Weekly Updates 2025-26

December 8th- 12th

What a week!
It looks like the snowy weather is here to stay. Just a friendly reminder that all children should come to school with their full winter gear each day so they can enjoy their time outdoors comfortably.

Please send:

• Snow pants

• Winter jacket

• Hat

• 2 pairs of mittens (we do not have enough time between recesses for them to dry properly)

• Boots
  
  

If your family needs any help getting winter items, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m more than happy to support in any way I can!

Social Studies: KB is very interested in learning about how families celebrate together. Please fill out the paper I will send along on Monday that asks about your families traditions. We will be taking a trip around the world this week learning about the different traditions that happen in various countries. We would love to hear your traditions!

Fundations: We will be learning /x/ and /y/ this week. Please see the hand outs for little tips and tricks to help your child this week.

Trick word: /look/ please review with your little one (recognizing the word in books, making it in sand etc.)

Numeracy: we are loving our pattern unit and seeing them around the school. We are identifying the core of a pattern and starting to create patterns with more than 2 attributes (abb, aab, abc patterns).

Concert: We are getting very excited about the concert and look forward to seeing you all! A few of us are a bit nervous. That's normal! You can assure them that we will practice on the stage tomorrow and I will be with them the entire time. It is also a quick time on stage and then we will go back to our classroom! Hope this helps!

11:00- afternoon concert

4:30-Evening concert. The children will come down to KB around 4:10.  We will line up and head to the gym when it is our time!  Please let me know if you child will not be attending the 4:30 concert!  Thank you!

School Spirit Days: Here is a list of the school wide spirit days so you can get prepared!

Monday, December 15 - Dress in Red and Green Day

Wednesday, December 17 - Dress in Festive Attire Day

Friday, December 19 - last day of school for 2025 - P.J. Day

Reminders:

• December 9th: Kindergarten Christmas Concert. We have 2 showings (11 am and 4:30pm). Tickets to come!

• December 19th: Last day of school/ Christmas party

• January 5th 2025: First day of classes for students

December 1st- 5th

I am having a hard time believing we are entering December this week- time flies when your having fun! We had such a great time last week participating in some activities around nursery rhymes! 

Social Studies: This month we will be looking into our social studies outcomes and touching on 2: 1.2 (needs and wants)  and outcome 2.2 (recognize that families have varied traditions, rituals, and celebrations). I will be sending home a sheet next week that will ask you to fill out a tradition your family participates in- this does not have to be linked to Christmas. It can be anything you celebrate together!  We love learning about all cultures and different family traditions!

Fundations: We will be learning /v/ and /w/ this week. Please see the hand outs for little tips and tricks to help your child this week.

Trick word: /my/ please review with your little one (recognizing the word in books, making it in sand etc.)

Numeracy: The kiddos are doing so well with sorting and making patterns. They are noticing them everywhere! We will keep going with patterns this week and introducing patterns with more attributes. Last week we focused on AB patterns (using colour, shapes or sizes). 

Social Emotional Learning: We are doing some check in's in the morning to talk about how they are feeling and how to grow those great "spots" (emotions throughout the day). 

Concert: Please let me know if you do not think your child will be attending the Christmas concert. The children will be wearing a a headband (homemade by them), but are allowed to dress in whatever you would like to see them wear on stage. We are getting very excited about the concert and look forward to seeing you all.

School Spirit Days: Here is a list of the school wide spirit days so you can get prepared!

• Tuesday, December 9 - Christmas Concert  (11:00 & 4:30). Tickets went home last week in the homework folders. 

• Monday, December 15 - Dress in Red and Green Day

• Wednesday, December 17 - Dress in Festive Attire Day

• Friday, December 19 - last day of school for 2025 - P.J. Day

Reminders:

• December 9th: Kindergarten Christmas Concert. We have 2 showings (11 am and 4:30pm). Tickets to come!

• December 19th: Last day of school/ Christmas party

• January 5th 2025: First day of classes for students

November 24th - November 28th  

It was lovely getting to see you again and share all the wonderful things your children are doing in KB! Thanks again for coming in and chatting about your children. Sometimes after you've had time to sit and reflect, you have questions for me, if this is how you are feeling please feel free to send me an email.  

Fundations: We will be learning /h/ /l/ and /k/ this week. Please see the hand outs for little tips and tricks to help your child this week.

