May 2013

April 30, 2013

President’s Note

We were just shown to a booth at Boston Pizza. Before even glancing at the menu, my ten year old quickly began to work on the BP kids’ page of “Draw A Picture of You and Your Mom”. My eight year old was writing out her own menu, while my four year old kept poking holes in a Ziploc bag containing pencil crayons. After ordering my comfort food – spaghetti and meatballs, I casually glanced at my big girl’s ‘Mommy and Me’ masterpiece.  She drew two figures, both smiling and holding hands. The taller figure was looking out and telling whoever is looking at the picture, “We are a Pair!” Then she filled the rest of the picture with beautiful background colours of green and brown – similar to a nature trail.

My heart melted and I was filled with gratitude. I was so happy to be a pair with her, my first born baby! Wasn’t it just 10 minutes ago that I impatiently asked her to not leave her book in the waiting area at Boston Pizza? Didn’t I yell at her that afternoon about her mess in the room? Wasn’t my stomach churning with acid because I needed to remind her for the 6th time to put a clip on her hair so she can get that curtain-bang out of her eyes? I realize that parenting is a challenging job on a daily basis. I am thankful that my dear husband Jeff and I are on the same page when it comes to raising our kids. Still, even with all the great support and resources around me, I still question if I am doing things right. Questions like:  did I just completely ruin her self esteem today?  Is her messy room a subtle interpretation about our parenting style? Will I have to pay for future counseling sessions for the wrongs I have done?

And then, this appeared:  We Are A Pair.

Yes, it is all worth it. She knows I still love her to the moon and back, even though I question her wearing winter boots to go play in the park while the sun is blazing and she is wearing t-shirts and shorts. She knows I will hold her hand and walk the trails of life whether she has a clip on her lovely head or not. She knows she can roll her eyes all the way to the back of her brain and I will still hug her and paste kisses all over her face.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the hard working moms – you are all pairs.

Welcome New Parents

Hello and en extra special welcome to all new and returning Queen’s Park Preschool families! You and your child are about to enter a wonderful period of learning and growing together at Queen’s Park Parent Participation Preschool. Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to the Coffee party… it was a very fun night to get to meet our amazing teachers and fellow parents as well as to socialize, ask questions and get to know our fabulous preschool!

Important reminders:
If you are a new parent to QPPS you should be scheduled for an observation day in one of the classes at the preschool before the end of the year (June 12). Many of you have already enjoyed the experience of seeing our preschool in action and we appreciate you coming in to “learn the ropes”. If you still need to find a date to come in please contact the orientation coordinator at kthomas@sd40.bc.ca to schedule a time slot!

The Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, May 7 from 7-10pm is also an important part of our orientation, so please be sure to attend if you are doing duty at the preschool for your child next year!

Please also be sure to check out our website at www.qpps.ca for upcoming events and meetings. Do not hesitate to contact Kim Thomas email: kthomas@sd40.bc.ca or cell: 604-209-1301 if you have any questions.

We look forward to meeting your little ones in September!

Job Assignments for 2013-2014 School Year

Many of you have been asking “when do I find out what my job is for next year?”  “What if I don’t like my job?”

Rest assured, the Job Coordinator and teachers work hard to try to match everyone to a job that will suit their preferences and schedule. If for some reason we cannot place you into a job that you selected on your form, we will contact you to discuss and find a suitable position for your family.  Please note that some jobs tend to be more popular than others, but all jobs are important to the success of the preschool and we try to make the time required in each job as equal as possible. Some jobs require a time commitment that is spread throughout the year, while some jobs require the bulk of time at the beginning/middle or end of the year.

Job selection forms are reviewed and members are tentatively placed into jobs at the end of May, but due to registration changes that may occur up until school starts, jobs are not finalized or announced until the beginning of the school year. You will receive both an email from the Job Coordinator, as well as a note in your child’s mailbox, with details of your job in the first week of school. At that time, if you have any questions or concerns, please be in touch with the Job Coordinator. We really want everyone to be happy in their jobs! If you currently have any questions or concerns about the job placement process, please contact the current Job Coordinator, Lena Jerabek at 778-889-5362 or by email at lena@beesafe.ca.

Enrollment Update

Thank you to diligent parents and teachers who have been spreading the word about our preschool. There are still some spaces available in the 3PM and 4PM classes – let’s see if we can fill these up.

The next general meeting will have several announcements on enrollment. Class lists will be available at that time; in addition, we will be collecting payments for the 2013/2014 school year – so bring your cheque book.

There will be new parents attending the annual meeting – get ready to welcome them to the QPPS family.

Fundraising Update

This is a BIG thank you to all families who have participated in the many fundraising endeavors so far this year. Here is a list of the next due dates and new information:

Big Brothers Clothing Drive – please bring all of your bags of second hand clothes, boots, shoes, linens, purses, and belts to the next General Meeting on May 7.

Shopping Cards – The next shopping card orders will go in on May 8th. Cut off for ordering is also at the General Meeting on May 7. If you require another order form, please find these at the preschool or email Kathleen at mailto:misskcarlsen@netscape.net.

Adams Meat Pies – meat pies ordered by May 30, will be available for pick up a the general meeting in June.

Queens Park Preschool Garage Sale – May 11th

Thank you to the many families who have responded to Kathleen’s email positively, promising to make donations to the garage sale. Many thanks as well to the individuals who have offered their time and assistance on the day of the Queen’s Park Garage Sale. This is an easy way for the preschool to make money without having to spend money.
We are awaiting a home address for this event, but will definitely go ahead with the sale. Please watch your emails for more information re: address of sale and drop off information.

