With the cold weather here, it is really important for all the children to dress independently for outdoor play. Here is the french song we sing to help the children remember the order in which they get dressed. (To the tune of "Are you sleeping") Ask your child to sing it while they get dressed for school!

We have been busy adding our French songs to the "Les chansons que nous aimons" section on the right hand side of the blog! Please review them at home with your child.

Here is the story of the 3 little pigs in French. We have been putting on the play in class. Ask your child to act it out at home!

November Newsletter

In November, we will be talking about Remembrance Day and practising our letter writing by writing postcards to our Canadian war veterans.  We will also be participating in the Remembrance Day Ceremony at school.  Your child brought home a poppy that will be displayed in the gym.  Please help your child select the name of someone he/she would like to remember.  Write this name on the poppy, cut it out and return it to school. During the second week of November, poppies will be sold to support the veterans of Canada.  If you wish your child to purchase one, simply send in a small donation. 
To broaden the theme of peace, we will be reading the Shubert series (Conscious Discipline) which is a unique set of books designed to help children find strategies to solve problems and create a peaceful and kind environment in the classroom and with their friends. If you are interested in learning more about Conscious Discipline, there is a presentation being held at the Ottawa Catholic School Board on Friday, November 28th from 7 to 9 pm.  Please go to the Board website and register before November 15th if you are interested.

Every day, we choose a special student who is the leader/ami special for the day. We use the letters in the child’s name to help with letter recognition. Thank you to those parents who have been helping their child with the writing of his/her name. The students are so proud when they can write their name independently. In addition to writing their name, all students are being asked to say the letters in their name. Some could benefit from additional practice at home. Have your child read the letters to you, once they’ve printed them. Touching each letter as they do so would help to encourage this skill. All children should be writing their name using ONLY lowercase letters except for the first letter (for example: Johnny). Something to challenge the SKs is to practise the writing of their last name or writing the names of other family members. They enjoy writing their friends' names here at school using a name card as a guide.

 

In Math, we have been graphing, measuring and counting. We have sorted and graphed different shapes of leaves and measured pumpkins. We’ve even used pumpkins to find out how tall we are. Ask your child how many pumpkins tall he/she is! At home, you can practise sorting and graphing. For example, sort the laundry. Sort out different laundry items from the laundry basket (socks, shirts, pants). Count the items to see if there are more coloured socks than white socks; more shirts than pants. Show it on a graph! November and December will have more focus placed on number sense and numeration: the JKs will be doing activities to help with counting and showing sets to 5 along with numeral recognition. With the SKs, the number focus will be on numbers between 10 and 20. Please keep in mind that any and all strands of math occur on any given day in a play based learning environment!

In French, we are talking about parts of the body, emotions as well as clothing and we are planning to review the senses and healthy habits.  We are also are working on the play of the Three Little Pigs.  The play is in the French corner of the blog so feel free to practice the lines as well as the songs at home with your child!

The weather is getting colder and so, the students have more articles of clothing. Labeled items are easily returned to students when they get misplaced. We ask that you continue to support your child in getting dressed (zipping zippers and buttoning buttons AND getting shoes on independently). Very soon, children who can zip their own zipper will become part of our Zipper Club. We know it isn’t always easy, especially when you’re in a rush, but your effort now will save time later. Please save the laces for grade one when students’ fine motor skills are much more developed. The ratio of teacher to student does not support the use of laces in kindergarten. It really delays the flow to our next transition.

We would like to send a big thank you to parents who sent in canned foods, who helped at the dance-a-thon as well as to parents who returned the dance-a-thon pledge form envelope. If you did not return the envelope, please do so as soon as possible.

In Kindergarten, there are no progress reports. We meet with all the parents on interview night, Thursday, November 6th.

 

Reminders:

1. Please ensure that all of your child’s belongings (coats, sweaters, hat, mitts…) are labeled with his/her name.
2. Please help your child practise putting his/her coat on independently. Winter wear is often much more difficult to get on and do up than light spring/fall jackets. Please take the time to show him/her how to reverse a sleeve that has turned inside out. Something to keep in mind… Scarves are very difficult for young children to put on in a safe manner. Serious injuries have occurred involving young students wearing scarves on a bus or play structure.
3. Please ensure that your child sends his/her note tote to school every day.
4. Please continue to send a water bottle with your child. Water is such a great choice for replenishing fluids in any temperature.
5. To avoid frustration, Velcro shoes are HIGHLY recommended for both indoor and outdoor use! Curly laces are available at all Payless and Walmart stores if purchasing Velcro shoes is not an option.
6. Please check your child's backback everyday for important mail.  Also, we have some beautiful materials in our classroom that sometimes go missing.  If you find them in your child's backpack, please send them back to school with a note in the notetote.

We appreciate the support you are providing at home! Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of us any time before or after school.

Sincerely,
Mrs. McGuinty
Mme Dolgos
Mrs. McAteer