Lyonsgate Weekly Update | Friday, Nov. 8, 2019

Good Afternoon Lyonsgate Families,

Lyonsgate clothing is now available to purchase from French Toast. Click here to link to the Lyonsgate school store. (You can also find the Lyonsgate store by going to frenchtoast.com, clicking “Shop By School,” and searching for “Lyonsgate.”)

When placing your orders, please click the Lyonsgate “Decoration” option after selecting your size.

At checkout, you can click on “Checkout As Guest.” Shipping, taxes, and duty costs are calculated during checkout.

We have also been sent a coupon code for 35% off polo shirts and pants that is valid until Nov. 14. Use code: SB35PP

Lyonsgate clothing is not required as a school uniform, but many children do enjoy wearing their Lyonsgate clothing to school.


Toddler

“I did it” has become a buzzing expression in our classroom. We hear it every time a child can independently complete a task that once appeared impossible. It is very important that the adult plays an appropriate role — letting and encouraging the child to do it themselves and only intervening when they ask for help.

Recently, many of the Toddlers have been working with various materials that aid in developing fine motor skills: using tongs, sorting, spooning, and transferring. The development of fine motor skills is important for overall human development; it is especially important as a precursor to writing and working with more complex Montessori materials.

Note to parents:

  • As you begin to prep for winter, please ensure clothing items and boots are practical for toddlers. Avoid things that are too tight or otherwise complicated; avoid cloth/knit mittens as they get wet and little hands get cold; and try to leave enough time in the morning to have toddlers dress themselves in their outerwear (and let them practice in the evening).

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Ms. Dee.


Casa South

We are so excited to invite parents to observe in Casa South this month! The opportunity to observe your child is a very lucky one — you get to see what goes on in the classroom all day. I am sure a lot of you ask your children “What did you do today?” and I am sure your response more often than not is “nothing!”… well I can assure you that is not true!

For some of you first time attendees, your child may be a little overwhelmed by your presence. As you know, we are trying to cultivate the “children’s community” and their “second home” and they tend to get used to the fact that you are not a part of that. Please don’t feel disappointed if your child wants to sit on your lap, snuggle, or just sit at a table and stare at you. Allow yourself to observe the other children in the classroom, what they are working on, and how the community as a whole interacts. Notice the children choosing their work, how they work with the materials, how they tidy up, and how they return the work to the shelf exactly as they found it.

For those of you who have never observed in the classroom before we have a “How to Observe” outline which you will find on your seat. Please take a moment to read it over.

Please try to simply relax and observe. If the children ask you who you are you can introduce yourself and say that you are here to observe their work and simply return to your silent observation. It is of course very tempting to interact with the children, to touch things on the shelves, to take photos, or to wipe your child’s nose… but please try not to; you may miss the wonderful magic happening around you.

We really appreciate that you take time out of your very busy schedules to partake in our observation month! Thank you so much!


Casa North

Hello Casa North families,

Last Friday on the PD day, and the Casa North team headed to Brock University to attend a Montessori conference. We participated in several workshops lead by the Director of Training at the Foundation for Montessori Education (my trainer in Toronto), Sandra Girlato.

We love working with your children every day, and we take the responsibility seriously. We discussed strategies within the Montessori community, and learned a bit about our peers’ experiences in the classroom as well. These conferences always leave us feeling refreshed, inspired, and eager to implement any and all that we learned into our community in Casa North.

Thank you for your continued support. I look forward to welcoming you into the classroom for observations this month!

Warmly,

Miss Boyle


Elementary

Through the month of November, we invite parents into the environment to observe the social dynamics of the community, see the variety of materials used by the children throughout the day, and how students are learning to balance their freedom to choose with their responsibility to learn. Observation is a critical practice in the Montessori classroom, where a trained eye and knowledge of each child as an individual is used to assess their learning and development rather than formal tests and competitions. We observe the children to see when they are nearing mastery with a particular activity or when a new curiosity is emerging so we can be ready to meet them with the next challenge or offer them a lesson in a new direction. We observe them to see which characteristics of this age and stage are strongest in a particular child at that moment (Is it hero worship? Is it physical stamina?) so we can direct them to the type of work that will best feed them at this moment and motivate them to go further. We observe them to ensure they are happy, healthy, and, most importantly, experiencing joy in their daily life.

This week, our class attended the annual Boris Brott Education Concert for an amazing program of classical pieces from Bohemia and modern rock songs from the band Queen. The performance also featured an impressive 10-year old violinist and a comedic group of tumbling acrobats. The concert was fantastic, and yet the eyes of the guides were drawn away from the stage to the children around us, because what we were observing amongst the students during this performance was pure joy! Friends whispering excitedly about the different instruments, pointing with wonder at the handstands and flips, and enthusiastically stomping, clapping, and singing along with “We Are the Champions.” Apart from the performance, we also observed our youngest students learning to take public transit together, and the love and care our older students give them as they learn to travel the city. We look forward to having you come in to observe throughout November to see the amazing things your children show us each day. [Click here to see a Facebook album of photos provided by the Brott Music Festival]


Coming Up

Your Lyonsgate calendar has all your up to date information.

  • Parent Observations: for Casa and Elementary families are continuing throughout November. If you have not signed up for an observation time slot yet, please do so using the following links:

 

 


  • Parent-Teacher Conferences: take place on Friday, November 29; there are also a few afternoon/after school time slots during the weekdays leading up to the Friday. There is no school on Friday, Nov. 29, but childcare is available during your conference time. Click here to select your child’s class and a conference time.

Photos