Busy as Bees

Have you heard the buzz around the school?  On June 1st, we had thousands of special visitors in the Kindergarten playground. A swarm of honey bees decided that one of our trees would be a good place to rest on their way to finding a new site for a home.

                                                                                                                                                                Ms. Guerriero was able to take some photos of them without getting stung because the bees were very focused on staying with their queen.

The bee visit had some of us asking questions and wondering about bees.  For the past week, we've been busy researching and learning about bees. We have learned that honey bees are the only insects in the world that make food that people can eat.  

We wanted to taste some honey in class on Tuesday, June 14th.  If you don't want your child to have any honey, please let us know.

A Day at the Beach...

As you may already be aware from school emails, we are collecting new items for our class basket for the upcoming Silent Auction.  As was mentioned in the email, our basket theme is A Day at the Beach.  Here are some ideas for possible donations: 

• beach balls and other inflatable toys
• beach mats
• sunhats
• sunblock
• beach towel or blanket
• sunglasses
• picnic dishware (e.g., non-breakable dishes, glasses and cutlery)
• reusable ice packs
• kites
• water goggles
• flippers
• flip flops
• sand pails and shovels
• beach bag

Please do not limit your donations to the above list.  We will gladly accept all new and unopened items.  Please send your donations to school with your child by May 27th.  Thank you in advance for your support!

Happy Passover

If your family is celebrating Passover, please accept our wishes for a happy celebration!

What's cooking in Room 110?

As I look out the window, it is hard to believe it is April 11th.  Hopefully, spring-like weather will be with us soon.

For the past few months, we have had the assistance of Ms. Jav in our class.  She is a college student studying to become a Child & Youth Worker.  Unfortunately, her time with us is coming to an end.  The class wanted to thank her for all her help.  As part of our 'thank you', we wanted to bake something special to share with Ms. Jav.  We will be making chocolate cupcakes.

Here is the list of ingredients for the cupcakes: sugar, cocoa, vinegar, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt, vegetable oil and water.

If you have any concerns/questions about your child eating the cupcake, please let us know.  We will be sharing the cupcakes with Ms. Jav on April 13th.

Kindergarten Spring Trip

As an extension of our learning about seasonal changes, the Kindergarten classes will be going to Bruce’s Mill Centre for Conservation on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 to participate in the Maple Syrup Festival.  We will be learning about the sugar bush, maple trees and how maple syrup is made.  

We will travel to Bruce's Mill by school bus, and we will be leaving the school by 10:45 a.m. We will return to the school by 1:15 p.m.  We will eat our snacks at school before we leave, and we will have lunch when we return.  

We would love to have parent volunteers join us on the trip to help supervise students.  As you may know, all school volunteers are required to submit a Vulnerable Sector Screening Test from the York Region Police. There is a fee for the screening test. The school is able to provide you with a letter that may assist you in having the fee waived.  

If you have not already done so, please go to www.SchoolCashOnline.com in order to give consent for your child to go on the trip and to pay for the trip.

If you have any questions/concerns about the trip, please contact us.

First Term Reports

The first term reports will be sent home tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 19th. Parents are asked to complete the second page together with their children and return it to school in the envelope as soon as possible.

'Achievement Scale' and Senior Kindergarten Reports: 
Parents of Senior Kindergarten students will notice that in addition to the anecdotal comments, your children have also received ratings in the various literacy and mathematics curriculum strands.  The ratings range from Beginning to Extending.  According to the Full Day Curriculum Document,
"... reporting must always indicate the child's growth and achievement in relation to the learning expectations for the end of the Full-Day Early Learning-Kindergarten program."
(page 32)
Sometimes a child will receive a rating of 'Approaching' because we have not covered all the curriculum expectations, yet. The anecdotal comments will, hopefully, give a clearer indication of how your child is progressing.

If you have any questions/concerns about your child's report, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Roll  to  100
In celebration of the 100th Day of School, we are sending home a copy of our game, 'Roll to 100' along with dice for your child to keep. We played today at school, the teachers vs the students, and the students won! You will find the game and dice in your child's report envelope. We hope you enjoy playing together at home, too.

Lunar New Year

If you celebrate the Lunar New Year, we wish you and your family all the best for a Happy and Healthy year!