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What times are the morning bell, recess, lunch, and dismissal?Where do kids line up when the bell rings in the morning?
What happens when my child is late?
What is expected when I walk into the school and the Canadian National Anthem is playing?
Is it REALLY pajama day today?
Where do kids eat their lunch and is there any lunch supervision?
Does the school offer before and after school care?
Is there any supervision at lunch, before school, and at recess times?
What happens on really cold weather days?
Where do I look when my child has lost something?
Is it appropriate to contact the teacher via email?
What is School Zone and how do I access it?
Does the school have a running club?
Is there a school choir?
Does the school do any fundraising?
Where can I park when I am dropping off my child?
How do I become part of the Brander Gardens Parent Council?
If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact the school office directly for the most up to date information. Contact information can be found on http://brandergardens.epsb.ca/.
What times are the morning bell, recess, lunch, and dismissal?
As of September 2015 the times are:- First bell: 8:40am
- Morning recess: 10:15 to 10:30am
- Lunch: 11:35am to 12:25pm
- Afternoon classes begin: 12:30pm
- Afternoon recess: 2:05pm to 2:20pm
- Dismissal Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 3:30pm
- Early Dismissal Thursday: 2:24pm
Where do kids line up when the bell rings in the morning?
Most of the grades 1, 2 and K: at the doors facing the Div 1 playground (east side of the school)Most of the grades 3, 4, 5, 6: at the doors facing the Div 2 playground (west side of the school)
What happens when my child is late?
Please go to the school office and get a blue late slip from the secretary to bring back to your classroom teacher.What is expected when I walk into the school and the Canadian National Anthem is playing?
Please stand still and stay silent or sing along until the Anthem is finished. This is expected behaviour of all students, staff, and guests to the school.Is it REALLY pajama day today and how to I ensure my child won't be the only one wearing pj's or not wearing pj's to school?
This is more difficult to determine based on the age of your child and whether you believe what your child tells you or doesn't tell you!Check you childs agenda or the school calendar on School Zone. Otherwise, you may contact the school or your child's teacher.Where do kids eat their lunch and is there any lunch supervision?
There are 3 lunch options.- Go home
- Pay the lunch supervision fee and stay at the school (usually in their classrooms)
- If your child is attending the Brander Gardens After School Parent Association (BGASPA) program, they will eat their lunch in the BGASPA rooms supervised by the BGASPA staff members.
Does the school offer before and after school care?
There is a not-for-profit before and after school care program located with the school; it is called the Brander Gardens After School Parents Association. This program also runs on PD days and over the summer holidays. There is a program for afternoon care for morning kindergarten students. The fees are very reasonable and the care is excellent. And the location couldn't be more handy! For more information on this program please email: bgafterschoolcare@yahoo.ca(There is typically a wait list.)
Is there any supervision at lunch, before school, and at recess times?
Yes, there is one supervisor at the Div. 1 playground (west side of the school) wearing a yellow and orange reflective vest 15 minutes prior to the AM bell. Parents may drop off their children as early as 8:30am at the playground without having to be present. There is also a supervisor during lunch and at recess times.What happens on really cold weather days?
The school has a policy regarding cold weather. You can check the parent handbook for the specifics. If it is determined that it is too cold to venture out, all our active little ones will be kept inside and have a little stretch in their classrooms or just hang out. Let the cabin fever begin! The policy may seem a little extreme in the sense that it has to be pretty darn cold to stay in. But rest assured that once they get all the zillion things that you have to wear to survive a Canadian winter, they really are not outside for that long. And after a few days of having them inside during a cold snap, you and the teachers will be dying to send them back outside again.On that note, make sure that your little peanut can actually get on all his or her winter gear on their own or with very little assistance. Because that poor teacher only has one pair of hands and he/she may actually need to grab a coffee or go to the bathroom before that end of recess bell goes off.
Where do I look when my child has lost something?
Hahaha! If? So funny. WHEN your child loses something here are some place to check. There are 2 'Lost and Found' wooden bins. They are inside the east and west doors of the school. Don't assume that just because you carefully labelled all the belongings of your child, that they will make their way back to them. Labels will, however, help you determine which of the the almost identical black mitts belong to you. If things are left on the playground, they often make their way into these lost and found places. But not always. For example (totally hypothetically of course), if there is a hoodie shoved underneath a portable, you may need to track that down on your own. Or, again, TOTALLY hypothetically, if your child kicks one of their shoes up on top of one of the portables, you should probably make your way to Shoe Company for another pair.Our amazing custodians also lay out all the lost and found items just before the winter break and summer break.
Anything left at the end of the year is donated.
Is it appropriate to contact the teacher via email?
There are lots of ways that you can communicate with your teacher. Typically your teacher will let you know what works best for them. Some of these options are email, notes in your child's agenda, directly just before or just after school, etc. If you need to communicate directly and you have a couple of questions, you may need to schedule a time for that just in case your teacher has to rush off to run a lunch time errand or pick up a child of their own. Email can be a great tool for communicating as these messages can be read and responded to with flexibility.What is School Zone and how do I access it?
All children and their parents have access to School Zone an online area to find school and classroom information.Parents will have been given an account with an access login and password at the time of your child's registration
Does the school have a running club?
Yes, there is a running club for children grades 3 and older. They meet in the fall and spring before school for a little training. There are some cross country runs in the fall and some track meets in the spring.Is there a school choir?
Yes, there are division 1 and 2 choirs. They are optional and typically they meet for practice at lunchtime recess to practice. Your child should bring home an info sheet regarding choir and what day the practices are etc (unless your child is MY child and he tosses this sheet because he just wants to play at recess and he knows that I will want him to do choir.) The choirs do a little extra performing at the Christmas time concert, at parent appreciation events, etc. There are 2 very talented music teachers at our school and we are lucky to have them. Our concerts are awesome! And rest assured, even if your child isn't in choir, they will still participate in the Christmas concert.Does the school do any fundraising?
The parent council does do some fundraising. The main fundraiser is the casino that we volunteer at over 2 days every 2 years. It is a small amount of time to commit for a lot of money to support our kids. When the time comes, we have about 45 or so 6-8 hour shifts to fill. Don't be shy about volunteering! It is for a great cause. Our casino revenue money has purchased all our smart boards, computers and paid for a of field trips and lots of other things.We also sell the Student Union Ticket Pack books every fall. There are a few other things that we do such as Mabel's labels and the cute artwork cards that we have had. Parent council tries not to overwhelm families with fundraisers but rather to offer things that are optional that you might like to have anyway.
You can make a donation to the school at any time- it is tax deductible! Mrs. Kwasniewski would have more information on that.
Where can I park when I am dropping off my child?
Parking can be tough at the peak hours of just before and just after school. First off, there are a couple places where you CAN'T park such as in school crosswalk, the Disabled Parking Zone and in the school bus parking. If you are there, you may here your car description and license plate number being called over the PA system to move your car. Eeks. No one wants that. Also, it is very unsafe to be parked in crosswalk or the no parking zones on either side of it. The same applies to the teachers parking lot.There is some parking along the street just in front of the school. You can also park on the road just west of the school along the field. You can also park on the block west of the school and cross at the lights. All good options and safe for our kids!
Please avoid U-turns in front of the school. If you follow the road it will take you back to Riverbend Road and a much easier intersection for left turns.
