The Greater Gatineau Elementary School Daycare offers services to the school community before school hours, during lunch and after school. We also offer programs on Professional Development Days (PD days).
Our program runs from the first day of classes to the last day of classes for each school year. We are closed to students for the August PD days and the June PD days.
Our aim is to provide a safe, stimulating and caring service for the children of those parents who require daycare service outside of regular school hours. Our program includes: snack, homework club, physical fitness, cultural and art experiences and ample opportunities to socialize.
Through our daycare centre, students have access to a variety of educational and cultural activities, ranging from science, to literature to arts. In addition, these services support special needs students and promote inclusiveness.
2025 Greater Gatineau Daycare Parent Guide – 2025 Version Française
Technician
Jennifer Plaxton
jplaxton@wqsb.qc.ca
819 663-4842 x3
How to Register
Please complete the Daycare Registration 2025-2026, or contact the daycare technician.
Payment Information
Payments can be made online. Here are the instructions to set up your payments with your bank. Online Payment Memo – Daycare
Your balance can be found on your Statement of Account under the FINANCE tab on the parent portal. Here is the Mozaik Parent Portal Guide and a YouTube Tutorial on how to set up your account and the link to the portal to access your statements
- Prepayment is required for all daycare service.
- Monthly payments are due the first week of each month.
- Any arrangements on the schedule of payment must be made with the Daycare Technician.
- Sporadic payments are due on the day that the service is provided.
- Online payment is the preferred method of payment but payment in cash will be accepted if online is not an option.
- If the account has not been paid in full, the child may be refused access to the Daycare until the account is paid.
- Federal and provincial tax receipts will be issued by the end of February.
- Parents must supply their Social Insurance Number (SIN) to the Daycare before a tax receipt can be issued.
The rates for daycare are set by the Ministere de l’Education et l’Enseignement Superieur each year.
Students who attend regularly each week are charged per day based on their registration.
Drop in rates are charged based on the periods attended.
All registered students qualify for the regular rate on PD days. Students who register but do not attend the PD day will still be charged the regular daycare fee as well as any special activity fee.
Student who requires daycare on a regular basis pays $9.70/day based on their reservation of 1-2-3-4 or 5 days.
Drop in rate for afternoon only – $9.20/day
Drop in rate for morning only – $3.15/day
PD day – $15.20/day + Additional activity fees if applicable
Late Pick-up Fee – Any parent or guardian who arrives after closing time will be charged a late fee of $1.00 per minute.
Repeated late pick up may result in refusal of Daycare services for your child.
Daycare Daily Schedule
| Morning service | 6:45 – 7:45 |
| Lunch supervision | 11:45 – 12:35 |
| After school program | 2:35 – 5:30 |
| PD Days | 6:45am – 5:30pm |
Daycare service begins on the first day of classes and runs until the last day of classes.
About our program
Morning Daycare is offered for no extra fee to regular daycare children.
To ensure the safe arrival of all children, parents or other responsible adults must accompany the children to the Daycare Room for drop off in the morning and they will be requested to indicate the drop-off time in the attendance book.
Daycare staff provides a service of lunchtime monitoring and surveillance during lunch recess. They also encourage healthy food choices.
The children remain in their regular classrooms during the lunch hour.
After school Daycare begins at the end of classes. The children meet promptly for attendance before school buses leave the school grounds. Attendance is followed by a snack, then a homework session and then various activities planned and implemented by the educators. There is a scheduled outdoor recess time from 4:20-4:45.
The Daycare closes promptly at 5:30.
Snack
Thanks to a nutrition grant a free snack is offered to the children at the beginning of the After School Program.
Snack offerings include fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products such as cheese and yogurt, and a variety of grain products.
Children may also eat any leftover items from their lunch during snack time.
Homework
From Monday to Thursday, all students are provided the opportunity to do homework, study and read. The time allotted to this activity varies with the age and grade level of the children (15 minutes for the youngest group and up to 30 minutes for the senior groups). Children can always continue working on homework after the scheduled time if they chose to do so.
Organized Activities
All Daycare Educators prepare a monthly schedule of organized activities for their group.
The activities include arts and crafts, food preparation, organized games, sports, and performing arts.
All supplies for the planned activities are furnished by the Daycare. At times Educators may request donations of common household items such as egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, juice cartons, etc.
Outdoor Recess
Our daycare has an outdoor recess scheduled from 4:20-4:45 every day. Educators will also decide to stay out longer when the weather permits.
Daycare Drop off Procedure
When you arrive at school proceed to the daycare entrance, far doors near the
large climbing structure with the purple slides. You will ring the bell and wait for a reply. A staff member will ask for the name of the child(ren) you are dropping off. Once you provide their name(s) you may enter the building and proceed to the daycare reception area downstairs. Children will place their items in their morning cubby or their class cubby or locker and proceed to the daycare room (0.172). We ask that you note the time you are dropping off in the “sign in” book.
