Early intervention strategies
At Belle River we follow the GECDSB's mission statement: All children can learn. We believe a safe, stimulating, caring and welcoming environment promotes and facilitates the learning process. As a staff we set up classroom routines which foster success. When a student is having difficulty we work with the child, the family and Special Education Support Staff to set up appropriate behaviour plans and/or educational plans to address the student's needs. Several staff members have been trained in Non-violent Crisis Intervention/Behaviour Management System. This is a program which teaches staff to de-escalate a student's anger and to deal safely and appropriately with an angry child.
As a staff, we review the GECDSB's Emergency Response Flip Chart to prepare for emergency situations such as gas leaks, tornados, lockdowns or other situations where school evacuations are needed. Each school year we have six fire drills, three in the fall and three in the spring. We practice one shelter and place (tornado) drill and one lockdown drill.