Wednesday, September 2, 2026,
Dear Alexander’s Families,
Welcome back Alexander’s students and families! We have been busy this week preparing classrooms and getting the school ready for your return. We are excited to welcome both our returning students and our new students to Alexander’s for the 2026-27 school year. We have many updates to share with you in preparation for your child’s first day of school on Tuesday, September 8th.
This update contains a lot of important information, so we ask that you take the time to read it all the way to the end. Moving forward, reading our weekly updates will be vital, as they contain key details about everything happening at ALX. You will also notice a change in our weekly Friday communication: we are officially re-naming our BLAST to the HOWL to align with our exciting new ALX vision.
Class Lists:
Homeroom Teacher names will be e-mailed to parents via School Messenger on Friday, September 4th after 4pm and you will need your child’s OEN number to access this information (this can be found on your child’s report card).
As a staff, we worked very hard to build our classes while keeping a balance within our classes between gender, social groupings, and academic ability. We believe we have created classrooms where our students can be successful in building new friendships while building on past peer relationships, as well as taking risks and exploring new opportunities.
ALX Organization:
Almost all of our classes are split classes this year. As we navigate declining enrollment, honouring specific placement requests poses unique challenges with limited options for classroom configurations. Furthermore, as we continue to receive registrations this week, we are continually updating and reorganizing our classes—a process that will continue throughout the month of September.
Our class structures are carefully balanced and final, we kindly ask that parents refrain from contacting the school with requests to change their child's placement.
First Day Procedures:
On the first day of school, homeroom teachers will meet their class on the blacktop beginning at 8:45am. Grades 1, 2 and 3 students will meet on the blacktop (door 7). Grades 4-6 students will meet on the blacktop (near the rock garden) and the Grades 7 and 8 students will meet on the blacktop (by the long jump pits). Kindergarten families will meet their teacher in the Kindergarten fenced in area. Teachers will have large signs with their name and class code to ensure visibility for students to be able to find their class. We will also have many extra staff on hand and available to assist students to their meeting location.
IMPORTANT: The first day is a busy one during drop off and pick up times. We ask that once students have found their teacher, please provide the Alexander’s staff the space on the blacktop to allow for visibility of all of our students. Thank you for your assistance with this!
Medications and Plans of Care:
As we start a new school year we are in the process of updating our medical files for our students who require medication at school (including epipen, inhaler etc.). Students who have epipens must carry it on their body. We also ask that a second one is sent to keep in the office. Please make sure that you contact Mrs. Nafekh, Vice Principal, in order to complete any Plans of Care. nafekhb@hdsb.ca
Cell Phone Policy & Family Communication
To support our students in maintaining a focused, distraction-free learning environment, we ask that parents also partner with us in following the Ministry’s personal electronic device guidelines. Please refrain from texting or messaging your child during the school day, as their devices will be stored away and they will not be able to read or respond to messages. If you have an urgent message or need to contact your child during school hours, please call the main office directly and our team will be happy to assist and relay the information to them.
Additionally, if your child is feeling unwell or finds that they are in need of something from home during the day, they are required to come to the main office to use the school phone so our staff can assist them properly.
We ask that you take some time to review the memo regarding personal devices at school with your child(ren). .
School Supplies:
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Always send enough food/drink to provide for two nutritious lunches. No food or drink may be shared. Remember we are a nut-free school, so please do not send any nut products.
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Always send in outerwear appropriate for the weather since some learning and recreation can be expected outdoors every day.
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Teachers will also share further information should additional items be required.
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Some teachers, especially in more senior grades, may encourage students to bring in a device for personal use. Please wait to hear from your child’s teacher for these instructions and parameters. (e.g. by teacher).
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Grade 7 & 8 students will require a lock for their locker.
Communication:
If you have questions or concerns about your child’s education, please start with a phone call to your child’s teacher as this is an important step in the communication process. For other administrative concerns, you are welcome to call the office and one of us will speak with you or call you back, email or arrange a virtual meeting or in-person meeting.
We know that many of these routines and processes are brand new for some of our students and families. Please be patient with our students, staff and each other as we all practice and reinforce good routines in the coming weeks. It may take some practice, but we are both prepared and excited to have our students returning to school. We are looking forward to providing our students the opportunity to see their friends and Alexander’s teachers once again, and to learn together!
We look forward to inviting our families to a Fall Open House. Stay tuned for details!
The Alexander’s Admin Team,
Mrs. Sherwood & Mrs. Nafekh