Welcome Back to Grant Road School September 2018

Grant Road Gazette September, 2018

Welcome Back to Grant Road School.  We are happy to meet and to work with new families to our community.  As you may know, we have a full house of kids! Below are the people who will work with you them.  Some new and old faces.

Grant Road Staff 2018 - 2019

Staff Member	Role		Staff Member	Role
Christina Donovel	Prekindergarten		Michael Bashutski	DC Teacher
Nicole Coleridge	Kindergarten		Elvira Mancao	DC Assistant
Colleen McGillivray	1A		Dorian Mitchell	DC Assistant
Soula Selimos	12A		Rebecca Balon	DC Assistant
Sacha Rempel	23A		Kristy-Lee Otte	DC Nurse
Corinne Pankewich	23B		Phillis Tymiak	LRT (Primary)
Linda Garratt	23C		Shannon Leib	LRT (Senior)
Gail Digby	4A		Janelle Wagner	Teacher-Librarian/PE
Rebecca Hammett	45A		Lisa Powell	Core French (1.0)
Kristine Audet	56A		Jennifer Yim-Rodier	Arts Ed. (0.5)
Anne Benson	56B		Megan McKay	Literacy/PE (1.0)
Graham Richardson	67A		Tracy Rempel Uzma Ur Rehman	EAL (1.0) EAL (0.4)
Megan Chamberlin	7A		Bonnie Ewing	Admin. Assistant
Eric Benjamin	8A		Katherine Anderson	Band 6 and Band 7
Greg Korpan	8B		Travis Wilkinson	Band 8
Wan Ling Shu	Pre K TA		Becky Fiege	SLP
Leona Fornwald	Pre K EA		Coleen Popadynetz	Counselor
Faline Eckert	Ed. Assistant		Tara Garratt	Psychologist
Anicca Abbas	Ed. Assistant		TBA	OT
Candace Daniels	Ed. Assistant		Glenn Sebastian	Caretaker
Shelley Foster	Ed. Assistant		Rocky Molano	Caretaker
Emma Schneider	Ed. Assistant		Constable Swetlikoff	SRO
Tracey Hutcheon	Ed. Assistant		Janelle Wagner	VP/TL
Billie-Jo Pingert	Ed. Assistant		Lori Kukura	Principal
Louwana Prudat	Ed. Assistant		Morgan Reed	Superintendent
Andrew Gerrand	Sr. Complex Needs Teacher		Dallas Holtby	Intern in Grade ½
Donna Stercl	Sr. Complex Needs EA		Sean Hooper	Intern in Grade 4
Dustin Rapitta	Sr. Complex Needs EA		Brayden Dreger	Intern in Grade 8

Safety at Grant Road School

Lunchrooms

We require ALL students who use our lunchrooms to complete a registration form stating whether they will be REGULAR users or CASUAL users.  We take attendance for all students registered as REGULAR users.  For these individuals to be excused on any day you wish, please send an agenda note, note or call informing us.  There is a fee for this service (Cash Online).  Please call 306 539 5971 or email lori.kukrua@rbe.sk.ca to discuss the fee.  There are times when making this payment is a hardship.  Please call, and let me know.

Drills

We have regularly schedule ‘evacuate the building’, ‘secure the facility’ and ‘lockdown’ drills.  Students are expected to learn how to keep themselves and others safe by practicing properly.

Off Site Evacuation Location

Thank you to Hillsdale Baptist Church (formerly Whitmore Park United Church) for agreeing to let us evacuate to their facility in poor weather or when the circumstances dictate.  KNOW that in such an event you will have to SIGN OUT your child prior to taking him/her home with you.

Secure the Building/Lockdowns

If you learn that our school is in ‘secure the building’ or ‘lockdown’ mode meaning an intruder is outside the building or in the building (ask your kids the difference) DO NOT COME TO THE SCHOOL.  Your doing so puts you at risk, and you will not be permitted to enter the building.  We take our direction from the police.

Dropping Off and Picking Up Your Children

Do not enter the school lots.  Do not park in the school lots.  Both put your child at risk.  We talk a lot to students about staying out of the parking lots.

Please use the cross walks if crossing the street.  We want you to reinforce pedestrian safety that we teach them.

Police Information Checks

Consider getting a Police Information Check completed NOW (CRC).  They cost $10.00 through the City Police.  Prior to going to the station, you will need to come to the office and present photo ID.  The reason to consider getting this completed now is because often what has happened is that you discover last minute that you may be able to accompany your child’s class on an excursion or with a school project.  In the absence of a PIC you will not be allowed to help.  These PIC take a while to process, so getting one early is a good idea.

Fair Warning:  Violent Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA)

We live in an age where children have been harmed at school by others.  Uttering threats are taken seriously.  Saying, “I didn’t mean it.” or “It was just a joke.” don’t excuse the child from responsibility for his/her actions.  The fact that a child said it in the heat of the moment does not excuse the child from responsibility for their action.  There is a procedure we are required to follow in which we involve our school counselor, psychologist and resource officer whose job it is to determine the level of threat the action posed.  Please know that we will take uttering threats, bringing to school weapons be they real or fake and putting others at risk very seriously.  When we are made aware of these situations, we will act on them.