Daycare Pick up Procedure
When you arrive at school proceed to the daycare entrance, far doors near the
large climbing structure with the purple slides. You will ring the bell and wait for a reply. A staff member will ask for the name(s) of the child(ren) you are picking up. Once you provide their name(s) you may enter the building and proceed to the daycare reception area downstairs. Your children will be notified in their classroom and they will come to the daycare office with their things to meet you. We ask that you initial the “sign out” book and note the time you are picking up your child(ren).
Parents remain in the reception hallway.
Parents are asked to:
- Fill out the registration and emergency forms at the time of registration and update them when changes occur
- Supply Social Insurance Number for tax purposes
- Accompany their child to the Daycare room for morning drop-off and sign in with time of arrival
- Sign children out at the end of the day and indicate the time
- Notify the Daycare, in writing, at least one week in advance, if there will be any changes to the child’s attendance
- Pay on a regular basis according to arrangements made with the Daycare Technician
- Respect opening and closing hours
- Wait in the Daycare Reception Area for their children to meet them at pick-up time
The Daycare will:
- Communicate openly and respectfully with the parents or guardians
- Respect, support, and encourage the children
- Ensure the safety of the children at all times and follow procedures for emergencies
- Ensure that attendance is taken daily
- Issue annual income tax receipts
- Follow the indications for all prescription medication
- Provide a quality program for the children
The children will:
- Respect staff, other children, and the environment
- Arrive promptly for attendance
- Play safely and co-operatively
- Respect the activity schedule
- Refrain from circulating in the school without the authorization of their Daycare Educator
If a child is registered in a school daycare 5 days a week am/pm, the child will not be assigned to a school bus and it will be the parent’s responsibility to transport the child. The child will not have occasional access to school transportation; i.e. when parents are on holidays or sick at home.
If a child is registered in a school day care 5 days a week in the afternoon only, school transportation will be assigned for the mornings only.
If a child is registered 5 days a week in the morning only, school transportation will be assigned for the afternoons only.
If a child is registered in a school daycare on a part time schedule; less than 5 days a week, the child will be assigned to a school bus both morning and afternoon.
The Daycare students are expected to follow the same rules of conduct as during the regular school day; please refer to the school Code of Conduct in the school agenda or on the website for further details.
We expect the children to respect the staff, their peers, the program schedule and the daycare environment (toys, books, supplies, etc).
If a child is experiencing difficulties at Daycare, the staff will work with the parents or guardians in an attempt to resolve the situation. The Daycare Technician and the Educator will notify the parents of any deviations from the Code of Conduct which may occur and the action plan that they expect to follow. However, if after repeated efforts the situation does not improve, the Principal will be called in to help resolve the problem and the child may be removed from the Daycare on a temporary or permanent basis.
Emergency information
Parents or guardians are responsible for ensuring that the Daycare has up-to-date names and telephone numbers of people who will be available in the case of emergencies. It is extremely important that parents share this information with their children.
The parents or guardians must inform the Daycare, in writing, of any other person who is allowed to pick up their child. That person will be required to show photo ID as confirmation of their identity.
Accidents
Parents or guardians will be notified at once of any significant accident. If they cannot be reached, the emergency number will be called. If the accident is judged severe enough to require an ambulance, a staff member will accompany the child to the local hospital emergency centre. Parents or the emergency contact will be advised so that they can meet the staff member there.
If an ambulance is required, it is the parent’s responsibility to pay the cost.
Prescription medication
If a child requires prescription medication:
- A permission form must be obtained from the office, completed and signed before any medication will be administered. This form is also available on the school website.
- Only medication prescribed by a doctor will be administered.
- The prescription or a copy must be left at the office.
- Parents must bring the prescribed medication to the office.
It is important that the Daycare staff be aware of any serious health problems: allergies, diabetes, asthma, migraines, etc.
Indoor Shoes
Parents can provide a pair of indoor shoes for their children to wear. This helps reduce the sand and dirt that comes into the classroom on boots and outdoor shoes. These shoes must be worn indoors at all times.
Change of clothes
It is recommended that children have a change of clothes at the daycare. There are sometimes spills during snack or playtime or other accidents that require the children to change.
Loss and Damage
The Daycare is not responsible for loss or damage of personal items the children bring to school. No electronic devices (iPod’s, MP3’s, hand-held game systems…) or trading cards are permitted at Daycare. Daycare Staff reserve the right to confiscate these items and hold them in the office until a parent or guardian arrives.
Personal items left behind at the Daycare will be held in “Lost and Found” for two weeks.
Our students have full use of the school yard during school and daycare hours. The school yard is available to the other members of our community on the weekends and after school/daycare hours.
If our children are using the school yard we reserve the right to ask the other community members to vacate the property. We ask parents to leave school property with their children once they have collected them when the playground is in use.
This is to ensure the safety of the children in our care.