ALL SAINTS DAY

This promises to be an exciting week for our students and it is hard to believe that we start November on Friday!!!  Here are a few reminders...

• PUMPKIN PATCH: First, a big THANK YOU to everyone who was able to drive and help with our fieldtrip. We could not have asked for a better day and I was so proud of how well behaved our students were at the farm.  But I do have to say an even bigger THANK YOU to the Tamis family for inviting us and for being so generous.  It was my first time to their farm and not only was I impressed with how prepared and organized they were for our students, I had no idea that I was able to purchase their own grown vegetables and eggs.  I would sooner have these farm fresh items any day over a large grocery store where produce has sat for days and then I know exactly how they have been grown.  Plus, we are able to support a school family as well as our own community of Cloverdale so I know where I will be shopping in the future and I would encourage you to do the same.  Thank you, Tamis Family!  And thank you to everyone who sent in food items that we will donate in their name to the Surrey Food Bank...what a great lesson for students to see how the generousity of one can become the generousity of many. Truly, thank you!!!
• SAINT PROJECT AND PARENT JOB PROJECT: Please note that these two worksheets are due on Monday.  We will be sharing this information this week in our classroom so please ensure your child has brought theirs in so they have something to share (and do not feel left out :o)  Thank you for doing this work at home :o)
• SCHOLASTIC: Our Scholastic Book Order for November will be due on Wednesday, October 30th.  If you are buying items as Christmas gifts and would like them to be a surprise, please write 'SECRET' at the top of your order and I will keep your order in the classroom until you are able to directly pick it up, rather than sending it with your child.  Thank you!
• HALLOWEEN: While we try to focus on the importance of All Saints Day and that the word 'Halloween' really comes from 'All Hallow's (Holy) Eve,' meaning the night before All Saints Day, we know that Halloween is still exciting for many children.  I will be sending home a prayer that can be used when you carve a pumpkin as we encourage students to think about a Jack O Lantern as being a reminder that we too are like pumpkins.  Sometimes we have yucky things inside us (I tell the students the 'guts' of a pumpkin that we take out are like our sins) but God can clean us out (forgive us our sins) and then His light will shine out of us to others.  I also send home a paper that asks them to count all the Halloween treats they receive (why not make use of all that candy and create a math lesson :o) but please note this is optional.  They can count their candy either on Thursday or over the weekend and then return their paper by Monday and I have a little treat for them if they do so but please don't feel you have to as I'm sure we will have many tired trick or treaters.  Another reminder that we will be collecting non-perishable food and Halloween Candy from Nov. 4th to Nov. 7th.  Information about Food Bank Items with our "WE SCARE HUNGER" campaign will come home on Monday but we have been doing this for 3 years, where we invite students to say, "Trick or Treat or Food to Eat" and they can collect some Food Bank items while they collect candy.  Again, an optional activity or they can bring items from home.  We also collect Halloween Candy (either leftover or from your child's collection) for the Agape Street Ministry so please send any you can spare as they use this candy to supply much of their ministry for the year.  Please note that this Friday is a Food Bank Mass, so please do not send items you collected from Halloween on Friday.  We are trying to keep the two collections separate as the class with the most items from Halloween will win a Popcorn Party.  We hope we are not asking too much and please only send in items you can spare but there is such a great need with our Food Banks, every item helps and we really encourage students to see how important it is to give, especially as we often have so much.  Thank you for your help with this!
• ALL SAINTS DAY: This Friday, we invite all of our students to dress up as our Holy Heroes (no need for uniforms, including gym strips, although they might want to wear their PE strip underneath if their costume makes them too warm...which often happens).  It is a fun day where we dress up, go to Mass, talk about our special saints, visit with our buddies and then spend the afternoon at a Primary All Saints Day Party.  For our party, I am in need of a family who would like to make 2 dozen cupcakes for our "Angel Food Cupcake Walk."  This can count towards service hours but please email me if you would like to do this for our class so we don't end up with too many or too few cupcakes.  THANK YOU!
• ALL SOULS DAY: I will also send home a little note with a paper cross attached...as Saturday is All Soul's Day, we would invite you the write down the names of anyone in your family that has past away and as a class, we will pray for them and put them up on our wall to remember them.  Please write your child's name on the back of the cross we we know who's cross is who's but it is important for us to think about all those souls so we can pray for them, that they are enjoying eternal life in Heaven.  Thank you!
• REMEMBRANCE DAY: As we begin November, we will be talking more about Remembrance Day.  While we try to focus more on the importance of peace, rather than war, with our young students, we encourage them to take time to think about those people who gave their lives to help make sure we live in a safe place.  Poppies will be sold from Nov.4th to 7th at our school so send in a donation and your child can buy one.  We would love to see all of our students wear their poppies for our Remembrance Day Assembly on Wednesday, November 6th.  There is also a poster contest that our class will do in-class but I will send home a note about it as we need a parent signature to say if we can mail in their posters to the Legion for judging.  If chosen, their poster can compete at the provincial level and then even at the national level.  If chosen then, they publish the poster in their annual calendar that is sold all over Canada.  This is a contest for students from K to 7 but it is a good opportunity for our young students to have the experience of making a poster while thinking about Remembrance Day.  Thank you!
• STAR OF THE WEEK: Congratulations to James who was our recent star!  Here are a few things his classmates had to say about him...

