August 23rd, 2017

Are You Ready For The First Day of School at Groh Public School?!

As we prepare to meet and greet our students for the first day of school, we have planned something special to commemorate our inaugural day.

We will be asking parents, students and staff to walk together on the first day of school – rain or shine!  Our staff will be at various street corners within a 1.8 km radius of the school as gathering points to start us off walking to school.  (Please see map below).  Our staff will be wearing Groh P.S. shirts with their names on the back of the shirts.  Walking to school will give you and your children an opportunity to meet new people within the neighbourhood and to begin to hopefully forge new friendships while also giving them some fresh air and exercise before sitting for class.  We have contacted the regional police to encourage the walk to school and to review traffic and safety along the way.  We are pleased to have Chief Bryan Larkin join us for our walk to school.

In order for our walk to school to be successful, we ask that parents refrain from driving their students to school.  Also, our FDK students and parents are welcome to join the walk.  However, you will have received letters from your child’s teacher regarding a staggered entry date and time.  If you choose to walk with us, you will then need to walk back home and return to school at your designated appointment with your child’s teacher.

There will be different starting times at each corner so that we all arrive at the back of the school by 9:00 a.m.  Once you have arrived, our director of education, John Bryant, will briefly speak to everyone outside and perform an official ribbon cutting ceremony – max 5 minutes.  

On Friday, September 1st, after 3:00 p.m., you will receive an email from your child’s homeroom teacher.  S/he will introduce him/herself to you and your child.  No class lists will be posted on the doors.  Once the ribbon cutting ceremony is over, students will find their teachers and wait to be led into the school.  Classes and the homeroom  teacher’s names will be posted on the rear wall of the school.  The homeroom teachers will be carrying a large placard with their name on it so that the students can easily find them.

We ask that all parents remain outside and NOT enter the building.  We know that the students will be excited to come in and see the new building as well as their classroom.  We understand that some parents would also like to come in at this time, however, there would be too much of a congestion, particularly going up to the second floor.  We want to ensure that  our students enter the building safely to get to their classrooms.

Parents will have an opportunity to come with their children and tour the new school and meet the staff on Thursday, September 7, 2017 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. By then your children will have developed a little familiarity with the space as they share it with you.   We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding in following our request to wait until Thursday.

Enjoy the last few weeks of the summer.  We look forward to seeing all of you on September 5, 2017.

Helmut Tinnes

We ask parents to review these walking safety rules with their children:
1. Look all ways before you cross the street.
2. Where there is no sidewalk for longer than the width of a driveway, walk on the left, facing traffic.
3. Do not cross behind vehicles that are backing up.
4. Make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of vehicles.
5. When a vehicle blocks a driveway, look all ways before walking around the vehicle to get back on the sidewalk.
Thank you!