Newsletter 

Message From the Principal

Dear Convent Glen Families, 

Welcome to another School Year! The first day of school for Grades 1-6 is Tuesday, September 1st. Kindergarten Students have a staggered start. Kindergarten families have received email communication for their child’s start date. Kindergarten Families, please contact the school if you have not received your orientation and/or Screening(Year 2) visit. 

The school is open and staff are getting ready to welcome your children next week.  Monday August 31st is a PD day for staff and Convent Glen Staff will be attending Professional Development on this day. Families will receive a welcome email from your child's teacher on Monday afternoon.

We look forward to welcoming all of our students next week.

God bless,

Traci Nehme

School Council Updates - see this section for important information in the next newsletter.

Please see below for important information about 2026/2027 School Year

Recycling:

To help reduce waste, we are encouraging families to embrace the Boomerang Lunch and Reusable Water Bottles.

• Boomerang Lunches: All wrappers, containers, and food scraps are returned home in your child's lunch bag. This allows families to see what has been eaten and to recycle or compost appropriately. 

• Reusable Water Bottles: Encourage your child to refill a reusable water bottle instead of bringing disposable plastic bottles.

As with any new initiative, we will work together to support efforts to reduce waste and for helping your child make environmentally responsible choices each day.

2026 - 2027 Class Lists

The organization of our school is based on student enrollment. We have received a number of registrations throughout the summer. The organization of our school may be affected by new registrations and students moving to other areas. We appreciate your understanding that, at this time, class assignments are finalized and we will not be accepting requests for changes. Careful consideration goes into planning balanced classes to best meet the needs of all students. We look forward to a year that further promotes your child's academic and social-emotional development and growth. 

First Day of School for Gr. 1 - 6 Students

On Tuesday September 1st, whether your grade 1 - 6 child takes the bus, walks or gets dropped off, staff will be present in the school yard from 9:00 - 9:15 am to assist your child to find their class. Students in grades 1 - 6 will be asked to line up at their assigned spot near their entry door. If you or your child are unsure of where to meet your child’s teacher, please ask one of the yellow-vested staff members. The assigned doors/meeting spots at the back of the school are as follows:

Door 1 (closest to gate to enter the school yard)  - Mme Gauthier, Ms. Ferraro, Mr. McCleery, Ms. Cornfield

Door 2 (middle doors) - Mrs. Lombardi, Mrs. Mount, Mrs. Lepindea

Door 3 (Portapack) - Mrs. Flynn, Mrs. Prosser

At the end of the day, our Grades 1 - 6 students who are walkers will be dismissed at the back of the school. Staff will be outside with their students to ensure that they connect with their parents. Dismissal is always a busy time so we ask that if you need to communicate with the teacher about a question or concern to please phone or email them.

If your child is late to school, you will need to sign them in at the office. We will have a sign-in table between our two entry doors at the front of the school. 

Please note that dogs are not permitted on the premises as we have students with allergies and a fear of dogs.

School Supplies

Students need to come to school with a school bag, a lunch kit and non-marking indoor running shoes for the classroom and gym. Our school provides the necessary supplies for students. A suggested optional list of school supplies parents of students from grade 1-6 may choose to send to school with their student includes:

• a pencil case

• pencil crayons

• calculator (grades 4 - 6)

• a box of kleenex

• a box of large ziploc bags

• erasers

• glue sticks

• children’s safety scissors

• headphones 

Morning Drop-off/Afternoon Pickup

Morning drop-off and afternoon dismissal is always the busiest time of the school day. We encourage parents to walk their children to school, if possible. To ensure the safety of all students and staff, we ask that you please follow the expectations below.

If you are dropping your child off for EDP or school in the morning, we ask that you please park in one of the visitor parking spots and not the staff parking lot.  

Students who travel to school by bus or special transportation vehicles are greeted each morning by a staff member on duty who will guide them safely to the path that leads to the school yard. Kindergarten bus students will be directed to their yard by one of our student bus leaders.  

Students who walk or bike to school proceed directly to the school yard.  Kindergarten students who do not take a bus will need to be dropped off by a parent/guardian at the gate near the kindergarten yard at the front of the school.

