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Dr. Morris Gibson School

Name: _________________________________ Grade: _____ Teacher: _________________

147 Crystalridge Drive, Okotoks, Alberta T1S 2B2 Telephone:(403) 938-6221 Fax: (403) 938-6225 Attendance Line : (403) 938-6221 Press 1 email: gibson@fsd38.ab.ca twitter@DMGSchool website: http://drgibson.fsd38.ab.ca/

...from the DMG Administration Team

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome back to another exciting year at Dr. Morris Gibson School. Your school administration team (Mrs. Bobbi Hunter and Mr. Scott Flintoft) look forward to all the possibilities a brand new school year brings. Together with the wonderful DMG Staff, we are eager to continue on our jour-ney through the 2019-20 school year.

We look forward to a great year of exploring new and exciting things together today, and every day at DMG!

Bobbi Hunter, Principal Scott Flintoft, Vice Principal

“It’s a poor day when I haven’t learned something new!” - Dr. Morris Gibson

Administrative Message

Dr. Morris Gibson Our school is named after a dedicated, compas-sionate and generous physician who gave much of his life to education and the care of people in this community. Born in Scotland, Dr. Morris Gibson, along with his wife Dr. Janet Gibson, moved to the Okotoks area in 1955. Numerous heart-warming and humorous stories are still told about Dr. Gib-son as part of the history of Okotoks. He earned the profound trust of this community by treating his patients as individuals and by applying his medical skills to a rapidly changing world. Dr. Gibson was also an accomplished author and we are proud to have our school named after such a remarkable man. His legacy lives on at our school. Dr. Morris Gibson

Dr. Morris Gibson School is proud to be recognized as Oko-toks’ Best School (GOLD) in the 2017 Okotoks Western Wheel Readers’ Choice Awards!

National Inclusive Schools Award Winner.

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Dr. Gibson School emphasizes regular parent and teacher communication through e-newsletters and our website. We also provide opportunities to inform par-ents about curriculum implementation and to explain opportunities for engaged student learning at DMG. We encourage ongoing dialogue and involvement with every parent.

COMMUNICATION AT GIBSON

The evaluation of student progress is a continuous process. Home and school conferences, celebrations of learning, progress reports, student led confer-ences, and student portfolios promote communication between parents and teachers in the reporting of stu-dent progress. Teachers assess students’ progress in such areas as classroom participation, oral and written work, test results, as well as the quality of as-signments produced. While three formal Learner Pro-files are written during the year (in November, March and June), parents are encouraged to maintain on-going contact throughout the year with teachers re-garding their child’s progress.

REPORTING

Our students are taught to accept their responsibilities as learners and are increasingly expected to demon-strate respect for themselves, others and their learn-ing environment. Should the behaviour of a student become detrimental to the individual or to class learn-ing, or should a student repeatedly refuse to comply with school expectations, corrective measures will be taken through a clear and consistent discipline pro-cess. Major behavioral issues will be referred to school administration for resolution. Violence or threats of violence will not be tolerated. All incidents of bullying, harassment or threat-making will be inves-tigated and responded to as per Foothills School Divi-sion Administrative Procedures.

STUDENT BEHAVIOUR

O Canada Each school day starts with the broadcast of “O Cana-da”. We ask all are in the building to pause during the playing of our National Anthem. Classes are asked to

stand and join in the singing of the anthem. Morning Announcements DMG hosts its own television network, the Gibson News Network (GNN). This news program is broadcast to our smartboards through out internal network and is not viewable out-side of the school. Classes take turns broadcasting the morning announcements, sharing special projects, activities and celebrating school and individual suc-cesses on the Gibson News Network.

MGM Student Agenda

Student Agendas will only be issued for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3. Students in Grades 4-6 will be shifting to a digital homework and school event notice system.

A student phone is located in the office. While the phone is available for student use, please encourage your child to make their social or play arrangements from home before coming to school. In order to use the phone a student must obtain permission from his or her teacher or office staff. We discourage chil-dren bringing cell phones to school unless re-quested by a teacher. Student Cell Phone use during school hours is not permitted. Student cell phones must be kept away in backpacks during school hours unless being utilized as part of a teacher learning

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun.” Mary Lou Cook

Students at DMG School are provided with a variety of learning and performance opportunities in Music. Students receive regular music classes twice a week by a trained music specialist teacher. In addition to these classes students in Grades 4-6 may also take the opportunity to join our DMG School Choir and Xylophone clubs. And finally, our DMG Fine Arts team produces a school musical every second school year. In the past we have produced musical productions such as “Shrek Jr.” (2016) and “Madagascar Jr.” (2018). Stu-dents looking to be cast in one of the lead roles must be enrolled in our extracurricular choir program.

