With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, we wish to express our gratitude to each family for helping to make our school such a special place!
Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving long weekend,
The Staff at Lions Gate Montessori
DATES & NOTES TO REMEMBER
Monday, October 9 │ Thanksgiving Public Holiday NO SCHOOL
Friday, October 13 │ Pumpkin Patch at Richmond Country Farms
Wednesday, October 18│Upper Elementary WeDay Outing
Thursday, October 19 │ Parent/Child Workshops, North Creek & Anchor Point
Friday, October 20 │ Professional Development NO SCHOOL for students
Wednesday, October 25│Upper Elementary Cleveland Dam Outing
Hot Lunch (Elementary and Extended-day Children Only): Cut-off dates and times for upcoming months are as follows:
October Cut-Off: Thursday, September 28, 3:00 PM
November Cut-Off: Thursday, October 26, 3:00 PM
December Cut-Off: Thursday, November 30, 3:00 PM
For more information on our hot lunch program, go to https://www.lionsgatemontessori.org/community/hot-lunch-program/ (log-in required)
CASA COMMUNITY (PRE-SCHOOL & EXTENDED-DAY)
Thursday, October 19th │ Parent/Child Workshop: This is a very special opportunity for your child to show you some of the work they have been doing at school. While regular dismissal is in effect, each family is invited to return at their assigned time slot with your child(ren) or the after school event. Please pick you your child on time. The teachers will need the time to prepare the classroom and make sure the event will run on time for all families. Each session is 20 minutes. Kindly let us know if you are unable to attend the Parent-Child Workshop and would like to reschedule.
Tuesday, October 31: This is a regular school day at North Creek. Children will participate in a variety of activities and lessons using nomenclature cards, cultural stories and discussions in geography and history. We would like to focus on the subjects of people, land, and their stories that bring us together. The Casa students will not be dressing up in the classroom environment. We respectfully ask families to kindly refrain from bringing candies and Halloween themed treats to school. We deeply appreciate your attention to this request.
Casa Laundry Schedule: On a rotating schedule, at the end of each week, children in the Casa environment will bring home a bag of laundry to wash and return to school after the weekend. This is a family exercise for the parents to work with their child(ren) at home for the benefit of the school environment. Please do the laundry WITH your child and not for your child. It is an option if you would like to fold the laundry before bringing it to school. Thank you!
Labeling: Please make the extra effort to label your child’s clothing, shoes, food containers, water bottles, and bags. Many children have identical items. It is very helpful for the children for the staff to be able to identify the objects quickly. This is especially the case when the children identify the objects themselves. Thank you!
Preparation for Snack and Lunch: Please follow safety guidelines in food preparation for young children. Grapes are required to be cut in halves and hard boiled eggs to be cut to bite size. 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. 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, 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. 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 (GRADES 1 & UP)
Thursday, October 12 | Visit to Library: Lower Elementary students will be visiting the library for the first time this year! Please send your child to school with their library card and a bag to carry their books. If your child does not have his/her library card yet, and you would like one, please fill out a VPL Juvenile Registration and we’ll be happy to help your child arranged for his/her own card during this visit.
Friday, October 13th | Pumpkin Patch Field Trip: Students will be visiting the pumpkin patch at Richmond Country Farms (12900 Steveston Hwy, Richmond).
Friday, October 13th | Celebrating Students with Summer Birthdays: We missed honouring the birthdays of our students born during the summer break period so, we’re setting this special day to celebrate in the afternoon, when we return from our Pumpkin Patch field trip. Students are welcome to bring in a healthy treat or snack to share with the whole community (36 students), and images/photos highlighting milestones in their lives.
Wednesday, October 18th | Upper Elementary WE Day Event, Rogers Arena: Our Upper Elementary students have been invited to join WE Day again this year! An educational program that empowers young people to become active local and global citizens, WE Day brings together world-renowned speakers and performers with stands packed with young social innovators to honour their contributions and kick-start another year of change. Tickets for WE Day are not sold. Thanks to their generous sponsors, the event is free to attend for selected schools. For more information, visit www.weday.com. Kindly return the permission slip and Notice to Parents from the organizers by Thursday, October 12th.
Thursday, October 19th │ Parent/Child Workshop: Sign-ups will be up on Tuesday, October 10th. Join us for this special opportunity to attend a lesson with your child and/or receive a lesson from him/her at school while class is in session! Each slot is 20 minutes. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you are unable to attend the Parent-Child Workshop and would like to reschedule. If you are unable to attend at the times listed below and would like to re-schedule, please call us and we will be most happy to accommodate you. Please refrain from bringing your child. Thank you!
Wednesday, October 25th | Upper Elementary Cleveland Dam Outing: Upper Elementary students will be visiting Cleveland Dam to learn how citizens of the Lower Mainland get their drinking water! There is no fee for this except transit costs – $1.80 fee for the bus both ways, $3.60 total. Please pay for the bus fare with exact change or send your child to school with their compass card. Students are also required to bring a bagged lunch to school for this excursion. Please submit the form and payment to school no later than Monday, October 16th.
FSA: This year, all schools will administer the BC Ministry of Education’s new Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) from October 2 to November 10, 2017. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions!
GIRLsmarts4tech Workshops: UBC Department of Computer Science, in partnership with Microsoft and SAP, is pleased to be offering workshops for the fourteenth year. GIRLsmarts4tech workshops encourage young women in grades 6 and 7 to become interested in technology, mathematics and science.UBC will be offering two (identical) full-day workshops for Grade 6 girls:
- Saturday, January 20, 2018
- Saturday, February 3, 2018
The grade 6 workshop includes activities on HTML, Programming, Computer Hardware, and Cyber Security. Space is limited and will be filled on a first-come first-served basis. Registration is online here.
COMMUNITY NOTICES Wondering what to do with your family on weekends? Check these out!
Family Weekends @ the Vancouver Art Galler y│Saturdays & undays, 12 PM to 4PM: Art Agents on Saturday as they bring the exhibitions to life then move on to The Making Place on Sundays to experiment with themes, processes and materials in a number of engaging art-making activities.
Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Kids’ Koncerts: The concerts are a great opportunity to successfully introduce children to the world of classical music. The Kids’ Koncerts are designed for children aged 4 – 11 years. The concerts are 45 minutes in length and feature the ENTIRE Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.This weekend’s artist is Fred Penner, a Canadian icon of entertainment and inspiration for children and families.
Weekend Farmers Markets: Eat local and take the kids out to support our local farmers!
West End
1100 Comox St btw. Bute & Thurlow
May 27, 2017 – Oct 21, 2017
Saturdays 9am – 2pm
Kitsilano
Kitsilano Community Centre
May 7, 2017 – Oct 22, 2017
Sundays 10am – 2pm
Riley Park
30th Avenue & Ontario Street
Jun 24, 2017 – Oct 28, 2017
Saturdays 10am – 2pm
Trout Lake
Lakewood Dr. & E 13th Ave.
May 6, 2017 – Oct 21, 2017
Saturdays 9am – 2pm
Mount Pleasant
Dude Chilling Park
May 28, 2017 – Oct 8, 2017