Toddler
Dear Toddler Parents,
This week, our older toddlers have been going over in small groups to visit their new Casa classrooms for next year. I know each of them are ready and eager to embrace new challenges, make new friends, and find out more about themselves and the wider world, but it is bittersweet for the guides in the Toddler room to watch them go. We have had the privilege of observing them build themselves into the independent young people they have become so far. It is difficult to think of the Toddler community without them. We will miss them and we will be waving from down the hall and inquiring about their well being whenever we are lucky enough to have our paths cross.
Luckily, we will have three toddlers returning to us for a second year and I am confident that they will be excellent leaders to the new students that will be joining us in the fall.
Thank you for an incredible year together. It has been a great pleasure to witness your children grow and discover themselves. After looking through some photographs from earlier this year the changes are truly remarkable. They have grown so much and they can do so many things! It is especially nice to be ending the year on such a positive note with mask mandates ending and news of people travelling again. I wish you all a summer full of wonder and precious time spent together.
Ms. Gervais.
Casa North
I say it every year, but this year really flew!
I am overwhelmingly proud of each & every student — their resilience to change, their kindness to one another (and living things, big & small), and their sense of wonderment in learning.
Thank you to the parents for sharing your children with us. It takes a great deal of trust, communication, and willingness to work together. We appreciate the relationships you’ve helped to build with our team. We are happy to be partners with you in aiding your child’s development.
Thank you to our wonderful students who invite us into their world each day, who challenge us, and who bring us so much joy. We have the best job in the world getting to watch these little humans explore, discover, and blossom to reach their fullest potential. We are forever grateful for all that they teach us.
It feels fitting for me to send off all our students — those graduating, those moving to new schools, those who we won’t see until September — with an Irish proverb about new chapters & well wishes:
Behind you, all your memories;
Before you, all your dreams;
Around you, all who love you;
Within you, all you need.
We hope we have played a role in ensuring each student has within them all that they need, that they are more independent, confident, and proud because of their time spent in Casa North. We are always rooting for them to succeed, and we know they will.
Wishing everyone a safe, restorative summer!
Best always,
Ms. O’Sullivan.
Casa South
Greetings from Casa South,
Yes, it’s that time… the end of another school year with the ease of summer living right around the corner. It’s always a bittersweet time with gratitude for all the work done, and memories of shared experiences mixed with sadness at saying goodbye.
During the year, while I see the children regularly, it’s easy to forget how much they’ve grown physically, socially, and intellectually. Looking back at photos from the first term and re-reading my school journal I realize just how much work we’ve all done together and how well we know each other now. We’ve come a long way as a class community.
I truly thank all of you for your support during my first year at Lyonsgate. Next school year it will be very good to have more connection with all parents as we transition back into a more open environment with face-to-face contact. And of course, we will welcome back our returning families, greet new ones, both new to Lyonsgate and to Casa South, and begin all over again in September.
I’m looking forward to seeing you at the end of year picnic where we will celebrate our graduates and enjoy some well-earned fun together.
Until then, see you at the gate!
Ms. Robinson.
Please note: families of graduating children, plan to arrive at the park by 11:45 in readiness for the ceremony.
Elementary
As we wind down our final term of school before the summer break, we are amazed by the continuing engagement and energy of our students. While many are now drawn to working almost exclusively outdoors, tending to the garden or sketching in the shade, others continue to clamor for new lessons in language and math! (And just as their teachers are winding things down!).
This week, the students continued their study of Inuit culture and enjoyed their final field trip of the year. At McMaster University, we visited the Indigenous Circle and explored outdoor sculptures. We went to the Museum of Art for the new exhibit, “What Sustains Us,” which celebrates the relationships Inuit have with sila (weather), nuna (land), imaq (water), piruqtuminiit (plants) and nirjut (animals), with themselves, and with each other. The students enjoyed stunning photographs from Nunavik, as well as paintings and soapstone carvings. They considered how we are connected to the natural world around us and to each other, and were invited to write or illustrate a message of love for an element of nature or a cherished person in their lives. They talked about the importance of language, and eagerly sought out translations for words they discovered in Mohawk, Anishinaabemowin, and Inuktitut. It was a wonderful experience that deepened their understanding of this land and its diverse cultures.
Throughout the year, elementary students are asked time and again to consider what sustains us? How have humans met their fundamental material and spiritual needs from ancient times to the beginning of modern history, into the new millenia, and around the world today? As our students prepare to leave school for the summer holidays, they are invited to reflect on their work and learning over the past year, the challenges they have faced, and the successes they have achieved. They reminisce about special projects, favourite stories, and treasured time together. They select pieces to add to their Elementary portfolio — a curated collection of their work gathered throughout their six years in the classroom. Next week, they will prepare to say goodbye through special celebrations with their friends.
Some children are brimming with excitement for the new adventures that come with summer camps and time with family, and others are already thinking about the new challenges that the next school year will bring. It has been a joy to guide your children in their self-construction over these past months and we thank you for all your support. We wish you all a wonderful summer, and look forward to seeing everyone back in the classroom in September!
Your Elementary Team,
Marissa, Michelle, Anne, Damien, Caitlin, and Kim.
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