DMG Music Program We have many cultural and community events that take place each year at DMG. All our school event information is available on our School Website Calendar (http://drgibson.fsd38.ab.ca). Parents are welcome to attend our cultural and community related events and presentations.

STUDENT PHONE / CELL PHONES

SCHOOL EVENTS

Our Television Network

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The roadways near DMG are very busy before and after school. We thank our parents for slowing down and being cautious while moving through our school zone. Some Traffic and Parking reminders: • please follow traffic laws at all times. • Follow the directions of DMG Staff and Safety Pa-

trollers • No Parking or Pick-up/Drop Off in the Staff Park-

ing lot or driveway areas beside the school. • Front loop is for passholders only. Passes are

issued annually for families with children with mo-bility challenges or that need extra support and/or assistance getting into the school.

• Please model good pedestrian behaviour by us-ing our crosswalks and following our Safety Pa-trollers.

• Be courteous to a neighbours. Do not park or block driveways. Even a short stop in front of someone’s driveway can block them from leaving their home.

TRAFFIC and PARKING

DMG is proud to provide an award winning inclusive learning environment for all students. We believe in working together with our families to ensure that stu-dents have the supports they need to be successful academically, physically, socially and emotionally. If you have concerns about your child your first contact should be with your child’s classroom teacher. Fur-ther follow-up may include our school Learning Coaches and Administration Team. We provide connections to a variety of community support services for families and students.

RESPONDING TO STUDENT NEEDS

DMG will be sending home student supplies lists for parents to purchase the supplies their child will need for their school year. As students use, lose or dam-age their materials teachers may request a parent to send in more items. Due to recent government changes in the administra-tion of school fees it is no longer feasible for DMG to provide a bulk school supply purchase as we have in previous years. School supply lists will be posted on our website and sent home with June report cards. DMG has partnered with Mabel’s Labels to provide families with a fun and cost-effective way to label their child’s school supplies. All proceeds from label sales will go towards school supplies and field trip fees for DMG students and families in financial need.

STUDENT SUPPLIES

At Dr. Gibson School, children learn and interact to-gether in a shared ‘family’ environment, rich in aca-demic challenges and pursuits. Each “pod”, or group of classrooms at Dr. Gibson hosts a family community of different grades. There is an expectation that older students will be positive role models to their younger friends. Our pods provide opportunities for teachers and students to work in a collaborative learning envi-ronment. We value the strong sense of togetherness

and belonging in the hallways of Dr. Gibson School.

SCHOOL PODS

“”All learning begins with the simple phrase, “I don’t know.” - anonymous

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” B.B. King

BUILDING SECURITY

DMG AMA SAFETY PATROL

Dr. Morris Gibson School is proud to participate in the Alberta Motor Association School Safety Patrol Pro-gram. Grade 6 students are trained by the AMA each fall and manage our crosswalks at the corner of Crys-talridge Drive and Crystalridge Crescent. We thank our families for keeping our students and families safe by driving slow and cautious near our school and being patient with our school crossing guard students as they try to keep traffic flowing and help our students cross the road safely each day. Vehicles not obeying the Safety Patrols may be re-ported to the Okotoks RCMP.

Student and staff safety is a top priority at DMG. To keep our building safe and secure, most exterior doors are locked during all learning times. The main front door of the school is unlocked and all visitors (including parents) are expected to enter only through this front door. Visitors must sign in and out of the office with each visit. A rear exterior door will be un-locked during recess times to ensure students are able to get in for drinks and bathrooms during recess time. Parents may drop their children off at their desig-nated entry doors, but if parents need to enter the school for any reason we ask that they enter through the main front door and sign in at the of-fice.

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Regular attendance and punctuality is of the utmost importance for your child and a legal requirement under the School Act. Research shows a direct link between stu-dent attendance and student achievement. Typically homework cannot replace the learning that goes on in the classroom each day. Illness, medical appointments, religious holidays and family emergen-cies are excusable reasons for absence or late arri-val. We offer a voice mail service for attendance. To re-port an absent or late student, please call the school’s main line at (403) 938-6221. Students are expected to be punctual. If a child is late, he/she is required to check in at the office before attending class. Late arrivals will be logged and noted in the report card. Teachers will be in contact with the home should students become habitually late. Students with an excessive amount or pattern of lates or absences may receive follow-up through the Foothills School division Attendance Manage-ment Program.

