THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

On Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, which marks the end of the liturgical church year for us.  This upcoming Sunday, we begin Advent!!!  We will spend a great deal of time talking about how we can prepare for this special season and how Christmas is MUCH MUCH more than Santa and presents.  Your child will also be bringing home an Advent Chain this week.  This is to help them keep track of the days during Advent and inside each link is a message that should help them prepare for the coming of Christmas.  Please put it in a special place and help your child take a link off each day, starting this Sunday, December 1st.  I would also encourage all families to create an Advent wreath in your home as this also really helps the children to focus more on prayer and the true meaning of this season.  I will be sending home information about Advent later this week but thank you in advance in helping your child prepare for the coming of our Saviour and to know that Christmas really is about Jesus.  Happy Advent everyone!

Your child also brought home their Report Card on Friday and we hope you were able to take some time to read it with you child to celebrate their successes as well as to talk about things we can continue to work on in our next few months in Kindergarten.  All of our students continue to make wonderful progress and report cards are meant to help each child grow in different ways as individuals.  We will be having our conferences this Thursday and Friday and you should have already received a note indicating what times you are asked to attend with your child.  (Your child will also bring home a reminder of their time this week, just in case :o)  Students are asked to wear their uniforms and our conferences will take 10 minutes. Unfortunately, we are unable to go over that time but if you would like to meet for longer or if you have other questions or concerns you wish to talk about further with me, please let me know and we can set up another meeting time.  These conferences are really to celebrate the good work your child has done so far and to discuss their progress.  We hope this is a very positive experience for your child and it is helpful to meet all together to talk about successes and goals.  Please note that there is NO SCHOOL on Friday:o)

This Saturday is our Parish Bazaar and we hope everyone will be able to attend.  Each student made a craft that can be purchased at the Bazaar (although you could have also pre-purchased them as well) and there will be lots of fun and games so we hope you all will be there (and maybe some of your friends and family too...all are welcome!!!).  We are also asking families if they can donate a jar filled with fun items for the Jar Game at the Bazaar.  In the past, we have had jars filled with candy, small toys, a stuffie, a puzzle, socks or mittens, just to name a few.  Families often decorate the jars as well to make them extra exciting and then children try to win them at the Bazaar.  It is a great thing to do with your child as they often have great ideas for the jars and we ask that all jars are brought to the classroom by Thursday at 3:00pm.  Thank you in advance for your help and for supporting our parish. See you at the Bazaar!!!

And just a reminder that our Christmas Concert is on Tuesday, December 17th.  I think I said the 27th in my last blog...I'm just getting ahead of myself :o)  Please save the date and keep in mind our students will be dressing as angels so white clothes are needed.  Thank you!!!

Congratulations to Adie for being our wonderful Star of the Week.  Here are a few things her classmates had to say about her...

Adie plays nicely with everyone.

She does not say bad words.

She is a good friend.

She is nice to everyone.

She draws nice pictures.

Keep shining, Adie!  This week, we celebrate Tyson and look forward to learning more about him.  What a class of stars!!!

 

Have a great week everyone and I pray that this Advent is a special one for you and your family, one filled with faith and love.  God bless!

50 DAYS OF SCHOOL!

How exciting to reach 50 days of Kindergarten!!!  On Monday, we will celebrate this day with the other Kindergarten class and Grade 1s.  Students are asked to dress in 1950s style of clothing and we will spend the afternoon doing stations in each other's classrooms and then ending the day with a sock hop (complete with Ice Cream Floats).  What fun!  One of our stations is trying to blow bubbles with bubble gum...if you do not wish for your child to chew gum, please send me a message. If you would like to take photos of the kids, please feel free to pop in first thing in the morning or at the end of the day as it is a fun time and the students always look adorable.  Happy 50s Day!

On Tuesday, our Baptism Worksheets are due and the students will be presenting them so please ensure they are sent to school on Tuesday morning.  Thank you for your help with this and many students have already been very excited to show their Baptism photos!

TYPHOON TOONIE TUESDAY: On Tuesday, we are also raising money in support of our friends in the Philippines who are struggling after Typhoon Haiyan hit the province of Leyte.  All students are asked to send in a Toonie as the government will match every dollar that we raise.  This will also be a non-uniform day in order to thank the students for their generousity so send in a Tuesday and thank you in advance for your help!!!  Please keep the people of the Philippines in your prayers!!!

