October Newsletter

HANSEL & GRETEL PRESCHOOL

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER

Dear Parents,                                                                                       

What a great first month of preschool we have had! We were lucky enough to play outside most days, and explore the changing of the season. We gathered leaves, listened to the wind, the sound of crows and crunching leaves. Our children experienced 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.

October Theme: Fall and Thanks giving

Many of our October activities will revolve around “FALL” and “Harvest”. Our students will learn about the changes in season and harvest. Thanksgiving Holiday is coming soon and we will take the opportunity to think about what we are thankful for.

We will cut open pumpkins and apples to explore the inside. Often times of our fall activities will include counting, sorting and classifying of different nature items such as pine cones, sticks, leaves etc.

The kids really enjoy our “nature walks”. It so fun to see them using their imagination when they pretend to be squirrels that are hiding acorns or migrating geese that fly to warmer places.  Hopefully we will have a few more days to play outside. Please make sure your child is dressed warm enough!

Letter Bunny and Introduction to the Alphabet

Throughout the year we will introduce our students to the letters of the alphabet. This will happen very playfully (especially with the younger ones). The most exciting activity for each child is to identify the letters of his own name. Many of the children already recognize some letters in their name and can find their mailboxes by looking for their name.  

“LINES” and “CURVES”

We will introduce all of our children to the terms “lines” and “curves” as all letters of the alphabet are made of “curves” and “lines”! One way to get excited about letters is having your child look at his name and spy for letters that have “long lines”, “short lines”, “big curves”, “little curves”.

“Hase” our bunny in the magic hat, will pull wooden lines and curves out of his magic hat every week.  He shows the children how to form the letters and also introduce the sound of it. Don’t be surprised if your child is having snack at home and starts to stutter  “b-b-b anana”! Banana starts with a “B”. Yippie!

 

Bathroom

Thank you for taking your child to the bathroom before class starts. We have had way more playtime and less bathroom traffic lately. Please remind your child to let us know if he/she needs to go the bathroom.

Care Partners

We are very fortunate to be included in the Brevoort Park School care partner program. Each of our pre-schoolers will have a care partner from grade 3/4. Our care partner friends will come and visit us once a month and  help making special crafts, read a book or  have fun in the gym with our preschool children.

Show and Tell: 11:35 a.m.  – 11:40 a.m.

We will start with Show & Tell this month. Each day one designated student will get to bring one item from home and share it with the class at the end of the day. It could be a special toy, a picture, a souvenir or simply something from nature. You can support your child by helping him/her to say a few sentences about their “special item”.

The parent/care giver of the show &tell student of the day is invited to stay and listen to their child’s show & tell.

Last Circle: 11:40 A.M. – 11.45 A.M.

ALL parents/care givers are invited to come into the classroom and join us!

We will provide you with information about your child’s day and upcoming events and activities for the week.

Thank You’s

Thank you for teaching your child how to get dressed for outside. We see many of your children trying really hard to do it “all by myself”. 

Thank you for teaching your child how to cover their sneeze and coughs with their sleeve (not with their hands).

Thank you for always checking your mailbox after class.

Thank you for taking off your (and your child’s) wet footwear when you enter  the school.

Allergy Alert

We have one student in our preschool that is severely allergic to nuts (and eggs)!

Like all schools Brevoort Park School is a nut free school. We ask you to NOT bring any food items that contain nuts or traces of nuts! Some families like to share a little birthday treat with the class. This is optional but if you decide to do so, please ensure that treats are nut free and ideally non sticky as we don’t have a proper sink in the classroom. We always sing “Happy Birthday” in German at the end of class to celebrate our birthday child.

October “German Heritage Month”

In December 2016, the Canadian Parliament officially declared October “German Heritage Month” in order to “recognize the contributions that German-Canadians have made to Canadian Society”.

Please go on the website of SGC (Saskatchewan German Council): www.saskgermancouncil.org

On this website you will find many important dates and special events that are happening within the German-Canadian Community throughout the year. You can also sign up to receive the SGC monthly newsletter.

One special event that you might want to join in October is the German “Ernte Dank Fest” (Harvest Festival) at the Farmers Market on Saturday, October 6^th (10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.). There will be a traditional Harvest display (Harvest Crown), German Folk Dance and Singing. You can also purchase German cake and enjoy a cup of coffee!

Dates to Remember (please mark your calendar!)

Our school follows the Public School calendar. All statutory holidays, professional Development Days (PD days) and breaks are observed.

October

Mon/Tue Oct 2/3           Scholastic book orders are due

Fri, Oct 5                         PD Day -  no school

Saturday, Oct 6               “Ernte Dank Fest” (German Harvest Festival) at Farmers Market from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.             

Mon Oct 8                       Thanksgiving Day Holiday (no class)

Tue, Oct 30                      T-Th class Field Trip to Dutch Growers Hay Maze (wear your costume)

Wed, Oct 31                    M-W-F class Halloween Party (wear your costume)

November

Fri, Nov 6/7                     Picture Day (school photos)              

Fri Nov 10                        STA Convention – no school

Monday, Nov 12              Stat. Holiday (Remembrance Day) – no school

Tue/Wed Nov 13/14        Traditional St.Martin Celebration. Please join us for a short play and   lantern parade  at    11.30 a.m.  

Thu Nov 29                      Optional Parent Teacher Interviews (4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.)

Fri   Nov 30                      Optional Parent Teacher Interviews (8:30 a.m.  – 1:00 p.m.)            (M-W-F Class will be running that day)

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Uli Hecker, Larissa Lorenz