Kindergarten with Ms. Stephens

Schedule

Kindergarten students attend full days; Monday/Wednesday (Star Class) or Tuesday/Thursday (Heart Class) with rotating Fridays. You can view the Friday schedule  on the Google Calendar. Please continue to check the Fridays each month in case of changes. If for any reason there is a change, you will be notified. Our days are packed full of fun curriculum based activities. 

Drop off/Pick up

Kindergarten students have their own doors located on the North-West side of the school facing Hawkins Cres. This door is for kindergarten use only.  If you have other children at our school, please have them use their designated doors and walk around outside. 

Doors will be opened in the morning from 8:15 am until 8:35 am. If you arrive late and the door is locked, please use the front main doors and buzz to the office. For our First Day, parents are welcome to come inside, however we will be transition to a door drop off before the end of September. Information regarding this will be emailed. 

For pick up, please remain outside of our Kindergarten entrance. Students will be dismissed outside of this door at 3:15pm. Kindergarten students are not dismissed until myself or my educational assistant sees their parents/guardian. I kindly ask that you do not crowd around our door/wait directly in front of the doors. This can be very distracting and disruptive to students. This is our regular pick up routine which will be in place for the entire year. 

Please take a moment to read through our NHS Traffic Plan for information about parking and more!

Early Dismissal Wednesdays

The first Wednesday of every month is Early Out.  Students are dismissed at 2:15pm. As students leave one hour early the Star Class will make up this time by having two extra days which will take place on Fridays. This will be marked on the Google Calendar. 

Snack, Lunch and Water Bottles

Please pack a small nutritious snack for the morning along with your child's lunch each day. A nutritious breakfast is important; as we do not eat snack first thing in the morning. 

You may send an optional small afternoon snack for your child which they can eat during our playtime (approximately 2:40pm). Please ensure this snack is separated and clearly labelled from their morning snack and lunch as we do pack our bags for dismissal prior to playtime. 

Kindly remind your child that they cannot share food with their classmates. Please label all containers you send to school and send along any needed utensils as we do not have extras at school. 

Please send a water bottle daily with your child. Water bottles are not stored at school as we are not in attendance everyday in kindergarten. Please ensure your child is able to open their own water bottle.

There is no microwave access for students at school.  

Communication

New Horizons is an Environmentally Friendly School. Therefore all Calendars and News will be electronic and accessible on this webpage. Reminders, additional information and urgent messages will be sent via email. Please ensure you provide an email address which is checked daily to ensure no information about our class and your child is missed. Please feel free to contact me via email or phone anytime. I check my email on a regular basis.

Attendance

If your child will be absent from school, please inform the office by email lrichardson@newhorizons.ca (kindly cc myself as well) or by phone (780-416-2353) as quickly as possible. Please try to ensure you child is arriving on time; the start of the day is very important to our daily routines.

Kanga Pouches

Every child will receive a Kanga Pouch. This pouch is to come back and forth to school everyday. It is used to send home any work, memos or forms. 

Important Dates

Google Calendar will be used for all events and activities happening this year. Please be sure to check the calendar in order to stay up to date. For more information about events, please be sure to check out the news page. 

You will also find the Friday Schedule on the calendar. Please carefully note your child's Fridays. They do rotate but are not always consistent. Each class attends an equal amount of school hours for the year; if you have any questions or concerns about the Friday Schedule please email me. 

Please note that the Google Calendar is for both kindergarten classes, therefore watch dates carefully.

Parent Volunteers

Parent Volunteers are very welcome in Kindergarten! We have lots of different ongoing opportunities to help including guest readers, field trips, special event activities, kinder cooking and more! More information about how to volunteer this year will be available at Meet the Teacher!

We also have a "Donation Tree" used to request parents to provide items we are in need of in the classroom. If you would like to donate please feel free to view the Donation Tree page! For Donations we often use "Sign Ups" which assists in getting just enough. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know :)

Allergies

Our school is a nut aware environment. Please keep this in mind when packing lunches or sending in any treats to the classroom. Food in our classroom must be clearly marked 'nut-free'. Please do not send nuts of any kind to school with your child. 

Sharing Activities

Throughout the year, different activity bags will be sent home with your child to enhance their learning as well as bridge home and school. Everyone will always get a turn with each activity (just not all at once!). Instructions and materials will be included with each activities. Some examples include: Our Class "Pet", All about Me bags, Mystery Bag and more! When it is your child's turn, please be sure to complete the activity and return it on the next school day!  

Birthday Celebrations 

In Kindergarten, we look forward to celebrating everyone's birthday. 

Summer Birthdays (End June, July and August) - If your child's birthday falls in the summer we will celebrate your half birthday (December, January, February).  

Prior to your child's birthday, they will bring home an instruction sheet regarding what they may bring to our classroom to celebrate and on which date we will celebrate (as often birthdays fall on non-school days)!

Personal Belongings

Please remember to label all personal belongings coming to school including backpacks, clothing, jackets, mittens, hats, etc. 

Please refrain from sending any unnecessary items to school such as toys and plushies. If these items are sent to school, they will be kept in your child's backpack (with the exception of our "Toy Tool Kit" - information to come on your child's first day) .

School Supplies

Please bring all school supplies unlabelled in a single bag or box (bag or box labelled with the child’s name). All school supplies will be sorted and labeled by the teacher.

Special Events

In Kindergarten, we have lots of fun activities which are unique to us. Please be sure to watch our calendar as well as the school calendar. Please note kindergarten students may not be present for every school wide event. We do our very best to ensure students are able to participate in some school wide events throughout the year.

House Teams

Here at New Horizons School your child will participate in our House Teams which allow for collaboration school wide! Each student is placed in a house (air, water, earth or fire; they do not get to choose!) Much like the Houses in Harry Potter, our houses collect points during school wide events and activities (for example: dressing up for school spirit events, participating in STEAM challenges, etc.) Your kindergarten student will be given their house team in late-September and information will be sent home for you! Students wear their House colours the first Wednesday/Early Out Day (and Thursday for Heart Class students) of everything month.