News from Viscount Alexander School

By Michael Barnes

The new school year!

This year 189 students are attending Viscount, ranging from junior kindergarten to grade 6. We are very happy to have with us our new principal, Paula Slesar who has 28 years of educational experience. Together with our teachers, support staff, custodians, visiting professional staff, volunteers, parents and school council members, our goal is to make the education of these young people a memorable and enriching experience. We hope that Viscount provides the base for their educational progress and encourages their participation in both their school and community.

Walking School Bus

The Walking School Bus is up and running again. The program encourages and enables students to walk to school with an adult “driver” in charge. Fresh air and a little exercise is a good way to start the school day.

Breakfast Club

Thank you to our wonderful Breakfast Program Coordinator; the Viscount Alexander Breakfast program is now running each morning supporting many children at our school.

After school options

Viscount offers EDP or extended day program after school. There is also Sandy Hill Community Centre for after school programs. These enjoyable programs provide a variety of activities for our students to participate in after the end of the school day.

Adopt a School Program is underway

This online fundraiser brought to us by Chapters Rideau runs until October 8, 2017. Its goal is to raise funds to improve and update our school library collection. Visit the Indigo Adopt a School website at adoptaschool.indigo.ca/eng/schools/1916 to make an online donation or in person at Chapters on Rideau. All funds donated to our school will go directly towards purchasing new books for our library. As many of our students have a language other than English as their first language it really helps to encourage the love of reading at an early age.

Leadership—noon-time monitors

Viscount Alexander has a dedicated group of students from the junior grades who help our kindergarten classes on a regular basis. Junior students volunteer in kindergarten and primary classes during lunch helping to open lunch containers and support a calm environment in every classroom while our children eat. We are proud and thankful to those students who demonstrate their citizenship skills each day to help us offer these programs.

Healthy snacks for all

Thanks to the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre (SHCHC), all Viscount students are offered healthy vegetable and fruit snacks. Veggie Monday and Fruity Friday offer nutritious snacks that are prepared by our volunteers. The platters are delivered to the classrooms and the fun begins. This twice-a-week program has been going for several years, with several thousand wholesome snacks served in the course of a year. We truly thank the SHCHC and our volunteers for their commitment that makes this much- loved part of student life at Viscount possible.

Therapy Dogs to stimulate literacy

Viscount Alexander will be participating in a Reading Education Assistance Dogs® (R.E.A.D.®) program offered by Ottawa Therapy Dogs. This popular program is a unique literacy initiative designed to stimulate enjoyment of reading and develop reading skills using registered therapy dog teams as literacy mentors. Claire and her dog, Nellie, will be visiting Viscount Alexander this year to R.E.A.D® one-on-one with individual students during school hours weekly for approximately 15 minutes each. The dog and her handler are volunteers, insured for liability and have undergone literacy training in addition to their extensive orientation, training and evaluation to qualify for animal-assisted therapy. This is a free program offered by Ottawa Therapy Dogs. To know more about the program please visit www.ireadwithdogs.ca.

Questions about Viscount?

To learn more about Viscount and the educational experience it offers please call the office  at 613-239-2213 for more details or arrange a visit.