Parents who drive their children to school will need to park their car in one of the visitor parking spots and walk their children to their school yard (or office if arriving after 9:15 am).  We ask that you refrain from letting your children out of your vehicle in the laneway as it is not safe.  

For the safety of all of our students, we ask that you respect this request. Students are not permitted in the parking lot without the supervision of a parent/guardian. Please escort children to the appropriate gate.

If there is a change of plan in regards to how your child will be going home at the end of the day, parents MUST phone or email the school before 3:15 pm to notify us of the change. This includes changes to who is picking up your child or if your child is not to take the bus that day.  This protocol is extremely important to follow so that we know our students are going home safely.

Stay Connected and Informed

It is important that all parents sign up for the following applications so that they may stay connected and informed:

* School Messenger - To ensure that you always get communication from the school, teachers, and the school board, please sign up for School Messenger. If you wish to receive all types of emails sent by the school, you must opt in for GENERAL Messages. To receive any emails sent by the school, your  preference must be set up to “yes” for General Messages. To receive any emails from your child’s teachers, your preference must be set to “yes” for Teacher-to-Parent Messaging. 

FYI - This newsletter was shared via EMERGENCY send. This is a feature only used in an emergency situation. Going forward communication/newsletters will NOT be sent to you this way and you risk not getting important information from the school, so please be sure to sign up ASAP!

*School Cash Online - This will allow you to pay for events and or hot lunch days once they commence. We do NOT accept cash or cheques at the school.

*Parent Portal - This will ensure that you have access to your child’s report cards and for some students their Individual Education Plans (IEPs). Printed report cards will no longer be sent home. Parents may also update their contact information in the parent portal.

Signing up is easy! Simply follow the steps in the embedded links above. If you need assistance, please call the school next week and Mrs. Albert will be happy to assist you.

School Bus Service

Please review your child’s information on the Bus Planner Web. Parents are asked to stay with their children at the bus stop until the bus arrives in case of delays or cancellations.  

We ask that you please review the importance of being safe when riding the school bus.  Please see the attached link for some school bus safety resources to review with your child.

Student Absences

Our school uses SafeArrival to report student absences. SafeArrival is designed to make it easier, faster, and more convenient for families to report absences and late arrivals.

With SafeArrival, there's no need to call the school and leave a message. Instead, you can quickly and securely report your child's absence in one of three ways:

• Using the SM Home App: Download and install the SM Home app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

• Online: Visit home.schoolmessenger.ca.

• Phone: Call the toll-free number 1-844-478-2598 and follow the prompts.

Further detailed instructions are available on the OCSB website.

Illness or Accidents at School

If your child becomes ill or is injured at school they will be escorted to the office. If the injury or illness is severe, a call will be made to the parents and/or 911 emergency.  If your child feels better, or in the case of a minor injury for which first aid is administered, they will return to their classroom. Parents will be notified in the case of any reported accident that involves a bump to the head.  

Parents are asked to contact the school immediately if your child is at home sick due to a contagious condition such as pink eye, chickenpox, fifth disease or head lice.  When a child is sick at school, the office will contact the parent or guardian. Please do not send your child to school while they are recovering from an illness. A child is not to be sent with a request to remain indoors during recess as there is no supervision available.

Allergies

Please be aware that there are students and staff members in our school with severe life-threatening food allergies including peanuts, nuts, shellfish, sesame, kiwi, coconut, eggs, dairy products. 

OCSB Parent Portal

Having accurate student information on file is very important. We are asking parents to review this important information and verify all details such as address, phone number, daycare, emergency contact etc. through the Parent Portal.  If there is information that needs updating, please send an email to Convent.Glen@ocsb.ca and we will make the changes for you. If you have trouble signing up for the Parent Portal or need other support, please use the Compass Support Chat (blue tab in the bottom right corner of the Parent Portal Login screen). As well, please ensure that the following forms are completed in the Parent Portal:

• Responsible Use of Technology

• Off Site Permission Form

• OCSB Student Verification

• Consent for Use and Disclosure of Information

Important Dates