Dear K.A. Families,

I know January has been a challenging month with on-line learning the first week back, students, family members and staff testing positive or having to quarantine because of family contact or symptoms.  We have had an average of 50 students away daily (not all covid related) and up to 5 staff at a time.

Hopefully, February will see a decrease in absences and positive cases and a light coming through this long tunnel.  I cannot say enough about K.A.’s amazing staff who go far above and beyond on a daily basis, including making sure everything is covered when we cannot find a supply! 

You are all the best!  Parents, please take some time to send thank you’s and maybe little treats to say thank you during teacher/staff appreciation February 7 – 11^th.

Thank you to Dave Scott, who took over for me in January and will once again, in March.  The school is in very good hands with Mr. Scott.  Thank you to Heidi Neil for replacing Charlotte Coles (Ms. Blume) so she could meet and visit with her new granddaughter and spend time with her daughter.  Thank you to Jo-Ann Kay and Lori Lane for once again stepping in until March Break, replacing Annie Butler, who is on preventative leave but still very much involved in the class planning.

Please make sure you keep your children home if they have symptoms.  When we send a child with symptoms home now, we also send siblings.  Please follow all directives which have been sent to you and keep us informed as to your family covid situations.

Wishing you all a good, healthy February.

Here is our February news:

2022-2023 Registration: Online registrations ended on January 21. If you did not complete it on-line, a paper copy was sent home.  Please check your child’s bookbag and complete and return as soon as possible.If your child or the child of someone you know wishes to register as a new student for the upcoming school year (4-year-old Kindergarten, Kindergarten, or any other grade), please call the office to schedule an appointment with Catharine Spencer (450-243-6187). Please circulate the news throughout the community.

For New Registrations: New registrations are usually done in person, but due to covid restrictions, that will not be happening this year. Please call and request an appointment. You must bring the child’s original birth certificate and the original birth certificate of the parent who has eligibility to English school. You also need to have proof of residency (i.e., driver’s license or lease). We welcome registrations at all levels and of course new registrations for 4- and 5-year-old kindergarten and our Secondary 1 program. I will always be happy to meet with and give tours to prospective new parents and students on appointment.

4-year-old Kindergarten: Knowlton Academy will again have a 4-year-old kindergarten for the 2022-23 school year. Students need to be 4 by September 30, 2022 and be eligible for English schooling. Our 4-year-old kindergarten students can take the school bus and attend before and after school daycare. An information session will be held later for those parents enrolled. All questions should be addressed to our Principal, Renalee Gore at gorer@etsb.qc.ca

Governing Board: Our next G.B. meeting will be held on Monday, February 7 at 6:15 p.m. via Zoom.

PPO: The PPO is excited to announce the top 3 individual sellers and the top selling class for the Recipe in a Jar fundraiser. Top sellers: #1: Sawyer Sears – prize: $30 gift certificate to Brome Lake Books, #2: Ella Lacroix – prize: $20 gift certificate to Brome Lake Books, #3: Leila Lacroix – prize: $15 gift certificate to Brome Lake Books, Top selling class:  Ms. Morgan’s grade 2 class.  The class wins a cooking class with Jen! Well done everyone! Next PPO meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 15 @6:30 via Zoom.

Report Cards: End of term one was January 21. Report cards are available on the parent portal on February 11. Interviews by request/invitation will be held between February 14 to February 18. More information will be sent home by the teachers.

Bus Safety Jan. 31 to Feb 11:   Please discuss bus safety and bus etiquette with your children.  Teachers will be doing so, as well.  Thank-you notes to bus drivers during this time by your kids and or you, I’m sure would also be appreciated. 

Knowlton Academy Staff Appreciation Week: February 7-11, please take a few minutes and help your child (children) write notes to their teachers and other staff members who are important to them to thank them for what they do to make school special. It will mean a lot to the teachers and support staff. (you also could write a note or two.) Thank you so much for helping to make the week special. Thank you in advance to our wonderful PPO for the special goodies and kindness during the week. Knowlton Academy would not be the amazing school it is without all the dedicated, caring, wonderful staff that we are so lucky to have.

