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It’s hard to believe, but it seems Winter has already settled in across Ottawa, making life with kids a little more challenging. Not only is leaving the house a little (OK, a lot!) more involved than simply slipping on a pair of sandals, but there is so much more kids’ gear to keep track of, it’s almost a full-time job.
Barring extreme cold, the students of Churchill enjoy at least sixty minutes outdoors everyday, and because some teachers incorporate outdoor activities into their gym period, some students are lucky enough to spend even more time outside. The benefits of outdoor play through the winter are numerous, and to ensure your children stay comfortable (and you stay sane), we’ve outlined some tips that will help make the next few months a little less challenging.
label your child’s winter gear with their last name and phone number so that if it’s misplaced, it has a better chance of making its way back to you. You can buy labels through the Churchill’s Mabel’s Labels fundraiser which helps raise money that is put towards the school’s programs and supplies.
get your child set up with two sets of winter accessories like mitts, hats, and scarves. An extra set of gear means you won’t be left shorthanded when your child’s winter gear is wet or misplaced.
tuck an extra pair of socks into your child’s backpack — if snow gets into their boots while they’re playing outside, an extra pair of dry socks can make your child’s day a little more pleasant.
lay out your child’s winter gear on school nights to avoid that mad dash to get sorted in the morning.
take stock of your child’s winter gear after they come home from school. If it’s wet, it will dry better if it’s taken out of their backpack, or if they’ve misplaced it, you’ll know to send extras and have them look for it in the school’s lost & found box (tip: if you don’t already have one, a mitt/boot dryer that sits over a vent is super handy to dry your child’s winter gear quickly).
If your child’s winter gear does go missing, a lost & found box is located in the school’s lobby. On the last Friday of every month, parent volunteers spread out the contents of the lost & found box in the lobby, and teachers bring their classes down to look at (and hopefully reunite with) lost objects. You can also view videos of the contents of the lost & found box that are posted to the Churchill Alternative Parents Group’s Facebook page on the same day. If you see an item that looks familiar, or better than what you already have (just kidding, that’s a joke), you can respond to the video and ask the parent volunteers to hold that item. Items that are labelled clearly will be sent to the appropriate classroom, unclaimed items are donated to our sister school and distributed to students who can use them.
If you have winter gear that your child has outgrown that you would like to pass on, you can leave it in the Families Helping Families box, and the school will include it with donations to our sister school. Please wash donations beforehand, and only donate items that are in good working order that do not require repair. Donated items should be bagged and clearly labelled as a donation (to keep them separate from lost items).
Winter gear aside, if your child is bussed to school, and you haven’t done so already, you should subscribe to receive e-mail notifications from the Ottawa Student Transportation Authority. If school buses are cancelled due to inclement weather, field trips and transportation to after-school programs will also be cancelled. On these days, school will continue as usual, but you will be responsible for arranging your child’s transportation to and from school. If your child cannot attend school because of cancelled buses, please call the school’s Absentee line (613-722-4474) to report their absence.
Published: November 15, 2019
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