The Primary Experience École LeMarchant St. Thomas School

Preparing for Primary Read to your child daily Teach your child to zipper, button and/or tie Play games that require turn-taking and or counting Look for numbers and/or letters on street signs or on labels at the store Karen

Before & After School Care YMCA 7:30 am 15:1 ratio Annex Lunch Supervision EXCEL 7:30 am 25:1 ratio Main Building The school must provide basic lunch supervision

Learning Independence Iris: Velcro versus laces, backpack sizes, shoes for gym and music

Student Safety For the Safety of our students, the doors are locked at all times. Parents / caregivers and guests must be buzzed into the building. It is important to be on time to minimize the number of interruptions during the morning routine. If you are late, parents or guardians must check into the main office. Pauline

The First Days One the first day, parents may come into the classroom with your child. Find their name and show them where they sit. Once students are settled, parents should quietly leave. After the first day, teachers will meet parents and children in the playground. It is important to let your child enter the school independently. Teachers are on duty at 8:40am Lindsey: Establishing routines

Making Friends Code of Conduct: PEBS - Moira weekly assemblies, monthly assemblies Teaching your child to be assertive “using your words” RESPECT for Self, others and the environment

Recess Parents are asked to supply students with a healthy recess snack (NO NUTS PLEASE) Students usually eat inside before or after the outdoor break It is important to listen to weather reports and dress children appropriately for the weather. Please label your child’s clothing. Layers are great for fluctuating temperatures. Suzanne

Literacy Students will listen to and read/view stories, poems and chants, and books They will learn the alphabet and words in the context of meaningful written language Kate and or Mary

Literacy FLA Suzanne oral literacy development

Math Teachers provide a variety of hands on and interactive math experiences for students The math program focuses on numeration, geometry patterning, measurement and operations. Iris: At home you may have children count the dishes as the set the table, count the red cars as you drive, play games such as snakes and ladders etc.

Mathematics

Health, Science and Social Studies In health, students learn about safety, making healthy choices and conflict resolution In science students learn about living and non-living things and the environment In social studies the focus is on the community Kate

Learning across the curriculum Lindsay

Art

Physical Education Students will have gym in the main building two times each week. Students are asked to wear shorts, t-shirts and sneakers during warmer weather and loose comfortable gym clothes in winter Please provide an extra pair of inexpensive sneakers to be kept in the main building for gym classes. These should be labeled with your child’s name or initials. Pauline

Physical Education

Music Children will have music twice each week In December, primary – grade three students participate in a holiday concert. In grade four they may join our school choir Violin or cello is offered as part of our strings program in grade three or four Students may join band in grade six. Pauline

Music

Parent Participation Parent – Teacher Communications Parent Rights and Responsibilities Communicating Student Learning The Agenda, emails, newsletters, and the school sign Home & School Association School Advisory Council Pauline

A Plea to Parents We teachers are like the woman who lived in a shoe, We have so many children, we don’t know what to do. They all wear boots and boots look the same, so every boot must have a name. If you go to the mall or some place like that, you can buy some names to sew in a hat, his/her sweater, his/her coat, and his/her mittens too, These are some of the things you can do. Coats have buttons and zippers and ties, so many to fasten, oh how the time flies. Please spend a minute or so each night Showing your child how to fasten things right. Then we’ll send them all home with no clothes lost, all buttoned up safe from snow and frost. And a great big THANKS will come to you, from the happy family that lives in the shoe.