Check out our Facebook posts this week: They include a discussion on how Montessori addresses art in the Preschool setting, an article from Dr Peter Gray on declining emotional resilience in young adults, and insightful parenting quotes from Albert Einstein!
Wishing all families a wonderful weekend,
The Staff at Lions Gate Montessori
GENERAL NOTICES
Upcoming Dates to Remember
Monday, February 29 │10:30am @ North Creek│Photo Retakes
Thursday, March 3 │ Upper Elementary Visit to Lulu Island
Friday, March 4 │ Annual Bake Sale for Tenzin in Nepal
March 7 – 10 │ Anchor Point Student-led Conferences with Parents
Friday, March 11 │ Elementary Science Fair
Monday, March 14 to Monday, March 28 │ Spring Break (NO SCHOOL for Students)
Tuesday, March 29 │ School resumes
SPCA’s National Cupcake Day │Monday, February 29th: The BC SPCA is calling on everyone who loves animals and tasty treats to join Canada’s first-ever National Cupcake Day on February 29, 2016, in support of homeless, abused and injured animals in B.C. Click on the link above to find more information and donate online.
Meditation with Krista │ Wednesday, March 9th: Krista Love, mom of extended day student Finley Grennan Love, is offering an Introduction to Meditation to Lions Gate Montessori parents and caregivers on Wednesday, March 9, 6:00pm at North Creek. Krista has been practicing meditation for 16 years. She is a certified Lightwork Meditation teacher and has been teaching since 2002. In this one-hour session you will learn powerful visualization techniques you can use in everyday life. Topics included: quieting your mind, being centered, being grounded, etc. But why meditate? According to Krista, you open up a quieter, calmer inner space for yourself. You can see beyond the frantic, stressful details of everyday life and experience who you really are and what life is really about. Kick-start spring with some practical new ways to de-stress and get energized!
Hot Lunch: March orders are now closed. Thank you to all the families who ordered and helped make our Hot Lunch Program a success! We would love to hear your comments, feedback or suggestions for the upcoming term.
Join us in rooting for last year’s grade 9 graduate, Avery Quinn as he competes in this weekend’s BC Winter Games! Avery will be racing against some of the best speed skaters in BC. WISHING YOU BEST OF LUCK, AVERY! 
ANCHOR POINT COMMUNITY
Photo Re-takes @ North Creek │ Monday, February 29th, 10:30am: Retakes are available for students who missed our photo days in the first term (or if you would like your child to have another photo taken). Please let us know if you would like your child(ren0 to participate in this and we’ll arrange for him/her to be accompanied to North Creek by staff member.
Anchor Point Practicum Student │ Monday, February 29th to March 11th: Please join us to welcome Ms. Subica Shahab. Ms. Subica will be at Anchor Point from February 29th to March 11th. observing and working with the children through guidance of Ms. Michelle. Ms. Subica is in the process of completing her AMI Montessori Elementary Training with the Montessori Training Center of New England in Connecticut USA.
Upper Elementary Farm Visit │Thursday, March 3rd: Please drop off your Upper Elementary child no later than 8:45am on that day. We will be leaving the school around 9am to Richmond. Make sure your child brings his/her Compass card for transit if they have one. We have a full working kitchen at Lulu Island, so pack a regular lunch for your child. If you have ordered of Hot Lunch that day, please still pack them lunch. We will save their Hot Lunch meal for Friday, March 4th.
Tenzin’s Annual Bake Sale│Friday, March 4th: Join us in helping to raise money for our sponsored student, Tenzin Choden’s school in Nepal. Please take a minute to look over Shree Mangal Dvip Schools website by clicking here . A dollar goes a very long way in Nepal, so every little bit that we can do would be a huge help. Please bring in some baked goods ready to sell, and drop them off at Anchor Point on the day of the sale. Let us know by email if you are planning on contributing so we can be prepared. If you don’t bake, or would just rather eat the yummy treats, then send some money with your child/ren to go shopping! As a community, we will also be baking at school to support the sale. In addition to treats, we will also have some left over inventory of lip balm as well as dried fruits and nuts for sale! Baked goods always make people smile. Remember, you can buy them for your friends and neighbours too!
