Attendance, Contacting the School, and School Access etc.

Access to the School /Visitors

In the interest of school security and student safety, ALL parents and visitors are required to enter our school through the MAIN entrance at the front of the building. All school doors are locked and secure. We have a video and electronic control system to control entry to the school, which is to protect our students and staff. Please ring the bell at the front door and wait for further instructions.

If you see a door open for any reason, please do not use it to gain entry to the building. Please instead make your way around to MAIN entrance. We also ask that upon entering the school you do not proceed beyond the lobby or front office areas without consent.  Please check in at the front office, and if required you will be asked to sign in and be announced. This is in the interest of everyone’s safety.

Arrival and Dimissal Process

We ask that families with students are not arriving via the school bus have their children meet teachers on the playground off Grey Street before the bell at 9:10. Late arrivals, however, must always access the school via the front entrance and check in at the front office. Students will be released to a responsible parent or designate in the school yard after the dismissal bell each day at 3:30 unless families have given express consent to the teachers or school office directly for the students to walk home or leave with another individual/family. Staff email addresses can be found here: http://www.holycrossbrantford.ca/staff-list or you can send an email to BHCS_Info@bhncdsb.ca.

Bell Times are as follows:
School Start: 9:10am
First Nutrition Break: 10:50am - 11:30am
Second Nutrition Break: 1:10pm - 1:50pm
School Dismissal: 3:30pm

Attendance

If your child is to be absent or late, please call the school at 519-756-5032 to leave a voice mail, you can also email us at BHCS_Info@bhncdsb.ca OR send an email to your child(ren)'s teacher(s) directly. Staff email addresses can be found here: http://www.holycrossbrantford.ca/staff-list.  ALL options are available 24/7.

When we do not hear from a parent/guardian, the school’s auto attendant system will call home and send an email to the parent/guardian contact information on file to confirm the absence. We ask that if you receive this automated message to please listen to or read it, and follow instructions. If your child arrives late to school after this auto-attendant call goes out, there is no way for the system to stop it, and the attendance call will proceed.

Before and After Childcare Program

Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board offers its families fee-based licensed Child Care and Before and After School programs. The program at Holy Cross School is run by the YMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/Brant. Families must contact the YMCA directly for any questions and to register: via telephone 519-752-4568 or email brantford.sacc@ymcahbb.ca. For more information about the Before and After School Childcare programs within BHNCDSB, please visit the BHNCDSB Childcare webpage.

Contacting the School

While we attempt to answer and relay all messages in a timely fashion, the office is frequently very busy during the school day and all the telephone lines are often in use. Please leave a message and refrain from calling repeatedly as it ties up the phone lines even more. Voice mail is always monitored and forwarded to the appropriate staff for review or action.

We ask that you please make changes to bussing/pick up/drop off arrangements in advance whenever possible and relay that to the classroom teacher(s) directly via email, or by sending an email to  BHCS_Info@bhncdsb.ca. Staff email addresses can be found here: http://www.holycrossbrantford.ca/staff-list.

We also ask you to encourage your child(ren) to make arrangements for after school or social activities in advance, as we will not grant permission for telephone calls of this nature. Students may only use the phone at the office only in an emergency outside of class time.

Calls from the School

If you’ve missed a call from the school, please ensure you listen to your voice mail, so you know who called and what it was about before calling the school back. Those details are important as staff could be making calls from anywhere in the school, and the front office won’t necessarily be aware of it to be able to direct your call. If you've received a message from the school regarding student illness and you are going to come pick your child, please come to the school's main entrance and ring the bell. It's not necessary to call the school ahead of your arrival.

Early Departures and Late Arrivals

Promptness and regularity are necessary attendance traits that contribute to a child’s overall success at school. When students arrive late or leave early, they are disrupting school and classroom routines, missing out on receiving classroom instruction and important information. 

Children will not be called from class for early pick-ups prior to a parent/guardian’s arrival as there is no one to supervise them outside of their classrooms, so please build adequate time for this into your schedule. Students are called from class only once a parent or guardian has arrived at the front door to collect them. It is not necessary to call the school with advance notice of pickups, however, if you wish for your child to be ready in anticipation of your arrival, you are free to send his teacher a message in advance so they are aware of your intentions for the day. Staff email addresses can be found here: http://www.holycrossbrantford.ca/staff-list.

For safety and security reasons for everyone, for early departures students must also be released to their parent(s)/guardian(s), or designated responsible adult, in person at the front door. Please do not call the school to ask for your child to be ready and then sent out to a vehicle at the road, parking lot or sidewalk. This is a serious safety issue and breaks our duty of care. It is in the best interest of your child(ren) and for all involved for parent(s)/guardians/designate(s) to present themselves at our front door.

