Torquay Elementary School

Student Handbook and Code of Conduct 2022 – 2023

 We are excited to have you as a member of Torquay Elementary School Team for the next school year.  We would like to begin by welcoming all our returning families along with the new families that are joining our community of learning. Torquay is a school that encourages open and constructive communication between students, staff and parents. We believe that children are best served when school and home work together in partnership and have a common understanding of school guidelines and expectations.

District and School Dates to keep in mind for 2022 – 2023

Things to know about Torquay…

Torquay Elementary School

Student Handbook 

At Torquay School, we have yearly school goals that guide us in supporting students’ social, emotional, literacy and numeracy skills.   During the school year, we will focus on two goals.

1. Torquay students will continue to develop awareness, acceptance, and empathy of themselves and others through identity, diversity, justice and action.
2. Torquay staff will develop cultural pedagogy through exploring of various points of privilege.

Things to know about Torquay…

At the start of each day, parents may accompany their children to the blacktop area at the back of the school.  Alternatively, they may drop the children at the front of the school.  Children will walk to the back of the school and line up in assigned places; a staff member provides limited supervision before school.  A bell rings to let the students know it is time for learning and their teacher will lead them into class. Students:

• Use the back, side doors and front entrance doors depending on the location of their classroom.
• Wait for the bell unless the student has special permission to enter the school early.
• Say goodbye to adult family members outside the school.
• Wipe feet before entering the school if it is wet or muddy outside.
• Come into the school if an early bell signals inclement weather.
• Should always bring rain gear (a rainproof jacket, boots and hat) since we go outside at recess rain or shine!

Please Note: There is no supervision provided on the school grounds after school hours.  Students should go directly to Kids Klub or go home.

 Office Hours       8:15 am – 3:30pm        Phone 250-477-9511

School Hours: Monday to Friday  8:45am – 2:37pm

Crossing Patrol on Longacre Drive starts: 8:30am

School begins: 8:45 am

Recess (outside play) : 10:35 – 10:50am

Lunch (eating time): 11:50am – 12:05pm

Lunch (outside play): 12:05pm – 12:35pm

School ends:  2:37 pm   

Crossing Patrols end:  2: 52 pm

Student Pick-up and Drop-off:

Given our limited parking and concern for the safety of all, please note the following expectations regarding drop off and pick up of students.

• We encourage students to walk or wheel to school.  The fewer vehicles coming and going to the school the safer it will be for all.
• The school parking lot is for employees only… no driving through or parking please.
• The curb side drop off zone is for drop-off and pickups only. Do not leave your vehicle unattended.  If you need to come into the building, please park on the street north of south of the driveways, NOT in the drop off zone.
• Please pull into the drop-off zone or wait for a space to pull in, then drive as far forward as you can to allow space for others to pull up behind you.
• Do not U-turn on Torquay Drive or turn around in the exit – it is simply not safe!
• Do not drop your children off on the opposite side of the road and ask them to run across!  Drop them at either crosswalk and have them use the crosswalk safely.
• Please try to use the paths that lead to the back of the school on Tiffin Place and Bartholomew Place as an alternative to the front of the school on Torquay Drive.

Bicycle, Scooter, Skateboard and Roller Blades Safety

While we encourage students to walk or wheel to school, riders should walk their bicycle, scooter or skateboard the minute they are on school property.   Bikes should be locked at the bike racks and other forms of wheels need to be carried into the building and stored at the base of the south end stairs.

 Absences and Late Arrivals

• If your child is going to be late or absent, please call the school at(250) 477-9511.
• For extended absences, contact your child’s teacher as well as the office.
• If late for school or leaving early, check into the office and sign in or out (This is so we know who is in the building and where your children are).
• We track absences and late arrivals each month as we know that attendance is crucial to successful learning.  Office staff will contact home if there are concerns after reviewing monthly attendance reports.

Closed Campus

• Students stay on the school grounds unless they eat lunch at home on a regular basis. Please provide a note to the school if you intend to have your student eat lunch at home.
• If your child has special permission to be off the grounds, a note is required.
• Parents are to check in at the office prior to visiting the playground during recess breaks and for extended visits when volunteering in the classroom so that we are aware who is in the building.

Listening to Announcements

• When announcements begin, stop what you are doing, stay still, and listen.
• Everyone (including staff, parents, and guests in the school) is expected to listen silently during school-wide announcements.

Lunch

• Torquay is a litter-less lunch school. Please send your child’s snack and lunch in reusable containers; all wrappers and packaging will be sent home for recycling.  Please provide your child with a refillable water bottle.  We would prefer students not drink juice at school.
• PAC organizes an optional pre-ordered lunch for families to take part in. On various Wednesdays, the preordered lunches are delivered to the classroom.  The orders need to be placed by the deadline during each of the 3 terms.  Fun Lunch information will be shared by the PAC at the start of each ordering session.

Medical Concerns and Illness

• We have several children in our school with anaphylactic allergies to various foods. We ask that parents do their very best to not send nut products to school.  Allergy awareness notices will be sent home and posted in our classrooms.
• Each child with an anaphylactic allergy must carry an epi-pen at all times AS WELL AS have a second epi-pen stored in the office. Please see the office staff.  All children with an anaphylactic allergy will also have an Anaphylactic Plan that will be reviewed each year.
• Please review the Daily Health Check and stay home if sick.
• If your child comes down with one of the many typical childhood ailments (chicken pox, flu, pink-eye, pinworms, lice, etc.) please communicate this with the teacher and office so we can do our best to mitigate the spread. We have children with compromised health situations and take precautions to ensure their well-being.
• If a child needs to take medicine at the school, a doctor will need to sign a Medical Administration Form. Please see office staff.

