{"id":1032,"date":"2016-01-29T23:09:10","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T23:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qpps.ca\/newsletter\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2016-02-01T19:10:28","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T19:10:28","slug":"february-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qpps.ca\/newsletter\/february-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Happy-Valentines-Day-Banner-3-465x129\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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From Our President<\/h2>\n

Farewell Teacher Jenny<\/strong><\/p>\n

As most families will have read already, it is with great sadness we\u00a0 announce the resignation of Teacher Jenny. Jenny has accepted a position as a Strong Start Facilitator with Stride Elementary. Working with the Strong Start program has been a long term goal of Jenny\u2019s for some time and while we are devastated she is leaving the preschool, we are very happy for her as well.\u00a0\u00a0 We will keep everyone informed of our recruitment process, and if you do have any questions or concerns, please feel free to directly contact any member of the executive committee. We appreciate your understanding and patience during this transitional period.<\/p>\n

Support Workers: 3PM and 4AM<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are so pleased to welcome Teacher Jennifer to our 3 year old afternoon class and Teacher Donna to our 4 year old morning class!\u00a0 The role of a Support Worker is to assist the Teachers in supporting all the children in a class.\u00a0 Please take a moment to welcome them both to your classes.\u00a0 If you have any questions about the role of a Support Worker, please feel free to ask your teachers.<\/p>\n

Teacher Carli Goes on Practicum \u2013 Good Luck!<\/strong><\/p>\n

As many of you may know, Teacher Carli has also been attending school, outside her time with us preschool.\u00a0 She has been busy pursuing her Special Education Assistant\u2019s Certificate and she\u2019s almost done.\u00a0 As part of the program she has the opportunity for 2 practicum placements, and her next one is coming up.\u00a0 Carli will be away from the preschool for the month of February, returning early March.<\/p>\n

Class and Family Photo Survey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Class and Family Photo Survey.\u00a0 In total 36 families provided feedback!\u00a0Overall the feedback was extremely positive, both in the rating scales and comments.\u00a0 Thank you so much to those families who provided suggestions for how to improve the experience next year \u2013 it\u2019s only through everyone\u2019s feedback that we can continue improving year to year.\u00a0\u00a0 As the survey was anonymous, if anyone would like to discuss their comments further, please do not hesitate to contact Jeff or\u00a0Shelley.<\/p>\n

Council of Parent Participation Preschools of BC<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the January month meeting, the council recommended a fee increase beginning September 2017.\u00a0 The registration fees families pay annually (currently $100) pays for the preschool\u2019s fees to the Council \u2013 which pays for our insurance, among other things. As there were not enough board members present to meet quorum, the motion will proceed as an e-vote, so the results are not yet known. We will let you know the results when the vote in completed.<\/p>\n

A New Face in the Classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

During the first few weeks in March, we want to welcome a Grade 10 Work Experience student into the four year old classes. Sarah is a past QPPS Alumni (she went to preschool with Teacher Barb’s daughter!) We hope this is a great learning opportunity for her \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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\"PNO\"<\/a>It’s Party Time! Parents Night Out!<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

It is that time of year again! The Queen\u2019s Park Preschool Annual Silent Auction is just around the corner, Saturday, March 5th, to be exact. We are very excited that this year\u2019s auction will be held again at the Glenbrook Park Amenities Centre, a gorgeous hall right in our own neighbourhood, just a 2 minute drive from the preschool. The Silent Auction Team is busy working to make it a very memorable and fun night full of food, music, drinks and great company.<\/p>\n

Details:
\nSaturday, March 5th, 2016
\n7:00pm \u2013 11:00pm
\nGlenbrook Park Amenities Centre<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just a friendly reminder, every family is required to donate something that we can auction off that helps pay for such an amazing little school for our young ones.\u00a0Keep an eye on your child\u2019s cubby box during this last week of January, you will be receiving a family donation form. Please fill out this form carefully so that the Special Event Team can correctly price and sort your item. What can you donate you might be asking\u2026 gift certificates, gift baskets, hand crafted items, services, or any type of new item. If you are still unsure\u00a0as to what you can donate, ask one of the other parents, look online for ideas, use your imagination.\u00a0Traditionally the evening includes a very lively Live Auction where some of the larger donations are auctioned off. If you have an item, or service that you think would work well for this, please contact Nigel at fundraising@qpps.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

