Interim Boundary Review for Local Schools

Fall River (D2N) – A meeting was held recently, disclosing newly proposed boundaries for schools in the Fall River/Waverley area. According to the plans presented, there will be changes in the boundaries which will affect where students who live in Fall River and Windsor Jct. will attend school next year.

Some streets in the Fall River Village area will be affected by the Interim Boundary Proposal, as well as streets located in Capilano Estates and along the Windsor Jct. Rd. The streets in Fall River Village include Winley Drive, Devonport Avenue, Pinnacle Court, Hudson Drive, Nottingham Lane, Glenmorren Court, Whittington Court, Bolton Drive, Sheffield Court, Canterbury Lane, Castlemark Court, Ingram Drive, Newport Drive, Lincolnshire Drive, and Perry Court.

When an Interim Boundary Proposal receives the approval of the elected Board, the new boundaries will take effect Sept. 2010. Registration for Grade primary begins Feb. 1, 2010. Parents will register their child for primary at their neighbourhood school within their current boundary. If the decision is rendered by the School Board to accept the Interim Boundary Proposal, thus changing the boundaries as recommended in the proposal, the parents affected will then register their child at the new school.

Students who are currently enrolled at Ash Lee Jefferson in the French Immersion program will continue to be bussed to the school. Ash Lee Jefferson will be considered a dual site for French Immersion – students from both Ash Lee Jefferson boundary and the new Waverley Memorial boundary are eligible to register for French Immersion and will have access to bus transportation to Ash Lee.

If an older child is enrolled in the English program at Ash Lee Jefferson, but resides in the new boundary for Waverley, and if that child has a younger sibling who is going to be enrolled in the French Immersion program at Ash Lee, the older child can still apply to stay at Ash Lee Jefferson. There are no sibling rights or grandfather clause in the Interim Boundary Proposal. Parents can apply to request their child be registered at a school other than their neighbourhood school.

If a parent has a child in Grade 7 at Harold T. Barrett school and a child in Grade 6 at Beaver Bank Monarch Drive Elementary school this year, and if they live in Capilano Estates, parents must register their children at the neighbourhood school. There is no grandfather clause in this Interim Boundary Proposal. If the Interim Boundary Proposal is approved, children would be registered in Grade 7 and Grade 8 at Georges P. Vanier Junior High School. Parents can follow the procedures for a request to register their children at a school other than at their neighbourhood school.

To apply to register children at a school other than their neighbourhood school, parents can apply under Board policy B.003: Creating School Populations. To do that, parents must:

• Pick up an Out-of-Area request form from the principal at your neighbourhood school
• Fill out the form and have it signed by your neighbourhood school principal
• Give the signed form to the principal at the school you want your child to attend
• Applications may be received by a school on or after April 1st
• All applications must be processed by June 30 of the year of the transfer

The receiving school principal makes the decision based on student enrolment, the makeup of the receiving class and available school resources.

If your child is accepted at another school, you are responsible for their transportation to and from school. For more information, read policy B.003: Creating School Populations – (Procedures – Section 14.0)

For more information about the new Waverley School, parents can contact school principal Mr. Ken Marchand at 860-4150 or they can visit the school website at www.wmlcs.ednet.ns.ca

Waverley Memorial currently has an after school program. If there is sufficient interest in a before school program in 2010, the principal will investigate the possibility of adding a before school program in addition to continuing to offer after school child care.

Start time and dismissal times for the Waverley School are as follows, classes begin at 8 a.m. Dismissal time for grades P-2 is 1:30 p.m. and for Grades 3-6 is 2 p.m.

If parents are concerned about their child’s transition to the new school, they can contact their child’s current principal, and/or the principal at their child’s new school, for direction and support.