1. Welcome to Kindergarten@ Ray Lawson PS! You’re going to love it here!

2. We look forward to seeing our new students to Kindergarten and their families at the Welcome to Kindergarten event on: Wed. May 18 th at 5:45 p.m. -7:15 p.m. at Ray Lawson. Here is some information for a smooth start to school!

3. Morning drop-off Please wait outside the gates until a teacher arrives on duty within the gated area. Make a drop-off routine with your child (hug, kiss, goodbye) – they will get used to this and know that this means goodbye. The quicker you leave, the quicker they get used to routines. Most children stop crying within a couple of minutes and usually by the end of the first month all students are happy and excited about school! If your child is having trouble entering, ask a teacher for help and leave promptly. Seeing you will add to their anxiety and make their day more difficult. THANKS!

4. Communication Bags Return the bag every day please. Important information is sent home in the bag. Read all forms, fill them out, and send back right away ( with money if required). Send money and notes in a small plastic bag and place it the communication bag (not loose in the backpack). This will ensure they do not miss out on any treat days, pizza days, trips, fun activities. Send library books back 4-5 days after receiving please.

5. Labelling Belongings Write your child’s name on EVERYTHING. We have 25-30 students and often a few children may have the same shoes or water bottle. Labelling will help prevent things from getting lost. Label items such as shoes, backpacks, extra clothes, lunch containers and water bottles clearly.

6. Shoes Children need to bring one pair of shoes to keep at school. We call these indoor shoes. Having indoor shoes helps keep our classrooms clean as we are not bringing mud, water, snow into the class. Please send in a pair of indoor shoes if you haven’t already Please practice putting on and taking off shoes and make sure your child can do this on their own! Velcro shoes work best. Only send shoes with laces if your child can tie them on their own.

7. Healthy Eating Children eat during play time as they feel hungry. They may eat several times a day or only once. Please send only healthy food and water to school. Healthy food: fruit (apples, bananas, grapes), vegetables (carrots, celery), bread/roti, yogurt, cheese. If you choose to send a sugary treat, please send only 1! Healthy foods give your children the energy they need to learn and have a successful day! If your child does not eat their whole lunch, that’s okay! Not all children eat the same amount or at the same time every day. They will eat when they are hungry. Involve your children in making their lunch – ask them what foods they like or want, take them to the store with you and ask them to help pack their lunch bag. The more involved they are the more excited they will be about eating! Please NO NUTS or NUTELLA! We have many students in our classes and in the school (and some teachers) who are highly allergic to nuts. Please make sure all snacks have the peanut free label on them.

8. Clothing – Dressing for the weather ! Please check the weather the night before school or the morning of school and dress for it! Involve children in talking about the weather at home and before school. This helps build vocabulary and also helps support them in being independent when making choices about dressing in the morning Wearing layers is always a good idea – this allows children to make their own decisions about the clothing they need to feel comfortable In the winter, please ensure your children wear a full snow suit (snow pants, jacket, boots, hat and mittens) even if there is no snow! It can be very cold even with no snow on the ground so please remember this! When it is raining, please try to send children in raincoats and rain boots. We go outside in ALL kinds of weather!

9. Edmodo (Class Website) www.edmodo.com We will be using a class website to give you information. Please check this regularly. We will give you your username and password to log on. This is a great way to find out what we are learning about!

10. www.edmodo.com Username: Password: Once you have logged in, you can see updates from the teachers. If you want to receive updates directly to your email: - On the top right corner click the arrow - Click on ‘settings’ - Click ‘account’ and type your email in ‘primary email’ - Click ‘email and text updates’ and choose if you want email or text messages to update you We will be using Edmodo to post: - Reminders about school and classroom happenings (pizza days, t-shirt Tuesdays, treat days) - Pictures of what is happening in our classroom - Notes - Activities and events in the community (especially before our breaks) - Messages directly to parents regarding your children – This is done privately so that nobody else can read them - Please feel free to post and comment on what you see here! - Check once or twice a week (or more) to see updates

11. Picking up your child at the end of the day: Please wait outside of the fenced area while children are being dismissed. This is for a safe dismissal. Teachers will make eye contact with you/wave and then dismiss your child to you – please do not call out to your child! For safety, the teacher needs to see the student AND the parent before the child is dismissed. If you need to talk to a teacher at this time, please kindly wait until most or all students are dismissed so the teacher is not distracted from safely dismissing other children Give your child a big hug and have a safe trip home!

12. School Information: Ray Lawson Public School (Balanced calendar) 725 Ray Lawson Blvd Brampton, ON L6Y 0T8 (905) 451-3819 Please call if you need to speak to a teacher and please ALWAYS call ahead and leave a message at the office if you know your child is sick or going to be away.

13. Thank you for being part of our Ray Lawson Family! We look forward to working with you, your family and your children!