Ped Days: Friday, February 11 is a Ped day so there is no school for students. Daycare is open to daycare students. Call Debbie to register.

PJ Day Pancake Breakfast:  Thanks to the PPO, our Pancake Breakfast and PJ day that was to be on December 22, has now been rescheduled for a February 14^th Valentine’s Day Treat.  Students are invited to wear PJ’s and some pink or red.

Hooked on School 2022: February 14-18, 2022 will be KA’s Hooked on School week. This year, we all started the school year making promises – individual and class promises.  Individual promises are posted all across the main floor bulletin boards.  Class promises are posted in each homeroom class.  During Hooked on School Week, classes will review their promises, individual and class and talk about their importance and how they are doing on them.  You may also get a postcard home for your child(ren) that week about perseverance and being their best.

100th Day of School: Kindergarten (5-year-old) students will celebrate the 100th Day of school on Friday February 18, 2022. Special activities will be organized on that day by the Kindergarten teachers for the students. More information to come for the Kindergarten parents soon.

Spring Break: The school will be closed for Spring Break from February 28 to March 4. Monday, March 7 is a Ped. Day. Daycare will be open. We will see the rest of you back at school on March 8.

SQ Police Officer:  On Friday, March 25, SQ Agent Danny Turner will be speaking to our Gr. 4 to Sec. 1 students.  Grades 5 and 6 topic will be Bullying/CyberCrime.  Grades 4 and Sec. 1 topic will be Community Outreach.

Paper Bag Princess and PJ Day:  On Friday February 25, Geordie Productions will present the much loved Robert Munsch book/play adaptation of Paper Bag Princess.  The live show will be broadcast into our classrooms via Zoom.  The show was originally scheduled in person in December but was cancelled due to cast covid cases.  It should be great fun!

Garden Activities: Farm to Cafeteria Grant: Jen Muir and Amanda Parkinson will have cooking activities throughout February.

Kindness: Please remind your children that at Knowlton Academy, we “Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.” Having a kind heart is a lot better than being mean or being a bully!

School Fees: Thanks to all who have paid their fees. If you have not yet paid, please remit payment as soon as possible or contact the office to make arrangements for a payment schedule. A reminder letter will be sent out shortly and I will also be calling overdue parents in early spring. R. Gore.

2^nd  Round of Covid Vaccinations at Knowlton Academy:    Vaccinations will take place on February 21 in the afternoon.   More info to follow.

Shine:  The Missing Children’s Network has just launched a new website.  shineforlife.org  The Shine Program is outstanding. Workshops have been presented to our students and parents and I encourage parents to go to the website to help arm your children with skills to protect themselves and promote

S – Self-esteem, H – Healthy Relationships, I – Independence, N – No Means No, E – Empowerment. This is a great website with lots of tools and resources.  

Contact Information: It is very important that we have the correct contact information for each of our families. Please let us know immediately if your information changes. We need a number where you can be reached.

Dress for the Weather: Please make sure your children come to school with proper clothing to be outside and dressed properly for playing in the snow, sliding and snowshoeing. Students should all be wearing boots, not shoes. Hats, scarves and mitts are a must to be well dressed and protected. Students will only be kept indoors in extreme cold with windchill. As always, our school uniform is required for K – Grade 6 from Monday to Thursday.

Reminders:

“Always try to be a little kinder than is necessary”.

This, once again, is a challenging year for everyone – students, staff, and families. We are working really hard at KA to keep everyone safe, happy and have a solid learning environment to allow our students to thrive and support those that need extra support.

Sometimes behaviors are challenging and at times they really cross the line of our code of conduct. There are consequences when this happens. Both codes of conduct and consequences were sent home at the start of school. Bill 56 can be found on our website. We do not give consequences lightly, but when we do, we ask that we have parental co-operation.

Please remember that we always have the best interests of the students at the forefront.

