

Southwood School News
December 2024

Grades 3 and 4 Present our Christmas Concert - Dec. 12th - 5:30 and 7:30 p.m.
2 Performances -- at the Grace Mennonite Church
Thursday Dec. 12th at 5:30 p.m (Students in 3B, 3H, 3VB, 3/4KP and 3/4 KB)
Thursday Dec. 12th at 7:30 p.m. (Students in 3/4D, 4H, 4N, 4P and 4S)
Concert will be held at the Grace Mennonite Church. Doors open at 5:00 pm for the first show and then again at 7:00 p.m for the 2nd show.
Seating at the Grace Church is limited to 400 guests per showing and we want to accommodate each students' immediate family members. Please consider this when inviting your child's friends and family attend with you.
When arriving at before the concert, students should go directly downstairs to their spots to get ready with their teachers.
Out of consideration for the privacy of our families and students and respect for each other's concert experience, we ask that you do not use your cell phones to record and post pictures of other families' children. There will be a brief opportunity to take close up photos of your child at the end of the concert.
At the end of the concert, please plan to stay seated while the students return downstairs to get their things. Students will be return to the stage in class groups to be dismissed to their parents. Students may choose to dress up for the concert if they wish, but there are no required costumes or formal wear. They may choose to dress more comfortably if they wish.
Notes of Thanks and Christmas Wishes
The Southwood School Students and Staff would like to make a note of thanks and send Christmas Wishes to Variety Manitoba. Variety provides all funding for Southwood School to offer Music Therapy Sessions throughout the school. Variety Manitoba and Southwood School have partnered with local Music Therapist who plans and helps run the sessions. We are very thankful for Variety’s monetary support and wish them all the best during this festive season.
A Huge thanks to Our Southwood Parent Advisory Council - for working to make sure we have hot lunches on Wednesdays, for running fundraisers and attending meetings to contribute ideas to make Southwood School the best it can be.
Collections for Helping Hands this Holiday Season
December Dress Up Days
Parent Teacher Interviews -- Reflection
We enjoyed meeting with you on November 28th to share and discuss your child's progress this fall. We appreciate being a part of your child's educational path and love working together to ensure they learn. Please take a quick minute to complete the poll below about Parent Teacher Interview scheduling
Would you choose a daytime appointment if it was an option?
Request for Gently Used Children's clothing
Southwood School at times uses extra ski-pants, winter coats, winter boots, rubber boots, and splash pants to ensure students can enjoy recess when they have fallen in puddles, torn a clothing item or their jacket won't zip. We would accept clothing sizes 6 - 14 and boot sizes Child - Youth size 5 boots. New or used would graciously be appreciated and accepted. At times this extra clothing or boots come in handy if students are in temporarily in need.
Reading During the Holidays!
Doing some reading over the break would be a great way to make sure that the fall learning your child has done, crosses over into January.
Southwood School has committed to teaching your child to read. Lately we've been really focusing in on the methods we use to teach reading in order to do our job of teaching your child to read more effectively. As teachers, we've been studying phonics for the purpose of ensuring we know our stuff so that we can help students who struggle to make sense of the complexity of the English language. We've been working on creating a really great, balanced literacy program in each of our classes, using a ton of resources. Did you know that the Manitoba Government recommends that 35% of an elementary students' day is spent learning to read and write?
So how does home reading fit into this effort? According to many Literacy gurus, reading at home supports students learning in a variety of ways. See the following excerpt from the Child Ventures Early Learning Academy...
Reading with your child offers the following benefits OUTSIDE of them simply learning to read:
- Letter recognition
- Memory
- Curiosity
- Language skills
- Motivation
- Attention/ concentration
- Emotional management
- Colour recognition
- Develops imagination
What is also true is that families are super busy. Many homes have multiple children in multiple activities. Parents are often working long hours, learning to speak and read English themselves or dealing with the business of running a household. Finding time to read with your children can be a challenge. Many of our teachers send home books for their students to read at home and we really feel that this short time of reading at home can make a huge difference to your child's learning. We always appreciate parent in put in our programming, and also understand the challenge of what we are asking of you as parents. Please take some time over winter days at home to do some reading with your child.
Southwood PAC Fundraising Information and Contact Info
Southwood students and families raised a bunch of money during the Pizza fundraisers. These funds will go towards several projects. We have been looking into raising funds for a picnic shade structure for our playground. This type of structure would provide an area of shade for our hot summer days (those we dream of all winter) and provide a picnic place for our neighbours and community members using our playground.
Munch a Lunch Meals will continue in the new year. Please check back in January for updated information. If there is a Snow Day or School Closure due to Cold or bad weather on a Wednesday, we will reschedule the hot lunch as soon as possible on the next possible school day. You will be notified about that change promptly.
If you need to contact the PAC committee for any reason, please use the following email...SouthwoodParentCouncil@gmail.com
9 Winter Holidays Around the World - Learning Liftoff
Regular Attendance and the Cold and Flu Season
In October and November Southwood students were absent at higher than usual rates. Various colds, flus and likely some viruses, familiar and unfamiliar were making the rounds. Absenteeism rates have dropped again in the last weeks and we hope to enter the holiday season a little healthier. Regular attendance is so important to learning and enjoying school. Below is a list of helpful tips for parents from the Manitoba Education Website dealing with students who may be reluctant to come to school or return after a few days of being sick at home.
What Parents/Family Can Do with Children...
Attending school regularly helps children feel better about school and themselves. Building good habits as early as pre-school can help you child's education throughout their school years.
- Help your child get organized for school the night before
- Have regular bed time routines
- Avoid scheduling medical appointments and vacations when school is in session
- Follow personal health practices that reduce the risk of your child becoming ill
- Don’t let your child stay home unless he or she is really sick. Keep in mind that stomach aches or headaches can be a sign of stress or anxiety and not a reason to stay home.
- Talk to your child about the importance of going to school everyday
- Set an example of what good attendance looks like
- Read to your child from a very early age. Students who are good readers tend to stay in school longer and achieve higher academic scores.
Nutrition Information
A Reminder about Avoiding a Change in end of Day Plans for your child
All changes to the end of day plans must be made by 2:45 p.m. on that day. Any calls after that time, may not be taken as there may not be enough time to ensure that the correct adults are notified of the change.
Upcoming Events
Dec. 9 - 11 - Rehearsals begin at the Grace Mennonite Church
Dec. 12 - Southwood Winter Concert ( Gr. 3 & 4) (At the Grace Mennonite Church)
Dec. 16 - Dress up week begins (stay tuned for more information)
Dec. 16 - Holiday Sing Along Assembly --
Dec. 20 - Last day of classes before Winter Break
Jan. 6 - First Day back to school after the Winter Break
155 Barkman Ave.
Steinbach, MB 204-326-3518