Yo! Yo! Yo! Students and family of Room 308, class of 2014-15! September is here and it is time to get things
rolling on an exciting grade 6 year at Churchill Alternative. There is a busy year ahead of us, and I am
ready to start on our adventures in learning.
The summer was a
busy one for me, as I taught summer school in July, while Arlo and Otis spent
their time at parks, museums, and the library with their mom. In the afternoons Jenny, the boys, and I
would typically head to a splash pad, the beach, or out for a bike ride or
walk. Arlo has been riding his two
wheeler all year long, and Otis has been climbing anything that he can get a
toehold on. A few camping trips, and
visits with friends and family kept us busy for the rest of the summer, and now
here we are, back and ready for school.
To get a quick run down of some important items to be
aware of in the opening weeks of Room 308’s 2014/15 school year please
read the following, or check it all out on our class blog at churchill308.blogspot.com
, and contact me if you have any questions.
Class Meeting
We all know that education
at Churchill relies heavily on the partnership between the school, the student,
and the home so in order to start the year off on the same page, parents are
strongly encouraged to attend the class meeting on Tuesday, September 16th, 2014, at 6:00pm. More
information will follow regarding the format of the meeting. Our room is number 308, on the third floor beside
the computer lab. You can get acquainted
with our room and the way in which things will run over the course of this
year. Items of discussion will be;
volunteering in the classroom, field trips, guest speakers, overnights,
curriculum topics, homework, and general information. All parents are encouraged to attend this event as it is a great way
to bring up ideas/concerns, and get to know the other families that are a part
of our Room 308 community. I look
forward to meeting you all.
Class
Blog – www.churchill308.blogspot.com
Our class blog is
one of the most effective ways to stay informed with what is going on in our
class (short of stopping in regularly).
On it the students and I will post everything from important dates and
assignments/handouts, to artwork and pieces of the student’s writing. I will try to send out reminders to check the
blog when info has been posted, but you may just want to add it to your
“favourites” folder and check from time to time. This will take the place of regular newsletters
for the most part. Please let me know if
you cannot access the site, or if you do not regularly have internet access and
I can make alternate arrangements.
Forms
Inevitably the first
week or two will be a time to read, sign, and return countless forms. As repetitive as this seems it is a necessary
administrative aspect of the start of school, and we need those forms to ensure
that proper information is exchanged.
Please return these ASAP so that we can get this out of the way and get
on with the year.
Nut Restricted
Just a reminder that Churchill continues to be a “Nut Restricted” school, in an effort to
create a safe environment for a number of seriously allergic members of our
school community. More information is
available through the office concerning the details of this policy, but basically
the main item to be aware of are that students are asked to not bring food to
school that contains nuts (especially peanut butter).
Volunteers
and Volunteer Co-ordinator
Yes we still welcome (and need) volunteers in grade 6. It may not always be glamorous work, but it is
always a valuable contribution that you make to our learning environment when
you can find the time to join us in class. You
are all encouraged to help out in class whenever possible. If you have a particular strength or area of
expertise (or a great connection) let Ray know so we can make use of it. We are in need of
one or two people who are willing to take charge of our volunteer and snack
schedule on a month-by-month basis. If
you are able to help us out with this please let me know right away so we can
start to organize the school year.
We
are also looking for a math- strong
volunteer who would be able to work with a math group once a week.
A read aloud program greatly benefits
student literacy, and for many years I have had volunteers drop give time to
sit and listen to students read. Giving
students this simple opportunity builds fluency, confidence, and overall
literacy. I will speak about this more
at the class meeting, but let me know if you are able to share some time with
us to help out with this.
Field Fun
We are booked in for the first class trip of the year next Thursday. To compliment our Phys Ed program we are hoping
to get in one Thursday date in September (in addition to the Terry Fox Run, and
a cycling trip TBA), and three in October, when we will walk to Dovercourt, and
McKellar Parks for field activities and games, including Ultimate Frisbee (best
played on grass). Our plan is to leave
after morning attendance, and return during second block (11:15 ). Weather
depending, we will likely choose to bring our morning snack with us, and stop
during our time there to eat. Please let
Ray know if you can come along for any of these dates, as we need several volunteers
for the walk there and back. (Sept 11, Oct 2, 16, 30)
Terry Fox Day
The Terry Fox Run
is one of the most exciting, and memorable dates on the Churchill
calendar. It is a great community event
that families always enjoy participating in.
