Terry Fox - Thursday, Sept. 27th - 10:50am assembly, 11:30am run on the main yard
Thanks to those of you who have donated to our Terry Fox fundraiser. We will be collecting money until the end of the week. Students have voted on class motivators. Kinder Acorns will be having a Wacky Wednesday (date to be determined) at $260 raised. Kinder BeeHive will be having a movie day for $350, if they reach $500 they get to throw pies in their teachers faces. Ms. Kim & Mr. Peter have volunteered to do some wacky motivators as well. The whole student body is voting on what they will do.
Kinders will be attending the Terry Fox assembly (their first whole school event) at 10:50am on Thursday. They will then be running on the main field at 11:30am. Parents are welcome to join us on the main field. If you choose to come, please be ready to walk/run with us to motivate your Kinder to complete a couple of laps. You can then cheer from the sidelines.
Orange Shirt Day - Friday, Sept. 28th
Schools across Canada commemorate Orange Shirt Day. The day was created during the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project in Williams Lake, BC, in May 2013. Former student, Phyllis (Jack) Webstad, told her story of her first day at residential school when her shiny new orange shirt, bought by her grandmother, was taken from her as a six-year old girl, which prompted the realization that many survivors have similar stories. Schools across Canada commemorate Orange Shirt Day by encouraging staff and students to wear any piece of orange clothing, design their own ‘Every Child Matters’ shirt, wear ribbons or orange stickers, or wear any kind of orange clothing or decoration.
As part of the Indigenous Addendum, the Kinder curriculum is to explore the earth and our interconnectedness to our environment. Students will learn about this through their weekly outdoor education time and through books that share creation stories.
Meet the Teacher - Thursday, Oct.4th 5pm-6:15pm
Hilson will be hosting its annual Meet the Teacher night next week. Please note this is a meet and greet event. Not a time to see how your child is doing in the program. Take this opportunity to come visit the Kinder classrooms, have your child show you around and walk you through their typical day. This is also a good time to meet your child's friends parents, take a tour of the school and introduce yourself to the school librarian, Katy Harrison, our new principal, Kim MacDonald and our new vice-principal, Peter Knight.
School Council will be hosting their first meeting right afterwards at 6:30pm. This is a great opportunity to get involved at your child's school and meet other parents who volunteer their time to make Hilson the great community it is.
Note Totes
Note Totes are the ziplock bags your child couriers to and from school. They often contain school news such as forms to be signed, how to sign up for milk/pizza/etc and monthly Scholastic forms. They also house art work and any other class work your child chooses to do throughout the week.
Kinder A - Sends Note Totes home on Fridays and asks that they are returned on Mondays.
Kinder B - Send Note Totes home on Mondays with library books and asks that they are returned no later than Friday with library books.
Weekly Library Visits
The Hilson library has undergone a makeover! New carpet and some fancy new chairs and tables have been added. Be sure to check it out when you visit the school for Meet the Teacher.
Katy Harrison, our school librarian, opened the library to student exchanges last week. Ms. Hallard is the Kinder team contact for any library visit/book inquiries. Books are to be returned no later than the day before they are due.
Kinder A - visits the library every Thursday, books are due every Wednesday.
Kinder B - visits the library every Monday, books are due every Monday.
Milk and Pizza info
Hilson's milk program started Tuesday, Sept.25th. Those looking to sign up for milk will have to wait until the next session.
Pizza will start on Tues. Oct. 2nd. Please register your account at https://hilson.hotlunches.net/admin/?sid=&un=0
Pizza runs from Oct.2nd to Jan.29th. You can pay for a whole session or weekly. Be forewarned that if your order is not in by Saturday for that coming Tuesday, your child will not receive their pizza.
Outdoor wear
Please be sure your child is dressed for outdoor play. Check the weather. We are only outside for 15 minutes at drop off. Check to see what the forecast of the day is for 10am-11am & 2pm-3pm. We will take them outside to play unless it is heavy rain, below -25 or there is a weather warning.
Please DO NOT send your child with multiple pairs of outdoor shoes. This complicates things for them as they MUST take both pairs home at the end of the day. Our cubbie space is cramped and crowded. We do not have room for extra outerwear. In our experience, if your child has a choice of wearing rain boots or runners, they will wear whichever they prefer therefore make that choice at home with them.
Open snack & Designated Lunch
Hilson's Kinder classes both have 3 opportunities to eat throughout the day. They can eat during both their morning (8am-9am) and midday (11am-12 noon) play blocks, this is referred to as open snack. They then sit down from 12:50-1:10pm at for a more formal whole class sit down lunch. Although we call the 3rd opportunity to eat lunch, many of your children are eating the bulk of their food during their open snack times. They are following their own body clocks and eating as much as they like during these times. Many of our Kinders are finding they have 1 item or nothing left at their designated lunch time and have said they they are still hungry at this time. Please chat with your child to see if this is the case. Keep in mind, milk, pizza and lunch lady are all delivered to the class during the last eating opportunity (12:50pm). Aftercare students are also given an additional snack at the WCC at around 3:15pm. Your child's eating will ebb and flow throughout the year, based on their own growth spurts, activity levels and changes in weather. You may need to adjust how much you pack based on this.
If you love it, then you better put your name on it! If you want it, then you better label it! Please label your child's hoodies, outerwear, lunch containers, anything & everything that they bring to school that you want returned to your home. :)
Upcoming Events, Important Dates & Reminders
Monday, Sept.24th - Milk starts
Thursday, Sept.27th - Terry Fox Run (Whole School event, 10:50am assembly, 11:30am run on the main yard)
Friday, Sept. 28th - Orange Shirt Day (Truth & Reconciliation day of awareness to recognize our history of residential schools & its impact)
Tuesday, Oct.2nd - First Pizza lunch
Thursday, Oct.4th - Meet the Teacher, 5-6:15pm
Thursday, Oct. 4th - School Council, 6:30pm
Friday, Oct. 5th - PD DAY - No School
Monday, Oct. 8th - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, Oct.16th - Photo Day
Wednesday, Oct.31st - Halloween
Sunday, Nov. 4th - Daylight Savings Time ends
Sunday, Nov. 11th - Remembrance Day
Tuesday, Nov. 13th - Photo Retakes
Thursday, Nov. 22nd - Parent-Teacher Interviews (Timing to de determined)
Friday, Nov. 23rd - PD DAY - No School - Parent-Teacher Interviews (Timing to be determined)
Friday, Nov. 30th - Movie Night (School Council)
Friday, Dec. 21st - Last day of School before Winter Holiday break
Dec.22nd - Jan. 6th - Winter Holiday break - No School
Friday, Jan. 25th - PD DAY - No School