riverbend montessori

gill1511 — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:50:58 +0000

January & February newsletter

January is a good month to re-establish routines, and to review and reinforce what has been learned so far. The reading, math, and other special areas offer a variety of review activities . We’ll also turn the spotlight on winter with its snowflakes, sports, animal hibernation, and general “blizzard” of winter day experiences for our young learners.

2012-2013 School year

Currently, we are getting organized for the 2012-2013 school year. If your child is starting kindergarten in September, please inform us which school they will attend and whether they’ll enrol in the morning or afternoon program. We will be serving Esther Starkman School and William Irvin and Earl Buxton school this year. But nothing will be finalized until spring. At that point the schools can provide us all the information on whether children are enrolled in am or pm programs. For G.H Luck we will still be doing the afternoon session for kindergarten.

Chinese New Year

This year Chinese New Year falls on Jan23rd. We will be celebrating Chinese New Year and children are encouraged to wear their traditional clothes on that day. Children will be learning about China the whole week, so please help us to enrich our resources on the topic if you have anything related to China or Chinese culture.

Valentine’s Party

The children’s valentine party will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb 14^th .You are welcome to bring treats such as cheese and cracker, fruits, squares, candies, etc. Please make sure that the food you bring is nut free. At this time children can also exchange their valentine cards. Children can bring 10 cards with only their name on it, this will eliminate confusion of ensuring that specific cards get to specific children.

Family Day

The center will close on Monday Feb 20^th for Family Day. We hope all of you can spend time with your family.

Payment of fees

We would like to remind all parents that 6 months of post-dated cheques are required for day care fees. Late fees will be charged after the 5^th of each month.

Email address

Please provide us with your email address if you want to receive news letters electronically as it is more environmental friendly so we can save some paper.

gill1511 — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:58:33 +0000

November Newsletter

October was busy month with lots of fun activities. We started our month with nature walk, going to Senior homes ,Diwali celebration And of course Halloween Party at the End.

Birthday celebrations: Parents are allowed to bring cake, cupcakes or other ‘party’ food to share with all the other children. The food bought into the centre to celebrate these special occasions should be bought at a store approved and inspected by the local Health Authority. No home made food will be served.. According to Health regulations many institutional outbreaks of Food Poisoning or gastrointestinal illness have been linked to eating home -prepared foods. This policy will help all the children from Food borne illnesses.

Salsa class: Our next Salsa classes will be on Nov 4^th and 25^th. please pay $10 for two classes.

Music and movement: Music and movement with Rainbow music will be on 22^nd Nov. Most of the parents had already paid for this program, but if you didn’t pay yet please pay $30 for 10 classes.

Remembrance Day: Centre will be closed on Nov 11^th for Remembrance Day

Food bank: In December, we would like the children at our Centre to experience helping others who are less fortunate. We invite families to donate non-perishable foods.

Winter is here! - Please dress your child according to the weather, so that they can participate in outdoor activities. Please label all winter mitts, hats, boots, etc. We suggest that you check the Lost & Found box regularly.

Holiday Hours: The Centre will be closed during the Christmas holidays: from Dec 26 to 30 and will re-open on Jan 3rd, 2011.

gill1511 — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:44:22 +0000

October Newsletter

September was busy month with new children and kindergarten starting at school. We are glad to announce that October is going to be a month of joyous festival. We celebrated Eid in the month of August, and look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving and finishing off month with Halloween. Program focus: Our curriculum focus will be Thanksgiving and Autumn foliage.

Thanksgiving:We will be closed on October 10^th for Thanksgiving.

Picture Day: We will have our picture day on October 11^th.

Seniors Center visit: Our Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten children will be visiting with our seniors next door on Oct. 5^h . While it is fun for the children, the seniors get as much out of these visits as evidenced by the pictures.

Halloween party: Halloween party will be held on Oct. 31st, we might be going for Trick or Treating. Children can dress up for that day and are welcome to bring treats for their friends.

For school-aged children:If your child goes to school, please inform us a week in advance if there is no school or if there is a PD day. Also, if there is any change in your pick up or drop off time on any particular day (e.g, field trips, parents picking up early, etc.), please inform us ahead of time.

Food Restriction: We follow Canada’s Food Guidelines to prepare our food but do not serve any pork at our Centre. If you have any other food restriction like vegetarian, halal meat, you need to provide your own food for lunch.

Music and movement classes for 2011 and 2012

Sept -27,2011
Oct -25,2011
Nov -22,2011
Dec -20,2011
Jan -24,2012
Feb -21,2012
Mar -20,2012
April -17,2012
May- 15,2012
June -26,2012

gill1511 — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:11:01 +0000

Riverbend Montessori Child Development CentreWelcome to all the new families to our center.

