We’re settling down into our groove this second term, which is typically a busy one with much growth shown by our Kindergarten children.

The children’s printing is beginning to grow by leaps and bounds.  They are trying very hard to be mindful of correct letter formation.  It’s not easy and they really have to think and concentrate.  Sometimes we can hear their self-talk as they are repeating the sequence of printing strokes to themselves.  But in doing so, the children are also recognising the letters, practising their letter sounds, the sequence of letter sounds to spell words, and we can begin showing them spelling patterns through rhyming words. 

Allergy Awareness

We decided to elaborate a little more here for your interest and information about our Allergy Awareness.  

At Ridgeview School, classrooms with students who have nut allergies are designated “nut awareness zones” evident by the placement of this sign outside the classroom door.  This is done individually by classroom, on a classroom specific basis.  

In Division 16 (Mrs. Daudlin’s class), we have a student with very severe dairy and nut allergies which can result in an anaphylactic reaction. You were originally informed during the Welcome to Kindergarten slideshow to refrain from sending nut-based products to school and we remind the children frequently to be aware of allergens when eating.  

However, with new students to our Kindergarten over the past few months, we thought it would be a good idea to review our expectations for both Kindergarten classrooms, although this applies primarily to Division 16 this year.

-the children are able to eat dairy based products in the classroom (milk, cheese, yogurt).  Children always remain seated while eating.  They have learned to eat carefully in their personal space and to clean up after themselves.  We’ve been very successful with hand-washing/sanitizing and wiping down tables in the event of spills.

-please do not send any nuts or nut-based products to school.  This includes peanut butter, foods containing nuts eg., Nutella, trail mix, cookies with nuts, and please also be aware of granola bars containing nuts.  Read the label everytime.

-we remind the children regularly not to share food in the classroom.  They should only eat the food their parents have prepared for them, or food that was ordered from the Hot Lunch Program.  Due to Covid-19 this year, there is no food brought into the classrooms to share, and there is no eating of food on the playground during school hours.

-we discuss allergies frequently and have learned that other students and some parents in our class not only have food allergies, but many are allergic to animals.  The children are definitely familiar with allergy, possibly symptoms and prevention strategies.

-we have discussed learning to live with allergies in a classroom setting.  It is rare that we do not have one to two students a year in Kindergarten with allergies.  Because we are teaching our children about empathy, acceptance and inclusion, we can also teach them how to support their friends with allergies and consider how we are all able to enjoy eating and socialising safely together.

If you have any questions regarding food allergies in the classroom setting, please do not hesitate to contact your classroom teacher.

Emergency Preparedness

Thank you to everyone for your kind understanding regarding the recent power outage and school closure.  These do not happen very often (just the second time in about 20 years at Ridgeview) but it certainly is unsettling as everyone tries to figure out what is going to happen next.  Please continue to check your emails from our school office, and you can always visit Ridgeview’s school website.

We had a fire drill practise last week and we were very pleased with the children’s behaviour.  It is expected behaviour that the children will not talk in line and follow all teacher instructions immediately.  The children cannot hear us if they are talking among themselves.  All the practise we do waiting and walking in line quietly pays off when we quickly issue directions in emergency situations.  We work quickly as a school to bring all students outside in a calm and orderly manner and line up by division on the grade field.  Once the fire drill is declared to be over, we return to our classrooms in the same self-regulated manner.

Upcoming Events and Reminders

Mask Etiquette:  please remember the reusable masks should be worn only once before washing.  The children sometimes get food on the inside of the masks and they must be washed. We are very appreciative of the high number of students who diligently wear their masks to school every day.

Disposable masks should be changed daily.

The children took home their new Library Books last Friday.  Books will be due on Friday, February 5.