Trick word: /to/ please review with your little one (recognizing the word in books, making it in sand etc.)

Numeracy: We will begin some direct teaching around patterns this week. 

Literacy: focusing on a few nursery rhymes this week and follow up activities

Social Emotional Learning: We will continue to talk about the importance of self talk and growing our confidence "spot". Here is a link to a song that you can share with your children!  Confidence Song 

Reminders:

• November 26: Report cards go home

• December 9th: Kindergarten Christmas Concert. We have 2 showings (11:00am and 4:30pm). Tickets to come!

• December 19th: Last day of school/ Christmas party

• January 5th 2026: First day of classes for students

November 18-21st

Parent Teacher Interviews: If you didn't get a chance to register for interviews please do so by following the link!  If we have already met please disregard this message!  https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/

Fundations: We are learning letter p and j!  How better to celebrate these letters than wearing our PJ's on Thursday!

Trick word: /go/ this week. It is more of a high frequency word but it is tricky because the /o/ says it's name instead of the short vowel sound.

Literacy: retelling stories that have happened in our lives and labelling the stories!

Numeracy: we will begin our pattern unit this week. We start by sorting objects based on one attribute. The children tend to love this unit! 

Social Emotional Learning: we will begin to talk about confidence and how to grow our confidence in school! 

Reminders:

• Wednesday, November 19 - Jersey Day

• Thursday, November 20 - Parent/Teachers Conferences (evening only)

• Friday, November 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)

November 12-14th

We had a beautiful Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday to end the week. The students of Glen Stewart all sang a song together and it was incredible to hear all of their voices come together!
I can not wait to be reunited with everyone! 6 days off feels like a lifetime :) 

Parent Teacher Interviews: The online booking is up and running for our conferences on November 20 and 21. I have opened up a few spots earlier in the week for anyone who may not be able to meet on the scheduled times.  Please follow the link below: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/

• If you created an account last year, you will need to create a new account. The registrations are reset at the beginning of every school year.  You can register for an account by clicking the "REGISTER" menu tab and filling in the on-line form. Choose a user id and password for yourself and then click the "Register Now" button.  

•  Add your children into the system by clicking the "Add a Student" button. Press "Insert New" button to add more children

•  From November 12 (at 9:00 am) until November 18 (12:00 pm) you will be able to click the calendar icon beside each child's name to schedule appointments. Select the staff you wish to book appointments with and the "View Calendars" button.

•  Click on available time slots to book your appointments. Please touch base with your child's teacher if you plan to book multiple appointment times. CAUTION: Click only once and wait, double clicking may bring up an error message or undo your selection!

• **Important note: If you require an interpreter for your interview you will need to make arrangements with me before booking your interview online. 

 Fundations: We are learning letter e and r last week since we finished up assessments early. Lower case e is tricky so we will spend some extra time on this formation!  Please continue to review with your children!

Trick word: /and/ this week. It is tricky because it makes the /an/ sounds are glued together.  

Numeracy: playing dice games with numbers 1-6!  Practicing formation of numbers and one to one counting!

Social Emotion Learning: We will circle back to routines and procedures this week!  Having so many days off together in Kindergarten can be tricky to get back into the swing of things!  They will adapt so quickly :)

Reminders:

• Saturday, November 15 - Craft Fair (at the school)

• Wednesday, November 19 - Jersey Day

• Thursday, November 20 - Parent/Teachers Conferences (evening only)

• Friday, November 21 - Parent/Teacher Conferences (no school)

November 3 - 5

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! The weather may not have been perfect for trick-or-treating, but I hope everyone was still able to enjoy the night!

This week, we will begin exploring Remembrance Day. It can be a challenging concept for young children to understand, so our focus will be on Canada’s role as a peacekeeping nation and on how animals helped people during the war.

We will also be starting up our Special Helper routine again! A calendar will be sent home in your child’s backpack tomorrow. On their assigned day, your child is welcome to bring a show and tell item to share with the class. Please take a few minutes to help them practice at home so they feel confident and prepared to share something about their item.

Fundations:  This week we will be learning the letters /r/ and /e/. Lowercase e is a challenge becuase it is the only letter that starts in the middle of the plane and grass line. I teach the children to hit the ball out (like in baseball) and run the bases. I find it is catchy and the get it a bit easier! If you are seeing trouble at home you could try that wording!