ATTENDANCE

Accident / Illness

Good health is necessary for effective learning. Stu-dents who are ill should receive prompt medical at-tention and should not return to school until fully recovered. In the event of an accident or illness while at school, we will endeavour to contact the parent or guardian and take other necessary steps as per Foothills School Division Administrative Pro-cedure 330. The parent may be requested to pick up their child or to provide permission for the child to go home. If a parent or guardian cannot be contact-ed, the school will contact the designated emergen-cy contact person. It is important that parents keep medical information, work and emergency contact information current.

Student’s Medication

Should the school be requested to administer medi-cation of any type, a signed request and authoriza-tion with all pertinent information is required. This form should be returned to the school office. A Doc-tor’s statement verifying the medication is also re-quired.

The safety and well being of our students is a priority at Dr. Gibson School. The following guidelines have been developed with that priority in mind.

STUDENT SAFETY

Bussing Information

Students riding a bus are under the authority of the driver who will provide students and parents with a set of Behaviour Guidelines at the beginning of the year. Please review bus rules with your child. If a bus student is required to go home by any other means, a note signed by the parent is required for the driver. Please contact Foothills Transportation for additional information at 403-652-6547.

Bicycles/ Skateboards/ Rollerblades/Scooters

While we provide student bike racks and scooter racks we cannot guarantee the security of bikes, skateboards, and etc. All such equipment should be locked up. Students who ride bikes to school are re-quired to do so in a safe manner and follow all traffic rules. Bikes, skateboards, scooters or rollerblades are not to be ridden on the school grounds or during recesses.

Students Walking

Students walking from the south or east must use the crosswalks and school patrols at the corners of Crys-talridge Drive, and enter the playground at the north east fire lane entrance. Students coming to the school from the west should use the pathway, and sidewalks.

Security & Fire Drills

Periodic drills are called to ensure that students are trained and alerted to the procedures to follow in the event of a fire or a building lockdown. In the event of an emergency evacuation, classes may be required to proceed to our predetermined evacuation site. Fur-ther information and details will be communicated to families through emergency messaging systems (Synervoice). Students should wear indoor shoes at all times.

“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.“ Mark Van Doren

“Imagination is more important than

knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagi-nation encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

We have a significant number of students and staff members with severe food allergies that can result in a life threatening reaction (anaphylaxis). Many of these allergies are directly related to peanuts and nut products. While it is impossible to guarantee a “nut free” environment in any school setting, we do have a “nut restricted” food policy. Parents are request-ed to make every effort to comply with following: 1. Please do not send peanuts, tree nuts or foods containing nut products to school . 2. Please do not send foods containing peanut butter to school. 3. Please check packaged food labels for evidence of peanuts or nut products, and if present keep these at home.

Severe Allergies

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We have your child’s clothes!

Throughout the school year, an enormous number of clothing articles and other personal belongings accu-mulate in the Lost and Found box. Valuable items are turned into the office. Please ensure that student’s names are put on clothing, books and personal be-longings. All unclaimed items of clothing are donated to charity. Personal electronic items (eg. Ipods, hand held games) are discouraged from being brought to school. Due to the large volume of Lost and Found items we collect our lost and found is sorted and laid out on display for students during the first week of each month. An email is sent home to remind-ing students and families to check for any lost items. Any unclaimed items are donated to a lo-cal charity.

LOST AND FOUND

Field trips are planned activities that enhance the in-structional program. A Field Trip Form will be sent home prior to each trip to outline particulars such as purpose, departure and arrival times, curricular rele-vance and costs. Occasionally, teachers may take students on walks around the neighbourhood as part of the Daily Phys Ed classes. We request that all parents sign the Walking Field Trip form to facilitate this.

It is expected that all students will represent our school well by demonstrating responsible, mature, and co-operative behaviour.

FIELD TRIPS

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Information regarding emergency closures may be obtained by dialling the Foothills School Division @ (403) 652-3001. Announcements regarding emergen-cy school closures will be made on local and Calgary radio stations, the Foothills School Division Website (www.fsd38.ab.ca), Foothills School Division Twitter account (@fsd), and DMG School Twitter Account (@DMG School).

Parents often extend their child’s classroom work through books, family outings, lessons, TV programs, software and supervised homework. In addition we strongly encourage parents to read to, and with, their children every day. Home programs may also be set up with families through the resource teacher, speech therapist and classroom teacher. As parents, it is important that you have information that the school uses to make decisions. This hand-book, the newsletter, the reporting process, our indi-vidual conversations, the school agenda, our website and your child are our main avenues of getting infor-mation to you. “We all (parents, staff and community) participate in the education and support of our children in an at-mosphere of mutual trust and respect.”

