Friday 24 August 2018

St. Jude's Fitness Membership


Welcome To St. Jude's Academy!


I am excited to welcome you to my Grade Three class at St. Jude’s Academy! Students will be taught academics by myself, Elisa Chiappetta, French by Mme. Stella, Gym by Alexandra Yustin and Music by Darren Flower. 

Before I continue, let me introduce myself. My name is Miss. Chiappetta and this will be my second year of teaching here at St. Jude’s Academy. I completed my undergraduate degree at The University of Guelph Humber for Early Childhood Education earning my Diploma in Early Childhood Education and my Bachelors of Applied Science in Early Childhood Education. My second degree was a Bachelors in Education from The University of Western Ontario. I have completed my additional qualifications in Special Education and I strive to ensure that my students feel welcomed, safe and valued within my classroom. I am a life-long learner and I hope to help your children develop a love for learning. I believe that communication is key for your child’s success and to develop a great parent/teacher relationship, so I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns at any time. Once again, I cannot wait to meet all of you very soon!  

Below is some important information about the first couple weeks of school: 

SJA Student Policy 
Attached to this email you will find the SJA Student Policy Handbook. Please read it, sign the last page and bring it to me, so I can add to your child’s file. This page is due in the agenda by Friday, September 14th.

Upcoming Event
  1. Orientation Evenings

    We have scheduled two orientation evenings. This is also a good time to pick up your family’s FOB if you haven’t already done this.

    Monday, August 27th: PYP Orientation (JK – Grade 6), from 5 pm – 7 pm

    Parents and students are invited to visit the school, meet their teachers, see the classrooms, and ask any questions they may have.
    Please come visit me in my new classroom. My room number is 22.

    Tuesday, August 28th: Upper School Students Orientation (Grades 7 – 12), from 4 – 6 pm

    Students are invited to visit the school and participate in a scavenger hunt to collect their schedules, locate their classrooms, locks & lockers, meet their teachers, and more. Upon arriving at the school, students should report to the front desk to begin their scavenger hunt.

    Tuesday, August 28th: Upper School Parents Orientation (Grade 7 – 12), from 6 – 7 pm

    Parents are invited to visit the school to meet the teachers and ask any questions they may have.
  2. The First Day of School
    The first day of school is Wednesday, September 5th. This is a full school day. Students are expected to be in full uniform. Please review the Parent and Student Handbook with your son or daughter prior to the first day of school.  Please sign the last page and send it in to your child’s teacher by September 14th, 2018.

  1. Welcome BBQ

    All families are invited to attend the BBQ event taking place on Wednesday, September 20th. More information about this event will be available at the orientation evenings and during the first week of school.

Key Fobs 
All SJA families are required to purchase a key fob. This will allow you to enter the building at the side door between 7:30-9:00 AM and then again from 3:45-6:00 PM. For new families, this was included in your tuition cost and you are able to pick up your fob on Orientation Night from Andrew at the reception. If you require addition fobs, the key fob is a $40 deposit and you can see speak to Dawn about ordering one. 

Hot Lunch Program 
Please know that the website closes off end of day Aug 31st and is unable to reopen for September ordering.
·      Lunch payments are due no later than September 14th.

Below are the instructions for returning families:
·      If you have a sibling joining SJA this year please keep in mind you can only use one email per child. 
Step 1: Logon to website http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja - if you forgot your password or email used please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com
Step 2: Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MY ACCOUNT, Change grade and teacher to reflect new year. Select SAVE
Step 3: Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.
*Don’t forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering 

Below are the instructions for new families:
**If you have more than one child you will need to use different email addresses for each child. Only one child can be registered and ordered for under a single email address. 
Step 1: Go to website http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja
·      Select register an account 
·      Select grade 
·      Select class 
·      Select teacher 
·      Enter in student information
·      Accept terms and conditions and select Register
Repeat for additional students. 
Step 2: Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.
*Don’t forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering

Homework
Please know that both Grade Three classes receive the same amount of homework as listed below:
·      Students will receive reading comprehension folders on Fridays to complete over the weekend.
·      Students are expected to read for 25 minutes each night. Reading logs must be signed by a parent every day.
·      Spelling lessons will take place on Monday, if incomplete it will be sent home and is due on Thursday.
·      Spelling Tests will take place on Fridays.
·      A math worksheet will be sent home nightly to practice concepts taught during the day.
·      Students may periodically bring home incomplete work from the day to finish that night. 
If you are planning on going on a family vacation for a prolonged period of time and would like to request work packages to continue skills on that trip I can gladly accommodate that!

Agendas 
Your child will receive an agenda on his/her first day of school. Please read and sign your child’s agenda every day, as important dates, announcements and homework will be included and updated each week. Students need to bring their agendas back and forth to school each day. This is another way of communicating with me. 

Upcoming Events
o   August 27 PYP Orientation, 5-7 pm 
o   September 3 Labour Day (No School) 
o   September 4 PD Day, IB Training (No School)
o   September 5 First Day of School, Term 1 Begins 
o   September 7 Spirit Day: House Colours Dress Up
o   September 20 Welcome BBQ
o   September 26 Casual Day
o   September 27 Terry Fox Run (PYP)
o   September 28 Orange Shirt Day (PYP)

Uniform 
From September until Thanksgiving, students are able to wear the summer uniform, which consists of grey pants/shorts/skirts, navy socks, and the white polo t-shirt. From Thanksgiving until after Easter, students are required to wear the winter uniform, which consists of grey pants/skirts, navy blue socks/tights, a white button up long sleeve shirt, a tie, a long sleeve sweater/sweater vest, and the blazer. Students must wear their blazer during assemblies, to and from class during transitions, and of course during field trips. Black dress shoes are also required, as is a house colour tie to wear on Fridays. Black shoes must be polishable and there should not be a lot of detail. Black running shoes will not be accepted. The SJA gym uniform consists of navy blue sweatpants/shorts, a SJA gym shirt or house shirt, white socks, and proper running shoes. It is recommended that all students keep their gym uniform in a bag. Please label all pieces of the uniform.
**All uniform pieces must be purchased through Alpa and Multiform Canada. Uniform violations will be sent home to students who do not have the proper uniform pieces.** Alpa can be reached at alpa@multiformcanada.ca. Students who are not in proper uniform will receive a uniform violation.

