MARCH 2022

               

We are getting closer and closer to Spring every day!! Wow!

Weather Appropriate Clothing/footwear

March is a month where we could have sunny skies one moment, snow the next and then a wind storm with thunder and lightning!! And all before noon!!

With that in mind, it is very helpful for children to come to school with inside shoes when they wear boots to school, have an extra jacket or sweater in case the weather changes, and to have extra clothes in their backpacks just in case they get wet outside.

Absent Children

Thank you for continuing to call/email to let us know when/why your children are absent due to sickness or holidays. If they are sick, please let us know the symptoms. 

New Fundraiser - Card Project

We are almost ready for our Card Project fundraiser to start.

The children made amazing art for this exciting fundraiser!

Orders open Monday, March 28.

Look out for your child’s greeting card coming home after spring break.

Every child’s card is unique.

The front showcases their own art with

their name and grade printed on the back.

You can order professionally printed greeting cards, notebooks, digital prints,

stretched canvasses and now, canvas tote bags, mugs and tea towels.

From March 28, you can see your child’s art and place an order online at:

www.TheCardProject.ca

ORDERS are due by Sunday, April 10 for delivery in the week of April 25-29 – in time for Mother’s Day!

This is a wonderful fundraising opportunity for our school. We receive 20% of the sales.

Remember, the cards and notebooks make great gifts!

THANK YOU in advance for your support.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Marcelle at Marcelle@TheCardProject.ca

SCHOOL CLOSURES AND SPECIAL DATES

MAR. 14-18 - Spring Break SCHOOL CLOSED

(If you are going to be away on vacation in March, please let us know)

APR. 12/13 - Easter Services (in-person? TBA)

APR. 15 - Good Friday SCHOOL CLOSED

APR. 18 - Easter Monday SCHOOL CLOSED

APR 25-29 - Jean's Week: Fundraiser for BC Children's Hospital

MAY 13 - Professional Dev. Day - SCHOOL CLOSED

MAY 23 - Victoria Day - SCHOOL CLOSED

JUN 17 - 4's Graduation (in-person? TBA)

JUN 17 - Last Day of School

JUN 21/22 - Picnics (Location TBA)

The teachers did some amazing things in the classrooms during February. Check out below what happened and ask your child about it! 

RAINBOW ROOM - Danielle, Susan, Vibha, Rose

February was such a great and eventful month. Three different themes were introduced: Valentine’s Day, Pete the Cat, and Paw Patrol.

 

For Valentine’s Day week, we sang Skidamarink  and The More We Get Together.  In addition, we learned how to communicate “I LOVE YOU” in sign language.  For art, we used marbles and pink, gold and grey paint to decorate hearts. We decorated a heart wreath with pink and red tissue paper.  We finished our Valentine’s Day week with a PJ party and we prepared delicious pancakes for snack.

Then we moved into Pete the Cat theme.  For art we stamped buttons on Pete the Cat and had lots of fun shoe stamping with red, blue and brown paint. Also, our children enjoyed colouring Pete the Cat with crayons and then adding watercolours. At Circle, we listened to two tape stories: I Love My White Shoes and Pete the Cat with Four Groovy Buttons.  We played Pete the Cat Shoe Colour Recognition Game and Five Cats in a Bed song. 

We pretended to be cats, butterflies and dogs while doing yoga poses. 

BUTTERFLY 

With the soles of my feet touching

I gaze straight ahead

My hands rest on my shoulders

As my butterfly wings spread 

CAT

My hands and knees on the floor

I become a cat

Stretching one leg to form a tail 

I say, “Meow” just like that.

DOG

I am a dog

Stretching from a nap

On my hands and knees

I begin to yap

Straightening my legs

And lifting my hips

I spread each and every one

Looking down

I can see my toes

And I focus on breathing 

In and out through my nose.

We talked about Paw Patrol.

Paw Patrol is ready to roll!

There’s no job too big and no pup too small.  “Paw Patrol to the Lookout!” shouts Ryder.

For art, we made paw printing with brown paint and enjoyed making  paw patrol collage with our favourite characters. For circle, we read "Pups to the Rescue" book and "High-Flying Skye" story tape.  We also sang the Do you know the Paw Patrol? song. 

We transformed our Housekeeping Corner into a Vet where the children really enjoyed taking care of the animals. 

If you are actively toilet training at home, please let us know and we would kindly help you at the preschool. Thank you parents for your on going support.

TREEHOUSE ROOM - Brita, Carol, Gabi, Karen, Rose, Monica

February has been a fun filled month of activities for your children! For the first half of the month we focused on friendship, kindness, and Valentine’s Day.

