Welcome back! Wow, time flies, and already we are back at school! I hope that everyone enjoyed a safe and fun-filled summer. For those of you returning to room 308 for a second year – welcome back. And for those of you who are new to our room, we are all happy to welcome you to the 308 family. This past summer was particularly special for me as Jenny and I were married on August 8th, and we spent 17 days following that travelling in northern France. I am refreshed, and ready to start another exciting year at Churchill. Things will get quite busy very soon and we will be looking to our families for support throughout the year. I know that by working together we will be able to build an atmosphere, both at home and at school, in which our students can challenge themselves to reach their potential. The following is a quick rundown of important items to be aware of in the opening weeks of the 2008/09 school year.
Class Meeting Education at Churchill relies heavily on the partnership between the school, the student, and the home, so to kick off the new school year and give everyone a chance to meet and greet not just myself, but the parents/guardians that will make up the rest of the 308 family this year, we will get together on Tuesday September 8th, at 6:30 pm. 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. If you have individual concerns regarding your student you can approach me at this time and we can schedule a meeting for a future date.
Forms
As always 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.
Balanced Day Times As you can see on the attached schedule the “Balanced Day” times have changed slightly this year. Morning recess break still starts at 10:00am, and is fifteen minutes long, followed by a fifteen minute scheduled “Nutrition Break”. The second recess break is still fourty minutes long, starting at 12:30, and is followed by a twenty minute scheduled “Nutrition Break”, which ends at 1:30pm.
Volunteer Coordinators
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. Once this is arranged they will be calling around to homes, or using e-mail, to arrange schedules for volunteering in the classroom. Yes we do appreciate and still very much need volunteers in grades 5/6. 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. If you have a particular strength or area of expertise let Ray know so we can make use of it. We are looking for a math strong volunteer who would be able to work with a math group once a week.
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 26 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.
Agendas
A vital key to communication between the class and home is our use of agendas. Going into middle school students will be expected to write in an agenda on a daily basis. Once the agendas are available students will be asked to have them on their desk each day during agenda time, during which they will write down pertinent information, and I will check to see that it has been filled out and sign each one. If you have any messages for me this is a great place to jot them down for me to read.
Room 308 Read-Aloud Program We have been developing a program in room 308 over the past few years where volunteers come in to sit one on one with students and listen to them read. The most important contributing factor to a child’s literacy at this age is the time they spend reading high interest texts. What I, and the volunteers in the past, have found is that the students get excited to go out and read with to or with an adult. They choose the book, and the volunteer just follows along, giving guidance when needed. The goal we have for this year is to start by trying to give every student an opportunity to read aloud with a volunteer once in the first term and then try to improve on that as the year goes on. Any time we can get from volunteers, will be greatly appreciated to help in this area. I will discuss this more at the family meeting, but consider this an open invitation to drop in and read with our students whenever you can.
Terry Fox Day This event is always a popular one at Churchill as it is the first time in the year where all our grades come together in a common activity, and it can really set the tone for the feeling of community we build over the year. Keep your ears open for the date as it will be announced for a time in September really soon. We will welcome as many volunteers as possible to walk with us to the park, and to encourage the students to run for the cure.
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 room 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. We do not ask for separate gym clothes, but if students feel so inclined to change before and after gym they are welcome to. (This will be the policy in middle school.)
Cross country If you see Churchill students running down the block in the mornings don’t worry. They are not running away from school, they are just out to run with the cross country team. Yes that season is upon us already and forms are available for everyone who expresses interest in taking part in the cross country training. The practices take place from 7:20 to 8 am every day, and team members who participate in at least three runs per week, will be eligible to travel to the regional meet in early October (date to be announced). It is not too late to sign up if your child is interested in participating.
Scholastic Our first Scholastic Book Club order forms will soon go home. 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. Delivery of the orders varies, but usually it takes about a month.
Dates of Importance
Labour day September 7th
Class Meeting September 8th
CASC Barbacue September 15th
Family Breakfast September 25th
Photo Day October 8th
PA Day October 9th
Thanksgiving October 12th
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”.
Tissue - If each student could bring in two boxes of facial tissues runny noses would be taken care of for the whole year.
Feed the Frogs - Purchase a dozen crickets from a pet store every week for our class pets Romeo and Juliet (fire bellied toads)
Baby sit the Frogs - On major holidays such as Winter Break, March Break, and next summer Romeo and Juliet need a place to stay. Let me know if you will be able to welcome these quiet class members into your home at any of these times.
Pencil Sharpeners - Crazy as it seems we go through a lot of these over the course of the year.
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, or someone who works in a field that would be of interest, 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.
Regards Ray Kalynuk
and the students of Room 308
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