Gym 
Gym classes for students in Grade 3 and up will take place at the new SJA Athletic Centre on alternate days of the 6-day cycle. Construction at the new site is delayed. Once the site is ready, students will be bused to and from the site. For now all gym classes will take place at SJA.

Library
Ms. Hayward, our Teacher Librarian, is looking forward to seeing all our returning students and meeting those of you new to the school.  We've been busy over the summer cataloguing all our books and will soon have our Library Computer system ready for signing out all the great books you'll want to read this year. This year each class will get regular library visits for story times, research and study skill sessions, and to borrow books.  There will also be Recess Readers, Library Contests, and Book Fair!  Don't forget to follow all things library on the library blog: www.sjalibrary.wordpress.com 

Unit of Inquiry
This is what we will be exploring this year:
Who We Are: Marvelous Media!
Central Idea: Our well-being is influenced by the messages portrayed in the media.
Key Concepts: Perspective and Responsibility
Lines of Inquiry:
  • Making informed decisions about the media
  • How do we use media to persuade? 
  • How does the media influence our well-being?

How We Express Ourselves: Tell me a Story
Central Idea: Imaginary worlds can be expressed through story telling.
Key Concepts: Form and Perspective
Lines of Inquiry:
·      Different genres of storytelling
·      The elements of a story
·      The process of story writing

How The World Works: Phenomenal Forces
Central Idea: Forces causing and changing movement can have a significant impact on humans and the environment.
Key Concepts: Function and Connection
Lines of Inquiry:
  • Types of forces and their effects
  • How we can protect ourselves from harmful forces
  • Using force to work and manipulate objects

How We Organize Ourselves: Urban vs Rural
Central Idea: Geographic and environmental factors influence the development of communities.
Key Concepts: Form, Causation and Change
Lines of Inquiry:
·       Features of urban and rural communities
·       Factors that influence the location of communities
·       Changes in modern-day communities

How We Share The Planet: My Garden
Central Idea: Plants and soils are essential for life on earth.
Key Concepts: Function and Responsibility
Lines of Inquiry:
  • Characteristics of plants and soils
  • Growth in plants and formation of soils
  • Protecting plant & soil habitats
Where we are In Place and Time: Back to the Past
Central Idea: Early cultures and settlers shape our world.
Key Concepts: Change and Perspective
Lines of Inquiry:
  • Life as an early settler during the early 1800s
  • How indigenous people viewed and used the land and resources
  • A comparison of aspects of life in early-settler communities and present-day communities

Field Trips
To support our learning inside the classroom, the Grade 3s will be attending a planned field trip for most of the UOIs. At those times, we will be requesting parent volunteers, on a first come first serve basis. To help ensure students safety, parent volunteers are required to submit a clear vulnerable sector check. Please see the SJA Parent and Student Handbook for more information.

Blog 
Please visit the class blog daily, as it is a way to stay connected, see what we did during the day, or to find important dates and homework. There will be a post every single day of what we are learning and resources to help you. Please click this link to visit my blog: https://misschiappettasja.blogspot.com/
French- Mme. Stella: https://stjudesfrench-stella.blogspot.com/
Gym- Alexandra Yustin: https://sjaayustin.blogspot.com/
Music- Darren Flower: https://flowermusicsja.blogspot.com/

Food Allergies 
·      Please be advised that St. Jude's is a nut free facility. When purchasing items for your child's lunch, please read the packages carefully. If the label says, "may contain nuts", please refrain from sending that item. Look for products with the nut-free label.
·      Please be advised the school does not permit food to be sent in for special events and/or birthdays. Please refer to the birthday policy in the student handbook.

Kinderlime
·      You will receive your logon information via email on file by Tuesday August 28th.
·      Please download the FREE Kinderlime app via APP Store, Google Play etc. Or Visit the website https://www.kinderlime.com
·      Complete MUST HAVE information about your child(ren) on APP/Website
o   Phone number
o   Updated pick up permissions
o   Allergy/Medication information
·      We strongly suggest you set up automatic payments through the app/website to ensure you will not incur late fees for monthly invoices.
o   You can also choose to pay monthly through the app/website.
o   Through the app/website you will be able to digitally access monthly break downs (printed copies will not be available) 
·      View App/Website daily to see sign in/out times.
If you have any questions/comments regarding this new addition, please contact the Students Services Coordinator at bsmith@stjudesacademy.com

Welcome BBQ 
Annual SJA Welcome BBQ. This is a great opportunity to meet other families, socialize, and have fun!
When: September 20th from 4:00-6:00.  
Where: St. Jude’s Academy
Tickets for food and drink will be available to purchase.
Contact Information 
I believe that open lines of communication between the parents, students and teachers are the key to promoting an educational climate that is conductive to learning. Please feel free to contact me at any time if there is a question or situation you would like to discuss echiappetta@stjudesacademy.com

I look forward to meeting you and having a wonderful school year!