All children are expected to attend school every day. They should arrive on time for morning (before 8:00 A.M.) and afternoon (by 12:40 P.M.) classes unless they have a valid reason.

When arriving after the call-in bell has rung, all students must report to the office for a late slip before going to class.

In the interest of your child’s safety, please phone the school by 8:30 a.m. if they will be absent.

At Sinclair Laird, all students agree to behave in a courteous and respectful manner at all times, towards all adults and other students.

They must:

• Be punctual.
• Be honest.
• Bring all books, materials and assignments to school every day.
• Wear the school uniform.
• Walk, don't run in the hallways and classrooms.
• Leave their gym running shoes at school.
• Be polite. Say “Please”, “Thank you”, “Excuse me”, “May I?”, “I’m Sorry”.
• Listen when others are speaking.
• Behave properly. No name calling, no put downs and no answering back.
• Trading/gaming cards, portable gaming devices or any other toys or any harmful objects to school.
• Respect other people’s and the school’s property.
• Never bully, play-fight or harm other students.
• Respect the rules of the lunchroom.
• Follow all the school bus rules.
• Never engage in any type of cyber-bullying. 

Consequences:

When a student has a problem, he or she should immediately speak to an adult (bus driver, teacher, lunch monitor, principal) who is looking after him or her.

If students do not fulfill their aforementioned responsibilities, there will be one or more consequences based on the severity of their actions:

• A verbal reprimand;
• Detention;
• Parental contact (note or phone call);
• Removal of privileges;
• Intervention of Student Services or Social Services;
• A teacher/student conference;
• An administration/student conference;
• An administration/teacher/parent conference;
• Incident report;
• In-school suspension;
• Suspension.

Please co-operate with our school nurse, and help us keep our students healthy by taking note of the following policies and procedures:

If your child is sick or injured:

• Do not send him/her to school. Keep your child at home until he/she is no longer infectious or until the school nurse gives authorization for the child to return to school.
• A slight fever at any time may be a symptom or signal that the child is suffering from illness or infection. Keep your child at home and consult your doctor, clinic or hospital immediately.
• If the school nurse sends home a questionnaire, makes any suggestions or arranges an appointment, please treat this seriously, as it concerns the health of your child.
• The school nurse should be told of any serious illness in your child's medical history.
• A letter from a doctor is required after any prolonged absence due to illness authorizing the child's return to school and stating the nature of illness.

Administration of medicine or drugs to a student:

Should your child have to take medication at school, it must come to the office in the original container with the doctor's instructions as well as a signed waiver form from you to enable us to administer it.

Lice Policy:

• If a teacher suspects a child has lice, the child will be sent to the office to be checked. If this child has siblings, the siblings will also be checked.
• Once the child has been checked and the child has lice or nits, the child will be given a letter with proper instructions to solve the problem and be sent home.
• After parents/guardians have taken the measure to solve the problem, the child should return to school the following day with his/her parents. The child will be checked again and if the problem has not been solved, the child will go back home with his/her parents.

If there are too many children with lice at one time and we cannot get in touch with their parents in order to send them home, then the children will remain at school in the office and be given a letter. They should return to school the following day with their parents, as mentioned above.

Homework will be assigned regularly to students in grades 1 through 6 on a daily basis according to the following schedule:

• Cycle I (Grades 1 & 2) approximately 20-30 minutes per night.
• Cycle II (Grades 3 & 4) approximately 45 minutes per night.
• Cycle III (Grades 5 & 6) approximately 1 hour per night.

As children work at different rates of speed, some students may have more homework if they also have daily class work to complete at home.

• Parents will be informed when their child has not been completing his/her homework to the teacher's satisfaction.
• Parents should schedule a routine time for the homework to be done. Homework should be done in an environment which is quiet, well lit, comfortable and free from distractions such as television, family conversation etc.
• Parents should check their child’s Agenda book daily to see what homework is to be done and then check the work to see that it is completed.
• If requested to do so by the teacher or principal, the parent should sign the homework notebook after the work is completed.

Students must follow the rules set by the bus driver, the bus company and the School Board. Students who misbehave on the school bus may be given a written notices or even suspended. In case of suspension, a student must be transported to school. The following Bus Safety Rules must be followed:

• Students must have their bus passes at all times when boarding the bus.
• The bus pass must be easily visible to the bus driver.
• Line up, wait for the bus to come to a complete stop, and then board the bus.
• Do not loiter on the steps of the bus or in the aisles. When you're on the bus, sit in your seat and stay there for the duration of the journey.
• While you are seated, your feet must be in front of you; never in the aisle.
• Nothing is to be thrown around the bus at any time; it's dangerous for the children and obstructs the driver's view.
• Arms, hands and heads stay inside the bus at all times.
• Loud noises, shouting, swearing and actions of this nature are not allowed.
• Throwing things out of the bus windows is not allowed.
• When you get off the bus, take your time and get off in an orderly manner.
• All sports equipment such as skates must be kept in a vinyl bag.

As providing a safe environment for our students is a major concern, we wish to remind all parents that a peanut/nut free environment cannot be guaranteed in our school as complete avoidance of all allergens is not possible.

Students at risk of anaphylactic reactions should only eat food prepared from their home. They should refrain from buying food from outside suppliers (hot lunch programs, fundraising pizza lunches) or school cafeterias and from consuming food offered through nutritional support programs. Although peanuts or nut products are not used in the preparation of the meals/snacks in these suppliers’ production kitchens, cross-contamination may have occurred on site, in transit or at the original source of the primary ingredients (e.g. Plant X producing chicken nuggets as well as products containing nut/peanut derivatives).

Furthermore, please take particular note that:

• Peanut or nut free labeling is not government regulated, since the presence of peanuts or nuts cannot be tested.
• A list of ingredients free of peanuts/nuts does not equal safe, since “May contain traces of peanuts/nuts” labeling is not mandatory or controlled. Consequently, it it is not possible to reduce the risk to zero and to create a peanut/nut free environment.

Therefore, no packaged/processed food can be guaranteed as peanut/nut free. To prevent accidental exposure to peanuts or nuts, all parents should prioritize fruits and vegetables and milk products as snacks and desserts.

Students are to come to school dressed in their school uniform, and shoes must be worn at all times. During the winter, boots will not be permitted in the classroom, therefore students should have an indoor pair of shoes during this time. The school uniform is as follows:

Boys: Navy blue slacks or sweatpants; short or long sleeved royal blue shirt; navy blue sweatshirt or cardigan

Girls: Navy blue slacks, skirt or sweatpants; short or long sleeved royal blue shirt; navy blue sweatshirt or cardigan

The following consequences are in effect for students who violate any Rules of Conduct and Safety:

1. Discussion, reprimand and warning
2. Written report
3. Communication with parents written assignment related to the action
4. School detention
5. Loss of recreational activities
6. Case conference with parents
7. Pay for damage, where appropriate
8. In-school suspension
9. Out-of-school suspension

Lunch period begins at 11:55 A.M. and ends at 12:50 P.M. Lunch supervision is provided by monitors hired for this purpose.

If your child remains at school during the lunch period:

Parents must pay an annual supervision fee, this fee is set every school year at the beginning of the year. Students who have not had their fees paid by September 3rd will be sent home for lunch. They will not be allowed to stay at school for the lunch period and should return to school at 12:40 P.M.

One progress report and three formal report cards will be issued throughout the school year.

The principal and our teachers will be pleased to confer with parents throughout the year. However, a note must be sent to the school requesting an interview, which will permit the selection of a convenient time and date.

Even when an appointment has been made, parents should report to the office first.