Home and School

Consistency between the learning approach at school and in the home is encouraged through communication between parents and the school. Parents' knowledge of the school program is enhanced through information nights, parent-teacher conferences, regular informal contact between parents and teachers, and direct parental participation in the school program.

To foster the home/school relationship, we encourage activities such as group snack, class meetings, newsletters, and continued learning at home (homework).

Group Snack

An important activity in many classes, group snack is a symbol of group commitment and a valuable connection between home and school. As well, group snack can be used to:

• Connect to the academic curriculum in meaningful ways. For example, a family may bring a snack that relates to a theme that is being studied (e.g., cornbread for Pioneer Day, latkes for Family Treasures).
• Extend children's learning through related activities. For example, graphing skills can be enhanced when a child lists available vegetables, asks children their favourite, then uses a graph to plot the answers.
• Teach proper nutrition. For example, each of the five food groups of the Canada Food Guide could be assigned to a day of the week: Monday--dairy; Tuesday--breads and cereals; Wednesday--meat and meat alternatives; Thursday--fruit; Friday--vegetables.

In classes that adopt a daily group snack, each family chooses a day (perhaps six to eight times a year depending on the number of children in the class) to prepare a snack for the class. Each class is alerted to any child with food allergies.

The snack can be presented in a sit-down fashion where all the children enjoy a "snack time." The child preparing the snack can serve it to those seated or it can simply be passed around. Alternatively, the snack can be placed in a "snack area" where the individual children are responsible for collecting it during a specific part of the day. The snack provider could prepare a sign (e.g., "One celery, one carrot, one radish per child"), set up the snack in the appropriate area, and ensure all necessary utensils are available.

Once snack has been eaten, the child who brought it tidies up. The snack is designed to supplement meals (not to be lunch or breakfast). All children are encouraged to be respectful of the food and the efforts and generosity of the person providing the snack.

Class Meetings

Regular class meetings, which occur at least once per term, set a tone of partnership and allow parents to help set direction for the class. An essential part of Churchill's success, class meetings foster an attitude of mutual support. Notices stating times and dates are sent home with the children.

Class Newsletter

The class newsletter provides a link between classroom and home, fostering parents' knowledge of classroom activities. It may be presented differently for each division—Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior. Frequency depends on need and can, for example, be weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Newsletters, created by teachers, students, or parents, may cover such topics as science, math, literature, celebrations, visits and performances, art and music, sports, parent volunteers, or fun activities.

School News

School news is distributed via regular newsletters plus flyers for time-critical information. If you are registered for e-mail, you receive copies automatically; otherwise, the youngest student from the family carries the school news home.

The school newsletter contains news of coming events, school-wide activities, and items of general interest to our families. It is published the second Thursday of each month unless a change needs to be made. Each newsletter includes the next newsletter date in the Dates to Remember section. Contributions are welcome (e.g., community events). Please bring them to the school office by 12:00 noon the Tuesday before the publishing date. Back issues of newsletters are kept in the office for reference.

The CASC Corner contains news of CASC events as well as updates from the CASC executive and committees. This newsletter is also published the second Thursday of each month. Please submit contributions by the Friday before the publishing date by sending them to news@churchillnews.ca.

Copies of the newsletters and other school news can be found on the Churchill News site. On this site, each class also has its own area for news.

Continued Learning at Home

Homework is a critical link between the home and school. It encourages students' self-discipline, independence, and responsibility. The OCDSB requires schools to develop and implement a homework/study policy. At Churchill, the Primary and Junior divisions have developed their own policies in conjunction with parents. Each policy reflects the individual needs of the children in these divisions.

Teachers are encouraged to discuss--with both parents and students--specific ways to develop and reinforce positive study skills. Homework activities might include completion of unfinished work, reading, projects, activity calendars, or drills.

Borrow-a-Book is a program that enables children to choose books appropriate to their reading level, take them home, and read them to their parents. Teachers are expected to demonstrate to parents how to effectively participate in this program. Some teachers do this with a letter to parents on how to use the program. All Primary classes participate in the Borrow-a-Book program.