SCDSB's Blueprints Curriculum engages teachers and students in enhanced learning experiences, promotes an eagerness to learn through a stimulating environment, and provides a basis to acquire skills in literacy, mathematics and science.

In God's Image: A Kindergarten Religion Program
• nurtures the faith of our young readers
• offers experiences to enhance the wonder of childhood
• promotes a sensitive, caring environment where Catholic values will be integrated throughout the school day

 
Enhanced Early Literacy
• develops oral language which is the basis for literacy
• provides enhanced learning experiences
• provides opportunities for the development of thinking, problem soving and experimenting through rich language-oriented activities
• promotes the appropriate use of familiar technology and media material (i.e. computers, tape recorders, overhead projectors, etc.)
• uses drama, music, visual arts and media texts to help develop literacy skills and provides a model
• supports children in learning new words and becoming familiar with patterns, rhythms of language
• encourages students to begin to repeat words, name characters and identify signs, labels, letters and letter sounds

 
Enhanced Early Numeracy
• uses approved Ministry programs - Interactions and Quest 2000, which both have strong links to literacy
• addresses the five math strands (Number Sense and Numeration, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning, Data Management and Algebra)
• provides links to the real world by developing problem-solving strategies by using calculators, cash registers and by participating at exploration centres
• focuses on communication in mathematics from talking about it to writing about it
• uses computers to reinforce numeracy skills and provides and opportunity to practice hands-on skills

 
Learning Through Play
• provides the link between learning and play especially in the areas of problem-solving and social skill development
• occurs daily and is structured to meet specific learning goals

 

The Kindergarten Program

These are some of the skills your child will practice in Junior Kindergarten. Your registration package contains a wealth of tips and tricks for finding opportunities at home to reinforce the things your child is learning at school.

• to listen and follow many simple directions, such as "Take off your shoes and put them in the closet" and to listen attentively to a story for enjoyment and information
• to retell a familiar story in their own words
• to recognize and name some upper and low case letters of the alphabet
• to realize that letters have specific sounds (begin with the first letter of their name)
• to understand some positional concepts (in, on, under, over, beside, in front of, behind)
• to count from 1 to 10 and to recognize and name numerals from 0 to 5
• to recognize and name the following colours: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, black, purple and brown
• button, snap, zip and fasten velcro
• become familiar with rhyming words (cat-hat, house-mouse, bee-tree, dog-frog)
• print his/her name using a capital letter to start the name followed by lower case letters

We share information about your child's development and progress at school through notes, through meetings with you during the school year, and through report cards twice a year in January and June. Throughout the school year we collect samples of each child's "Best Work" in a portfolio. By reviewing this folder we can all appreciate how much progress each child has made.

	Sample Junior Kindergarten Report Card (pdf)
	Sample Senior Kindergarten Report Card (pdf)

Another way be learn more about a child's current strengths and needs is through inventories and tests that teachers use throughout the board. The Teacher's School Readiness Inventory (TSRI) and the Rosner Auditory Analysis form the Web Based Teaching Tool (WBTT) are completed in both Junior and Senior Kindergarten.

All children are special, but sometimes we need to find out more about how a child learns so we can discover his or her current needs and abilities. Then we can provide the school programs that are most appropriate to his or her level of development. We call this process of discovery "Early Identification of Children's Learning Needs".

The Important Role of Parents
Communication between parents and school staff begins at the time of registration. This first meeting starts an assessment process that is well underway before your child even enters school, and continues throughout the school year. It is important that you share information about your child. We want to know about your child's likes and dislikes, interests, strengths and needs, and your knowledge of his or her development. It is helpful if you share relevant assessment reports with school staff and advise us if there are medical conditions that could affect your child's ability to attend school or to learn.

 
The Role of Your Child's Teacher
The teacher's first role is to learn about your child through you, the parents. Teachers then then observe the children, watching and talking with each one. They assess each child's strengths and needs in every area of the curriculum: language, mathematics, science and technology, personal and social development, and the arts. Programs and teaching strategies are continually adjusted to meet the current needs and abilities of every child.

 
Community Supports
Sometimes other people are involved in the "Early Identification" process. If we notice that your child seems to have some difficulty with seeing or hearing, we would ask you to discuss this concern with your family doctor. If we have a concern about a child's speech or language development, we can ask the school board's speech language pathologist to come to the school and talk with your child, in his or her familiar surroundings. We call this visit "Speech Screening" and if your child needs extra help, a support program would be recommended. With your consent, a Junior Kindergarten student could be referred to Wordplay/Jeux de mots, the Preschool Speech and Language Service. Parents can access the service directly for children not yet enrolled in school by calling 522-6655. Older students could receive speech and language support services at school through school board personnel.

The Language Express Learn more about The Language Express©, a Preschool Speech & Language Services System in Ontario.