Kindergarten Information for Parents: 2022-23 School Year
Bienvenue and Welcome to William Reid School. Registration begins January 16, 2023 and closes February 15 2023.
Information for Parents
We recommend visiting the Kindergarten Overview for Parents and the French Immersion Kindergarten at a Glance from Alberta Education.
School Contact Information
Visit our Contact Us and Our Staff page.
Office Hours: 7:30 am – 3:30 pm
Principal: Christine Stiles
Assistant Principal: Sheri Bullough
Administrative Assistant: Lindsay Marchuk-Smith
Telephone: 403-777-6940
Website: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/williamreid/Pages/default.aspx
Email: williamreid@cbe.ab.ca
CBE website: www.cbe.ab.ca
Hours
The Kindergarten program consists of a minimum of 475 hours of instruction. Start and end times are aligned with entry and dismissal times for Grades 1-4.
Monday -Thursday |
Alternating Fridays |
AM Class: 8:02 – 10:55 am
PM Class: 12:00 – 2:50 pm |
8:02 am – 12:00 pm
Please send a healthy snack but absolutely no nut products please! |
School Calendar
The Traditional School Calendar for 2022-23 is available on our calendar page. The tentative 2023-24 calendar is available on the CBE Website under calendars. Please note the alternating Fridays – yellow for AM Kindergarten and orange for PM Kindergarten.
Class Configuration
In 2022-2023 we will have two morning classes and one afternoon class. We strive to ensure a balance of students between the morning and afternoon, considering factors such as transportation needs, after-school care arrangements and preference.
First Day - Staggered Entry
Staggered entry helps teachers engage with a smaller group while they are learning basic school routines. More info to come on this in Fall of 2023.
Dropping off and Picking Up. Visit our Parking and Drop off page for more information. Parents and/or caregivers should always drop off and pick up children outside the school. For security reasons, we ask that you wait outside when picking up your child. Goodbyes need to be said outside to encourage independence, to reduce crowding in the hallways, and to minimize disruptions during class time. Children are dismissed at the end of the day when the teacher and parents or caregivers make eye contact. If after-school arrangements change (ex. play date, different adult picking up your child) please provide a written note in their communication folder and or e-mail your child’s teacher and the office.
Communication
Communication between the school and family is essential for your child’s success at school.The following are our key means of communication:
- School and CBE websites
- Classroom weekly email updates
- Student backpack mail
- Student agenda/communication folder
- Teacher and Office Email: williamreid@cbe.ab.ca
- Telephone 403-777-6940
- In-person
- School Messenger emails with weekly updates from administration - William’s Weekly (This is sent home and posted on the school website as well)
MyCBE Account
By using MyCBE, parents can book School Conferences, access Report Cards, register for transportation, and pay fees. Parents create the account using their child’s CBE ID number and confidential ACCESS KEY. This is sent to families in June by mail or encrypted email.
Report Cards and Conferences
Parents need to create an account in MyCBE as this is used to book School Conferences in September, November and March. There are 2 formal reporting periods (January and June). We encourage student participation in conferences in order to share work and learning goals.
School Information and Updates
Most parent information is sent through email notices, weekly updates from administration called “William’s Weekly” is sent home and can be found on the website. On the Website there is a calendar of events and the William’s Weekly is posted with the most current up to date information. Please also check your child’s communication folder in their backpack daily.
Appointments
If you have questions or concerns, please make an appointment with your child’s teacher outside of drop off and pick up times. Our teacher’s are responsible for all students at this time.
School Messenger
Due to Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), parents are required to subscribe to School Messenger in order to receive important email messages from your child's teacher and the school.
Security Protocols
We believe that a strong relationship between parents and teachers is an important part of the culture at William Reid School. We need to follow all Covid 19 protocols this year, parents can enter the school by appointment only. However, to maintain security, we do ask that you respect the following security protocols:
- Enter by front door only
- Sign in at the office as soon as you have entered
- Wear a name tag while volunteering
- Sign your child out at the office for appointments
- Sign your child in at the office if arriving late
- Call the office for absences/last minute bus changes
- Communicate clearly with teacher about all after-school arrangements (Send a written note)
- Carefully complete and return intake and registration forms
- Call the office to update a change in guardian or contact information immediately
Kindergarten Volunteers
Volunteers are greatly appreciated for classroom activities, fieldtrips, school events. All volunteers must complete a Police Security Clearance in advance, government identification is required and this process can take several weeks to complete. Please contact the office to start and complete the process. Please note that volunteers must maintain student confidentially at all times and siblings are not permitted to attend. Please see our Volunteer page for more information.
Busing
Parents need to register their child for bus transportation in May/June.
Please communicate with your child's teacher and the Office if not taking the bus home. Please discuss the bus behavior and safety expectations with your child. Your child's safety is a priority and here are strategies to support them:
- Bus pass letter ‘hand stamp’ for first few days
- Bus buddies with older students
- Daily bus attendance
- Supervised boarding and disembarking of the bus
- Releasing of Kindergarten students to parent/caregiver at bus stop. Kindergarten students are not left at the bus stop unless someone is there to meet them.
Please remember to check The School Bus Monitor online and subscribe to text messaging with School Messenger for the most up to date information and to check for delays. Visit our Busing page for more information.
Attendance
Attendance is taken after the bell rings at 8:05AM. Please call the 24-hour absence line if your child is going to be late because of an appointment or absent for any reason. Students who arrive after the bell must check in at the office before going to class. We will escort Kindergarten students to their classes. Visit our Attendance page for more information.
Traffic Safety
Please model traffic safety for our students by following regulations and using crosswalks. Children should exit on the curbside and use the nearest crosswalk. Keeping our school community safe is a shared responsiblity.
