FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1 IS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY – NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to be a child in our Montessori environments? Join us for a special opportunity to experience Montessori as your children do at our “Silent Journey of Discovery” on Friday, March 2, 1 PM to 3:30 PM. Stations will be set up with a
variety of Montessori activities from different areas of the curriculum. Through your interaction and exploration with the activities, you will discover for yourself what the materials offer to our students. We ask that all parents attend an introductory presentation on Thursday, March 1, 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM as preparation for the following day’s experience. We hope that after a night of reflection, you will be able to see the thoughtfulness and power of Dr. Montessori’s vision for the optimal development of each child at their respective stages.
Spaces are limited to 15 participants and childcare will be available for parents attending the workshop. Please RSVP us with “Silent Journey” on the subject line by Monday, February 19 if you wish to attend this workshop and let us know if you require childcare.
Wishing you joyful weekend,
The Staff at Lions Gate Montessori
UPCOMING DATES AND NOTICES
Wednesday, February 7 | Grades 1 & Up Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink., 12:30 PM
Monday, February 12 | BC FAMILY DAY – Province-wide holiday
Tuesday, February 13 | Upper Elementary Outing to the Contemporary Art Gallery, 9:30 AM
Tuesday, February 13 | Grades 1 and Up Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink., 12:30 PM
Wednesday, February 14 | Lower Elementary Outing to the Contemporary Art Gallery, 9:30 AM, Valentine Box Exchange
Monday, February 19 | Grades 1 and Up Skating at Robson Square Ice Rink., 12:30 PM
Thursday, March 1 | VSO concert for Lower Elementary and Extended-Day/Kindergarten | Parent Workshop – Introductory Presentation
Friday, March 2 | PD DAY, No School for Students
Friday, March 2 | SILENT JOURNEY, Parent Workshop, 1 PM
Wednesday, March 7 | Grouse Mountain Field Trip for Students in Extended-Day/Kindergarten & Up
March 19 – 29 | SPRING BREAK, NO SCHOOL
March 30 | GOOD FRIDAY, NO SCHOOL
April 2 | EASTER MONDAY, NO SCHOOL
Sharing Your Expertise: We’ve already had a few parents visit our classes to share experiences and expertise with our students the last term and would love to have more! We’d love to learn about different cultural traditions, professional skills, and even your travel adventures. Telling stories, showing photographs, or demonstrating a skill are just some of the simple ways you can share your wisdom with our students. Please email North Creek or Anchor Point staff or speak with your child’s teachers to arrange a visit!
Lullabies: For several years, we’ve wanted to compile lullabies from the various countries our students and their parents are originally from. It seems like this is the year to bring this project from the talking to the recording stage! The idea is for parents to sing a lullaby into their phone or computer recorder in their native language – preferably one that was sung to your young children (our students!) at bedtime. We are not concerned about the level of your singing talents – your warmth when singing lullabies to your child will come through – and that is what we are looking for! An audio and a simple translation of the song would be fantastic. We can put it together as a fundraiser. Who knows, maybe we can put it up on Amazon for a larger fundraiser! Please send your audio and translation files to lyle.weinstein@lionsgatemontes sori.org. We hope to have lullabies from quite a number of countries and already received songs in German, Farsi, Mandarin, and Filipino.
Hot Lunch Order Cut-off for March: Thursday, February 22, 3:00 PM
CASA COMMUNITY (PRE-SCHOOL & EXTENDED-DAY)
DO NOT Double Park at Drop-off or Pick-up! We have received multiple complaints on parents who are double parking when dropping off and picking up their children at North Creek. There will be police patrolling to make sure this will not continue. You will receive a ticket if you double park. Thank you for your attention and cooperation in keeping a safe environment for us and our neighbours.
