August 31st, 2022
WELCOME BACK!
Welcome back to school! I am very excited to be back in the school and I am looking forward to a great year.
Our class this year is a split class, consisting of grade one and two students. I will be teaching your child the core subjects (Mathematics, Language, Sciences, Physical Education and Visual Arts). Mme Harris will be teaching French and Music. Mrs. McCabe will be teaching Health.
In Language Arts, the students are starting the year with a phonics review. In this unit we will be reviewing the letter names and sounds as they appear in words. We will be discussing the purpose and process of reading; elements of the stories and encouraging the children to start reading and writing themselves. I will be working with each child to determine his or her individual strengths, weaknesses and next steps. Together we will establish individual learning goals that will evolve as the year goes by.
In Mathematics, we will explore how to build a positive learning community and start exploring single, double and triple-digit numbers. The grade one students will need to count objects to 50 and the grade two students will need to count objects to 200. We will be investigating number meanings and the relationships between these numbers.
In Science, we will be learning about Roles and Responsibilities. We will focus on their own class, family and immediate community.
Please check the monthly calendar for more details about our daily activities. As well, I will be updating our class website periodically. You can find us at
https://teachers.wrdsb.ca/schroec or you can find a link at the staff directory on our school website at https://nlw.wrdsb.ca/. You are encouraged to visit the board website for ongoing system news https://www.wrdsb.ca/. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the school (519-885-1115). To leave a voice message, call the school phone number, press 2, then say my name and wait for the cue. You can also email me at Chris_Schroeder@wrdsb.ca.
NLW OPEN HOUSE
Our 2022 Meet the Pack Open House is scheduled for Thursday, September 8th from 5:30 until 7:30.
OUR NEW PRINCIPAL
Please welcome our new principal. His name is Mr. Phillip Sallewsky. Mr. Sallewsky comes to us after being principal at Meadowlane PS in Kitchener. We are so happy that he has joined our team. Please take some time to welcome him to NLW!
STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH
The physical and emotional well-being of the children are extremely important issues for the school staff and families to work together to maintain. I will be establishing consistent, predictable daily classroom routines. I recommend that you do the same at home. Try to make lunches and set out clothes in the evening. Set realistic and consistent bedtimes and morning routines. No one likes to be rushed in the morning. Talk about the plan and ask specific questions about how it’s going. Keep the conversations positive and hopeful. If you encounter any issues or concerns, please send me an email, note or voice message.
FOOD ALLERGY ALERT
Several students in our school have dangerous, life-threatening food allergies. It is extremely important that the children do not share food with the other children. Please do not send food that contains nuts. Please encourage your child to thoroughly wash before coming to school.
WORKING WITH WORDS PROGRAM
Each Monday, the children will be given a list of words or a short sentence to study. Throughout the week we will be using these words to complete activities and learn spelling rules. If you would like to keep track of the words and sentences that we will be exploring, they will be posted on our class webpage under the Working with Words tab.
ALPHABET BOOK
Throughout September and October, the children will be working on an alphabet book that helps them review basic phonics. The children will be drawing pictures and recording words that begin with the letter of the day. Stronger writers may choose to write sentences or short stories using these words. I will indicate the letter of the day on the monthly calendar (please note that we will not be going in alphabetical order). If you feel your child would benefit from extra review of the letter sounds and symbols at home, you may want to find pictures of words that begin with each letter in books, magazines and their surroundings. Try to emphasize the initial letter sound when you say the word.
GYM CLASS
Everyday, the students will participate in Quality Daily Physical Education in our classroom, the gym or outside. Please ensure that your child wears appropriate clothes and shoes to school everyday. Children should not wear any jewelry during Daily Physical Education and long hair should be tied back.
HAPPY FACES
When I mark the children’s work, I prefer to code the work with happy faces and stars. A star or a great big grin means that the work is very well done. A regular happy face means that the work meets my expectations. A straight or wavy mouth means that the work needs some improvement. If you see a WA on the work, that means that I had to help your child to complete the activity successfully. Specific teacher feedback is given verbally and individually so that each student can be apart of the goal setting process.
RED READING BOOK
Each week, the children will be given a new poem to put in their Red Reading Books. We will explore the poems together in class. We will use these poems to review spelling, punctuation and grammar rules. As well, we will practise specific reading strategies with these poems. I will send the Red Reading Book home on Friday. Please encourage your child to share the poems with the family and return the book on Monday.
HOME READING PROGRAM
Your child will be participating in our Shadow’s Home Reading Program. I will assess each child’s reading level in September and assign them an individual, independent reading level. The books should be easy enough to read without needing too much help. Please create a daily routine of reading these books together. Please make this a positive, fun, loving experience. The Home Reading Program is a key factor in ensuring your child’s successful development as a reader.
WATER BOTTLES
All of the children should bring a water bottle to school. Children need to stay well hydrated. Did you know that dehydration can lead to fatigue, dizziness, poor concentration and reduced cognitive abilities. (Don’t worry, I will provide frequent washroom breaks!) Please remind your child to bring home the bottle to be washed regularly, I will do the same thing.
SCHOOL SUPPLIES
All of the necessary school supplies will be provided by the school. The children may also bring their own pencil cases with special pencil crayons, markers, scissors, glue etc…
STAYING INFORMED
Please visit the board, school and classroom websites regularly at
https://www.wrdsb.ca/ and https://nlw.wrdsb.ca/ and https://teachers.wrdsb.ca/schroec/. Messages will also be coming regularly from our School-Day account. If you have any questions or concerns, please send me a note, or call the school and leave me a voice message (519-885-1115), or send me an email at Chris_Schroeder@wrdsb.ca.
BALANCED SCHOOL DAY
The children will be having two nutrition breaks during the school day.
First Nutrition Break:
Eating Inside:10:30 – 10:50
Outside recess:10:50 – 11:10
Second Nutrition Break:
Eating Inside:1:10 – 1:30
Outside recess:1:30 – 1:50
Please discuss with your child the foods you would like him/her to eat at each break. We encourage families to make healthy choices and avoid processed foods with excess packaging. Please remember that we have children in our school with dangerous, life-threatening food allergies. Please do not send food that contains nuts.
MEDICAL, DIETARY AND OTHER CONCERNS
Please complete the tear off section sent home with the paper copy of this newsletter if there are any special things I should be aware of that relate to your child.
HOW DOES YOUR CHILD GET HOME FROM SCHOOL?
Please let me know who usually comes to pick up your child. You can write this information on the tear off section.
Thank you,
Mr. Chris Schroeder
