HAPPY AUTUMN!

Can you believe that we are entering our FOURTH WEEK already?  Last week, we started some of our regular class routines that will go on for most of our year together.  There were lots of new things to do and learn and the students did SO WELL!  Mrs. Lewis and I were commenting on how well the children are adapting to all the things being asked of them and we can't believe how smooth the transition has been so far.  Wow!  Way to go, Kindergarten!  All that being said, it was very clear by the end of the week that we had many TIRED students (we had a few silent times during the days where no one talked and that is NOT typical...haha!  They were even too tired to talk!)  I would HIGHLY recommend students going to be early and trying to get as much sleep as they can for this next little while.  It certainly does get easier as they adjust but there are a lot of demands being made on them and while they are doing EVERYTHING we are asking them to do, I am sure it is taking a toil on them.  I encourage families to try to keep things very simple at home, after school and in the evening.  I know many students are involved in other activities, such as soccer, swimming or ballet but it is a good idea to limit activities until they adjust to being at school for our full days.  If you notice your child is having a more difficult time adjusting to being at school all day, please let me know and if I see any challenges at school, I will contact you.  But truly, Mrs. Lewis and I are very impressed with this group and are thrilled to see them doing so well with our full days already...it really does get easier as we go along:o)

A BIG thank you to everyone who sent in money for our Terry Fox Walk last week...our school raised over $1200, which is more than we have done EVER!  What a great lesson for our students!  Also, a BIG thank you to our Kindergarten students who helped sort ALL the coins on Thursday morning:o)  We spent a big chunk of our morning sorting the coins into different bins and talking about money so a great teachable moment plus a wonderful service to our school.  Way to go, Kindergarten!

Just a few reminders for next week...

• Our theme next week will be LEAVES so I am asking for students to start bringing in different types of leaves.  We are hoping for a variety so it would be great if they could bring in a few leaves of different shapes, colours and sizes.  We will also be talking about signs of Autumn, including leaves that change colour and fall so be on the lookout for falling leaves :o)
• Our students took home their first Library Book on Thursday.  Please ensure they bring back their book AND book on either Wednesday or Thursday morning at the latest.  If they do not return their book, they do not get a new one, which is always disappointing for our students so please help them to remember to return their book.  Thank you!
• Students also brought home their Walkathon Pledge forms on Friday.  Our walkathon will be on October 11th and we are asking each of our Kindergarten students to aim for raising $60 in pledges.  Our class goal is $1200.  The walkathon is one of our schools biggest fundraisers for the year so we really ask that everyone helps in any way possible for this event.  We are in need of finding more space for our school so the money we raise will be a huge help in making CCS a bigger and better place.  We will also need parent helpers to walk with us on the day of our walkathon.  We encourage our students to talk to family and friends about getting pledges and our school sincerely appreciates all efforts made in supporting our school.  Students also were invited to participate in a contest that fits into our Lego Theme for this year's walkathon as we are trying to "BUILD OUR SCHOOL ONE BRICK AT A TIME."  Each child was asked to design a Lego Figure and submit their entries by Thursday, September 26th.  If you child is participating, please ensure their write their name and grade on their paper so Mr. Borkowski will know who created the figure and then return it to school in our blue folder.  Thank you and good luck with those pledges!
• Thank you also to everyone who has been making sure to send in their absentee notes if their child has been away from school.  Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to email the school office (or if you email me, you can send a copy to the office or I can forward it) so they will have it on record.  Any time your child is away, we need a written note explaining their absence and the sooner your note is in, the better it is for our office staff so please consider emailing or sending a note on the day your child returns.  Thank you for your help with this.
• There is NO SCHOOL this Friday, September 27th and our staff will be attending a Faith Development Day at Holy Cross.  It should be a nice break for our Kindergarten students to have a longer weekend, and hopefully, for all of you as well.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Thank you for your continued support and help...our year so far is going so smoothly and I know that is due to all of our families!  If you have any questions or concerns at anytime, please let me know but our students have been happy, polite and hard working in our classroom and I am thrilled with their progress so far.  You all are making my job very easy!  Enjoy the week and may God bless you all.