As well as having great items to bid on, there will be other exciting activities. We will be selling \u2018Early-Bird tickets’ at both the Feb. and March General Meetings; this is your chance to win a free, \u2018First-Pick\u2019 of any item in the silent auction portion of the event for the low price of only $20 per ticket! Volunteers will be walking around selling 50\/50 tickets, there will be a table for snacks and of course, the bar. Please ensure that you have a safe ride home in the off-chance you have one-to-many.<\/p>\n

Each family will receive two tickets in your child’s cubby box mid to late Feb. and extra tickets will be available free-of-charge on a first-come-first-served basis via a sign-up sheet that will be posted in the entrance of the school around the same time. Numbers are limited so if you know ahead of time that you won\u2019t be using both of your tickets, please return to \u2019Tobin Lutz\u2019 3PM Class so that we can pass it on to somebody else.<\/p>\n

This event is a lot of fun so please, get dressed up (semi-formal) bring your chequebook or cash (no credit cards) and lets make an evening of it! How often do we all get to have a night out together away from the kids!?! And again, please plan for a safe ride home.<\/p>\n

Happy Bidding,<\/p>\n

Nigel Lutz (Tobins Dad)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"images\"<\/a>2016 Important Tax Information<\/h2>\n

Did you know you can claim your preschool fees on your tax return? The person with the lower net income may claim preschool tuition as childcare provided that they have\u00a0earned income. CRA\u2019s current stance on this (per Income Tax folio S1-F3-C1) is that payments made to an educational institution for a child under the compulsory school age (e.g., preschool) are generally considered child care rather than education, unless facts indicate otherwise. As such, preschool tuition would generally qualify (unless facts indicate otherwise).<\/p>\n

If the lower income spouse does not have any earned income, or any income at all, then tuition can be applied to the arts credit by the higher income spouse. Also, if the preschool tuition paid exceeds the childcare deduction limit for the individual, you can apply the excess, up to $500, to the child arts amount. Here is a link to describe what a prescribed program is and criteria to be claimed for the child arts amount:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cra-arc.gc.ca\/tx\/ndvdls\/tpcs\/ncm-tx\/rtrn\/cmpltng\/ddctns\/lns360-390\/370\/prgrm-eng.html<\/a><\/p>\n

QPPS meets the required criteria of a prescribed program, so you can claim tuition fees under the arts credit.<\/p>\n

If you have further questions or would like a receipt for tax purposes please send an email to\u00a0qpps.receipts@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"teach-your-kids-about-red-herrings-2\"<\/a>Parent\u00a0Education Coming Up<\/h2>\n

This month we are lucky to have Toni Jones, who will be speaking about Critical Thinking and Problem Solving for Preschoolers. \u00a0Toni\u00a0Jones is a retired teacher. She has taught Grades 1 – 5 in the regular classroom, Grades 3 – 7 English Language Arts for students in French Immersion\u00a0 and a pullout program for Gifted students in grades 3 – 7. She worked as the district coordinator for Gifted Education in District 36, Surrey, for over ten years.\u00a0Toni\u00a0has two wonderful grandchildren that she enjoys spending time with.<\/p>\n

And in March…<\/p>\n

We will hear from Allison Taylor-McBryde, speaking on Early Literacy. She is a retired librarian and an enthusiastic preschool grandparent.<\/p>\n

Again, for the keeners out there who would like extra homework, I have some book suggestions for the entire family.\u00a0 If your preschooler is anything like mine they experience a whirlwind of emotions without the words to explain the thoughts in their head.\u00a0 We have a feelings chart at home which helps my daughter name what she is feeling and help her recognize when she moves from sad back to happy.\u00a0 Our chart is similar to \"Feelings<\/a> this one, but there are a ton out there, some based on the Inside Out Characters.\u00a0 There a number of great story books to build on this concept such as “Pigeon\u00a0has Feelings, Too” by Mo Willems and “The Feelings Book” by Todd Parr.\u00a0 These are great conversation starters that are fun for the kiddos, and kiddos at heart too!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If you have any questions or comments about\u00a0parent\u00a0education, please
\ndon\u2019t hesitate to martilongstaff@gmail.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"ChocolateA\"<\/a>Nutrition Column – Chocolate!<\/h2>\n

Ah chocolate\u2026you\u2019ve probably heard that eating chocolate can be beneficial to your health but scoffed at the idea, as life can\u2019t be that good, but it is! February is heart health month so love your heart by treating it to some dark chocolate or by enjoying the last two weeks of Vancouver\u2019s 6th<\/sup> annual Hot Chocolate Festival on Family Day.<\/p>\n

Not all chocolate is created equal, so look for these criteria when grabbing your next treat:<\/p>\n