Good Morning Lyonsgate Families,
Registration for the 2024.2025 school year opened last week. Please see the email, “2024.2025 Lyonsgate Registration” sent on Tuesday, Dec. 5. We are very excited to continue seeing your children grow, learn, and develop together. Please submit registration forms for returning students, and any siblings starting school, by Monday, Dec. 18, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions. Thank you.
Lyonsgate Toy Drive & Elementary Bake Sale
Lyonsgate is holding our annual toy drive for the Salvation Army again this year. If you would like to donate, please drop off new, unwrapped toys, games, puzzles, or books at the Primary (Aberdeen) campus by Monday, Dec. 18. Thank you.
Two Elementary students are hosting a bake sale in support of KidSport Hamilton, at the Elementary campus, after school this Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 3:30 p.m. Drop by for a quick cookie (or two) before heading home!
Food Safety Update from the Caterer: you may have seen or read about the salmonella outbreak associated with certain brands of cantaloupe and honeydew melon. Lyonsgate’s Primary campus lunch provider, Wholesome Kids, has let us know that although they have not received either product from the affected brands, out of an abundance of caution, they are removing both cantaloupe and honeydew melon from the menus until the outbreak issue is resolved.
Hello Toddler Parents,
It was really wonderful to connect with all of you during our parent and guide conferences this week. Thank you for making time to talk about your children and offer us insight into your lives outside of school. As we approach the very exciting time of the holiday break, I thought that you might be baking and preparing food for the season and it would be fun to include your children in the festivities. Cooking and eating at this time of year can be such a rich treat for the senses, and children at this age are immersed in a sensitive period for learning through their senses. At the same time, cooking with children can feel a bit counter-productive and stressful. Here are a few tips to consider before embarking on this experience together:
1. Prepare the environment ahead of time.
Decide ahead of time what parts of the process the child might be able to take part in. Have boundaries in mind before you get started. Pre-measure the ingredients so that they can add them at the appropriate time. Could they help stir in the ingredients?
2. Do not expect efficiency.
Expect delays and detours. Young children are scientists conducting experiments. Allow for extra time for exploration and be open to making a mess. Perhaps they can have a lump of dough to roll out on their own and add cinnamon and sugar?
3. Involve them in each part of the process in some way: the preparation, the clean up, and the enjoyment of consuming something they have helped to create.
Involving small children in food preparation offers so many avenues for learning. It develops fine motor skills, teaches life skills, basic math skills, offers a sensory experience, and provides an opportunity to do important and creative work that contributes to the family in a valuable way.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Gervais.
This week, two Casa North students in their third year of Casa want to tell you all about what’s been going on in their classroom:
What’s new?
“We have a new craft where you can make a new candle made out of toilet paper rolls.”
“And a new craft to make a heart.”
What do you remember that’s happened lately?
“I remember there were lots of leaves falling, they blew away.” “And rotted away.”
They also explained a few of the photos in the photo gallery:
“He is picking out spiders with tweezers. They’re fake spiders.”
“He is picking up coloured balls with tweezers. There’s a mat underneath and you have to match them.”
“You have to hand stuff to Ms. Beach that she asks for — ‘can I have a bear.’ There’s “the” and “a” cards.”
“She’s using the sketchbook; it learns for you how to draw.”
Anything else you’d like to tell everyone about your class?
“Casa North is wonderful.”
Wednesday, December 13 — Elementary Charity Bake Sale
Sam and Nash are hosting a bake sale in support of KidSport Hamilton, at the Elementary campus, after school this Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 3:30 p.m. Drop by for a quick cookie (or two) before heading home!
Friday, December 15 — Gravity Climbing Gym
Students in Years 3, 4, 5, and 6 will return to Gravity Climbing Gym for P.E. All students should remember to wear their red Lyonsgate shirts, comfortable pants for climbing, and have long hair tied back. Thank you!
Friday, December 22 — Class Party
To celebrate the final day of school together before the winter break, the kids will enjoy a class party with games and crafts, followed by a special community lunch: pizza delivery! After outdoor time, the students will enjoy some sweet or salty treats and have the option to watch a short video. Students may bring something nut-free to donate to our treat buffet if they wish, and everyone will be welcome to select some treats to eat.
from the Classroom Guides
The whole class had a wonderful time exploring space at the McCallion planetarium last week! They learned about constellations, took a closer look at several planets, and caught a glimpse of far away galaxies in the images captured by the Hubble telescope.
Thank you to everyone for joining us at the Open House event and Parent-Teacher conferences. The children were so excited to welcome you into the classroom, and it was our pleasure to speak with you further about their achievements this term.
We are looking forward to lots of fun over the last few weeks of school before the winter break, with both the charity bake sale and holiday party coming soon.
Marissa and Michelle.
from the Classroom Historians
“This young boy is sketching a tiger from a picture using coloured pencils.”
“The uppers are making posters of different elements in the periodic table. She made a poster of helium.”
“The class elders made a sign about our bake sale. Come buy some cookies if you want on the thirteenth of December.”
“He is making a flip book on the element platinum. A flip book is a piece of paper that is cut into flaps. On each flap there is a question and when you flip it over there is the answer.”
“That’s Saturn and the little white dots are its moons. It has 85 moons. We saw it at the McMaster planetarium.”
Lellie and Georgia.
