3 more sleeps!!!

The first day of school will be an exciting, but probably a tough day for many of you. 

Remember that many of the children will be upset when you leave in the morning as it is a big step in their lives, but I promise to do my best to make this transition as easy as possible.

It's easier to bring your child to the gym and leave, instead of him/her getting used to you sticking around. 

Feel free to send me a quick email to check how things are going, I'll try to replay as quick as possible.

Before School Care starts at 7:30 and it is free, so you are welcome and encouraged to drop your child off early.  Before bringing him/her into the gym, please drop off their backpacks, shoes (gym and black dress shoes), lunch bag in your child's cubby (please look for your child's name) if you have any supplies, please leave them in the class. 

For the first week of school, all students are asked to come in their dress uniforms and black dress shoes.  We will start with alternate uniforms next week (Mon./Wed.-gym uniform and Tue./Thu./Fri.-dress uniform). 

Please remember to leave an extra set of clothing in your child's backpack in a plastic bag, as they might have washroom accidents.  If your child pee and is able to change on her/his own, you will not receive a phone call.  If your child cannot change himself/herself or does the other, you will be notified by a phone call and asked to come to the school and change him/her.

If you do not pick up your child before 3:45pm, they will be in the After School Care in the big gymnasium.  After School Care is offered until 6:00pm.  Please be sure to sign out your child with the After School teachers to ensure that you are not billed at the end of the month for longer than necessary. Again, Before School Care is free, After School Care you will be invoiced monthly (0.11/minute). 

Looking forward to teaching and caring for your child! 

Supplies

Dear Parents,
I just wanted to let you know that I'll be here at school Monday until 4pm and Tuesday from 9-11am.
If you wish to drop off your child's school supply, feel free to come during these times.
Thank you!

Uniform

This is just a reminder that students are required to wear SJA full uniform on Wed., Sep. 3rd and Thu., Sept. 4th.
On Friday Sep. 5th students are required to wear house colors.
Starting Mon., Sep. 8th students are required to follow the schedule:
Mon. - Gym uniform
Tue. - Full uniform
Wed. - Gym uniform
Thu. - Full uniform
Fri. - Full uniform

JK Daily Schedule





*Journal Writing: students are encouraged to draw a picture about a specific topic.  The main goal for this activity is to teach students to convey messages into creative writing, as the year progresses students will write sight words and short sentences phonetically.

*Literacy Center: it gives the students ample opportunity to practice the four important skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. It also lays focus on increasing comprehension, vocabulary and fluency of oral language.

*Language Arts: during this time students will use 3 A Beka workbooks as follows:

Writing with Phonics K4: is correlated with basic phonics sounds to help children learn phonics as they practice correct writing formation

Writing with Phonics K5: as vowels, consonants, consonant – vowel words are introduced students will practice writing them. As the year progresses, students will be practicing basic/short sentence writing.

ABC123: this workbook introduces number concepts and the writing of numbers 1-20, it also provide guided activities in the following areas: short and long vowel sounds, simple consonant sounds, blending of consonants and vowels and words containing one and two vowels.

*Math Makes Sense: during this time students will participate in a variety of hands on activities, these are the Math units throughout the year:

Unit 1: Data Management

Unit 2: Number Sense

Unit 3: Spatial Sense and Geometry

Unit 4: Patterning

Unit 5: Measurement

Unit 6: Numbers and Applications

*The students engage in four Units of Inquiry throughout the year. These units are designed to enable students to construct knowledge and understanding of the world around them through meaningful and purposeful engagements relating to the students’ own first hand experiences. Throughout the inquiries, students reflect on their learning, continually constructing and modifying theories and making connections between their learning within the school environment and their experiences in the wider world.

*Here is a list of the Inquiry Centers we will be doing in our classroom:

   -  Writing: develop discrimination of left and right, hand-eye coordination,  in-ha More…nd strength, finger and in-hand manipulations, finger isolation skills, pencil control skills, drawing skills and letter formation skills.

-        -  Dramatic: permits children to fit the reality of the world into their own interests and knowledge. Promotes self expression.

-        - Block/Building: promotes fine motor skills, language, math and problem solving skills.

-        -  Arts and Crafts: promotes language skills, art skills, problem solving, fine motor development and creativity.

-        -  Math/Games/puzzles: math skills such as sorting and classifying, patterning, number concepts, one-to-one correspondence, problem solving skills and risk – taking.

-        -  Science: promotes use of senses, make observations, describe, compare, sort, classify, gather data and work cooperatively with others.

UNIFORM

Dear Parents,
Please, label all your child's uniform items!
Thank you!

Houses

At SJA each student is assigned to a house (team). Each house is represented by a color, as follows:
KIP - Kappa Iota Pi - Orange
ZBP - Zeta Beta Pi - Green
TSP - Theta Sigma Psi - Blue
Throughout the school year students will be participating in games and also earning house points for their house. Please, refer to the "House Colors" list to check which house is your child assigned.
Contact me if you have any questions.

Important Information

·          Please, to avoid any discomfort in case of washroom accidents, send in your child’s backpack an extra change of clothes in a plastic bag. The bag will remain in your child’s backpack and it will be used only when needed. If your child is not able to change independently we will be calling you to come to school and change him/her. Please understand, that is part of our policy.

·          Please be advised that St. Jude's is a nut free facility. When purchasing items for your child's lunch, please read the packages carefully. If the label says, "may contain nuts", please refrain from sending that item. Look for products with the nut-free label.

·          Please remember that your child will need to bring 2 pairs of indoor shoes: 1 pair of black dress shoes and 1 pair of indoor running shoes. These shoes will remain at school. If you child cannot tie laces on his/her own, please send in slip-on or velcro shoes. Please label your child's shoes. Children often have the same or very similar shoes.

·          For hygiene purposes your child’s bottle of water will be sent home everyday to be washed and returned.

 

·          Please read and sign your child’s agenda everyday. Students need to bring their agendas back and forth to school each day.

·          Each day a different child will be the Special Helper of the day. The Special Helper will be the line leader, will help lead the calendar routine and is in charge of any special errands for the teacher.

·          Starting second week of school (Sept. 12), every Friday five students will be asked to bring in an object that begins with the letter of the week (i.e .if the letter of the week is “Cc”, then the child might bring in a car). Your child will be assessed on their listening skills and speaking in front of an audience.

·          Please be advised that reading homework will start on Monday, Sept. 15^th. I’ll be sending more information in the first week of school.

·          In regards to class field trips, if you are interested in participating, please let me know as we rotate parents throughout the school year.

·          In order to keep our cubby area nice and tidy, I need your help on the following: take home your child's toys everyday. Make sure your child's shoes (Gym + black shoes) are neatly put away everyday in the cubby.