Trick word: we will continue to learn the trick words it, is, like, can, I, the, see, a.  

Literacy: we are working on visualizing our stories and sharing them on paper.  Also working on labelling beginning sounds in our writing.

Numeracy: We will be working on more/less than by learning a new math game and formation on numbers 1-5.

Social Emotional Learning: We will be focusing on following the class rules at carpet time and why it is important.

Reminders:

• Thursday & Friday, November 7&8 - PEITF Convention (no school)

• Monday, November 10 - Report card writing Day (no school)

• Tuesday, November 11- Remembrance Day (no school)

• Thursday, November 20: Parent teacher Interview (evening only)

• Friday, November 21: Parent Teacher Interviews (no school)

October 27th- October 31st 

Hope everyone had a great weekend together! What an exciting week for the kiddos- HALLOWEEN! We will have a little party on Friday full of games, costume parades, and fun centers!

Halloween: Please send them in their costume ready to go, it is best to leave most of the costume accessories at home for trick or treating (they tend to get lost/broken during our festivities). We ask that you have a child-friendly costume (nothing too scary) also do not send in weapons or wear masks to school. Thank you!  

Please also send a change of clothes (if they get tired of wearing their costumes). If you would like to send in treats for the class (13 classmates), please let me know. We’ve found that having a maximum of three families provide treats works best—this keeps everyone happy (and helps avoid tummy aches and wasted food!).

Fundations: This week we will be assessing!  This is our first formal assessment of our letters/keywords/sounds. It is exciting for them to see how amazing they are doing and where we need a little extra attention!

Numeracy: We will be working on learning a few math games that focus on ordinal numbers, printing 1-5, talking about least, most, and same!

Social Emotional Learning: What should you do when you are upset. We will talk about labelling the emotion, figuring out what zone we are in, and then coming up with a way to get in the green.

Reminders:

• Thursday, October 31 - Halloween Party

• Thursday & Friday, November 7&8 - PEITF Convention (no school)

• Monday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (no school)

October 20th-24th

PJ Day – Friday, October 24!
Our gem jar is almost full. We only have a few gems to go! I have no doubt that KB will fill it by mid-week. The class has been working hard to earn gems by listening carefully, showing kindness, and impressing others with their skills.

To celebrate all their efforts, we’ll have a PJ Day this Friday! Children are invited to come to school in their pajamas and bring along a stuffed friend or teddy to join in the fun.

Fundations: This week we will be learning the letters /s/ and /d/. These letters are tricky -  if you are noticing reversals don't panic! It is completely normal. We model it again with the proper formation and have them practice it again! A little tip- it makes a difference where they start the letter. Lowercase d starts at the plane line. If they start at the sky line they will end up making a b almost always!

Trick word: /like/. You can have your child find this word when you are reading aloud to them!  So far we have learned, I, can, the, see. They are doing a great job finding these words in our morning message!

Literacy: Last week was ended up being a bit busy and we didn’t make it to our labelling lesson — so we’ll be diving into it this week! The students will be working on connecting their pictures to words by adding simple labels. This helps them begin to see themselves as writers and strengthens their understanding of letter sounds.

Numeracy: We will be working on numbers 1-5. Playing math games, proper formation, making sets and creating different combinations!

Social Emotional Learning: We will be focusing on ways to solve conflicts when they arise in school!

Reminders:

• Thursday, October 31 - Halloween Party

• Friday, November 1 - PD Day (no school)

• Thursday & Friday, November 7&8 - PEITF Convention (no school)

• Monday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (no school)

October 15th-18th

Walk to School

Our Walk to School was postponed last week due to weather. It will now take place on Tuesday, October 14th. If your interested are interested you can gather at Town Hall at 7:35 a.m!

Cool Kids Care Club News 

The “Cool Kids Care Club” are a group of Grade 2 students who are working together to raise money to help our community! We are planning to have a Jellybean guess Fundraiser with all our proceeds going to the charity of our choice; this month’s charity is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Light the Night Event which Mrs. Robyn will be attending. Here’s how you can help!

You can purchase a ballot(s) for guessing, $0.50/each on the week of October 14-17th from your classroom teacher. The Cool Kids Care Club will be collecting money and guesses Friday of that week and the draw will be held that afternoon.