Child Protection

Please know that if a child disclosing fear or injury, we are obligated to contact social services.  It isn’t our job to determine if the claim is truthful.  It is our job to report to the Ministry of Social Services.

Contact Us Please contact us when you don’t understand something we have done.  Please contact us to clarify things.  Please contact us when you are concerned.  We really do want to know how to make Grant Road School a safe and caring place for your children and for you.

 

Childcare Providers

If you are a childcare provide, and would like your name made available to community members seeking this service,

please email lori.kukura@rbe.sk.ca, and provide her with what you would like shared.  Our goals are to have a comprehensive listing of all providers that we may share with Grant Road families.  Feel free to call 306 539 5971 if you prefer.

Kev Online

Whenever possible, it is the school division’s preference that fees be paid through the Kev Online cash process.  Contact Mrs. Ewing at 306 791 8590 if you have questions about this.

School Community Council Annual General Meeting October 10 at 7:00 p.m. More information will follow.      You are welcome to attend and/or to join.

 

Dates

September 26                           Social Media Awareness Event at 7:00 p.m. at Campus Regina Public

September 27                           Meet the Teacher and SCC BBQ

September 28                           Treaty 4 Flag Raising and Orange Shirt Day Event

October 4                                 School Photos for Pre K, KA, DC, Sr. Complex Needs and Gr. 1 – 8 (KB on Nov. 1)

October 5                                 No School – Teachers’ Convention

October 8                                 No School - Thanksgiving

October 10                                SCC AGM at 7:00 p.m.

October 17                                Reading Evening at the Bothwell Library at 6:00 p.m. (K – Gr. 4)

October 26                                No School – PD Day

November 1                              School Photos for KB and Retakes

November 15                            No School - KA Conferences

November 16                            No School   KB, Gr. 1 – 8 Conferences

November 16                            School for DC and Sr. Complex Needs Student Conferences

December 7                              No School – PD Day

December 18 or 19                   Christmas Carnival

Dec. 24 – Jan. 4                                    Christmas Vacation

February 1                                Report Cards go home

February 8                                No School – IIP Meetings for DC and Sr. Complex Needs Students

February 9                                9:00 a.m.   WPCA “Babysitting” Course in the Gym (until 4:00 p.m.) – Must pre-register.

Feb. 18 - 22                              Family Week

March 14                                   Conferences for KA

March 15                                   Conferences for KB, Gr. 1 - 8

April 17                                     Reading Evening at the Bothwell Library at 6:00 p.m. (Gr. 5 – 8)

June 12                                    Luncheon for New Kindergarten Parents and Guardians (2019 School Year)

June 14                                    No School - PD Day

June 14                                    New Kindergarten Visits

TBA                                          Grade 7 Outdoor School           

TBA                                          Grade 8 Outdoor School           

June 25 or 26                            Grade 8 Farewell

Sept.8th, 2015 week with Ms. Selimos

Hello Parents and Students,

We have enjoyed a wonderful second week of Grade 2 with your children!

The math word of the week was ATTRIBUTE.  Ask your child to explain different attributes of patterning (colour, shape, size, direction).  We explored attributes this week using pattern blocks (triangles, squares, trapezoids, parallelograms). The children created patterns using 2 attributes AT ONCE.  Example:  size and color. . . big red square, little black square. . . The children had to explain their pattern rule for each increasing pattern.

We also began our very first PWIM POSTER.  PWIM = Picture Word Inductive Model.  The PWIM poster this month is of a classroom. We played our first sorting game on Friday.  See the photos.  For Social Studies we continued to brainstorm about BELONGING.  How do we belong in the classroom?  How can I help others feel like they belong? How can my teacher help me to feel like I belong? 

Academically, we will be administering Fountas and Pinnell; F&P (Reading Testing for Gr. 2) with your children after Sept. 21st to see what his/her present reading level is.  The F& P is based on fluency, word attack skills and comprehension. 

DNA (Diagnostic Numeracy Assessment) math testing is presently occurring.   We finished administering DNA Part 1 earlier this week.  The purpose of this first task is to check to see if your child understands the idea of balance and things that are equal.  I am continuing with DNA testing Part 2 next, which involves understanding of addition and the strategies your child uses. EXAMPLES:   Does your child use fingers to count?  Does your child bridge numbers to ten?  Does your child know his/her doubles (6+6)?  Does your child know his/her facts automatically?  Can your child count by 5s? 10s?  See Photo DNA; a sample of DNA Math Testing (Diagnostic Numeracy Assessment).

The children enjoyed their first week of Core French lessons with Mme. Selimos.  Ask your child to share about the “Bonjour Song” and “Alphabet Song”. We reviewed colors and counting from 1 to 20.   We played a traffic light action game and reviewed our numbers to twenty playing Number Twister. Some weather words and greetings were also introduced. Here is an alphabet site:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LYy3P2okyw   Here is a number site for numbers to 10:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsc3qLMaCu8 Here is a site for numbers to 20:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEz58BblMY

On Friday at 2:30, we assembled our paper mache turkeys with our Grade 4 Learning Buddies, in preparation for next week’s fun paper mache extravaganza.  The boys and girls are super excited for next Tuesday afternoon’s messy fun!  Thank you to the grandmas and moms who have emailed that they are helping us next week with this project.

