Caudle Park Elementary School

Dear Families,

Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year! We are excited to begin another year of learning, growth, and community. A special welcome goes out to our new students, families, and staff who are joining us for the first time — we’re so glad to have you as part of our school family.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the start of the year so smooth and positive. It’s been wonderful to see the energy and enthusiasm in our classrooms and hallways already.

As we settle into our routines, we recognize that some students may be feeling nervous or unsure. Please know that this is completely normal, and we are here to support them. If your child is experiencing any worries or difficulty adjusting, their homeroom teacher is a great first point of contact. For ongoing concerns or anything that may require additional support, both Ms. Sperry and I are also available to assist.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic year ahead, filled with meaningful learning and strong connections. Thank you for your continued partnership.

Yours in education,
Shawn Marsh
Principal

• Jillan Dollimont - School Counselor
• Megan Doucette - School Psychologist
• Daphne Burden - Speech/Language Pathologist
• Karen Pay - Early Literacy Support Teacher

Support Staff

• Nicole Wright - Library Support Specialist
• Jana Crowe - EAL Teacher
• Dana de Frietas - Excel Lead
• Shaun Allen - EPA 80%
• Janice MacNeil - EPA 100%
• Dale McKay - EPA 80%
• Jennifer McManus - EPA 80%
• Samantha Scallion - EPA 80%
• Kelly Vivian - EPA 80%
• Rhea Gernale - EPA 80%
• TBD - EPA 50%
• Mark Strangward - Custodian (daytime)
• Melissa Byrne - Custodian (evenings)
• April Peckram - SchoolsPlus Lead

SEPTEMBER

Focus: Responsibility

• September 10

  • Stand Up Against Bullying Day

• September 23

  • Picture Day

• September 25

  • Professional Development Day — No classes

• September 29

  • Orange Shirt Day

• September 30

• National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — No classes

OCTOBER

Focus: Gratitude

Mi’kmaw History Month

• October 1

  • Treaty Day — Culturally Significant Day; schools open
• October5
• Terry Fox Run

• October 7

• SAC/PTA Meeting 5 pm and 6 pm

• October 12

  • Thanksgiving Day — No classes

• October 22

  • PTA Halloween Family Dance

• October 23

  • NSTU Provincial Conference Day — No classes

Everything you need to know about student transportation including eligibility, stop times and stop locations can be found on BusPlanner. Once you register and subscribe, you can choose to receive email and/or text message notifications on changes to routes, bus delays or cancellations.

To sign up, go to BusPlanner at hrce.mybusplanner.ca and click on Parent Portal. Follow the instructions to create an account.

Don’t have a BusPlanner Parent Portal account? Need help logging in? Please contact the HRCE Student Transportation Team though the Transportation Inquiry Form here.

To ensure that students and staff know what to do in case of an emergency, Caudle Park practises safety procedures throughout the year. We practise these drills regularly to ensure our school remains a safe place for teaching and learning.

Fire Drills - HRCE schools are required to hold a minimum of six fire drills per school year. Our first fire drill will be held before the end of this week. We will have two more this fall and three in the spring. If it is determined that it is unsafe to reenter the building after a real evacuation, or that reentry will be postponed for longer than students and staff can reasonably wait outside, relocation to a pre-determined site is considered.

Hold and Secure Drills - This drill is held once per school year. A Hold and Secure is called when there’s a safety concern outside a school (police activity nearby, an animal of concern). It can also be called when a situation needs to be managed inside a school (a medical emergency or a matter that requires privacy) and it’s best to limit students’ movement in the building. Exterior doors are locked, and no one is allowed to enter or exit the school. Students remain in the building, but regular classroom activities continue. In some cases, movement from class to class can be suspended until the matter is resolved. Our Hold and Secure drill will be Thursday, September 25th.

Lockdown Drills - Lockdown drills are practised twice per school year. A Lockdown is called when there is an immediate threat inside a school, or very close to a school. During a lockdown, no one enters or exits the building, and all students and staff are concealed in a secure location, away from doors and windows. This is called 'positioned for safety'. Staff will discuss the importance of this procedure with students prior to running a drill. We’ll also take time after the drill to remind students that it was only practice and there was no danger. When possible, our police partners join us for Lockdown drills. Our first Lockdown Drill will be held next week. You can learn more about Hold and Secure and Lockdown Procedures in HRCE schools here. Please contact school administration if you have any questions about these drills.

Thank you to all families for their attendance on September 1st for our Ice Cream Social/ Curriculum Night. Teachers will be sending home additional details and plans for communicating about student achievement during the week of September 21st.

