Royal Oak School Kindergarten September Newsletter
Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to Royal Oak School Kindergarten. Your interest, concern and participation are vital for the success of the program. We will be working closely together to help your child in all areas of his/her development.
Our year together is the first stepping-stone in your child’s formal schooling. A positive first experience with the school will set the tone for many happy and productive years ahead. This magical age is a time of wonder and questions, a time of curiosity, exploration and discovery. A wonderful journey lies ahead.
We hope that this letter will explain some procedures that we will use throughout the school year. Please keep it on hand and refer to the information, as you need it. You will find that future Kindergarten newsletters will be emailed at the beginning of each month.
Meet our Royal Oak Kindergarten Team
Ms. Melissa Bernard-Dixon, Room 52
Ms. Chris Mercer, Room 51
Ms. Courtney Sticksl, Room 53
Parent-Teacher Relationships
We believe that a good parent-teacher relationship is important for maximum school success. Throughout the year, we will communicate with you through email, classroom blogs, notes, telephone calls, newsletters, report cards and parent-teacher conferences. Please note that we will send the majority of our communication via e-mail and our classroom blogs. Should you have questions or concerns, we encourage you to contact us by email and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Please check your child’s backpack every day, your email regularly, and our classroom blog each week.
Classroom Blogs
To access the teacher blogs please go to the Royal Oak School website http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/RoyalOak/Pages/default.aspx
Click on Teaching & Learning.
Click on Classes and Departments.
Scroll down to Kindergarten and click.
Kindergarten Hours
Monday – Thursday Morning 9:10 AM - 11:56 AM
Monday – Thursday Afternoon 1:03 PM – 3:50 PM
Early Dismissal Fridays – 9:10 AM – 1:10 PM (morning and afternoon Kindergarten classes attend on alternating weeks)
Early Dismissal Dates and Times
Friday afternoons are set aside for teachers to engage in professional learning, and the Kindergarten schedule has been modified to accommodate this. Morning and afternoon classes will alternate coming to school on Fridays.
On Friday, September 7th, the AM Kindergarten classes attend school from 9:10 AM – 1:10 PM and the afternoon classes do not come to school.
The next Friday, September 14th the PM Kindergarten classes attend school from 9:10 AM – 1:10 PM while the morning classes do not come to school.
The following week has student-centered conferences scheduled for September 20th and 21st, and there is no school for both morning and afternoon Kindergarten classes on both of these days.
Please note that the early dismissal time has additional implications for bussed students. All bussed students, whether they are AM or PM students, will have access to the morning bus service on Fridays. The schedule for those stops is available at the office and will also soon be posted to the school website. http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b402/
All bussed kindergarten students will also have bus service home on early dismissal days. On Fridays we would expect that the buses would leave the school approximately 5 minutes after the 1:10 PM whole school dismissal time.
Please mark the following dates on your calendar:
AM Kindergarten attends from 9:10am – 1:10pm on:
September 7
September 28
October 12
November 2
November 30
December 21
January 18
February 8
March 8
April 5
April 26
May 10
June 7
June 21
PM Kindergarten attends from 9:10am – 1:10pm on:
September 14
October 5
October 19
November 9
December 14
January 11
January 25
February 22
March 15
April 12
May 3
May 24
June 14
Coming and Going
Upon arrival at the school, please line up with your child outside the Kindergarten entrance along Royal Birch Blvd. These doors will be your child’s entry and exit doors. Kindergarten teachers will bring all students inside at 9:10 AM and 1:03 PM. Afternoon bus students will be escorted from the bus to their entry doors upon arrival and, at the end of the day, they will be escorted to the gathering space for bus attendance and taken to their bus. All walking students will be dismissed from their exit doors and parents are asked to wait outside the doors, on the sidewalk, to pick up your child. Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather, as we may go outside throughout the day, and also so they are comfortable while waiting outside before class.
Attendance
When children enter the kindergarten program, they have started school. It is important that attendance be regular and that children arrive at school on time and stay for the whole time. If your child is not able to attend on a particular day, due to illness, an appointment or another reason, please contact the attendance line (403-777-6279) to inform us of your child’s absence.
PowerSchool
This year we are introducing a new system called PowerSchool to manage student information. To set up your parent account, go to www.cbe.ab.ca/mycbe
Next, you will need to know what email address you gave the school for your child’s file, your child’s CBE number (this will be on the initial paperwork you receive from your child’s teacher on the first day of school) and your child’s date of birth.
Request an access key for your child. If you have more than one child you will need an access code for each child. This will be sent to you by email. Keep this access key for all family members who you want to access your child’s information. You can now request a Parent Account and create a password for yourself. Once you have set up your account you can install the PowerSchool App on your phone and access your child information this way.
