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Entrance Criteria
Parkland School is designed to meet the educational needs of students in the trainable, dependent and multi-dependent range. Funding is available for students between the ages of 4 and 19. Although there is no standard criteria for admission, the needs of each student is assessed prior to admission in order to determine suitability. School Hours
Students are expected at school no earlier than 8:50 am. Students being transported by parents should be dropped off no sooner than 8:50 am and picked up between 3:00 - 3:15 pm unless otherwise notified. Daily Communication Books For several students we have initiated a daily communication book which allows the teacher/aide and parent/residential staff/proprietor to maintain close communication regarding the student. Monthly Calendar Each month the school sends home a calendar with significant events of the month noted - days of early closure, special events, field trips, meetings, and holidays. Please post this in your home and refer to it to prevent any confusion. Supplies Needed Parents are requested to send the following items on the first day:
Student Registration and Fees In June of each year, re-registration forms are sent out to all parents to determine student count for the following year. In early September or October, registration fees are requested in the amount of $60.00. This amount includes regular registration fees and a yearbook at the end of the term. Statements of Account A statement will be sent to you by the accounting office at Parkland Community Living and Supports Society for any money owing. Recreation Fees A couple of times per year, parents will be asked for a $10.00 contribution to the recreation fund to help pay for special field trips. All other recreation is paid for by the school. Nut-Free Environment Parkland School is now a "NUT-FREE" environment due to some students and staff having serious allergic reactions to nuts. Please refrain from sending any nuts, peanut butter or chocolate bars (other than Aero, Smarties, Kit-Kat or Coffee Crisp). Thank you. Dress Code It is unacceptable for any staff or students to wear short shorts, mini skirts, shirts showing midriff or t-shirts with rude or suggestive logos/notations on them. It is also unacceptable to have any underwear showing. Lost and Found To prevent the loss of your child's belongings, please mark everything clearly with the first and last name (in permanent marker). Feel free to check the lost and found periodically for lost belongings. School Pictures You will receive information on different packages in the Fall. Yearbooks will be printed and distributed before the end of the term or in September. These are paid for with your registration fees. Required Information There are occasions when a parent or guardian needs to be contacted immediately. It is your responsibility to ensure that the school has current information. Please notify the school if there are any changes in address, phone number, work numbers or alternate emergency phone numbers. It is imperative that an alternate emergency phone number be made available in the event that we cannot contact you. Birth Certificate It is imperative that parents/guardians present a birth certificate/live birth certificate upon enrolling a student at the school. No student will be allowed to start school without this documentation in place (AB ED Regulation). Absenteeism If your child is going to be absent, please notify the bus driver before 7:30 am. If your child is not transported by bus, you are asked to phone the school and leave a message on the answering machine. Open Door Policy Parents/Guardians/Residential Staff/Proprietors shall have access to the school at any time during operational hours to visit their child or talk with the Teacher/Aide. All visitors mentioned above must follow correct procedure in order to access the school and personnel:
No persons other than Parents/Guardiand/Proprietors/Current Residential Staff are allowed to observe or visit students or staff on the playground or in the school without authorization from the CES or Designate. All visitors to the school MUST CHECK IN with the school secretary before proceeding into the school. Student Illness Policy Due to the extreme medical fragility of many students at the school and our desire to keep our students as healthy as possible, it is imperative to implement a no-tolerance illness policy. In the event that a teacher feels that a student is ill and that student's behavior is interfering with classroom management or putting other students and staff at risk, it is her responsibility to contact the Parent/Guardian/Residential Supervisor/Proprietor or emergency contact person designated by same to come and take the student home so that appropriate care can be given. No Nits Policy In the event that a student has head lice, the Parent/Guardian/Residential Staff/Proprietor will be instructed to treat the condition with appropriate solutions (Nix, etc.) and return the student to school ONLY after all nits have been removed from the hair. If nits are still seen in the hair upon the student's return to school, the Parent/Guardian/Residential Staff/Proprietor will be asked to take the student home again and remove all nits before returning. Impetigo Policy In the event that a Teacher, with the help of the school nurse, suspects that a student has Impetigo, it is her responsibility to contact the Parent/Guardian/Residential Staff/Proprietor and have the student taken home. The student must have medical intervention and be on antibiotics for a period of 24 hours before returning to school due to the highly contagious nature of Impetigo. Medication Policy Our medication