Newsletter #7 – March 2023

As we begin the third and final academic term of this year, we remind everyone that this is the most crucial session in the year for evaluation of learning. The third term is weighted at 60% of the final grade. Students will be expected to apply concepts and skills newly acquired from terms 1, 2 and 3 into “real-life situations”. These “situations” are complex, usually multi-stepped, and are created to help students demonstrate not only knowledge and skills but competencies. Due to interruptions in schooling over the last three years, teachers have been working hard since September to fill in gaps students might have in their learning. To that end, we are working hard with families to ensure regular attendance this term to help students learn what they need to fill in gaps and to be able to demonstrate where they are in terms of their competency development. Other than for medical reasons or exceptional circumstances (eg. death in the family), students are expected to attend school regularly. Please reach out if you require support with this. Our team is here to help.

Finally, I want to thank the Home and School Committee members for their continued dedication to helping our school in so many ways. The work they do touches every aspect of our school and affects the educational experience of all our children. On behalf of our school community, thank you very much to all our Home and School volunteers.

Enjoy a restful, safe, and healthy March Break. Please see below, the events and reminders for the month of March.

-Eldon Keon, Principal

STUDENT RECOGNITION ASSEMBLY

We will hold our February Student Recognition Assembly on March 3. The school value on which we focused in February was “Integrity”. Congratulations to all our award winners. The value on which we will focus in March is “Leadership”.

K5 & K4 KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATIONS

K5 registrations are accepted now and are ongoing by appointment only. Contact Karen Comfort at 819-684- 4888 or kcomfort@wqsb.qc.ca

K4 Registrations will take place from April 17 to 21, 2023

Due to the limited number of spaces in the K4 program, registrations for K4 may be determined by a “lottery system”. All completed registrations received during the week of K4 registrations will be assigned a number. After the registration period is over, if we receive more applications than the allocated number of spots, we will hold a lottery to determine the students that will be registered for the K4 program. A wait list will also be drawn, to be used if one of the allocated spots becomes available before the start of the year.

To register your child for Kindergarten in 2023-2024 he or she must be 4 years of age (for K4) or 5 years of age (for K5) on or before September 30th, 2023.

REGISTRATION FOR ALL OTHER STUDENTS (GRADES 1-6) FOR 2023-2024

Under the Education Act, school boards must ensure that all students currently enrolled in their schools be reregistered on an annual basis each year.

To ensure we meet this requirement, as well as to facilitate this process, the re-registration is completed online through your Mozaïk Parent Portal account. This process is easy to complete and will only take you a few minutes to re-register your child(ren) for the 2023-2024 school year. The deadline to complete the reregistration is March 19th, 2023.

Visit our school website at the following link Re-Registration 2023-2024 (Feb 28 – Mar 19) – Lord Aylmer Elementary School (westernquebec.ca) for more details.

SCHOOL FEES

If you have not yet paid your school fees, please visit the Mozaik parent portal for your statement of account. For further information regarding your child’s school account or to make payment agreement arrangements, please contact Corinna Abraham at (819) 684-6801 or cabraham@wqsb.qc.ca. We will be contacting families to arrange for a payment plan soon.

HOW DO I HELP MY CHILD BECOME A BETTER READER?

Helping a child to become better reader is essential for future learning and overall success. It will also promote a love of reading for pure enjoyment. Some of our parents and guardians have asked for suggestions to support the development of reading skills at home. Here are a few tips that will help.

• Read with your child every night. Make it a routine and try not to stray from it, if possible.
• While you will want to have your child read to you most of the time, reading skills also improve when an adult is reading to the child. (While you read, you are modelling good reading and helping your child to learn new vocabulary.)
• Asking children to summarize what they have just read will help with reading comprehension.
• You can also ask, “What do you think will happen next?” during a story. Predicting really makes children think more deeply about what they have just read.
• Finding a topic that interests your child will also be a big help in sustaining interest even when reading becomes challenging.
• Remember, as long as your child is reading, the type of text does not matter. It can be a comic book, graphic novel, picture book, magazine, online article, or other.

Your child’s teacher can also provide other tips if requested.

GOVERNING BOARD

The next Lord Aylmer Governing Board meeting will be on March 29 at 6:30 p.m.

MARCH WEATHER

As the saying goes, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb”. If weather over the past few years is any indication though, we now also see big fluctuations in temperatures and other conditions between our mornings and afternoons. Mornings may be very cold and afternoons warmer or vice-versa. We may also have schoolyards that are very wet one day and dry or icy another. Please ensure your child continues to be dressed for winter temperatures this month.

LOST AND FOUND

Please stop in to go through our Lost and Found items as we generally have more articles of clothing misplaced during our colder months. There are Lost and Found tables set up at each campus. If you can label clothes and other items, it will assist us in reuniting lost articles of clothing with their owners.

HOME & SCHOOL NEWS

Bingo Night – Join us on March 22 for an evening of bingo at the Centre Aydelu in Aylmer! Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online through our H&S shop.

Freedom Friday – We were so pleased to hear that the LA kids and parents had a great night out on February 17th! A big thank you to all the volunteers and kids who helped to make this night a success!

Staff Appreciation Week (SAW) – We hope all LA staff members had a great SAW and enjoyed the baked treats and gift from H&S. Thank you for all that you do for our kids and school!

Pizza & Subway – Get your 3rd Quarter orders in by Friday, March 31st through our online shop.

LA Glam – Get in the school spirit! Buy lynx or vintage glam today through our online shop. We have sweaters, t-shirts, toques and ball caps for sale.

HOME AND SCHOOL PIZZA AND SUB DAYS

Pizza Day: Mar. 17 & 31

Subway Day: Mar. 3 & 24

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER