community working together.

Security and Signing In

All visitors (parents, relatives, resource personnel, etc.) must report to the office immediately upon entering the school. To facilitate this, all exterior school doors will remain locked during the day. A camera has been installed and our wonderful office staff can buzz you in.

Please be patient with us as we work to maintain safety within our Catholic School Community!

We thank you in advance for helping us to keep our children safe.

Parents may wait for their child outside between the hours of 3:00 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. If you are simply picking up your child, the office will call the student down to the office and will send your child to you. If you are simply dropping something off, please wait until 3:20 p.m., when the secretary is allowed to let you in. This limits and tracks who has access to our students, minimizing interruptions and increasing the safety of all students.

Visitors must sign in and wear a visitor identification tag. When leaving, visitors should sign out at the office and return the tag.

Other Ways That We Keep Our Students Safe

    • We teach our students about Catholic Virtues and conflict resolution strategies.

    • All members of our community support our Code of Conduct .

    • All parents and visitors state their business at the office upon arrival.

    • Students are supervised at all times.

    • Alcohol, smoking, and illicit drugs are strictly prohibited on school property.

    • Medications are distributed and logged according to Board Policy.

    • When students are not going home in the usual manner, a morning note or phone call is required.

    • A safe arrival procedure is in place to alert staff to unexplained student absence.

    • The school community works cooperatively with bus operators to ensure safe bus transportation.

    • Skateboards, scooters, roller blades, and bicycles must be walked on and off of school property.

    • Emergency Response Plans are in place for at-risk students.

    • A School Emergency Preparedness Plan for Crisis Response including evacuation is up-to-date.

    • Fire drills are conducted each term.

    • The school site is inspected regularly.

    • WHMIS protocols are followed.

    • The Kids Help Line number (1-800-668-6868) is included in the student agenda.

    • We seek assistance from Board Social Work personnel.

    • We seek assistance from Board-approved community agencies.

    • Students must sign an Internet Acceptable Use Agreement form for each division of their education at PVNC Catholic District School Board.

Internet Access

The PVNCCDSB School Board is committed to ensuring that the Internet is used to support learning in a manner that is consistent with the Board Mission statement and guiding principles. Our school computers are connected to the Internet by means of the School Board's Wide Area Network. The School Board recognizes that there may be concerns related to Internet usage and has developed an Internet Acceptable Use Agreement.

Once a student has signed the document, he/she will be granted access to the Internet within the scope of the Internet Acceptable Use Agreement. Students must sign a separate Internet Acceptable Use Agreement form for each division of their education at PVNCCDSB: Primary (J.K.-3), Junior-Intermediate (Grades 4-8), Intermediate-Senior (Grades 9-12).For further information, please visit the Board Website for the Safe Surfing Document or contact your local school.

Lockdowns

In the event of an external or internal emergency, a lockdown, hold and secure, shelter in place or an evacuation will be called for the safety and security of all members of the school. Students are to comply with their teacher's directions. Failure to do so may jeopardize their personal security and that of other students. On the advice of local policing authorities, cell phone use is prohibited during a lockdown as it interferes with police communications. Parents will be notified if such an emergency arises once the emergency is over and safety is ensured. Lockdown drills are held over the course of the year to ensure familiarity with the procedures.


Bikes, Scooters, Skateboards, and Roller Blades on School Property

The safety of pedestrians, students, and staff, and those on bicycles, scooters, skateboards, and roller blades is a huge concern for staff, parents, and bus operators. The rule that skateboards, scooters, roller blades, and bicycles must be walked on and off of school property has been in place for many years. This has been discussed with the student population on numerous occasions.

As you can imagine, being a transfer school, we have children and parents from four schools moving about the property.

There are also six school buses, and many vehicles.

If students choose to ride their bikes, scooters, skateboards, and roller blades on school property, they are compromising the safety of other students, parents, and staff. Parents will be notified in writing.

Should a second infraction occur, students will have their bike/skateboard/scooter/roller blades confiscated until the end of the next school day. A third infraction of this rule will result in your child not being allowed to ride to school for a determined number of days.

Please support the school in trying to provide a safer environment for all.