Kate's Last Day of Junior Kindergarten

The official last day of school is Friday, but with cousin fun starting tomorrow, Kate's last day became today!

It was the perfect last day too.  There was a special kindergarten tea this afternoon for all the parents to come in and see the kids, see the classroom, and say thanks and goodbye. The kids had work on display, the class performed a song, and we parents all brought treats to share.  It really was lovely. 

We took pictures with each of her teachers.  First with Ms. Gertzbein the DECE (Designated early childhood educator.)  In her card, Kate said "I love that you are very smart and kind", in my opinion the highest praise!

 

Then with Mrs. Lee (the one day a week teacher while Mrs. Broerse was doing her literacy thing) and cool thing, we met her while we were part of Cookstown Ward, that's right, one of Kate's teachers is a member of our church!

 

And finally with Mrs. Broerse, Kate's amazing homeroom teacher.  I can't say enough of good about this woman!  She is intelligent, organized, kind, caring, her communication was amazing.  What a blessing for Kate to have such a wonderful teacher for junior kindergarten!  More about the communication.  Everyday Kate came home with a TODAY WE.  The half/full piece of paper started out TODAY WE, and then it listed in bullet points all of the things that they did.  Then it had ASK ME, at the bottom and included points for discussion and further inquiry and reinforcement with your child.  And there were often notes about extra things and upcoming events that we as parents needed to know tacked on at the end.  I loved feeling so connected to what she had done while she was out all day.  I can't remember when, but at some point in the year, Kate started reading them to me, and that became part of our routine after school.

Kate's teacher is leaving Tottenham to go teach in Alliston in the fall.  It's great for her - she lives in Alliston, and more importantly, she'll be teaching at her daughter's school which runs on a slightly modified calendar.  And, exciting for their family, she's expecting a baby in November! 

Oh and Kate received her report card today!  She's at or beyond level in all areas of development, except social.  She will continue to work on navigating social relationships - really, social relationships are always tricky, and solving problems independently is challenging.  I am proud of Kate and I am so happy that she loves learning!