Woodlawn Early Years School

January 2020 Newsletter

Principal's Message

Principal's Message

Welcome Back! I hope you all had a great holiday and were able to find time to relax and have fun with friends and family.

As a teacher, January is always one of my favourite months. After taking time to relax and recharge during the Christmas break, I am ready to get back to work and face new challenges with energy and excitement. The same thing happens in our classrooms. Teachers and students come back recharged and ready to get back to work.

In addition to academics, social and emotional learning (SEL) is very important for all students and it is something our staff continues to learn about to better support our young students. We continue to work with the principles of Restitution. These principles have guided our beliefs about behaviour and we see behaviour as communication of needs. We believe that everyone makes mistakes and that with restitution, mistakes can be repaired. Owning our mistakes and fixing them helps to protect our relationships with others.

As a staff we have been learning about self-regulation. We recognize that all of us need to be regulated before we are able to learn. Teachers are learning how to teach their students different strategies for self-regulation. Some examples include taking deep breaths, going for a quick walk, and getting a drink of water. Some times we have big feelings and we really become dysregulated. We refer to this as "flipping your lid". This can happen to all of us, adults and children. As adults we have learned how to manage our big feelings in appropriate ways. Our kids need help learning how to manage these big feelings and they need support from the adults in their lives to help them during these moments. This video was shared with all of our students earlier in the year. I encourage you to watch it and talk to your children about "flipping your lid". If you would like more information about self-regulation I encourage you to check out the work of Dr. Stuart Shanker at the Mehrit Centre.

Respectfully,

Karen Fraser

Principal's Message
Vice Principal's Message

Vice Principal's Message

Happy New Year! I hope you all had time to relax and spend some quality time with friends and family. I enjoyed spending lots of time catching up with my family and getting outside as much as I could. I was reminded how important it is to slow down when you can and take time to enjoy the present.


January at school is a time when we welcome back our staff and students and continue on our learning journeys together. Our teachers often use time to review classroom beliefs and expectations. These classroom beliefs help students learn how to interact in a way that their needs and the needs of everyone else are met. We want our students to feel safe, valued, and appreciated every day!


Tara Reimer

Vice Principal's Message
2020-2021 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

2020-2021 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Online Registration for Kindergarten


Kindergarten registration for the 2020-21 school year will open on January 6, 2020. To be eligible, Children must be five years of age on or before December 31, 2020. The registration process will take place online at www.HSD.ca.

If you do not have access to the Internet, please visit the school office and we can assist you in completing the registration on a school computer. Parents/Guardians are encouraged to register their children soon after registration opens in January. Early registration will assist us in preparation and planning for the upcoming school year. Registering before March 1, 2020, will ensure there is sufficient time for school appointments and provide parents/guardians with the opportunity to participate in Kindergarten orientation activities. Visit www.HSD.ca for registration instructions.

2020-2021 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Eastman Immigrant Services Homework Club

Eastman Immigrant Services offers a Homework Club every Monday from 4 - 6 pm at the Pat Porter Active Living Centre (10 Chrysler Gate). This is intended for newcomer families but is also open to any students. They have retired teachers that will help the kids with any homework and/or school projects. Please contact Rene Schulz, Settlement Worker in Schools, at Eastman Immigrant Services. Please call 204-436-6609 if you have any questions.

BUCKET FILLING TRIPS TO FLIPPERS GYMNASTICS

Our students have been busy being bucket fillers since the beginning of the year. Our grade 1-4 students have the chance of earning a bucket filling slip when an adult catches them caring, connecting, or contributing. They are quite proud when they come to drop off their slip in the buckets.


As a way of recognizing our students for their hard work and dedication to being bucket fillers, Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Reimer draw names some Fridays where students have the chance to spend an activity break playing board games in the library (FUN FRIDAYS). In addition to this, each student in grade 1-4 will have the chance to come on one of our field trips with Mrs. Fraser and Mrs. Reimer to Flippers Gymnastics. We will be going once a month starting in January.

Santa's Little Helper Fundraiser

Thank you to all the Woodlawn students and families who participated in our Santa's Little Helper Fundraiser. We raised $1481. This money will go towards special events including our Flippers trips this year.
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS - TOY DRIVE

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS - TOY DRIVE

Thank you to Woodlawn students for making our toy drive a HUGE success! We collected 260 toys for Southeast Helping Hands! Many children in Steinbach and area will have had a brighter Christmas because of you!

Thank you to parents and community members who generously donated $653.25 to Steinbach Community Outreach at our Christmas Concert.

1C & 1JC would like to thank Woodlawn students, staff and parents for their support with our Gingerbread Bake Sale. With your help, we raised $516.30 to support Steinbach Community Outreach. With this money we were able to provide warm clothes and food for people in our own community who are without these basic needs.
COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS - TOY DRIVE

Outdoor Play in Winter

As also mentioned in our December newsletter:


There are many benefits for our young students to get outdoor breaks during the school day, even in the winter months. Many of us grew up being told that the cold weather makes us sick. That is simply not true! Illnesses like the cold and the flu are caused by viruses, not cold weather. In fact research states that spending time outside in the winter months actually improves our immune systems and gives us an escape from all of the germs and bacteria that are huddled up indoors. Outdoor recess time provides children with a brain break and helps them get their bodies ready for more learning. Spending time outdoors in the winter provides us with vitamin D which is essential for children’s physical well being and also their emotional well being. Vitamin D has been found to change serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a hormone that is important in regulating mood (Dennison, 2008). In other words, spending time outside may help children manage their emotions and improve their self-regulation.


Making sure that your children have the proper clothing for outdoor play will help them enjoy the time they spend outside at recess. Dressing in layers is always a great idea in our Manitoba climate!


