Dear HRES Families,
Welcome back to a new school year!  We are looking forward to seeing all of our students Tuesday morning.   A September calendar will be sent out on within the first few days of school starting.

Bell Schedule:
8:00  Morning instruction begins (supervision begins at 7:40)
9:30  Recess
11:00  Lunch  (1/2 eat lunch & 1/2 go outside for 20 minutes and then switches)
11:40  Afternoon instruction begins
1:45  Dismissal

Living with Covid-19:
-   As we transition into a new school year, we will be following Public Health
Guidelines to ensure a safe school year. Here’s the link to the Back to School Plan https://backtoschool.ednet.ns.ca/returning-to-class  
- Masks, frequent handwashing/sanitizing and frequent cleaning of high touch surfaces will be an important part of our re-opening plan.
- It is important for students to stay home if they feel unwell, and we will be calling home if students do not feel well during the school day.  Please refer to the Daily Covid Checklist https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/Daily-COVID-checklist-en.pdf
First Day – September 7
On the first day of school, there will be staff members directing students on where to go in the morning.  Classroom teachers will be in designated spots with bright signs and we will make sure your child finds their teacher.
Please send in a water bottle and have your child dress for the weather.

Class Configurations:
We have had a busy week with registrations and are pleased to welcome a number of new families into the Holland Road Elementary community. It is important for all families to know that many classes are above cap so we will be making changes to our classes once registration numbers have been finalized.  We will communicate with you once we get more information. 

Here is our current staffing configuration to begin the school year:

Pre-Primary – Karen Hill & Lynn Mepham
Pre-Primary – Melissa McCarthy & Vicki Kerry
Primary - JoAnna Barrett
Primary - Ericka Sutherland 
One – Leah Gillis
One/Two – Krista Chaban
One/Two – Angie Wisen
Two – Sandy Wagg
Two/Three – Christina Giuliani
Three  – Lise James & Corrinne Dickison
Three/Four – Lisa MacIsaac
Four/Five – Diana Trider & Andrew Smith
Four/Five – Natalie MacDonald
Five – Nicole LeGrow

Student drop off and pick up:
-   For student safety, you need to park at the bottom of the hill for drop-off and pick-ups. There is no parking/driving on school property.
-  There will be staff on duty in the mornings at the two front doors and top of the hill.  Students are to come right into the school upon their arrival (after 7:40) and their teacher will be in the classroom to supervise.
-  At dismissal time, classroom teachers will be bringing out their classes so you may wait at the top of the hill for your child. 
-  For pick ups / drop offs throughout the school day, you should come to the main doors and ring the doorbell into the office.  Someone will come and meet you to pick up your child and bring them in, or to bring your child to you.

Safe Arrival
-  If your child is going to be absent or late, please call the Safe Arrival Line – 902-860-6039.  We do attendance every day to make sure that students have safely arrived at school.  Phone calls will be made to parents/guardians if students are absent and we have not received notification of the absence.  Students are considered late after 8:00 am. 
-  Please provide basic information if your child is sick since Public Health will be contacted if over 10% of our students are absent due to illness

Dismissal Changes:
If there is a change in your child’s regular dismissal please call the school and speak directly to a person or send a note with your child with the date, child’s name, class, and parent signature. If you send an email to the teacher the same day a dismissal change is requested, please be aware that they are teaching and may not see the email in time.

Lunch Monitors Needed:
Are you interested in helping out the school during the day while getting paid? Lunch monitors are needed to support our students.  We are looking for full and part-time lunch monitors for the 2020-21 school year. If you are interested, please call the school at 902-860-4170.

Enjoy the rest of the week-end!

Kellie West
Principal HRES