Money
On occasion, it will be necessary for your child to bring money or a cheque to school (field trips, book orders, performances, fundraising, etc.) While we encourage all parents to pay online through PowerSchool we know that occasionally this is not possible, please place it in a sealed envelope clearly marked with the following information:
oYour child's first and last name
oThe amount of money enclosed
oThe purpose of the money (book fair, field trip, etc.)
oTeacher's name and room number
However, once again we encourage you to pay online.
Changes in transportation
If you plan to pick up a child who normally rides the bus, or if your child is going home with someone they do not usually go home with, you must send a note – written or email. If we do not receive this note, then we must send your child home by his/her usual mode of transportation. We may also ask for identification from people who have not picked up your children before. Your child's safety is our first priority.
Backpacks
Kindergarten children should bring a backpack to school every day. This is necessary to ensure that all notes, schoolwork, library books and projects arrive home without getting wet, dirty, or lost. Backpacks should be large enough to accommodate the bigger projects and papers.
Labeling
All of your child’s belongings should be labeled clearly.
Clothing and Indoor Shoes
All students at Royal Oak School need to have “indoor” shoes (suitable for gym activities) that will be kept in the classroom. These should be shoes the students can put on independently (no shoelaces please). When deciding on what clothing your child should wear, please keep in mind we often engage in messy art projects. We certainly need your help and support as we move our Kindergarten students towards being able to independently dress themselves.
Snacks
Children are encouraged to bring a small, nutritious snack to school each day. Some suggested snacks include: fresh fruits and vegetables, crackers, cheese, breadsticks or half-sandwich. We are encouraging students to practice independence. Containers that are easy to open or packages that are pre-snipped allow children to be successful in opening their own snack. We encourage you to please send water only to drink. Yogurt drinks and juice boxes often end up spilled on the floor, or in a child’s backpack, resulting in a sticky mess. Please keep in mind that Royal Oak School is an ‘allergy-aware’ school. If your child has an allergy, it is important that you let your child’s classroom teacher know immediately as well as completing the CBE medical form and returning it to the office. For this reason, we also ask that children tell their teacher when they have nuts in their snack. In an effort to reduce our environmental footprint we will be sending all snack trash home with students. Please remember that this is just a snack and children should be provided small portions so that they are not feeling rushed to finish during our 15 minute snack time.
Toys
Please do not send toys or other “special treasures” to school with your child. These items can become lost, broken or misplaced and may result in an unhappy child. If we need your child to bring items to share as an extension of our class activities, you will receive a notice.
Book Exchange Day
Beginning in late September we will visit the Learning Commons (Library) once a week. The children may choose one book, which they may keep at home for one week. We ask that the book be returned the following week. The book needs to be returned before a new one may be chosen.
Physical Education
The kindergarten children will participate in Physical Education activities. We recommend you send running shoes for your child’s “indoor” shoes and your child dress in comfortable clothing for physical activities. We will also be having outdoor Physical Education classes throughout the year, please dress your child appropriately for all weather conditions.
Parent Teacher Conferences
There are 3 times throughout the school year set aside for conferences between parents, students, and teachers. In order to accommodate the large number of families in our school there will be NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten students on the following dates:
Thursday, September 20th& Friday, September 21st
Thursday, November 22nd& Friday, November 23rd
Thursday, March 21st& Friday, March 22nd
Blue Days
A blue day is defined by any time the temperature (with wind chill) is below -20. On these days a blue sign will be hung in the door indicating your child can come inside as soon as they get to school rather than lining up outside. The weather in Calgary can change quickly so please send your child to school with boots, snowpants, mittens, and a toque during the winter.
Birthdays
Please do not send treats into the classroom for the children to share for birthdays or holiday celebrations. If you have birthday invitations to hand out, please send them to school in your child's plastic communication folder. Your child’s teacher will discretely make sure each child receives their invitation to avoid any hurt feelings.
Volunteers
We welcome our classroom volunteers and appreciate your support. At Royal Oak School we strongly believe in the important role that volunteers have in the lives of our students. We understand that not everyone is able to help in the classroom but we value your help in other ways. Please note that all volunteers working in the Calgary Board of Education schools require a police security check. If you have not yet completed the security check, please contact the office. The beginning of the school year is an important time for teachers and students to build community, routines and expectations. Later in September, your teacher will be contacting those parents who have their security clearance to begin a regular in-class volunteer schedule.
Photos
Throughout the year, we will be taking photos of individual children as well as groups of children at work and at play in each of the kindergarten classes. Through the use of digital photography, we are able to collect photos of children at work and as another means to showcase their learning. Please contact your child’s teacher if this is a concern. Please also watch for paperwork coming home from the school regarding the use of photos as we will require your signature to display photos and work completed by your child.
We are excited to be beginning this learning journey with your child.
The Royal Oak Kindergarten Team