Lyonsgate Weekly Update | Friday, Sept. 13, 2019

September 13, 2019
|In Updates & Announcements
|By Jason Phillips

Happy Friday Lyonsgate Families!

We hope everyone is settling into school routines both at school and at home. We had some excitement this week with the tree that fell onto the car just outside the Lyonsgate Primary campus parking lot.

In other exciting news, you can now find the Lyonsgate lunch menu on our website. The hot lunch menu works on a rotating 4-week cycle; you can check the Lyonsgate calendar to see which week we are on. The menu indicates the vegetarian option for each meal, where applicable. All other allergy/restriction meal substitutions (dairy, gluten, etc.) are on a per meal basis. Please don’t hesitate to contact the school if you want to know what a specific substitution was for a specific meal for your child.

Toddler

Happy second week of school! First (ever!) for some of our new friends.

This was our first week with all the children. They are settling into the classroom and are becoming more eager to seek work. Consistency in their routines is helping them settle much easier. Thank you.

The daily lunch menu has been posted on the Lyonsgate website; you will find it under the “Parents” tab. Check the Lyonsgate calendar to see which week of the 4-week cycle we are on.

Outdoor play is unanimously a group favourite at the moment as they get to see toys that are familiar and run off some toddler energy.

Reminders:

  • Drop off: Mr. Davis will be in the cloak hall assisting children as they arrive between 8:25 and 8:45 daily. He is helping remove outdoor gear and preparing them for the classroom entry. A quick drop off, although so hard some mornings, is the best thing for your child; it establishes a consistent routine and children are able to settle and enjoy their Montessori days. Once children are dropped off, please know that they are being loved and cared for and comforted, and that they do calm themselves and enjoy their day. Please exit the Lyonsgate property; if a child catches a glimpse of a peeking parent or grandparent it takes them much longer to settle, or re-settle.
  • Pickup: We encourage parents to wait outside of the playground gate where one of the teachers will bring your child over to you when picking up. The daily log is posted on the clipboard on the fence and provides pertinent details about their day. The Toddler school day ends at 3:30, which is when children are to be picked up. If you need extra time, you can register for After School care, which runs from 3:30-4:30. Children in After School care can be picked up anytime between 3:30-4:30 from the Room of Requirement just across the hall from the Toddler room.
  • Water bottles stay at the school and are washed by us.
  • Please avoid shoes with buckles, laces, and anything else that hinders children from doing it for themselves.
  • Blankets are sent home for a wash every two weeks on Friday, starting next Friday, Sept. 20th.

Have a wonderful weekend. We will see you all next week! — Miss Dee

Casa South

Casa South’s first full week was a great success. Our third-year Casa students are embracing their roles as leaders in the Montessori environment and are serving as little assistants helping the new Casa children become familiar and comfortable.

The new first-year students are very excited to receive presentations with new and fascinating Montessori materials, and to finally get their hands on materials they may have seen in visits to the classroom while they were in Toddler. Our second-year students are showing us that they are ready to work with the more challenging materials all of their hard work last year prepared them for.

We encourage you to find ways to allow your Casa child to experience and develop independence at home. They are learning to do things for themselves at school, such as entering the school independently every day and getting themselves ready in the cloakroom, and the more practice they have the more confident and capable they will become. The best way we encourage independence as adults is through patience, and by making sure we have the time to allow children to work through their independent tasks.

Please remember to try and save superhero and other popular culture/media emblazoned articles of clothing and accessories for wear at home and on weekends. Even things like socks and hair clips are significant distractions for young children that are learning to develop focus and concentration. Thank you for understanding.

— Miss Moffatt

Casa North

Hi Casa North Families,

Another week down! As your little ones are starting to settle into their new routines, here’s a few ideas for helping them along.

Rather than asking “What did you do at school today?” try asking, “What was your favourite thing about your day?” Often, the day is so full of presentations, observing, eating, playing at recess, and socializing it can be overwhelming to say all of the things that happened. A favourite thing might be talking to a friend, having bread at lunch, or simply “recess,” but it gives a little bit more insight into their day.

