Together in Education
February 2018
Lancaster Drive Public School and Parent Council
Email: lancd@limestone.on.ca
Website: http://lancaster.limestone.on.ca
Location: 1020 Lancaster Drive, Kingston, ON, K7P 2R7
Phone: 613-634-0470
Twitter: @LancasterPSLDSB
Upcoming Events
Feb 6 - Parent Council Meeting 6:00, all welcome
Feb 6 - Mr. Vreeken and Ms. Dudley/Doucet's classes to Gould Lake
Feb 6 - Hot Lunch: Pizza
Feb 9 - Spirit Day: Olympics Opening Ceremony Day - Wear an Olympic Ring colour!
Feb 12 - Queen's teacher candidates begin placements
Feb 13 - Junior Classes to Queen's - swimming
Feb 13 - Hot Lunch: Chicken Fingers
Feb 14 - Valentine's Day - wear red, white, or pink, Friendship/Valentine's Dance
Feb 16 - Little Caesars Pizza Kit Orders due
Feb 19 - Family Day - no school
Feb 20 - Hot Lunch: Macaroni & Cheese
Feb 21 - Term 1 Reports Cards go home with students
Feb 27 - Hot Lunch: Panzarotti
Feb 28 - WEAR PINK Bullying Awareness Day (Boys' and Girls' Club)
Message from your Administrative Team
January marks the end of a very full first term. Classes enjoyed visits from University of Waterloo Math department, Roots of Empathy program, technology sessions that explored coding and the use of programs to map out student thinking, hands on inquiry learning with instruments in our music program, as well as excursions outside the building. We currently have Physical Education students from Queen's University coming in to provide additional daily physical education to classes in the building and help facilitate a Dance Club for primary students. We are celebrating student voice as they show initiative around creating student clubs with staff support in the areas of art, drama, chess, and reading. The month of February brings with it a focus on kindness and a new term ahead. Intermediate students worked on Genius Hour projects which had some students focusing on giving back to the community through a bake sale and winter clothing drive. We celebrate this leadership and initiative in our students and look forward to new adventures as second Term gets underway.
We are happy to announce that our primary water filling station has arrived and successfully installed! The new fountain is located in the primary hallway immediately outside of the kindergarten classrooms. This location gives student access to both primary hallways within the line of vision of staff, as well as access for our kindergarten students with its proximity to those classrooms. We have also received news that our traffic survey results have been fed into plans for construction work to begin on the parking lot and parent drop off areas for both Lancaster and Mother Teresa schools. Changes will include alterations to address the current level of congestion and provide improved safety for students and families at pick-up and drop-off times. Construction is to begin in early July with project completion planned for the end of August.
GROWING HEALTHY INDEPENDENCE IN YOUR CHILD:
As adults in the lives of our children we want nothing but the best for them and as a result, we do not hesitate to attend to their needs. However, to give children the opportunity to be successful in life, we also have to teach them independence. We have had an increasing amount of parent traffic in the hallways in the mornings as parents walk children to their classrooms. This causes congestion and makes it difficult for staff to walk their classes to their classrooms and allow other students to organize belongings and get ready for the school day. We ask that all parents drop students off to the staff that are waiting for them outside and say goodbyes in the playground. If your child arrives as the bell is ringing they can often still make it to their line up and enter with their classmates. If you are a few minutes late we ask that parents sign their child into the office and let them walk down to their classroom independently. We will begin monitoring the front foyer area and parents will be asked to follow these guidelines to preserve a calmer and safe environment for students to start their day.
WHAT IS YOUR REPORT CARD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CHILD?
When report card time arrives your reaction may have a greater impact on your child than you realize. How you react has the potential to determine continued school success or ongoing educational struggle for you and your child. Consider report cards one piece of communication about your child's learning, some of the most valuable communication can come from talking to your child.
- Pay attention to the things that matter most to your child when they share their report card with you. Help them focus on the learning process rather than the letter/grade. Model this by giving your child very specific feedback that focuses more on effort than on intellect or achievement. When we praise children for their intelligence only, we are stressing the importance of being smart. This has the potential of putting undue pressure on them not to make mistakes and less apt to take the risks that are inherent in learning. Emphasizing effort helps children learn that they have control in their own success by making attempts and exerting their energies in certain ways. Providing a child with a clear picture of what it is they are doing to master a certain task will help boost their internal motivation and encourage perseverance – a key ingredient to fostering a growth mindset in your child.
- Ask questions: What was most enjoyable part of the learning for you? What came easy to you this time? What do you think you could have changed or done differently? What are the parts that challenge you? What will your strategy be for next steps? What assistance do you need to accomplish these goals? Fueling a conversation such as this will encourage your child to become more mindful about their learning experience and better able to identify what works in order to duplicate it for continued success.
- When you have more than one school age child it is important to be on the alert to siblings making comparisions that grow negative thinking. Use this opportunity to instill respect for differences and the uniqueness of individuals.
Students who are given an opportunity to discuss their performance and become actively involved in making decisions and reflecting on their learning are more likely to become internally motivated lifelong learners. Your involvement in your child's schooling throughout the year can have a positive impact on their growth and engagement at school.
