Happy PTSC! We appreciate you joining us for our conference. Collaboration between school and home is crucial for students’ success. Our secondary students are eagerly anticipating the upcoming camp trip! Don’t forget to pack your tents and hiking gear. Our boys and girls volleyball teams are competing in a tournament this weekend. Good luck, athletes! A big thank you to Masayo sensei and Mr. B for their dedication. Halloween festivities are approaching! Do you have your costume ready? 👻
Reading Matters
Did you know…? 👇🏼
- Children who read 20 minutes a day/5 days a week are exposed to 1.8 million words in one school year. Compare this to students who read 5 minutes per day – they will be exposed to 282,000 words per school year.
- Reading helps foster empathy – a child experiences “walking in someone else’s shoes.”
- Children are exposed to different ideas and cultures.
- Reading also improves critical thinking.
- Reading increases knowledge of correct grammar, along with robust vocabulary knowledge, resulting in improved writing skills.
- Students who read 20 minutes per day score significantly higher on standardized tests of reading.
- Reading with your child, or having them read independently before bed, can help them to relax and wind down from their day.
Getting your child to read is not always easy. However, allowing them to read high interest material, asking them questions to help them interact with the text, and modeling that reading can be fun is a great start!
How can you help at home?
- Listen to your child read daily
- Read to your child daily
- Role model reading as an adult
- Discuss the benefits of reading
- Discuss unfamiliar words – what does it mean? Synonyms? Antonyms? • Ask children to recap what has happened (fact retrieval: who? What? Where? When? Why? How?)
- Discuss characters and how they might be feeling and why? (inference and empathy)
- Make links across books and with children’s own experiences.
Save the Date
- Oct 14, 2024- No School, Parent Teacher Conferences
- Oct 16-18, 2024- Secondary Camp
- Oct 21-25, 2024- October Break/No School
- Nov. 1, 2024 – Halloween Carnival
- Nov. 4, 2024- Regular School Day
- Nov. 8, 2024- Bonfire
- Nov. 23, 2024 – National Holiday- No School
- Nov. 27-29, 2024- Grade 5 Camping Trip
- Dec. 6, 2024 – Festive Eve Dress rehearsal
- Dec. 7, 2024- Festive Eve
- Dec. 9, 2024- No School
- Dec. 18, 2024 – Early Dismissal 13:00- start of Winter Break
- Dec. 18-19, 2024 – DP Study Camp
From the PTA
Hello, everyone!
It’s another busy week here at HIS as we work together to create a wonderful environment for our children. There are lots of ways to be involved this week!
Thank you so much to volunteers who have already signed up to help with the Halloween Carnival on November 1! We are looking forward to working with you to make it a memorable experience for everyone. We need a few more volunteers, so if you are interested, please sign up below.
(link removed)(Deadline Oct. 16)
Childcare will be available after school the day of the carnival, from the end of school until the Carnival begins. For those participating, there is the option to purchase a small meal for your child. These meals must be preordered by October 18, and will not be available for purchase the day of the carnival. To order, please fill out the google form below, and bring money to the office dropbox in an envelope.
On the envelope, please write:
- Halloween
- Child’s class
- Child’s name
- Total amount of money
(link removed)(Deadline Oct. 18)
We are also looking for volunteers to help with meal preparation for the Secondary Camp as they prepare for a fun three days of adventure! Volunteers are asked to come on Tuesday, October 15 from 2pm to 4pm. If you are able to help, please sign up using the link below.
(link removed)(Deadline Oct. 14)
In addition to all of these plans, we have been working hard to plan the bonfire for this year. More information about the bonfire will be coming soon!
Finally, we will be having a general PTA meeting this Wednesday, October 16. We hope to see you in person or on Zoom!