Thank You

Thank you to everyone for their generous gifts and wishes this week.  We wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  We hope you all have time to rest, relax and spend time together over the holidays :)

January Calendar

Here is a sneak peak of the calendar for January.  A paper copy will be sent home when we return to school in the new year. 

In January we will be working on number concepts: recognizing the numbers, printing the numbers, and understanding 'how many.'  The Junior Kindergarten students will be working on numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.  The Senior Kindergarten students will be working on numbers 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.

Many children are having difficulty getting dressed by themselves at school.  Please encourage your child to get dressed by him/herself and practice getting dressed at home.  Please make sure your child has an extra pair of running shoes at school.  They will not be allowed to wear boots or wet shoes in the classroom.

All students will also be participating in a drama and dance workshop at the beginning of January.  A dance instructor will be coming to the school to instruct the students in dancing and putting on a show.  It will be a lot of fun!  Please make sure your child pays the $6 for the workshop and is at school on the day of the workshop.  Check the attached calendar for your child's session. 

We will also be having a special fundraiser for the Future Island School at the end of January.  The school is in Offinso, Ghana and educates over 450 students.  Every year St. Jude's raises money for the community as they have undergone many hardships and are extremely grateful for all that they receive.  We thank you for your wonderful generosity.

Christmas

We have been learning all about Christmas and all about Jesus' birth story.  The students have been practicing their oral language skills by retelling the main points of the nativity story. 

Tonight, tell your child their birth story - all about the day/night that they were born - the main events and any special visitors they may have had (ex: their grandparents).  Then ask your child to tell you about Jesus being born.  Follow up by reading the first couple of chapters of the Gospel of Luke in the bible to share what your child is learning at school.

Sing-a-long

Tomorrow all of the Kindergarten students will be going next door to the Toronto Public Library for a sing-a-long with a special musician.  We look forward to this special afternoon treat tomorrow!

This Week

This is the last week of school before the Christmas break and the students are working hard to make a wonderful Christmas gift for their families.

As the students go outside to play daily please dress them appropriately for the weather.  We strongly recommend everyone wear boots or warm outdoor shoes to and from school. 

Therefore, every student must have a pair of running shoes that stay at school and that they wear while in the classroom - please write your child's name in them. 
The children will not be allowed to wear their boots or outdoor shoes in the classroom and we do not recommend they walk around in socks (especially as we have regular fire drills).

Thank you to those parents who have already sent a pair of shoes to school, we appreciate your cooperation!

Weekend

Thank you to all the parents who brought in treats for our Christmas concerts yesterday.  The children all had a lot of fun sharing the Christmas spirit and showing off all of their hard work practising the last couple of weeks.

The children have been learning about Advent and the true meaning of Christmas.  This Sunday is the 3rd weekend in Advent, Therefore, at church this Sunday please point out the Advent wreath to your child and that the priest is lighting the pink candle.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Green Day

Today is green day!  Please dress in green and/or bring in something that is green!

Santa Pictures

Santa will be visiting St. Jude tomorrow morning to meet the students and to take pictures with them.  If you would like a picture of your child with Santa please send $6 to school tomorrow for the picture. 

There is no uniform tomorrow so please dress your child in festive clothing for their picture with Santa (if  you are purchasing one) and for the Christmas Concert (tomorrow at 2:00pm).

See you all tomorrow! :D

Christmas Concert

Our Christmas concert is on Thursday at 2:00pm in your child's classroom.

Parents and grandparents are all welcome to attend.  Also, please remember to bring a small treat to share with the whole class after the concert.

Letter of the Week

This week we will be learning the letter Rr!  Practice writing the letter Rr at home this week and finding things that start with a Rr. 

Reminders

- The Kindergarten students are NOT part of the primary Christmas concert tonight.  We will be having our own class Christmas concerts on Thursday December 13.

- Tomorrow is a PD day so there is no school.

- Over the weekend have your child practice writing their names correctly.

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see you back on Monday!

Christmas Gift

Remember to send the following items to school tomorrow: 1 shoebox, 3 toilet paper rolls & 1 medium gift bag.  We don't want any of the students to feel left out of the activities next week! :)

Letter of the Week

This week we will be learning the letter Mm!  Be sure to ask your child what letter they are learning and the sound it makes.