James loves us all.

He is a good friend.

He likes everyone.

He plays nicely.

He is good at colouring.

What a star, James!  We now look forward to celebrating our new star, Derek, this week. 

Keep shining, all you Kindergarten stars!

 

Have a wonderful week and may God bless you all!

NON UNIFORM DAY!

Since our school has reached and surpassed our Walkathon goal (YAHOO!!!), tomorrow, Wednesday, October 23rd will be a NON-UNIFORM DAY!  Students can wear what they want but there will be some prizes awarded to any student who comes dressed with a LEGO theme.  We will also have a Walkathon Assembly in the afternoon to award all of our Walkathon prizes.  Thank you again for your help and support...we are building a bigger and better CCS one brick at a time.

OCTOBER REMINDERS

I hope you all have enjoyed the weekend (and the fog).  Here are a few reminders for this week...

• INTERIMS: Your child brought home their Interim Report on Thursday...we ask that you sign it and return it to school as soon as you can so we know you have seen it.  If you would like to keep the report, please let me know and I will then return it back to you but it would be great if we could have all the signed reports in on Monday.  If you have any questions about the interim or would like to talk in more detail about your child's progress so far, please come and see me at your convenience.  So much changes in just a few weeks and I am amazed at how well our students have transitioned since the first few days of school.  We are now following our regular school routines, including having recess with the rest of the school.  Mrs. Lewis always is outside with the children so they have a familiar face and we always tell the students to find her first if they need anything but so far, everyone has done very well.  Keep up the fantastic work, Kindergarten!!!  And thank you to all our families for all the hard work you do at home with your child!  I appreciate all of your efforts!
• SCHOOL PHOTOS: Order forms for individual photos were due last week and re-takes are on Thursday, October 24th.  I only know of two students who need re-takes...if you would like your child to have another photo taken, please let me know so I know who to send on Thursday.  Thank you!  Our class photos will come home on Monday.
• SAINT PROJECT: As we approach All Saints Day on Friday, November 1st, we have been talking more about the saints and focusing on the Holy Heroes, rather than Halloween.  I sent home a worksheet, asking you and your family to choose a particular saint for your child and fill out the worksheet so that they can share some information about their special saint.  We also encourage the students to dress as a saint on All Saints Day.  So much of the focus at this time of year is on candy and spooky things but we are trying to talk about how one day of candy compares to an eternity with God in Heaven.  I hope to excite the students about All Saints Day and I'm hoping that by learning more about the saints, we can see what really is important.  The Saint Project is due back on Monday, October 28th but thank you to those of you who have already returned their worksheet.  Also, I will be sending home a little note on Monday about who your child might be dressing up as on All Saints Day so I can talk about these saints prior to the day so we become more familiar with them.  This little note will be due on Thursday, October 24th.  Thank you for your help in teaching your child more about our saints!
