Welcome to a new school year at St. James Catholic School. I am Mrs. VanZeeland-Power and I am pleased to be teaching your child this year! I hope your family had an exciting summer. No doubt you are ready for school to begin!
In the first month of school there is a great deal of adjusting to do; learning routines, new expectations and new faces. I will do my best to make sure that this is a smooth transition for your child. If you have any individual concerns, please communicate them to me so that I can better meet your child’s needs. On the firs day of school, a Parent Questionnaire will be sent home so that I can learn about your child from you. Please take the time to fill it out and return it to me preferrably at the end of the first week or on Monday.
In the first few weeks of school, my main focus will be getting to know your individual child, their interests and learning styles, and creating the comfortable learning environment...like a school family This month I emphasize that effort is more important than ability in achieving success and that a student’s ‘job’ is to work hard and try their personal best. Together we will experience the creative, forgiving, and caring love of God.
Your child will also be learning French on a daily basis. Your child’s French teacher will be Mme. Wilson. You will have the opportunity to meet and chat with us regarding this year’s expectations at St. James’ Program Night. During that time, I will be able to present to you the routines, expectations and an overview of what our school year will look like. This night will also give you an opportunity to see our great classroom and ask any questions that you may have. I hope to see you there!
Housekeeping Items:
1. Indoor Shoes
Each child MUST keep a pair of running shoes with non-marking soles at school for daily use. Please remember to send socks if your child wears sandals outside. Extra clothes in ziplock large bag, labeled, in backpack.
2. Agenda and Mailbag
I will be sending home an agenda with your child in a mailbag for protection. I appreciate your assistance in returning the agenda and mailbag daily. We will always write in the agenda (I will initial it) and the mailbag will contain newsletters and updates from the school. Please check it each evening. Please initial that day’s section - so I know you have seen the messages. Feel free to use the agenda to communicate any messages to me.
3 .Donations
If possible, it would be greatly appreciated if students could bring in the following item(s) for the classroom:
4. St. James eco initiative is for students to bring “litterless” lunches. Please do your best to package lunch items in reuseable containers rather than buying prepackaged foods. As well, we are a "water bottle free" school so no bottled water - students may have their own labelled personal water bottle that they can bring back and forth between home and school.
5. Homework:
For homework, your child will be assigned a weekly spelling/writing task called Word Wizard. It will go home each Tuesday and it will be due back to class the following Monday. Your child is required to read for 15 minutes each night. I also ask that you spend your evenings doing things that also improve student success such as eating dinner as a family, reading together, playing outside and getting a very good night's sleep.
Each child in my class will receive a Friday Journal. Each Friday afternoon, we will review our week (new learning, special activities, proud moments/difficult moments) and your child will write a letter to you about his/her week at school. I am asking that you please respond with a brief note to your child and return the journal to school on Monday. This is a purposeful writing task that will make you aware of what we are doing in school, in your child's words. Thank you for your cooperation...the children love reading your return letters!
6. Stonehaven Manor visits:
The Stonehaven Manor residents and St. James Grade 3 students have a very special friendship. Every 3 weeks, we walk to the Manor to read and visit with the residents for just under an hour. We have had such great success with this program and I am thrilled that we are able to provide thisopportunity to our Grade 3 students again this year.
7. Scholastic:
I will send home Scholastic Order Forms each month. You can order online (please send the order form to me if you do order online) or you may send the order form and cheque to me directly. Please send cheques only. Thank you.
8. Volunteers:
I will be asking for volunteers on an as needs basis. My class will be attending Swim to Survive in October (more info to come) and we will need some parents to accompany us to the pool. Male volunteers will be needed so the boys will have an adult presence in the change room with them. I will have a sign up sheet available at Program Night on September 22.
9. Pencil Cases
If your child brought a pencil case full of goodies to school on the first day, I sent it back home in their back pack. We are doing flex seating (so no place to keep a pencil case) and we are sharing everything (pencils, markers, erasers, etc.). If you'd like to donate some of the items in the pencil case to the class, simply send those items in a bag back to school. Thank you for your understanding.
We are off to an exciting year! I look forward to meeting with you!
