Wildcat Word - October 5, 2026 - Issue #5

Upcoming Events

Wednesdays - Every Wednesday is Welborne Wednesday - Wear your Welborne spirit wear or Welborne colours every Wednesday!

Monday, October 12th

• Thanksgiving - School is closed

Thursday, October 15th

• Picture Day - Class photos will be taken on the Picture Retake Day
• XCountry Race

Monday, October 26th

• PA Day - no school for students

Friday, October 30th

• Black and Orange Day

Thursday, October 15th

E-scooters are easy to find, but they aren't toys and aren't designed for kids. In Ontario, you must be at least 16 years old to ride wherever e-scooters are permitted. 

In Kingston, e-scooters are not currently permitted. The City is developing a Micromobility Regulations Strategy — with updated rules around e-scooters, e-bikes and other lightweight, rideable transportation — to support safe, accessible and sustainable travel around Kingston. The strategy, which considers public engagement feedback and research into best practices, will be presented to Council for consideration later this year. 

Find out more at Micromobility Regulations | Get Involved Kingston by Communications & Public Engagement.”

🚗 Drop-Off & Pick-Up Reminders: Parking Lot Safety First

🚫 Parking Lot Access
To protect our students during high-traffic times, the school parking lot is

closed to parent and guardian vehicles during drop-off and pick-up.

Only school buses, vehicles with accessible parking permits, and staff vehicles are permitted entry. This helps reduce congestion and keeps pedestrian pathways clear and safe. We truly appreciate your cooperation in keeping our school community safe.

🚶 Morning Drop-Off
Parents/guardians may walk students to the yard, where supervision begins at 8:50 a.m. We kindly ask that families drop children off at the foot of the path, allowing students to walk independently to their designated zones. Staff will be flexible during the first few days, especially for students new to Welborne who are still learning the routines.

👋 Afternoon Pick-Up
Please arrange to meet your child in the same location each day. If your child is walking home with siblings or older students, help them plan a consistent meeting spot. Older students will exit through their designated doors and walk around the outside of the building to meet younger siblings.

📞 Connecting with Teachers
Teachers are focused on student safety during drop-off and pick-up, so we ask that families please respect that the educators are responsible for the safe dismissal of all children in their care and cannot engage in a conversation with you about your child during this busy time. If you need to speak with your child’s teacher, please email welba@limestone.on.ca or call the office—we’ll be happy to help coordinate a time.

🚲 Active Transportation Encouraged
Whenever possible, we encourage families to walk or bike to school. Bike racks are available at the front of the building.

🚌 Bus Transportation
Families eligible for bussing should have received details from Tri-Board. You can log in to the Tri-Board portal to view stop locations and times. If you haven’t yet applied, please note that late submissions may be processed after the second week of school.

🚗 Vehicle Drop-Off Options
If you’re driving your child to school, please observe city parking signs and consider using one of our nearby walking paths located on Bicknell Crescent, Glen Castle Road, or Nordic Avenue.

Daily Schedule

It is very important that children arrive on time for school and gather with their class cohort in their designated zone. Lateness causes disruptions to the classroom routines, particularly as children are learning the flow of entry and opening routines.

Regular attendance is essential for academic success and personal development. It helps build knowledge, responsibility, and routine, while enabling teachers to better support individual learning needs and foster a connected classroom environment.

Families can support attendance by encouraging daily participation, reserving absences for illness, and scheduling appointments outside school hours when possible.

We recognize that some students may face challenges that affect regular attendance. By working together with schools, we can ensure students receive the support they need. Every school day matters and together we can make a difference by making attendance a shared priority.

Visitors to Welborne Avenue Public School

We welcome visitors to our school. We do ask that all visitors, parents/guardians included, sign in with the main office and remain in the front lobby until directed/escorted by a staff member.

All LDSB elementary schools are equipped with a Safe Welcome system which requires all external doors be locked during the school day. All visitors are required to report to the school’s main entrance and request access using an intercom and buzzer system.

When it is necessary for a student to leave school during the day, a note is required from a parent or guardian. The note must be given to the homeroom teacher or the office. If parents/guardians of students are coming to pick up/drop off your child, you are asked to wait at the main office. If necessary, office staff will alert your child’s classroom. These measures are in place to help keep all students safe and minimize disruptions to learning.

LDSB Concussion Protocol

The Limestone District School Board is committed to helping all students succeed and lead safe, healthy, and active lives. As part of its commitment to student safety, injury prevention, and well-being, the Ministry of Education supports concussion awareness, prevention, identification, management, tracking, and training in schools through legislation, policy, and resources. 