• PARENT JOB PROJECT: Not to overwhelm you with more homework (aka homeFUN) but I am also sending home a paper that asks your child to identify their parent's jobs.  We are beginning to talk about Communities and different places and jobs and while we all know what we do at school all day, children often can be unsure what their parents are doing at their jobs all day.  So this quick little activity lets us learn about what different parents do and then we discuss what these jobs entail.  Your child will have a chance to talk about what their parents do in the class and if you have objects from your job that you want to send with your child for that day, please do and we will take a closer look.  For example, we have had an accountant send in a calculator for all the math work they do, a homemaker send in measuring cups for all the meals she prepares and a nurse send in gloves to remind us about germs.  This project is also due on Monday, October 28th.  Students are encouraged to draw pictures of their parents at their different jobs or you can also attach photos if you would like.  If you have any questions or you are finding it difficult to get this done at home, please let me know.  Thank you for your help and support and thank you for letting us know what you do all day.
• BULBS: I sent a little note asking for any spare bulbs you might have as we have a small garden in our front year where we like to plant things.  PLEASE do not feel like you need to go out and purchase any bulbs for us...this is just in case you have any that we can add to our garden but we are fine if you do not have any to send.  Thanks!
• PUMPKIN PATCH: This Thursday, we will be going to the Pumpkin Patch.  If you are driving, please come to our classroom at noon and we will organize ourselves there.  I sent a note home saying who is going with who so please ensure arrangements have been made in regards to safety seats so we all are able to go as planned.  I did send extra copies of the Drivers Form to families, in case you wanted to fill one out so it is one record with our school for the year but again, thank you to everyone who is able to come, drive and supervise for the afternoon.  We could not go without you!  Please also note, as a thank you, we are collecting non-perishable food items to donate to the Surrey Food Bank in the Tamis' name since they are letting us come to their farm free of charge.  PLEASE SEND ALL FOOD ITEMS IN ON THURSDAY MORNING.  Thank you for your generousity...it is nice for the students to see that one good deed deserves another and that they are able to do this.  Please pray for sun on Thursday too :o)
• SWEATERS: We have a missing sweater.  Please check all labels as this sweater is marked and probably just ended up in the wrong backpack after gym a few days ago.  Some labels have also began to fade so please make sure all sweaters (and belongs) still have your child's name in it so we can identify who belongs to who and thank you for checking sweaters.  If you find the missing sweater, please return it on Monday.
• NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY: Just a reminder that we have no school on Friday as it is a Professional Development Day for the staff.  We hope you enjoy the short week and the longer weekend.  Mrs. Lewis and I are off to the Kindergarten Conference in Langley so we are hoping to learn about new things that we can bring to the students.  It should be fun (afterall, it's an entire building full of Kindergarten Teachers!  HAHA!)!
• STAR OF THE WEEK:  Congratulations to Rosa for being a wonderful star of the week.  We enjoyed learning more about her and here are a few things her classmates had to say about her...

Rosa likes us.

She loves us.

She is a good friend.

She plays nicely.

She has good manners.

 

 

 

What a star, Rosa!  We now look forward to celebrating James next week and finding out more about him.  Keep shining all our stars!!!

 

Have a great week, everyone!  God bless you and your family!

PARISH BAZAAR INFORMATION

Each year, our preschool and CCS students prepare crafts which will be sold at Precious Blood's Parish Bazaar. This year, the bazaar will be on Saturday, November 30th from 9 am - 2 pm.

