Thank you to all of those able to make it out for Curriculum Night, it was good to see you! A big thank you goes to our fabulous grade parents Catherine, Patricia and Tara for organizing the sign ups and getting those calendars up and running - so great! Between your calendar and keeping a regular eye on the blog you should be able to keep up with what's going on in our class and the school quite easily. Should you have any trouble with your leader day or volunteer spot let your grade parents know and we'll try to switch as best as we can.
In class, we continue to work on getting the routines down. Everyone is learning new routines for the new full day program. We are enjoying having Miss Nisker in the room as our ECE, more hands and more eyes for our 31 friends! Keeping our voices to an acceptable INDOOR level is a challenge with so many children and such excitement. You can help with this by reminding and complimenting your child on using an "indoor voice" at home too.
With the sudden change in weather we saw the coats come out of the closets... and many children who were shocked to find Ms.I. and Miss Nisker don't put coats on or take coats off FOR anyone but themselves! While we do help, having your child independently dress for the most part is a must for kindergarten. We had many lessons on how to get your coat on - lay it on the floor, tag at your toes, put your arms in and flip it over your head! As well as how to get those pesky sleeves back where they belong before trying to put your coat on...so much to do before getting out the door for play time! Thanks to those who sent extra shoes on the wet days, it keeps our carpet and class cleaner. Each child has their own cubby where shoes can be safely stored. The woodchips in our playground are quite often wet and messy in the mornings and particularly after rain and as we do go out to play this is where the muck comes from so indoor shoes are definitely helpful...and something else to practise putting on and taking off independently as this would be done several times a day!
Please continue to encourage your child to eat their snack and use the washroom, keeping in mind that they may have to check back for an open "spot" at either the snack table (it seats 6 at a time) or the washroom (serves 2 at a time, either boys or girls) because there are so many in the room.
We completed both a fire drill and lockdown practice this week and did a great job. There are 2 more fire drills this week and ultimately another lockdown sometime over the year. This is just part of having a safe school, another routine to learn and everyone did a great job with no fuss or worries.
Mailbags came home on Friday with a Poetry and Song duotang for you to read with your child. We will add to it all year and send it home regularly so your child can share with you what they have learned. PLEASE RETURN THE DUOTANG FOR MONDAY so new work can be added. Pizza forms were sent this week, to be filled out by those who wish to take part in school pizza lunches. Please note they are due back by the 19th. A library book came home last week, the book and green bag must be returned this week for your child to exchange for a new one. Ms. McGee has enclosed a note in the green bag for parent information.
This week:
Monday - LIB/IT, Music, AM Fire Drill
Tuesday -
Wednesday - LIB/IT
Thursday - PM Fire Drill
Friday -
*There will be student leaders this week, don't forget to ask your child who it was and what they brought in the mystery bag!
Coming next week, our first sharing assembly to celebrate the character trait of respect. EVERY child will receive a certificate over the course of the year - there are 10 months and 10 character traits to recognize. Typically, I will post on the blog the week prior who the recipients will be BUT THIS IS A SECRET FROM THE CHILDREN! They talk about the traits and work towards demonstrating the traits in class and then 3 or 4 children will be recognized at each assembly. Next week we will recognize Lexi, Michael and Tommy for doing a super job showing respect for themselves, their peers, the teachers, the class and the materials. Well done guys!! This DOES NOT mean the others are not being respectful, simply these children are being recognized for their efforts and the others will be recognized for something else over the year!
Cheers everyone, have a great week!
Ms.I.
