November 2017

From the President

Happy November! I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebrations and had some Halloween fun. Thanksgiving is also a great reminder to say “thank you” a little more often – so it might just be the theme of my message this month 😉

October was a great month at the preschool as we had Ms. Queenie join our school. We are still searching for one more Support Worker, so if you know someone who would be the perfect fit, please let your executive know.

Huge thanks to Marti Longstaff, Vice-President for stepping into the role of substitute teacher this month. Both her and Jana Royal did a great job in the class supporting Ms. Donna.

I’d also like to thank those on the fundraising committee for their hard work. Thanks to Sarah Johnston of Notting Hill Photography for the family photo shoot and braving those long days outside. Thank you, Leah Yallop for organizing the pub night. It was a ton of fun and a great way to kick off the year.

I’d also like to thank our social coordinator Karyn Audet for her SkyZone event. Not only was it a fun night of jumping but it also raised some funds for the preschool.

I hope your wee ones have been enjoying everything from gallery visits to apple juice making, pumpkin rolling art to dress-up. The teachers have done a fantastic job of making the classroom a special place – thanks, Ms. Donna, Ms. Lynda, Ms. Queenie, Ms. Jennica and Ms. Jennifer.

If you have any comments or suggestions, don’t hesitate to contact me at president@qpps.ca. Enjoy the rest of the fall!

Best,

Amber

A New Face at QPPS

We are happy to welcome a new face, Jennica Price, our support teacher/substitute at QPPS! She is so warm, friendly, and full of great ideas and enthusiasm – a wonderful addition to the preschool.

Save the Date – Events you Don’t Want to Miss!

Our marquee event: Saturday March 3, 2018 is Auction night!
Each family is asked to contribute one item that can be auctioned off. An example of these items could be a themed basket (games night), a fancy bottle of wine or two, a hand made item or a pair of tickets to a sporting event. The items should be at least valued at $25 or greater.If you have family members or work for a corporation that you could ‘nudge nudge wink wink’ a favour from, if they have a vacation place, or a service, or a “big ticket” item that could be donated for our LIVE auction, that would be greatly appreciated too.All proceeds go directly into our wonderful school to provide our children with the greatest experiences possible. More information about item due date(s) will be coming soon.

Fundraising News

Just in time for Christmas (gift ideas or just for you to get you through your family dinners!), we will be raising funds with Epicure’s Extraordinary Trio Fundraiser: 3 top quality Epicure dip mixes for dozens of easy, affordable, delicious snacks and mealtime solutions. Together, they make up Epicure’s most popular hot dip. Epicure products are Gluten and Nut free and provide a healthier solution to most conventional dips. The Extraordinary Trio Fundraising kit comes attractively packaged with a recipe booklet, which makes it perfect for gifts, giveaways and gatherings. Best part – you don’t want to miss the November meeting – there will be samples!

We also have an ongoing fundraiser with Oliver’s Labels. You can order labels and it helps the preschool. The link can be shared with anyone and everyone who may need labels: www.oliverslabels.com/qpps

Also just a reminder to keep bringing your gently used clothing for the Big Brothers donations to the monthly meetings. In November we will also have a raffle, tickets are $2 per ticket, and the prize will be revealed when winner is drawn (everyone loves a good mystery).

What you will Learn at the November Meeting

The Parent Education session this November comes from New Westminster Public Library.

Did you know that The New Westminster Public Library has books for preschoolers covering a range of topics, such as sibling rivalry, managing emotions, eating well, and preparing for kindergarten? Are you aware that the Library provides free access to eReaders and eBooks? This month, learn about the many ways that the New Westminster Public Library can support you and your family. We’ll talk about library materials for all ages, programming, computer access and printing, and more. There will also be plenty of time for discussion and questions.

Device-Free Dinner

It might be hard to imagine (especially if your child is only 3 or 4 years old) but time passes quickly and it won’t be long before your little one is nose-deep in a device. Here is a helpful link in case you need some guidance, but also great tips for Mom and Dad – who could also benefit, even if your little one doesn’t yet bring a phone to the table. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/device-free-dinner

3-Year Old Classroom Information

October brought with it the rain, wind, autumn colours, crisp air and cooler days.

It also brought us our first visit to the art gallery! The students had the opportunity to see the art on display and then create their own works of art. There was a wide variety of art work this month – paintings, drawings, sculpture, crochet, beadwork and photography – all created by the gallery volunteers. Some students had a definite favourite, some liked them all and some were not too sure and contemplative. We are excited about continuing our visits and feel it is a lovely opportunity for the classes to get a taste of and appreciation for different works of art and the processes.

We also had our first adventure into nature! Our focus was on safety and mindful walking for this first one so that once established we can venture further and dip deeper into our inquires with our future adventures. As many children have been interested in different creatures and where they live, the walk gave us the opportunity to build on that curiosity and to observe park life. We saw crows, a squirrel and a spider in a web. We thought about what else might live in the park. A few of the students thought that monkeys (!!!) are living there in the trees and this is something we will be investigating and continuing to discuss.

Other highlights of the month… we met a shape monster, we jumped away on the jump-a-roo, we have been fascinated with different types of leaves, we had the opportunity to paint diyas for Diwali and we have explored pumpkins as well as spiders. For art we have used a variety of tools to paint – whisks, salad spinners and cotton swabs to stimulate creativity!

We are looking forward to building upon everything we have learned about and discovered thus far into November. We are planning to introduce shadow play with the use of the projector in the classroom and Fuzzy Kitty will start to come home for a sleepovers!

Important dates:

Thursday, November 2: Nature Walk
Thursday, November 9: Class Photos
Tuesday, November 14: Fire drill
Thursday, November 16: Making applesauce
Tuesday, November 21: Art Gallery
Tuesday, November 28: Pajama & Hot Chocolate Day

4-Year Old Classroom Information

The month of October flew by! It was a month of welcoming and harvesting. We welcomed Queenie our new teacher and it has been such a treat to have her with us. Already Queenie is settling in and getting to know all of the children’s names and very unique personalities. Thank you to all of the families for helping Ms. Queenie feel so welcome!

During October we enjoyed a few firsts together. Our first nature walk, our first art gallery visit and our first fire drill practice. We decorated cookies together, played dress up and explored dinosaurs!

The rainy weather provided a wonderful wet backdrop for puddle splashing, leaf collecting, slippery sliding, stilt walking and vibrant pavement chalk drawing.

We also shucked corn and then used the cobs for corn print painting. We used twigs as paint brushes and we also created art using pumpkins for printing.

Spider exploring happened in our sand box, opportunities for web making using pipe-cleaners, sticks, silver thread and hemp string. We made apple juice and homemade apple sauce together and then enjoyed taste testing these delicious foods! Here is the recipe (perfect for those bundles of apples at the markets right now!)

Home Made Apple Sauce

6-8 Apples
¾-1 Cup water (add more depending on how large the apples)
¼ C sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Peel, core and chop apples.
In a large pot mix together apples and water. Add sugar and cinnamon.
Cook over med/high heat for 15-20 minutes
Mash.
Let cool and serve.

November promises to be just as busy and just as messy. Our classes will be recognizing Remembrance Day, continue exploring nature all around us including woodland animals, leaves and trees. With the days getting shorter we will be discussing light and dark as well perhaps making our own small telescopes. A number of children have been expressing interest in telescopes and binoculars so with loose parts and imagination we hope to create some of our own!