Rideau Public School
Weekly Memo September 7-11
Bonjour Rideau Families,
We have successfully completed our first week of school! Buses have been challenging with changes to routes and late arrivals, but we are working through the difficulties with everyone's support. Thank you for your patience with this.
A huge shout out to our volunteers who came to support in kindergarten and primary classes last week. Your presence was greatly appreciated.
Drop off/Pick up - A recurring problem is the congestion at drop off and pick up at Park and Toronto streets. I urge parents to please respect the signs and not stop in the middle of the intersection to drop off a child, it is really dangerous. Do not park on both sides of Toronto. The City has been informed of the challenges and there will be official presence in the coming days to enforce traffic laws. This is an instance where the needs of the many supersede individual convenience. Children's safety cannot be compromised.
Parents on yards - Now that children Grades 1-6 know where to line up in the morning, there is no need for parents to walk them to their doors. Parents are invited to quickly drop off children at the gates and let them play with their friends. You are more than welcome to continue to socialize on the other side of the fence.
Code of Conduct - Every year, students are introduced to the Code of Conduct. This year, on the first day, teachers reviewed a child friendly version of this code with their class. Here is the grown up version of the Rideau Code of Conduct 2026. It highlights expected behaviour and progressive discipline.
Volunteers - At Rideau, we are very fortunate to have many volunteers participate in school activities and support our various initiatives. If you plan on volunteering, I encourage you to read our Rideau Volunteer Handbook 2026 2027. Volunteers will also be invited to read and sign an Oath of Confidentiality Sept. 2026 to protect our children. Finally, current CPIC with Vulnerable Sector Check completed will be mandatory for anyone working with our students.
Concussion - When playing on yards, it sometimes happen that children hit their heads. This raises the chance of getting a concussion. The board has a Concussion Protocol that I invite you to read and that we must follow when we suspect a child has a concussion.
Warning - Please beware of students that bring a “Squishy Ball” to school. Regulators have flagged benzene in some products, burn risks from counterfeits and toys bursting in heat. Here is a link to the news article. Warnings over squishy toy hazards expand globally | CBC News
Food Sharing - The Food Sharing Project (AKA “snack bins”) is looking for volunteers to help prep for/stock the snack bins at Rideau. The time commitment is minimal (typically 1-3 hours per month) and there is a fair amount of flexibility in timing.
Please contact Larissa (Larissa.cerskus@gmail.com) if you are interested in volunteering or if you have any questions.
Hot Lunches
They will start on September 14. Lunches will be delivered for first nutrition break at 11:10, except on Thursday when it will be delivered for 1:30. You still have to send snacks and drinks even if you purchase a hot lunch. Please know that the school makes a small amount of money from the sales of hot lunches (around 50 cents per order) and that money helps subsidize classroom consumables, technology repairs, costs of guest speakers and complement field trips. This year, we will have Panera Bread on Monday, Little Caesars on Tuesday, Paradiso on Wednesday, Greek Town on Thursday and Edo Japan on Friday. The instructions to order are in a poster below.
This week
Monday September 7 - Labour Day - No school
Friday September 11 - Rosh Hashanah
Coming up
September 15 - School Council Meet and Greet at 3:45
September 28 - Terry Fox Run
September 29 - School Council AGM and first meeting
These are all the news for this week. Let's hope the sun continues to shine this week. Enjoy this beautiful long weekend.
Valerie Arsenault
Principal
Parent Council Corner
Welcome to all our families. Please join us for an informal Meet & Greet on September 15th at 3:45 pm. If weather permits, we will be outside for this event where we will introduce who we are and what our role is within the school.
Parents interested in joining the council can nominate themselves by completing thisform.
Our first official meeting will be September 29th at 3:45 pm. We will hold our AGM and elect the 2026-2027 School Advisory Council.
Here are the minutes forParent Council Minutes May 5, 2026
To reach out to parent council, email Rebecca at welfarerebecca@yahoo.ca.
Information & Events
Piano Lessons
Piano lessons will be available again this school year. There is a waiting list, but families who are already on the list are encouraged to reach out and let Deb know if they are still interested in lessons for the 2026–2027 school year.
Lessons focus on developing strong piano skills while also encouraging creativity, musicality and a love of music.
For more information or to confirm your interest, please contact Deborah Schuurmans at 613-532-8983 or email debschuurmans@gmail.com
Guitar lessons
Chris Giguère is a professional musician and experienced guitar teacher as well as a singer-songwriter and performer. To learn more about Chris’ music, please visit his website
Private lessons, 30 minutes once a week. In addition to good guitar technique all students will learn musical theory, harmony, and interpretation. The course of study is adapted to the needs of each individual student and is intended to be fun and foster a love of music.
Cost: $28.00 per half-hour lesson
Method of payment: lessons will be billed monthly on the first of each month. Payment is requested to be made before the first lesson of the month. E-transfer is preferred.
Required: each student must have their own acoustic guitar to bring to the lessons and to practice on at home. Parents may also be asked to pay for a method book (around $15)
Where? When? Once registered, the student will leave their regular classroom and come to the music room for their guitar lesson on the same day of the week and at the same time of day each week.
If you are interested, please email me your child’s name, school, and grade level, as well as a brief summary of his or her experience on the guitar and with music in general.
Contact:
Email (preferred): cwgigs@gmail.com
Telephone: 613 329-4931
Parking at School
Hot Lunch Orders
2026-2027 LDSB School Year Calendar
Nut-Free School
Thank you for packing nut-free snacks! Please communicate with teachers before sending any treats in for your student's class.
