September 2015

Welcome Back to School

We were praising God for a little bit of sunshine on September 8th as students came back to school. It was exciting to see the children from grades 1-3 meet in the Large Gym to find their teachers. The grade 4 and 5 students were a bit more confident in the small gym. Perhaps the parents were the ones having a tough time saying good bye. For the first week of school, our Kindergarten and Preschool students had a gradual entry – small groups to half a day.

The Elementary campus welcomed 67 NEW FAMILIES to the school. We are so glad that each one has joined our school family.

Mrs. Neufeld
Principal
Elementary Campus

Welcome to Our New Elementary Staff!

Ms. Jennifer Neibel

Grade Three Teacher
(Maternity Leave for Rebecca Cheung)

Mrs. Lisa Down

Kindergarten Teacher

Mrs. Jill Schmidt

Learning Support Teacher (Gr. 4/5)

Mr. Danny Chan

Grade One Teacher

Ms. Swana Li

Educational Assistant

Ms. Tiana Hesmert

Grade 2 Teacher

Mrs. Catherine Stephen

Grade Four Teacher

Ms. Megan Burton

Educational Assistant

Mrs. Michelle Wong

Kindergarten Teacher
(Maternity Leave for Mrs. Chen)

Mrs. Angela Laing

Literacy Coach

From the INSIDE OUT

Chapel is every Friday morning from 8:30am to 9:15am held in the Large Gym. Parents are welcome to attend. This year, our theme is “ From the INSIDE OUT.” Look at what happened at our first Friday Chapel on September 11:

The live scene opened in Mrs. Schneck’s office. Mrs. Schneck happily walked to her office checking off all of her tasks excited about the new school year. As she settled at her desk, Mrs. Neufeld walked in with a trolley of books.

Enthusiastically, Mrs. Neufeld asked Mrs. Schneck to take on a few more duties – well, actually it was a lot more duties. Mrs. Schneck just nodded her head and smiled as Mrs. Neufeld said thanks and left.

Watch the video for Mrs. Schneck’s thoughts from the Inside Out.

As her thoughts whirled in her head, Ms. Tong, our school counsellor entered. She took time to talk to Mrs. Schneck about her feelings and shared how important it is to understand our emotions and be able to talk about them. They discussed how God wants to help us and how through our chapels this year, all of us at RCS will understand how to be “WELL.”

How Does a Child Grow?

The first week of school is filled with lots of new experiences: a new teacher, new classmates, new routines, new classroom, new rules,…the list goes on?

CLASSROOM

During the month of September, teachers are taking the time to establish a sense of community within the classroom. They are working on activities that their teachers use to assess the quality of work, the quantity of work , their persistence, and even group work. As you review the pictures of the classroom – perhaps you will see a new way to help a child grow. Click on these images for photo galleries.

The Library and AR are open!

The Library is open at 7:50am, Monday to Wednesday and Friday for parents to bring their children into the school earlier. Children in Kindergarten and Grade 1 require an adult to supervise them. (We like when they read to their children!) Students in grade 2-5 can be independent in the Library. The Library is open every afternoon from 2:45 to 3:15pm.

Accelerated Reading is an optional program for students in grade 2 to 5 with entry starting sometime in Grade 1. It is a way to develop independent reading skills and build comprehension. It is one tool that is used at the school to help parents support the literacy development of their child. Students can take quizzes in the AR room in the Library or, in the afternoon, the computer lab also allows for quiz-taking.

RECESS

It’s every child’s favourite subject! This is an important time to exercise, play and practice social skills. Children learn so much from playing outside.