March 2014

Our family spent the Saturday after the fire going through the house collecting boxes of stuff to donate.  We drove by the fire and talked with the kids about what happened and how important it is to come together and help those who need help.  What I love so much about this story is how our preschool was part of this as well and that there was no second thought on helping out. Times like these put your life into perspective, in how you have so much but what really matters is that your kids are healthy and happy, that you have a roof over your head, and that you are part of a community that cares.

Reminder

Queens Park Preschool is CLOSED for Spring Break – March 17 – 21. If you show up – there won’t be anyone there!

 

Excited for March 8!

Ready for the Silent Auction?  You had better be – because it is just around the corner!
All QPPS families should have received their tickets to this fabulous event.  There are limited tickets for sale so order them FAST. First come first serve and there will be NO ticket sales at the door.  $10.00 per ticket. You can read the program here: QPPS_Auction_Program_2014.

Here are a few reminders to make that night even better for you and your guests:
1.  Bring your tickets for a chance to win door prizes.
2.  Let Moira know (moirachow@gmail.com) if you have BIG coolers. They keep your drinks nice and cool.  We know warm wine and beer make people grumpy.
3.  Please adhere to our auction rules (basically, be nice and don’t scratch out other peoples names and put yours in) that night.  That will REALLY make everyone happy.
4.  Bring cash and/or your cheque book.  Mastercard might be priceless but won’t work its magic that night.
5.  Again, drink responsibly.  We have volunteer drivers to take you home.  Carpool or take a cab to River Market.
6.  Semi-formal attire.
7.  If you still have donations tucked in the back of your van, or you are still putting it together, the Auction team eagerly waits for
their arrival.  We would like your donation to be tagged, counted,written up and proudly lined up just like the rest of the fabulous
items sitting in secret rooms and basements.
8.  Have fun!!! See you all!

 

Guess How Much We Have Raised So Far?

A big thanks to everyone for continuing to make the effort to help raise funds for the preschool – we are sitting around $5,000 raised to date.

For those who have ordered, gift cards will be distributed at this month’s general meeting. For the month of March, the deadline for gift card orders will be Friday, March 14.  And after a month off, Meat Pies are back this month, with orders due Friday, March 21.  Both Gift Cards and Meat Pies will be delivered at the April General Meeting.

The NHL hockey regular season is quickly coming to an end, and like it, our first annual hockey pool.  Our final monthly prizes will be awarded at the end of the March, and then $895 will be handed out to our end-of-year winners in mid-April.  Good luck to everyone!

And once again, please bring your old clothes to the next general meeting.  We accept clothing donations at every meeting – an easy way to clean out your closets and help the preschool at the same time.

Any thoughts, questions, or concerns?  Feel free to contact to me at garth.r.graham@gmail.com.

 

Parent Education News

March is going to be a Good One
Catherine Evashuk will be joining us to talk about The ABCs of Sex Education: How to talk with kids about sex at the March 4 General Meeting.  Parents are sometimes reluctant to start the conversation about the ‘birds and the bees’ or are unsure of when to start and what to say to their children about sexuality. In this unique and informative workshop, Catherine provides knowledge, tools and techniques on how to build skills and confidence when talking with young children about sexual health matters so they can grow up to be healthy, happy and safe.  Studies show that the more sexual health education parents provide to their children, the less likely they are of being sexually abused.  Also, contrary to popular belief, in later years, the more the parents talk with their children about sex, the less likely their teens are to engage in early sexual activity or risky behavior.

Catherine Evashuk is a Trained Certified Sexual Health Educator, has an M.A. in Teaching and 20 years of ESL classroom experience.  Catherine is a parent of two children who went to St Giles PPP and are now in elementary school.  She believes that parents should be the educators of sexuality and all that it encompasses.  She has given workshops to high school teens, elementary school children, PACs, PPPs and other parenting groups in the Lower Mainland.

This is a topic that concerns all caregivers and Catherine suggests that this would be a good parent education session for both parents, nannies, grandparents and others to attend, if possible, so that everyone is on the same page about sexual health education.  There are a limited number of tickets that will be sold for the March presentations to people outside the Queens Park membership.  Tickets are $10 each and can be arranged through Tasha.  Please invite other parents in your network who might benefit from a night of learning.

Coming up in April

Our theme for the April General Meeting on April 1 will be safety.  We have some parents from within the preschool lined up to talk about a variety of topics including emergency preparedness and Internet safety.

If you have any questions about parent education, please contact Tasha at 604-526-5527 or tashamurray@outlook.com.