On Friday, students will be bringing home their first term Report Card.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me to set up an appointment so we can discuss things in person.  If I have specific concerns for your child, I would have already contacted you by now and would continue to do so in the future but I welcome anyone who would like to discuss their child's progress at greater length at any time.  We also will be having Three Way Conferences on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th.  Your family should have received a note on Friday asking you to choose a time when you are able to come in with your child and we ask that you return this form to school by Tuesday, November 19th.  This is a time to celebrate your child's progress and to look at goals for our next term together.  These conferences are more geared towards a conversation with the student and our time is limited to 10 minutes but you have more specific items you would like to discuss, again, please make a separate appointment.  Thank you!

CHRISTMAS: We are already starting to turn our attention towards Advent and the Christmas Season.  Students have started to prepare for our Christmas Concert, taking place on Tuesday, December 27th at 1:00pm and 7:00pm.  More information will be coming home soon but just a heads up that our students are being asked to dress up as angels.  Students will be asked to wear white robes or white clothing (although beige or very light coloured pants can be worn as I understand white pants are not usually in a Kindergarten's wardrobe:o)  We will be supplying 'halos' but please start thinking about white angel-ish clothing for your child and save the date.  Our Parish Bazaar is also coming up on Saturday, November 30th and our class made a craft to be sold on this day.  You may pre-purchase your child's craft in advance but make sure you get your orders in ASAP.  Also, I will be sending home information about Advent and I would encourage all of you to talk to your child about this wonderful season of preparation.  A wonderful activity to do together is to create an Advent wreath to display somewhere in your house.  I usually wait until we have some big wind and then pick up evergreen branches around my home and voila...my wreath is prepared (with my dollar store pink and 3 purple candles)!  Your child will also be bringing home an Advent Chain next week to help count down the days so I would also encourage you to help your child take a chain off each day and follow the message inside.  We often become very busy thinking about decorating, shopping and presents...it would be wonderful to take time thinking about the true reason for the season and spending our time in prayer and finding ways to give gifts to Jesus...both in our words and actions. 

STAR OF THE WEEK:  Congratulations to Orlagh for being our Star of the Week!!! Here are a few things her friends had to say about her...

Orlagh plays nicely.

She is a good friend.

She is nice to people.

She is good at soccer.

She is nice.

 

Keep shining, Orlagh!  You are a star!  This week, we will be learning more about Adie and finding ways to celebrate her!  We have a class of shining stars!

 

Enjoy the week and God bless!

LEST WE FORGET

I hope everyone enjoyed the extra long weekend and that we were all able to take time to think of our fallen soldiers on November 11th.  It is so important to remember and such a valuable lesson for the children so I thank you for taking the time to talk to your child and for everyone who wore a poppy.  LEST WE FORGET!

Just a few reminders...

• Thank you to everyone who sent in Food Bank items and candy for Agape...we had a TON of donations and it was so nice to see so many students participating in these activities.  We took the food to the Cloverdale Fire Hall as they will transport it to the Surrey Food Bank for us but they were AMAZED at how much we brought in!  THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
• Scholastic Book Orders are due this Wednesday.  If you are purchasing Christmas gifts and you would like it to be a surprise for your child, please write "SECRET" at the top and I will make sure I get the books to you directly (rather than in your child's backpack where they tend to look what is inside :o)
• 50s Day is Monday, November 18ths and students are asked to dress in 1950s style clothing.  If you need any ideas or have any questions, please let me know.  It should be lots of fun!!!
• I sent home a worksheet asking your child to find out more about their Baptism.  This worksheet is due back on Tuesday, November 19th.  If you attach a photo, please be assured that it will be returned:o)
• Report Cards will be coming home on Friday, November 22nd and a note should be coming home this week about Three Way Conferences.  On Thursday, November 28th and on Friday, November 29th, we set up conference times to have a meeting with parents, the teacher and the student to discuss their progress so far.  The conference usually takes about 10 minutes and it gives all of us a chance to discuss our first term together.  Please note that there is no school on November 29th due to morning conferences.  Thank you!
• STAR OF THE WEEK:  Nemo, our class fish, enjoyed being our recent Star of the Week but before that, we were able to celebrate Derek!  Here are a few things his friends had to say about him...