policy states that any medication sent to school on a permanent basis must be in bubble pack or individual syringes (if liquid). If temporary medication is sent in, it must be in original packaging bearing all details of what, when, Doctor, etc. If this information is not available, the Secretary will call you to confirm. If you cannot be reached, the medication will not be given. Any medication sent to school should be given directly to the bus driver or rider or school personnel. Please do not sent medication in lunch kits or pockets - it could fall into other hands!!! All medications at school are administered by Ruth Nevett, Joy Martin, Monica Lawes or Trudy Lewis. Any changes/termination of medications must be reported to the school office. Paperwork will be necessary for any medication given at school and will be sent to you from the office. Policy re: Parent Concerns (taken from Special Education Programming, Consultation Planning & Problem Solving - Feb/07)
Assessment/Curriculums Carolina Curriculum for Infants 7 Toddlers, Carolina Curriculum for Preschoolers with Special Needs, Brigance Inventory or Early Development, Brigance Inventory of Basic Skills, Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills and Brigance Life Skills Curriculum ae all assessments used at Parkland School once per term to evaulatethe students' progress. From these assesements, an IPP (Individual Program Plan) is developed and updated throughout the term. The Alberta Education Curriculum "Programming for Students with Special Needs", Meeting Challenging Needs Curriculum and the Help Charts are all utilized for classroom teaching strategies. Parent-Teacher Interviews are held 3 times per year to complete IPP's and to share results of assessments. Parents are requested to provide input into the development of the IPP through questionaires sent out twice per term and through Parent-Teacher Interviews. Attendance at interviews is compulsory! Professional Services There are 2 types of therapy required for students with special needs. First and foremost is home-based therapy (physio, occupational, speech, behavioral, vision, hearing, feeding, seating clinics and hospital/doctor consultations). Secondly there is school-based therapy for those issues not covered by home-based therapists and/or are unique to the school environment. In addition to the community-based therapists you utilize for the above-mentioned areas, Parkland School offers the following specialists/services/consultations:
Monitoring Parkland School is monitored and evaulated by Alberta Education and the board of Parkland Community Living and Supports Society on a regular basis. We are a designated special education accredited private school in excellent standing with Alberta Education. Areas of Instruction Students attending Parkland School receive skill development and training in reading, fine motor, mathematics, language arts, snack program, physical education, health, hygiene, self-concept, augmentative communication, computers, sensory integration, music, living vocational skills, pre-vocational skills, community awareness, social skills and recreation. Skill development in these areas are prioritized to provide the student with the most necessary skills needed to lead a productive and fulfilling life. In the primary and secondary classrooms, the students with multiple disabilities receive specialized programming in sensory stimulation, feeding, toileting, range of motion, physio therapy, sensory integration therapy, computers, communication, socialization and community awareness. Please feel free to ask the Teachers or Director for any details regarding these areas of instruction. We welcome your questions and input into our programs. Extra Curricular Activities During the school term, various activities are held in the evening. The Halloween Dance is a family affair and all are encouraged to attend in costume. The Christmas Concert and Graduation exercises are most special occasions with the entire student body participating. The students spend considerable time and effort preparing for these special events. Parents are urged to attend these functions as it is an excellent opportunity for the students to be recognized for their effort and for them to feel the pride that only parent approval and applause brings. All these celebrations are held on Thursday evenings. Due to the fatigue for many students, the following day, we will dismiss at noon. Students will NOT receive medications at school on the noon dismissal days. Field Trips Details of all trips are sent home ahead for preparation. Parents are required to send in $10.00 to $20.00 a year for the firld trip fund. Awards Positive reinforcement is practiced continually at Parkland School to reward diligence, persistence, courage, compliance, and proper conduct. Formal awards are presented to students at Graduation exercises in June. Funding All Funding received by Parkland School is from the following sources: Alberta Education - Government of Alberta - Basic tuition and severe disability grants are provided to students by the Government of Alberta - Department of Education. School Boards/Jurisdictions - School Boards provide additional funding for the students that they direct to Parkland School from their jurisdiction. These funds are needed to supplement the Government grants received for each student. Cold Weather/Closure Policy In the event of temperatures of -30C or below at 7 AM, Parkland School buses will not make scheduled runs that day. The school staff will be onsite and the school will be open and operational for students being transported by alternate means (to be arranged by Parent/Guardian/Residential Staff/Proprietors). The school will be closed only in the