Student-led Conferences│March 8th to 10th: Student-led conferences will take place from Monday, March 8th through Thursday, March 10th. Sign-up sheets are posted by the front door. If you can’t find a time that is convenient for you, please email us and we will do our best to accommodate your scheduling needs. Students will be responsible for showing and explaining their work to their parents. Students are given the freedom to self-edit and self-assess the work they choose to present. They are very much looking forward to sharing their work with their parents!
Science Fair│Friday, March 11th: We are excited to announce that the students have prepared a Science Fair to share some of their knowledge and work with you. The children organized themselves in teams,and research is underway! This is proving to be a wonderful experience throughout, from forming their own teams, agreeing on their topics, collecting information for their research, conducting experiments and putting everything together! They look forward to presenting their findings to Extended-day students and parents on Friday, March 11th, 2016 during our Science Fair. Keep your eyes open for further details!
Swimming @ the Vancouver Aquatic Centre: It’s that time of the year again! Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary students will be walking to the Vancouver Aquatic Centre (1050 Beach Avenue) to participate in swimming lessons the following Wednesdays: April 6th, April 13th, April 20th, April 27th, May 4th and May 11th. The permission form, as well as more information, is attached at the end of this newsletter. Your child will need to come prepared with a bathing suit, towel, and hairbrush. Permission slips are due on Friday, March 11th.
Gymnastics @ the Dance Centre Reminder: Kindly drop off your child directly at the Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street) at 9:00AM on the following dates: February 29th and March 7th. If this is inconvenient, please drop off your child no later than 8:45am at Anchor Point and a teacher will walk with them to the Dance Centre. Families who have not received a direct email alert about this should drop off their child at Anchor Point at the regular time.
CASA COMMUNITY (PRE-SCHOOL & EXTENDED-DAY)
Photo Retakes │ Monday, February 29th: Dear New Second Term Families (January starters), Your child missed our photo days in the first term. Please note that our photographer will be at North Creek Montessori on Monday, February 29th at 10:30am for photo retakes. We will automatically have the new AM preschool children’s photo taken. For parents of new PM preschool students, please bring your child to North Creek at 10:30am for the photos. All current students who participated in last term’s photo days are welcome to a retake. Please let your respective teacher(s) know in person or email us if you would like a retake for your child(ren).
Donation of Egg Shells: There is a popular activity in the Casa environment named Eggshell Crushing Exercise. If you have eggshells at home from cooking, please bring them to our classroom. We would love to receive them. The eggshells will be washed thoroughly before use. Thank you!
Labeling Reminder: Please label your child’s mittens, scarves, hats, coats, and shoes so that there is no mix up at dismissal and items will be less likely to go missing. Thank you for your cooperation!
Sick Child Policy: This is a friendly reminder to parents to keep your child at home if he/she is sick or has signs of a fever, vomiting, and/or yellowish mucus. Your child needs to rest and recuperate before returning to school. Please refer to the Sick Policy included in the Parent Handbook (website sign-in required) for more information. Thank you!
Montessori Practicum Students: Ms. Vicky Liu from the Montessori Training Centre of BC completed her first assigned practicum session in the classrooms under the supervision of Ms. Julia. Her next practicum session will be from February 22 to March 4.
COMMUNITY NOTICES Wondering what to do with your family over the weekend? Check these out!
GIRLsmart4Tech Free Parent Only Education Workshop │ Saturday, February 27 @ 2:00pm – 3:30pm: Learn how to encourage and support your girls in tech! It will be held at SAP (910 Mainland St, Vancouver, BC). You can learn about your role as a parents, recommended resources, job opportunities in tech, the importance of role models, and advice from industry experts. They will have a penal of the industry’s experts such as a CIO, a data scientist, a professor and an UX Designer. Admission is free, please RSVP to girlsmarts@cs.ubc.ca.
Family Day @ the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art│ Saturdays until May 28, 2016: Bring your kids to the Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art on Saturdays. Kids can explore exhibitions, take part in art discoveries and use interactive ‘Discovery’ tables where they (and you!) can participate and learn more about the amazing art in the gallery. Staff are on site to get young people started, and keep them going, as they explore the world of Canadian art. Event Dates: Weekly on Saturday until Saturday May 28, 2016.