HANSEL & GRETEL
PRESCHOOL
OCTOBER NEWSLETTER
Dear Parents,
What a great first month of preschool we
have had! We were lucky enough to go outside most days and explore the changing
of the season; gathering leaves, listening to the wind and the sound of
crunching leaves. Our children also learned that using our senses allows us to
see, feel, hear and even smell fall. Many of you have heard us singing our song
“Herbst ist hier” at the park. We will keep an eye out for geese flying in a V
shape, and leaving for warmer places.
We practiced fire drills last month, and
last week one of our classes was present when Brevoort Park School had their
first “Lockdown drill”. This is when the doors lock, the blinds close and we
quietly hide in a corner and pretend to be “bears that are going into
hibernation and sleep”.
If you have any specific questions in
regarding Fire Drill/Lockdowns/Shelter in Place/ Evacuation of School policies,
please contact us. Our preschool follows the Brevoort Park School emergency
guidelines.
Last
month we read the book How To Fill a Bucket with our students. It is so rewarding to see our children
filling buckets every day by using their gentle hands, using kind words,
sharing and taking turns. If we catch them “scooping” instead of filling their
friend's buckets, we provide them with tools and teach them how to “refill a
bucket”. Reflecting on our own behaviour
or choices, and saying “sorry” can
sometimes go a long way! J
We took pictures of our students during
playtime as they were sharing, taking turns, picking up toys, inviting each
other to play and having fun together. We are working on making our own “Fill a
Bucket Book” and the pictures will be displayed in our classroom.
We are still waiting
for a few family pictures to add to our “The Kissing Hand” picture book. If you
have not provided us with a family picture yet, please bring it to class ASAP.
OCTOBER THEME: HARVEST and THANKSGIVING,
Many of our October activities will
revolve around “Harvest”. Our students will learn about different seasonal
vegetables. The children will cut open pumpkins and look at the inside;
counting seeds and getting their hands sticky. Many of our centre activities
will include counting, sorting and classifying different fall items.
Thanksgiving Holiday is coming up this weekend and we will take the opportunity
to think about what we are all thankful for.
FIELD
TRIP to DUTCH GROWERS HAY MAZE
All
of our classes will be going on a chartered field trip to Dutch Growers
Greenhouse Hay Maze.
Thank you to all the parents who have
already signed up to volunteer that day.
T-Th
class: Thursday, October 29th
The bus will be leaving at 9:10 a.m. and
we will be back at 11:00a.m.
M-W-
F a.m. class: Friday October 30th
The bus will be leaving at 9:10 a.m. and
we will be back at the school at 11 a.m.
M-W-F
p.m. class: Friday October 30th
(We are still looking for 4 more parent
helpers!)
The bus will be leaving at 12: 35 p.m.
and we will be back at 2:30 p.m.
·
Children will be dismissed at their
regular end of class time. Please inform your teacher if you are taking/picking
up your child earlier (e.g. after the actual field trip) that day.
·
Instead of a ‘Halloween Party’ in the
classroom, we invite children to wear their favourite costume on our field trip.
We can’t wait to watch our little goblins running through the maze.
·
Snacks will be provided on our field trip
day.
However, if you would like to bring a special snack to share with our class,
please let us know.
LETTER RECOGNITION
We will introduce our students to the
letters of the alphabet throughout the year. The most exciting activity for
each child is to identify the letters of their own name. Many of the children
already recognize some letters in their name, and often choose to sit on the
first letter of their name on our circle/centre carpet.
The children will explore letters through
many hands on activities that will support letter formation, and letter
sounds. Our letter bunny will pull
wooden lines and curves out of his magic hat which he will use to form letters! We also have a variety of songs that make learning
about letters really fun.
THANK YOU
·
Thank you for taking your child to the
bathroom before class starts. We have had way more playtime and less bathroom
traffic lately.
·
Thank you for teaching your child how to
get dressed. We see many of your children trying really hard to do it “all by
myself”.
·
Thank you for always checking your
mailbox after class.
·
Thank you for taking off your (and your
child’s) wet footwear when you walk inside the building.
·
Thank you to Gretchen Peterson, Jessamy
Foulds and Jennifer Sherman for creating a class directory for the parents.
PARENTS IN THE CLASSROOM
Parents are always welcome to come and be
part of our preschool! You may stay for circle time or other parts of the day.
Please let us know if you are interested in joining us on a specific day.
Parents and/or the designated pick up
person of the day are invited to join us for the
last 10 minutes of class at the end of a preschool day. That is when our
children will be sitting on the carpet for our last circle time. You will get
to listen to a story and watch us dancing, singing or reflecting on what we
have explored and learned that day.
DATES
TO REMEMBER (please mark on your own calendar!!!!)
October
Friday Oct 9 PD Day (
no class)
Monday Oct 12 Thanksgiving
Day Holiday (no class)
Wed/ Thurs Oct. 14/15 Scholastic Book Orders are
due
Thursday Oct 29 Field Trip to Dutch
Growers Hay Maze*
Friday Oct 30 Field Trip
to Dutch Growers Hay Maze*
(*We need 6 parent helpers/chaperones for
each class!! There is a sign up list hanging in the hallway.)
November
Wed Nov 11
Remembrance Day (no school)
Thu/Fri, Nov 12/13 no school
Mon Nov 23, Tue Nov 24 Picture Day
As always, feel free to contact us if you
have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Uli Hecker, Ruth Skinner
Susanne Pachal, Samina Roohi
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