St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School
95 Waller Street, Whitby, Ontario, L1R 1Z7
Phone (905) 721-2460, Fax (905) 721-1265
Bienvenue en troisième année!
INTRODUCTION
Bonjour! Je m’appelle Madame Del Rosso. I have the pleasure of being your child’s teacher this year. This year is going to be exciting, academically enriching, and full of opportunities to celebrate and enjoy our classroom and school community. This newsletter will provide you with some important information about your child’s school year and will give you a sense of what to expect in the months ahead.
OUR PARTNERSHIP IN THE EDUCATION OF YOUR CHILD
You are your child’s greatest teacher and my greatest ally in his or her academic success. Although you may not know the French language yourselves, I encourage you to remain involved and interested in your child’s education. By maintaining an awareness of what is occurring in our classroom, you will be able to discuss and celebrate your child’s learning. I encourage you to volunteer whenever possible. In order to do so, you will require an up-to-date criminal record check. There is a form at the office to use to receive a volunteer’s discount on the check.
PARENT/TEACHER COMMUNICATION
I look forward to communicating with you through the following methods:
Website and email: my classroom webpage is accessible from our school’s Web site. Go to stmark.dcdsb.ca, and select Our School -> Class Webpages -> Del Rosso, C. Teacher’s Page. You can quickly review daily agenda items, access our class calendars and newsletters, scan upcoming events, print off forms (trip notes, etc.) or read about what is happening in the class. If you would like to communicate through email, please note that I only check my email periodically throughout the day, so urgent requests (letting your child know to take /not take the bus, schedule changes, etc), should be done through the agenda and the office.
Agenda - This is my primary means of communication regarding homework, due dates, and any other important information. Please check the clear pocket in the front of your child’s agenda for notes regarding important information. If you wish to leave me a message please write it in the daily section of the agenda and I will do the same.
Weekly Homework – Parents often ask about homework expectations in Grade 3. Throughout the year, I will send your child home with books to read, extra practice or enrichment activities, or work that simply did not get completed during the allotted time at school. If I send something home, I believe the practice will benefit your child, and hope that you will support your child in developing good study habits. I will not use any assignment completed at home toward the grades on your child’s report card. However, as every hockey mom or dance dad knows, practice makes perfect. That being said, I understand that we all lead busy lives, and I encourage you to do things when they make sense for your family. If your child hasn’t finished their class work, and there is no time that evening to complete it, simply send it back and we’ll try to find some time to do it the next day. Any extra practice does not have to be returned, although I am happy to review it if you do return it.
If you would like to know what skills to focus on at home, simple and fun is best. Read in both English and French with your child. We are going to be starting a borrow-a-book program right away, and later I`ll be asking students to formulate reading responses to further their reading comprehension skills. In addition, any time that you spend practicing math skills including timestables to 10 and addition/subtraction facts to 20 is time well spent. In my experiences tutoring older children, a common factor that I’ve seen in struggling students is the inability to automatically recall simple basic math facts. This doesn’t have to be an onerous task – playing games like Yahtzee, or Black Jack together, or finding an APP on the iPad or computer can make it fun to practice these essential skills.
Monthly Newsletter – This year, newsletters and calendars will be posted on my Website (print copies will be available by request only). Please read them carefully, as it will keep you up to date on what we have been learning in class and will inform you of any upcoming activities including library days.
Phone calls and Scheduled Meetings – My prep time is between 12:25-1:25 each day, so this is the best time to call if you need to reach me. You can also call and leave a message on voicemail (905)721-2460 (extension 42041) and I will return your call as soon as possible. If you would like to meet with me to discuss your child’s progress, please contact me and we can set up a mutually convenient time for a conference.
Report Cards and Conferences - Parent-Teacher conferences will be scheduled in late November/early December to discuss your child’s school experience. A progress report will be issued in November. A first report card will be sent home in February and a second report card in June.
CLASSROOM SUPPLIES In our classroom we are building a sense of community and share school supplies, but these supplies are limited. Other supplies that we would appreciate are:
Indoor shoes
Kleenex boxes
A set of pencil crayons
A set of index cards (your child will use them to write their multiplication table flash cards, and in guided reading to write down words that they need to practice reading).
A glue stick
Extra pencils
Dry erase markers (2 or more would be great)
Pochette (zippered sleeve to hold agenda, notes and money). If you already have a pochette from Grade One, this is a great way to keep things from getting lost in the backpack. If your child doesn’t have a pochette, you can purchase them at Dollarama, or I would be happy to purchase one for your child ( I think they cost $3.00) and you can repay me later.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- We have allergies in our school, so please ensure that your child’s food is nut-free. The children have two snack times every school day before or after each recess. There is a morning recess from 10:25 am to 10:40 am and an afternoon recess from 2:10 pm to 2:25 pm. Please send in two small, nutritious nut-free snacks along with their lunches.
- Please send $8 to cover the cost of your child’s agenda. Please read the Pledge of Academic Honesty (p.6) and Code of Conduct sections and sign the Confirmation of Review (p.14).
- School begins at 9:00 am and ends at 3:30 pm.
- lunch time is from 11:45 am to 12:45pm. The students will go out for recess for 40 minutes, then return inside to eat their lunch.
- Our school follows a Day 1 to 5 schedule and all subject times vary accordingly. We begin with Day 2 on Tuesday, September 5th. All Days will be indicated on the monthly calendar.
- Physical education will take place on Day 3. Please ensure that children are dressed to move freely.
BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays are very special occasions for children and I would like to acknowledge them. When it is your son/daughter’s birthday, you are welcome to send in something to share with the class if you wish. Food is not always necessary. Consider instead something small such as stickers, pencils, etc. or dedicate a French book to our classroom or school library to celebrate your child’s birthday. If you have invitations to send, please let me know by leaving a note in the agenda, and I will do my best to distribute them discreetly.
PHYS.ED./ARTS Mme. Dupont a will be seeing the students daily and Mme Campillo will see the students once a week. They will teach Physical Education, Health and Visual Art.
DISMISSAL: bus bell 3:25 p.m. final bell 3:30 p.m. Students who are bused go to the gym to line up and wait for their bus.
Students who are walking will meet their parent/guardian outside the back doors near our classroom in the primary schoolyard.
Students who are using Kiss ‘n Ride will meet their parent/guardian at the front of the school to wait for their ride. Please note students must wait until busses depart before being picked up.
Students who are going to daycare will be lead down to daycare room for afterschool care.
PARENT VOLUNTEERS If you are able to help out in the classroom on a weekly basis, please send a note in your child’s agenda. Merci! If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom and on class trips, you must submit a police check the office. Stop in at the office to pick up a form for a discounted school rate.
IMPORTANT DATES
Tuesday, September 12- Curriculum Night 5:30 (Pizza, followed by classroom visits).
Wednesday, September 13- Pizza lunch Wednesdays begin
Wednesday, September 13- School Mass 9:30 am in the gym
September 18-22 Safe Schools Week September 29 – Orange shirt day
Thank You/ Merci,
Mme. Del Rosso (Room 111)