Woodlawn Early Years School

There are four types of student engagement at school: social engagement, emotional engagement, intellectual engagement and academic engagement.

We understand that there are times when a child is too sick to attend school, and the occasional special event or family duties that requires time away from school. A high rate of daily attendance is important for all students. Students who attend school regularly are more engaged in learning, have a greater sense of belonging in the community and are more likely to obtain a high school diploma.

Here are some eye-opening facts regarding attendance as published by Manitoba Education through their Everyone in School Every Day project.

• If a student is 10 minutes late for class every day they will miss 6 days of instruction per year.
• If a student misses 2 days of school per month they will miss one month of school in the school year.
• If a student misses 15 days of school per year they will miss an entire year of school by their senior year.

Please be supportive of school attendance for your child/children. Help your child get ready for school every day through such things as home reading monitoring, regular bedtimes and planning for breakfast and lunches. We also encourage you to try scheduling doctor and dentist appointments during inservice days and school breaks when possible.

If you experience any challenges with your child wanting to come to school, the staff and I are here to offer our advice and assistance. Please don't hesitate to contact us.

Respectfully,

Shelley Amos

And just like that September is over! What a wonderful, busy month that was. In September, teachers spent a lot of time building classroom routines, creating a positive culture of learning in their classrooms, and establishing relationships with their students and between students. This very important work helps to create a strong foundation for everything else that will happen this year.

As the vice principal, a part of my role is behaviour. At Woodlawn we believe that we all make mistakes and that mistakes can be fixed. We understand that there will be many problems and conflicts that will occur during the school day. We like to look at these situations as teaching opportunities. Our students are young and many are just learning to communicate their feelings, especially when they are upset. When children make mistakes and behave in a negative way, they are trying to communicate that something is amiss. It is important that the adults help them label their feelings and find better ways to solve their problems. Of course some behaviours are "bottom line" behaviours. Students are still expected to "fix it" when the behaviour is deemed a bottom line, but there will also be a consequence or a time away period. When negative behaviour happens it is important to focus on the behaviour and not the child's character. We believe that there is only bad behaviour, not bad children. By focussing on the behaviour we can support students to find a better way the next time and make sure that we are not damaging their self-esteem. Children (and adults too) who can do well, will do well. It is our job to help them get there.

The HSD Parent Portal is a communications tool designed to enhance and increase parent/guardian involvement in the education of their children by providing secure online access to their child's student information. With a single username and password you can access data for each of your children attending an HSD school. The Access IDs along with setup instructions have been sent via email to all eligible parents/guardians. If you did not receive the specified email, please contact the school office at 204-326-6110.

Please take a few minutes to review the student information and contact information for your child. It is important that the school has current address and contact information for your child in case it is necessary to reach someone during the school day. Changes can be made through the parent portal.

Information verification forms will be mailed to parents/guardians that have not updated their information through the parent portal before September 15th. If you receive a form through the mail, please make any necessary changes on the form, sign and return the form to the school office.

Did you know that every Monday is a Makerspace Monday! Students who have had their Bucket Filling slip pulled during the week spend lunch recess with Mrs. Amos and Mrs. Fraser in the Makerspace. During this time the students are able to play and make things that are of interest to them. We have options such as a Sphero robot (driven with an iPad), Snap Circuits, beading, and a LEGO wall. Because there are only about twelve students in the Makerspace at a time, each student is able to focus on something that they really want to explore. Mrs. Amos and Mrs. Fraser enjoy seeing the students participate in activities they enjoy and it really helps them get to know the students better. Every student in grade one to grade 4 will have a chance to participate in a Makerspace Monday and Kindergarteners will start after spring break.

Woodlawn is participating in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday, October 4. Please join Woodlawn staff members at the clock tower on the corner of Main Street and Reimer Street at 8:30 am on October 4th to walk to school. Rain date is Friday, October 13.

iWalk is an international event that encourages schools to try using active transportation to get to and from school. Thousands of Manitoba children will join millions of others from over 43 countries to celebrate walking and biking to school.

Mark your Calendar for our School Picture Day on

Wednesday, October 11 for KG1, KM1, Gr. 1 and Gr. 2

Thursday, October 12 for KG2, KM2, KGM, Gr. 3 and Gr. 4

Picture Day information forms will be sent home with all students.

Please review the information form and send it back with your child on Picture Day.

All students will be photographed for school service products. Proofs will be sent home for you to preview the images before you buy!

