Questions & Answers About the
Alternative School Arrangements for Harmony Public School
Updated September 8, 2014 PDF version
The following questions and answers are to assist parents/guardians with the transition of students to the alternative schools while construction of Harmony Public School continues. Posted September 7, 2014. The Q&As will be updated as required. Notification of updates will be shared through Twitter, @HPEschools and @HarmonyHPEDSB
1. Which school will my child attend?
- Primary students whose teachers are: Cornall, Cox, Crothers, Ford, Nash, Reid, Sakellis, Shillington, Slater, Tebo and Wanless, will go to Sir Winston Churchill Public School, located at 301 MacDonald Avenue.
- Primary and Junior students whose teachers are: Graham, Little, Petch and Vella, will go to William R. Kirk School located at 224 Palmer Road.
- Junior and Intermediate students whose teachers are Crawford, Kerr, MacDonald, Marcotte, Shortland, Vivian and Wong, will go to Quinte Secondary School, located at 45 College Street West.
2. What time will school start and end?
- The school day at each site will start at 9:55 a.m. and end at 4:15 p.m., which is 30 minutes later than the normal times.
3. How will busing work?
- Normal bus pick-up times will occur in the morning and students will arrive at their respective school in varying times before 9:55 a.m., as the buses flow between the three schools.
- Students will stay on their assigned buses for the duration of the trip to and from school. Students will not be required to transfer buses.
- Additional school personnel will be onsite before and after school for supervision and to ensure students get off the bus at the correct school location in the morning and get on the correct bus in the afternoon.
- Buses will move in waves of four at a time (for a total of 12 buses) between each of the three Belleville schools to drop off students in the morning, and pick them up in the afternoon.
- After school, buses will depart in waves starting at 4:15 p.m. and return students home on their normal routes. Home arrival times will be later than normal due to the additional travel time from Belleville.
- Parents/guardians should contact Tri-Board Student Transportation Services if they do not know their child's bus number, 1.866.569.6638 or [email protected]
4. What number do I call to report my child's absence, leave a message regarding a change in dismissal plans, or for other inquiries?
- The normal process for contacting the Harmony school office remains in place no matter which school your child is temporarily attending. Call the Harmony Public School phone number, 613-962-7867 to report your child's absence or for other reasons, as you normally would.
- In addition, the normal process for signing a student out of school early for a medical appointment or other activity is in place. Parents/guardians must report to the office to ask for the student to be dismissed early.
5. Will before and after school care be available?
- The YMCA before and after school child care program will be provided at Sir Winston Churchill Public School beginning Monday, September 8 for families who have registered for the program.
- The times will be 7:30 a.m. to start of school day at 9:55 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Please contact the YMCA to register or confirm registration, 613-962-9245.
6. What are the times for recess and lunch?
- All three schools will follow the balanced day schedule, as usual. Recess and lunch times will be shared with parents/guardians in a letter going home with students on Monday, September 8, 2014.
7. My child will be going to Quinte Secondary School. What are the expectations for staying on school property?
- All Harmony students will be expected to stay on school property while at school. They will not be permitted to leave the site during lunch/nutrition breaks.
8. What about the reports of radon at Sir Winston Churchill Public School?
- Elevated radon levels were detected at the school in late December 2013.
- Long-term (93 days) radon testing was completed by Pinchen Environmental at the end of May 2014. Results were significantly below the 200 Bq/m3 level recommended by Health Canada.
- Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Health Unit did parallel testing which was completed at the beginning of June 2014 and its results were also below the Health Canada level.
- Information about the initial report can be found online at http://www.hpedsb.on.ca/newsroom/?p=6998
9. How long will this arrangement be in place?
- We expect these arrangements to be in place for at least three weeks. The first day at the new school will be communicated as soon as possible.
10. Why do my children have to go to a different school now?
- In January 2013 the Ministry of Education announced funding in the amount of$11.6 million to build a 59,000 square foot replacement school to accommodate 590 students. The new school has been under construction since September 2013. Projected enrolment for September 2014 is approximately 540 students.
- Significant delays in recent weeks resulted in families being asked to keep students home for the first four days of school. It was necessary to demolish the old school during the summer to allow for underground cabling and other services to be trenched and installed from the road to the new school.
For more information, please contact:
Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, 613-966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, extension 2354, [email protected]