Learning at Gibson is greatly enriched by our Parent Volunteer program, which includes parents and com-munity members who volunteer in classrooms, the library, the office and on field trips. We welcome vol-unteers in all grades and have a sincere appreciation for the significant differences they make to our chil-dren’s education every day.

As part of our school security plan, please note that volunteers are required to register with the school, submit a Criminal Records check, and complete a Foothills Confidentiality Agreement. All volunteers and visitors are required to check-in and out at the main office.

All parents/guardians of students attending Dr. Morris Gibson School are members of our School Council. Monthly meetings are scheduled throughout the school year and members serve in an advisory ca-pacity to the school, providing feedback on school ac-tivities as well as initiating special projects and fund raising activities. “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” William Butler Yeats

PARENT PARTNERSHIPS

School Council

Parent Volunteer Program

I grant permission for my child __________________ to take walking field trips within the neighborhood for the school term 2017– 2018. Parent/Guardian Name (Print):____________________ Parent/Guardian Signature: ______________________ Date: ______________________

Walking Field Trip Permission Form:

Signature

Required Please!!

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Our DMG School Council sponsors a fee-based Hot Lunch Program. This program offers fam-ilies the opportunity to purchase hot lunch for their children on Wednesdays and Fridays each week. Wednesday Hot Lunches are provided from local restaurants and Friday Hot Lunches consist of hotdogs cooked in our school kitchen. In the event there is no school on Friday, hot dog lunch will be served on Thursday. The hot lunch program is managed through an online website. Information about how to purchase hot lunch will be sent home in September each year. Proceeds from the hotlunch program go towards sponsoring a wide variety of learning, cultural and extra-curricular activities for students.

LUNCH PROGRAM

Learning Commons (Library)

Our Learning Commons is an integral component of the educational program at Dr. Morris Gibson School. The Learning Commons Facilitator acts in partner-ship with the classroom teachers to promote good reading habits, effective research practices, and re-sponsible attitudes toward the borrowing and care of books. Our Learning Commons is our hub of learning. It is a place for students to come enjoy a good story or to collaborate with other students in a comfortable and innovative learning environment Students may take out books for a one-week period and renew them for an additional week. The cost of replacing lost or any damaged material will be billed to the student.

Students are required to have opportunities to devel-op the skills required to use a wide array of technolo-gy tools to assist in the inquiry, decision making, problem solving and presentation areas of the curricu-lum. Our staff has significant IT expertise and we em-ploy powerful Mac & PC technologies as an integral part of the educational process at Dr. Gibson. Foothills School Division requires all users of our net-works to complete a Network Resources Acceptable User form which is found on the final page. Non-acceptable use may result in loss of network access. All students and parents are required to sign this doc-ument.

Technology

“The best teachers are those that show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” Alexandra K. Trenfor

Students are expected to be well groomed, and to dress in a manner that enhances the school’s learn-ing climate, demonstrates pride in themselves, and is not a distraction for, or offensive to, others. All students are required to have a pair of inside shoes and a pair of outside shoes. This contributes greatly to the cleanliness of our school. Indoor shoes need to have non-marking soles and should be la-belled with the student’s name. Hats, caps or outerwear are not to be worn in school hallways and common areas. Teachers may choose to allow or not allow hats within their own classrooms. with classroom teacher permission.

STUDENT DRESS CODE

At various times during the year our students assem-ble as a single body. Purposes vary from Remem-brance Day ceremonies to celebrations of individual and group success in the areas of academics, athlet-ics, the arts, cultural presentations and information sharing. Parents will be informed of assemblies and are welcome to attend.

STUDENT ASSEMBLIES

Your child’s safety and well-being is a top priority at Dr. Morris Gibson School. We provide outdoor supervision beginning at 8:20 A.M., daily. Please do not have your children arrive prior to this as we do not have staff members available to provide proper supervision prior to 8:20 A.M. After school we provide supervision until 3:30 p.m. each day. When visiting the school for any reason we require that you check in at the office before moving through the school. For security and safety reasons it is imperative that we know who is in our building. Learning time is valuable and we want to ensure that we make the most of the limited time we have with your children. When arriving to pick your child up please wait at the designated doors for dismissal. Our pod ar-eas and hallways are often used as learning spaces for small groups of students. Having parents waiting in these areas can be a distraction to the students work-ing nearby, Thank you for your support and cooperation in keeping your children safe and secure at school each day.

Student Supervision

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