School Pictures

You can access your photos via the QR code sent home with your child or enter the link provided on the same paper directly into your browser.  Please note that the order deadline to obtain free shipping to the school is Tuesday, October 21st.  If you have any questions, please contact info@everestsolutionsgroup.ca.

Fundations: This week we will be learning the letters /a/ and /g/.

Trick word: /the/ please review at home! 

Literacy: We have been talking about adding a horizon line to our drawings so that our readers understand where the story takes place and we aren't all floating in a snow storm. We will continue to add details to our setting and we will be introduced to labelling. Putting beginning sounds above our drawings!

Numeracy: We will be working on the number 5 this week. We will learn how to represent the number in various ways (tally marks, symbols, pictures, 2 parts, 10 frames).

Social Emotional Learning: We will be focusing on ways to solve conflicts when they arise in school!

Reminders:

• Friday, October 31 - Halloween Party

• Thursday & Friday, November 6 & 7 - PEITF Convention (no school)

• Monday, November 10 -  no school

• Tuesday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (no school)

October 6th 

We had such a fun week in KB exploring apples! 🍎
The children enjoyed a taste test and used lots of  describing words to share their thoughts. Our class favourite was the Golden Delicious, with Granny Smith coming in at second! It was a great week full of curiosity, conversation, and smiles.

This week, we’ll shift our focus to being mindful of others and showing gratitude — a perfect way to welcome the new month with kindness and thankfulness. 💛

Book Fair

If you would like your child to purchase something, please bring money in a baggy labeled with the child’s name on it and the amount of money sent in the bag. Please write a note inside the baggie if you have specific instructions (please look for “Sonic book”, or child can buy one book and one novelty item etc). 

Fundations: This week we will be learning the letters /c/ and /o/. 

Literacy: We are focusing on adding details to our writing to help tell a story! For example a house is a beautiful picture but without details (or a setting) it is just a picture of a house; we want to hear what is happening- who is there, what type of day is it, what happened? We will also be zoning in on how many words do you hear in a simple sentence (Mom is driving home. This has 4 words). This can be a tricky concepts because we have been talking about syllables as well. They tend to count a 2 syllable word as two words. We will get there :)!

Trick word: /can/ please review at home! 

Numeracy: We will be working on the number 4 this week. We will learn how to represent the number in various ways. You can help at home by finding groups of 4 at home, building with 4 blocks, or drawing 4 people in their family

Social Emotional Learning: We will be working on lining up!  It is okay to not be first- you can do 5 finger breathing, ask for a hug and remind yourself we are all going to the same spot!

Reminders:

• Picture Day: October 7th at 9:00

• Book fair for KB: October 7th at 1:15 Please see information above!

• Family book fair night: Thursday Night at 6:15-7:15. For those who would rather browse the selection as a family!

• Walk to school Thursday, October 9th: Families who would like to participate in this event are to meet at the Stratford Town Hall by 7:35 a.m. with departure at 7:45 a.m. sharp. We are asking that a family member accompany their child on the walk to school.

• Thanksgiving No School: Monday, October 13th

Please reach out if you have questions or concerns! Have a wonderful week!

September 29th – October 3rd

We have such an exciting week ahead in KB!

Special Helper of the Day

This week we’ll be starting our Special Helper of the Day routine (please check the calendar sent home for your child’s day). Each day, one student will take on important classroom jobs and enjoy a little extra responsibility (and privilege!)—like going first, passing out papers, or delivering notes to the office.

Best of all, our helpers get to bring one item for Show & Tell. This is always a class favourite and a wonderful way to build speaking and listening skills. To help your child feel prepared, please take a few minutes at home to practice sharing and answering “who, what, when, where, why” questions about their item. If your child feels a little nervous, please reassure them—I’ll be right beside them supporting the process.

Bus Evacuation Drill

This week we’ll also take part in our bus evacuation practice. Students will learn how to ride safely and what to do in case of an emergency.

Orange Shirt Day – Monday

On Monday, September 29th, we’ll recognize Orange Shirt Day by learning about how all children matter. To show our support, students are invited to wear an orange shirt—or something close to orange if that’s easier. We’ll also make something in class to add to our outfits, so no one will miss out.

