The Ontario government has designated the third week of every November as Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week to help promote safer schools and positive learning environments.

During Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week, November 18 – 24, 2012, Ontario students, school staff, parents/guardians and community agencies are encouraged to learn more about bullying and its effect on student learning and well-being.

Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has partnered with police services, Children’s Mental Health, Loyalist College, the Parent Involvement Committee, student groups and several community agencies to plan activities. Seven municipalities/counties have officially proclaimed Bullying Awareness & Prevention Week. The local theme is Be Kind to Me.

At Pinecrest, we are planning a number of engaging activities for our students, as they learn more about this very important issue.  Classes at all levels will be participating in a number of Literature-based Art and Drama projects to extend their understanding of bullying and the impact that it can have.  We will also be participating in "Pink Shirt Day" on November 22nd. 

Family and community members are invited to join us in the gymnasium on Thursday, November 22nd at 9:30 a.m. for our Bullying Awareness Assembly. 

At Pinecrest School, we welcome and encourage parent and community volunteers.  We value and appreciate the important work that they do.  Board policy requires that volunteers having direct contact with students have a current Criminal Background Check.   A standard form will be provided by our office to assist with this requirement.  Please allow 4 to 6 weeks to obtain a records check.  Once a background check is on file with the school, please be aware that volunteers will be required to complete an annual Offence Declaration Form (Form F498-3)  if they wish to continue to volunteer at our school. 

In addition, anyone volunteering to transport students, will need to obtain and complete an Excursion Authorization for Drivers Form (Form F230-6).  Please note, that a separate form will be required for each excursion for which you volunteer.

 If you have any questions, please contact our school office at 1-613-393-3262.

On bad weather days, please monitor cancellation information by listening to a local radio station or using the Bus Cancellation link which is located on the bottom left hand side of the front page of this web page.

When buses are cancelled, the school is still open unless announced otherwise.  If your children walk to school or if their bus is not one of the cancelled buses, and you choose not to send them, it is important to you notify the school that they will not be in attendance.

When a bus does not travel in the morning due to fog, and the fog clears during the day, that bus shall pick up at the school in the afternoon for the journey home.

When a bus does not travel in the morning due to ice and/or snow conditions, it will not do so in the afternoon.  Therefore, if you drive your children to school in the morning, you will have to pick them up in the afternoon and be available in the event of early school closure.

In the event of an Early Dismissal, staff will attempt to contact homes of Kindergarten and Grades 1 to 4 students.  Please ensure our school office has up-to-date telephone numbers (home/parents' work, emergency contacts) for your child/children.  Please try to avoid calling the school as we need the lines free to make calls.  For Grades  5 to 8 students, please review with your children what they should do in case of the event that all contacts cannot be made prior to bus departure.

Thank you for your co-operation in ensuringg the safety of our students.

"Read with Us" continues to be an important reading program to encourage and support regular reading practice, particularly in our primary and junior classes.

Our goal is for each student to spend 15 minutes reading at home on 15 separate occasions each month.

We sincerely appreciate the support of parents in this initiative.  Daily reading practice is an effective way to improve reading fluency in our younger students. It is also a great way for families to learn together and to share in the joy of reading.

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, what could be better than spending time enjoying a good book with a child?

The Labels for Education programme is a great way to receive additional audio visual and sports equipment for our school.  Please help us by saving your labels and sending them to school.

We collect all Campbell's Soup labels, including Chunky, Ready-to-Serve, and Ready-to-Serve broth boxes, as well as V-8 Splash, Goldfish and Chili.

Please remember that we need both the UPC code and the front panel of the label in order to submit the label for our school.

Child and Youth Counsellors are a school-based resource who may help students, families, and schools when students:

- are experiencing difficulty functioning within the school environment,

- need assistance with social skills, relationship building, problem-solving, anger management, and/or

- are experiencing personal or family crises which are impacting their school performance.

For more information, please contact Sue Howard (393-3262  extension 223) at Pinecrest School every Tuesday morning and all day Fridays.

Please remember:

If someone other than you (the parent/guardian) is picking up your son/daughter from school, it is ncessary that this information be communicated to your son/daughter's homeroom teacher. 

We cannot call your son/daughter from class until you, or the person picking him/her up, arrives.

The students' school day ends at 3:45 p.m.  If you are picking your child up from school, we would ask that you wait by the flag pole at the front of the school.  Please do not come and take your child off of the school yard.

If your child has an appointment at the end of the day, and you will be picking him/her up at the office, please communicate this information to your son/daughter's teacher through the planner.

These procedures are for the safety and well-being of all our students and we appreciate your support and understanding.

We welcome and encourage volunteers to assist at our school.  We have many students who benefit from the extra support, and parental assistance during out-of-school excursions is always appreciated. 

If you are interested in volunteering at the school, please obtain and complete a Volunteer Application Form (F-498-1) available from the school office.  At this time, we will provide you with Form F-498-2, Information for Volunteers.

Board policy requires that volunteers having direct contact with students ensure that they have acquired a Criminal Background Check.  A standard form will be provided by our office to assist with this requirement.  Volunteers may return the completed forms to the office and they will be delivered to the Police Station.  Please allow 4 to 6 weeks to obtain a records check.  Individuals who obtain a record check should be aware that they will be required to complete an Offence Delcaration Form (Form F-498-3) annually thereafter if they continue to volunteer at our school.

If you are volunteering to transport students, please obtain and complete the Excursion Authorization For Drivers Form (F-230-6).  Please note that a new form will be required for each excursion you are volunteering for.

If you have any questions, please contact our school office.

Thank you for giving your time to volunteer at Pinecrest!

We are asking for everyone's help in our attempt to provide a safe learning environment for anaphylactic students.

Please read the label to ensure that snack and lunch items do not contain traces of nuts or nut products. 

Thank you for respecting the safety of our children.

2012 - 2013  HPEDSB  School Calendar