event of major storms/blizzards/disaster. These decisions will be made by the Chief of Educational Services and shall be announced on local radio stations after 7 AM. When deemed necessary to close the school due to severe weather, you will be informed via radio (CKRD, Z99, CKGY & Sunny 94). If students are sent home due to an emergency situation, the office will endeavor to contact parents before the students are bused home. Again, most important to have an emergency contact incase!! Sure-Loc Policy Before any bus transporting wheelchairs is put in motion, the driver must check all wheelchairs to ensure tightness and security of all Sure-Locs. If the brakes, straps or mechanics on any wheelchair are not in good working order, the driver must notify the classroom Teacher who shall notify toe parent/Guardian/Residential Staff/Proprietor to have the problem rectified immediately. No wheelchair with faulty brakes can be transported on a school bus as the Sure-Loc system is not reliable unless the brakes are fully operational. Wheelchair Transportation Policy No student will be transported in Parkland School buses in a wheelchair other than their own. It is not acceptable for a student to ride in a school wheelchair on the bus due to safety concerns. Parents/Guardians/Residential Staff/Proprietors will have to transport the student to and from school until personal wheelchair is available again. Student Accident Policy In the event that any student sustains possible injury from an accident, either on the playground or in the school (fallen as a result of a seizure, hit by a swing, fallen off a slide, slipped on a wet floor, etc.) the following procedure shall be used: The student must be left in recovery position for 3 - 5 minutes (if seizure, this long after seizure is over). If student shows signs of pain or discomfort (whining, crying or shock-like symptoms: pale, shaking) he/she must be covered with a blanket and left in that position with staff supervision until help arrives. Parents/Guardians/Residential Staff/Proprietors shall be called immediately and informed of the situation. They will be required to come to the school at once or give us the authorization to call an ambulance if necessary. In the event that parents cannot be notified, the school Director or Principal shall make the decision regarding ambulance. If after 3 - 5 minutes the student is not showing signs of pain or discomfort, he/she will be asked to stand up (without assistance) and return to the activity. If the student cannot stand on their own, the school nurse/Director shall be called to assess the situation. If the student cannot stand on their own due to seizure activity and the grogginess that sometimes results, then he/she shall be transferred to a wheelchair and taken to the medical room in the office. The student will be left there to rest (with supervision) until such time as he/she is ready to be mobile again (the student needs to stand up unaided when ready to leave). Much care must be taken in any lift or transfer. This will only be done if there are no signs of pain or distress in the student in recovery position. If in doubt, the school nurse/Director will be called upon to decide on action. Reporting Suspected Abuse ACCORDING TO SCHOOL POLICY, ALL TEACHERS AND AIDES ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT ANY SUSPECTED ABUSE OF A STUDENT TO THE DIRECTOR BY MEANS OF AN INCIDENT REPORT OR VERBAL REPORTING. THE PHYSICAL AND BEHAVIORAL INDICATORS USED FOR THIS PURPOSE ARE TAKEN FROM THE PDD ABUSE PROTOCOL AND ARE AS FOLLOWS: Physical Indicators
Student Behavior and Conduct We expect all students to respect the school and its personnel. We treat students with dignity and positive regard and expect them to respond accordingly. At times, it may be necessary to implement structured behavioral programs when serious behaviors continually occur. Parents will be contacted in this case and asked for input and consent for such a program. Although suspensions rarely occur at Parkland School, on occasion they may be necessary. Suspension and Expulsion Policy Parkland School expects students to respect the school rules and its personnel. Students are always treated with dignity and positive regard and it is an expectation for them to respond accordingly. Although it is rare that suspension or expulsion from Parkland School should be necessary,a guideline must be in place for such an occasion. Suspension - Suspension of a student shall be used in the following situations:
Expulsion - Expulsion of a student shall only be used in extreme cases of the above mentioned situations where there is no resolution in sight. Expulsion shall only be possible after the situation has been reviewed by the Executive Director and the service management team of Parkland Community Living and Supports Society. Jurisdictions are notified immediately of an expulsion as it is their mandate to provide education for the student. Appeal Process - Parents/Guardians can appeal an expulsion by following the Appeal Process Level I & II in Policy V:I:7 (Consumer/Guardian Grievance and Appeal Process) Swim Policy All students with epilepsy must wear approved life jackets while swimming in any community pool or lake. A list of epileptic students shall be sent to the pool of choice in September of each year and updated as needed. Exemptions from this policy will be granted if the Parent/Guardian submits a written waiver to the school accompanied by a written statement from a Medical Doctor stating that the student does not present an existing risk of seizure activity and therefore no unreasonable risks in swimming activities without a lifejacket. Areas of Instruction | Off Campus Activities | Contact Information | Policies | Home |