Teddy Bear Clinic – October 1st

On Wednesday, October 1st, nursing students will host a Teddy Bear Clinic for all kindergarten classes. Each child is invited to bring one teddy bear (or small stuffed animal) to be “checked up” as the nursing students learn about child development.

Learning This Week

• Fundations: We are learning the letters /i/ and /u/ (short vowel sounds). Please review the letter name, keyword, sound, and formation with your child if you can.
  
  

• Literacy: Our apple theme continues! We’ll be reading, writing, tasting, and describing apples while asking thoughtful questions.
  
  

• Trick Words: We’ll introduce our first high-frequency word: see. Trick words can’t be sounded out, so we practice memorizing them.
  
  

• Numeracy: Our focus is on the number 3—representing it with tallies, pictures, parts, symbols, and ten frames.
  
  

• Social-Emotional Learning: We’ll practice strategies for dealing with disappointment. It’s okay to feel sad when things don’t go your way, but we’ll explore helpful strategies like five-finger breathing, “squeezing the oranges,” or asking for a hug.
  
  

Reminders

• Tuesday, September 30th – No School (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)

• Wednesday, October 1st – Teddy Bear Clinic (bring one teddy bear)

• Tuesday, October 7th – Picture Day

• Thursday, October 9th – Walk to School Day (meet Mr. Muise at the Town Hall with your parents and walk the trail together!)

• Friday, October 10th – PD  Day no school
  
  

As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Wishing you and your family a wonderful week ahead!

September 15th - 19th

We did it- we completed our very first full week of school! I know many of my little friends were exhausted come Friday. It is a big change and a bit more fast pace for them but they did a fantastic job. We had a ton of fun and a lot of friendships are starting to blossom!

Fundations: Last week, KB received a very special delivery—our Fundations program materials! Inside, we discovered Mama Echo, a snowy owl, and her little one, Baby Echo. Together, they are helping us learn how to be active listeners and how to “echo” or repeat after the teacher. This week, a sheet will be sent home so you can become familiar with the language and key components of the program. We are excited to begin this new learning adventure!

Literacy: learning all about "mat man" and how to use shapes to draw people!
Numeracy: We will be looking at the number 1 this week :)

Meet The Teacher Night- We will be having a Meet the Teacher night on Wednesday, September 17th from 6 to 6:15.  I look forward to seeing you then. 

Orange Shirt Day: Sept 29th we will be wearing orange shirts to recognize Truth and Reconciliation Day.

Reminders:

• Just a gentle reminder to send in any paperwork that still needs to be signed and returned. I’m very close to having everyone’s back—thank you so much for your help! 🙂

• No school on Tuesday, September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

• Reminder to send in cutlery for your little ones lunch please :)

Please reach out if you have questions or concerns! Have a fabulous week!

Amy

September 8th - 12th

Wow, what a wonderful start to our school year! We’ve had such a fun introduction to what school life is all about, and I am proud of how quickly KB has been picking up our routines. It’s amazing to see their excitement and eagerness to learn shining through already. Way to go, KB. We are going to have a fantastic year together!

This week we will be learning about our classroom routines and expectations! We like to refer to the choices we make as green choices (acceptable/ expected/ kind choices) and red choices (unacceptable / not expected / unkind choice). It is adapted from a program called "The Zones of Regulation". Online you can find an abundance of information about this program if you are interested in learning more!  

We will also be practicing our first fire drill this week! We have done our own drill as a class and they rocked it- the students will have plenty of notice and reassurance (incase your little one feels uneasy).

Our first unit in Social Studies is "I Am Unique". We will be learning about what makes us all special and unique. We will be talking about birthdays and how we got our names. I will be sending home a sheet for you to fill out telling the class the story of how your child got their name and then we will be sharing these stories with each other. We all love hearing how their names were chosen and how important their names mean to them and you!

Please remember to send back the forms that were sent home to you on Thursday as soon as you get them filled out! And thank you to everyone who has already sent them back!

Milk Program: I also just wanted to remind you that all kindergarten classes will be receiving milk for 3 weeks (white milk). If anyone does not want their child to have milk please let me know before lunch on Monday!

Important Dates!

Meet The Teacher Night- We will be having a Meet the Teacher night on September 17th from 6- 6:15. I look forward to seeing you then. 

Have a great week and please reach out if you need anything!