Information for Parents/Guardians

Welcome to all our parents/guardians at Pineland Public School!

Parents/Guardians play an important role in the education of their children.

School Entry

Our front entrance is now accessible - use the buzzer at the right of the door and wait until it is unlocked by staff.

When you enter our school, you must report to the office. Our office staff can assist you. 

We have a sign-in/out book for students arriving late or leaving early. (Please ensure your child arrives at school on time, and make arrangements to drop off or pick up your child during nutrition break times, if necessary.)

We have a sign-in/out book for visitors who are required to wear a visitor sticker/badge while in the school.

School Schedule

• Duty begins at 8:45am 

• 9:00-9:50am – Period 1 

• 9:50-10:40am – Period 2

• 10:40-11:20am – Nutrition Break #1 

• 11:20am-12:10pm – Period 3

• 12:10-1:00pm – Period 4

• 1:00-1:40pm – Nutrition Break #2/Lunch

• 1:40-2:30pm – Period 5

• 2:30-3:20pm – Period 6

• Dismissal – 3:20pm and duty ends at 3:35pm

Volunteers

We welcome volunteers in our school and we also have an active school council. All volunteers must have a police check on file with the office and complete an annual offence declaration form.

We are excited to welcome back volunteers! Please note:

• All volunteers must have a Criminal Background Check which includes vulnerable sector screening.

• If there is a Criminal Background Check with vulnerable sector screening on file at the school, the volunteer is required to complete the Halton District School Board’s Annual Offence Declaration for subsequent years.

• The Halton Regional Service now has an online process for residents who require a police record check. Note: There are many online background check services (e.g., mybackcheck.com) on the internet. These services do not include vulnerable sector screening, a requirement for HDSB volunteering.

• For reference: HDSB Volunteer Application Form

HDSB Parent Involvement Committee

A HDSB Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) Representative also serves on our School Council, applies for PRO grants and communicates PIC info to parents/guardians. The Annual PIC Conference is held in October and is open to all parents/guardians.

Absence Reporting

Parents are requested to log in to the SchoolConnects Parent Portal to report student absences or late arrivals or to phone the toll-free number 1-877-409-6310.

In cases where a pro-longed absence is anticipated, the teacher should be contacted in order that some arrangements can be made for assistance or work to be sent home, if at all possible or practical.

Morning Entry

With so many adults on the blacktop in the morning, our students sometimes have to manoeuvre around adults in order to stay with their class. We would like to ask your help in moving away from the blacktop after the morning bell rings so teachers are better able to see their students and keep everyone together. We appreciate your support with this.

Bikes and Scooters

We have a number of students and parents on the blacktop at both entry and dismissal time. We would like to remind students and parents to please walk your bike/scooter when you are on school property during these busy times. Also, if you leave your bike at school, please lock it to the bike racks provided.

Dogs on School Property

We are so happy to see so many families walking to school, instead of driving! Thank you for helping to keep our parking lot traffic to a minimum. We know that many of you have special 4-legged members of your family that often come for the walk to school. Many of our students love dogs, however we do have some students who are fearful of pets or have allergies to pets. For this reason, we do ask that you do the following:

- Keep your dog on the grassed area - do not bring the dog onto the blacktop (paved) area

- Keep your dog on leash at all times

Thank you for helping our children feel safe!

Pathways around the School and Creative Playground

We have a number of parents who gather around our creative playground in the morning before school. Please note that there is NO supervision on the creative playground before school - supervision is on the blacktop only. Pineland students should proceed directly to the blacktop upon arrival to school. We do ask that parents stay off the pathway near the playground to allow students and parents who are walking to the blacktop to be able to pass through this year. Thank you for your help!

Parking Lot Guidelines

The parking lot is a busy place at drop-off and pick-up. Here are a few reminders for parents/grandparents/babysitters to help ensure our parking lot is safe for students and runs efficiently. If you do not do the drop-off or pick-up, please share this information with the person who does.

Drop-off circle is for drop-off only - please do not exit your vehicle if using this area. Simply pull up to the drop-off area and allow your child to exit on the blacktop side of the vehicle. If you need to get out of your car to help your child, please pull into a parking spot or park on a neighbouring street and walk. We have Grade 6 Leadership volunteers who are willing to walk your younger children to their entry door. No need to exit your car - pull up to the drop-off loop, allow your child to exit the car and be escorted by one of our fantastic Grade 6 students. Drive of and enjoy the extra time you saved!

Parking Lot for Staff Only - please do not park in the lot on the east side of the building - this lot is for staff use only.

Bus Lane must remain open - please do not pull through the bus lane - this is for buses and emergency vehicles only.

Medical Forms

Please make sure you take time to clearly read through the medical information that was sent to you by email. If your child requires ANY form of medication (e.g. epipen, puffer, antibiotics), we are NOT able to take this medication from you until all forms have been completed. This now requires a physician’s signature. Thank you for your attention to this change in procedure.

Allergies

Just a reminder for all parents, that we do have a number of students with life threatening allergies within our school, and we need everyone’s help in keeping these students safe at school. Please check the labels of all food products before sending in your child’s lunch to be sure it does not contain nuts or nut products. If a child does bring an item in his/her lunch that contains nuts, it will be sent home in your child’s backpack. Students are not allowed to share food to avoid any unforeseen reactions.  Thank you for reminding your child of this.  Any food items sent to school to be shared will be sent home with your child.

School Cash Online

We use “School Cash Online” for any school-related payments. School Cash Online is the method we use for payments for field trips, special lunches, treat days, donations etc. These payments come up frequently throughout the school year and we really encourage you to set this up now so your child doesn’t miss out on anything throughout the school year! If you have not yet signed up, please access the following site to set up your account: https://hdsb.schoolcashonline.com/