Woodlawn Early Years School

Our High Five positive behaviour program has been really well received by students, staff and families. Every day we have so many slips we can't read them all during announcements! For the month of October we will focus on Be Safe. Students will learn about recess and playground safety at assemblies and in their class with their teachers.

It is also Bus Safety month. Each class will get to participate in a bus evacuation drill. This will ensure that in the case of an emergency staff and students know what to do. We ask parents to talk to their children about the importance of being safe around and on school buses. Here is a link to Manitoba Education's bus safety information.

We have had one fire drill this year and we plan on doing a few more during the month of October (before the snow comes). We will also do a lockdown drill and a tornado drill this month. A letter will be sent home with more details.

We really appreciate all of our families at Woodlawn. Thank you for working with us to make things as safe as possible for our kids. Have a great month and Be Safe!

Karen Fraser and Tara Reimer

Did you know!

The SRSS Health Clinic is a cooperative partnership of the Hanover School Division, Southern Health-Santé Sud and Steinbach Family Medical. Operating as a satellite extension of Steinbach Family Medical, the on-site Health Clinic is staffed with a full-time Nurse Practitioner (NP).

Can students from other HSD schools access clinic services?

Yes. The services offered are available for students and staff of SRSS, students attending other HSD schools, and children in the SRSS Day Care

Click HERE for more details on the services provided.

LOVE LITERACY - Tips and Tricks from Literacy Support

One of the best gifts we as parents and caregivers can give our children is a love for stories, books and reading.

Story - tell stories about your own life. Make up stories at bedtime. Encourage your child to tell stories about what happened to them at school or what they wish had happened. Watch a movie together and then spend time responding to it - talk about it, and invite your child to draw a picture or act out their favorite part or write about it.

Books - take time to explore books with your child. Follow your child’s lead - what do they want to learn about? Is there a series that they already know and like? Maybe there is a book that goes along with a movie or show that they have watched. Visit the library. Jake Epp library has lots of great books and very helpful librarians. Explore books online. Libby Overdrive is a wonderful app that lets you borrow books for free to view or listen to online. The Woodlawn website has great learning links: Kidrex (a safe search engine), Tumblebooks (books to listen to and view) and PebbleGo (a child-friendly dictionary). Storyline Online is a fun website where various celebrities dramatically read stories that are creatively illustrated.

Reading - try to build a regular routine of reading to or with your child. See if you can do this everyday or nearly every day. Find a cozy, quiet spot if you can. Spend time reading and talking about what you’re reading. Have fun with it!

I wish you many wonderful moments with your child enjoying stories, books and reading together!

This year our Numeracy News section will highlight engaging work that our classes are doing in math. Our teachers work hard to develop rigorous numeracy programs that challenge and engage every child. They do so through formal and informal assessments to determine the strengths and next steps for their kids and through carefully chosen learning experiences. You may notice that our teachers have moved away from relying on worksheets and adopted more open and engaging practices. Worksheets make it challenging to provide work that is challenging for all students and also limit the rich conversation that can enhance student learning. Students today are exploring numeracy through number talks, counting collections, 3-act math problems, which one doesn't belong, and many more. Teachers hold high expectations for all of their kids to develop a conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts, fluency in mental math and estimation, as well as being able to explore and apply conceptual understanding through problem solving. Check back each month to see what we are up to in numeracy!

On Friday, September 29 the staff and students honoured the survivors of the Residential School System by wearing orange shirts and celebrating Indigenous culture. Our grade 3 and 4 students attended a performance by Ray Coco Stevenson and Walking Wolf Dancers. A big thank you goes out to the staff at CMS who welcomed us into their space because of the rain.

We are happy to continue the Elder in the School program that is funded by Manitoba Education. Our Indigenous student leadership groups and classes will get to participate in this program throughout the year. If you would like your children to join one of our Indigenous leadership groups, please email Karen Fraser at kfraser@hsd.ca. All students are welcome to join these groups.

Hearing screening will take place at Woodlawn School in late October to early November. The purpose of the screening is to identify children who may have educational difficulties due to the presence of undiagnosed permanent or long-term hearing impairment. Early identification is expected to result in earlier intervention and thus fewer and less severe associated difficulties.

All students in Kindergarten and grade 1 will be screened, new students to Hanover School Division, and students whose teachers have suggested hearing screening. Children with known hearing impairments will not be screened. The students will be brought to the area where the screening is taking place by a staff member or a parent volunteer.

If after the screening it is determined that further testing with an audiologist is needed, parents/guardians will be contacted by the school.

If you have any questions about the screening please contact Karen Fraser or Tara Reimer at the school.

The Hanover Parent and Child Community Program invites parents and their preschool children to attend free parent-child programming!

This program is provided to promote school readiness. Children will have the opportunity to play, learn, create, sing, and develop skills to prepare them for kindergarten. Parents will be able to visit with other parents and participate in activities with their children. Programming is free and snacks will be provided. Families can attend once or twice a week or drop by when able.

We will follow the same schedule as the divisional school calendar in regards to school closure days and inclement weather.

Parents please report to the office for check in and park in the church parking lot across from the school.

We will meet on Monday mornings from 9:15 to 11:45 am and Wednesday afternoons from 1:00 - 3:30 pm.

We will meet in Hut 35 at Woodlawn School. Children should bring indoor footwear.