In addition, our belief at school is that generally, if children are too sick to go outside, they are also too sick to be at school. We will send all children out for all applicable recesses.

Only in some exceptional circumstances will students be permitted to stay inside. If you feel this is the case for your child, please contact your child's teacher to discuss if staying inside is an appropriate option.

COLD WEATHER PROTOCOL

If local conditions indicate that with the wind-chill the temperature is -30 or colder we have indoor recess. When temperatures with wind-chill range between -25 to -30 we normally have a shortened outdoor recess during the activity block. Weather and grounds permitting, all students play outdoors until 8:53 in the morning.


As we all know the weather in Manitoba can change from one moment to the next. The main reasons students find winter outdoor recesses too cold is that they do not dress warmly enough or they do not get active enough. 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!
SCHOOL CLOSURE NOTIFICATIONS

SCHOOL CLOSURE NOTIFICATIONS

When extreme weather or road conditions call for a school closure you will receive a recorded phone call from Superintendent Randy Dueck 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 degree Celsius or colder with –45 degree Celsius or colder wind-chill.
SCHOOL CLOSURE NOTIFICATIONS
ARCTIC ADVENTURE BOOK FAIR

ARCTIC ADVENTURE BOOK FAIR


BOOK FAIR HOURS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5

8:30-8:55

11:05-11:55 - (Kindergarten, Grade 1 & Grade 2)

1:10-2:00 - (Grade 3 & 4)

3:45-6:30** Open late only on Wednesday

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6

8:30-8:55

11:05-11:55 - (Kindergarten, Grade 1 & Grade 2)

1:10-2:00 - (Grade 3 & 4)

3:45-4:30

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7

8:30 8:55

11:05-11:55 - (Kindergarten, Grade 1 & Grade 2)

1:10-2:00 - (Grade 3 & 4)

3:45-4:30

Students will be browsing Monday, February 3 and Tuesday, February 4, 2020.


Check out the preview flyer going home soon for a taste of what will be at the fair. Don’t forget to bring your ballot in (from the back of the flyer) when you visit the book fair with your child(ren).

ARCTIC ADVENTURE BOOK FAIR

DAILY ROUTINE

8:53 am Bell Indicating Student Entry Inside the Building

9:00 am - 9:05 am Homeroom Time or Religious Exercises (in designated area)

9:05 am School Begins: O' Canada and Announcements / Attendance

9:05 am - 11:05 am Learning Block 1

11:05 am - 11:30 am Kindergarten Activity BreakGr. 1-4 Nutrition Break

11:30 am - 11:55 am Kindergarten Nutrition BreakGr. 1-4 Activity Break

11:55 am - 1:10 pm Attendance / Learning Block 2

1:10 pm - 1:35 pm Kindergarten Activity BreakGr. 1-4 Nutrition Break

1:35 pm - 2:00 pm Kindergarten Nutrition BreakGr. 1-4 Activity Break

2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Attendance / Learning Block 3

3:30 pm - 3:40 pm Students Proceed to Homeroom

3:45 pm Dismissal of All Students


If you need to pick up your child during the school day please report to the office to sign out your child and the secretaries will call your child to the office. It is very difficult to find students outside during the activity breaks so we ask that if you must pick up your child you do so before or after the activity breaks.
PARKING REMINDERS

PARKING REMINDERS

To ensure the safety of our students and due to the congestion of our staff parking lots and bus loop areas, parents are asked not to enter those areas between 8:15 - 4:30. Also note there is no public parking available at Entrance D (Barkman St.) at any time. All parking is reserved for school staff.
If you are dropping off or picking up your child, please park on Henry Street or on the church parking lot across from the school. When using the church parking lot please do not block entrances or exits. For the safety of your child, we request that you escort your child across Henry Street. For students’ safety, please avoid parking along Barkman Street across from the school during 8:30 - 9:00 am and 3:30 - 4:00 pm.
Please do not park in the parking lot of the Envision home on Penner Street. That is a private residence and your vehicle may be towed.

Thank you for choosing safety over convenience for the sake of all our children.

PARKING REMINDERS
IMPORTANT DATES

IMPORTANT DATES


Monday, January 6 - First Day Back

Friday, January 31 - Admin/PD Day - No classes

Mon-Fri, February 3-7 - Book Fair

Friday, February 14 - Winter Fun Day

Monday, February 17 - Louis Riel Day – No Classes

Friday, February 21 - PD Day No Classes

Friday, March 13 - Admin. Day – No Classes

Friday. March 20 - Report Cards Issued

Mon-Fri, March 23-27 - Wacky Week

Tuesday, March 24 - Student Led Conferences

Friday, March 27 -Community Pancake Breakfast

Friday, March 27 - Last day of school before Spring Break

Monday, April 6 - First day back at school after Spring Break

Friday, April 10 - Good Friday – No Classes

Monday, April 13 - Admin/PD Day – No Classes

Tuesday. April 28 - Board/PAC Liaison Meeting

Tuesday, May 5 -Aft/Eve Spring Concert—Grade 1

Thursday, May 7 - Aft/Evg Spring Concert- Grade 2

Thursday, May 14 - Grade 5 Orientation Evenings at CMS and SMS

Monday, May 18 - Victoria Day – No Classes

Friday, May 22 - Volunteer Appreciation Event

Friday, June 26 - School Picnic – Last Day of Classes (Report Cards Issued)

Mon & Tue, June 29 & 30 - Admin Day

IMPORTANT DATES
About Us

About Us

411 Henry St, Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 0R1 woodlawn@hsd.ca 204-326-6110 woodlawn.hsd.ca