Most of our first term expectations are centered on following routines and developing a comfortable, happy school environment. Helping your child with some of these routines at home will help build confidence and independence.

Self-Regulation

At a very young age, children display a variety of emotions such as feeling happy, sad, tired, frustrated, etc. The ability to name and monitor these emotions doesn’t come easy and it is a learned skill. We will be talking a lot about our feelings this year and using picture books that will help your child to learn about how they feel, what might cause them to feel that way and how to respond and deal with them appropriately. Self-regulation is one of the four frames (Parts) of the Kindergarten Curriculum. The partnership between home and school is a very important piece to your child’s growth in this area of development. Throughout the year, we will model and practice strategies that your child can use to help them to deal with emotions and situations whenever the situation arises. We will use age appropriate support materials throughout the year such as breathing techniques, stories, stretches, calming spaces, sensory materials etc.

Arrival 

This is a very busy time of the day at Southwold! Ideally, if your child is registered for the bus, they should begin this routine from the first day of school. Consistency in routines helps build self-confidence when the child can anticipate what comes next. Should you be dropping your child off in the morning, please say good-bye at the Kiss and Drop, and let your child proceed to the Kindergarten yard with the staff member accompanying him/her. If your child is upset and separation is difficult, a quick kiss goodbye and hand over to the staff member, will help your child to adjust and transition to school quicker and with more success. Believe us, we know how heart breaking this is for you, as we have both experienced this with our own children. We will make sure they are well cared for and nurtured. 

Dismissal/Pick Ups

If you are picking your child up early, please let us know either with a note or with a phone call to the office at 519-631-5997.  Please do not rely on email for notifying us about a change in transportation for that day, we may not get the information in time. If picking up your child at regular dismissal time, please join the Kiss and Drop line up in your vehicle. When it is your turn in line, a staff member will bring your child to you. Should your child not be taking the bus as usual, please call the school office in advance and they will notify us of the change. If someone other than you might be picking up your child, we require permission to release him or her. Please write a note and include it in the Home Communication Bag or call the office and let them know. 

Lunches/Snacks

We are a balanced day school, which means we have two eating times. This does not mean your child requires two full lunches. If you provide enough choices that you would typically provide for a snack and a lunch at home, then that would be enough. Have a selection of snack type items such as fruit, crackers, cheese, veggies and dip or yogurt, provides choice for your child. We encourage the children to eat healthy choices first during the first lunch. Having items pre-opened, in containers/bags that they can open independently, will help them to feel more confident and less stressed at eating time. Showing your child how to insert the straw for juice boxes, or open granola bars and yogurts, are key things to learn to support independence while eating. That is not to say that help won’t be provided, we just know how proud the children are when they can do things by themselves, and they feel more successful. 

Nut Free 

As you know, we are a Nut Free school. I cannot stress enough how vigilant you must be in reading labels on all food sent to school. This includes items made at home (baked goods included). If it says, “may contain traces of nuts”, it is a food for home, not for school.  Your educators will be on high alert! Thank you in advance for carefully reading labels and providing a healthy, nut free lunch for your child. This helps keep the friends in our classroom safe. 

Label Personal Items

Please label all your child’s outerwear, backpacks, containers (lids too!), ice packs etc. with your child’s name or initials. This will help keep track or locate items. If your child is missing something, please send a description and we will look around the school. Tip: When buying snow pants… (Yes, we said snow!...), black snow pants are very common and sometimes they get mixed up with a neighbour. Having items labelled helps to locate missing items.

Home Communication Bag

Your child will have a labelled Home Communication bag that must be returned to school every day EVEN if it is empty. This is where we will place important notes and papers, work, shared reading folders, school orders/newsletters etc. Should you need to send us a note, please, write it on a reasonable size piece of paper (Not a sticky note), and include it in the communication bag and place the bag in the largest section of your child’s backpack. 

Outdoor Education

In addition to the two scheduled recess times, the students will be going outside for extended learning opportunities throughout the day, every day. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD IS DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER and please CLEARLY LABEL ALL OF THEIR BELONGINGS! This includes rainy and snowy weather. Send them with all outdoor clothing on, as we sometimes stay outside before entering school. We do not have extra outdoor clothing to borrow.

Extra Clothes: 

Please send extra clothes (shirt, pants, underwear, and socks) in a Ziplock bag for your child to keep at school in case they get wet or have an accident. Should soiled clothes come home, please send fresh replacement clothing in a clean zip lock bag the following day.  If your child tends to have frequent accidents, a second pair of underwear and pants would be a great idea. Thank you. 

Specialty Teachers

Throughout the year, your child will also spend learning time with  other specialty teachers. Mrs. Pope delivers physical education, Mrs. Neil is our librarian, and Mrs. Koolen  teaches Outdoor Education.  Ms. Larson also teaches us Outdoor education once a cycle. All other areas of focus will be embedded in our play and learning experiences with Mrs. Osmond and Mrs. Cummings.

Phew! That was a lot of information! Thank you for taking the time to read through these important tidbits.  We will continue to send home information about new events or routines at school as they arise. Check your child’s Communication Bag Daily.