Our Family Handbook/School Plan for Communicating Student Learning is a resource for general information about our school, policies, and the many modes of communication we use throughout our school.

A reminder that the Provincial Cell Phone Directive is now in effect in all schools. Ideally, cell phones or connected devices should be kept home as the school is not financially liable for broken or lost devices. These devices bring distractions into our classrooms and pose a risk for cyberbullying or persons contacting children during the day without our knowledge. These last two scenarios could place children at risk of harm, and we want to keep everyone safe at school.

Families who do require children to have devices at school, mainly because they travel to after school care facilities, should notify their homeroom teachers as soon as possible. In these instances, students will need to keep devices turned off and stored in their backpacks for the entire school day. Smart watches or other devices connected to cellular networks should not be sent with children in lieu of cell phones.

Students who are observed using cell phones or other connected devices during the school day will be referred to the school's administration. Under the new Provincial Code of Conduct, students can be suspended from school depending on the circumstances.

Much of our focus for staff and student learning will centre around school safety and the Provincial Code of Conduct. As a staff, we developed the vision statement and student expectations for positive behaviour below. Unacceptable behaviours as identified in the new Provincial Code of Conduct will be reported to the administration for follow-up through explicit teaching of positive behaviours and consequences and supports for all students involved. Every unacceptable behaviour, if found to be accurate, is recorded in a student's discipline file within PowerSchool. All staff have a responsibility to report unacceptable behaviours. There may be other behaviours that are identified but are not as severe as those listed in the Code of Conduct. Teachers will address these minor unacceptable behaviours with private conversations, coaching, and contact home.

Vision Statement - At Caudle Park Elementary School, I help make our school a safe, kind, and welcoming place. I treat everyone with respect and include others. When things get hard, I keep trying and don’t give up. I work together with my friends and teachers so we can all learn and grow.

Student Behaviour Expectations- Please click here to view our expectations for student behaviours in each environment . Students are learning about these expected behaviours through important lessons and practice in our classrooms. During our assembly on Thursday, we began the year by discussing how we can stand up against bullying together as a school.

A reminder to families that vehicles are not permitted to enter our parking lot between 8:15 am and 3:00 pm as students and pedestrians walk in this area at various times throughout the day.

The vehicle drop-off/pickup zone for students is located on either side of our driveway entrance but please do not stop close to the corners of the driveway as it prevents our buses from being able to drop off or pickup students. When dropping off please ensure that students exit vehicles on the passenger side and that vehicles are not left in our "No Parking" zones.

Thank you for your help in in making our parking areas safe!

Registering and ordering

All lunches must be ordered through the online ordering system. To get started, visit www.NSLunch.ca and click “Order Now.” Returning users can sign in using their existing account.

More information, including instructions on how to create a diner account, is available at www.NSLunch.ca.

Our school will post items for purchase in SchoolCash online throughout the year. You can make purchases and payments from your phone, tablet or computer.

We would like families to register as soon as possible.

To get started, please register for SchoolCash Online. It’s free and takes less than two minutes. You will receive an email once items are posted for purchase.

Visit https://hrce.schoolcashonline.com/ and click Register to get started.

Need support? Connect with the SchoolCash Online help desk at schoolcashonline.com/Home/Support

We hope that SchoolCash Online makes paying school-related fees more convenient!

School Closures

Sometimes schools are closed when storms or conditions become severe. The HRCE has three types of emergency closure procedures; all or some schools closed, early dismissals, and 2 hour delayed openings. There may also be occasions when buses are cancelled but schools remain open. Please read about this in greater detail in the link below.

https://www.hrce.ca/weather

How will I find out?

• By email to the addresses in PowerSchool
• By text message, if you have opted-in. If you aren’t sure if you have opted-in, text Y to the following number: 978338
• On our website www.hrce.ca
• On X (formerly Twitter) at Twitter.com/HRCE_NS
• On Instagram at www.instagram.com/hrce_ns/

Make sure you listen for either the Family of Schools name or the individual name of your child's school in cancellation announcements. Click here to find your Family of Schools.

Paper Newsletters - If you wish to receive paper copies of our newsletter, please contact Ms. Morris in the main office (902-864-6896)

School Insurance Program (SIP) - Your child is automatically covered for accidents and injuries that happen during the school day. If you want to have 24/7 coverage including the summer months it only costs $14.00/year for a gold plan.

Email: cpes@hrce.ca
Website: https://cap.hrce.ca/
Location: 35 McGee Drive, Lower Sackville
Phone: 902-864-6896