There is a crafting bee coming up this Thursday, October 17th at parish centre from 9 am - 12 noon in the columbus/cenacle rooms. This crafting bee is to prepare the CCS student crafts. Our coordinators are looking for volunteers to assist in this preparation. Snacks and refreshments will be served and little ones are welcome to come as well. All volunteers are asked to bring a pair of scissors and paint brush. NOTE: all of these volunteer hours will count towards the CCS family service hours. For further information, please contact the student craft coordinator, Lily Sebellin at lilysebellin@shaw.ca.

PS

Please also check your child's uniform to ensure that you have the right items.  We have a school shirt with no name on it in our classroom but Tyler is now missing his shirt...it has his name in it and probably was mixed up when we changed for PE so please take a moment to check all uniform pieces.  Please also ensure that labels are on each piece of clothing as some labels may have faded by now.  Thank you for checking and if you find Tyler's shirt, please return it to school.  THANK YOU!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend and has taken time to thank God for the many, many blessings we have, especially the gift of the children :o)  Just a few reminders for our upcoming week...

• WALKATHON:  Congratulations to all the students for doing SO WELL on our walk and for all of our families who worked so hard in getting pledges.  And a special thank you to all of our Parent Helpers who supervised and assisted in making our walkathon such a safe and great success.  Please note that pledges are due by Friday, October 18th in order to be considered for our various prize draws.  You can send in your money and pledge forms in the blue folders and we will get it to the office where they will calculate our class total as well as who is eligible for the different prize draws we have for the students.  Again, thank you for your support...we could not do this without YOU!
• PHOTO ORDERS:  Order forms for photos were due on Friday, October 11th but you can also send them first thing on Tuesday morning.  If you wish for your child to have a re-take, please either send back the proof indicating a re-take needed or send me a note (please write it down, rather than just telling me as I will likely forget if it's not in writing:o).  Retakes will take place on October 24th. 
• PUMPKIN PATCH: Permission forms are due by Wednesday, October 16th.  I am also sending home the driver note to families who have not completed one so that you can fill it out and return it so that we will have it for any future fieldtrips :o)  Please also note that we encourage parents who wish to supervise at fieldtrips to also complete a Criminal Record Check as we require these documents for safety reasons for our students.  Thank you again for your willingness to help and to spend time with us...again, we could not have fieldtrips without you!
• ALPHABET FLASHCARDS: I will be sending home an envelope with alphabet flashcards that come from the back of our class Phonic's Books.  These cards can be kept at home but I would encourage you to use them with your child to review the different letters and their sounds, particularly the ones we have covered in class so far (Aa to Ee).  We continue to work on becoming confident with all our letters so any additional support from home is always appreciated.  Thank you!
• SUNDAY GOSPEL: As we returned a little later than I thought on Friday from our Walkathon, I didn't have a chance to send home our Sunday Gospel book so I will send it home on Tuesday but please return back to school before Friday.  It is a wonderful Gospel for Thanksgiving as we hear the story of the 10 lepers, who are healed by Jesus.  But only one returns to praise God so it is an excellent remind to all of us to also take time to say thank you to God, for all the blessings we have in our life. 
• SAINT PROJECT:  Your child should have brought home a note and a worksheet that asks them to pick a favourite saint to write about.  If you have any questions or have trouble locating information about a particular saint, please let me know.  I will also be sending a note home asking you to indicate who your child might dress up on for All Saints Day (Friday, November 1st).  I do this so I can talk about these saints prior to the day so that we are all a little more familiar with them.  Some popular choices in the past are St. Francis, St. Anthony, St. Nicholas, Angel Gabriel, Mother Mary, St. Therese the Little Flower and St. Joan of Arc.  Bathrobes and pillow cases can make easy costumes for all our Little Saints :o)  Please see me if you need any costume ideas as well but we really encourage all of our students to dress up for All Saints Day. So much of the focus is on Halloween but we try to build up as much excitement as we can around our Holy Heroes as we hope to all be Holy Heroes in Heaven one day as well. Thank you!
• STAR OF THE WEEK: CONGRATULATIONS to Mark for being our first Kindergarten Star of the Week.  Here are a few things his classmates had to say about him as we celebrated him this past week...

