|
|
Welcome to Kindergarten!

Kindergarten
Registration
Your local
Catholic school provides opportunities for spiritual and academic growth
through a diverse range of programs and services geared to meet the needs of
each learner. The Toronto Catholic District School Board invites parents to
register their children for Junior and Senior Kindergarten and French
Immersion Senior Kindergarten beginning on January 9th, 2012. For parents
who are not available during the regular school day, most schools are
hosting extended hours for registration the evening of Thursday, January
19th. For specific times, contact the Catholic school in your neighbourhood.
For
September 2012:
-
Children born in 2008 are eligible for Junior
Kindergarten
-
Children born in 2007 are eligible for Senior
Kindergarten and French Immersion Senior Kindergarten.
The following documents are required:
1.
Child’s birth
certificate (certificate of citizenship or landed immigrant
status)
2.
Child’s Catholic
Baptismal Certificate (or other proof of Catholicity)
3.
Child’s Ontario
Health Card
4.
Child’s
Immunization Record
5.
Proof of
residency in Toronto
Call your local Catholic school for an appointment.
Overview of Kindergarten
Program
Kindergarten is a time of wonder, awe and learning! It is an exciting time
for children and their families and represents a major threshold in a
child’s life at a critical stage of development. In Kindergarten, children’s
receptivity to new influences and their capacity to learn are at their peak.
During this period they acquire a variety of important skills, knowledge and
attitudes that will affect their abilities to learn, their personal
development, their relationships with others and their future participation
in society. The Toronto Catholic District School Board is dedicated to
nurturing the young child spiritually, academically, physically, socially,
and emotionally through a faith-based curriculum in a caring, Catholic
environment.
Our Philosophy
In our
Kindergartens:
-
We
celebrate the wonder and awe of childhood as a
trace of God.
-
We
encourage the development of the whole child.
-
We
offer developmentally appropriate programming to meet the varying
experiences, backgrounds, abilities and needs of all children.
-
We
believe in purposeful play as the main vehicle to promote all aspects of
learning.
-
We
create healthy learning environments that are safe, secure, stimulating
and thoughtfully planned with the child in mind.
-
We
encourage learning through exploring, playing, talking, risk-taking,
problem solving and making choices.
-
We use
a variety of instructional strategies with the whole class, small groups
and individuals.
-
We
provide experiences that build a strong foundation for literacy and
numeracy development.
-
We
apply ongoing, authentic assessment practices to inform programming and
improve learning.
-
We
welcome parents and caregivers as valued partners in their children’s
education.
- We
foster partnerships between home, school, parish and the larger
community.

