January 2013

Fundraising Update

A big thanks is in order to all the families who supported the Win Win ticket sales. The Queens Park Preschool sold all of our 40 booklets – which resulted in a profit of $320 – yay parents!

Here is a little update on the up and coming:

1.  Clothing bags – we are doing very well with this fundraiser and will continue to collect clothing bags on the first Monday (drop off at the preschool) and Tuesday for delivery Wednesday morning. Please feel free to bring bags to the general meeting – it’s a great time to clear out the old and make room for all the new winter items received over the holidays.

2.  Shopping Cards – this monthly fundraiser has been very successful and we are looking forward to continuing. Some families have given a standing order (same order each month – re: groceries, gas, clothing stores) with post dated cheques for  the first Tuesday of each month. If this is something you feel would be helpful for you, please let Kathleen know and it can be arranged. Just a reminder regarding dates – all orders are to be in on the first Tuesday of the month (at the general meeting or in the Emilio 4am box) with delivery of cards within 2 weeks.

3.  Adams Meat Pies – these are so scrumptious – many are already waiting their next order. Again, because of the popularity of these pies, we will be ordering monthly. Orders for meat pies must be in no later than the last Monday of the month. This is to ensure delivery of the meat pies at the general meeting – the first Tuesday of each month. Kathleen has been away on a family vacation and has not been able to do orders for delivery on the 8th of January. Because of this, she will take orders up until the 8th of January (ONLY this month) and try to arrange pick up/drop off to ensure all items stay frozen for each family. After January, orders must then be placed on the last Monday of the month (January 28th) for delivery on February 5th.

4.  Bee Safe – Earthquake preparedness kits. Orders will be accepted at any time. Please place order forms with payment in Jonah’s box 4pm.

5.  The Auction – the annual Queen’s Park Preschool Auction will be held on March 9th at the River Market (same location as last year). Please bring along any items you wish to donate to the auction to the preschool. There will be forms to fill out which ask the following questions:  who donated the item,  what is the cost / worth of the item. More information will be available at the general meeting on January 8th.

3’s Class Information

Welcome back to preschool! We hope that you all had a restful and fun-filled break! We want to thank all the families for the thoughtful gifts and cards that were given to us before the holidays.

As you arrive back at preschool during the first week, please give yourself and your child a few extra minutes at drop-off time. Sometimes after a break everyone needs a little bit of “warm-up” time to remember routines and feel comfortable. If it continues to be cold and snowy, please make sure that your child has cold weather gear (snow pants/coat, mittens, hat), so that he/she can play out in the snow.

We have noticed that many of the children have been interested in playing with our “forest animal puppets” and have really enjoyed doing activities with items that we have collected on our forest walks (sticks, leaves and pinecones) For the next while we will focus on our forest, exploring the actual forest more, as well as creating our own forest inside the preschool. If it does snow more….that will just add to the excitement we are sure! If you have any pinecones, sticks, moss, or other natural elements that you could bring in to add to our forest, that would be great.

One song that we will learn (and perhaps act out!) this month is the “Grizzly Bear Song”. It goes like this:

Grizzly Bear oh Grizzly Bear
Is sleeping in his cave
Grizzly bear oh Grizzly Bear
Is sleeping in his cave
Please be very quiet,
Very, very, quiet
Do not wake him, do not shake him,
He will be so mad…..Grrrr.

Starting in January we will be sending the “All About Me” Binder home so that each family can read it at home. Please make sure that when it comes to your home that pages are not taken out of the binder. The binder should be returned the following day at preschool….that way everyone can have a turn.

Happy New Year!
From Teacher Barb and Teacher Eleanor

Things to Remember:

• First day back at preschool is January 8, 2013
• Please bring in pinecones, sticks, moss or other natural elements

4’s Class Information

What a fun and busy December! We had lots of time to create and play everything Christmas. We wrote letters to Santa and cards to friends and family, we sang carols together, baked cookies, made decorations for the school and home, and even dove our  hands into peppermint scented rice. We played with jingle bells and even rode the playhouse Skytrain all the way to the North Pole. We also had fun creating and wrapping our presents for our families, we hope you enjoy yours for years to come.

We also learned how to wish a “Merry Christmas” to some of the families at the preschool this year:

Germany- Frohe Weihnachten
Denmark- Glaedelig Jul!
Tagalog- Maligayang Pasko!
Russia- S Rozdestvom!
Canada- Joyeux Noël!
Spanish- Feliz Navidad!
Bulgaria- Eecmyma Konega
Madisyn- EZZO

Stories and books are a big part of your child’s experience at preschool, and occasionally we celebrate favourites by reading multiple books by the same author. We had great fun with Mo Willems’ Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny books earlier this year. In the following months, we will be doing the same with Canadian authors, Melanie Watt and Robert Munsch.

In the New Year we are going to spend time performing multiple science experiments. We will explore concepts including sink and float, gravity and pendulum motion, and melting and freezing. We have lots of planned activities to encourage the children’s natural curiosity and we hope you enjoy discovering with them too!

We would like to remind everyone who comes to the preschool with their canine family member to please keep them outside of the fenced play area. Your dog can be tied to the fence or the tree, but please don’t bring them into the enclosed area that gets so busy at drop off and pick up times. Thanks!

A Fun Observation:
A child comes in from playing outside to use the washroom.  He goes into the stall, comes out, takes off his gloves and washes his hands.

Our Christmas Party was a great success, thank you to everyone for contributing!  We hope you are enjoying the Winter Break!  We look forward to seeing you in the New Year!

Your Teachers, Jenny and Jessica