Today we filled our bucket of caring rocks and we all had a prize. Children who are kind and helpful get to put caring rocks in. When the bucket is full, we all get a prize. This time the prize was a golden chocolate ball. We also opened the playdough centre today. Thanks to Aaliyah’s mom who made the playdough for us. It was a big hit!
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Our school follows the Mind-Up program which includes strategies for children to self-regulate and calm themselves down. One of these strategies is called body scan. Here we are doing our first body scan.
Today we had our first assembly about the Terry Fox Run. It will be at Dogwood next Thursday. Students are asked to bring a toonie to school to help raise money for cancer research.
This is just a sample of the many centres choices the children have at school. Ask your child where they played today.
Today we met our Big Buddies in Mrs. Sorge's class. They are in grades six and seven. Ask your child their Big Buddy's name.
I am pleased to have your child in my class this year. Your child’s education is an interest we share. I look forward to a rewarding and interesting school year. I have 38 years of teaching experience and have taught grade one or kindergarten for the last several years. Our room number is 104 and the students enter and exit through the outside classroom door. The first bell rings at 8:30 with instruction beginning at 8:35. Lunch is from 11:42-12:25 and dismissal is at 2:30. It is important to have your child at school on time each day and make sure he/she is picked up on time after school. Children can become anxious if no one is there to pick them up after school.
At Dogwood, we use folder style planners for children this age. This is where I will place a monthly up-date each month outlining both school-wide and classroom activities along with any other notices for the day. The planner is also where your child will be placing his Home Reading books to travel back and forth to school. I am collecting a planner fee of $5 per child. Your child will require a backpack large enough to hold the planner as well as a separate, re-useable, lunch bag to keep food away from the books. During the first weeks of school it is common for children to have difficulty eating their whole lunch with the excitement of eating with their friends and the thought of getting out to play. I will ask the children to try to eat their entire lunch and not throw food away. Anything that they cannot possibly eat will be put back in their lunch bag so that you will know exactly what was eaten. I will not permit them to trade or give away food. There is no time limit on eating, but I will encourage them to eat their lunch in 15 or 20 minutes. While they are eating, they are supervised by two lunch monitors from grades six and seven and our adult supervisory aides. When they are finished eating, they will go outside to play and will be supervised by the adult supervisory aides. It is appreciated if your child has their lunch with them when they come to school, as we choose a healthy snack (fruit) from their lunch to eat at recess. If you send a piece of fruit in their lunch, I will do my very best to have them eat it for their recess snack. Our school has adopted a “litterless lunch and snack” program. This is a Surrey School District initiative designed to reduce waste in our landfills and to reduce costs related to garbage removal from schools. Please pack your child’s food in re-useable containers. We have bins at school for organic waste such as banana peels and apple cores. Any wrappers you do send, will be placed back in your child’s lunch bag. I would prefer that children not bring pop, chips or candy to school for their lunch or snack. Gum is also not allowed at school. If you would like to take your child home for lunch, please sign them out at the office. I have a class website/blog that I will update daily. Please get in the habit of checking the blog to find out what is going on at school. My website is www.mrswattclass.weebly.com . There is also a link to my class page on the Dogwood School page. Your child will have access to computers and iPads at school and I also have a Smartboard in the room. I will also be creating a digital portfolio for your child using the FreshGrade program. A separate note about FreshGrade will be sent home soon. Sharing is part of our daily routine each morning. Children are encouraged to share a newsworthy story or one special object from home. I will be using a reusable “sharing bag” to take turns. When your child brings home the empty “sharing bag”, that means that the next school day he/she may bring one object from home to show and tell about. This year fine arts will be taught by Mrs. Mitchell two times per week and we will be going to the gym two times per week. Your child will need a labeled pair of clean running shoes they can put on themselves for in-school use. These shoes are to be kept at school and are worn for gym and when the children wear boots to school. Parents are responsible for purchasing school supplies. If you ordered school supplies last spring for your grade one child, they are at school and will be given to them today. We are also ready to collect the $5 planner fee. Please send these things in as soon as possible. One additional project I like to do for all the children is a class t-shirt. A separate notice will be coming home soon about the t-shirts and the cost. Our class will have Music twice a week and we will visit the school library once a week. We have several field studies planned throughout the year and will often require the assistance of volunteer parent drivers. If you think you may be driving on any of our trips, please fill out the volunteer driver form and send it to school as soon as possible. These forms will be kept in the office. |
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March 2020
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