Lyonsgate Weekly Update | Friday, Nov. 29, 2019

Hello Lyonsgate Families,

We appreciate you all finding the time to come in for Parent-Teacher conferences this week. The opportunity to sit down with you and keep you up to date on your children’s development and progress is essential to better understanding how we can all work together to give your children the best environments in which to grow and learn.

Montessori can be a little mysterious, and is significantly different than the educations most of us had. We highly encourage you to take advantage of every opportunity to learn more about Montessori, whether that be Parent-Teacher conferences, Parent education events, Show and Shares, or the resources on our website under the “What is Montessori?” tab or in “Reference C: Montessori References and Resources” in your Parent Handbook.

Toddler

Is it really almost December? The growth and resiliency the members of the Toddler community display on a daily basis is truly inspiring. Seeing the increased use of language, growing friendships, eagerness to work on presentations, and a desire to do things for themselves is continually rewarding.

We have some great singers and natural born drummers in the class as well. I am hoping these skills don’t go into hiding when it is time for our winter concert! We have had a full dress rehearsal for winter earlier this month, but the real deal is quickly approaching. This time of year presents lots of new opportunities for the children to further develop their independence and to work on their coordination and motor skills. Boots, snow-pants, coats, and mittens all present new challenges that require patience for both the adult and the child. Often, when the child is asking for help, with some encouragement, they find that they can do things themselves. Whenever possible, we should set the child up for success with outerwear that they can master with minimal assistance. Luckily we live in Ontario where we have a long season to practice putting on our winter gear!

Mr. Davis

Casa South

Casa North

Unfortunately, your children aren’t the only ones who get to share in all the new flu strains, sore tummy’s, and other germ-y goodness we manage to whip up with dozens of children in the same space every day. Both Mlle. Kamongue of Casa South and Ms. Sullivan of Casa North have missed time this week, and Miss Moffatt and Miss Boyle are busy getting ready for Parent-Teacher conferences this week.

If you haven’t already, you will all be getting personal updates about the progress of your children and their Montessori classroom at your conference tomorrow. Have a great long weekend Casa families, we’ll be back to updates for you next week.

Elementary

November has been an exciting month for the Elementary students. We enjoyed our first snowfall, and with it our first snowmen and first snowball battles. We also experienced the challenge of putting on our winter gear for recess and excursions. It is important to the students to be able to get themselves ready for outdoor play in the winter, and we ask that you keep this in mind when assisting them with clothing choices. Please involve your child in checking the weather forecast before they choose their winter wear for the day.

Now that we are well into the term, students are beginning to wrap up some of the large projects that they began back in September. In Montessori cosmic education, the students have the time to delve deeply into a topic that is of interest to them. Some investigations or projects are short, while some are large, collaborative efforts. We have seen a completed stop-motion movie, a detailed exploration of wild cats, and a large superworm experiment is now underway. Some of our younger students have recently begun their very first guided research project.

Throughout the day, one of the driving forces of the Elementary classroom is the practical life activities that help our classroom to run smoothly. Our students participate in tasks such as dusting and sweeping, as well as more complex contributions to our community such as preparing snack, caring for our bearded dragon, and doing laundry. At this point in the term, the students are happy to demonstrate their abilities as they go about these tasks independently, or are learning to ask the advice of older students when they need help.

We hope you enjoyed your visit to our campus to observe your child in the classroom. An Elementary classroom can seem noisy or chaotic, but part of the students’ work is learning to collaborate with each other, to focus on their work in the midst of distractions, and to navigate their social group. In the second plane of development, the Elementary students are seeking to understand their place in their social group, and they tend to congregate, to discuss and debate, and to learn to work things out for themselves without seeking adult help. We were glad you joined us to experience our daily activities.

Coming Up

You will find your Lyonsgate calendar under the “Parents” tab at lyonsgate.ca.

  • Friday, Dec. 6: Re-Registration for the 2020.2021 school year available.
  • Wednesday, Dec. 18: 2020.2021 Re-Registration due.
  • Thursday, Dec. 19: Holiday Concert at 2:30 p.m. Last day of school.
  • Friday, Dec. 20 – Friday, Jan. 3: Winter Break. No School.
  • Monday, Jan. 6, 2020: First day of winter term.

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