About Inkster
October 4, 2021
SCHOOL HOURS:
The school office is open from 8:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Classes begin at 8:50 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. Students are dismissed as follows:
Nursery and Kindergarten at 11:30 a.m.
Grades 1 to 6 at 12:00 p.m.
All afternoon students leave at 3:30 p.m. Please help your child have a positive school attitude by ensuring they arrive at school by the bell at 8:50 a.m. and 12:55 p.m.
Recess periods are as follows:
First recess 10:30 - 10:45 a.m.
Second recess 2:30 - 2:45 p.m.
For the children’s health and physical well being, all children in grades 1 to 6 are expected to go outside for a 15 minute recess both morning and afternoon. (Recess is indoors if it is raining or if the winter wind chill factor is –28oc.). Children who are kept in at recess for a prolonged period of time for health reasons should have a doctor’s certificate.
ARRIVAL AT SCHOOL:
Children should arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before school opening as there is no supervision until this time. Supervision occurs from 8:40 - 8:50 and 12:40 - 12:55. Students who arrive early are expected to remain outside until the bell rings. During inclement weather, the duty supervisors will allow students to stand inside the entrances.
PATROLS:
We have patrols on duty at McKenzie and Inkster, McKenzie and Lansdowne, McGregor and Inkster, and Parr and Inkster (crossing Parr Street only!) at the following times:
8:40 - 8:50 a.m.
12:00 - 12:10 p.m.
12:45 - 12:55 p.m.
3:30 - 3:40 p.m.
SCHOOL ENTRANCE & EXIT DOORS
Access doors to the school: Main door on Inkster Boulevard
North door off hardtop on Lansdowne Ave. All other doors are kept locked
CALL BACK PROGRAM FOR SCHOOL ABSENCE:
To ensure your child’s safety, we have a policy of contacting every parent whose child is absent in the morning and the afternoon. Please help us by calling the school before 8:50 a.m. and 12:55 p.m. to let us know when your child will be away. If we do not hear from you, one of our staff will be contacting you concerning your child’s absence. We want to ensure the safety of all of our students.
Please let us know if your child will be out of school for a long time.
STUDENT DROP-OFF / PICK-UP:
For the safety of our children, PLEASE use the “Loading Zone” area at the front of the school as a “drop-off” area only! We are asking that you stop your vehicle in the loading zone, just long enough to drop off your children and watch them enter the school. By keeping the stopping time short, it allows other parents to do the same. Remember this area is NOT a parking space! PLEASE help us to keep our children safe!!
If you would like to walk your child into the school, please park in one of the designated “parking zones” on Inkster Boulevard, Lansdowne Avenue or McKenzie Street. Please observe the “No Parking” signs in the Staff Parking lot as the space is for WSD staff only.
LUNCH PROGRAM:
The Inkster School Lunch Program is a parent-run program created for our Grades 1 to 6 students who need to remain at the school during the lunch hour. The program is staffed by a parental team trained in CPR and First Aid, as well as behaviour management. This program strives to maintain an affordable and competitive fee schedule, and has a solid alliance with Parent Council by participating in fundraising events to help offset running costs.
The program offers microwave services and a subsidized milk program. We presently utilize the stage in the gymnasium and the Nursery room. Parents helping parents is the formula for success for this program.
MEDICATIONS:
All medications, including cold medicine, must be given to your child at home or by a parent/guardian unless a health plan has been developed between the school administrator and the parents/guardians. Please do not send medication to school with your child, without first speaking to the office.
HEALTHY SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY:
In order to promote and sustain a healthy, active lifestyle we ask parents/guardians to help us by:
· Walking to school with you children
· Sending only healthy snacks and/or lunches (for Lunch Program Students) to school on a regular basis
VOLUNTEERS:
According to Mother Teresa,
We can do no great things...only small things with great love.
Thanks to our volunteers whose caring and support have provided many learning opportunities for our students. Inkster School volunteers help support our students by reading with them, helping on field trips, assisting with our Early Years Programs, Lunch Program and Hot Lunches. Our volunteers also help with our fundraising efforts.
If you would like to be an Inkster School volunteer, please call us at 589-4383. You will need to attend a Volunteer Orientation and fill out a Volunteer Registration form prior to volunteering. We need your help!
STAFF MEETINGS / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INSERVICE DAYS:
Regular staff meetings are held after school on the first Tuesday of each month.
Teachers require opportunities to expand their knowledge and training in order to implement new curricula and directions emerging from the school division and the Department of Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth.
Every elementary school in the Winnipeg School Division (by order of the Minister of Education) is therefore allowed up to a maximum of 10 days per year for inservices, administration days, parent-teacher conferences, pupil evaluation, etc. Throughout the year, your child will be dismissed from school for these reasons. These dates are listed in our monthly newsletters. Please mark them on your calendars.
SCHOOL FORMS / HOME INFORMATION:
At the beginning of every school year, you will be asked to complete a student information form. It is important to keep our information up to date and therefore any changes that occur during the year should also be reported to the school. It is imperative that your telephone numbers are accurate and current in the case of an emergency. Please notify us of any changes as soon as possible.
PROCEDURE FOR PARENT CONCERNS:
The Winnipeg School Division protocol for parental concerns is to contact:
1) your child’s teacher; if you still require further information/support, contact
2) your child’s principal; if you still require further information/support, contact
3) your district superintendent
FIELD TRIPS:
Field trips are important and provide curriculum based experiences for students. Notification of pertinent details and a permission form for the parents/guardians to sign will be sent home before each outing.
REPORT CARDS AND STUDENT LED CONFERENCES:
Report cards are issued three times per year during the months of November, March and June. In November and March, conferences are held. These conferences encourage students to be responsible and accountable for their learning, their effort and their behaviour. They give students the chance to look back on what they have or haven’t accomplished during the term. In these conferences, your child, together with the teacher, can identify areas of strength and weakness, describe goals for the next term and the things s/he, the teacher and you, the parent, can do to achieve those goals.
FIRE / SAFETY / EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
All schools must have at least 10 fire drills during the school year. During these drills, the students learn to exit the building safely. The students will also be involved in practicing tornado, lock down and evacuation drills. It is with information and practice that our children become familiar with our routine safety procedures.
ALLERGIES:
We have a number of children at Inkster School who have a severe allergy to nut products. Even exposure to a tiny amount of a nut product could be very serious and life threatening.
We can all play a role in preventing such a dangerous and frightening situation at school. Although our children who have severe nut allergies and their families must take responsibility to avoid exposure to nuts and nut products, Inkster School staff, other children and their families can also help to make the Inkster School environment safer.
- Please check the list of ingredients on items you send to school.
- Avoid sending peanuts or items containing nuts with your child to school.
- Discourage your child from sharing lunch or snack foods at school.
- Teach your children to respect this very serious situation; discourage teasing or threatening of children with serious allergies.
This may be an inconvenience for you, but please realize how important your cooperation is. We would take the same care should your child have such a health care need. Thank you for your cooperation.