Mark plays baseball.

We like him.

He plays nicely.

He has a medal.

He is a good friend.

Keep shining, Mark!  You are a star!  We look forward this week to celebrating our second class star, Rosa and learning about why she is so very special. 

 

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK, EVERYONE AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!

October is the Month of the Rosary

October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and our entire month is dedicated to this wonderful prayer.  We have introduced rosaries to the students and we have been discussing the different mysteries that we can think about as we pray.  Please take some time to talk to your child about the rosary, perhaps show them any rosaries you might have at home and maybe pray a decade or more together.  This powerful prayer is so special and what a wonderful think to share with your child.  On a side note, Pope Francis will consecrate the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on October 13th as we end our Year of Faith so it would be extra special to focus on Mary, our Heavenly Mother, and the rosary can help us with our efforts.

On Friday, we also celebrated the Feast of St. Francis.  We spent time during the week talking about Francis and watching a movie about him on Friday.  I was blessed to be able to backpack through Italy during the summer and I visited Assisi for a few days.  What a beautiful, inspiring place...so while I was there, I picked up prayer cards for our class.  You may have noticed them in their blue folders (complete with the Prayer of St. Francis in Italian on the back).  I was excited to be able to share my experience in Assisi with our students and I hope they find a special place to put their card...perhaps if they have a prayer table in their room or even by some of their animal stuffies (since St. Francis loved animals).  So often, we are bombarded with photos of famous people who may not be the best role model...how wonderful to have pictures around of people who really are holy heroes.  St. Francis, pray for us.

WALKATHON NEWS:  Our class has raised over $900 so far which is AWESOME!!!  Thank you so much for your help and support and please know that we appreciate all of your efforts.  Our class goal is $1200 and we will be having our final Tally Day on Wednesday, October 9th.  We are trying to excite the students for our walk on Friday and we are hoping that each student can try to bring in a few more dollars so we can reach our goal.  Please return the Tally Day note on Thursday.  The big walk will be on Friday.  We will start with Mass and then get ready for the walk. Thank you to everyone who has offered to walk with us as the more the merrier.  Students should wear their uniforms but I would encourage all students to have rainjackets with hoods and boots (as long as they are comfortable for walking).  Please no umbrellas for our students as they tend just to poke people :o)  We will walk together and then return to our classroom for Hot Lunch, followed by our NOON DISMISSAL!  Students will be dismissed directly from our classroom as it usually takes us a little longer to eat Hot Lunch so please come directly to our classroom to pick up your child.  Again, thank you for your help and support in building CCS into a bigger and better place.  We could not do this without your support and every single dollar makes a difference. 

FIELDTRIP NEWS: We are still hoping to go to the Pumpkin Patch on October 24th but unfortunately, while we have many families offering to drive and supervise, we have very few families who have completed their Criminal Record Check and/or our School Drivers Form. (Right now, we only have two of our drivers who have completed both of these requirements).  This means that while you may supervise and drive your own child, you would not be able to do so for another child in our class.  I would ask if you are planning on supervising or driving, that you complete these forms as soon as you can and let me know so that I can ensure we have enough people for this fieldtrip.  I am only able to send home our permission slip once I know we have followed our safety guidelines so the sooner we have those forms in, the better.  Also, while siblings are welcome to attend, please note that you will be unable to supervise a group as attention needs to be directed primarily to our school students.  There is also a cost if siblings wish to pick pumpkins as well.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed and thank you to everyone who has offered to help and to drive.  We greatly appreciate you taking the time to spend the afternoon with us and, hopefully, we will be able to go.

FIRE SAFETY WEEK:  This week is Fire Prevention Week so I will be sending home a Fire Safety Handout for you to do at home with your child.  While we have been practicing at school, we have also been talking about how important it is to have a plan at home.  Please talk to your child about Fire Safety at home and make a plan to be safe.  Thank you!

