Happy October to our Preschool Families!!
As they say, "We're back in the saddle again" and we are LOVIN' IT!!
Thank You to everyone for following the Covid protocols regarding distancing, masks, hand-washing and of course, staying home when sick.
NO MORE FORMS! We thank you all for taking the time to fill out the Daily Covid Checklist form each day your child attends. We will no longer be requiring you to fill out this form each day as you all have a signed a Covid Agreement that is kept in your child's files that states you will follow all current protocols. So, when your child arrives at school, we will be asking you if your child has any symptoms, has been exposed to Covid or exposed to those who have been out of the country and as long as your answers are no to all, your child can attend class.
Important Note: Preschools and Daycares do not follow the guidelines outlined in the Ministry of Health and CDC for K-12. We are licensed under the umbrella of the Community Care and Assisted Living Act for Daycares/Preschools/Care Homes etc. We follow a much more strict set of rules than the K-12 schools do.
We have just received from Vancouver Coastal Health, an updated list of symptoms of Covid-19 that daycares & preschools must follow.
So the current set of symptoms are:
All Forms and Post dated cheques should be handed in to the office by now.
IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES / EVENTS
WANTED!! BOARD MEMBERS!!
There is not much commitment involved: approximately 1 hour per month and approximately 5 or 6 times within this school year. Board member duties include being involved in any voting for price increases, assisting with parent education nights or social nights and being the voice for all parents in the school.
We are looking for the following positions: Secretary, Treasurer, Member at Large. Please contact Tina or Marion in the office if you are interested or have any questions.
How Can I Help the Preschool? We are a non-profit society and we rely heavily on fundraising to keep our preschool stocked with fabulous learning materials. This year will be very challenging to keep up with previous years' fundraising monies as we will be missing out some of our most popular and successful events such as the Pizza Night / Cake Walk we usually have in November. So, please have a look at all our Fundraisers and hopefully you will be able to support the preschool and get some wonderful products for you and your family!
SCHOLASTICS - Visit www.scholastics.ca to look up and order books through their Reading Club:
Using Reading Club is easy! Simply place an order on the Reading Club Shop and use the Class Code (RC168576) in the coupon field during checkout . Every order you place will earn your child's classroom free books and resources and you will receive free shipping on orders of $35 or more. All orders ship directly to your home!
LOVABLE LABELS - Everything your child brings to school should be labelled: clothes, bags, lunch kits, water bottles etc. Lovable labels have amazing labels of all kinds! Iron ons, stickers, metal tags! 20% of every order will support our preschool!
THERE MUST BE MORE I CAN DO FOR MY CHILD'S PRESCHOOL...
What happened in the Classrooms in September?? Check out below!!
RAINBOW ROOM - Danielle/Marjan/Vibha
A big welcome to our returning new families! Thank you parents for all your support and patience during gradual entry. It’s being a great success!
Our youngest members of St. Catherine’s Preschool are beginning to settle in nicely to the program. Most are happy to stretch their boundaries. A few still need a little more time to feel secure with mom and Dad leaving. Such is the nature of our two year olds. Often this is their first experience away from family.
Two year olds love to explore their surroundings, but
need to stay close to their primary base of support and trust.
Separation anxiety is quite strong at this stage, but often it is only the “ good-bye” that is difficult.
We setup the rooms in a way that facilitates exploration and discovery through play. A great deal of time is spent exploring, pulling, filling, dumping and touching. Two year olds love painting, splashing in the water table, housekeeping, singing and dancing at circle time, although play tends to be more solitary. Over the next few weeks we will be talking about Families, Friends, Thanksgiving and Fall.
We are still waiting for a few more family photos. Children love to look at these photos especially if they are missing you❤️
Here’s the song we sing before having snack.
God is great
God is good
And we thank him for our food
We’re going to thank him in the morning, noon and night
We’re going to thank him coz he’s out of sight Amen
We look forward to an exciting year- a year of tremendous growth in confidence and abilities. We hope that this first group experience will be an enjoyable and memorable one both for you and your child.
Please let us know if your child is going to be absent from class and if they are sick, what the symptoms are. And please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
TREEHOUSE ROOM - Arsi/Brita/Carol/Karen/Marjan/Rose
Welcome families to an exciting new school year! We hope in the coming months to inform you all on our class experiences through our blogs.
This is year is going to be a year like no other, but we are looking forward to making it fun and exciting for our classroom.
We are now almost at the end of September and it’s great to see how the children have slowly settled in. Just like the teachers are learning the new routines, as are the children. We are all making sure hands are being washed and we are all playing with mini groups in our play areas within our room. It’s great to see the children enjoying their play time. Trust us when we tell you, the tears do disappear once we enter the class and see all there is to do!
