Lyonsgate Weekly Update | Friday, Dec. 13, 2019

Next week is the last week of the fall term before we break for the winter holiday. The last day of school is Thursday, December 19. We return to school on Monday, January 6.

The Winter Concert is also on Thursday, Dec. 19, from 2:30-3:30.

Please note: there is no After School or Extended Care after the concert.

See below for more concert details.


Reminder: Registration for returning Lyonsgate Montessori students is now available. Please check your email for the Friday, Dec. 6, email with the subject line “Lyonsgate 2020.2021 Registration” to access the online registration form (we don’t post the link publicly).

Registrations for returning students are due on Wednesday, December 18.

Thank you for continuing to choose authentic Montessori education for your wonderful children. We can’t wait to be a part of their continued growth and development.


Flu prevention: We received some material from Hamilton Public Health encouraging parents to get flu shots for children. Look for them in your photo gallery and have a healthy holiday season. Wash those hands!


Toddler

It is hard to fathom that we have come to the end of the first term! In those few months, we have watched the Toddlers exercise their constructive power as they are developing their unique potential. We’ve had the wonderful opportunity to be spectators to various transitions — the end of tearful goodbyes, language explosions, the ability to self-dress, and the excitement that accompanies toilet learning. We are grateful for the opportunity to be privy to these milestones; your children never cease to amaze us.

Next term, we welcome our long awaited fifteenth Toddler and our community will be complete. We will be adding some exciting new materials in the classroom that will continue to aid the refinement of motor skills, language, and sensory development. The return in January will most likely feel like the beginning of school all over again, but we are confident that your resilient children will rise above the changes and step right back into routine.

The upcoming winter concert has been our favourite topic this week. The children are excited to perform; some encouragement at home will certainly help ease the nervousness they will feel gazing at the audience. You are all welcome to clap and sing along with us as well!

We hope that the next few weeks will be full of wonderful memories, and we look forward to hearing highlights from their winter break.

Wishing you all a phenomenal holiday season and an inspiring new year!

Ms. Dee.


Casa South

In a blink of an eye we have reached the end of our first semester. It has been a whirlwind of learning, laughter, and fun!

What a change a couple of months can make! From the first day of school to now we have seen such growth in our little community: friendships being fostered, names being written, and shoes being tied. Casa South is full of love. My favourite part of the day is when I see the children helping each other and showing each other how to do something.

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.'” — Maria Montessori.

The most important part of my job is that the children enjoy school, each other, and themselves. We are so happy that there is already chatter of missing the classroom over the holidays. We will miss all the smiling faces over the winter break and await their return in 2020!

The classroom is abuzz with the holiday spirit right now; lots of talk of advent calendars and elves! We have been very busy practicing our Winter Concert songs, prepare yourselves… it is ADORABLE. Today we made props for our stage performance. Nothing has been sweeter than hearing the children sing their little tune while working.

We wish everyone a very merry everything and happy always! Can’t wait to see you in January!

Miss Moffatt


Casa North

Hello Casa North families!

It’s hard to believe that we are nearing the end of our first term for the 2019-2020 school year. How far we have come!

You may have heard discussions about classroom birthday celebrations this week. We have had three! In the Montessori environment, we celebrate birthdays by rolling out our birthday mat, placing cards to label the seasons, as well as the months of the year, and lighting a candle in the middle to represent our sun. We sing the months of the year and discuss the cyclical nature of the seasons, the months, and the years. The child with a birthday then walks around the sun holding one of our globes (once per year they have lived!). The children love to sing “The Earth Goes Around the Sun” and discuss the different milestones that are achieved as they get older. We finish by singing “Happy Birthday” and blowing out the candle. The children are overjoyed to celebrate their friends’ birthdays and it is always a special time for them.

As our term wraps up, I wanted to thank you for your continued support of our work with your children. Connecting with you in parent-teacher conferences is always wonderful, and I’m looking forward to all of the continued growth, learning, and experience that each child will accomplish over the next two terms. Please have a safe and happy weekend!

(as) Warmly (as possible),

Miss Boyle


Elementary

During the elementary years, children experience a sensitive period for adapting to the particular culture in which they are immersed and learning about the culture of others. Holidays, celebrations, and days in memoriam are an opportunity to experiment with rituals and traditions, savour stories and foods, and explore values and beliefs. This past week, many of the students were focused on work connected to the holiday season. A key theme in the Montessori Elementary curriculum is the idea that humans have fundamental material and spiritual needs, and the myriad ways humans have used their resources and imagination to meet those needs in different environments through history.

Our community outreach endeavors help each student consider the importance of having their needs met, as well as awareness of the challenges faced by others around them. In their discussions of at-risk people and homelessness, our younger students consider what is it is like to be without shelter and food. They are very focused on the need for tangible comforts, and were quick to rally their families to donate hot drinks and hygiene items. Although concerned about the physical welfare of people, upper level students are very troubled by the social and emotional challenges faced by people without housing, such as loneliness and shame. They were eager to go beyond the families at Lyonsgate, composing letters requesting donations and visiting numerous local businesses in pursuit of something extra to make a great gift for a woman in need.

With the support of family, friends, and community, we gathered enough hot drinks and hygiene items to fill two enormous donation bins for Hamilton Out of the Cold, as well as assembling twelve gift boxes for The Shoebox Project. The students were so successful in their fundraising efforts that they have also been able to send along additional supplies and gift cards to volunteers at The Shoebox Project to continue to make holiday packages. We greatly appreciate the support of the local business community who made contributions to the cause: Earth to Table, Bitten Cupcakes, Dundurn Market, Goodness Me!, Subway, Starbucks, and Fortinos. Your children’s efforts have been enormous, and your generosity extraordinary. Thank you.

Marissa.

Reminder: we’re starting our last week of the term with yoga at the Primary (Aberdeen) campus on Monday, Dec. 16. Please drop-off at Primary by 9:00, or at the Elementary (Locke) campus no later than 8:45. Please send a yoga mat, if you have one, and wear clothes to stretch and move in.


Coming Up

  • Winter Concert:The children have been excitedly practicing for the upcoming Winter Concert on Thursday, December 19th, and are looking forward to seeing your smiling faces in the audience! We hope you have it highlighted on your calendar. The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. and is being held in the synagogue sanctuary. Please enter through the regular glass doors for the school, and go directly down the stairs to the sanctuary. Please note that the concert is set to end at 3:30pm, at which time all children are to be dismissed to their families.  There is no after or extended care that day.  If you are unable to attend, please ensure you have arranged for someone to pick your child up, and have alerted the staff to any alternate dismissal arrangements. The concert is an exciting time not only for the children, but also the families! Please feel free to extend this invitation to your close family/friends. We look forward to sharing this jovial time with you!
  • Winter Holiday: Lyonsgate will be closed for the winter break starting on Friday, December, 20. We return to school for the winter term on Monday, January, 6.

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