Tuesday 3 May 2016

May Newsletter



MAY NEWSLETTER 2016
Dear Parents,
As I had mentioned in a previous note, Ruth Skinner, our assistant teacher in the MWF class is facing an emotionally and physically challenging chapter in her life. Our staff team will do whatever we can to help and support her and her family during this difficult time.  We will give her all the time that she needs to rest and to be prepared for the upcoming medical procedures.  It helps to know that she is surrounded by an amazing support group of family and friends that will stand by her side over the next few months.

SPRING IS HERE!
Our kids have been having so much fun looking for the first signs of spring. We took them on a “listening walk” through the park and through the neighborhood. In order to sharpen their sense of hearing we asked the children to close their eyes and open their ears wide. We heard birds chirping, a squirrel climbing up a tree and we listened to the branches moving in the wind.
Our classroom turned into a green house last month and the children were so excited to watch their grass seeds and been seeds turning into plants. We did a lot of “body activities”, which support the idea of learning with all your senses. The children pretended to be a seed in the ground and we “watered” our little seeds with a soft  “back rub”. You might want to ask your child to show you how we did it in order to get a back massage. :)

BUGS and BIRDS

Life Cycle of a Butterfly
Our theme for May will be Bugs and Birds. This theme will be used throughout the entire month because the children will be watching caterpillars turn into butterflies. The caterpillars will get mailed directly to us in then larvae stage so that the children will be able to watch the entire life cycle. This process takes about 3 weeks and at the end of the month we will have a picnic in the park and let our butterflies go.

Life Cycle of a Chicken
We are blessed to being invited to another annual spring event. The grade 1 teacher at Brevoort Park School has an incubator with 15 chicken eggs in her classroom. We will stop by every day this week and I hope our children will be there on the day when the eggs crack open and the little chicks are hatching. Ask your child about this amazing miracle that happens in the classroom. This will be one thing that they are going to remember for the rest of their lives! :)

SPF Raffle Fundraiser
Thank you to all the families and friends that participated in the SPF Fundraiser. It was a huge success and all together we raised $1,600!!! $800 will be going towards subsidy support for families that cant afford to pay tuition to send their child to preschool. The other $800 will go into our own preschool and will be used to purchase toys and educational material.
As many of you might know, after 25 years, the Government of Saskatchewan is disconnecting all financial support for heritage language learning programs in Saskatchewan. It does affect Heritage Language Schools, as well as our bilingual preschool program. Even though it will have a significant impact on our budget, we will try to continue to provide a high quality Early Learning Childhood program. Our board has already met and discussed fundraiser options for the upcoming school year.

DATES TO REMEMBER
MAY
Friday, May 6th :        Kindergarten Sneak Peak 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. (Please let us know if your child is the MWF  pm class and attending the sneak peak that day)
Wed 11, Thurs 12:    Scholastic Book Orders due
Friday, May 20th:       No school for all students or staff
Monday, May 23rd:    Victoria Day, no school
JUNE
Thursday, June 2nd: T-Th class Field Trip to Forestry Farm Zoo
Friday, June 3rd     :  M-W-F a.m. class Field Trip to Forestry Farm Zoo
Monday, June 6th  :  M-W-F p.m. class Field Trip to Forestry Farm Zoo
(We will need parent helpers for those days. Please look for a list in the hallway)
Thursday, June 23rd : Last day for T-Th class
Friday, June 24th:       Last day for M-W-F class
Parents are invited to join and celebrate with us (a.m. class 10:00 -11:40 a.m.
p.m. class from 1:30 – 3:15 p.m.)

Outside Fun
We will spend as much time outside as we can. If you want your child to wear sunscreen, bug spray etc. Please don’t forget to apply it on your child before class starts. Also, please make sure that your child wears outside shoes, that allow him/her to safely run down the hill.
We are looking forward to another month of Fun & Learning with your children!

                   “The most precious jewels you’ll ever have around your neck
                    Are the arms of your children”

                 Happy Mothers Day to all of our wonderful moms!!!

Uli Hecker, Ruth Skinner
Susanne Pachal, Samina Roohi