Please look for forms and pledge sheets coming home. Help us reach our goal. This year we will hold our Terry Fox run on
Thursday September 24th at Dovercourt Park
Group Snack As is the custom here at Churchill the students of room 308
will be participating in a group snack program, which will be shared during the
first nutrition break. The benefits to
this are obvious in that you do not have to provide different snacks each day
for your child, you just have to provide snack for the whole class once every 25
school days. However there are some
concerns that must be considered with a program such as this. We will discuss diet restrictions in our
class, but usually we have to consider that there are likely members of our
class who are allergic to certain foods, or are vegetarian, etc. The following dietary concerns were shared in
our first circle meeting:
Following
the “Healthy Snack” policies that the school promotes the students in past
years made up some guidelines to keep in mind when choosing snack for the
class.
-low
sugar items -healthy foods high
in vitamins -variety -focus on fruits and vegetables
If a relatively “sweet” snack is being
provided it should be combined with another item such as carrot sticks, fruit
pieces, cheese and crackers, etc.
In
the past we have had nearly one hundred percent participation in this program,
but this does not mean that all must take part.
If you would prefer to send you child with their own snack each day, and
not have them take part in the sharing of snack simply let me know and I will
make sure that your child’s name is not on the schedule. We will probably set a schedule from
the second week of school, and try to arrange following months through the
volunteer co-coordinators.
Shoes and Gym
Footwear that students use outside on the
yard is not to be worn in the classroom, library, or gymnasium. This is particularly an issue during the wet
and winter months, but it is a practice that we will try to get used to from
the beginning of the year. Many of the
students play in the sandy areas of the schoolyard at recess and lunch hour,
and they carry in a considerable amount of sand, dirt, and stones on and in
their shoes. They all have hooks, and
shelf space in our classroom to keep their shoes, and many decide that they
want to have separate “gym” shoes and indoor shoes. At no time are students to be walking
without footwear in the school.
Regarding “gym” shoes, they must be shoes that can be laced up, are not
worn for everyday use outside, and have non- marking soles. This is standard practice for school gyms in
order to provide a safe environment for participants. If students feel so inclined to change before
and after gym they are welcome to (this will be the policy in middle school).
Scholastic
Our first Scholastic Book Club order forms went home today, and is due
Sept 12th . By participating
in the Scholastic program students get fantastic deals on popular books and
Scholastic donates books to the classroom.
The general practice in our class is that two weeks is given between
when the forms go home and when the last ones have to be handed in, and
delivery usually takes two to four weeks after that date.
Dates of Importance
Tie Dye Shirt September
15th
Class Meeting September
16th
Terry Fox Run September 24th
PD Day October 10th /
November 21
Thanksgiving October 13th
Progress Reports November 13th
Wish
list
Not everyone can make it in to volunteer for various reasons, but often
I am asked if there is anything else that they can do for the class. Here are a few roles that need filling and
items that we could benefit from. Let me
know if you are able to take care of any of the following “wishes”.
Feed
the Frogs - Purchase a dozen crickets from a pet store
every week for our class pets.
Class visitors - The
next best thing to a field trip is a guest to the classroom. If you are (or know) a musician, author,
journalist, known athlete, etc. who would be willing to share with the class
please let me know and we can arrange a visit.
Public Library Contact - Go
online or in person to the Ottawa Public Library every few weeks and sign
out/return books for class use based on the subjects being covered.
Laundry Service- We have towels, cloths, and a sofa cover
that needs periodic washing.
Math Group Volunteer- Work with a group every week on math
related activities.
Read Aloud Volunteers–
Give students in the class a chance to read out loud.
Hand Sanitizer - Our
class pump of hand sanitizer sits by the door and gets well used around recess
and at other times during the day.
Refills are needed two or three times a year.
Magazines - We
have a dwindling supply of old magazines for projects. New ones to read, or older ones to cut up,
would be appreciated.
Regards Ray Kalynuk
and the students of Room 308
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