INTERIMS: You will receive an Interim Report on Thursday, October 17th to give you a very brief idea on how your child is doing so far.  If you would like to discuss their progress further or have questions based on the interim, please let me know and we can meet.  If I have concerns, now or at any point during the year, please know that I will contact you personally to set up a meeting.  I often find the students really settle into the school routine over the next few weeks in October (if not already:o) but if you notice your child is continuing to have trouble adjusting, please let me know so we can discuss different strategies to assist your child.  But Mrs. Lewis and I often comment on how well this class has transitioned to our routines and the full day and we are both very proud of their ongoing growth and progress. They are all doing well!

SAINT PROJECT:  Just for a heads up as we start to get closer to All Saints Day on Friday, November 1st, I will be sending home a worksheet this week for each student to complete that asks them to pick a saint (either one they are named after or one that is particularly meaningful to them or your family) so they can tell the class a little bit about them.  This might be the saint they dress up as on All Saints Day as this is a CCS tradition (We do not dress up for Halloween and we try to keep our focus on our Holy Heroes who we celebrate on All Saints Day).  I send the worksheet home early so that you have time to talk to your child about which saint they would like to pick and if you need any help finding information about the saint, I can help you.  My hopes is that our students become familiar with the stories of some of our amazing saints so that they realize that they too can one day be saints.  I often find myself reminding students that saints were not perfect...they sinned like everyone else but they worked hard to love God and make him the most important thing in their lives, something we hope to do too.  Thank you for your help with this project and again, let me know if you need any help.

WORK LIEU HOURS: Usually once a month, I ask if there are any families who would like to take home one of our play bins over the weekend to wash the toys.  This counts as work lieu hours and you are welcome to take more than one bin if you wish.  I try to leave the bins on the blue bench on a Friday so families can help themselves but since it is our walkathon this Friday, if you would like to wash some toys for us, please just come to our classroom and take a bin.  We just ask that it is returned on Tuesday so we have it for Centers.  THANK YOU!!!  We are also looking for anyone who wants to make play dough for our class...I posted a recipe a few blogs ago but this also can count towards hours.  Just send the play dough to school in a container when you are done and we will use it as needed.  THANK YOU AGAIN!

This week, we will spend a great deal of time talking about being thankful and appreciating all the things that God has given us.  I am especially appreciative of all of you as you do so much to support your child and our school.  I am thankful for you all and the gift of letting me teach your child.  I wish you all a most HAPPY THANKSGIVING in advance and I hope this upcoming long weekend is full of fun, laughter and love.  God bless!

The Important Book

We recently read 'The Important Book' by Margaret Wise Brown and it inspired us to talk about what makes us so important.  Enjoy!!!

THE IMPORTANT BOOK

Created By KINDERGARTEN

Cloverdale Catholic School 2013-2014

 

The important thing about Kindergarten is that we go to school all day.

The important thing about Adie is that she always remembers to clean up toys.

The important thing about Cate is that she is in her family.

The important thing about Christian is that he has a loving heart.

The important thing about Derek is that he likes his friends.

The important thing about Ethan is that he is good at listening.

The important thing about Gabrielle is that she is a good friend.

The important thing about James is that he loves his brothers.

The important thing about Jonas is that he is good at playing soccer.

The important thing about Kai is that he is a good friend.

The important thing about Keith is that he is a fast runner.

The important thing about Mark is that he is a part of his family

The important thing about Mia is that she prays for people.

The important thing about Micah is that he is good at cleaning up.

The important thing about Mrs. Lewis is that she is always optimistic.

The important thing about Mrs. Saharchuk is that she loves teaching about God.

The important thing about Myles is that he is good.

The important thing about Orlagh is that she loves her family and God.

The important thing about Rosa is that she is a good friend.

The important thing about Shady is that he helps his mom and dad.

The important thing about Tyler is that he is himself.

The important thing about Tyson is that he is an important part of his family.

The important thing about William is that he is good at baseball.

But the important thing about Kindergarten is that we go to school all day.