Together in Education Family Update
March 8-12
Lancaster Drive Public School and Parent Council
Email: lancd@limestone.on.ca
Website: http://lancaster.limestone.on.ca
Location: 1020 Lancaster Drive, Kingston, ON, Canada
Phone: (613)634-0470
Twitter: @LancasterPSLDSB
Upcoming Dates:
Monday March 8 ~ Start date for students returning from Virtual School - Welcome back!
Monday March 8 ~ International Women's Day
March 15-19 - CRUISE SHIP SPIRIT WEEK @ LANCASTER (stay tuned for details)
Monday, March 22 ~ Term Two IEPs sent home
Dear Lancaster Families
Lancaster families,
With the arrival of March we look forward to the arrival of some longer days as we "spring forward", and welcome more sunshine and the sense of renewal that spring often brings. We also recognize that students, staff and families are also feeling some "COVID-fatigue." Research shows that the first anniversary of traumatic events can be a time of heightened anxiety, stress and worry, and we are at the one-year mark of the beginning of COVID lockdowns and school closures in our province. It is very natural to feel a bit more tired and on-edge right now, and sometimes just realizing that this is a normal, human reaction to a traumatic event is reassuring. Below is a link to a short message from Kevin Cameron, who is the Executive Director for the North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response, describing the way that many of us are likely feeling right now, and the reasons why:
https://nactatr.com/news/COVID-anniversary.html
We are excited about some of the opportunities that our students have been experiencing and will be able to take part in over the next few weeks. Our kindness tree bloomed with hearts of kindness last month and we will partner with a member of our community to add a new focus - the theme of HOPE. Our neighbour down the path has asked if our students would like to contribute to his new community fence message. Our students, along with Mother Teresa students, will be painting messages of hope to add to the fence line for community members to read.
We also have a new inter-school sports challenge coming our way. Small teams of students have been competing over the year in various challenges against other LDSB schools. Our basketball challenge is now starting to wrap up, with teams entering into the finals this week. The next challenge will be related to volleyball skills. Students will practice skills in their phys ed classes and then have a junior and senior Lancaster team compete with other schools virtually. Thank you to Mr. V and Ms. Cancian for helping to facilitate these opportunities for athletes.
Classes have also been very fortunate to have guest speakers visit classes virtually, such as a well-known author or Queen's football players. We have also engaged in virtual field trips to the zoo or science centre, and had Gould Lake and a juggler visit classes outside. Staff have been very creative in adding different opportunities into their academic programming. We thank them for all they do, we have an incredible team of educators at Lancaster! See below for a sneak peek at next week's cruise week......
Ms. Fox and your Lancaster Team
"Jack in the Box" Pneumatics design
Supervising Principal Ms. Silver accepted the minute to win it challenge
Intermediate pneumatic presentations - "Parking Garage Elevator"
Exploring our Canadian heritage
Lots of ways to show our learning in patterns
Writing with a partner gives feedback, fun, and a shared experience
The chess challenge continues...student records are growing
We are hiding from the Troll in Phys Ed...shhhh!
A little upside down hang time!
CRUISE SHIP WEEK ~ March 15-19
Kingston Gets Active Challenge!
March 2021 Offers 31 Free Activities during the Kingston Gets Active Month Challenge
Kingston, ON – Get ready for the Kingston Gets Active Month Challenge! Kingston Gets Active Month is being offered as a challenge during the month of March, just in time to help you beat the winter and COVID blues. Kingston Gets Active Month is traditionally a time to try a new activity or just get out and have some fun getting active. This year all activities can be done outdoors or virtually at home. Everything is Free and there’s something for all ages.
To participate, download or check out the calendar of activities during the month of March. Challenge yourself, your family and your friends to get active each day. Then enter for a chance to win prizes!
Kingston Gets active is partnering with St Lawrence College Therapeutic Recreation students, who will be providing live virtual classes for all ages—from “Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Body Break” for little ones, to “Stretch to Destress at Work”, “Family Scavenger Hunt”, “Jukebox Classics Zumba” for older adults, and more. Other live virtual classes from local providers include cheerleading, yoga, and DancePl3y. We also have links from local provides to their virtual fitness programming as well as some fun things to do at home & outdoors—like water bottle bowling. All the details are in the Kingston Gets Active Calendar, which can be found on the Kingston Gets Active website.
Being physically active brings many benefits, including maintaining a healthy body weight, building a healthy heart, strengthening muscles and bones, improving self-esteem and mental health. “The Covid19 pandemic has made it difficult for all of us to find ways to be active,” said Kristin Côté, Coordinator of Kingston Gets Active. “We hope that all Kingston residents will take advantage of the many free activities being offered during the month and stay active, get healthy, and have some fun.”
Thank you to participating local organizations
ON-LINE REGISTRATION FOR STUDENTS NEW TO LDSB IS NOW OPEN!
KFL&A Public Health Immunization Announcement
KFL&A Public Health will be postponing the enforcement of the Immunization of School Pupils Act for this school year and will not implement suspension actions this spring. Nevertheless, we ask that parents report any required vaccine(s) that a student has already received by the proposed deadline of February 18th, 2021.
Students missing vaccines, can see their regular health care provider as soon as possible and then update their record with KFL&A Public Health.
Students without a health card or doctor can book an appointment to receive free vaccines at KFL&A Public Health clinics. Go to //kflaph.ca/Appointments to book an appointment.
We recognize this may be a stressful time however we encourage families to provide the requested information due to the heightened importance of protecting against vaccine preventable disease outbreaks in our school communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accessing Communication Tools
Learn how to:
- Set up a SchoolMessenger App account: set up your account, review your contact information and communication preferences, join teacher-instant messaging groups, and view all your alerts and messages in one place. Watch the video tutorial.
- Use the Communicate broadcast tool: choose how you will receive alerts including how to opt-in for text messaging. Watch the video tutorial.
- Use the Board mobile app: how to choose your schools, see your messages and report and review student absences. Watch the video tutorial.
Subscribe to school calendars: receive email alerts or download calendars or individual events to your personal calendar