Welcome Letter
The Welcome Letter will also be emailed to parents.

Welcome!

I am excited to welcome you to my Senior Kindergarten class at St. Jude’s Academy! Teaching is an absolute passion of mine and I want to ensure that I provide meaningful experiences that will instill a love for learning in my students. This will be my second-year teaching Kindergarten at SJA and I am very eager for the school year to begin.

Below is some important information about the first couple weeks of school:

SJA Student Policy

Ø  Attached to this email you will find the SJA Student Policy Handbook. Please read it, sign the last page and bring it to me by September 14^th, 2018.

Orientation Night

Ø  Parent – Teacher Orientation Night is on Monday, August 27^th at 5pm- 7pm. It is very important that both of the parents participate, if there another sibling in PYP to allow the second parent to meet the teacher/s of the other siblings if they wish.

Ø  The orientation will take place in your child’s classrooms.

Ø  Parents who are new to the school are to collect your key fob to enter the school.

First Day of School

Ø  On the first day of school, I strongly encourage parents to make the drop off as quickly as possible. I know, it is hard, but it is the most effective way for your child to get into the school routine. I’ll be there for your child! J  No worries!

Hot Lunch Program

Ø  Our Hot Lunch Program is back online and ready for you to place your order for the month of September. Please know that the website closes off end of day August 31st and is unable to reopen for September ordering. Please ensure you get your orders in as soon as possible! We have some new options featured on our menu please keep your eye out for those! Lunch payments are due to homeroom teacher or reception no later than September 8th, 2017.

Ø  Instructions for the Hot Lunch Program will be attached to this email.

Uniform

Ø  Students are to come to school on Wednesday, September 5^th in their gym uniform. Required gym uniform days are Mondays and Wednesdays.

Ø  Students are to come to school in their full school uniform Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Please ensure that all uniform items are to be labelled with your child’s name.

Ø  Please make sure your child has a pair of black dress shoes and a pair of gym shoes labeled and to be left at the school for their indoor shoes this year.

Ø  Please, to avoid any discomfort in case of washroom accidents, send in your child’s backpack an extra change of clothes in a plastic bag. The bag will remain in your child’s backpack and it will be used only when needed.

SJA Back to School Welcome BBQ

Ø  On Thursday, September 20^th, from 4pm- 6pm, tickets will be sold in the first weeks of school. This is a great opportunity to meet other families, socialize, and have fun!

Parent Volunteers

Ø  Parents who would like to volunteer in the school and on field trips are required to provide a current Criminal Record Check.

Hot Lunch Program

    · Please know that the website closes off end of day Aug 31st and is unable to reopen for        September ordering.

· Lunch payments are due no later than September 14th.

Below are the instructions for returning families:

*if you have a sibling joining SJA this year please keep in mind you can only use one email per child. Step 1 Logon to website http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja - if you forgot your password or email used please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com

Step 2 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MY ACCOUNT, Change grade and teacher to reflect new year. Select SAVE

Step 3 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.

*Don’t forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering

Below are the instructions for new families:

**If you have more than one child you will need to use different email addresses for each child. Only one child can be registered and ordered for under a single email address. Step 1 Go to website http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja

· Select register an account

· Select grade

· Select class

· Select teacher

· Enter in student information

· Accept terms and conditions and select Register

Repeat for additional students.

Step 2 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.

*Don’t forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering

Listed below is some information about the school year:

Kiss and Ride

Ø  Please note that afternoon Kiss and Ride has been canceled. The new dismissal procedures can be found in the SJA Parent and Student Handbook attached to this email. The new procedures will also be explained at the orientation evening next week.

Ø  Daily early dismissal procedures have been canceled. You will still be able to pick up your child/ren for appointments. Please let me know as these events occur.

Blog

Ø  Please visit the class blog daily, as it is a way to stay connected, see what we did during the day, or to find important dates and homework. On the right side bar of the blog, you will see a tab, “FOLLOW BY EMAIL”, where you are able to enter your email address. In doing this, you will receive an email of my blog every time I am to post and will not miss out on any important information. The blog will also have information on the Programme of Inquiry (themes, central idea, lines of inquiry and key concepts.

Ø  Please click this link to visit my blog: http://mrsblairsk.blogspot.ca/

Agendas

Ø  Your child will receive the agenda on his/her first day of school. Please read and sign your child’s agenda every day, as important dates, announcements and homework will be included and updated each week. Students need to bring their agendas back and forth to school each day. This is another way of communicating with me.  

Specialists

Ø  Your child will be participating in both French and Gym on a daily Basis. Ms. Yunis will be our gym teacher and Mlle. Jessica will be our French teacher. Mr. Flower will be teaching Music to the SKs every other day.

Food Allergies

Ø  Please be advised that St. Jude's is a nut free facility. When purchasing items for your child's lunch, please read the packages carefully. If the label says, "may contain nuts", please refrain from sending that item. Look for products with the nut-free label.

Contact Information

Ø  Please email me letting me know how you would prefer to speak at the end of each our Unit of Inquiry. I will be in contact with you 3 times of the year on top of our 2 Student-Led Conferences. In this email, I would like to know if you would like to give you an update on your child by email, phone or in person.

I believe that open lines of communication between the parent, students and teachers are the key to promoting an educational climate that is conductive to learning. Please feel free to contact me at any time if there is a question or situation you would like to discuss at jblair@stjudesacademy.com .

I look forward to meeting you and providing the best education I am capable of giving.

Mrs. Blair