During our time, we also have the opportunity for a circle time where we have been talking about “All About Me.” We’ve talked about what we like, our families, and what our names sound and look like. We’ve read books such as “In a People’s House,” “I like,” “Mmm cookies,” and “I like me.” We’ve also played name games to learn our friends’ and teachers’ name.
It’s great to see how we’re all different but we’re all the same!
For art, we’ve made our own faces, decorated a house shape, traced our hands, talked about what our favourite things are, and tried our best to find the letters of our names.
We have also had the opportunity to meet Tiffany, our music teacher. Tiffany is focusing on the keyboard family and teaching the kids the different sounds they make and how they look! She’s so much fun!
In the next few weeks, we will be talking about fall and Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble!
Just a few reminders:
Please say your goodbye promptly when your child is being dropped off so the teachers can take them down to start their day
If your child is going to be away or is sick, please call the office and let them know the reason for the absence and if they are sick, what their symptoms are.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call or make an appointment with the office and we’d be happy to speak with you.
SUNFLOWER ROOM - Arsi/Danielle/Carol
It was a different gradual entry this year from our previous years, as we have implemented some new practices in keeping with our new Covid 19 protocols. It went smoothly though and the children are settling in. It is great to see the children making new friends, enjoying art and circle time.
We are looking forward to the next 10 months of learning, playing and discovering new things.For the first few weeks we were learning
about Ourselves and our Families. For the last week of September, we are
exploring Autumn – the leaves, the colors and the weather.
In October we will be talking about
Thanksgiving and Halloween.Please remember to pack more food than less (one container for snack & one for lunch) as we are here for 4 hours a day, so the children get hungry. We will also be going outside to play so pack appropriate footwear & jackets.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the office so we can arrange a meeting after school hours.
MUSIC - Tiffany
Welcome, everyone! I am so pleased to be back in the music room with St. Catherine’s aspiring young musicians. I have seen familiar faces and many new ones, too! Music class is a great time to meet new friends and to develop a deeper connection, through song and dance.
This September, I have laid out a few expectations for music class. Mostly, class will stay the same with the added expectation that children will not be sharing, passing or trading instruments. Children come in small groups and when doing activities involving dancing, I encourage the class to make sure they have lots of space around them to move freely. I keep sanitation materials in the classroom and use them when necessary and in between classes.
For September, the children have been introduced to the basics of music class. We begin each class with a ‘Hello’ song and finish with a ‘Goodbye’ song. We engage in a physical warm-up and ‘Shake [our] Sillies Out’. We are also learning about all the different instruments on the music wall, starting with the Keyboard Family. Parents are encouraged to play piano, organ and harpsichord music for their children and ask them to identify the instrument and how it makes them feel.
In
October, we will be learning about the Musical Alphabet, which is a ‘C’ Major
scale. We will celebrate Autumn by colouring to Antonio Vivaldi’s, ‘Four Seasons:
Fall’.
RESOURCE OFFICE - Marion
Welcome families.
It has been a real pleasure meeting everyone during gradual entry. We are all adjusting to the changes that we have had to make in order to reopen safely. Thank you for your commitment to making St. Catherine’s the very best it can be.
I am starting my 24th year on staff and I have seen a lot of changes, but not like the ones we are experiencing this year. As the Developmental Resource Teacher I am responsible for guiding the programming and being a resource for the teachers. I work closely with North Supported Child Development Program to provide support to children who may need extra support. Over the years we have built a reputation in the community as being a very inclusive, nurturing play based centre. When we have a child who requires extra support we will hire a Program Assistant who will be an additional staff person in the classroom and who will be responsible for following through with goals and strategies that have been developed for that child. All activities for the children are age appropriate and our philosophy of “Learning Through Play” is the basis of all our programs.
This year I have been helping with gradual entry and it has been a pleasure getting to know the children. I am considered a .5 person in any classroom so I am able to help out where needed. I will spend time in a classroom if a teacher wants some guidance about speech and language, gross and fine motor activities and social skills. I am involved in the Kindergarten Readiness skills program in the new year as our fours prepare for their next adventure.
Something
about me. I have been married for 38 years to my husband, Jim. We
have 3 wonderful grown boys. Two live in Winnipeg and one in Australia
with his wife, Gemma and our first grandbaby, Freddy. We are empty
nesters, sold the family home on 29th 5 years ago and moved into a
townhome in C-Low. Jim and I and our fur baby Rupert, enjoy camping and doing archery
together. I received my Early Childhood Certification in 1981 followed by
my Infant Toddler Certification and then my Special Needs Certification.
As well as
being the Resource Teacher I am also part of the Admin team with
Tina. I love my job and am looking forward to guiding you children
as they experience life through play.
Please feel
free to e-mail me at stcpre@telus.net if
you have any questions or concerns and we can book an appointment.
Marion
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