September 2011Newsletter

Labour Day :Centre will be closed on Monday, September 5thBack to school:Summer went by so fast, and it is already that time of the year so please update your child’s information if there is any changes. According to new regulations we need the your address if it is different from child and also an emergency contact’s name, telephone number, and home address. The address provide must be for the contact‘s primary residence and telephone number must allow us to reach the emergency contact during the time child is attendance at the our program. An emergency contact also must be able to reach the child’s parent(s) or arrange for the child to be picked up from the program when a parent cannot be reached. Also if you changed your job or mobile please provide us the new information.

Parents with children in school are required to complete the Transport Authorization form. We will not transport your child without this form. As kindergarten students have staggered entry please let us know about the first regular school day, as you will be going with your child on the first day. Please inform us one week in advance of change in pick up or drop off time due to field trips or any other events.

School supplies:

Two interlined notebooks( 4 years old and up)A box of colouring pencils/crayons and a pack of HB pencils

A couple of erasers and pencil sharpener

A box of Kleenex

Please label every thing .

House keeping & labelling: please clean out your child’s cubby regularly and check the spare clothes and shoes for proper sizing and labelling. Please label blankets shoes jackets hats etc. Please send your child’s blanket in a cloth bag.Salsa class :

our next salsa classes will be on Sept. 2, 16, and 30^th. Please pay $15 for the month of Sept.

Snacks: To new families joining us, please be aware that our Centre is a nut free zone. Please do not send anything with nuts in it. Please send ice pack in your child’s snack pack. We won’t accept any food in polythene bags. We encourage our parents to send healthy snacks, at least two food groups, for example; fruits/vegetables and yogurt/cheese.

Sign in and out: please remember to sign in /out your child. This is very important for your child’s safety . If you failed to sign in your child we don’t have any proof that your child is at the Centre. In the event of an evacuation we use in/out sheet to do our head counts.This will also help us to maintain our records of daily attendance of each child including arrival and departure times.

Indoor and outdoor shoes please send labelled indoor and outdoor pair of shoes

Toy Policy. No toys are allowed at the Centre from home, except for show and tell. If you let your child bring a toy from home, please don’t expect staff to help you find it at the end of the day.

Late pick up policy:Our Centre close sharp at 5:45 pm. With this in mind and out of respect for the long day your child and his/her caregiver have had, you must pick up your child before this time.A late fee of $10 for first 5 minutes and $1 a minute thereafter will be levied against parent who are late in picking up their child.

Arts and craft : please donate any scrape paper at your home or office . We will also appreciate donation of books and toys that your child has outgrown.

gill1511 — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:59:03 +0000

Riverbend Montessori Child Development CentreWelcome to all the new families to our center.

September 2011Newsletter

School supplies

Two interlined notebooks( 4 years old and up)A box of colouring pencils/crayons and a pack of HB pencils

A couple of erasers and pencil sharpener

A box of Kleenex

Please label every thing .

Salsa class :our next salsa classes will be on Sept. 2, 16, and 30^th. Please pay $15 for the month of Sept.

Indoor and outdoor shoes please send labelled indoor and outdoor pair of shoes

Late pick up policyOur Centre close sharp at 5:45 pm. With this in mind and out of respect for the long day your child and his/her caregiver have had, you must pick up your child before this time.A late fee of $10 for first 5 minutes and $1 a minute thereafter will be levied against parent who are late in picking up their child.

Arts and craft : please donate any scrape paper at your home or office . We will also appreciate donation of books and toys that your child has outgrown.

June & July Newsletter

gill1511 — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:14:55 +0000

May has flown by, yet it was a fairly busy month for all of us. The kids really enjoyed the West African Drumming. They were proud to give their special painting to their moms for Mother’s Day. We hope that all the mom’s that attended our annual Mother’s Day Yoga enjoyed themselves. Well folks, summer is almost here and another school year is drawing to a close. For those families that are leaving us soon, we wish you all the best. For those going on vacation this summer, please let us know when your child will be away so that we may accommodate staff holidays as well. Please note that there is no reduction in fees if you are away.

Fathers Day: for Father’s Day, we have organized a Field trip called Busy Bees And Bugs to the John Janzen Nature Centre. We encourage our dads to come and spend the morning with their child. Time: June 16^thfrom 9:00 to 11:00 AM. We will be sending permission forms.

Salsa tots: We are starting a “Salsa tot” a dance class for the children . Interested parents can talk to their child’s teacher. It will be $5 per class. Our first class will be on June 24^th.

Literacy circles: We will be having the following sessions of story time at Riverbend Library: June 1, 15 and 29^th. In July 13 and 27^thand August dates are 10 and 29^th.

