Health and Safety Coordinator - Linda Dombrowski 250-384-3414 local 112 linda@selkirkmontessori.ca
Safe Schools Coordinator - Erin Hayes 250-384-3414 local 114 erin@selkirkmontessori.ca
As the school starts to wind down for winter break, I am coordinating what will be happening in the building over the break. The Karen L. Colussi Foundation will be taking on the task of doing some repairs to our gym surface. A big thanks to them. No renters will be present during the month of December so that the work can be completed.
There will be other work as well being completed: some deep cleaning, waxing and painting. When January 2020 arrives, the school will be fresh and ready for all of the students return.
When everyone goes on winter break, families and friends get together for celebrations. Many germs can be picked up and spread around, including colds and flu. Before you know it, it's time to come back to school and more germs are spread among the students.
The remedy for this is good handwashing! Remember to place soap in the hands and rub them together for the length of time it takes to sing Happy Birthday, then doing a rinse. This should be done before meals and after use of the washroom. Keep yourself and your family in good health by doing lots of handwashing.
Have a wonderful break, and all the best in 2020.
January, 2019
Updates worth sharing with everyone!
The link for the new Canada Food Guide! In case you haven’t checked it out yet.
https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/
Here is some information on the measles outbreak in the US and what is going on in BC!
There is a plethora of information on various communicable diseases. This link is to the BC Centre of Disease.
I always think it is better to be prepared with knowledge in hand. I really hope that this doesn’t become an epidemic here in BC. Again, I have to say please don’t forget your handwashing routines. Many viruses can be stopped by simply handwashing properly.
We are a peanut free school. So that means that there are no peanuts or products containing peanuts allowed in the school. This also includes any functions that the school has where classes 
or the hospitality committee might be asked to bring in goodies. If any food comes into the school which contains peanuts it will be quickly removed. Peanuts are the most prevalent cause of anaphylaxis. Yes, we do have students who are anaphylactic to peanuts attending the school.
That being said we have students who are anaphylactic to other nuts, dairy and variety of other foods. Those are not dismissed as being any less of a concern than the peanuts. Each of the classes that have the students using epi pens, the classroom teachers will inform the parents in the class of the foods which will be of concern. This is for the children and so that everyone in the classroom can come and enjoy the party with food that is safe for all of the students in that class to eat and also so that the students can enjoy their lunch on a day to day basis sitting together and socializing.
If there are any concerns or questions about any of this please come and talk to me directly. You can find me in the office next to Erin Hayes. Linda.
Another reminder to everyone, that the staff at Selkirk are not allowed to administer any kind of medication without the written consent of the parents and, for those that require prescription medication, the written consent of the physician and the parents. So drugs like Tylenol, antacids, cough medicines and any other items that can be purchased over the counter must come to the school with the signed Medical administration form, thereby allowing the teacher to administer it to your child. No prescriptions will be allowed in the school without the Prescription Medical Administration form.
If your child is sick and you are taking them to the doctor, please take a blank form with you so that it can be completed at the time the doctor does the prescription. Also important: if your child is going away on an overnight field trip, please ensure that the Medical Administration form is in the hands of the school ahead of time.
The Medical Administration form would have been handed out to everyone at the beginning of the year. If you need another copy, I will be placing a link below for you to access and get your copy. I also have copies in my office.
Hand Washing
Taking action towards healthy living! Again, a reminder to everyone about the importance of washing your hands and teaching your children how to wash their hands as a follow through from school to home and back again.
All it takes is warm water and soap — and the best thing is you can work on your singing voice! Singing ABC or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star will be the ideal length of time to wash hands. Adults this is a good practice as well. It then lets you know how long you should be washing your hands and that it is not just a dab, rub and run. That won't take care of the germs.
Thanks for helping to prevent the spread of germs by starting this practice at home.
Outbreaks of head lice are common throughout the school year. Although head lice are a nuisance, head lice are not a health risk.
Head lice spread quickly by close, head-to-head contact. Lice cannot live on furniture or carpet, and they cannot jump or fly. There may be few or no symptoms, but itching may occur.
For more information about Head Lice please check out the attachment. head-lice-management-guidelines.pdf
Health Units
Esquimalt 250-519-5311 Salt Spring Island 250-538-4880
Outer Gulf Islands 250-539-3099 Sooke 250-642-5464
Peninsula 250-544-2400 Victoria 250-388-2200
head-lice-management-guidelines.pdf
Child, Youth and Family Community Health
SN-HP-107-06-14 – Revised 2014-07-16
Saanich 250-519-5100 West Shore 250-519-3490
In going through registration paperwork, I am noticing that some of you are not filling out the out of province emergency telephone number. That could be because you don't know anyone outside of BC, or you don't know why this information is needed. If it is because of the later here is the reason. Should there be an earthquake or other catastrophe, the phone system within BC would be so tied up that even numbers in BC might not work. So by the family having one contact outside of BC and it could even be overseas then they would be the ones that you would be more likely to be able to reach. Making them the point of contact for all family members they will then be able to provide information about those members of the family that might not be with you.
Drills
Fire drills: September and October are busy months with driils. With the fire drill we had the fire department on hand to take note of how the students and staff were leaving the building. It is a city wide drill where several schools are involved to see which school is the quickest and quietest in exiting the building. The Fire Truck is also on hand so the younger students have a feel of who and what will be at the school in the event of a fire. Fire drills are conducted once a month but the fire department only arrives for the October drill.
Earthquake drills: In October there is the Great Canadian Shakeout. October 18 at 10:18 This goes all around the world where people do the drill of Drop, Cover and Hold. Check it out https://www.shakeout.org/ We have regular earthquake drills for the remainder of the year.
Tsunami Drills: We usually have one of these drills a year. It involves having all of the students evacuate to the third floor classrooms. If there is enough time we would evacuate everyone up the hill to the Burnside Community Centre, if not then it would be to the third floor of our school. No situation is the same so these decisions would be made in the best interest of everyone's safety.
Lockdown Drills: Lockdown drills are conducted twice a year. Once in the fall and once in the spring. Police are always in attendance during the drills and have valuable information to assist us in these types of drills. So for lockdown it is as simple as coming over the PA System and asking everyone to go into lockdown and noting that it is a drill. This then alerts the teacher to gather all of the students in the lockdown area of the school. Next time you are in one of the classrooms look for the signage of a lock and key, that would be the area to go into. All doors in the school are locked and the reason is that in the event of a lockdown, the staff are not worrying about locking the doors, merely just closing the doors and turning out the lights. Students and staff sit quietly until an all clear has been given by the police. As the police mentioned this could be a short while or it could be hours.
The other drill which falls under the Lockdown drill is the Hold and Secure Drill. The Hold and Secure could be put in place if there is an incident occuring outside or nearby the school or there is wildlife and police want to place a safety net over the neighbourhood. All doors to the school would be locked and students and staff would remain within the school.
One question I hear often is what do I do if something happens at the school? How will I know? Social media is a strong communicator, so it is adviseable to keep in the loop of things like our Facebook page, our website, we could email you, the classroom reps might be in touch via email. Always remember your safety first, you are no good to your children if you say fall and hurt yourself. Every situation would be different upon the circumstances and would require a different reaction and result. In any of these events please refrain from calling the school and asking if your child is ok. The reason for this is that we might need to use the phone for an emergency situation and if all parents are calling the school it makes it difficult to do that. Know that the teachers and staff will do their ultimate best to keep all of the children in the school safe until you make it safely to the school to pick up your children. For Lockdown we do heed what the police would say to do. Any questions please get in touch at linda@selkirkmontessori.ca. Linda