October 1st, 2015
Dear Kindergarten Families:
The Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) reports that 80% of what a child learns comes from vision, while also noting that 1 in every 6 children have some form of vision problem. A child has nothing against which to gauge what they see and therefore assumes that what is seen is the same as that seen by everyone else. A child cannot tell their parents that they have a vision problem, because they do not know that a problem exists. As a child grows, so does their visual capability along with other faculties. By the time a child reaches six (6) years of age, the visual link between mind and eye is more or less complete, making the possibility of correction that much more difficult.
With this in mind, the WRDSB is happy to partner with the Lions Club to provide vision screening for the all Kindergarten (JK & SK) students in WRDSB schools. The intent of the screening is to identify any child who may have vision problems such as difficulty seeing things either at a distance, up close, or in making both eyes working together. In the event your child has some difficulty, in any of the areas, we will recommend you attend a professional vision care provider. No attempt will be made to check the health of the eyes.
Tests are performed, to define your child’s visual capability in a number of areas and then evaluated against criteria provided by the Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO).
Any child whose vision fails to meet the OAO criteria should see an Optometrist for a complete examination, the cost of which is covered by OHIP.
All Kindergarten children will be screened by Lions Club experienced volunteers. In the event you do not wish your child’s vision to be screened I would ask you to complete the exemption form below and return it by OCTOBER 16th. Vision screening will take place on Monday, October 26th at Brigadoon.
Yours truly,
Mrs. Kelly Gudas Mr. Nick Chiarelli
Principal Vice Principal
Brigadoon PS