Please contact Stacey Marcoux at 204-326-9829 or email smarcoux@hsd.ca should you have any questions.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

Staff Appreciation was on Sept. 28th. Staff immensely enjoyed all the treats that were brought in. Thanks to all of you who volunteered to bring treats.

Munchalunch has started! Our first lunch will be October 10th. This month we are doing Main Bread and Butter.

PAC Meetings - The next meeting will be held October 10. In November we will have one on Nov. 7 and 9.

If you have any questions, please email the PAC at woodlawnelementarypac@gmail.com.

Please note that we are scent aware at our school and on our buses. Scented products can aggravate problems for some people, especially those with fragrance sensitivities, asthma, allergies and other medical conditions.

The HSD Parent Portal is a communications tool designed to enhance and increase parent/guardian involvement in the education of their children by providing secure online access to their child's student information. We encourage all parents/guardians to set up a parent portal account. With a single username and password you can access data for each of your children attending an HSD school. If you have not yet set up an account for each of your children please contact the school office for the access codes and set up information.

Please take a few minutes to review the student information and contact information for your child. It is important that the school has current address and contact information for your child in case it is necessary to reach someone during the school day. Contact the office for any changes that need to be made on the parent portal.

Mark your Calendar for our School Picture Day on

Wednesday, October 18 for KG1, KM1, Gr. 1, 1/2, 2PR, 2W and Gr. 3/4

Thursday, October 19 for KM2, KG2, KL2, 2KF, Gr. 3, Gr 4

For your convenience orders may be placed online.

All students will be photographed for school service products.

For Tips on preparing for photo day visit www.lifetouch.ca

Any questions, please call Lifetouch at 1-866-457-8212 or email: guestservices@lifetouch.ca

JUST A REMINDER THAT THIS YEAR, ONLY students who ORDER A CLASS PICTURE WILL RECEIVE ONE. THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE ORDER FORM.

If your child will be away from school or will be late or will not be returning to school after any of our nutrition/activity breaks please ensure you call the school at 204-326-6110 or email woodlawn@hsd.ca to let us know. If you know ahead of time that your child will be absent please enter the absence in your child's parent portal account, email woodlawn@hsd.ca, leave a voice mail, or write a note in their agenda. When the school is not advised of an absence or late arrival, the office begins a call back procedure to parents and emergency contacts. Many of these calls can be avoided if parents call ahead to advise us of the absence.

Thanks to all the students who brought a money for the Terry Fox Fundraiser. We will be donating $450 to the Terry Fox Foundation.

The Grow-A-Row program coordinated by Southeast Helping Hands will be running October 6-10, 2023. Any families wishing to drop off produce are encouraged to do so at Southeast Helping Hands from 9am - 3 pm on those dates. They are looking for donations of garden produce (carrots, potatoes, beets, etc.)

To ensure the safety of our students and due to congestion of our staff parking lots and bus loop areas, parents are not to enter those areas between 8:15 - 4:30. Also note there is no public parking available at Entrance D (Barkman Street) at any time. All parking is reserved for school staff. If you are dropping off or picking up your child please DO NOT park on Henry Street as there are signs for no stopping and you may be ticketed. Please park on the church parking lot across from the school. For the safety of your child we request that you escort your child across Henry Street. For students' safety, please avoid parking along Barkman Street across from the school during 8:30 - 9:00 am and 3:30 - 4:00 pm.

If your children walk to and from school it is always best if they walk in small groups and never alone. There is a crossing guard at the corner of Penner and Barkman from 8:35-8:53 and 3:45- 4:00. There is a crossing guard at the corner of Hespler and Ashford/Barkman from 8:30-8:50 and 3:30-4:00. Please remind your children to always go straight to school/home so they don't miss the crossing guards.

An urban bus catchment area map is posted on the HSD website. Any urban or rural bus that will be late due to weather or mechanical issues is listed on the HSD website under the bus delay tab.

Go to the drop down menu of Services/Transportation Services and you can select:

1. School Bus Delay Bulletins - where any bus that is late is posted with the approximate delay.

2. Catchment Maps

Thank you for checking these options before calling the Hanover School Division Transportation Department with your questions regarding bus delays and Steinbach urban bus routes times and maps. Any questions for transportation please call 204-320-2347.

Most school bus fatalities occur when children are outside the bus and 75% of these fatalities involve children under the age of nine.

Things Parents Should Know About Bus Safety

• School buses are the safest form of transportation
• The most dangerous part of the bus ride is getting on and off the bus
• Young children are most likely to be struck because they:
  
• Hurry to get on and off the bus
• Act before they think and have little experience with traffic
• Assume motorists will see them
• Don't always stay within the sight of the driver
  

Things Children Should Know About Bus Safety

• Stand back from the curb
• NEVER run to or from the bus
• NEVER try to pick up something that has fallen under the bus
• Stay in your seat and sit quietly so that the driver is not distracted
• Wait for the driver's signal and then cross in FRONT of the bus

Fire Prevention Week begins on Sunday, October 8 and the Office of the Fire Commissioner website has been updated with all Fire Prevention Week – “Cooking safety starts with YOU!” material.

There is a contest that children Kindergarten to Grade 4 can enter to win a $200 gift card as well as items for their class. Click HERE to read about the contest.

Email: woodlawn@hsd.ca
Website: www.woodlawn.hsd.ca
Location: 411 Henry St, Steinbach, MB, Canada R5G 0R1
Phone: 204-326-6110
Twitter: @WoodlawnHSD