Please review the LDSB Concussion Protocols and Resources here: https://www.limestone.on.ca/concussion_protocols

Volunteering for your child's class & Vulnerable Sector Checks

Parents Volunteers

Throughout the school year, classes participate in off-site learning activities on various field trips as well as after school events.

During these excursions and events, teachers will be looking for parent volunteers to accompany the class. If you would be interested in participating, we require a Vulnerable Sector Check to be on file at the school. These VSCs are valid for 3 years once we have them on file, however they must be within 6 months of the report date when you first bring them to us.

After we have your VSC on file we will ask you to complete a yearly Oath of Confidentiality as well as the Declaration of Offence.

If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to Ms. Hart at welba@limestone.on.ca for a volunteer letter from the school.

October is Cyber Awareness Month in Ontario, and students across Limestone will be learning how to build safer, more thoughtful online habits.

Through age-appropriate classroom conversations and activities, students will explore topics such as recognizing suspicious messages, protecting personal information, creating strong passwords, thinking before clicking or sharing, and contributing to positive digital communities.

This learning is part of our broader work in digital literacy, media literacy, and AI literacy. Limestone has created K-12 digital literacy modules that educators can use with students throughout the year. These lessons and activities help students think critically about online information, protect their privacy, use technology responsibly, and better understand the digital tools they use.

Guardians can support this learning at home by talking with children about the websites, apps, games, and devices they use, and by having simple conversations about what information should stay private. The following resources are helpful starting points.

Resources for guardians:

• MediaSmarts: Cyber Security Resources for Parents
• Get Cyber Safe: Keep the Kids in Your Life Cyber Safe Checklist
• Cyber Security Ontario: K-12 Zone
• ProtectKidsOnline.ca
• RCMP: Cyber Safety for Parents, Guardians, Caregivers, and Teachers

Report a Student Absence

One of our greatest priorities is ensuring that all students arrive safely to school every day. To improve our safe arrival process, Limestone District School Board has made some changes to our SafeArrival absence reporting management system. All parents/guardians are asked to report their student’s absence regardless of the reason.

How to report an absence

In some instances, students may need to be away from school for illness, appointments or other events. Parents/caregivers can use the SafeArrival system to report a full day absence, an extended student absence and also a late arrival to school. When reporting an absence for a secondary student parents/caregivers will also be able to select an early departure. To report an absence, use one the following methods:

School Messenger application

1. Use the email address you provided to the school.
2. Use your mobile device to download and install the free SchoolMessenger blue app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, the SchoolMessenger website portal, or from within the LDSB mobile app.
3. Tap Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
4. Select Attendance from the menu, then select Report an Absence and follow the prompts.

SchoolMessenger SafeArrival website portal

1. Use the e-mail address you provided to the school.
2. Go to the website SchoolMessenger website portal.
3. Click Sign Up to create your account. Please ensure you use the same email address your student’s school has on file. If you do not use that same email address, you will not be able to create an account, or may not be able to see the "Attendance" option. You may have already created an account when we introduced the Communicate broadcast system.
4. Select Attendance from the menu, then select Report an Absence.

Interactive toll-free telephone

1. Call 1-855-257-9349 toll-free to report an absence using the automated phone system.
2. Follow the instructions to report an absence.

These options are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For any school day in the school term up to the cut-off time on the day of the absence. Future absences can be reported at any time using any one of these methods.

Please do not call the school directly to report your student's absence.

Reporting late arrivals

Parents/caregivers are instructed to report late arrivals using the new Late Arrival option, including the expected arrival time to school. When a student arrives, they are expected to sign in at office and staff make the amendment in our student information system. When a student leaves early, again they are expected to sign out (with parental permission) and again the amendment is made in our system. This method allows us to best track student attendance to ensure safety.
The SafeArrival system makes it easier for you to report your student’s absence, reduces the time it takes for our school staff to verify student attendance, and responds to unexpected or unplanned student absences. This time savings makes it faster and more efficient to account for all students and their safety.

Additional resources

• Frequently Asked Questions  (FAQs)
• Using the SchoolMessenger App for Safe Arrival
• Setting Preferences in SchoolMessenger/SafeArrival
• Watch the video tutorial on how to create a SchoolMessenger account
• Watch the video tutorial on how to report absences in SchoolMessenger

Allergen Awareness - Nut-Free & Scent Free School