Derek is a great friend

He plays nicely.

He prints neatly.

He is polite.

He is a nice friend.

 

Keep shining, Derek!  You are a star!

 

Enjoy the week, everyone and God bless you!

WE REMEMBER

Welcome to November!  It was wonderful to start this month off with All Saints Day and while I am very sad I was not able to be there on Friday (although I did have my saint costume on already before I realized that I was not going to make it in!), I heard from Mrs. Lewis that the children looked lovely and I am looking forward to all the photos.  What a great way to start our year remembering our Holy Heroes.  We also take time to remember all those who have passed away, not only with All Souls Day but also with Remembrance Day.  We will be spend most of this upcoming week talking about Remembrance Day but our focus is on the aspect of peace (rather than war).  I tell our students that we do hear sad things and see sad pictures during this time and while we may feel a little sad too, we need to remember that we can bring peace to the world, even with the little things in our daily lives.  We will also talk about our soldiers, again, focusing how their job is to also try to bring peace to the world.  Please take time to talk about Remembrance Day with your child as this really is a special opportunity to remember all of those who went before us to keep us safe and at peace.

• POPPIES: We will be having poppies sold at lunchtime each day this week so please send a donation with your child if you wish for them to purchase one.  We are hoping that every student will wear a poppy for our Remembrance Day Assembly on Wednesday.  I exchange the pins for safety pins so that they stay on longer and no one gets poked :o)  Thank you in advance.
• REMEMBRANCE DAY POSTERS: Each year, there is a poster competition sponsored by the Legion and our class will be participating.  We will be making our posters at school but there is a parent permission form that will need to be filled out in order for us to submit the entry to the Legion.  We often have a veteran come to our school to share with the us who the winners are and who might be going to the national competition, as winning posters are printed in their annual calendar that they sale so it is an exciting event.  We need to submit our posters by Thursday so please sign and return the form as soon as possible so we can ensure all posters are sent.  Thank you!
• NO SCHOOL: Just a reminder that there is no school on Friday as it is a Professional Development Day and then there is no school on Monday as it is Remembrance Day.  Please take time to remember and enjoy the long weekend.
• 'WE SCARE HUNGER' FOOD BANK & AGAPE CANDY: We will collect Food Bank Items as well as Halloween Candy until Thursday so please send in any donations this week.  Thank you again for your generousity.
• 50 DAYS OF SCHOOL: It's hard to imagine that we are almost at 50 days of school but in order to celebrate, the Kindergartens and Grade Ones will be celebrating in 1950s style.  Our students are invited to dress in clothes like the 1950s and we will do different activities around the number 50 as well as talk about what happened in the 1950s.  Our day will include ice cream floats and a sock hop so it should be a fun day for all.  If you need any simple costume ideas, let me know (a bow tie and a scarf can do wonders) or if you have any other questions, please see me.  Please note that only our classes will be dressing up for this day as this is not a school-wide event...just a perk of being in Kindergarten and Grade One :o)
• BAPTISM PROJECT: For the month of November, I will be also talking about Baptism in our classroom so I am sending home a worksheet that asks your child to learn a little bit more about their own Baptism.  It includes a space where you can either draw a picture or include a photo of your child's Baptism.  Please know that all photos will be returned.  This project will be due on Tuesday, November 19th.  If you have any questions about this, please let me know.  Thank you in advance for your help with this and I would also encourage you to talk to your child about their godparents, what they were wearing for their Baptism, their candle and anything else that may have happened on their special day. 
• PARISH BAZAAR CRAFT: On Tuesday, our class will be making their craft for our annual Parish Bazaar but we have a message for our Student Craft Coordinator, Lily Sebellin...

November 5^th is coming up soon and we could use a few more volunteers to help with the student crafts between 1-2pm.  We ask that Volunteers bring their own glue gun(if they have one) in order to expedite things. Volunteers can contact me directly by email at lilysebellin@shaw.ca  Thanks in advance.

 If you are able to help, please let Lily know and come to our classroom from 1-2pm on Tuesday. Thank you for your help and I hope you enjoy your week.  God bless you all!