 

3-Year Old Class Information

This has been quite a month with sickness and colds… but hopefully all of our families are on the mend now. We want to thank the many parents that covered duty shifts and lent support to families that were just under the weather. Spring is coming and hopefully a good dose of sunshine and fresh air will help us all feel a bit more energetic!

During this past month the children did a lot of investigation with ice and water in the “big river” (the water table). Some highlights include: ice balls melting, rocks creating a dam, ferryboats with cars getting loaded up, boats needing to go to “dry dock”, and lots and lots of pouring down the river troughs. There was so much cooperative play! A large box was also brought in by one of the children. After asking the children about boats, we created a preschool boat with a motor, paddles, steering wheel and a door. There was a lot of discussion about the door and what how to keep the water out and it was decided that a latch would work best. A door was built and some children insisted on using the door to get in and out of the boat while others hop over the edge. One day the children decided there was a “storm” complete with lightning (a light going on and off) and pretend thunder… needless to say, the boat was packed with children that day! We plan to continue facilitating this interest by taking more trips and adding to the boat (who knows where we will go!)

We have also enjoyed creating on the “BIG PAINTING WALL”. The children have worked hard to climb up and down the ladders with various painting tools, and have created a masterpiece. Children have painted together in a large group, and also painting just on their own, with the whole canvas in front of them. We encourage you to come in to see the process so far.

As we plan ahead for the springtime, we are thinking about sharing various musical instruments, and perhaps having a few “in-class” musical guests. If you (or you know someone) who is willing to come to the preschool to play and show how an instrument works, please let us know.

We want to remind you that Spring Break is from March 17-21 and the preschool will be closed that week. As the public schools have a two week Spring Break, we realize that some of you might choose to be away the week after as well. Our class reps will be asking each family who is going to be away, so that we can plan for this. When we return from the break we will start to do some inside/outside days, and will have activities set-up both inside and outside during our playtime. We also plan to do more small group times in our forest, so please make sure that your child is dressed well for exploring outside and that if you are on duty, you are also comfortable to be outside (especially footwear).

Have a wonderful month and welcome Spring!

Teacher Barb and Teacher Eleanor

 

4-Year Old Class Information

Just when we thought winter had left us, well, “out in the cold” with respect to snow, it arrived in full splendor!  The snow has been a welcome surprise and we have been spending as much time as we can immersed in it.  The hill has been open for all sorts of snow exploration.  Large snowballs rolled by teams of children and teachers become snow people, sitting places, kicking targets, or launch pads for jumping.  Small snowballs became snow bugs, or an instant cool snack. Songs from “Frozen” were sung so often, even people who didn’t see the movie were joining in on the singing around the room. We painted snow inside and out, and even brought a fake snow scene home in a bag, just to make the memories last that much longer. What a difference a lot of snow can make!

Earlier in the month we celebrated Chinese New Year with puppets, stories, fans, lanterns, and of course, our traditional lion dance. Families brought in special treats to taste in the morning class and in the afternoon, we made our own lei see (lucky money envelope) and put a chocolate coin inside.

A small business opened in the preschool, run exclusively by the children.  Doors opened at the “Safe-Spot Co-op” and it quickly became a popular spot to pick up all your shopping needs. Cashiers worked tirelessly and customers left happily with arm loads of goods sold at unbeatable prices. Unfortunately, the grocery store’s lease expired and offices were put in as the playhouse continues to undergo constant renovations.

Valentine’s Day came and messages were exchanged and friendship celebrated in the preschool too. We also had a few visitors from the community come and speak with us. The BC Hydro Outreach Team came and did a circle time presentation for us. They taught us how electricity is made from the water in our rivers and lakes as it passes through the dams and turbines to give us power for light, computers, heat, and so on! We also learned how to be safe around electricity and learned to turn devices off when we’re done with them in order to save electricity for another time. The Optometrists from Family Eye Care Centre came to visit us too and reminded us that eye exams for children are free and important to do annually.

For the month of March we will be looking closer at art and artist techniques.  We’ll be painting and collaging lots, so remember to wear play clothes!  Encourage your children to dress themselves in play clothes too!

A link, just for fun:

Olympians in training!  We support you!  (Because I’m not sure I would ever do this myself!…Jessica might, however) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ebtGRvP3ILg
Moment of the month:

Child trying to get through the crowd of people and mounds of winter clothing in the cubbie area at drop off: “Phew, that was a squisher!”

Your Teachers, Jenny and Jessica