These are the no parking zones:
- Parking Lot: staff only, vehicles and pedestrians strictly not permitted
- One-way: alley and cul-de-sac.
- Kiss N’ Dash: 36 Avenue between 11 and 12 Street
- Bus Zone: 12 Street, between 36 and 34 Avenue
Fees
Fees can be paid through MyCBE. If you are not able to pay for the activity fee, please email our Principal, Mme Christine Stiles at williamreid@cbe.ab.ca. Visit our Fees page for more information.
Required: Backpack, Footwear & Clothing
Your child will be taking home notices and library books regularly. Please ensure that they have a backpack large enough to accommodate these items and that it is clearly labeled with their full name (on the inside for safety reasons). Indoor shoes with Velcro fasteners are preferred until your child is able to independently and quickly tie laces. Our kindergarten activities are often very active and can be quite messy. Please send your child in play clothes that are comfortable and easily washed. We also encourage you to watch the weather and send them appropriately dressed daily. Our students go outside every day (severe weather depending) rain, snow or shine.
William Reid School Council (WRSC) & Fundraising Society (FS)
Please watch for opportunities to become involved with WRSC & FS, attend monthly meetings and consider volunteering. The role of School Council is to:
- Consult and advise with school administration,
- Work for the collective good of the students,
- Build parent understanding of school matters, and
- Offer parents a voice in school matters
Visit our School Council and Parent Society pages for more information.
Snacks
Please send a small nut/peanut free snack each day, consisting of a labeled water bottle and one or two nutritious items. Veggies and cut fruit, meat, cheese and crackers are some suggested items. Please be mindful to use reusable containers (pack in, pack out) whenever possible in order to reduce waste. Please ensure your child is able to open all containers on their own and provide spoons if necessary.
If you wish to send a special nut-free treat on your child’s birthday, please feel free to do so. It is entirely optional, but always welcome! We find cookies or Rice Krispy squares to be the preferred treats as they are not as difficult to give out.
Final Preparation
Have you remembered to do the following?
- Update your contact information and your emergency contacts with the school
- Bookmark the CBE and our William Reid School websites
- Subscribe to SchoolMessenger
- Create an online MyCBE account
- Register for busing in May or June
- Complete a security clearance, if you can volunteer
- Arrange for transportation to and from school
- Arrange for before and after school care
- Confirm bus routes/info., if needed
- Register for Seeds of S.P.I.C.E. before/after school care, if applicable
How to Help
Your Child be Successful at School
- Keep them healthy. Healthy nutrition, hydration and overall good physical health are critical to successful learning.
- Set a bedtime routine and stick to it. Learning is hard. Your children will be ready for it only if they are well rested. Children this young require 10 -11 hours of quality sleep nightly.
- Ensure that your child attends regularly and is punctual. Learning experiences cannot be replicated or reduced to a worksheet. Absent students miss out on important learning.
- Check your child’s backpack every day. There will be new books to read and important school notices. Help your child keep their backpack organized and free of unnecessary items like toys.
- Read to and with your child. This develops basic literacy skills and reinforces the value of reading. Reading success is the number one indicator of overall academic success.
- Talk to them. Make time for meaningful conversations and avoid using ‘baby talk’.
- Listen to them. Encourage your child to talk about their feelings and their learning.
- Praise them for their efforts. Recognize their efforts, celebrate their success and talk about their next steps in learning.
- Make the most of meal times. Eating together can be the ideal setting for sharing school or family events or concerns, discussing challenges, setting goals and choosing strategies.
- Communicate with your child’s teacher. If you feel your child is struggling at school, make an appointment to speak with the teacher and find out how you can help. Don’t wait, advocate!
How well can your child complete the following pre-school skills?
- Use a Kleenex properly
- Wash and dry hands and face
- Attend to toilet needs
- Put on and remove coat, hat, mitts, shoes, etc.
- Tie own shoe laces
- Speak clearly using simple but complete sentences
- Say “please”, “thank you”, and “excuse me”
- Say their full name, address and telephone number
- Say their age, and month of birthday
- Follow simple directions (ex. put away toys)
- Follow a request the first time it is given
- Take good care of personal belongings (or that of others)
- Listen to others speak without interrupting
- Share and wait their turn
- Take responsibility for actions (admit when they’ve made a mistake)
- Hold a pencil with an effective 2 or 3 finger grasp
- Carry out simple cutting and pasting projects
- Catch and throw a medium sized ball
- Stand on one foot while you count to eight
- Sit still for short periods of time (10 minutes)
- Play with modeling clay, building blocks and puzzles
- Listen quietly to stories read aloud
- Talk about what happened in a story
- Look at a book and talk about the pictures
- Hold a book and turn pages correctly
- Recite some nursery rhymes
- Recognize alphabet letters and numbers to 10
- Recognize basic colours
- Recognize their own name printed in lowercase letters
- Print their own first name
- Tell the right hand from the left hand
Kindergarten Checklist
- Indoor shoes (no laces)
- LARGE backpack (big enough to fit a large library book)
- Snack & water bottle
- Label all personal items with your child’s name
- Backup masks, in case masks get dirty
School Messenger
Please subscribe to School Messenger to ensure you receive information from the school and the teachers.
First Day of School
- AM (8:02-10:55)
- PM (12:00-2:50)
- AM soft start 7:55 am to 8:02 am (doors locked by 8:05)
- PM soft start 11:50 am to 12:00 pm
Pick Up/Drop Off
East entrance facing the playground and west entrance in naturalization area are the kindergarten doors. You will receive specific instructions regarding which door from your teacher in August. Please ensure you are on time to pick up your child, if you are late, your child will be brought to the office.
