General Happenings: Our First Week + Important Announcement

Hi everyone!

We survived our first full week together :) We have a really nice class and I look forward to our year together! This week we focused on getting into routine and establishing expectations. We have learned our classroom rules and slowly started learning the expectations of each learning centre.

Here are some pictures from this week. Thanks to everyone for handing in their forms!!

Our sign in from day one... looks like we have a lot of work to do!

Reminders

• We have gym multiple times a week; please send your child to school in appropriate footwear
• Please send in appropriate winter clothing for spare clothes 
• Continue to build independence with zippers, lunches, back packs, etc.
• Library exchange will be starting sometime in October.

Unfortunate News

As of Monday September 21st, blog posts, Twitter use, Remind 101, and monthly calendars will be suspended until further notice.

Announcements: Update on Current Situation

I know there have been some questions floating around, so I thought I would address them here for everyone to see. Due to the current position we are in, we are not allowed to do any scholastic orders, and we will not be having an open house/meet the teacher night. I know this is unfortunate (for both of us), but please understand this is the position we have been placed in. Thank you for your understanding and support. We will keep you posted on any changes as soon as we find out.

Announcements: Classroom Changes

Things seem to change in the blink of an eye around here! As of Monday, September 14th, we now have a fourth Kindergarten classroom at Gatestone. Due to such high class numbers, it was decided to  open up a class of 15 ASAP instead of waiting for October reorganization. We are sad to see 5 friends from our classroom leave, but know they will have a great time in their new classroom :)

We are excited to welcome Mrs. McKinnley who is our DECE until Mrs. Tortola comes back. She has a wealth of experience and we are super excited to have her working with us :)

Announcements: Building Independence

As we head into a new school year, it's important to start off with certain expectations, and one of those expectations is for our students to be as independent as possible. Of course I don't expect children to be able to do everything for themselves right from the get-go, but they can certainly do a lot! Here are some things we hope students can become independent at... as soon as possible ;)

1) Zippers on coats, backpacks, and lunches: Please help your child learn how to do up their zipper on all of these things.

2) Packing their backpack: Please help to teach your child how to put their important bag in their backpack (along the back) and their lunch bag. The second you try to put a lunch bag in in the wrong direction, the zippers don't do it and it causes frustration.

3) Going to the bathroom: We can't go in the bathroom with students, so please make sure your child knows how to wipe themselves, clean up any messes, put the seat down, and flush.

4) Opening their food: Ideally, all students should be able to open their own containers, yogurt tubes, juice boxes, etc.

5) Doing up their shoes: Velco is the best option for those who can't do up their laces. Please don't send your child to school in shoes with laces if they can't do them up themselves.

We will be going through some of these things together as a class, but in the meantime, please practise at home to help build independence! They're little things, but makes a huge difference with so many kids :)

Announcements: Important Update, September 8th, 2015!

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much to everyone who came for their visits today! We hope everyone had a good time and that it eased some nerves :)

I just wanted to go over a couple of things that I either forgot or thought should be mentioned.

1) Important Bags: Every student needs an important bag, which is a courier bag we've bought from the dollar store. I forgot to mention it to the first two groups; if you did not purchase an important bag from us during orientation, you can buy one from us for $1.50. If your child is a previous student of mine, they can use theirs from last year or buy a new one :) We have name cards for them already made. Previous students will use the same from last year!

2) Milk: The office runs the milk program. You will get a form sent home OR it will be explained in the school newsletter. The milk program is not expected to begin for at least two weeks.

3) Shoes: It looks as though we will be having gym 3 times a week this year, a big change from last year! It will be in 25 minute intervals. Changing shoes for outdoor time two times a day and gym might be a bit excessive, so having your child already in gym-appropriate shoes may be the best option. Also, we don't have a ton of room for students to keep an additional pair of shoes here.

4) Special Event/Pizza Money: You will notice that on your checklist that pizza money and special event money has been crossed off, and those forms are not in your welcome package. This is due to our current work-to-rule. We are not yet sure if/when this will change, but you'll will be the first to know after us :)

5) Supplies: We had SO many donations from parents today, it was UNBELIEVABLE!! Thanks so much for your support, as we couldn't run such an effective program without these donations. If you've lost your list, it's in the previous blog post.

6) Staff: I mentioned in a previous post that Miss King would be our ECE until Mrs. Tortola came back, but this has changed. We will have a supply ECE until a temporary one has been hired. We would also like to welcome Mrs. Rossi who is an EA that we have working with some students in the Kindergarten division.

7) Possible Reorganization: We have a total of 33 students this year. There is a possibility that we will be opening up a fourth Kindergarten class due to our large class sizes. This will not happen until the beginning of October. If this were to happen, approx. 5 students from each class would enter the new class, in which case you would be informed ASAP. We know nothing else at this time.

Please read through your packages carefully, as it will answer the majority of your questions. However, please don't hesitate to contact me about anything, ever!

Here's to a great year :)

~ Miss Pliura