It appears that summer really is over and it looks like the rainy season is upon us. Children need to get fresh air and physical exercise every day. Getting outside and exercising promotes healthy living. We want to encourage the children to go out on wet days when there is a light drizzle. If it’s raining hard or we have particularly stormy weather, we will always do our best to accommodate students indoors. Here are some guidelines that we typically use when deciding on whether or not to call an “inside” day at recess and/or lunch:
- Given our temperate climate, we typically do not call an “inside” day due to temperature alone;
- If it is raining lightly, we’ll often send students outside as it is important for them to have a physical energy break during the day. If the forecast calls for rain all day and it’s raining lightly in the morning, we may try to squeeze in an “outside” recess and then, depending on how things go, call an “inside” lunch;
- If it is raining fairly hard outside then we will typically call an inside day;
- If it appears very slippery and unsafe outside, then we’ll call an inside day.
Where we sometimes run into problems are on particularly unsettled days. There may be times when it isn’t raining or just raining lightly at the start of recess or lunch and then it picks up half-way through the break. If that happens we may try to get students back into the building, but sometimes that’s not possible.
On “inside” days students are expected to stay in their own classrooms and play classroom-appropriate games, read, draw or socialize using quiet voices. Students are allowed to leave their classroom to use the washrooms but we do not allow them to visit other classrooms as this often leads to other issues.
What Parents Can Do To Help…
- Send your child to school with a warm winter jacket with a hoodie, hat or umbrella every day;
- Make sure your child has appropriate “outside” footwear each day;
- When it appears cold outside, send your child with a toque and/or gloves;
- If your child isn’t healthy enough to go outside when the weather isn’t ideal, please consider keeping them at home until they are completely healthy.