Reminding your child that the weekend is two days at home and then back to school on Monday is helpful as well. A weekend can feel like an eternity for a Casa child, and it doesn’t hurt to let them know that the school week starts again Monday morning.

Lastly, please do your best to arrive between 8:25-8:45 a.m. for regular arrivals. It makes such a different in the morning when they arrive with their peers, and before the classroom has come into a settled work cycle. There is extra staff on hand (including me!) to help those who are extra sensitive, and it helps instill the value of arriving at a set time. This will ultimately make a huge difference in how they settle into their routine as well!

Thank you for entrusting us with your children. We don’t take the responsibility lightly, and are so grateful that you share each one of them with us. I couldn’t be happier with the community we are building.

Enjoy a safe and happy weekend,

— Miss Boyle

Elementary

As we conclude the first full week of school, the Elementary students are settling into the rhythm of the daily work cycle and developing partnerships with their peers. The Montessori Grammar Boxes and Chequerboards have re-appeared, paintings and calligraphy samples are laid out to dry, and there are student-made kale chips at snack. The youngest students have begun an exploration of volcanoes in follow-up to the Montessori Story of the Creation of Universe, and have received the Second Great Lesson: The Coming of Life.

This week, as we hiked a small section of the Bruce Trail (its full length extends 895 kms from Queenston to Tobermory), younger students learned about the trail system, found creeks and waterfalls, and used their keen eyes and ears to spot and hear wildlife, from squirrels and a variety of birds to a large spider hanging above the trail building a web, and older students heard the history of the Niagara Escarpment and imagined what life was like here 450 million years ago when our area was a warm, shallow sea filled with coral and ancient creatures, and observed spiders, garter snakes, and giant stick bugs, followed trail blazes, and learned about the formation of sedimentary rocks. Despite the heat, the Upper Elementary students were also determined to climb the 289 steps up the escarpment to the lookout at Cliffview Falls! Round-trip, their little legs covered nearly 5 kms, but they returned with smiles on their faces, full of enthusiasm, pride, and stories to share.

NOTE: there is an addition to the Lyonsgate Elementary outing schedule. On Wednesday, Sept. 18, we will begin our day with an hour of yoga instruction at the Primary (Aberdeen) campus. Students can be dropped off at either campus; we will depart the Elementary (Locke) campus at 8:50 sharp to travel to Primary. Students are asked to wear yoga appropriate clothing and to bring a yoga mat if you have one. Our yoga session will be led by Lyonsgate Montessori Mom Lauren Speziale.

Handbook Highlight

This week, we’d like to draw your attention to the “Immunizations” section of your Lyonsgate Parent Handbook (p.94 in the embedded viewer).

Most parents are not aware that each time your child receives an immunization you are required to report it to Hamilton Public Health. This section of the handbook covers how to do that. You will also find information about required immunizations; religious, conscience, and medical objections to/exemptions from immunizations; and links to Hamilton Public Health immunization information.

Families of new children just starting school, or families who may have recently moved to Hamilton, or who have never done so before, are asked to pick up an “Immunization History for Licensed Child Care Centre” form from the Lyonsgate office, complete it, and return it to us so that we can submit them, as required, to Hamilton Public Health. You can find your child’s immunization history on the yellow cards we all receive, and then promptly misplace. You can now register for an online immunization record with Public Health so that you can lose the yellow card and not worry about it.

If immunization records are not up to date with Public Health we will receive a suspension notice from them asking us to suspend your child from school until immunizations are up to date. In most of these cases, updating administered immunizations with Hamilton Public Health is all that is required.

Coming Up

We have a quiet week in terms of events next week, but here are a few upcoming things to keep in mind. Don’t forget to check your Lyonsgate Calendar regularly:

  • Casa Parent Education, Thursday, Sept. 26, 4:00-5:00 p.m.
  • PD Days for Rosh Hashanah:
    • On Monday, Sept. 30, both Lyonsgate campuses will be closed.
    • On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Primary (Aberdeen) campus will be closed. Elementary will be open.
  • Casa and Toddler Field Trip: Wednesday, Oct. 9. See your Sept. 9 “RBG Field Trip” email for details; pertinent info is on your Lyonsgate Calendar.