Summer Field Trips: We are planning the field trips for July and August, we have few field trips in mind like Elk Island National Park, Valley Zoo and Fort Edmonton Park. We will appreciate parents input in making decision for summer field trips. So please let us know if you have any interesting age appropriate field trip ideas. We will probably add more trips later on. Dates, times, and fees will be announced at a later date

Sun Safety: with the summer weather finally here, our children are spending more time outdoors. Please provide hats and safe outdoor shoes (label both). We are not providing Sunscreen this year so please send your own sunscreens Please always send a light Jacket with your child as you all know Alberta’s weather

Kindergarten immunization: if your child has not received a booster shot after their 4^th birthday , please call your Public Health Center. Twin brook health center # is 780 413 5630.

MAY NEWSLETTER

gill1511 — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:57:57 +0000

April was very busy month . Our children had three presentations from three different parents. They learned about the countries of Columbia and Greece their cultures and its people . Children had lots of fun in participating in a Dinosaur Adventure. Most of the parents received report on their child’s progress. Some children have grown steadily all year while others may have gotten slow start but took off and learned quickly once the activities were under way.

Snack:we strongly recommend parents to put ice pack in their snack bag. We put all the milk and meat products in the fridge but you still need ice pack for fruits vegetables and juice.

Late fee:Please pay your monthly fee by the 5^th of month, or $1 a day will be charged after 5^th of every month.

Blankets:Please send light blanket for the children as the weather is changing they don’t need heavy blankets and also it is hard to store heavy blankets

Spring cleaning: please clear your child cubby . We don’t need any snow pants gloves any more. Also check their change of clothes and indoor shoes they might have out grown. Please send summer hats and their sunscreens.

Victoria Day: The center will be closed on May 23^rd.

Change of fee: from July new fees will be effective please check parents board / website for new fees.

Removing shoes: we strongly advice our parents to remove their shoes while entering the facility as our shoes travel whole day in parking lots and sidewalk full of dirt and you never know people spit there and God knows what kind of things we step on. When you bring that stuff to our carpets and our kids touch them with their little hands and guess what where those hands go? In their mouths! So please help us to keep our center clean.

Medication form : Parents please make sure when ever your child is on Medication you need to spare couple of minutes in morning to fill the Form. According to Public health parents need to fill the form with little bit more detail which is important for the staff to know. We will be posting this form on our website so that you can fill this form from home.

Mothers Day celebration: we will be doing a mothers day yoga on Thursday May 12^th at 6:00pm. Moms please give your names if you want to participate in it. we will be having Partylite come in at the end of April so you can do some shopping for your moms

African Drumming work shop:

Motivating Children through Movement, Music, and West African Cultures. we will be holding a this work shop on 18^th of May. Music and movement with rainbow music: May 24th

Back ground of this work shop is as follow.Using over 30 West African drums, Louise Raymond provides a unique cognitive approach to multicultural knowledge and awareness, simulating the childrens own creativity and intellectual development. Participants focus on a foundation of rhythm patterns, ensemble playing, movement, stories and songs in French and African. This workshop provides a dynamic multi-sensory, kinaesthetic, creative and West African experience.

Music and movement with rainbow music: May 24th

Parents we need your feedback on our Program as you have noticed To enrich our program we do a quite a bit of activities with children with the help of outside agencies which involve some cost. So please provide us your feedback through emails. Also keep checking our website for any updates or pictures from fieldtrip and special occasion.

April Newsletter

gill1511 — Thu, 05 May 2011 15:29:37 +0000

April Newsletter It’s April, and there’s a cloudburst of creative ideas in the air. This month we will reassess each child so that we have current information on their progress. The Easter Rabbit comes to call this month with many learning opportunities. In reading, we are emphasizing sentences and focusing upon children’s literature with related activities. Children will be busy making Easter Baskets, egg hunt and etc. Muttart field trip pictures will shortly be on our website.

Workshop for Staff & Parents:on April 7^th we’ll be holding a workshop on Medication Administration and general hygiene . Time : 5:45 pm to 6:45 pm .

Dinosaur Adventure :On April 19th, with the John Janzen Nature Centre we will be doing an activity in which the children will travel back in time to the world of dinosaurs. Through hands-on activities, they’ll discover when they lived, what they ate, and how they moved. Your children will have an opportunity to compare dinosaur sizes with themselves and with familiar objects, examine real and model fossils, and do some dinosaur dancing. Compare the look of modern-day animals with pictures of prehistoric creatures, and pretend to be a palaeontologist as they search their classroom for hidden dino puzzle pieces! Centre will cover the cost of this program.

Easter Party:We will be having a Easter party on April 21^st. The children are welcome to bring treats for the other children for the party. Please send two boiled eggs for egg decoration on April 21^st.

Visit to Senior Centerchildren will be visiting the seniors on 27th of this month. the activities will be based on spring.:

Rainbow musicwill be visiting on the following dates -April 26 , May 24 and June 21 for next 3 months.

Sign In/Out:there are still some parents who are not signing their child in/out . This is a reminder that unless you sign your child in, he or she is not legally at the Centre. There are some parents that signing in other children’s boxes.