Hello Lyonsgate Families,

We have a few quick reminders and notes for you this week before you hear from your children’s classrooms:

  • Remember that tomorrow, Friday, November 5, is a PD day at both Lyonsgate campuses.
  • Also remember that the clocks fall back one hour this weekend.
  • Casa and Toddler Families, school photo day at the Primary campus will be next Friday, November 12.
  • Due to ongoing COVID restrictions, we will not be holding an in-person winter concert this year.
  • Please try to be vigilant about toys and items coming from home, especially for our Casa students. They often cause distress and upset when they come out of pockets during recess due to loss, breakage, and others wanting to play with them.
  • Elementary Families: if your child is in their third year of Elementary or above, remember to submit a release form for Gravity Climbing Gym before November 12: https://www.gravityclimbinggym.com/release-form.

Toddler

Bonjour. My name is Allie and at school the children call me Madame Craigie. I have been with Lyonsgate for several years and this will be my second year back since taking a few years off to start my own family. I personally feel very privileged to be able to come back and not only be a part of your child’s classroom, but I also have the wonderful job of speaking French! My background coming from Ottawa introduced me to the French language early on in my life and it really has followed me everywhere I go. This year my focus while I help guide your child in the classroom is to open their vocabulary up to many of the common words they would hear in English, such as: thank you, no thank you, yes, no, chair, table, washroom, clothes (shoes and socks, etc.).

Along with words, we are learning basic songs like “Brother John” and “Head and Shoulders,” which I will say are getting very good responses! Also, on some of our language cards we have the translated word in French which allows me to work with many children! I look forward to the rest of the year and all the many leaps and bounds I know each and every one of your toddlers will make.

Casa North

Bonjour,

My name is Fatia Murati and the children call me Madame. I’m the French assistant in Casa North and I’ve been a part of the Lyonsgate team for almost 10 years.
In September and October, most of my work with the students is French vocabulary. We enjoy a daily French circle with songs and stories for repetition, and I work one-on-one with Montessori Classified Cards (for ex. fruits and vegetables, farm animals and safari animals, flowers, and insects) and with all of the preliminary Montessori Casa materials (such as the Montessori Colour Boxes, Sandpaper Numerals, and the Geometry Cabinet). The students are also very drawn to special French materials I create such as a lunch box, family members, and people in the community.

I am so proud of the progress we’ve seen so far, and am looking forward to a great year en Francais.

Bonne fin de semaine.

Mme Murati.

Casa South

Bonjour! Salut tout le monde!

C’est incroyable, Septembre et Octobre sont déjà passés!

It has been wonderful getting to know the children these past couple of months. I especially enjoyed sharing with them some of my favourite childhood songs from long, long ago.
Tête, épaules, genoux, orteils…
Petit navire…
Sur le pont d’Avignon…
and more…

We worked on naming and matching animals, colours, and transportation. We sorted objects by size using gros, moyen, et petit. We are looking at froid et chaud and enjoy counting in French whenever the opportunity arises.

I have a must share moment too: I was working with a little friend with Sandpaper Numbers. As I was tracing and saying “SEPT,” the child corrected me saying “SEPT is when the sun goes down madame.”

So much cuteness!

Sincerely,

Madame Renée Perazzo

Elementary

The Elementary students focused this week on exploring the festival of Diwali, one of the largest religious holidays celebrated in Canada. They heard the epic story of Ramayana, following Prince Rama’s fourteen years of exile, the kidnapping of his wife, Sita, the great battle against Ravan, and Rama and Sita’s triumphant return home. Some students crafted diyas out of clay, and brought these to place in the beautiful rangoli designs created by teams of students using coloured salt. As each design was completed, the lights were dimmed, and the diyas were lit for a miniature festival of lights. Happy Diwali!

– Marissa and Michelle