Welcome to

Rousseau Elementary School

Your JK Teacher: Mrs. Robinson

There will be 2 Classes:

A Class -JK/SK Tues and Thurs and Alternating Mon

B Class -JK Wed. and Fri. and Alternating Mon.

Children that are older, or have older siblings ( more school experience at Rousseau) will be considered for the split.

Bus/After School Program: I will make sure your child gets on the proper bus or goes to the gym for the after school program. The bus driver will not drop your child off unless you are there to greet them at your bus stop.

Late: Report to office. Please aim to start on time- very important life skills- plus less distracting for others

Absent: Phone office- 905-648-6142 or email the school at rousseau@hwdsb.on.ca

Special Dates:

School Council- 3^rd Tuesday of each month-7pm

Awards Assembly: End of month-alternatingA/B

Parent Observations: Feb. for JK. and Nov. for SK Report Cards: - JK - June

SK - March and June

About the JK Program

Ways to help the day run smoothly:

The Important Bag: Notices going Home /School :

Please make sure that your child comes to school organized with their Important Bag.

Any classroom book, correspondence, library book, money... goes in. We unpack this bag first thing in the morning and we load it at the end of the day. This “special loot bag” helps organize students, fosters better communication and keeps our papers and books dry incase of spills. Please look for your child's special bag daily. Returning things the next school day is a very good habit and very helpful for me. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

Identification: Please put your child's name on all lunch pails, boots, running shoes, mitts, hats. This would help us enormously.

Calendar and Newsletters: You will be receiving Monthly Calendars and Newsletters from myself and the office. Please post the JK calendar for quick daily reference. This is an excellent teaching tool. Please help your child prepare for day.

Accidents: A change of clothes in a zip lock bag with your child’s name on it is strongly recommended. I do have some clothes, if your child comes home in different clothes, please wash them and return

MVP - Most valuable player for the week is the child who is my special helper and leader for the week.

Dress: in layers, it could be quite warm in the class room even in the winter, especially on sunny days. Water bottles are encouraged. Running shoes with velcro are recommended. It is best to wear pants that they can take off easily and independently, difficult buttons, belts... cause frustration and accidents. Please teach your child to do up their own coat, put on their own shoes/ boots.

Nutrition Breaks- Pack for two eating breaks. Emphasis on nutrition. No nut products.

Volunteers- .

Co-op students will be coming daily. I would appreciate volunteers for trips and special days. You will need to contact the office and receive forms for a police check.

Cubbies- They are encouraged to organize themselves at their cubbies. Practise at home with zippers, buttons, boots,backpacks.. Farewells/greetings are done outside.

Computer Lab: You can help them practise typing their name and finding our password on the keyboard. Our user name is: 380jk and our password is dog.

About the Literacy Focus in JK A passion for reading is our school focus!

Jolly Phonics Program - We focus on a letter and their sound each week. Research has shown that fluent letter recognition is a strong indicator of future success in reading. Look for words that have the letter of the week.

Pop Up Words- These are High Frequency Words.

They make up 25% of the reading.

(Ie: a the see no are for he she do can go we I in be me up you..)

Look for “pop corn” words in the little books coming home. We put butter (yellow)on these words to highlight.

Story Bits- Little reminder bits will come home for your child to retell the story. Parents scribe the story.

Reading Tools- You will get a set of reading tools to use as reading strategies to help teach your child how to read. Use these tools with the little books that come home.

Snuggle Up Reading Club- Daily Home Reading

Research strongly indicates that reading daily to a child is very important. It improves reading skills, develops good study habits and provides for that very important bonding time. They will bring home the A to Z Reader. All JKs will be started at Level A. My aim is to have them progress to Level 1 by February and Level 2 by the end of the year. It is expected that they reach Level 4 by the end of SK. Read 10 books and go in the treasure box!

Treasure box: I keep a treasure box to reward reading. Contributions are always appreciated! They love it!

Visiting Bear: A visiting bear comes home for a week. He travels with his collection of fiction /non fiction bear books. Each child does a little homework. We will be interested to see what visiting bear did at your house.

Scholastic Book Orders: You can order books each month. This is optional. Order forms will be due a week after the order form goes out. Scholastic helps teachers order many books and resources with the coupons.

Award Assembly: Mr. Cooper will make a good news call for literacy and let you know that your child is receiving a Literacy Award. If the awards assembly falls on a (JK/SK)A day, A class will get their awards. If it is on a (Jk)B day, B classes awards will be handed out. This is so peers can be present. Bring your cameras.

How to prepare your child for School

5. Practise dressing self with buttons, zippers, velcro running shoes, ensure success and limit frustration and accidents.

6. Prepare child to meet all toilet needs independently. Tell them Mrs. Robinson does not help in the bathroom. Reminders to wash hands.

7. Buy a school bag. I like the new rolling ones. Those back packs get really heavy. Make sure that lunch pails, shoes, the Important bag (Zip Lock Bag), library books..... fit comfortably and easily, and that your child can manage the zipper easily.

8. Practise opening lunch containers independently and eating independently. When you buy containers make sure your child can open them and they don’t leak.... Find out what your child likes and will eat. Pack enough for 2 sittings. They can order milk. Our school is nut and peanut free.

9. Children start school with different experiences and abilities. Reading daily to your child sets your child at the head start position. Give them lots of language experiences. Some children start JK knowing their letters and printing their name! Introduce them to the proper pencil grip and give them lots of opportunities to develop fine motor control. Play listening games and following directions. Go over safety rules and teach them to ask for help when needed at school from the teacher.