Some friendly reminders:

1. Tuesday the 15^th will be the first Spelling Test for your child.  Please practice words with them.  A wonderful site to use is https://www.spellingcity.com where you can actually plug in the words of the week and do a number of activities.

2.   We will be maaking PAPER MACHE TURKEYS on Tuesday afternoon with our Grade 4 Learning Buddies.  Please dress your child in short sleeved shirts, no jewelry and long hair tied up.  It is a fun, messy art activity.         

3.  Cross Country Club practice #3 will be in “bowl” on Tuesday at 8:30 for Gr. 3 to 8 signed up .

                                     

4.  Ms. Selimos & Miss Dundas are away at INTERNSHIP SEMINAR = Wed. 16^th to 18^th.  A Guest Teacher will be in the classroom.  

           

5.  We hope to meet you on Thursday the 17^th at the OPEN HOUSE:  5:30 to 6:30 p.m.           BBQ:  6 to 7 p.m.               

6.  Fri. 18^th (Day 3)     Return PICTURE FORMS by today please.         

Have a GREAT weekend!  Go Riders!

Ms. Selimos, Mrs. Daniels, Miss Dundas

First Week of School Sept. 1st 2015

Hello Parents and Students of Grade 2,

It has been a wonderful start and a week of learning.  We presently have 23 boys and girls in the classroom. 

Please pay for the school agenda ($4.00) on-line if you have not already done so. 

We hope you enjoy the weekly photos and emails of your children. 

One of our first language arts activities this week was based on the book:  Corduroy.  We read the book with Mrs. Pankewich’s Grade 2 class and discussed our understanding of “BELONGING” which is one of our 4 Circle of Courage Goals.  Whether we are new to the school, new to the classroom, new as a teacher, etc. it feels good to belong. The 5 teachers (Ms. Selimos, Miss Dundas, Mrs. Daniels, Mrs. Pankewich and Mrs. Schneider) shared a personal belonging statement with the 50 Grade 2s (Team SST/Science lesson).  On Friday, the children created their own belonging statements about belonging at GRANT ROAD SCHOOL.  Be sure to see them on display during Open House in the hallway.

For Social Studies/Health we brainstormed about BELONGING (one of our Circle of Courage goals).  How do we belong in the classroom?  How can I help others feel like they belong? How can my teacher help me to feel like I belong?  We watched a Tumblebooks episode called:  Game Day.  If you are interested in watching it with your child at home, go to the Tumblebooks site. Instructions are in your weekly agenda note.  We also had fun making “cool” glasses, as you can see in the photos.

University of Regina Intern, Miss Kristi Dundas, did a brainstorming activity with the children where they discussed CLASSROOM RULES .

We began our printing booklets, reviewing lower case and UPPER CASE letters. 

Mathematically, we learned about patterns this week.  A pattern repeats 3 or more times and the term “core” was introduced. Using snap cubes, the children created patterns and then translated them to letters, numbers, colours, shapes, etc.

We were very impressed with a writing activity about summer vacation each child wrote.  I modeled a paragraph on the data projector about my holidays.  The focus was:  creating sentences, using capitals and punctuation.  I was not assessing for spelling for this lesson. Grade 2 goal:  to be able to write a paragraph consisting of 6 or more meaningful sentences.  We will begin Writing Traits lessons next week. The children had the opportunity to use the data projector to orally present their paragraphs, proudly.

When you come to the OPEN HOUSE, FAMILY BBQ on Sept. 17^th, your child will be able to show you his/her work, to date, on the Writing Wall. 

I am hoping that you are able to share these photos and emails WITH YOUR CHILD.  These emails/photos will enable you to initiate and to engage in deeper conversation about your child’s school week. 

Enjoy the photos everyone and the wonderful weather this weekend. 

GOBBLE, GOBBLE! I need YOUR help parents!  We will be making our paper mache turkeys on Tuesday, Sept. 15th. Please make sure your child is wearing a short sleeved shirt today and no jewelry.  Also, please have long hair tied up in a ponytail. 

Please send your LEADERPOST NEWSPAPERS to school if you have any, immediately.  NO FLYERS PLEASE. We will use these for the paper mache.  Thanks in advance.  

________ YES, __________________________________ is available to help with the turkey art project on Tuesday, Sept. 15th from 12:45 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

________      YES, I have had a recent criminal record check.

________      Sorry, I am UNABLE to help this time!                   

_______________________________________

                                Parent’s signature

NOTE:  We will be DECORATING our paper mache turkeys on THURSDAY, Sept. 24th.  Begin gathering fabric scraps, buttons, feathers, etc. at home to decorate paper mache turkeys.  Dollar Store is a good place to purchase a bag of feathers.  You may begin sending supplies the week of Mon. 21ST.

Hugs,

Ms. Selimos, Miss Dundas, Mrs. Daniels