Your leaders in learning,
Lani Fox & Sara Wellwood
Winter Cookout at Gould Lake
Chess Club rocks!
Sharing our STEM challenges : )
Letter from your Parent Council Chair
Dear Lancaster Families,
Parent Council started our chilly February off right by offering a warm and welcoming Coffee Time for parents. Parent Council felt providing an early morning opportunity for parents to connect and chat with administration, teachers, and other parents would be a beneficial community building activity. Feedback from the event was that it was “cozy” and “fun” and many parents enjoyed coming together with other families during the dark days of winter. Special thanks to Donna Banting for her flawless planning and inviting vision. Teachers appreciated the delivery of a cup of coffee to kick off their day! Please join us for our next Coffee Time on March 6th at 8am.
We are currently undergoing a fundraising initiative through Little Caesars. We are offering Pizza Kits for purchase, with proceeds supporting our school that make dinner prep easy for families! For convenience, there are two ways to submit orders – submitting your completed order form to Lancaster directly or placing your order online. Orders are due on Friday, February 16th. Pizza Kits will be ready for pickup on Monday March 5th. Please ensure that if you order a Pizza Kit you pick up your order promptly, as we do not have the ability to store kits in a refrigerated space.
Thank you in advance for your support!
We are so very blessed at Lancaster to have our children in the care of such dedicated and special teachers. Our Lancaster community is more than a school community – it is an extended family. Every day our children engage in meaningful and exciting activities that build their knowledge and skills, further developing their relationships with their teachers and peers. After Family Day, Parent Council will be pleased to plan our Teacher Appreciation Day to thank these wonderful role models for making such warm and thoughtful commitments to our children.
With Appreciation,
Serena Milling and Allison Slate
Chair, Co-Chair
SCHOOL NEWS
School Year Calendar for 2018-2019 - Parent Input Requested
Online Registration for school is here!
The Limestone District School Board is excited to introduce online registration for our families in the new year.
New families or those returning to our district are now able to register online to attend school via our new online registration process. The new online tool will allow families to search their home address which will then provide the school catchment, or boundary, for their area and determine which school their child is eligible to attend.
All information provided through the online process is secure and will be confidentially transferred to the school for review to complete the registration process.
Accommodations will be made to help families navigate the new process should they require assistance. The new online registration has now been launched and available through the school board website.
Choices at Seven Information Evening Information
More information at: http://www.limestone.on.ca/Programs/FOV1-001206AA/Choices_At_Seven/
Information brochures will be coming home with our Grade 6 students - watch for yours!
Popcorn
All money raised will be put towards student enrichment opportunities at Lancaster - including our sit-down lunch initiative. More details about these lunch events will be shared soon.
Thank you for your support and enthusiasm for our popcorn sales!
Book Fair
KFL&A Supporting Healthy Schools
Parent Council News
Coffee Time!
Fundraising Activities
Its time for you, your friends, and your family to get your Little Caesars Pizza Kits! Have them on hand for quick dinners, parties or entertaining! Buy multiple kits and stock your freezers! If everyone sells 5 kits, we will reach our goal. Help Support our School!
Please see the information sent home with your child about how to place your order. If you need another order form, please contact Kory Slovitt - kory@slovitt.ca
Orders Due: Friday February 16th
Order Pick up: Monday March 5th
Thank you for your support and participation!
Parent Council Account Balance
The Parent Council account balance
as of January 31, 2017 is
$7,420.76
Submitted by Kory Slovitt, Treasurer
What are the WITS Programs?
In the new year Lancaster will be exploring again the strengths of the WITS and LEADS program. These programs bring together schools, families and communities to create responsive environments that help children deal with bullying and peer conflict. WITS has two parts:
WITS Primary Program – Teaches Kindergarten to Grade 3 children to Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out and Seek help when faced with peer conflict. The acronym also provides a common language that children and the adults around them can use to talk about and respond to problems.
WITS LEADS Program – A more grown-up program designed for Grades 4-6 students, which teaches more complex problem-solving strategies: Look and listen, Explore points of view, Act, Did it work? and Seek help. LEADS trains students to become WITS Leaders who can help younger children with their problems.
Teachers reinforce the programs by reading popular children’s books, which emphasize WITS and LEADS messages, to their students. We also encourage students to use their WITS and LEADS skills to deal with problems and hope you will too!
Want to know more? Explore the WITS website at www.witsprogram.ca.
Music/Instrument Lessons at Lancaster
Lancaster is happy to share that our students are able to register for instrumental music lessons that take place in our school building during the school day. Please contact the music teachers directly if you are interested in registering your child/children for piano or guitar lessons.
Piano:
Tanya Bezanson
E-mail: Tanya.bezanson@bell.net
Phone: 613-539-8342
Guitar:
John Porter
E-mail: Mourninghorse@gmail.com
Phone: 613-328-6070
"Give the ones you love, wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay."
~Dalai Lama
Useful Links
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limestone.on.ca/lending_library
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www.limestone.on.ca/
Limestone_Link/
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Council Calendar
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School Calendar