Kindergarten A to Z
Ms. Kelsey Corcoran
Arrival and Departure: For safety reasons, non-staff cars are not permitted on campus. Parking is available at the library on chemin de la Bastero (which is to your immediate right as you turn at the lights into chemin du Grand Roule), or on rue de Verdun (outside the Mulatiere Hotel de Ville).
Assemblies: Primary school assemblies are an opportunity for the students to share some of their projects with a larger audience. Parents and family are encouraged to attend when possible. The dates and times for the assemblies will be announced in the newsletters and through the notes that will be sent home with your child.
Attendance: The school day runs from 8:30am to 3:10pm. School gates open at 8:15 am. Kindergarten children should be brought to the classroom when the 2nd bell rings at 8:30. All absences must be accompanied by an explanatory note upon the child’s return to school.
Birthdays: Student birthdays will be acknowledged at school. Any special arrangements made by parents are welcomed (within reason) provided I am consulted in advance. Birthday invitations should not be distributed at school unless all students in the class are invited.
Classes: Students in Kindergarten receive instruction from the classroom teacher in all areas of the curriculum, except for art, French and physical education, which are taught by specialized teachers.
Classroom Location: The primary school is located on the second floor. As you enter the school foyer, walk to the left of the atrium area in the center, go through the green double doors to the stairwell on your left and climb the stairs to the next level. This is the primary area. The Kindergarten room is across the hall.
Clothing: There is no school uniform or formal dress code. Students are, however, expected to dress appropriately for the weather and school program. Outdoor play is an important and compulsory part of the daily routine. During the rainy and winter months, please send your child to school with footwear and clothing suitable for outdoor play (i.e. a raincoat). On cold and wet days, students should bring an extra pair of “indoor” shoes to change into for classroom use. If your child makes use of his/her "just in case" underwear and/or pants while at school, please be sure to replenish your child's bag with a clean pair as soon as possible.
Correspondence: I will be in contact with parents regularly through notes and newsletters, which I will send home with your child. Please feel free to speak with me at any time, either at drop off or when collecting your child at the end of the day.
Drop Off/Pick Up: Parents are requested to drop off their children at the Kindergarten classroom each morning at 8:30. Children enter the classroom independent of their parents and prepare themselves for the day. Goodbyes are often difficult at Kindergarten age, especially during the first few days. A quick hug and goodbye at the door, rather than a long, drawn-out ordeal, will make separation much easier for your child.
Field Trips: There will be a number of school-sponsored field trips throughout the year. Parents/guardians are asked to sign a general permission slip allowing their child to leave the school campus on foot in order to participate in neighbourhood activities or projects relevant to a particular topic being studied. This permission also covers day trips in the region using public transportation or school buses. Parents/guardians will be informed in advance of all day trips planned. No further response will be needed unless the parent wishes to withhold permission for the specified activity. Students cannot participate in field trips unless they have this written general permission from their parent/guardian.
Homework: If appropriate, at some point during the school year, your child may begin “daily reading” at home. More information about “daily reading” will follow when needed.
Illness: If a student becomes unwell at school, parents will be contacted and requested to collect the student promptly. If your child is ill, please keep him/her at home until fully recovered.
Lateness: Any child arriving after 8:35am should report to the office and will be marked as tardy.
Library: Students have time built into their schedules to visit the library for book talks, buddy reading time, and to borrow a book. Library schedule details will follow in the next few weeks. The school promotes continued use of the library and reading during these critical years of schooling. Parents are also encouraged to visit the library after school with their child.
Lost Items: A systematic search is always a good first step to recover lost items. Students should check the lost and found in the lunchroom and on the shelf behind the glass windows of the secretariat and inform me when something is missing. Remember to label all of your child’s school items, including school bags, lunch boxes, sweaters, and jackets.
Lunch: The Kindergarten lunch period runs from 12:10 to 13:10. Kindergarten children eat lunch in the classroom, and are afterwards taken outside to play. Lunches requiring heating should be clearly marked. Please do not include soft drinks, cookies, cakes, sweets, crisps, chocolate or other ‘junk’ foods in your child’s lunch.
Parent Contact Details: After the first couple of weeks at school, you will be sent a list of the telephone contact details of all primary students. This list can be useful for arranging after-school gatherings and meeting other parents.
Parent Meetings: Parent communication is a critical part of the Kindergarten experience, and we would like to keep in contact regularly throughout the year. Parent meetings to discuss your child’s progress are held twice a year, in fall and in spring. Written reports are sent home after Christmas and at the end of the year. The precise dates will be indicated on the school calendar on the Website (under “Practical information”). Additional meetings can be scheduled at the request of the parents or the teacher if a more thorough discussion of a child’s progress appears useful. We will also be happy to chat with you over the telephone should you have a concern and be unable to come to the school due to other commitments.
Physical Education: The Kindergarten receives 4 P.E. sessions per week. No change of clothes is required at this level; however students must wear proper running shoes to participate. The P.E. days will be indicated upon the start of the year in September.
Reading: It is extremely important that you read to your child every day and attempt to engage him/her in conversation about what is being read. One of the most critical factors in helping young children develop into good readers is having excellent reading material read to them from a very young age. If you require suggestions for reading material, I would be happy to provide you with a list.
Children should be taught to take care of books, e.g. turning pages, transportation to and from school, keeping books away from food, drinks, younger siblings and pets. For protection, correspondence and books will be sent home in the plastic folder.
Show and Tell: Toward the end of September, Kindergarten students will be invited to bring one item from home to share with the class on the designated day of the week. The item will be used in correspondence with our weekly letter of the alphabet. More details will follow at a later date.
Snack Break: The Kindergarten has a snack break from 10:20 to 10:40 daily, prior to an outdoor recess. Please ensure your child has a separate snack packed for this time, preferably a fruit or prepared vegetable. Once again, ‘junk’ foods are not permitted.
Supplies: The Kindergarten is always looking for supplies to use in our classroom. Please save and send to school all of your fabric scraps and wool, colourful magazines and adverts, empty egg cartons, boxes, paper towel rolls, feathers, cones, gift wrapping and ribbon, plastic containers, and any other interesting art items.
We are also in the process of accumulating some dress-up clothes. If you have any old, clean and interesting clothing or fabric, appropriate for dress-up, please send it to school with your child. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Welcome Evening: On Tuesday, September 19th at 19:00 a Welcome Evening will be held at the school.