Please always remember to be respectful in all communications with teachers, support staff and administration. Also, I am reminding parents about airing your complaints on Facebook. Please, especially in these difficult times -kindness and respect go a long way. Please let us know if there is a problem.

Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

Our children learn from us!

February – Black History Month: We have an abundance of wonderful, fascinating books to share with our students this month. Stories are such wonderful teaching tools. They will be on display outside the office throughout the month for teachers to borrow and read to their classes. I will also be reading.

Ski Program: Although our ski program has been cancelled, our Cycle 3 students will each go skiing 1 day.  Gr. 5 on Feb 15, Gr. 6 on Feb 23 and our Sec. 1’s on both days.  More details to come.

Sledding: Thanks to the PPO and donations we now have over 130 sleds which are being used joyfully on our back sliding hills. You are welcome to use the hill on the weekends. Thank you to Jen Muir, family, and helpers for clearing and preparing the hill.

Logan Lague:  Congratulations to Logan Lague on his kind and generous initiative to collect and distribute winter clothing to Montreal’s homeless population.  His initiative helped many of Montreal’s most vulnerable while helping to bring attention to this ongoing crisis.  A true gift of kindness!

Rowing – Exciting News:  Aviron Knowlton has received funding to start a rowing program at K.A. Regulations now permit this program to start (max 25 students at a time).  Rowing machines will be installed at the back of the Projection room and Akram Ophmani, the club’s high-performance coach will run the program connecting with M. Lemâitre.  He is excellent with children!  In February and March, small groups will get a chance to try out the rowing machines.  In May and early June, 50 interested students will get to try rowing out at the beach in groups of 10.  Then in late May, June or during vacation, twenty of the most keen students will be sponsored for 15 hours of rowing training.  This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to try a new sport and perhaps discover a new life-long passion!  Thank you to Rob Paterson for organizing this. 

Dates to Remember:

Jan 24 – Feb 4 – Registration period

Jan. 31 – Feb 11 – Bus safety weeks

Feb 7 – Governing Board at 6:15 via Zoom

Feb 7– 11 – Staff Appreciation week

Feb 11 – Ped. Day – Daycare is open, Term 1 Reports available on Parent Portal

Feb 14 – Valentine’s Day, PJ Day and Pancake Breakfast

Feb 14 to 18 – Interviews by appointment/request

Feb 14 – 18 – Hooked on School week

Feb 15 – PPO meeting at 6:30 via Zoom

Feb 16 – Grade 5 and Sec. 1 ski at Mont Sutton

Feb 18 – K-100-day celebration

Feb 21 –  Covid Vaccinations (PM)

Feb 23 – Pink Shirt Day, Grade 6 and Sec. 1 ski at Mont Sutton

Feb 25 – PJ Day and Paper Bag Princess, presented by Geordie Productions

March 1 – 5 – March break

March 7 – Ped Day. Daycare is open.

Please read the document below to know about the changes and new sanitary measures that will be in place.

http://knowlton.etsb.qc.ca/files/2022/01/Parent_student-message-January-14-2022-1-1.pdf

KA Emergency Daycare for essential workers only will be available on the following dates:
Wednesday, January 5 – Thursday, January 6 – Friday, January 7. Opening hours  – 7:30am to 4:30pm

The emergency daycare will also be open January 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 Opening hours – 7:30am to 4:30pm

Please note the service is for Essential Workers Only, please see essential work list on the government website.
For more information please contact Debbie Melanson at 
Thank you.

December 20, 2021

Dear Parents,

In response to the increase in COVID cases in the community and in schools, the government has decided to close all elementary and high schools effective December 21st. This means that the holiday break will begin a day early. There will be no online classes tomorrow. Daycare services will be available for regular users with a priority given to essential workers.

It is important to let the school know in advance if you will be needing daycare services tomorrow, December 21st. Please contact Debbie Melanson at .

For the return to school in January 2022, elementary and high school students will be back for in presence classes on Monday, January 10th. Please check your emails regularly for more information about your child’s online/at a distance learning for January 6 & 7. Your child’s school and/or teacher will be in contact.