Please also ensure that when your child arrives late that they know and understand that they must enter the school through the main entrance and report to the office so that we are aware of their arrival.

Food/Snack/Lunch Deliveries and Water Bottles

As outlined above, there are two nutrition breaks each day at Holy Cross School. Parents should ensure that children bring enough food and snacks for both break times. Food delivery and/or food delivery services are strongly discouraged except for special occasions such as birthdays. With a significant increase in enrolment, it would be incredibly time consuming for staff to take delivery of food for students each day, taking us away from other important priorities. Your co-operation is greatly appreciated. A water bottle is recommended as well, which can be filled thoughout the day with filtered water from our water station.

Holy Cross School is very fortunate to be supported by the Brant Food for Thought program, which provides healthy and nutritious breakfast items to all students each morning. Brant Food For Thought contributes to a child’s ability to learn by facilitating and supporting Student Nutrition Programs in elementary and secondary schools in Brantford and in the County of Brant.

Child Hunger Brantford (CHB), is another local, non-profit, registered charity that promotes healthy food choices for students. They support and provide food education and outreach in our local community and Holy Cross School is blessed to benefit from their Kids Lunch Program, which allows us to provide a healthy, free lunch daily to those students who may be experiencing food security issues. The supply is limited but rest assured, our Holy Cross students will not go hungry, as we will ensure something is avaiable for those who might need it each day.

Payments to the School / SchoolCash Online, and Online Permission Forms

All school purchases must be done via SchoolCash Online. This includes things like pizza lunch, milk, school, and parent council fundraisers etc. There also may be instances where permission forms are loaded for families to review and sign for things like field trips, attending mass or other events off school property.

SchoolCash Online is a convenient website that allows families to make secure payments 24/7 from the comfort of their own home and is also easy to use. It also makes it safer for students so they won't have to carry or be responsbile for for bringing cash to and from school. It saves time for all involved and allows families to manage their student school expenses, as well as view payment and activity history in one place.

To register for an account, please visit SchoolCash Online and click on the register button. From there parents can attach students and in no time at all will be able to make payments online. If you don't know your child(ren)'s student number, please email the school at BHCS_Info@bhncdsb.ca to request it. For more information or to troubleshoot issues,please contact SchoolCash Online via email parenthelp@schoolcashonline.com or via telephone 1.866.961.1803. To access the SchoolCash Parent Helpdesk, please click here.

Important to note: if there is ever a question about whether an item was purchased, signed or completed in SchoolCash, please do not contact the school Purchases can be checked when logged into SchoolCash Online by navigating to “History”, which can be found under the menu items on the top right when using a mobile device or in the top right corner when using a computer. The history of purchases and other completed activities can all be found listed there.

Parking

Parking is extremely limited here at Holy Cross School, and the school parking lot is reserved strictly for staff use. More importantly, it is also for the safety of our students as children entering/exiting the building and playground during the day often cross this parking lot. It would be appreciated when coming to the school that visitors and families park on Fourth Street just above the school, or on Marlborough or Grey Streets either side of the school. The first two spaces in the lot immediately to the left of the entrance are also reserved for the Principal and Secretary, with the remaining spots on the left being designated for Disabled Parking.

Transportation

Student Transportation Services Brant Haldimand Norfolk (STSBHN) is a consortium of three School boards providing transportation for eligible students living in Brant, Haldimand, Norfolk counties and the city of Brantford. For questions related to transportation services for Six Nations students, which is operated by Sharp Bus Lines, please contact: Irene Stewart, Dispatch Administrator at 519-751-3434, ext. 1031 or Amber Robertson, Division Manager Sharp Bus Lines at 519-751-3434, ext. 1043.

It is strongly recommended that families who have students that take the bus download the Chipmunk app. It is an informative tool that notifies families about delays and other features such as when the bus is close to your stop. The Chipmunk App is FREE and is available for both Apple and Android smart phones. To download the app, please visit https://stsbhn.ca/faqs and scroll down to Chipmunk Bus Tracking app. 

For all questions, concerns or issues about Transportation, please contact Student Transportation Services Brant Haldimand Norfolk directly via phone: 519-751-7532 or email transportation@stsbhn.ca.

Please be kind to our staff

We always aim to resolve your questions or concerns in a timely and professional way, with an outcome that is satisfactory. We ask you to respect our staff by talking to them calmly, respectfully, and fairly. We ask that you please be patient and kind to everyone. We are all doing our best and are grateful for your support!