à la maternelle
2019-2020
Welcome to Kindergarten at École John McCrae. We hope we can help make your
child’s transition to life at school as smooth as possible. Welcome back to our
returning students. We’re looking forward to another year together!
This booklet has been compiled to provide you with information about our classroom
routines and the Kindergarten program. Please keep it for future reference.
To keep up to date with classroom information, please visit to our class site:
madamemjohnson.weebly.com. Stay tuned for information about School Messenger.
Payments for any school related items (e.g., field trips, milk orders) can be made
online through the School Cash Online program (see link at the bottom of the
school’s webpage). We prefer online payments. If you choose to send in cash or
cheques, please send the payment to school in a labeled envelope (child’s name
and purpose of payment).
Water Bottles
Each day your child should bring a labeled refillable water bottle to school.
Milk/Pizza
Through the school’s milk program, you can pre-order white or
chocolate milk, or juice (available daily or on the days of your
choosing). There is also a weekly pizza program. Information
and order forms will be sent home in the coming weeks.
Attendance &Transportation
If there is a change in your child’s arrangements for after school, please advise
us with a note in your child’s “sac de communication”. If changes occur during
the day, please call the office. Before allowing a change to the normal
routine, we need to receive notification / parental permission.
Before School
Beginning at 8:20, staff supervise the arrival of the buses and the students in
the Kindergarten yard. Children should not be dropped off prior to 8:20.
Please ensure your child arrives at school promptly by 8:35. We begin the
day outside and our morning routines are an important way to learn the French
language. During inclement weather (e.g. pouring rain, extreme cold) a bell
may ring early (before 8:35) to allow students inside.
After School
At the end of the day, teachers and ECEs supervise the dismissal of the
students: to their bus lines, after school care, and for pick-up in the
Kindergarten yard. If you are picking up your child, please arrive by the 3:05
dismissal bell. If late, you will need to collect your child from the main office.
Bus Students
Older students are our school bus patrollers. These students take the children
to and from the buses. Please ensure your child’s bus tag is securely
attached to their backpack as this information is extremely important.
School Supplies
Items to send to school Items that will
on a daily basis remain at school
- A lunch bag and lunch containers that - 1 pair Velcro running shoes (to be used as
your child can open inside shoes and for gym)
- A reusable labeled water bottle - A FULL change of labeled clothing in a
- Clothing suitable for the weather that labeled Ziploc bag (shirt, pants, socks,
day (sun hat, raincoat, etc.) underwear for accidents / spills)
- A backpack (large enough to hold the - A VERY SMALL labeled blanket or towel
lunch box, water bottle, “sac de for quiet time (optional)
communication” and a library book) - A photo of your family / families.
Family photo: If you sent one last year, you don’t need to send another. You can also
email a photo: margie.johnson@ugdsb.on.ca.
Clothing
Please encourage your child to wear comfortable, easy-care clothing. We run an active
kindergarten program involving experimentation, paint, outdoor play, etc. Choose
clothing and footwear that your child can put on and remove independently (please no
laces unless they can tie them themselves!). Please LABEL everything (especially
shoes, coats, hats, lunch boxes, containers, water bottles).
These frames are embedded in a play-based and inquiry approach to learning. This
is a two-year program, and our class is composed of both Year 1 and Year 2
Kindergarten students. To view the full Kindergarten Curriculum, Google “Ontario
Kindergarten Document”, click Kindergarten - edu.gov.on.ca, and select The
Kindergarten Program, 2016.
We follow a 5-day cycle (rotation of 5 cycle days). The calendar of the 5-day cycle is
available on our class website and the Upper Grand District school board’s website.
Our class visits both the library and the gym once per cycle. Two mornings a week,
from 8:35-10:15, another teacher, Mme Plawiuk, will work with our class with a focus
on mathematics. In our Immersion program, French is used throughout the day. The
children will learn French through routines, activities, and songs, as well as with
gestures from the AIM language learning method. Outdoor learning is an important
part of our program and we often spend time exploring our beautiful natural
surroundings (including the river and forests).
Our class is a busy place with 24 students. We sometimes separate the class into 2
groups so that the children can engage with one another in a smaller group setting.