October 2013

Jo’s Tidbits – From Our President

Welcome to the 2013/2014 School Year!  I hope the start of the school year has been an easy transition back to routines, early bedtimes and watching hockey 🙂 As I write this, Josh our oldest is negotiating a later bedtime so he can finish watching the Canucks preseason home opener. I love this time of year when you can go for a walk in the leaves on a sunny crisp day with a pumpkin spice latte in hand and then come home and watch hockey or football.

Some of you may have already completed your first duty day and I hope you enjoyed it. I was in Josh’s class today and loved seeing how much the kids have grown since June and how quickly their abilities are changing. I was stationed at the climber today and saw some incredibly strong kids monkeying across the bars. Wow, I was impressed! I think the best moment however, was when one girl was cheering on her friend to keeping trying so she could make it across. Most of the times our kids learn from us, but it’s those times that we learn from them that really put a smile on my face. Today I was reminded of how important it is to cheer people on, so if you see someone needing extra encouragement to complete something I encourage you to go ahead and give them support.

If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding your jobs, duty days, class activities, meetings or other preschool matters please do not hesitate to ask for help.  We have a very knowledgeable teaching staff and a great executive that is always willing to go the extra mile so please call upon people if you need anything.  You can also reference the website: www.qpps.ca.

I am excited for this year and the opportunity to work with all of you. To those parents returning, welcome back. And to the new parents – we are so happy you are part of the Queens Park Preschool family and I can’t wait to get to know all of you.

Johanna (with an “a”)

Enrollment Status

Drum roll please…. yup you heard it, the preschool is full! Those full classes will be keeping duty parents and teachers busy – great way to start off the year. If you know someone who wanted to attend but didn’t make it in this year, please remind them that we will hold a registration event in Feb 2014 for Sept 2014 enrollment.

Let’s Get Social

One of the best perks of having your children enrolled in a parent participation preschool is the fabulous parents you make friends with along the way. The month of October there are a few events planned out for you to get those relationships blossoming.

Pumpkin Patch Family Day
Richmond Country Farms
Date: Saturday, October 19th    Time: 9:30 – 12:00pm
Cost: $11 per person

Come and join your classmates for a fun filled morning at one of the greatest little pumpkin patches in the area. Korny Corn and Polly Pumpkin are awaiting your visit. Hay rides, petting zoo, great entertainment and of course, find the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the day.

Pub Night Fundraiser
The Paddle Wheeler Pub at the Quay
Date: Friday, October 25th
Time: 7pm-11pm
Cost: $15.00 Admission gets you a Burger (Chicken, Beef or Veggie), French Fries, Choice of a sleeve of beer, glass of wine or a high ball

PLUS 50/50 Draw, Paper Bag Draws, Twoonie Toss.
Tickets go on sale October 1 at the General Meeting. Or you can email Robin at robin.goyan@gmail.com.

“Fun” in Fundraising Updates

Okay, so we are still working on that tagline 😉 In the meantime we’re hitting the ground running with some great fundraising initiatives this upcoming month.  Here are some key dates and events to keep in mind.

1. QPPS Hockey Pool – Tuesday, October 1.  Thanks to everyone who joined our first annual hockey pool, and for those that haven’t yet – what are you waiting for?  The entry fee is only $20, and the deadline to enter is October 1 at 4pm.  We’ll be collecting money at the October general meeting for anyone that you’ve signed up.  Get in the pool at http://www.officepools.com/pool/invites/pick/472C4YZ.

2. Monthly Gift Cards – Tuesday, October 1. Participate in our monthly gift card program. Through shopfunds.ca, QPPS is able to offer gift cards from a variety of popular retailers for purchase each month. Each retailer gives between 1% and 10% of the card value back to the preschool. Orders are due the first Tuesday of each month, aligning with our monthly general meetings.  Monthly order forms are available online, and can be put in the Annie Graham – 4AM box with payment by cheque only. Cards will be distributed approximately 2 weeks later.

3. Monthly Big Brothers Clothing Drive – Tuesday, October 1. Create a bit more space in your house by getting rid of that used clothing. Bag it up and bring it to the October general meeting, and each monthly meeting thereafter. We’ll make sure it gets turned into cash for the preschool.

4. Adams Meat Pies – Friday, October 11. Order from a list of amazing pre-made meat pies supplied by Adams Quality Foods, owned and operated by former QPPS parents. Orders will be accepted October 11, and then every second monthly meeting – December 3, January 7, March 4, and May 6. Delivery will be arranged approximately 1 week later.

5. Family Photo Weekend – Saturday October 19 and Sunday October 20. Excalibur Photography will be at the preschool on the weekend for family photo sessions. We’ve used Excalibur in previous years, and they’ve done a great job. Signup for photo sitting time slots will begin the evening of the general meeting this week, with the signup sheets available at the preschool through October. A sitting fee of $20 will be required when you book your time slot. Please pay by cheque, which can be put in the Annie Graham – 4AM box.

