Parkside Centennial Elementary

Division 19 Classroom Guide

2019-2020

Welcome to Division 19! We are looking forward to a fun and exciting

year with your child and are eager to get to know each of the families
from our class. We hope this manual will help you have a better
understanding of what to expect in our class this year and how we can
keep in regular communication with one another.

Teachers

This year your child will have two classroom teachers. Mrs. Colledge will be in the
classroom on Monday and Wednesday and Mrs. Doiron will be with the students
on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. The best way to contact us is via email. We
appreciate you addressing both of us in your emails to help us stay better
informed. You can also call the school office or send us a note in your child's take
home folder.

Mrs. Doiron: tdoiron@sd35.bc.ca

Mrs. Colledge: lcolledge@sd35.bc.ca
School Phone: 604-856-7755
 Communication
Take Home Folder
Included as part of your child’s school supplies, your child will have a folder that
will be sent home with them daily. We will use this folder to send home the latest
notices, home assignments and other materials. We will be checking these folders
on a daily basis; therefore, this folder is also a welcomed place for you to send
notes or reminders for us.

Monthly Calendars & Newsletter

To keep you informed about upcoming classroom events and learning themes we
will be sending home a monthly class newsletter and calendar. Please keep this
handy, as it will also be your way of keeping track of your child’s special helper and
show and tell days.

Class Website
You can access our class website at doironcolledge.weebly.com
Here, you can find a digital version of many of the important documents that are
sent home including: our monthly newsletters and calendars, the Kindergarten
Handbook, our show at tell theme of the month, literacy bag, poetry book, home
reading expectations and more.

Remind App
Life is busy and we’d like to simplify things as much as possible. In order to aid in
this way, we plan on sending out regular reminders and updates using the Remind
App, we strongly encourage you to download the app to help keep you in the loop.
 https://www.remind.com/join/tdoiro  

School Newsletter
In addition to our classroom newsletter, you will also be receiving a school
newsletter. This will be sent to you via email and will keep you informed about
school wide activities and other community information.
 Kindergarten Handbook

When you arrived with your child on the first day of school, you should have
received a Parkside Centennial Elementary Kindergarten Handbook. Please review
the content of this document and keep it close at hand as it will answer many of
your questions regarding the expectations for all kindergarten students in our
school. It provides detailed information on the following areas:

Gradual Entry School supplies

Intake Meetings School attire
Student drop-off and pick up Fostering independence
Attendance Money
Changes in contact information Toys/Technology
Snacks/lunch

 You will find a digital copy of this document on our class

website: doironcolledge.weebly.com

Volunteers

Parent volunteers are a valuable and much appreciated part of our

kindergarten program. Our desire is to have a rotation of
volunteers come into the classroom for a couple of hours one or two days a
week to assist small groups of children with a classroom activity or craft. Any
additional time would be spent helping out with odd jobs such as craft preparation,
literacy bag sorting, or scrapbooks.
Volunteers will also be called upon throughout the year to help with special days,
such as Halloween, Christmas, or 100’s day.
We will be going on several field trips and will be looking for adults to accompany
the class and help with added supervision on these special days.
 Special Helper/ Show and Tell
Approximately once a month, your child will have a turn to be the “Special
Helper”. On this day, they will lead calendar activities, take the lead in many
special classroom duties and have a chance to present their show and tell. A very
important and fun day! Monthly calendars will indicate our special helper/show
and tell schedule. This will be sent home just prior to the beginning of each
month.
Show and tell time promotes listening and speaking skills and helps children to
build confidence. In our class, we like to select a theme for our show and tell that
corresponds to what we are learning about in class. Before each new round of
show and tell, information will be sent home that outlines the theme, as well as a
template for students to fill out and practice with their parents. Students are also
encouraged to bring an item from home that they can show to their classmates.
This item should correspond to the theme. It may be a three-dimensional item, a
photo or even a drawing.

Special Days

Birthdays
Birthdays are often celebrated in Kindergarten. Parents may choose to send a
small treat for the class if they wish. Please check with us a few days in advance of
your child’s birthday. Cupcakes or cookies are preferable to sliced cake. Party
invitations MUST be handed out privately outside of school, as problems inevitably
result if everyone is not invited.

Special events
Keep and eye out in our school and classroom newsletters for school wide events
that you can participate in such as the Terry Fox run, meet the teacher night,
sports day or a school carnival.

Spirit Days
Approximately once a month we will have school wide spirit days. These days are
fun days to dress up and show school spirit. Students who chose to participate will
help their house team collect points. If your child would rather not dress up to
match the theme, they can also show their spirit by wearing a Parkside T-shirt. An
opportunity to purchase these shirts will be given early in the fall.
 Home “fun”

Poetry Books
In October, we will begin to send your child’s poetry book home with them to
share with you on weekdays. Their poetry book will be an ongoing collection of
the poems that we learn in class. Our hope is that your child can have a chance to
share what they are learning with you while practicing some of their early literacy
skills. Poetry books will go home each Monday and will be returned each Friday.

Literacy Bags
After students have had a chance to settle into their classroom routines we will
begin our home literacy bag program. At the end of each school week your child
will receive a bag containing a game or activity that they can play at home with
their family members over the weekend. These games will focus on reviewing
literacy skills that we have begun to work on in class. The bags will be collected on
the first day of each week.

Home Reading
Our formal home reading program, which will include regular book exchanges, is
expected to begin in the new year.
In addition to our school home reading, we strongly encourage that you also
continue to read to your child for a minimum of 20 minutes a day. Creating a
routine of family shared reading is one of the best gifts you can give your child.

Thank you very much for taking the time to prepare for your child for an exciting
year in kindergarten!