For Tips on preparing for photo day visit lifetouch.ca

Questions call Lifetouch at 1-866-457-8212 or email: guestservices@lifetouch.ca

In recognition of World Food Day, our school has decided to participate in the Farm Credit Canada Drive Away Hunger program and will be collecting donations of food for people who are hungry in our area.

By participating in this program, Farm Credit Canada will include our school in a random draw for a $500 donation to be used to make improvements at the winning school.

We would like you to send a food item to school with your child during October to support this program. All food items will be picked up and brought to South East Helping Hands. Watch for more information.

For more information on Drive Away Hunger, visit their website at www.DriveAwayHunger.ca

Below is a list of most needed food items according to the Canadian Association of Food Banks Canada:

*Pasta products and rice *Infant Formula and Baby Food

*Canned meats and fish *Flour *Dry and canned soups and stews *Breakfast cereal *Canned fruits and vegetables *Canned/powdered milk *Fruit juices *Pasta sauce *Beans and Legumes

Our students will once again be selling magazine subscriptions from QSP. Brochures will be sent home with students on October 2. The fundraiser will run from October 2-October 19.

Extra order forms are available from the school office. If you do not wish to participate in the fundraiser please recycle the brochures.

To ensure your child receives the prizes they earn and that your orders are processed efficiently please check that your order forms are completed properly. We plan to use the profits to support student programming such as bringing arts to our school and the Grade 4 Water Safety Program. As well these funds will be used for community building such as House Rewards, Meet Your Teacher and Celebration of Learning.

If your child will be away from school or will be late or will not be returning to school after lunch please ensure you call the school at 204-326-6110 or email woodlawn@hsd.ca to let us know. If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent please write a note in their agenda or email woodlawn@hsd.ca. When the school is not advised of an absence or late arrival, the office begins a call back procedure to parents and emergency contacts. Many of these calls can be avoided if parents call ahead to advise us of the absence.

To ensure the safety of our students and due to congestion of our staff parking lots and bus loop areas, parents are not to enter those ares between 8:15 - 4:30. Also note there is no public parking available at Entrance D (Barkman Street) 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. 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.

The Hanover Parent and Child Community Program would like to invite Woodlawn parents and their preschool children (birth to 5 years) to attend free parent-child programming . This program is being provided by the Hanover School Division to promote development of school readiness skills. Children will have the opportunity to play, learn, create, sing and develop skills to prepare them for kindergarten. Parents will be able to visit with other parents, learn new skills and participate in activities with their children. Snacks will be provided.

English:

When: Tuesday mornings from 9:30-11:30

This will begin September 19, 2017 and run until June 5, 2018.

German:

When: Thursday mornings from 9:30-11:30

This will begin September 21, 2017 and run until June 7, 2018.

Families can attend weekly or just drop in when you can.)

Where: Community Room #29 in Woodlawn School in Steinbach.

* We will follow the same schedule as the division school calendar in regards to school closure days and inclement weather.

*Note: Children should bring indoor footwear.

Parents please report to the office for check in and park in

the designated parking areas.

All urban bus routes are posted on the HSD website with times and maps. Any urban or rural bus that will be late due to weather or mechanical issues is listed on the HSD website under the bus delay tab.

Go to the drop down menu of Departments/Transportation where you can choose:

1. School Bus Delay Bulletins where any bus that is late is posted with the approximate delay.

2. Steinbach Urban Bus Routes - Scroll down to select Woodlawn School and then select your bus number.

Thank you for checking these options before calling the Hanover School Division Transportation Department with your questions regarding bus delays and Steinbach urban bus routes times and maps. Any questions for transportation please call 204-320-2347.

Most school bus fatalities occur when children are outside the bus and 75% of these fatalities involve children under the age of nine. On October 18th and 19th we will be having Bus Evacuation Drills for all our students.

Things Parents Should Know About Bus Safety

• School buses are the safest form of transportation
• The most dangerous part of the bus ride is getting on and off the bus
• Young children are most likely to be struck because they:
  
• Hurry to get on and off the bus
• Act before they think and have little experience with traffic
• Assume motorists will see them
• Don't always stay within the sight of the driver
  

Things Children Should Know About Bus Safety

• Stand back from the curb
• NEVER run to or from the bus
• NEVER try to pick up something that has fallen under the bus
• Stay in your seat and sit quietly so that the driver is not distracted
• Wait for the driver's signal and then cross in FRONT of the bus

Email: woodlawn@hsd.ca
Website: www.woodlawn.hsd.ca
Location: 411 Henry St, Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 0R1
Phone: 204-326-6110
Twitter: @WoodlawnHSD