6. Fall Pub Night – Friday, October 25. Join us at the Paddlewheeler Pub for a night of fun and games. The Water Rats will be headlining.  Teacher Jessica says they’re awesome!

As a source of upcoming information, and for order forms for such things as Gift Cards and Meat Pies, please check the QPPS website. We’ve got some more great ideas coming in the months to come, so stay tuned.  Any thoughts, questions, ideas or concerns? Feel free to contact to me at garth.r.graham@gmail.com.

Parent Education News

This week at our General Meeting we are bringing back (by popular demand) Margery Healey. She is going to discuss Brain Compatible Parenting. In this seminar we will explore how our children’s brains develop and how we can parent in ways that meets this development. You will leave with some exciting concepts to try at home with your kids.

Margery is a graduate of the Parent Coaching Institute, affiliated with Seattle Pacific University. She has a keen interest in psychology, sociology, physical, social, and emotional development, and is very intrigued by how our brains grow and function. She is the mother of 3 boys, including red-headed identical twins. Margery offers one-on-one coaching, group coaching and educational seminars through her company, The Compassionate Parent Coach (www.thecompassionateparentcoach.com/). Margery is thrilled to be back to visit QPPS.

Coming up for November

There will be no general meeting in November. For the required parent education hours, parents can choose to attend a special parent education session held during the 3rd week in November, or do a make-up assignment. Choosing to do a make-up assignment will not count towards the 2 parent education make-up assignments that parents are allowed to submit in lieu of missed meetings during the school year.

QPPS has purchased tickets for parents to attend a special parent education speaker evening the 3rd week in November hosted by the Council of Parent Participation Preschools in BC (CPPPBC). Other parent participation preschool members will also be in attendance. We are pleased to present Teacher Tom, an inspiring preschool teacher based in Seattle (teachertomsblog.blogspot.ca/).

Details:
Tom Hobson
Early Childhood Educator and Parenting Speaker
Thursday, November 14th, 2013
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Lord Tennyson Elementary, 1936 West 10th Avenue , Vancouver, BC

Katherine Whiteside Taylor Scholarship

Our Council is part of the Parent Cooperative Preschools International (PCPI) who offer an award to Canadian Teachers in PPPs or PPP parents pursuing ECE training.

We encourage all members to apply – so please spread the word.  To get an application form, contact Johanna at: johannakswanson@gmail.com. Applications will be available January 2014. Submission deadline is March 15, 2014.

Find additional information in the Cooperatively Speaking Newsletter.

3 Year Old Class Information

It is hard to believe that our first month has already gone by! The children have enjoyed exploring the different areas of the room and they are beginning to settle into the routines. The duty children have also begun helping with their special jobs of spinning the Weather Wheel, picking an activity, and picking a song from the songbook.

We have noticed that the children have really enjoyed playing with the forest animals, painting and sensory activities (like our indoor sand table). To continue exploring these interests, we will add more sensory activities such as water trays with scoops and bowls. We have planned to paint with various tools and on different types of surfaces (paper, wood, cardboard and even natural objects like leaves, sticks, and rocks). Please watch around the room for the children’s creations and pictures of this process. We will also begin to create a tabletop forest scene and hope to listen to the children’s stories as they use the pretend animals in the forest and build onto the forest.

As we begin to see the seasons change, we will also share some stories and songs about Fall. One of the songs that we will be learning is “Five Little Leaves”.

Here are the words:

Five little leaves so bright and gay,
Were dancing around a tree one day,
When the wind came blowing through that town
(Children Blow “whoo”)
One little leaf came tumbling down!
Four little leaves….three little leaves…..two little leaves…..one little leaf……

We will have two special events this month:

On Thursday, October 24 we will be making Friendship Vegetable Soup together. We will be sending aote home closer to the date asking you to send a specific cut-up vegetable with your child to preschool. We will also be having a sign-up at the General Meeting for parents to bring bread/crackers and cheese. If possible please join us on that day for a yummy soup snack (Siblings/other special people are welcome too!) We will begin our snack time about 45 minutes before the end of class.

On Tuesday, October 31 we will have a Halloween Dress-up Day and Costume Parade. Your child can dress up in a costume if he/she wishes, anything from a funny hat to a whole costume (please no swords/guns). Please try to send you child in something that is not too hot for playing in. We will also have a costume parade and a special snack that day.

We hope that you have a wonderful month…Happy Thanksgiving!

From Teacher Barb and Teacher Eleanor

General Information:
We are collecting a few things for class projects. If you can assist, we are looking for:

• Pine cones
• Baby food jars
• Interesting sticks or branches

Things to Remember:

• Please bring in your “All About Me” page
• Please bring in your comfy kits (earthquake kits)
• If your child is sick or going to be away, please let us know.
• As the weather changes, please make sure that your child has rain gear to wear outside.

4 Year Old Class Information

Kid Snippets – Robbing a Bank