School Procedures

 

Safe Arrival Program

The purpose of this program is to ensure that all students have arrived at school safely.  If they are not at school, we need to confirm that they are safe and accounted for by their parents/guardians.

• When attendance is taken by the classroom teacher, the office is notified of any student who is not in class.
• If the office has not been notified by the family regarding an absence, the school will call to confirm the student’s whereabouts. (Call 604-517-6020 to report absences.)
• The parents/guardians home and cell phone number(s) will be called first. If we are unable to reach a parent/guardian at these numbers, we will proceed to call work numbers and emergency contacts if necessary.

 

Absences & Late Arrivals, etc.

If your child will be late or absent from school, please call the school office at 604-517-6020 by 9:00 a.m. or visit the office to report in person.  For your convenience, you can also report absences online on our website by clicking here.

To keep our students safe by verifying student attendance as quickly as possible each day, it is important that parents and guardians use this central reporting system. Voicemail messages can be left 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.  Please do not use email to report student absences as not all emails are monitored regularly.

If your child will be arriving after the bell, please visit the office when you arrive to sign them in.

The school is not able to provide supervision after school. We suggest contacting friends, family or classmates parents if you are unable to arrive by the dismissal bell due to extenuating circumstances.

If your child is going to be picked up by someone different than usual at the end of the day, whenever possible parents/guardians should communicate this to the teacher in the morning and also explain this to your child.

 

School visitors

If you are visiting the school to volunteer, visit a classroom or to attend a meeting etc., please sign in at the office and wear a visitor tag while on site.

If you need to speak with or pick up your child during school hours please visit the office and your child will be called from class to meet you so as to not disrupt classroom instruction.

If you need to speak with or pick up your child during lunch or recess while they are outside, please sign in at the office first and wear a visitor tag. Please do not approach children on the playing field or over the fence without signing in and wearing a visitor tag as it makes it difficult for staff to distinguish parents from individuals who should not be on the school grounds.

If you are volunteering in any capacity in the school, please ensure that you have recently completed a Volunteer Registration Form.

 

Notices & Communication

Almost all school wide notices are sent home by email only.  Calendars, events and updates are all examples of important information we want to make sure you receive.

To help us keep you informed:

• Please ensure you keep you email address up to date with the school office
• If you are not receiving our emails, please check your spam or junk email folder first then contact the office for assistance if necessary

 

Traffic Safety

We encourage active transportation to and from school including walking and biking.  We appreciate everyone’s efforts to walk or cycle because this relieves traffic congestion and makes it safer for pedestrians.  Bike racks are provided at the main entrance to our school.  As well, you can click here to view our map that identifies safe routes to school. For student and adult safety, always remember to use the crosswalks. Please also remember to help us to be good neighbours by refraining from blocking driveways and crosswalks.  Please note that there is no parking OR stopping permitted in the city lane way behind the school.

 

Parking & Parking Lot Safety

Our parking lot is an active traffic zone much like a city street.  Staff vehicles and school district vehicles will travel in and out of the parking lot during school hours, even during student drop off and pick up times.  Please help practice good traffic safety by not cutting through the parking lot to access the stairs to the courtyard or the front of the school.  Instead, please use the city sidewalk and painted walkway at along the fence at the east end of the parking lot.

School parking lots are designated for staff use only from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.  No student drop-off or pick up between those hours please. This includes the parking lot on Courtenay Crescent, the parking spots behind the school at the modular classroom and the parking spots at the west end of the school. Ample parking for parents and visitors can be found on Cumberland Street and Courtney Crescent.  For insurance reasons, The Lutheran Church requests that parents do not use their parking lot behind the school. Thank you for putting student safety first!

 

Supervision

From 8:45 to 8:55, supervision is provided at school entrances where students have been instructed to line up before the entrance bell.  Supervision is provided by staff during recess and lunch on the playground if it is an ‘outside day’ or inside if it is deemed an ‘indoor day’ due to inclement weather.  If we are having an ‘outside day’, all available supervision staff will be outside and so we are unable to accommodate special requests to keep children indoors.  No supervision is provided or available after the dismissal bell at the end of the school day.

 

Dogs on School Grounds

If you walk with your dog to school, we request that they are leashed and that you refrain from bringing them directly on to the school grounds. Some children are not used to being around dogs and are sometimes frightened by them, even when they are leashed. Please refer to school district policy no. 911.0 Animals on School District Property

 

Scent Free Learning Environment

F. W. Howay is a scent-free learning environment due to staff and student sensitivities and allergies.  Scented products often contain chemicals that can cause adverse reactions. Students, parents & all visitors are asked to please refrain from using perfumes and other scented products when visiting the school.

 

Head Lice

Head lice is a common concern in schools, however, it is both manageable and treatable.  Please visit Fraser Health for information on head lice. If a case of head lice is detected in your child’s classroom, a notice will be sent home with the students in the affected class.  F. W. Howay strives to maintain the privacy of all children and families.  We do not share the names of children identified with head lice.

 

Lost & Found

Our lost and found cart is located the main hallway where students and parents are encouraged to check regularly for lost items.   At the end of each year (or when the lost and found is so full it becomes unmanageable), unclaimed items are donated to charity.