Jacket Weather

                         
  As the weather gets cooler the children are practising putting on our jackets by themselves. We use the popular Magic Flip method, or the Flip Flop Over the Top method as it is also known. Please help your child rehearse this at home if they need some extra time to master it. Here are the steps:
1) Make sure sleeves are right way out. If not, use the Shark Puppet to go down the tunnel, grab the end of the sleeve and pull it out.
2) Lie the coat on the floor with the front part open.
3) Stand at the hood end (this is key and confusing for everyone at the start)
4) Put your hands in the arm  holes.
5) Push your arms into the coat while flipping it over your head.
Sounds hard, but they learn quickly. Thank you!

NEW Dismissal Routine

Dear Parents;

   Now that I know you and your children better we are ready for a simplified (hopefully) dismissal routine. The MORNING class will be lined up on the inside wall of Mrs. D'Angelo's room. We will be just inside the SOUTH door. Please meet us at that door at 11:35 each morning. I will dismiss the children to you one by one.
  Mrs D'Angelo's room 19 is empty in the afternoon, so the AFTERNOON class will be using Mrs D'Angelo's cubbies for their outdoor shoes, indoor shoes and coats. We will bring our backpacks to our own class. This way we will have enough cubbies for everyone and be closer to the doors for dismissal. Afternoon parents and caregivers can meet us at the EAST door just around the corner from the primary playground. There is a small porch there where you can wait and I will dismiss your children to you one by one.
   We will start this routine Friday for the MORNING class and Monday for the AFTERNOON class. Hopefully it will be smoother and easier for all involved. Thank you for your help with this important time of day!

Owen and Blankies

Today we read Owen, by Kevin Henkes. We talked about his blankie and found out that many of the children in the class also have blankies. We graphed how many preferred a blankie at bedtime and how many preferred a stuffie. If the children would like to bring in their blankie or stuffie to show to the class tomorrow, they are welcome to do so. We promise to make sure they get back in their bags for hometime.

Thank You!

The Terry Fox Run went very well and all the children ran or walked a whole circuit of the yard. Thank you for your toonies. Our classes raised $50! Thank you also to a kind mother who sent in a book about Terry Fox for us to read. It was enjoyed!

Toonies for Terry

    We are collecting toonies tomorrow for cancer research in honour of  Terry Fox. If you would like to contribute, we appreciate all donations. The children will do some walking on the circuit course as their Terry Fox run as well. Thank you!

Indoor Shoes

                                                               

Please make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes that can stay in the classroom. The easier they are to put on, the better. We have a red bin for the morning class's shoes and a blue bin for the afternoon class. When the weather gets messier it will be even more helpful to have these. A lot of sand is already getting tracked into the classroom. As the children often play on the floor, we really want to keep things clean. Thanks for your help! 

Snacks

OK, your child's snack doesn't have to be this cute, but it's good if it's something healthy. We do talk about what foods are good for us throughout the year as part of the curriculum, learning about making healthy choices. We are a peanut and nut free school. Also, if you could put a little snip on the wrappings of things like granola bars so the children can open them by themselves, that would make life even better here. Thanks!

Welcome, Natasha!

    We have a great new helper in our afternoon class! Natasha is a coop student from Nepean. She will be doing her placement with us each day until January. She has been working with children for a few years now. We are so glad to have her.

Kilometre Club

   Each Friday students from JK to grade 8 are invited to come to school at 8:30 to run. They run a circuit and volunteers keep track of how far they run. We map all the kilometres run on a map of Canada. This year's goal is to run from Thunder Bay to Victoria, finishing the Marathon of Hope that Terry Fox hoped to complete. JK, SK and Grade One families run together. If you are interested in this activity for your child, please send me a note and I will send home a registration form for you. Happy Running! 

Note Totes are Needed Every Day

Dear Parents;

   Each child now has a large ziploc bag with her or his name on it. Please check them nightly and send them back to school. We often have things to send home to you. You are also welcome to send notes to school in them as well. The children are learning to put them in my special basket at the beginning of class and to collect them at the end. They are pretty proud of all their independance. Thank you for your help with this system of communication.

P.S.  If your child's note tote gets lost, please feel free to make another one and send that in.

In Your Note Totes Today and Tomorrow

Every homeroom teacher has Index Cards (student information)to be given out to all the students in his or her class.  Parents need to make corrections if necessary and return to the school.  Copies will then be forwarded to the office so we can update our records. Thank you for correcting and initialling them tonight or tomorrow night and sending them back in the note tote. The sooner we do these things the better. 

School Open Tuesday

As promised, school will be open tomorrow. See you then!

School Closed Monday

There was a small fire in the building this weekend. The school will be closed tomorrow and opened again Tuesday. More information coming as available.

From the OCDSB website:

Media Alert - Broadview Avenue Public School CLOSED Monday, Sept. 19 2011

Broadview Avenue Public School which is located at 590 Broadview Ave will be CLOSED Monday, Sept. 19, 2011, as a result of a fire that occured at the school on Sunday morning.

Meet the Teacher Night

This Thursday is Meet the Teacher Night. From 5:30 to 6 we will be in the classroom and from 6 to 7 there will be a barbeque outside. I know many of you have already met me, but it would be good for everyone to have a chance to meet each other. It's always helpful to know the other class parents. Also, there are some families who are new to the neighbourhood, so it would be a perfect time for them to meet everyone. So come to room 23 and mix and mingle! Finally, I would like to make the request that if your child plays with the toys during this time that you kindly put them back before going outside. I will need to help with the bbq and the clean up fairy has the night off. Thank you and see you there! 

Our blog has pets!

At the side of this window are our rainbow fish. Each time you tap the mouse you feed them some lovely fish food. Have fun!

Welcome to our blog!

Dear Junior Kindergarten Families;

   Welcome to our classroom blog! In it you will find some notes on what we are learning in class so you can talk about these at home as well. There will also be reminders about our activities and their dates. To keep it safe, there will be no pictures of the children, but there may be pictures of their art from time to time, and other surprises! We hope you like our blog. Thank you for reading!       

                  Ms. Whitehead and the am and pm classes.