 The home corner was transformed into a chocolate shop where the children baked chocolates, packed them up for customers to purchase! The tables were filled with matching games, lacing shapes, small and large puzzles, which the children liked to work on together.

At Circle Time , we focused on being kind to one another, what makes a good friend, and how to show kindness.  The teachers acted out different scenarios to show the children how different behaviours can make you feel. They learned that being kind to others makes you feel good about yourself and others will be kind to you.

We read books such as “The Smartest Giant in Town", "A Color of his Own", and "Happy Valentine’s Day Curious George". We played Find the Missing Heart, Send Your Friend a Valentine, and sang songs like Skidamarink.

For art we decorated Valentine’s bags, marble painted hearts, created heart people, love bugs, and bee-kind bumble bees. Thanks to Chef Karen, the children were able to decorate heart shaped sugar cookies!

Thank you for helping your child make Valentine’s Day cards for their friends. They were so excited to show the teachers and place them in their friend’s bags. It was a great opportunity for your child to practice writing their name.

For the last half of the month we explored the theme of Outer Space. The Block Corner looked like we had landed on the moon with lunar vehicles, space rocks, and astronauts. The Home Corner became the inside of the space station with control panels, computer controls, jetpacks, cameras, and space phones. The train table was were the children could build satellites.

For Art, the children made spaceships, rockets, green 

Martians, stars, the Sun, and constellations out of marshmallows and toothpicks.

For Circle, the children learned about our fascinating solar system. They learned about the different planets that make up our solar system and what makes each one unique. We explored the Moon, the Sun, and planet Earth. We read books such as “On the Moon", "Planets", "Our Solar System", "The Amazing Planet Earth", and "Aliens Love Underpants”.  We played games like Name That Planet and Find the Missing Planet. The children loved playing the Lava Game. It is such an amazing theme to discover.

We have been working with the 4s on their Kindergarten Readiness skills which includes both gross and fine motor activities.

We are so lucky to have the use of the gym for our gross motor activities on rainy days so indoor runners work best on their feet. When it is not raining, we love to go outside in the fresh air so warm jackets, hats, mittens, and boots keep the children warm on those brisk days.

The children have created beautiful art work for our next fundraiser, The Card Project and we just can’t wait for you to see them, so please stay tuned.

Thank you for continuing to keep your child home from school if they are not feeling well. Please continue to contact the preschool if your child is going to be absent for any reason. We truly appreciate it.

 

SUNFLOWER ROOM - Cecilia, Danielle, Carol

February may be the shortest, but it proved to be one of the most exciting months as Sunflower friends shared sweet treats for Valentine’s and traditional foods from their various backgrounds.

On the continent of Asia, we sampled roasted seaweed from Korea and learned about áo

dài when one of our children came dressed in the traditional Vietnamese “long shirt.” In Pakistan, we listened to a fun story about how roti can give us super strength and tried some delicious cumin crackers. One of our Iranian families brought in a gorgeous representation of items found on a Haft-sin table for Nowruz, Persian New Year.

Soon it was time to fly to the land down under and no trip to Australia would be complete without Vegemite, catchy tunes, and kangaroo stuffies.

Europe was next as we went on a whirlwind excursion to Great Britain, Scotland, and Ireland. 

We learned about kilts—one worn to school had even been passed on from mother to daughter—and how they communicated belonging to a certain clan. Real British pounds, English breakfast tea, a double decker bus, and a commemorative plate helped convey a sense of England and Walker’s shortbread cookies brought home that UK vibe.

Denmark was next with a representative Viking t-shirt and family photos of Christmas traditions such as elves around the house and a hidden almond in the rice pudding dessert.

Poignantly our last stop this month was Ukraine. A child’s grandmother, his баба, had beautifully embroidered a table runner which we got to see and touch, and he also brought in pictures of pysanky or decorated eggs that she had lovingly made.

While Valentine’s pajama parties with fruit parfaits and popcorn are always fun, learning about where we come from and sharing some of our foods and traditions truly filled our hearts this February. THANK YOU, FAMILIES, for your enthusiastic participation! Our trip around the world would not have been possible without you.

RESOURCE OFFICE - Marion

My husband, Jim and I will be heading to Sydney, Australia to meet our first grandchild, Freddy on March 6th and returning on March 29th.  We have never met Freddy and are looking forward to celebrating his 2nd birthday with our son and extended family in Australia.

Kindergarten Readiness letters will be handed out to all the children who are registered for Kindergarten in September. 

The teachers are already starting to encourage the children to learn the letters in their names and try and print them out in their Journals and on their Art work.  

Letters and Numbers will be all around them for the next couple of months.  If you have any questions, please speak to your child's teachers.  This is an exciting time of year for all the children and we are looking forward to so many Spring time activities.  

Wishing everyone a happy and fun Spring break.