Playdough Tools

If you have playdough tools that you are not using, please send them in as we have just began playdough centers.

Thanks!

Can you sew?

I'm hoping that I can find some parent volunteers who are able to sew elastic onto our quiet time blankets so that the students can hang them on their hook rather than putting in their plastic tubs. Many of them end up on the floor, at some point in the day, so I figure that sewing a small stretchy elastic would keep them clean. Please contact me if you can help! P.S. I have purchased the fabric elastic already so if you are able help, you'll have to bring your own needle and thread.

October already?

*Thank you for submitting your Walkathon pledges last Friday-so far, our class has raised $420 already! It is a great start to our class goal of $1200! For every $20 raised, your child's name will be entered into a prize draw and if $40 is raised, they will be receiving a Lego minifigure. There will be another pledge tally on Friday, Oct 4th so look for a small pledge tally sheet on Thursday in their blue folder.

*Thanks for all the September Scholastic orders! The Scholastic Order forms for October are due on Tues, October 15th. If you would like to order something in order to receive it before Halloween, please submit it by October 7th.

*Reminder that Pumpkin Patch driver forms are due Tuesday, October 1st.

*Our students did a great job on Friday when we had our first fire drill. A few students were anxious about the loud sound of the bell but it ended up being softer than we thought.

*Show and Tell
Here is the schedule and themes for show and tell beginning on Tuesday, October 1st. I will be sending a hard copy of this schedule tomorrow.

Table 1                Table 2                Table 3          Table 4

William                 Luke                   Makayla           Julia       

John Michael           Nicolette              Veronica          Kate

Avery                   Kayla                   Sahil              Matthew              

Gabriel                  Declan                 Riley              Evan             

Austin                   Kristian                Ronan             Jack       

*Note these are new table groups as of Monday, Sept 30th

October - Favorite stuffed animal  1st -   Table #1 15th - Table #2 22nd -Table #3 29th- Table #4 November - Special person (why are they special, how you know them, show pictures etc.) 5th - Table #1 12th - Table #2 19th - Table#3 26th -Table#4 December - Family fun (special family trips, activities, games, traditions etc.) 3rd - Table #1 10th – Table #2 17th – Table #3

Notices in Blue Folder

Please check your child's blue folder for the following notices:

*Field trip to the Pumpkin Patch

*Walkathon Tally Sheet: please fill in the amount of pledges your child has so far and return tomorrow

*October Scholastic book orders will go home tomorrow and will be due October 15th

*Reminder: No School on Friday

Friday, Oct 11th - Walkathon

Here are more details about Walkathon...theme this year is 'Build Our School One Brick at a Time'

Our class goal is to raise $1200, that equates to each student in our class raising $60

-Pledge tally days: Sept 26, Oct 4, Oct 9, Oct 11

I will be sending home a pledge tally sheet so I can record how much is being raised-no need to send in the actual pledge forms or money yet

-Every student who raises $40 will get a Lego minifigure (Thanks Toy Traders for the discount!)

-There will be a pizza party for the top class in both primary and intermediate

-There is one major prize for top student overall and a draw for each student (1 ticket = every $20 raised)

*All prizes will be awarded after all monies have been turned in

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Reminders:
-early dismissal Wed 2:00 pm
-No School Friday (Faith Development Day for Staff)
-label every item of your child's clothing especially gym strip

Walkathon Pledge Forms

*Check your child's backpack for this year's Walkathon pledge forms

*Lego person colouring contest: The winner will have their Lego person made into a full size adult costume

*Sunday Gospel duotang: students can finish their Gospel colouring page and do the activity pages following. Please return on Monday

*Library books are due Monday

*Reminder, early dismissal on Wednesdays @ 2pm and this Friday, there is no school.

Friday reminders

*Mass @ 9am so all students should be in their full uniform (including red sweater or vest)

*Photo Day tomorrow (individual photos and class photo)

*Walkathon Assembly in gym: tomorrow @ 230pm

*Students chose library books (1 book/each student) on Tuesday and were sent home in a white bag. Please return their books Monday.

*Reminder: No School Friday, Sept 27th

Today I explained and we practiced the final type of emergency (last week, we discussed fire and earthquake drill)- the lockdown 'safety' drill. I wanted to keep it simple and not go into too much detail about the different situations that may precipitate a lockdown drill. As an example, I explained how a teacher, my friend, at a local Langley school, experienced a lockdown drill last week when a staff member spotted a cougar in the area. All of the students had to stay inside until the principal deemed the area safe.

Tomorrow, students will be taking their Sunday Gospel (yellow) duo-tang home; please return them on Monday. Each Friday, I will explain the upcoming Sunday Gospel and the students will have a colouring sheet and an activity sheet to share with you.

Terry Fox Walk today

Remember to bring in your coin donations (any amount is great-our bucket is getting full!) for our annual Terry Fox Walk this afternoon. We begin in the gym at 1:30 pm, with a short video on Terry, and begin walking shortly after.

