Kindie Korner Adventures

Today was Orange Shirt Day here at Highroad.  We talked about how all children should feel at school and learned that many indigenous children were sent to residential schools, away from their families, where they weren’t allowed to speak their language.

We walked over to the Highroad Garden and learned some words in halq’emeylem.  We learned how to say hello, we learned the word for strawberry and when we came back and had our snacks we learned the word for banana and for apple.

Last week we began learning about the Zones of Regulation and talking about our feelings.  Today we started talking about how different sized problems should have different sized reactions.  We watched a short video about a story called “No Biggy.”

There have been a lot of really big reactions to small problems in our classroom this month and I am hoping that being able to reference this story will help us remember that when we have a small problem we can take a deep breath and try again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgfMs1o5uP8

The link above should take you to the “No Biggy” story.  I hope you can find time to check it out with your child over the next while.  Who knows?  Maybe it will help you at home too!

Good morning families!

I just wanted to give you some information about Library.  We go to our school library on Mondays and have the opportunity to take library books home.  These books are due back to the Library the following Monday.

For those students who attend school on Thursday and Friday, they get an additional library visit on Fridays but they do not exchange books at that visit.

Please remember to send your child’s library books back to school on Monday, in their book bag.

Thanks!

Today I read the story Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I gave each child a paper heart to hold and as I read the story, whenever something happened to make the main character, Chrysanthemum, sad, we wrinkled our paper hearts.  At the end of the story we looked at how wrinkled the hearts got and tried to smooth the wrinkles away.  As hard as we tried, the wrinkle lines stayed.

We talked about how our words and actions can wrinkle our friends’ hearts and that even if we say sorry and try to smooth things over, sometimes the wrinkles stay.  One of the children even remarked that “only God can make the wrinkles go away.”

“Before you speak, think and be smart.  It’s hard to fix a wrinkled heart.”

Ask your child about the wrinkled heart they are bringing home today.

Next Tuesday I will be sending home the following letter from Mr. Hancock about Comfort Kits.  If you would like to assemble yours over the weekend, you can find the information below:

Dear Parents/Guardians                                                                                                   September 12, 2022

Re: Comfort Kits

As part of Highroad Academy’s emergency management plan, each child will need an individual comfort kit. We need your help to complete these kits.

Comfort Kits:

1. Label a large Ziploc bag with your child’s name.
2. Add a family photo. On the back of the photo, please print the child’s name, parent’s contact phone numbers, a secondary contact person’s phone number and care card number. List any allergies, if applicable. (Note: If your child requires an Epi-pen or special medications, it is the parent’s responsibility to supply the office with the required Rx for your child).
3. In addition to the photo, please include the following in this bag:
   • Chewing gum
   • Two peanut-free granola or fruit bars or other non-perishable, high energy snack
   • Two Band Aids
   • Small personal item (optional) – for example, cards, toy
   • Solar foil blanket (Dollar Store)
   • Rain poncho (Dollar Store)
   • Small package of tissue

Everything must fit into the Ziploc bag, including the foil blanket and poncho.

Please return your child’s comfort kit to the classroom teacher no later than October 6th, so that we may include it in the class tote. Remember, this small personal kit can make a difference to the well-being of your child in an emergency. If you have any questions, please check with your child’s teacher.

Thank you,

Ian Hancock

Head of Elementary

Here are some important things for you to add to your calendar for the month of September:

Every Friday is Knight Day- students can come to school wearing their Knight shirt/Hoodie and casual bottoms.

Tuesday Sept 13- individual photo day

Monday Sept 19- Parent Night  (6:30)

Wednesday Sept 21- Toonies for Terry (we will be talking a bit about Terry Fox, doing a short run and also inviting students to bring in $2 for cancer research)

Thursday Sept 29- Orange Shirt Day

Friday Sept 30- Truth and Reconciliation Day- No School

Well done parents and kindies!  Day one is done and you all did such a great job (and so did your children).  Thank you for being on time this morning for drop off and pick up and for being confident in your children’s ability to be here.  They did great!

There is so much to learn these first weeks of school.  They are working hard to take it all in and I am sure they are going to be feeling tired.

Today we read “The Kissing Hand” and learned that Chester Raccoon was not feeling terribly excited to be going to school, but his mom helped him in a special way.  Ask your child about it if you get the chance!  I want all of your children to know they are loved by you, even when you can’t be here with them so, for the next little while, I will have the following bulletin board in the classroom for them to see. 

For those of you who are done for the week, it was so nice to meet you and I look forward to seeing your kiddo on Monday.

For those of you who are still here for two more days, I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow!

It was so nice to meet you all today. I enjoyed getting to meet your children and am so looking forward to getting to know them this year.  I hope they are feeling a little more at ease about coming to Kindergarten now that they have seen the classroom, met some of their classmates and had the opportunity to meet me.

Things to know for the rest of this week and next:

-For the rest of this week and next we are only having Kindergarten from 8:55-noon.  Remember, drop off and pick up is in the school at the classroom door.

-Please see if your child needs to use the bathroom before entering the classroom.

-Send your child to school with their Back and Forth Folder- they should have it in their hands as they enter the classroom in the morning.  Each child has a yellow paper in their folder for you to fill out.  Please return it as soon as you can.

-Please send a snack and a water bottle for your child tomorrow and for the rest of our half days. No lunches necessary until we are doing full days.

-Gym shoes should be at school by tomorrow, if possible and pillows can come now too although we won’t be using them until we are doing full days.

I will try not to overwhelm you with too much all at once.  Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

See you tomorrow!

Welcome to Kindergarten!  I trust you have all had a wonderful summer of sun, family, friends and fun.  I have been in the classroom all week getting ready for your children and am so excited to meet them next week!

Tuesday Sept 6 is our first “day” of school.  Last June you signed your child up for a time to come with them to visit the classroom for an hour.  You would have chosen the 9-10 slot or the 10:15-11:15 slot.  I will have a number of activities for you to do with your child to help acclimate them to our classroom environment.

If your child has gym shoes and a pillow, they can bring those on Tuesday and put them in their lockers.  We will be using our gym shoes on Wednesday already!

Have a wonderful weekend.  See you Tuesday!