Woodlawn Early Years School
December 2022 Newsletter
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPALS
Our grade 3 and 4 students are busy practicing and getting ready for our first in person Christmas Concert in 3 years! The performances will take place on Dec. 13 at 2:00 and 7:00 at the Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church. We hope to see you all there!
Our grade 4 citizenship team helped to organize the collection of toys for Steinbach's Community Christmas. The Woodlawn community collected many toys. Thank you for your generosity and support.
The last day of school before the Christmas break is December 21. We hope you all have a festive and safe holiday.
Karen Fraser and Tara Reimer
MESSAGE FROM THE SCHOOL COUNSELLORS
December is here and most of us are likely starting to recognize the familiar feelings in our body of the added stress this season can bring. Our wish for you is that you take time to prioritize what is most important to you and your kids, and let go of pressures that you recognize really are not important. The best gift any of us can give our children is our calm, peaceful presence and attention. Breathe, be kind to yourself, and enjoy as much as you can.
Happy Holidays!
Sandy Caners and Courtney Gangloff
School Counsellors
NUMERACY NEWS
1 to 1 Counting: If your child is ready to work on counting and needs some practice making sure they only count one thing at a time, there are many board games that help work on this skills. Games like Trouble, Sorry, Snakes & Ladders are great for this. Really, any board game where you need to move a piece helps children learn to go one space at a time.
Subitizing (recognizing quantities without counting): Any board game that has dice is a great way to work on this skill. Instead of counting each dot on the dice, children can learn what each dot pattern looks like.
Adding/Counting On: Games that have multiple dice is a good way for children to learn to count on or use basic addition. If they recognize 6 already, they can just count on the quantity of the second dice. They can also add the numbers.
Subtracting: We have lots of daily tasks and play that involve adding, but not as much with subtracting. One of the ways you can help work on subtraction is by using time. Children will often ask "how much longer until ..." or "how many more days until...". This is a great opportunity to show how we compare to see how much longer or how we count back.
Logic: Problem solving is so much more than "There were 8 apples and I ate 4 apples. How many are left". Often we think problem solving has to be word problems. There are many more types of problems including logic problems. There are some games like Connect 4, MasterMind, Rush Hour, or even Tic Tac Toe, which involve some logic or strategy. These are great games to work on having your child build their critical thinking or logic skills.
We hope that gives you some great ideas!
INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES
We have been lucky enough to have Jason Henry and Darcy Henry write and teach some of our students a song for the Christmas concert. They’ve been practicing and preparing to perform this song for you on December 13th at the Christmas concert! Jason and Darcy also spent time with some classes answering questions about the big drum and the hand drum. Here’s a little video of Woodlawn students singing Old MacDonald powwow style. Isn’t that awesome?!
Did you know? … that Indigenous peoples have traditionally celebrated the winter solstice at this time of year. Many still practice winter solstice traditions. December 21st is the first day of winter. It is also the Winter Solstice; the shortest day and longest night of the year. The long dark days are when food that has been harvested and stored is brought out and shared amongst families as they feast and celebrate. The Winter Solstice is marked as a season of reflection, rebirth, and renewal, as the natural world makes a gradual return to the light of Summer. Thomas King wrote a book called A Coyote Solstice Tale that’s available through Scholastic book orders or other places online if you want a solstice book to read with your children over the holidays.
REPORT CARDS
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS
GRADE 3 AND 4 CHRISTMAS CONCERT
We are extremely excited to be having a Holiday Concert this year with the Grade 3, 3/4 and 4 classes! The students have been working hard to learn their songs and can’t wait for family and loved ones to come and watch them perform.
Important information about the concert:
When: Tuesday December 13th
Time: A show at 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Where: The Emmanuel Evangelical Free Church (360 McKenzie Ave, Steinbach)
Please bring your kids back to the church at 6:40 for the evening show.
Dress code for the performances is either black bottoms and straight red or green shirt (by turning a shirt inside or backwards you can avoid having the logo or picture on the front) OR if you have a special dress or dress clothes you want to wear that also will work!
We cannot wait to have you all take in the joy of the Holidays with us!
Miss Jessica Heier
CHRISTMAS GOODIES!!
Hanover Parent and Child Community Program
We are so excited to be back at Woodlawn School! We are a parent child play-based program that runs Monday mornings from 9:15 to 11:45 and Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 to 3:30. Children will have the opportunity to play, learn, create, sing, and develop skills to prepare them for kindergarten.
All children of all ages (birth to 5 years) are welcome to attend. You do not need to attend this school to attend our program, everyone is welcome. Parents must remain at the program with their child, will be able to visit with other parents and participate in activities with their children. Programming is free and snacks will be provided. Families can attend once or twice a week or drop by when able. We can hardly wait to meet you!
HOME TIME ARRANGEMENTS
Send a message on Seesaw if home time arrangements are different from your normal routine, whether your child is going home with someone else or being picked up at the end of the day.
If you must phone the school regarding a change in home time arrangements please call before 2:45.
If you are picking your child up for an appointment during the school day please sign your child out at the office and the secretary will call your child to meet you at the office. It is difficult to locate students on the playground during the activity breaks and we ask that if you must pick up your child during the school day you avoid the activity break times.
TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION
Go to the drop down menu of Services where you can choose:
1. School Bus Delay Bulletins where any bus that is late is posted with the approximate delay.
2. Steinbach Urban Bus Routes - Scroll down to select Woodlawn School and then select your bus number.
Thank you for checking these options before calling the Hanover School Division Transportation Department with your questions regarding bus delays and Steinbach urban bus routes times and maps. Any questions for transportation please call 204-320-2347.
TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
Hanover School Division is actively looking for new Spare Bus Drivers. This is a great casual part time job where you control the amount you want to work. Hanover School Division Transportation Department provides all of the training you need to be a successful bus driver. If you are interested please email rwarkentin@hsd.ca for more information.
LET'S KEEP WARM
As we all know the weather in Manitoba can change from one moment to the next. Please send your children dressed to deal with the elements. Good boots, mittens,and a hat added to ski pants and a parka makes all the difference between a child enjoying the outdoors or tolerating it. Please label all your child's outwear items as our young students often lose or forget items in various places!
Students are encouraged to go out for recess because it is important to get some fresh air during the day. Remember germs, not cold air, cause illness.
Weather and grounds permitting, all students play outdoors until 8:53 in the morning. Our cold weather policy is to keep students inside at recess when the wind chill factor is –30 or greater. Outside recess times will be shortened if the wind chill is between –25 and –29 Celsius.
SCHOOL CLOSURE NOTIFICATIONS
When extreme weather or road conditions call for a school closure you will receive a recorded phone call from Superintendent Shelley Amos beginning at 6:45 am. This additional communication effort is to help ensure that all students will be aware of school closures and no students will find themselves in an unsafe situation where they may be facing extreme weather unnecessarily. When school is cancelled due to weather and road conditions there are no staff members at the school. If your phone number has changed since the beginning of the school year please call the office at 204-326-6110 to update your information.
Schools will be closed due to extreme cold when the temperatures in most locations in the division are –35 degrees Celsius or colder OR is experiencing a wind chill of -45 degrees Celsius or colder. Click here for more information.
CLOTHING REQUEST
2022-2023 ONLINE KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION - JANUARY 6
About Us
Email: woodlawn@hsd.ca
Website: www.woodlawn.hsd.ca
Location: 411 Henry St, Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 0R1
Phone: 204-326-6110
Twitter: @WoodlawnHSD