If you arrive at school and it is raining...

Students are allowed into the school, through the main entrance, and can stay in the classroom until the bell rings. They are asked to do a quiet activity like reading books or puzzles. Parents, please stay and supervise your child until Mrs. Palha or I are in the classroom-we have staff prayer at 8:30am every morning.

Also, remember to send your child with a jacket as we do go outside for recess at least twice a day.

Thanks!

Terry Fox Walk and Ice Cream Party

We will be having our Terry Fox Walk this Wednesday, September 18th starting with an assembly, in the gym, at 1:30pm. Our students will be sitting with their buddies and then walking around the track (once around for primary students).

Each class is asked to bring in coins to fill their class ice-cream bucket. The class with the bucket filled the highest will win an ice cream party so bring in all your donations by Wednesday! 

Students should be prepared to walk rain or shine! 

Verifying Email Subscription to my blog

Just to let you know that once you have signed up for my blog (by entering your email), you will receive a verification email to confirm your request for the email subscription. If you have not been receiving updates by email (every time I update my blog), please check that you have confirmed your subscription.

Thanks!

First full week of Kindergarten...done!

We had a busy week last week with PE (taught by Mr. Klaponski, Mrs. Pistrin and Mr. Walters!), Music with Mrs. Mar and other Kindergarten class and Computers with Mr. Sutton for the first time, making applesauce with the other K class on Thursday and buddies on Friday afternoon.

*Reminder that on gym days (M/W/F), students can wear their gym uniforms underneath their school uniforms to ease changing

*Scholastic orders are due tomorrow-please send in order forms with cheque (no cash!)

*Wednesday will be our Terry Fox Walk in the afternoon-we begin with a video in the gym @ 1:30 and walk around our school track (rain or shine!)

*Photo Day on Friday: Please send in your order form and I will give them out to the students right before our photo time (no specific time yet)

*This week begins our Star of the Week program
-every Friday, I choose a student who will be the Star of the Week and they take home a sheet to fill out about their favourite colour, hobbies, food, etc. They may also bring 1 or 2 toys to show the class on Monday
-they will get to be my special helper for the week (for calendar, bringing down the attendance book, first in the line up, etc)
-on Friday, the Star of the Week will bring home a personalized book, created by the class

*Also this week, we begin Science with Mrs.Saharchuk and Socials with Mrs. Olaybal and then a combined class of American Sign Language (ASL) by Mrs. Saharchuk and French with Mrs. Olaybal

Thanks for all the donations of egg cartons, newspapers, paint brushes and paint shirts-still looking for sour cream containers with lids and yogurt containers!

Day 2- Gym Strip Day!

Due to the continued heat, students can wear their gym strip tomorrow (Fri)! Remember there is Mass @ 9am and we will be sitting with our buddies. Please join us if you are able.

Thanks!

Message from CCS's Parent Fundraising Group (PFG)

The Walkathon is on October 11th this year, and the PFG will be looking for a number of volunteers for different jobs on the day of the event.  A sign up sheet with more information will be coming home soon!

The next PFG meeting will be held on Monday, September 16th, at 7pm, in the Cenacle Room in the Parish Centre.  They are still looking for volunteers to complete their executive committee:

• The Co-Chair is responsible for arranging PEC meetings, and carries out the Chair's duties in their absence.
• The Volunteer Coordinator communicates with Parent Reps and the Family Service Coordinator to find and organize volunteers for PFG events.

They are also looking for two Parent Representatives from each class.  Parent Reps liaise with the teacher and class parents regarding fundraising efforts, and help the Volunteer Coordinator recruit volunteers for PFG events.

Joining the PFG is a great way to fulfill your family service commitment (not including the mandatory maintenance hours) for the year.  For more information, please attend the meeting, or email: fundraising@ccsunited.ca

Tomorrow is Gym Strip Day!

Because of the hot weather, students are allowed to wear their gym strip as their uniform. Sorry for the late notice!

Geraldine

Back to School BBQ yesterday

It was a pleasure to see many of you yesterday at the BBQ-what a great way to begin the school year! If you weren't able to attend, I've sent the Kindergarten package home today in your child's blue folder.

*Some parents have been asking about changing after gym and yes, students need to change back into their school uniform afterwards, however, if it is very hot (like today) I will ask them to remove their gym shirt underneath.

*We have been practicing the procedures for fire drill and earthquake drill this week-we want them to remember how important it is to remain quiet and listen to the teacher for instructions.

*Yesterday the students had a lice check from our 'lice checkers' and some students were confused about what they were doing. They used popsicle sticks to inspect the hair.

* Photo Day on Friday, Sept 20th. Send in your forms and I will hold onto them. 

*Tomorrow morning, students will be chopping up their apples, grinding it in the mill and tasting their apple sauce in the afternoon

*Terry Fox Walk is Wed, Sept 18th

*Scholastic and Chirp Book Orders were sent home-please consider purchasing your books through these companies as our classroom benefits from free books rewards.

