Principal’s Message
When I was a Grade One teacher, students would often come in after the Christmas Break convinced that they were moving on to the next grade. To them, a new year meant a new beginning, and that must mean moving up a grade! We think a lot about new beginnings at this time of year, looking back on the year that passed and looking forward to the year ahead. There is a danger in spending too much time in the past/future paradox in that we can forget to be aware of the present!
One of our strategies for helping students to make good choices moment to moment is to help them to be mindful of their emotions, their surroundings, and their actions. Mindfulness is a large skill set that takes time and learning to develop, but there are many ways to build those skills in our daily lives. Schools all over the USA and Canada have started to incorporate mindfulness practices, and early results are promising. The article below from Today’s Parent talks about some of those practices and what they look like in school.
At Avon, we are always considering how our physical, social, and emotional well-being support our students’ readiness to learn. We are finding that some of these practices do make a difference in helping students to self regulate more effectively, always a positive step forward! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-rudellbeach-/8-ways-to-teach-mindfulnesstokids_b_5611721.html and http://www.todaysparent.com/family/educatio n/mindfulness-for-kids-learning-emotionalregulation-in-school/.
Barbara Alken
Safety First
Thank you to all our parents who have made accommodations and are parking on the side streets to pick up their children. It has made a huge difference to our parking lot—as predicted, we have lost quite a few spaces due to snow removal. Remember, parents can no longer park in the parking lot when dropping off or picking up at entry and dismissal times.
If you find circling in the parking lot to be a time-consuming endeavour at the end of a busy day, you might want to consider parking on a side street as well. On many days, you might just be on your way sooner parking and walking in, and with fewer frustrations maneuvering in such a tight space with so many other vehicles.
Readers Needed
If you have an hour or two to spare in the week, we would love to have you come in to read with some of our students, or listen to them read. Every single experience reading will move children toward reading success, and your support with this is such an important part of the process! We’d love to have you, for whatever time you can offer— grandparents are welcome!
Allergy Guidelines
Remember to only send food within our allergy guidelines. No peanuts, tree nuts, kiwi fruit, fish, seafood, raw or undercooked eggs or anything made from these products. Thanks for your help keeping everyone safe and healthy!
Scents at School
We have members of our school community who are very sensitive to scents. If you are coming into the school (volunteering, parent teacher interviews, performances, etc.) please be aware and refrain from using perfume.
Winter Clothing
- For all our children to enjoy the winter and get as much productive outdoor play time as possible, please be sure to send them dressed for the weather with snowpants, boots, hats, and mitts.
- Wet weather often requires extra socks, mittens, and pants. Please keep some extra items in your child’s backpack.
We check weather conditions regularly and shorten recess or keep students indoors on days when the wind chill is –20 or below.
Inclement Weather
Coming from the snowy north of the AMDSB, I was used to having snow days, but the one we had before the Christmas Break surprised us all! We are very glad that the call was made early in the morning to close all the schools in AMDSB with students’ safety a priority. Please remember that this is an exception, and we will normally be open even when buses are not running. You can always find out about inclement weather conditions at:
- Visit: www.ourschoolbuses.ca
- Check Avon’s website—read the Twitter message on snowy days and listen to 1240 AM CJCS Radio Stratford and Mix 107.7 FM
- Sign up for Twitter @AvonPS
Avon School Council
“The Purpose of a School Council is to help improve student achievement and to enhance the accountability of the education system to parents.“
Next Meeting: Monday, January 30th, 2017 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the library
Fundraising 7:30-8:00 p.m.
Fundraising
Look forward to Little Caesar’s Fundraising coming home this week, just in time for those mid-winter blahs! Also, our parents group is sponsoring a Glow in the Dark Dance Party on January 19 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. We hope you come out and enjoy the event!
YMCA News
Hello! We hope everyone had a warm and safe holiday spent with your loved ones. Our school age programs are in full swing, enjoying our outdoor time in the snow. Please remember to pack warm clothing and appropriate outdoor attire as we are outside in the morning and afternoon. YMCA Pre-Registration will be coming up soon. We will be running our preregistration at the individual schools this year to help with the hustle and bustle, we will be supplying the dates in the near future so please stay tuned.