Hello Lyonsgate Montessori Families,

School Photos

Today — Friday, Nov. 16 — is the deadline to submit Casa and Toddler school photo orders if you want to order them through the school. If you miss this deadline, school photos can still be ordered online.

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Remember that parent-teacher conferences are coming up at the end of the month and they may require some schedule juggling. Conferences with your child’s Montessori guide will take place on Friday, Nov. 30. There is no school that day. Both Lyonsgate campuses will be closed for the conferences. There are a few after school timeslots available earlier in the week, but the majority will take place on the Friday, starting at 8:00 a.m. Childcare will be available during your conference timeslot.

Please click the relevant link to select a conference time in your children’s Montessori environments:

Lost Sweater

Has anyone found a sweater that looks just like this, but grey. It is Cat & Jack (Target) brand and is size S (6/6x). It was brand new, being worn for the first time, and the child thinks it went home in someone else’s bag. It’s safe and happy return would be very much appreciated.

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Clothing Store Extension

There have been a few updates to the Lyonsgate clothing online store, so the deadline has been extended until Sunday, November 18, at 10:00 p.m.

Click here to access the Lyonsgate clothing store

All purchased items will be shipped as a single bulk order and Lyonsgate will pay the duty. The shipping address has been pre-filled; under “Shipping Method” please check the “Ship to U.S. Address” option (it should be the only option). You will have to enter your billing address when paying by credit card.

It’s sweater weather!

This Week:

Toddler:

The Toddler children have had a busy week (so busy we didn’t get a chance to take any photos)! They are focused and are eager for new presentations of Montessori activities.

A few tasks have been introduced: setting up tables for lunch, snack preparation, and bringing compost and recycling to the kitchen area.

The older Toddler children are also functioning as great leaders in the environment. They play a very important role in our little community by helping the younger children learn and adapt to our routines.

We’d like to add a reminder this week to make sure children are coming to school each day with outdoor clothing appropriate for active outdoor play, especially now that winter is here. Outdoor activity is essential for chidlren’s health, development, and learning, so we are outside everyday in all but the most inclement of weather. Boots, warm coats, snow pants, and warm hats and mittens that fit properly are essential items (please try to avoid fabric, woven, or knit gloves and mittens; they get soggy wet almost right away and little hands end up freezing cold). Please remember to label everything.

Note: please remember that Lyonsgate has a number of nut allergies and to make sure children do not have peanut butter debris on hands and clothing when they arrive to school. Thank you.


Casa: 

The new-school-year jitters have passed (for the most part) and your children are more comfortable each day in their new environments and with new classmates. This comfort level is reflected in both Casa guide’s updates this week as they reflect on how socialization is a developing and essential part of the children’s days.

Just in case you skipped ahead and missed it in the Toddler section, we’d like to add a reminder this week to make sure children are coming to school each day with outdoor clothing appropriate for active outdoor play, especially now that winter is here. Outdoor activity is essential for chidlren’s health, development, and learning, so we are outside everyday in all but the most inclement of weather. Boots, warm coats, snow pants, and warm hats and mittens that fit properly are essential items (please try to avoid fabric, woven, or knit gloves and mittens; they get soggy wet almost right away and little hands end up freezing cold). Please remember to label everything.

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Casa South: Casa South is seeing a wonderful increase the children’s socialization recently. Working together is a very important part of children’s Montessori education. Social work helps us to learn to take turns (and to be patient), to discuss and resolve conflicts and disagreements, to help each other learn by sharing knowledge and skills, and to allow grace and courtesy to flourish. In the photo of the children mixing, they naturally passed the mixer along to each other without having to be asked to do so.

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There has also been a lot of early math work in Casa South this week.  You will see in the photos a number of children working with Montessori materials that help them to make the association between quantity and numeracy. Learning numbers is one thing, but making the connection between the numeric symbols and the quantities they represent is a key ground upon which to build math skills.

The photo of Ms. Moffatt with a book is because we just chose our winter concert song so we got a book from the library about the Beatles…

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Casa North: This week in Casa North, Mr. Davis, Mademoiselle Peat, and I have been noticing the importance and value of socialization as an integral part of the environment.

Often, when we as adults take the time to really step back and observe the children, what might appear to be disruptive is in fact beautiful and purposeful socialization. The children have been craving group work and have found ways to integrate the materials into their social time in the classroom. They love to have conversations about any and everything — from their extra curricular activities, to facts about insects, to volcanic eruptions, and more — and their perspective on life is refreshing and inspiring. I’m proud to work in an environment that supports them in their need for this development.

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Elementary:

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In Elementary this past week, children at different levels have been exploring demonstrations of basic physics and the compostion of the Earth.

First year students had the opportunity to re-visit an experiment on states of matter, but this time were responsible for gathering the materials and using the hot plate safely on their own to transform an ice cube from solid, to liquid, to gas. Older students explored the composition of the lithosphere, with continental plates made of basalt forming our ocean floors, and continents of granite that continue to move across the Earth.

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All of our students enjoyed a community outing to the Central Library this week, working in the S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, reading, engineering, art, math) activity room to explore basic coding with Ozobots.

The first snowfall also meant it was time to apply our knowledge of fractions in the kitchen to prepare a batch of hot chocolate to share on a chilly Friday!

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Next Week:

Toddler-to-Casa Orientation

A reminder from Mrs. Lyons to parents that have a child in their second year of the Toddler environment whom is eligible for our Casa programme next September: we are offering an introduction to the Casa programme on Thursday, November 22, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. Although it seems far off, we do start registration in December.

Come with your questions about the Casa programme and your child’s transition, and I will hopefully have the answers. You will learn the key differences between the Toddler programme and the Casa programme, and find out more about your child’s next stage of development. Child care will be provided.

Please RSVP to rachel@lyonsgate.ca and let me know who will be attending from your family and if your child will need childcare.

Re-Enrolment for the 2019.2020 School Year

In case everyone else read that and is wondering, re-enrolment for the 2019.2020 school year will commence in early December. We are moving to online registration forms this year and have updated them to meet some new legislative requirements and to clarify and improve the information we gather. More details and information about registration at Lyonsgate will accompany the new forms.

Adorable Montessori Story Time

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This fine young Casa man is engaged with the Montessori Flower Arranging activity. He has a younger brother in the Toddler program who also completed a Flower Arranging activity and brought his finished product to his brother’s class as a present. While trying to place it on a high-for-a-toddler shelf, it was spilled. Without being asked, the child above went over, cleaned up his brother’s spilled flower arrangement, took out the same materials, completed his own flower arrangement, and then delivered it to the Toddler room. Have a kind, thoughtful, considerate weekend everyone.

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