Sioux Mountain Public School hosts virtual kindergarten open house
Jesse Bonello - Staff Writer
Families were able to meet Sioux Mountain Public School’s (SMPS) kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators digitally this year during a virtual kindergarten open house on June 4.
SMPS teachers met parents and next year’s new kindergarten students by video conferencing through Zoom, which is a peer-to-peer software platform and is used for teleconferencing, telecommuting, distance education, and social relations.
“We had a good turnout with about six families joining us on Zoom. It was wonderful to see and hear from parents as well as next year's new kindergarten students themselves,” said Annie Grainger, SMPS Kindergarten Teacher.
“The kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators presented a slide show explaining what kindergarten is like at our school, what children need to bring with them, how to build school readiness and prepare for school over the summer, as well as how planning, teaching, learning, evaluating and reporting is organized in the Ontario Full Day Early Learning Kindergarten Program,” she explained.
Grainger said the new kindergarten students will have a chance to experience some of the in-class activities during upcoming kindergarten class meetings via Zoom. She said children that have registered will also be receiving a fun care package that features a book, craft supplies, and magnetic letters and numbers.
“Many of the children were so excited thinking and talking about what school will be like that they wanted to start right away, and were wondering why we weren't teaching a lesson… Since the children were so keen on getting into school mode as soon as possible, we made sure to invite them to join in some of our upcoming kindergarten class Zoom meetings so they can get some first-hand experience of the kinds of learning activities we do in kindergarten,” said Grainger.
“We also discussed other next steps for transitioning and building even more excitement for the start of school in the fall. Children who are already registered will be receiving a care package containing things like magnetic letters and numbers, a book to read, and a cool pair of sunglasses! This package will also include some crafts supplies and ingredients for a healthy snack,” she said.
Grainger said SMPS is accepting and encouraging registration for kids born in 2016 and starting school this fall. Parents can register online atwww.buddysystem.ca/register.