Dear Parents and Guardians,
Welcome to another school year at Manordale PS. Our class
this year is a grade 3/4 split of 20 students, 8 of whom
are in grade 3 and 12 in grade 4. After 7 years in Victoria,
B.C., I am delighted to start a new year in Ottawa. I
am from Lac-St-Jean, Quebec, and I've lived in many cities
across Canada, from Halifax to Victoria. I've been a French
teacher since 1990 and many of those years were spent
at Connaught PS, a vibrant multicultural school in Ottawa.
Sending an email to pierre.renaud@ocdsb.ca would be the
easiest way to reach me but you can also send a note in
your child's agenda or leave a message on my voice mail.
Class Schedule
The school timetable is not completely finalized. I
will be teaching most of the subjects except for English
Language Arts, which will be taught by Mrs Piers, in
the afternoon, Monday to Thursday from 1:20 to the end
of the day, and Friday from 1:20 to 1:40.
Attendance
I appreciate when you let me know by email when your
child is going to be absent. However, it is important
that you still contact the office to let them know.
If your child will be missing school for any planned
period of time, please notify me in writing (either
by email or by sending a note to school with your child)
outlining the dates she/he will be away.
Home/School Communication
Please feel free to contact me by email at pierre.renaud@ocdsb.ca.
Thank you to those who signed up to join our newsgroup
(http://groups.google.com/group/manordale).
I view e-mail as a means to improve and facilitate the
flow of information between students, parents, and ourselves.
I hope that we will all use the system to convey supportive
and constructive comments. Should you need to contact
me about any concerns e.g. issues with field trips,
homework, seating arrangements, etc. I would prefer
that you leave a message on my voice mail, or send a
note in your child's agenda. Thank you for your understanding.
Agendas
All students from grades 2/3EFI to 6 have received
a student agenda to establish positive communication
between home and school. Please help your child get
into a routine of bringing the agenda home each evening
and please sign it after you read the note. Please send
in a voluntary contribution of $8 towards the cost of
the agenda. Please make cheques payable to Manordale
PS.
E-pals
In an effort to maintain an open line of communication
between students and teachers, I would like to use ePALS,
the "world's largest online classroom community
and leading provider of student-safe email" ( http://www.epals.com/).
ePALS accounts can only be used to send messages WITHIN
the ePALS community. As spam has become a wide-scale
problem on the Internet, this feature prevents spam,
keeping what's in your child's mailbox relevant to the
ePALS experience. One of the great features of this
site is the Monitored Email, which allows me to ensure
that messages are safe and appropriate. Messages with
attachments and/or questionable language will have to
be pre-approved by M. Renaud. Unflagged messages will
reach their recipients automatically, but keep in mind
that I get a copy of every message that is being sent
and received. I will not hesitate to deactivate an account
that is used inappropriately.
Use of French and reward system
Developing oral language skills and vocabulary in French
is an important part of the French Immersion curriculum.
Students are expected to speak French in class at all
times (except during recess, lunch, English Language
Arts, and special events). In order to encourage students
to use their French language skills, students will be
given a small amount of "play money" with
the opportunity to earn more for speaking regularly
in French. Every second Friday, students can use this
money to purchase recycled items that other students
have brought from home in a class auction. Not only
does this system promote the use of French in the classroom,
it also reinforces basic Math and computation skills.
Homework
Students may have work to complete at home. Students
should be able to complete these tasks independently;
however, they can benefit from a quiet place in which
to perform these tasks and the supervision of an adult
or older sibling to ensure that homework is completed.
Assigned homework and due dates are recorded on the
chalkboard - students will write this information in
their agendas at the end of the day. Homework will not
normally be assigned on weekends. As a rule of thumb,
your child should not spend more than 30 (grade 3 students)
to 40 (grade 4 students) minutes completing homework
per evening; please advise me if this is not the case.
If your child is unable to complete her/his homework
for any reason, please let me know by writing a note
in your child's agenda or by sending me an email. In
the event that your child has completed all her/his
tasks at school and has no homework, students should
be reading for a minimum of 15 minutes per evening.
Class Materials
Thank you for purchasing and sending your child's school
supplies to class this past week. Please note that the
following items are also suggested (as with all supplies,
please ensure that they are labeled with your child's
name):
Dictionaries: I usually let students use on-line dictionaries,
but print dictionaries will be useful since access to
a computer is very limited for now. They also develop
important dictionary and alphabetic skills. If your
child already has a French-English/English-French dictionary,
please have her/him bring it to school. If not, the
Larousse Pocket Dictionary (ISBN: 2035420105 - approximately
$10) is a handy reference to purchase and which your
child will be able to use in the coming years. Another
good one is "Larousse Student Dictionary"
(ISBN: 2035420555 - approximately $10)
Felt tip pens/markers: A few felt tip pens are useful
for art and other projects.
Report Cards and Conferences
Parents and guardians will receive three reports concerning
their child's progress throughout the year. If your
child is finding a particular activity or curricular
area to be a challenge, I will let you know so that
you may work on the concept with her/him at home. In
addition to our first conference in December, there
will be another Parent-Teacher conference time set up
in the spring. Should you wish to discuss an issue with
me outside these dates, feel free to set up a time to
meet with me by either phoning the school office or
emailing.
Water Bottles/Snacks
Students are encouraged to bring water bottles to school
and are permitted to keep them on their desks during
class time. Since spills and accidents do occur, juice
and other drinks are allowed at recess and lunchtime
only. As learning takes a great deal of energy, students
may also eat fresh fruit and vegetable snacks at their
desks throughout the day.
Field Trips
Field trips are an important part of the school curriculum
and provide enriching experiences for all learners.
I will try to have a few curricular-related field trips
throughout the year and will advise you well in advance
if there are any costs associated with these activities.
Digital Pictures
I would like to take pictures of the students throughout
the year, that I could share with the families using
online services. By default, all albums will be Private
and will be invisible to guests trying to browse the
personal URL. Note that when I share albums via email,
any recipient of that invitation could view that album
even if it is set to Private. Uninvited guests who have
not received a sharing email from you will not be able
to see it. Please advise me immediately if you do not
want your child to appear in these albums.
Volunteering
Parent volunteers are most welcome in the classroom
once routines are well established. Please advise me
if you have a particular interest, skill, or hobby that
you would like to share.
Classe Partenaire / Buddy Class
Mme Lacasse has agreed to be our "buddy class"
for the year. In the coming months, students will be
matched with an younger "ami(e)" from Mme
Lacasse's Grade 1 class with whom we will do primarily
literacy activities. Having a "buddy" contributes
to the students' literacy skills, helps younger students
feel part of the school community, and gives a chance
to older students to be friends and role-models, both
in the classroom and outside at recess.
Routines, procedures and expectations
Be Considerate:
· Listen carefully
· Raise your hand if you wish to speak to the
class
· Maintain eye contact and give your full attention
to those speaking
· Maintain good listening posture
· Show respect to others
· Be kind with your words and actions
· Work quietly
Be Prepared for Lessons:
· Pencils sharpened prior to lessons
· Have all necessary equipment at school daily
· Try to follow directions the first time and
if you are unsure, ask for clarification
· Do not disturb others who are working
· Use washrooms during class breaks (Recess/Lunch)
Be Conscientious and Responsible:
· Work and play safely
· Present work neatly to the best of your ability
· Label your work (Page, Title, Name, Date)
· Hand in homework on time.
Merci!
M. Renaud