Assemblies

Assemblies, whether virtual or in person, are a regular part of the school program at Torquay.  Parents are always welcome to attend in person assemblies and help model appropriate audience behavior for students.  During in person assemblies, we expect all audience members to:

• Be focused on the speaker.
• Turn off electronic devices.
• If you are late, stop and wait at the door during a performance or song. Enter quietly when that performance is finished.
• Please try to stay for the full assembly.

Lost and Found

• Be responsible for your belongings.
• Label clothing (especially jackets) so items can be returned to you if misplaced.
• Do not bring electronic games, toys, listening devices, or other valuable items to school.
• Misplaced articles are stored in the Lost and Found box located in the hallway by the office and boys washroom.
• The school cannot accept responsibility for lost or stolen items.

PAC – Parent Advisory Committee

Congratulations!  You are a member of the PAC.  The PAC meets with the school Principal and Vice Principal 7 times a year.  The meetings are generally held on the second Wednesday of the month.  PAC doesn’t meet in December, March, June, July or August.  Our PAC loves to have lots of parents attend; participants discuss upcoming events, share ideas and make plans to improve the school experience for all children.  Also, consider taking on various PAC roles and responsibilities.  Contributions, large and small, support our positive school culture.

 Clubs and Teams

We typically offer …

• Fall and Spring Cross Country running for Grades 3, 4, 5
• Basketball and soccer for Grades 4 and 5
• Spring Track: 100m, 800m and 4X 100m relays for Grades 3, 4 and 5
• Swim Club for Grades 3, 4 and 5
• Garden Club

If parents have a skill and/or a passion to share with students, please connect with the school so we can get something started.  We are happy to sponsor a club or team with a parent volunteer.

Addressing Concerns

Information regarding the complaint process can be found here: https://www.sd61.bc.ca/our-district/documents/name/regulation-1155-complaint-process-for-a-resolution-of-concerns/

In most cases, problems can be solved when clear, respectful communication is used.  It is difficult for staff members to speak with parents at the start of the day when the children are entering the classrooms; please make an appointment to allow for uninterrupted discussion to happen.  If you have a concern,

• communicate directly with the individual who can effectively respond to the concern. If you are not sure who to talk to, your child’s classroom teacher can help you.
• avoid third party discussions.
• bring it to our attention as soon as possible.

When addressing individual or group concerns regarding your child or school programs, follow these steps to help you achieve positive results:

Step 1   Talk directly to the individual involved.  Both parties will attempt to define the concern, clarify the issue, develop an appreciation and understanding of each other’s point of view and resolve the concern.

Step 2   If there is no resolution at Step 1, meet with the school Principal or Vice Principal.

Step 3   If there is no resolution at Step 2, the Principal or Vice Principal will forward the issue to the Associate Superintendent.

Step 4   If there is no resolution at Step 3, the Associate Superintendent will forward the issue to the District Superintendent.

 Torquay Code of Conduct

At Torquay we rely on parents as partners in modelling for the children appropriate behaviour. We expect students, staff, parents and visitors to conduct themselves appropriately at school, on their way to and from school, and at any school-sponsored activity at any location.

Why do we have a Code of Conduct?

• Our school is committed to creating a learning community that values diversity and is free of all forms of discrimination as set out in the BC Human Rights Code. Everyone is expected to model respectful conduct and no one should tolerate discrimination of any kind including: Race, Colour, Ancestry, Place of origin, Religion, Marital status, Family status, Physical or mental disability, Sex, Sexual orientation, and Age. For further information, please refer to Policy and Regulation 4303, which can be found on the Greater Victoria School District website at bc.ca.

The role of a Code of Conduct is to:

• Ensure that all members of our school community understand their role in building and sustaining an environment that values and fosters respect.
• Provide a clear, consistent and fair set of behaviour expectations that promote a school culture allowing all students to develop physically, socially, emotionally, creatively, and intellectually.
• Ensure that the rights and responsibilities of every individual are recognized and supported.

Rights and responsibilities

Support for Victims:

Retaliation will not be tolerated. All reasonable steps will be taken to prevent retaliation by a person against a student who has made a complaint of a breach of our Code of Conduct. Complainants will remain confidential whenever possible. Students will have access to a confidential internet reporting site (ERASE reporting tool on school website).

Whenever a student has been negatively affected by a major or critical behaviour:

• Parents will be contacted and informed of the incident
• The school counselor will connect with the student and/or family to provide support
• The school counselor will connect with the student and/or family and offer to facilitate access to the appropriate community agency for follow-up support.
• Our School Liaison Officer will become involved if appropriate

 Restitution Philosophy:

Torquay is a Restitution School and as such we strive to:

• empower students to take responsibility and ownership of their learning and behaviour
• guide students to make choices that meet their needs and the needs of others
• honour children and the fact that we all make mistakes
• give children the opportunity to fix their mistake, learn from them and return to the group strengthened

Rising Expectations:

As students become older and progress through the grades, expectations of appropriate behaviour, self- regulation and personal responsibility increase. Age, cognitive development and special needs will be factors when providing consequences/learning opportunities for students to understand their mistakes and make more appropriate decisions and demonstrate appropriate behaviour.

 Torquay School Guidelines

*Addendum to Code of Conduct

As a member of Torquay we all have Rights and Responsibilities that help make our school a great place to learn. It will be a fantastic school year if all of us remember to be respectful and follow the Code of Conduct. Please do your best to remember the information provided in the Torquay School Student Handbook that outlines our routines and behaviour expectations.

We are looking forward to working in partnership with our families to provide an enriched school experience for all students.

We do our best

We help the rest

It’s safe and fun

For everyone

We’re clean, we’re green

We’re the Torquay Team