After careful consideration, the Kinder team has decided to move towards full days in English and French as opposed to the original half day in English and half in French. Both classes now spend Mondays and Wednesdays with their homeroom teacher (Kinder A - Madame Raquel, Kinder B - Ms. Barter) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, teachers change rooms (Madame Raquel is with Kinder B, Ms. Barter is with Kinder A). Fridays are the only day of the week that rotates on a Week 1, Week 2 schedule. ECEs stay with the students in their classroom as always. Library and gym days are still the same.
This change has had very little impact on program delivery and was made to benefit the needs of the students as it minimizes transitions and gives a better flow to the day. As one JK student put it: "It makes more sense."
Parents with any concerns or questions are to direct them to their child's homeroom teacher and ECE.
Tis the season....to get sick
Unfortunately, many kinder students and kinder staff have fallen ill in the past two weeks. As the Kinder program is play based, many classroom resources and materials are shared and passed around. The Kinder team and custodial staff does its best to keep everything clean and sanitized yet this is a good time of year to review and reinforce preventative care with your young ones. The best way to ward off illness is to be proactive therefore reviewing hand washing, explicitly showing children how to cover their mouths when they cough and how to blow their nose and dispose of tissues goes a long way in helping them and others stay healthy. There will be a lot of classroom talk on these subjects, reinforcing it at home helps keep the message consistent.
As always, please notify the office at 613-728-4607 if your child will be away from school due to illness. It is helpful if you let us know whether they have cold, gastro or flu like symptoms as this can help us in keeping track of what is going around and how to best tackle those germs in the classroom.
Outdoor clothes and footwear
Weather permitting students will continue to spend up to a hour and a half in outdoor play a day. Please be sure they are dressed for the weather with a proper jacket, neck warmer, hat, mitts or gloves and warm footwear. In addition, it is very helpful to have all items labelled with your child's name or initials. Many children come to school with the same item of clothing or similar looking items therefore labeling them ensures everyone goes home with what is theirs. It is also very helpful if children are capable of dressing themselves independently. With 61 students and 4 educators, getting everyone out the door quickly is no easy task. Practice those zippers at home please!
Fire drills and lockdown procedures
Students have had 2 fire drill practices and are reviewing lockdown expectations this week. Lockdown practices are done once a year in schools with the supervision of the Student Resource Officer (SRO) allocated to our school from the Ottawa Police. These practices are framed in an age appropriate way but may lead to questions or concerns at home from your young one. Parents with questions or concerns are to contact their child's homeroom teacher.
Nepean High School presents...
Nepean High School's drama students will be coming to present their annual production for Hilson students this Wednesday, Nov. 9th at 11:45am. This is always a very popular whole school event. Past presentations have included The Lion King and Madagascar.
Remembrance Day
The Kinder students will be attending the whole school Remembrance Day assembly this week at 10:50am in the gym. Interested parents are welcome to join us for the assembly. If you do plan to attend, be there by 10:40am as it is generally a full house.
Upcoming Event and Important Dates
Tues. Nov.8th - School Parent Council meeting - 6:30pm-8:30pm Hilson library
Wed. Nov.9th - Nepean High School presents...11:45am Hilson's gym
Fri. Nov.11th - Remembrance Day Ceremony - 10:50am in Hilson's gym
Thurs. Nov.17th - Hilson Movie Night
Fri. Nov.18th - PD Day
Dec.24th-Jan.9th - Holiday Break