Extended-Day/Kindergarten Grouse Mountain Outing | March 7th: Students will be spending the day at Grouse Mountain. The first part of the program includes wildlife curriculum lessons, followed by a First Nations experience led by an elder of the Squamish Nation in an authentic Pacific Northwest Coastal longhouse. After lunch, the students will have their afternoon activities in the snow. Students will be taking a school bus for this field trip. There is NO FEE for this outing. We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Student Enrichment Funds for covering all venue and transportation fees. Please complete and submit the permission form by Monday, February 5th.
Extra Container for Leftovers: Children often have leftover from their hot lunch orders. Please send a container to school for your child to bring home his/her food. Thank you.
Preparation for an Emergency: North Creek asks each family to prepare a personal letter for your child to be kept in our emergency kit (if you have not done one already). In case of an earthquake or other disasters, a letter from home along with a family picture would no doubt be a very special item to have on hand for comfort.
ANAPHYLAXIS ALERT! We have been notified that two children in our Casa community have life-threatening allergy (anaphylaxis) reactions. The triggers are dairy, eggs, tree nuts, kiwis, and hummus. The school is following the VCH guidelines, the families are working with the school, and all AM and PM Preschool and Extended Day are learning about it. Starting in September 2017, North Creek is a nut free environment. Teachers and students will be asked to wash their hands vigilantly and regularly, both at North Creek and in the Extended Day classroom at Anchor Point. Please refrain from bringing these foods and see it as an opportunity to introduce other foods for snacks and lunches to the school environment as you introduce your child to anaphylaxis awareness. If dairy, eggs, and hummus is not avoidable, please inform the teachers of the items at the door. It will help us coordinate the classroom to protect all the children. For more information, please visit www.foodallergycanada.ca. Thank you very much for your attention and assistance.
ANCHOR POINT COMMUNITY (GRADE 1 & UP)
Elementary Skating: The students are thrilled that we’ve been able to add more ice time for them in February! Students had great fun skating this month and look forward to more afternoons (12:30 pm to 2:30 pm) at the Robson Square Ice Rink with their peers on the following dates: Wednesday, February 7, Tuesday, February 13, and Monday, February 19. Please complete and submit the permission form by Monday, February 5th.
Contemporary Art Gallery Tour & Workshop | Tuesday, February 13th (Upper Elementary); Wednesday, February 14th, Lower Elementary: Elementary students look forward to enjoying an inspirational and thought-provoking visit to the Contemporary Art Gallery where they will participate in a 2-hour tour and workshop! The Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) is a non-profit public art gallery dedicated to the research, exhibition, education, and documentation of contemporary visual art as it is practiced locally through to internationally.
- On Tuesday, February 13th, Upper Elementary students will spend the morning at the gallery followed by an afternoon skate at the Robson Ice Rink. Please send your child to school with snacks and a picnic lunch for this full-day outing. Please complete and submit the attached permission form and payment by Friday, February 9th.
Valentine’s Day Celebration | Wednesday, February 14th: Students at Anchor Point will celebrate Valentine’s Day with our traditional Gift Box Exchange. They have already chosen a “secret Valentine” from a random draw and will be responsible for decorating a custom gift box at home to be presented to that peer. (Students may use a cereal box, shoe box, or kleenex box, etc. for this project.) Students are invited to bring Valentine’s cards for their classmates if they wish, which will be placed in the gift boxes. To ensure inclusion and acceptance, please ensure your child prepares a card for all his/her classmates if they plan to hand out Valentine cards. Kindly refer to the School Directory found on our school website for names of students. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.
Upper and Lower Elementary Grouse Mountain Outing | March 7th: Students will be spending the day at Grouse Mountain. The first part of the program includes wildlife curriculum lessons followed by a First Nations experience led by an elder of the Squamish Nation in an authentic Pacific Northwest Coastal longhouse. After lunch, students will have their afternoon activities in the snow. Students will be taking a school bus for this field trip. There is NO FEE for this outing. We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of the Student Enrichment Funds for covering all venue and transportation fees. Please complete and submit the permission form by Monday, February 5th.