Dear Parents/Guardians,

September 8 , 2011

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Bonjour/Hello! Welcome ! We hope you and your family enjoyed a wonderful and healthy summer. We want to let you know how excited we are to be teaching your children this year. We have put together some useful information, although lengthy, we are hoping you will find it helpful. Adjusting to Grade 1 The first term in grade one French Immersion is going to be a new and challenging experience for both you and your child. For some children it can also create some frustration. Your child may feel that he or she does not understand or know whats going on. Each child will cope with their frustrations differently. Reassure and encourage your child: ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ask if he or she is unsure or needs assistance listen and observe attentively encourage your child to always do his or her best remind your child that making mistakes is OK and a part of learning remind your child to always respect others talk about cooperation encourage your child to actively participate encourage your child to follow school and classroom rules and routines

Ask your child about his or her day, discuss your childs favourite parts of the day, discuss also the times of the day where he or she may have been anxious or worried. Please do not hesitate to share with us any anxieties or concerns your child may be having, this enables us to better understand and to help with a smoother more enjoyable transition.

Idea: Designate a file or binder for school information. This allows you to keep important information accessible to refer back to if need be.

Staff Principal Mme de Villers Vice Principal Mr. Rousell Administrative Assistants Mme Symons and Mrs. Copithorne SERT (Special Education Resource Teacher) - Mme Clark Custodians - Mr. Forrest, Mr. Herell and Mrs. Plamondon

School Hours Teachers will be on duty in the school yard at 7:50 a.m. so please do not drop off your child any earlier as they will not be supervised. Entry - 8:00 a.m. Recess - 10:05 - 10:20 a.m. Lunch - 10:50 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Recess - 1:15 - 1:25 p.m. Dismissal - 2:35 p.m.

Book orders
Scholastic book clubs offers books at great prices. Each month you will receive order forms for the books. Books are terrific rewards for accomplishments. They make great gifts for birthdays or holidays. This is also great way to build up a French library at home. Please remember cheques only for book orders made payable to Scholastic. Please do not send in cash.

Lunches
Please send in nutritious and litterless lunches by sending in reusable containers (no glass containers please). Healthy foods will provide energy to go through the school day as well as to help build healthy eating habits. High sugar foods are highly discouraged as they tend to interfere with positive learning and listening skills. Students have the opportunity to eat a snack in the morning and a snack again in the afternoon. Please be advised we are a peanut-alert school so no nut products can be sent to school. In room 111 we also have students with allergies to eggs, celery and seafood. Please do not send these foods to school with your child. Thank you in advance for your consideration concerning allergies in our classroom. Please remember to pack a spoon or fork and send to any hot foods in a thermos as the school cannot microwave lunches. Students are also encouraged to bring a spill proof water container for during the day. Please label all containers.

Birthdays
As we are encouraging healthy eating and there are food allergies at the school, please do not send in treats for the class. If you would like to send something in, a special book for our classroom library or non-food items (stickers, erasers, pencils, etc.) would be greatly appreciated.

Shoes
Each student is required to have a pair of indoor running shoes at school. Crocs, sandals, slippers and dress shoes do not work well for indoor shoes as they will be worn in the classroom as well as be used during gym classes. If your child has not yet mastered the art of tying his/her shoes please practise at home and send shoes with velcro or alternative closing for the time being.

Clothing
It is recommended that each student have a complete change of clothing. You never know when a drink may get spilled, clothes get wet or muddy at recess or we do not quite make it to the bathroom. Please put your childs change of clothes in a plastic grocery bag or ziplock bag, tied up and labelled with their name. This bag can be left in your childs backpack in case of an emergency.

Back-packs
Students should bring a back pack daily to help ensure the safe transportation of their lunches, library books, duotangs etc.

Money
All money should be sent to school in a sealed envelope or baggie labelled with your childs name, our room # and the purpose of the money. Cheques are made payable to Julie Payette Public School.

Supplies
The school supplies everything your child needs for the classroom but if your child would like to bring their own supplies to keep at his or her desk, here are suggestions of commonly used items: - pencils - glue sticks - white vinyl erasers - markers - pencil sharpener with a secure lid - pencil crayons

To help prevent any ownership difficulties please label everything with your childs name or initial on it (i.e. each pencil/marker, each glue stick, pencil box...).

Volunteer
We would very much appreciate a few parent volunteers to help in the classroom throughout the year. Please let us know if you are available at any time during the week to assist us in the classroom. You will need a criminal reference check in order to volunteer in the school.

Les Pochettes
To help facilitate home and school communication, each child will receive a fabric zip up bag (pochette). These bags will be sent home every day and should be returned the following day with any notes, money, books, etc. To cover the cost of these bags, please send in $1.50. If you need to visit the school for any reason, you must report to the office upon arrival. The office staff will be happy to help you. Please do not come to the classroom as this disrupts the learning environment. If you know your child is going to be away or will be picked up for an appointment, please let us know ahead of time so we can have them prepared. We are looking forward to a great year working with you and your child! Sincerely, The Grade One Team: Mme Allin, Mme Clark, Mme Gibb, Mlle Goss, Mme Jarvis et Mme Leeman