The children at our little yellow school are a very peaceful and caring community. Our days are spent working, learning and playing together.
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| Playing the Glockenspiel During our Friday Kindermusik Classes |
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| Arithmetic - The Golden Beads |
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| The Puzzle Map of the Continents |
Every day, in many little ways, our actions show how much we care for one another and for our school. Whether it is rushing to help a classmate who has dropped something, tucking in chairs that have been left out, or lending a hand to a struggling classmate, the children want to help one another.
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| A graduate (third year student) assisting a first year student with his shoes. |
We are a school family.
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| Friends |
Young children want to help their fellow classmates but may not know how. Maria Montessori created Grace and Courtesy lessons - social lessons - to help children with friendships and collaborations. Lessons at the casa/preschool level include waiting your turn, blowing ones nose, walking around objects, interrupting/asking for help and using a quiet voice. Lessons are taught through role play and reinforced in the classroom. Dr. Montessori believed that these lessons would help children become kind and compassionate in the classroom and in society.
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| Trick-or-Treat - Halloween Grace and Courtesy Lesson |
Our young students are always eager to lend a hand to one another and to make a contribution to the world around them. In September, our school community raised money for cancer research through our Terry Fox Run and Toonies for Terry. Many children came in clutching coins from their piggy banks to contribute.
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| Terry Fox Run |
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| Terry Fox Run |
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| Toonies For Terry |
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| Toonies for Terry |
For Remembrance Day, the children made Valentines for Vets. The cards were distributed to Canadian vets on Valentine's Day.
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| Valentines For Vets |
In December we held our annual Food Drive for a local Food Bank.
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| Food Drive |
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| Food Drive |
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| Food Drive - Last Day |
At the beginning of April, our country and many around the world were shocked and saddened by the news of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in Saskatchewan. On the first day back at school, the children talked about the crash. They wanted to do something to remember the hockey players. At recess, they decided to draw "Hearts for the Hockey Players" with sidewalk chalk. When they were finished, they formed a heart around the chalk hearts and sang "Oh Canada". It was a powerful moment. The Humboldt Broncos and their families continue to be in our thoughts and in our hearts.
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| Sidewalk Chalk Hearts for the Hockey Players |
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| Remembering the Humboldt Broncos |
This week the children will be mailing postcards from our province to help some fellow children reach their goal. More information about this will follow in a future blog.
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| Postcards of Toronto, Niagara Falls and Wasaga Beach |
Through their actions, our young students are showing us that we can all make a difference. Every effort, no matter how big or small, counts. Together we can make the world a better place.
The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.
~ Maria Montessori