Yours in education,
Mrs. VanZeeland-Power
In the first month of school there is a great deal of adjusting to do; learning routines, new expectations and new faces. I will do my best to make sure that this is a smooth transition for your child. If you have any individual concerns, please communicate them to me so that I can better meet your child’s needs. On the firs day of school, a Parent Questionnaire will be sent home so that I can learn about your child from you. Please take the time to fill it out and return it to me preferrably at the end of the first week or on Monday.
In the first few weeks of school, my main focus will be getting to know your individual child, their interests and learning styles, and creating the comfortable learning environment...like a school family This month I emphasize that effort is more important than ability in achieving success and that a student’s ‘job’ is to work hard and try their personal best. Together we will experience the creative, forgiving, and caring love of God.
Your child will also be learning French on a daily basis. Your child’s French teacher will be Mme. Wilson. You will have the opportunity to meet and chat with us regarding this year’s expectations at St. James’ Program Night. During that time, I will be able to present to you the routines, expectations and an overview of what our school year will look like. This night will also give you an opportunity to see our great classroom and ask any questions that you may have. I hope to see you there!
Housekeeping Items:
1. Indoor Shoes
Each child MUST keep a pair of running shoes with non-marking soles at school for daily use. Please remember to send socks if your child wears sandals outside. Extra clothes in ziplock large bag, labeled, in backpack.
2. Agenda and Mailbag
I will be sending home an agenda with your child in a mailbag for protection. I appreciate your assistance in returning the agenda and mailbag daily. We will always write in the agenda (I will initial it) and the mailbag will contain newsletters and updates from the school. Please check it each evening. Please initial that day’s section - so I know you have seen the messages. Feel free to use the agenda to communicate any messages to me.
3 .Donations
If possible, it would be greatly appreciated if students could bring in the following item(s) for the classroom:
- A box of Kleenex and/or a box of large Ziploc bags
4. St. James eco initiative is for students to bring “litterless” lunches. Please do your best to package lunch items in reuseable containers rather than buying prepackaged foods. As well, we are a "water bottle free" school so no bottled water - students may have their own labelled personal water bottle that they can bring back and forth between home and school.
5. Homework:
For homework, your child will be assigned a weekly spelling/writing task called Word Wizard. It will go home each Tuesday and it will be due back to class the following Monday. Your child is required to read for 15 minutes each night. I also ask that you spend your evenings doing things that also improve student success such as eating dinner as a family, reading together, playing outside and getting a very good night's sleep.
Each child in my class will receive a Friday Journal. Each Friday afternoon, we will review our week (new learning, special activities, proud moments/difficult moments) and your child will write a letter to you about his/her week at school. I am asking that you please respond with a brief note to your child and return the journal to school on Monday. This is a purposeful writing task that will make you aware of what we are doing in school, in your child's words. Thank you for your cooperation...the children love reading your return letters!
6. Stonehaven Manor visits:
The Stonehaven Manor residents and St. James Grade 3 students have a very special friendship. Every 3 weeks, we walk to the Manor to read and visit with the residents for just under an hour. We have had such great success with this program and I am thrilled that we are able to provide thisopportunity to our Grade 3 students again this year.
7. Scholastic:
I will send home Scholastic Order Forms each month. You can order online (please send the order form to me if you do order online) or you may send the order form and cheque to me directly. Please send cheques only. Thank you.
8. Volunteers:
I will be asking for volunteers on an as needs basis. My class will be attending Swim to Survive in October (more info to come) and we will need some parents to accompany us to the pool. Male volunteers will be needed so the boys will have an adult presence in the change room with them. I will have a sign up sheet available at Program Night on September 22.
9. Pencil Cases
If your child brought a pencil case full of goodies to school on the first day, I sent it back home in their back pack. We are doing flex seating (so no place to keep a pencil case) and we are sharing everything (pencils, markers, erasers, etc.). If you'd like to donate some of the items in the pencil case to the class, simply send those items in a bag back to school. Thank you for your understanding.
We are off to an exciting year! I look forward to meeting with you!
Yours in education,
Mrs. VanZeeland-Power