{"id":962,"date":"2015-11-02T18:32:15","date_gmt":"2015-11-02T18:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qpps.ca\/newsletter\/?p=962"},"modified":"2015-11-06T19:04:14","modified_gmt":"2015-11-06T19:04:14","slug":"november-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qpps.ca\/newsletter\/november-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"November 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From the President<\/span><\/h2>\n

This month (and possibly still reeling from Halloween candy overload) I will keep this short and sweet (see how I snuck that pun in there \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n

Mark your calendars… Queens Park Preschool turns 50 this year and we\u2019re planning the celebration for May 14, 2016.\u00a0 We are working on a community carnival \u2013 lots of fun for the whole family.\u00a0 Stay tuned for more information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you checked out the newly refurbished teachers\u2019 chair?\u00a0 Thanks in part to our City of New Westminster grant last year, the comfy chair and ottoman at the circle carpet has been fixed up and is ready for lots more stories and snuggles in the coming years.\u00a0 Thanks to Teacher Jenny for making this happen!<\/span><\/p>\n

Ahem, have you missed a General Meeting…?\u00a0<\/span>Please submit your parent education make up assignment within 1 week of the missed meeting. Parent Education is part of the benefit of a parent participation preschool, and it\u2019s also part of our responsibility as membership. If homework is more than 2 weeks late, we are violating our licensing. Please, make life easier on your class rep… it\u2019s never nice having to \u201cnag\u201d another parent about homework! Just a reminder, any member of a family can come to the General Meetings \u2013 it does not need to be the duty parent.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cheers,
\nShelley<\/p>\n

PPP Partner Newsletter and Parent Ed Session<\/h2>\n

The PPP Partner Newsletter is published by the Council Office and is available for QPPS parents to read. It is full of great articles, events and upcoming Council information, including information on the\u00a0November\u00a024\u00a0<\/span>Speaker event with Jessica Wollen, who will be speaking on the “Askable Adult 101: Co-creating Healthy Communities with our Kids”. She has written an article that is up first in the newsletter which has a few testimonials on her workshop with it. Here is the link:\u00a0PPP Partner November 2015<\/a>. For information on the upcoming speaker event, you can access the flyer here:\u00a0November Speaker 2015<\/a><\/p>\n

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Fundraising<\/h2>\n

Our fall family photo weekend is quickly approaching on\u00a0November 7 and 8. There are 5 spots left. Please email Sarah Gillis\u00a0sarahgillis8@hotmail.com<\/a>\u00a0if you would like a spot!\u00a0For those families that have reversed a spot, we will be sending out details the night before with location (since its weather-permitting) so please check your email! The remaining $80 is due at the photo shoot and will need to be paid to Sarah from Notting Hill Photography.<\/p>\n

\"potty_training_1303151552\"<\/a>Parent Education<\/h2>\n

For our November meeting, Dawnn Whittaker of Cheeky Chops\u00a0(www.cheekychops.ca<\/a>), will be discussing Potty Training.\u00a0 As some of\u00a0you may remember, Dawnn spoke at our preschool last year on Sleep; her\u00a0no-nonsense and practical solutions were welcomed and her experience\u00a0and humour appreciated.\u00a0 This time around she will use her wealth of\u00a0knowledge and experience from nannying and consulting for over 20\u00a0years to walk us through the ups and downs of potty training for\u00a0preschoolers and beyond.\u00a0 Attached is a link to her blo and her recent\u00a0article about pull-ups:<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.cheekychops.ca\/blog\/2015\/09\/why-to-avoid-pull-ups-while-potty-training<\/a><\/p>\n

For this session, we are making a limited number of tickets available\u00a0to family, friends or alumni who are not currently QPPS members.\u00a0Tickets are $10\/each and must be reserved ahead of time with Marti\u00a0(contact info below).<\/p>\n

