Rideau Public School
Weekly Memo August 31 - September 4
Bonjour Rideau Families,
Welcome back to an exciting new school year at Rideau Public School. Our staff is ready to see our students on Wednesday September 2, 2026 for the first day of school.
Parents of JK students or new SK students are invited to a drop in session on September 1st, from 2:00 to 3:00 PM. This is the opportunity to visit the class and meet the teachers.
Prior to Wednesday, your child's teacher should reach out via email to introduce themselves. We are starting the year with 20 classes:
FKA - Mme Parson & Mme Graham (orange)
FKB - M. Himada & M. Vankoughnett (yellow)
FKC - Mme Condlln Pratt & Mme Sarah (green)
FKD - Mme Kozo & Mme Melanie (red)
FKE - Mme Fischer & Mme Dusharm (blue)
FKF - Mme Jacques & Mme Hunter (pink)
F1A - Mme LeBlanc
F1B - Mme Bertrand
F1C - Mme Matthews
F1D - Mme Lowry
F2A - Mme Walker
F2B - Mme Eastabrook
F2/3 - Mme Rea
F3A - Mme Morawiec
F3B - Mme Carlone
F4A - Mme Trevors
F4B - Mme Dupont-Salter
F5/6A - M. Cameron
F5/6B - Mme Stilwell (Mme Bruce)
F5/6C - Mme Harrod
This organization is in place for the first two weeks of school. After we submit our number of students to the board, we will see if there will be a reorganization or not. We invite kindergarten students to wear their class's colour the first few days.
First Day of School
On Wednesday, we invite parents to drop their children off either at the Park street gate or the Toronto street gate. Be mindful of the new intersection at Park and Toronto which reduces the number of parking spots. We invite you to park further from the school and enjoy a short walk. Also, you can only park on one side of Toronto street. Bused students will be coming off buses at the MacDonnell street gate. Do not use that one if you are dropping off your child. Kindergarten students will be walked to their yard by an adult.
Teachers will meet students at their muster spots (see map below) and walk students to class at 9:05.
Students will need their backpack, a refillable bottle of water, and indoor shoes. They will also need a packed lunch with peanut/nut free food and snacks. We have students with life-threatening allergies and everyone must do their part to keep them safe. The school provides school supplies such as pencils and notebooks. There are also snack bins if a child still feels hungry. Please label all you child's belongings. The instructions to the Mabel's Label service can be found below.
If your child has a serious medical condition (Asthma, Anaphylaxis allergy, Diabetes or Epilepsy), you must complete their plan of care for the year. If you have not received the forms yet, let us know and we will make sure to forward them to you promptly.
At dismissal, students are walked to the bus. Kindergarten students are accompanied by a teacher or early childhood educator to their bus. If you are picking up your child, please wait outside the gates until 3:30 and then join them at their muster spots. Mme Gillespie also prepared a Do's and Don'ts of early pick up to facilitate communication with the office. See poster below.
This is a lot of information for a first communication memo. I will share more next week on code of conducts, volunteering, concussion protocol, etc.
For now, please take into consideration the information shared here and in the posters below.
I look forward to seeing everyone on Wednesday!
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.
