Robert Kemp Turner Elementary

School Policies

 

RKT Elementary School 

Policies

Inclement Weather Policies

Winter weather brings with it snow, ice and sleet. As a result, it may be necessary to close some or all schools on stormy days. The decision is made at the senior administrative level, not at the school. 

For practical purposes, we suggest families retain this letter for your reference in the future. The following procedures will be in place for the school year around inclement weather.

HRCE Information Line, 464-info (4636) for up to date information regarding our schools during storms, power outages etc. A recorded message will be available after the HRSB’s decisions have been made and announced for full- day closures. This will usually be by 6:00 am or shortly thereafter.

The general guidelines are noted below, but the up- to- date information on the “information line” will always take precedence:

  1. Buses cancelled – schools open – In this instance, there are no changes to regular teaching hours and school times. Schools are open despite the absence of bus students (which does not apply to our school, but good for your information). Evening groups are still scheduled. 
  2. Schools cancelled – no staff or students – When a decision is made to cancel school, the local radio stations are informed and will announce closures by “Family of Schools” (ours is the Cole Harbour Family) or for “Halifax Regional Centre for Education”. 

It is important that all students have a place to go on such days. We would ask parents to establish a contingency plan, especially in those situations where both parents work or have an appointment outside the home. Please review this plan with your child. 

  1. Family of Schools Cancelled – Occasionally only certain families of schools are cancelled. In this instance, again, this will be announced by “Family of Schools”- ours is the Cole Harbour Family.
  2. School cancellation during the day- In the rare event of school closing during the middle of the day, again, it is important that students have a place to go. Though students should be aware of the contingency plan as aforementioned, school staff will call the number provided to us by you on the “School Cancellation Form” (attached) before allowing a child to be dismissed. Mid-day closures will be announced on the radio by Family of Schools, so do be sure to listen to the radio if you suspect a school closure might occur. 
  3. There could be the possibility of a "delayed opening" for school. In this situation, the announcement will include that schools are under a "delayed opening". This means that schools start time will be adjusted and occur 2 hours later than the usual opening time. For our school, this means that instead of a class start time of 8:30 a.m., classes would begin at 10:30 a.m. The lunch hour remains the same from 11:30 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. and the end of day dismissal time remains the same at 2:30 p.m.

Please note: With 110 + students, we hope you understand that students will not be permitted to use the phone to check where they are to go in these situations. We also suggest that calls to the school be kept to a minimum, if at all, as we will be trying to contact families to ensure students can leave the school safely.

Your cooperation with this eliminates confusion on such days and ensures a prompt and safe dismissal for all students.

Traffic/ Parking Lot Guidelines

After consultation with our RCMP liaison officer, HRM Traffic Analyst and our schools’ crossing guards, the following are the traffic/ parking lot guidelines for vehicles entering RKT school grounds. These changes are meant to improve safety on school grounds for all children attending Robert Kemp Turner Elementary School.

  1. Due to the limited number of parking spots at the school, parking in the school parking lot will be by permit only between 8:00am and 3:30pm Monday to Friday. Permits will be issued to all staff and temporary permits will be available in the office for Reading Recovery trainers and trainees, as well as other Board staff. Parents are not to park in the staff parking lot due to limited space.
  1. The lane nearest Circassion Drive is our passenger pickup and drop off zone. Vehicles will be permitted to stop in the designated area for a maximum of 5 minutes. All vehicles in this area must be driver occupied at all times. During dismissal please allow enough room at the entrance of the driveway for other vehicles to pass. Do not pass the pylons.
  1. If the passenger zone is full, all other vehicles are to park off school property until room becomes available in the passenger zone.
  1. Vehicles are not to stop and/or park outside of the passenger pickup and drop off zone or any other designated No Parking areas at any time. 
  1. Vehicles parking in the handicap spots must have a permit to do so. This permit must be displayed in the window of the vehicle or on the license plate. 
  1. Due to the limited number of staff parking spots, all visitors and volunteers at the school must park on Circassion Drive. 
  1. There is no stopping or parking on the right side of the Circassion Drive when picking up or dropping off passengers at the school as it impeded the continual flow of traffic. 

This policy will be enforced by staff and volunteers. We ask that all vehicles entering school grounds obey these guidelines. 

Help us to protect all children attending Robert Kemp Turner Elementary School.

RKT School Boundaries:

  • CIRCASSION DRIVE
  • COLE HARBOUR ROAD (North side of Forest Hills Parkway) - (947, 953 Cole Harbour Road Apartments)
  • ELLERSLIE CRESCENT
  • ELM STREET
  • EVERGREEN DRIVE
  • GLENALVA COURT
  • HIGHLAND CRESCENT
  • HIGH ALLEN DRIVE
  • JASPER DRIVE
  • KIRTLAND COURT
  • LINDEN COURT
  • OTAGO DRIVE
  • POPLAR DRIVE SAVONA COURT
  • SHALIMAR CRESCENT
  • SIRIUS CRESCENT

Fundraising Guidelines

A.     PURPOSE

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide direction for school-related fund-raising activities.

Fund-raising shall serve to provide goods and services which supplement the educational, curricular and extra-curricular objectives of the school. 

The School Advisory Committee recognizes that the Parent- Teacher Organization plays an important role in providing financial support for school activities at Robert Kemp Turner Elementary School.  The School Advisory Committee also recognizes that some activities, such as school fairs, ice cream socials, are important because they promote community participation and result in increasing school and community spirit in addition to any amounts of money they raise for the school.

1.     Recognized Purposes for School-related Fund-Raising

  • Supporting activities of school organizations or clubs
  • Supporting activities that benefit the student body
  • Providing supplemental funds to help defray the costs of optional activities that enhance school programs
  • Provide supplemental materials or equipment that enhance the instructional program or the administrative functions of the school

2.     Examples of Appropriate Fund Raising Groups

  • School-sponsored organizations and clubs
  • Individual school classes or grade level-groups
  • Parent-Teacher Organization
  • Administration
  • Other parent-sponsored organizations
  • Charities

3.     Additional Guidelines for Fund Raising Activities

  • Fund-raising guidelines will be open-ended and flexible
  • The School Advisory Council must approve and oversee the co-ordination of fund-raising events in accordance with these guidelines
  • School Advisory Council, in partnership with the Parent-Teacher Organization, should develop a yearly schedule of all fund-raising events early in the school year
  • The School Advisory Council will ensure that no two major fund-raising events are being held simultaneously

B.     Procedures

  1. Fund raising proposals must be submitted for approval to the School Advisory Council on or before September 30th or January 31st. Proposals must be submitted using the appropriate form.  In extreme circumstances, proposals may be submitted outside the listed dates.
  2. The School Advisory Council will approve, modify or reject proposals at their October and February meetings. The recorder for the School Advisory Council will give written notification of the result to the applicants following these meetings.
  3. The fundraising group shall report to the School Advisory Council the total amount raised following the fundraiser and general comments about the success of the tenture via email to the School Principal.