December 1\u00a0Parent Education Session<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jessica Pirnak, who you know recognize as she is our feature Nutrition columnist in this newsletter, will be coming to speak about Healthy Snacking for
\nthe Holidays and how to use food to ward off colds and the flu.<\/p>\n

Lastly, for those keeners who want extra tools in the parenting\u00a0toolbelt, I have attached a link to “Bucket Fillers” website\u00a0(http:\/\/bucketfillers101.com\/faqs.php<\/a>)\u00a0dedicated to all things about Bucket Filling a tool to teach empathy\u00a0to young children stemming from the 2005 bestseller, Have you Filled a\u00a0Bucket Today?\u00a0 A Guide to Daily Hapiness for Kids.\u00a0 The concept is\u00a0easy, we all need our bucket filled and it is done so by being kind or\u00a0by others being kind to you, but you can empty your bucket or those of\u00a0others by being unkind.\u00a0 It is a simple metaphor that opens the door\u00a0to a discussion on kindness with your children.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions or comments about parent education, please\u00a0don\u2019t hesitate to contact me!
\nMarti Longstaff<\/strong>
\n QPPS Parent Education Coordinator<\/strong>
\n martilongstaff@gmail.com<\/a><\/strong>
\n phone\u00a0604-319 2556<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Heritage-Christmas\"<\/a>Social Activity<\/h2>\n

Let’s hear those sleigh bells ringing – yes it’s time for another social. This one is themed appropriately for the holidays! Here is a link to the poster:\u00a0Heritage Christmas Social Event<\/a><\/p>\n

Heritage Christmas at\u00a0Burnaby Village Museum<\/strong>
\n Website:\u00a0http:\/\/www.burnabyvillagemuseum.ca
\n<\/a>Cost: free entry and $2.55 for carousel ride<\/strong>
\n Date:\u00a0Saturday,\u00a0December 5<\/strong>
\n Time: 1 – 3<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"baby\"<\/a>Congratulations!<\/h2>\n

A huge QPPS congrats goes out to the Lutz family on the birth of their baby girl! Sending warm wishes and good sleep vibes your way!!!<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.dreamstime.com\/-image6677218\"<\/a>Nutrition Column<\/h2>\n

For the love of squash! Why do we call winter squash \u2018winter\u2019 when it\u2019s available a good portion of the year, from August to January? I guess it\u2019s like calling a sweet potato a yam, which is a whole other story. But good news to all you locavores out there \u2013 a large variety of winter squash is grown locally across BC, including butternut, banana, acorn, spaghetti and kabocha.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why should we eat squash? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>For busy families, squash is low maintenance to prepare. Throw any squash in a preheated oven (at 350 <\/span>\u00b0) <\/span><\/b>and roast for 30-40mins without having to flip or fiddle with it, giving you some time to put the kids to bed. Bonus \u2013 roasted squash will keep in your fridge for a week giving you some flexibility on your menu.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Winter squash is a healthy carbohydrate. In other words it has a low glycemic index and is full of nutrients. Having a low glycemic index allows us to feel full longer and not have fast energy crashes making us “hangry”.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Per cup, BC winter squash counts for 25% of our daily fibre intake and 60% of our vitamin A, which is a potent antioxidant vital for eye health. Plus squash has a ton of vitamin C, which is important for maintaining healthy bones, skin and other tissues.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>Lastly, the seeds making up the squash are hidden gems of zinc, protein, iron, fibre and magnesium. They also can fight breast and prostate cancer with naturally occurring lignans, so don\u2019t compost so fast \u2013 roast and add to salads, baking and yogurt.<\/span><\/p>\n

See you at the pumpkin patch!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"armstretch-682x1024\"<\/a>How to Make Galaxy Slime<\/h2>\n

Okay – just the name of this stuff sounds cool! We have a preschool mom who has actually made this and swears it is a lot of fun – so here you go. To infinity and beyond!<\/p>\n

Here is what you will need:<\/p>\n