A Focus on
Faith: In God’s Image
In
Kindergarten, we affirm the child in all aspects of growth as we celebrate
the wonder of childhood as a trace of God.
In God’s Image
is the Canadian religious education resource for Kindergarten. It provides
an approach to religious education that nurtures and affirms the four and
five year old child emotionally, socially, intellectually, morally and
physically through song, prayer, activities and symbols. In God’s
Image contains eight modules: Me, Earth Times, Special Days, Church
Times, Community, Plants, Animals and Changes. A number of more specific
themes are contained in each module. These themes are presented throughout
both Junior and Senior Kindergarten.
The
Kindergarten Program
The
Toronto Catholic District School Board offers both Junior and Senior
Kindergarten. The programs are based on educational policy and expectations
as outlined in The Revised Kindergarten Program (Ministry of
Education, 2006) combined with sound pedagogy and current research on
exemplary Kindergarten practices. Children are provided opportunities for
growth in six areas of learning: Personal and Social Development, Language,
Mathematics, Science and Technology, Health and Physical Activity and the
Arts. The revised Kindergarten Program document is available at
www.edu.gov.on.ca.
Staggered Entry
The Toronto Catholic District
School Board supports an effective planning entry-to-school approach for the
benefit of all children, families and staff. Staggered entry-to-school is an
approach that is respectful of the varying needs, experiences and
backgrounds of all children and their families. It assists children in their
adjustment to the school setting in a successful and positive manner.
Children are introduced to school in small groups over the course of a few
days until all children are in attendance. The Kindergarten teacher in
collaboration with the parent/guardian decides what is best for the child.
This is determined at an initial classroom orientation session in which the
child along with the parent/guardian visits the classroom and school and
meets the Kindergarten teacher.
Preparing
Children for a Successful Start to School
It is
natural that starting school can cause mixed feelings of excitement and
anxiety for children and families. Before beginning this new adventure,
parents/guardians can prepare their child by:
-
Visiting the school during an open house, Education week or other
special event.
-
Visiting the Kindergarten classroom and meeting the teacher.
-
Involving the child in activities that promote learning in the community
(e.g., local library programs, The Ontario Early Years Centres).
-
Talking positively about school and school-related activities.
-
Reading and discussing books about school and making new friends.
-
Walking or driving to school before the first day to practice the route.
-
Talking through any fears or concerns about starting school.
-
Establishing a routine a few weeks before beginning school.
Parents
are encouraged to speak to their child’s teacher if there any concerns or
questions regarding adjustment to school.
Parents/guardians can support a successful transition from home to school by
ensuring that their child:
-
Dresses in clothes that are easily managed, comfortable,
labeled with his/her name and appropriate for the weather
-
Manages dressing and undressing himself/herself (e.g.,
putting on and taking off jackets and shoes)
-
Responds to his/her name
-
Attends to his/her own toileting needs
-
Respects other people and materials
-
Has an early, regular bedtime and is well-rested
-
Brings a small, healthy (peanut-free) snack for school
each day
-
Understands daily arrival and dismissal procedures
-
Arrives on time for school each day.
The Welcome to
Kindergartenä Program
The
Toronto Catholic District School Board is please to be working with the
Learning Partnership in offering the Welcome to Kindergartenä
Program in
all elementary schools across the system.
The goal of the
Welcome to Kindergartenä Program is to provide
pre-school children with the resources and experiences to begin their formal
education with a foundation in literacy nurtured in their home. Before
starting school, parents/caregivers and their children are invited to attend
an orientation sessions in their neighbourhood school where they receive a
variety of early literacy resources in a canvas bag (e.g., magnetic letters
and numbers, books, crayons, scissors, glue, paper, play dough and more) and
learn strategies for using the resources. The orientation sessions are
provided by school staff in conjunction with community partners and occur in
the spring prior to school entry.
The Welcome to
Kindergartenä Program
is financially
supported through various sources including board funds and local Catholic
School Advisory Councils. Some schools are also sponsored by the TD Bank
Financial Group.
The
TCDSB Full Day
Senior Kindergarten Program
In 2004,
the Toronto Catholic District School Board initiated a pilot program
offering full day, every day Senior Kindergarten in seven schools across the
system. This comprehensive program is based on The Kindergarten Program
(Ministry of Education, 2006), Toronto Catholic District School Board
policies and resources and current research on exemplary Kindergarten
practices. The program is built upon three essential cornerstones: student
support, teacher support and parent support. The goals of The Full Day
Senior Kindergarten Program are to:
-
Provide an exemplary full day Senior Kindergarten program
that will help children develop morally, intellectually, socially,
emotionally and physically in a manner appropriate to their age and
stage of development
-
Ensure that children leave Senior Kindergarten with a
stronger foundation of literacy and numeracy skills
-
Integrate concepts of health, social and emotional well
being into the full day Senior Kindergarten Program
-
Enhance children’s feelings of self-worth and
appreciation of their own and other people’s ethnicity, culture and
language in a multi-cultural society.
-
Provide for prevention, early identification and early
intervention of problems that interfere with the development of
children’s learning through specific programming and a Kindergarten
Support Team (consisting of a speech-language pathologists, psychology
and social work staff)
-
Recognize the value of parents as partners in the
education of their children by keeping them well informed, encouraging
their input and involvement and providing support as need.
-
Establish links with community services as resources and
support for children, parents and teachers.
The following schools offer full day Senior Kindergarten programs:
-
St. Dorothy Catholic School
-
St. Teresa Catholic School
-
St. Augustine Catholic School
-
Blessed Margherita of Citta di Castello Catholic School
-
St. Luigi Catholic School
-
St. Boniface Catholic School
-
St. Thomas More Catholic School
For further information on the Full Day Senior Kindergarten Program, please
call the school directly.
Kindergarten
French Immersion
The aim of
the French Immersion program is to provide students with the skills they
need to communicate in a second language. It enables students to develop
strong fundamental skills in oral communication, reading and writing as well
as providing students with an understanding of the cultures of French
speaking societies. The Toronto Catholic District School Board offers a
French Immersion Senior Kindergarten program at the following schools:
-
Our Lady of Wisdom Catholic School
-
St. Cecilia Catholic School
-
St. Cyril Catholic School
-
St. Agatha Catholic School
-
Our Lady of Peace Catholic School
Information evenings for parents are
held at each French Immersion school in January. For dates, times and
further information, please contact the French Immersion School nearest
you or contact Judith Esser, Coordinator, French as a Second Language at
(416) 222-8282 ext. 2540.
To register your child for the French
Immersion program, or the Extended French program, please contact the
Catholic school nearest to your home that offers the program.
Kindergarten
Language Program
The
Kindergarten Language Program provides intensive oral language programming
to groups of students in Senior Kindergarten who have significant
difficulties in speech and language development. The program is preventative
with the focus on the enhancement of young children’s oral language
development as the foundation for learning, literacy and social development.
Students enrolled in the Kindergarten Language Program attend their home
school senior kindergarten program half days and the Kindergarten Language
Program two additional half days per week. The Kindergarten Language Program
is co-instructed by a teacher and speech-language pathologist. Consultation
and support are provided to parents and teachers as needed. The following
eight locations offer the Kindergarten Language Program:
-
St. Charles Garnier Catholic School
-
St. Matthias Catholic School
-
Holy Angels Catholic School
-
St. Angela Catholic School
-
St. Mary Catholic School
-
Blessed John XXIII Catholic School
-
Epiphany of Our Lord Academy
-
St. Martin de Porres Catholic School
For further information regarding admission and programming, please contact
the TCDSB Speech and Language Department at (416) 222-8282 ext. 2261.

Full-Day Kindergarten Program
The Ministry of Education and TCDSB have collaboratively designated some schools for the full-day JK
and SK program beginning in September 2010. By September 2011, 38 TCDSB
schools will be offering this program. The province intends to fully
implement full-day Kindergarten in all Ontario schools by September 2015.
For more information, please visit the
Full-Day
Kindergarten Program section of our website.
Resources
|