As always, we want to thank you for your patience, understanding and, most importantly, your collaboration. We hope that you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Renalee Gore, for ETSB

Here is the document for our latest anti bullying and anti violence plan for 2021-2022.

Here is the PDF document from the presentation made at our latest Governing Board about our Nurture and Support Center.

Knowlton Academy will be celebrating their wonderful and amazing teachers the week of February 15th!

Red Zone Directives
Dear Parents ,
As you know Estrie is going into a red zone tomorrow morning, Nov.12.  This has many ramifications for all of us at school, at home and for our local business. 
At Knowlton Academy we have had to act very quickly to make sure all our procedures comply with red zone guidelines .
All classes must now remain 2 metres apart at all times, daycare bubbles that have been in effect since the beginning of the year must comply to all children from different classes must be 2 metres apart as well. 
Hopefully, we can get 2 more lunch supervisors and at least one more daycare educator for this time.
We have moved 4 tables into the mini gym . Now both Grade 3’s and both grade 6’s will eat in the mini gym .
That way the 2 metre rule can be respected during lunch hour for all students.
Our sheltered recess and sheltered lunch groups will remain in effest but the groups can be no bigger than 6 and again if from different classes – 2 metres apart.  We are making some adjustments.

Some class lockers will be moved upstairs during this time as well , to be able to space out the Kindergarten tables to keep each of the 3 groups 2 metres apart.  They will remain in their class bubbles inside and outside.
Entry and exit of students will be spaced between door # 1- #3. Students will stay in their zones instead of lining up and be called one group at a time .   The outside cones will be spaced 2 metres apart.
Siblings of K students will stand on their own in the playground until parents drive up. 
THERE WILL BE NO MICROWAVE USE AS LONG AS WE ARE IN THE RED ZONE . Thermos or cold lunch or hot lunch – no heated up food – starting tomorrow – Nov. 12Sec.1 students must wear their masks AT ALL TIMES, even in gym class. Only when they are eating or drinking while sitting down can they remove their masks.
Staff must wear masks in all common areas indoors and outside and in the class if less than 2 metres from the students.
Please go over the importance of following these rules with your children tonight .  It’s hard for them to understand , these are government rules/Public Heath to keep everyone safe and we all must respect them.
Please also talk about not fighting with their classmates- being kind – There will really be little tolerance for any of this now , nor for inappropriate language, rudeness and arguing with supervisors or teachers.  Non-compliance of rules will result in students being sent home.
This will be challenging but we will continue to make learning at KA challenging , interesting and fun .
Thank you all for your continued co-operation.  You should be getting a letter from the school board as well today.
Renalee Gore,  for all of us at KA

Renalee Gore
Principal 
Knowlton Academy 
ETSB

Dear KA Families,

The KA breakfast Program needs 2 volunteers for Friday Mornings.  The hours are 7AM to 7:10 AM arrival until 8:15 AM .  The rewards are children having eaten breakfast and  their daily thank you’s and my forever thanks. 
If you can help us out , please let me know at  or by calling 450-243-6187 # 10910 

Thank you to Frank and Evie Johnston – Main, Margaret Squibb and Josee Laroque for the years you have given us. Thank you Josee for agreeing to continue doing the purchasing .

Sincerely
Renalee Gore 

Thursday, Sept 17th

Dear Parents,

Please DO NOT drop your children off before 7:55 in the morning. There is no one on duty before this time . If you are in the back car drop off, DO NOT drop your child off if there is no one there yet. Shelley and or I are there at 7:55. Please then go to the spot that you are motioned to only, don’t drop them anywhere else.  And another reminder, unless there is a baby ,in a baby seat behind the passenger side , your child should never go out on the driver’s side. If there is a baby there, you must get out of the car and safely bring your child around.

Starting Monday there will be a walker parent pickup sign  closer to the school . Please go to that sign ( socially distanced) and your children will be sent to you there.  

Thank you all for your cooperation and understanding.

Renalee Gore