Note from the Teachers

A big, big thank you to everyone that has donated extra supplies to the preschool this month. The teachers and the children appreciate it!

3’s Class Information

Throughout the month of April, the children finished off the “Big Wall Painting”. The children used many tools to create their painting including large rollers, bumpy rollers, balloons, small paint brushes, large paint brushes, kitchen gadgets, and hands and arms. It truly was a masterpiece! We introduced the “snail garden tank” and the children have enjoyed watching and carefully handling the snails. We have even had a few snail races. The snails will stay in our classroom for a while longer, as we are hoping that they will lay some snail eggs.

The children also have had a lot of fun with our practicum student Mabel. Some activities that they experienced together included exploring goop, a marble-run wall with tracks that the children could move around, and a baby/doctor area in the dramatic play area. We will miss Mabel!

We have been talking quite a bit about what comes out of eggs (the list is on the wall in the classroom!) and we are excited that during the month of May we will have an incubator in our classroom. The eggs will arrive, and we will all have to test our patience, as we wait for the eggs to hatch. We will send you regular updates to let you know what is happening. While the eggs are “staying warm”, we plan to continue investigating our Spring garden, and do some planting.

“Inside-outside” days have been wonderful and a great reminder that fresh-air is great for all of us! As it gets warmer please remember to bring along a sunhat, and apply sunscreen before your child comes to preschool. We have also been doing a fair amount of water play outside, so please ensure that you child has at least one change of clothes with them, in case they get wet. The children have been very interested in creating rivers and channels for boats to go down, as well as floating boats in the water table. We are thinking that it would be fun to build our own small boats, and are wondering if there are any moms or dads that would like to help us with this class project? Please let us know if you can help, and if you have any ideas of how the children could build simple boats (that hopefully float!). Once we have a plan, we may ask for some donations of “boat-building materials”.

On Thursday, May 9 we will be having our Mother’s Day Social. We would like to invite all the moms (or grandma/auntie or another special person in your child’s life) to come for the last 30 minutes of class. Please arrive a few minutes early so that you are ready to join you child when the party starts (10:45 for the am class and 1:45 for the pm class). We will start with a special song or two, and then have some special treats together. Please check the sign-in desk as we are looking for volunteers to bring some food donations, as well as we need to know if any siblings are coming.

Have a wonderful month!
From Teacher Barb and Teacher Eleanor

Things to Remember:

  • Mother’s Day Social on Thursday, May 9
  • Victoria Day May 20 -The preschool is closed

4’s Class Information

Another glorious month of spring! Inside/outside days continue to refresh our bodies and imaginations as we have been able to float freely from activities both inside and out.

The big blocks were moved outside, as well as the water table, art activities, balls and hula hoops, just to name a few. The new fibar ground cover has made the climber area more safe and comfortable to play in. Thank you very much to everyone who helped with the supplying and installation of it.  Some of the outside came in too, as snails now live temporarily within our room.  We will continue to care for and observe our snail enclosure in hopeful anticipation one of them will lay some eggs. We’ll keep you posted… Speaking of eggs, we are expecting our chicken eggs to arrive at the end of the month. Their incubator will be nestled inside the classroom for the entire month of May. One of the parents who attended the school as a child remembers when the families of Queen’s Park preschool cared for eggs before and is excited to share the experience with her daughter too.

Also in April, we had the pleasure of a Burnaby Early Childhood Education student’s presence in our play space to encourage our learning. Mabel was a welcome addition to our program for the month. She set up activities and read new stories in creative new ways, we will miss her! Mr. Trevor and Mr. Duane also taught us fabulous new ways to move our bodies through space in our Creative Dance classes.  Between Mr. Trevor’s dance instruction, and Mr. Duane’s musical accompaniment, it was a lot of fun to play with them.

This month we talked a lot about the ocean (another topic from the lists of things the children wanted to learn about). We talked about hermit crabs, jellies, sea stars, sharks and whales and painted a big water mural for the bulletin board. Teacher Jenny and a mom from the morning class brought their guitars in for a jamming session and together we played “The Yellow Submarine” and “You Are My Sunshine,” among some other familiar and not so recognizable tunes. The children from both classes also were really interested in practicing the French version of a couple songs this month. Here is the French version of “Slippery Fish” by Charlotte Diamond for you to practice if you like:

La belle pieuvre
Par: Charlotte Diamond

Un petit poisson, petit poisson
nage, nage, nage
Petit poisson, petit poisson
gloop gloop gloop!

Oh non! Il est mangé par une…

Belle pieuvre, belle pieuvre
nage, nage, nage
Belle pieuvre, belle pieuvre
gloop gloop gloop!

Oh non, elle est mangée par un…

Barracuda, barracuda
nage, nage, nage
Barracuda, barracuda
gloop gloop gloop!

Oh non! Il est mangé par un…

Grand requin, grand requin
nage, nage, nage
Grand requin, grand requin
gloop gloop gloop!

Oh non! il est mangé par une…

Grosse baleine! grosse baleine!
nage, nage, nage!
grosse baleine, grosse baleine!
gloop gloop gloop! …*burp*… Excusez-moi!

And a Youtube link to sing along to, just in case:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo6_nr-ldcU

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