*Items for our classroom: I'm in need of the following
-empty yogurt containers
-paper egg cartons
-empty sour cream containers
-newspapers
-t-shirts that can be used for paint shirts
-paint brushes

Thanks!

Safety at the Crosswalk

There were many notices sent home today and one very important one is regarding safety for our students by using the crosswalk. This notice highlights the traffic flow and available parking spots. There will always be a staff member who will be at the crosswalk before and after school so please use it!

Photo day is Friday, September 20th and the ordering sheet was sent home today. Once you fill it out, please send it back in and I will hold onto it until the date.

Our theme this week is apples and we are asking students to bring an apple in tomorrow. We will be studying the different types of apples and will be making our own apple sauce on Thursday that they can sample. Please send an apple by Tues or latest Wed.

I hope to see all of you at tomorrow's Back to School BBQ 5:30-7:30pm...it will be a great opportunity to meet other families in our class. Did you know that there are 12 new families in our class of 20 students? There will be a package to pick up that outlines information about your student's year in Kindergarten so come by our classroom to pick them up (they will be labelled with your family name).

Tomorrow we will be going to Library with Mrs. Mahussier and we will be choosing 2 books to bring home and read for the week. Check your child's backpack tomorrow for their library book bags!

See you tomorrow!

Will you join us for the Food Bank Mass tomorrow?

There will be a Food bank Mass every first Friday of the month. Students are welcome to bring in $1 instead of a non-perishable food item which will be donated to the food bank. We will be sitting with our Grade 5/6 buddies (on the left side beside the choir) whom we met today and visited the Church for a short prayer. Just a reminder that students need to be in full uniform tomorrow for Mass-please make sure they have their red sweater/vest.

Just a reminder to bring in a family photo, water bottle, Kleenex box, extra shorts, socks & underwear, blanket/towel and stuffie- next week, we will be having quiet time so it would be great if all students had a blanket/towel to lie on.

Today we had a short visit from Father Anthony who showed the students a relic of St. Dina, a Saint from Quebec.

Luke brought in chocolate chip cookies to celebrate his birthday (Sept 3rd)  and Evan brought (peanut free) chocolate cupcakes to celebrate all the new friends he had made in our class! Yummy!

Please check your child's backpack for the Meet the Staff BBQ and the Hot Lunch order forms.

See you tomorrow!

Back to School BBQ & Hot Lunch

Sorry everyone, I was not able to give out the Meet the Staff BBQ forms nor the Hot Lunch forms for October/Walkathon forms today-they will be coming home tomorrow (in the notice folder.) The office have asked the both forms to be returned by Friday, Sept 6th but Monday will still be okay.

Next Tuesday, September 10th from 530-730pm is the Meet the Staff BBQ and is a wonderful opportunity to meet with staff and to introduce yourselves to others you have not yet met. Also, it is a great family event that will introduce new families to our amazing CCS community! There will be a package of (further) Kindergarten information that you may pick up in our classroom (labelled with your child's name) during that night.

The students really enjoyed going to PE with Mr. Klaponski (aka Mr. K) and enjoyed playing relay games!Tomorrow, we will be meeting our Grade 5/6 buddies from Sister Mary Bethany's class for the first time!

See you all Thursday!

First day of Kindergarten

Mrs. Palha-S.E.A

Mrs. Olaybal

Welcome to Kindergarten. It was a pleasure to meet you and your children today- they are so full of energy and enthusiasm! There were a few questions that came up today-I will try to answer them below.

*For tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, dismissal is at 12 noon.

*On Friday, the Kindergartens will be attending the school Mass @ 9am and will be sitting with their Grade 5/6 buddies. We will be introducing them to their buddies on Thursday.  The first Friday of each month is a Food Bank Mass and food donations will be collected by the St. Vincent de Paul group. Please send in one non-perishable item that will be brought up during that Mass.

*Reminder to label all clothing items that your child will be using. We do have a Mabel's Labels fundraising page at http://www.cce.mabelslabels.com/

*In order sign up to 'Follow By Email', please scroll all the way to the bottom of my blog page and enter your email. Whenever I update my blog, you will receive an email notification.

*Shoes: In our parent handbook (www.ccsunited.ca), there are the specific details for shoes and it does say student need to have‘solid black shoes includes black running shoes.’ For gym, it states to have ‘plain non-marking soles’ for running shoes.

*If it is raining heavily in the mornings, students are allowed to enter the school (through the main doors) and come in and wait quietly in our classroom. Staff is at morning prayer from 830-845am.

*We will be having our first P.E. class with Mr. Klaponski tomorrow.

*Hot lunch forms are due this Friday, Sept 6th. They can be found here

 http://ccsunited.ca/announcements.html 

*Upcoming school event: Meet the Staff BBQ on Tues, Sept 10th evening

Please do not hesitate to email me at golaybal@ccsunited.ca if you have any other questions...see you tomorrow!

Mrs. Olaybal