Entry Procedure for September

New to the GECDSB is a Safe-School Policy, meaning all school doors will be locked daily at 8:10am. We ask parents to bring their children to the Kindergarten room every morning using our two back gates, where attendance will be taken prior to 8:10am. Arrivals after 8:10am, will be admitted via an intercom system at the front doors of the school for a late slip at the office before proceeding to the Kindergarten room.

Welcome to the new school year

Welcome back to our SK friends and welcome to our new JK friends. We will be posting updates for the next few days on our new school year. The school year will begin for both the JK & SK friends on Monday September 9th. We will be having interviews at the school for all our JK parents next week.

A few reminders from Orientation

Your child will need a large backpack and please provide a change of clothing which will be stored above their cubby. The fabric bag from Orientation would be great to store the clothing in.

Also a lunch bag with items labelled if possible. Students have two nutrition breaks during the day. The first break is referred to as the snack break where students can go and get their snacks during the morning when they wish and go to the Suzuki Cafe to eat. The second nutrition break is lunch and the students eat their lunch collectively as a group followed by outside play time. Please send in healthy choices.

A note tote will be coming home that first day and we are asking that any notes or money be put into this tote.

Math moments

Discovering math naturally is the best way for young children learn math skills. Throughout the school year while children are engaged in play they discovery math concepts and test their own math thinking and skills. Doing math is the best way to learn math, and making mistakes is a natural part of becoming a math thinker and problem solver. At home, math is an everyday discovery so while grocery shopping have your child count the items you need. Have them help you set the table and have them count out the items needed. The outdoors also offer many math rich experiences like comparing trees to find the biggest one or splashing through a puddle and leaving wet foot prints behind to create interesting patterns on the ground.

Music and movement

Our goal is to help children see themselves as musicians. Music and movement activities help children develop cooperation and sharing skills. Gross motor skills developed through all forms of creative and expressive movement. In our classroom, both indoors and out, spontaneous music and movement happen everywhere. When children communicate through rhythm, or memorize a favorite song they build a solid base for future reading and writing. At home, you can help to encourage your child's creativity by joining in when your child is singing and dancing. Your child has learned lots of new songs this past school year so ask them to share a few. Enjoy the last few days of summer by taking walks and listening to the sounds of nature. Also providing props like scarves or ribbons will help your child become increasingly aware of how their own bodies move through space. Make music a part of your everyday life.

Happy Cooking!

Throughout the year we cook and bake in our classroom. Cooking is a time for children to investigate, manipulate, question, and work at their own pace. They are using all their senses as they experience and talk about every aspect of the process of preparing food. Many areas of the curriculum are covered  when the children are engaged in cooking. Math skills are enhanced as children measure with spoons and cups and count ingredients. Rolling, stirring and baking provide small muscle exercise they'll need for holding pencils. At home, encourage this love of cooking and baking by letting your child help out in the kitchen. You will see that cooking can foster your child's self-esteem as well build important creative and cognitive skills.They also love to clean up. Happy cooking! We would love to hear about your cooking experiences and don't forget about signing up to share a favorite recipe at school this coming September. We are always looking for new guest chefs.