October 2016

Bonjour, September went by very fast; the children are doing well and they are starting to learn some new French words. Here are a couple of songs that we are going to be learning this month.
 
Si tu aimes l’Halloween
(sur l’air de If you are happy ..)
Si tu aimes l’Halloween
Frappe tes mains,
Si tu aimes l’Halloween
La citrouille, et la sorcière,
Si tu aimes l’Halloween
Frappe tes mains.
 
Frappe tes pieds,
Sauté sur place
 
Vieille sorcière (air: Frère Jacques)
Vieille sorcière (bis)
Que fais tu? (bis)
Je mange une citrouille (bis)
Crique, craque, croque (bis)
 
La sorcière (air: London Bridge)
La sorcière fait
Hi ! Hi ! Hi ! (3 fois)
La sorcière fait Hi ! Hi ! Hi ! Le soir d’Halloween.
Le squelette fait
Clac ! Clac ! Clac ! (3 fois)
Le squelette fait Clac ! Clac ! Clac ! Le soir d’Halloween.
Le fantôme fait
Hou ! Hou ! Hou ! (3 fois)
Le fantôme fait Hou ! Hou ! Hou ! Le soir d’Halloween.
Le chat noir fait
Miaou, miaou, miaou (3 fois)
Le chat noir fait miaou, miaou, miaou  Le soir d’Halloween.
 


      
From the Director’s Desk:   aka- her NEW little cupboard in the smaller closet-   Paulette Young, RECE
We certainly enjoyed the beautiful weather this September!  The school year is off to a good start but we do need to fill more There  in our Toddler, Junior Preschool and 3Day Senior Preschool classes, so kindly spread the word!
Just a few friendly reminders from the Director:
* Not getting any emails from us?  Check your Spam box as emails from some RPNS are sent through our child care management system (noreply@varitechsystems.com).  Please do not reply to this email.   Replies to this email will NOT be responded to or read. If you have any questions or comments, contact us at rpns@rogers.com
*Kindly notify the Director should your child be absent from school.
*Should your child be staying in After Care after 12:00 pm, kindly provide a nut-free snack for them.
*Check your child’s folder in the Communication Box located in the hallway on a daily basis.  Take home all art work and papers.
 
Fall Clean Up takes place on Saturday, October 22 starting at 10:00 am.  Bring your rakes!  Many thanks to all the parents and families that helped clean up the play yard on Sept. 10 for the new school year!
 
Community Fall Festival at the Hunt Club Riverside Community Centre on Saturday, Sept. 10 was terrific fun!  Parent volunteers and RPNS alumni children were there face painting children of all ages!
 
Givng Thanks: Ottawa Food Bank  Fall Food Drive
Kindly bring in non-perishable food items to the nursery school before October 7.  Boxes will be in the hallway for your generous donations.
A reminder that the nursery school will be closed on Monday, October 10 for Thanksgiving Day.
 
Pumpkin Carving  The children will get their hands gooey by scooping out the seeds from pumpkins on Oct. 25 & 26.  Thanks in advance to the parents volunteering on these days and pumpkin donations are welcome!
 
Pumpkin Parties  With Halloween landing on a Monday this year, we will be celebrating this fun time of year with parties on Thursday, Oct.27 and Friday, Oct.28.  Family members are welcome to attend a morning of games, fun sensory activities and yummy snacks (See the food sign up poster in the hallway)! 
We will also be setting up a Fall Forest Walk and thus think it best that children not wear costumes at the Pumpkin Parties.   Instead, children may wish to wear a costume or a hat on Monday, Oct. 31 and Tuesday, Nov. 1
 
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATOR APPRECIATION DAY!     Give our teachers on “big hug” on Wednesday, Oct.26 to let them know how much they are appreciated! 
 
*Date Nights – current and alumni RPNS families & friends are encouraged to have a ‘date night’ on Friday, Nov.21 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.  Children will enjoy a supervised dinner and evening of fun activities  while their parents go out on a real date (when was the last time you had that opportunity?!). Cost is $30 per child ($20 per sibling) with all proceeds going towards our RPNS Fund.  RSVP  at rpns@rogers.com with Paulette Young, the Director and see the Date Night sign up display in the hallway.      Save the date for the next Date Night on Friday, Dec. 2!
 
Scholastic Canada Book Orders:  October catalogue order forms and payments (cheques written out to Scholastic Canada) are due Oct. 17.    See the “More” tab on our homepage for guidelines on how to pay for your Scholastic books online.
 
 ***NEW****  RPNS Forest School Friday Pilot Project!        
Forest School is different from other outdoor learning experiences in two ways. First, Forest School takes place in the same setting on a regular basis over an extended period of time. This gives students the opportunity to learn a great deal about the area and enables them to develop a lasting connection with nature.
Taken from; “Forest and Nature School in Canada Guide” pub Forest School Canada, July 2014
Eight RPNS children along with Paulette, Lisa and parent volunteers are exploring the woods of Otterson Park every Friday for this pilot project.  The Forest and Nature School (FNS) pedagogy focuses on children learning through play in a natural, outdoor setting. During our first session held on Sept. 23, we observed the children discovering nature in the forest….from finding a worm to wondering how high a grape vine was growing on a tree! 
FNS ties in perfectly with Ontario’s pedagogy “How Does Learning Happen?” and its four foundations:
Well-being-  studies show that children who spend lots of time outdoors (year round) are healthier
Belonging – being outdoors in a natural environment, connects us back to our natural roots.  FNS lets children appreciate nature and form empathic relationships with all things in the forest.
Expression- children are free to express themselves freely in an area where the boundaries are larger than a typical classroom and the ceiling is endless!  The outdoor environment leads to questioning, running, and lots of sensory explorations.
Engagement- all the ‘loose parts’ (sticks, rocks, pinecones, leaves) that a forest provides, allows children to engage in all types of play ~ from manipulating objects to build structures to using natural materials in dramatic play (where the stick become a magic wand!).
We are really excited about this Pilot Project that will continue all this year and welcome your inquiries and feedback!
 
 
                   Toddler and Junior Preschool Newsletter
                                      
Our newsletters begin in October because the month of September is a “getting to know you” month. Learning new routines and various degrees of separation anxiety are prominent during the month of September so the newsletter is a better indicator in October.
The Junior Preschool group (which includes some children who have previous experience with our program) is working well together. We introduced name tags (first name) at the snack table and many of the children are already beginning to recognize their names and are able to sit in the appropriate chair. In preparation of our mandatory fire drills we ask the children wh​ere they are, and model the answer “Here I am” when they hear us say their name. We also ask them to put up their arm so that they can be seen and heard. Sometimes children have difficulty using their voices so the arm in the air insures a visual and non-verbal form of safety. 
The Toddler group is beginning to settle into the program. The initial all out crying is leveling out and becoming sporadic bursts during the morning. Transitions (movement from free play to snack time, snack time to outdoor classroom, bathroom changing, door opening and closing) are notorious for causing new rounds of tears. Learning to self-regulate during these moments are important for teaching them how to cope with stress. Routines, modeling social behavior, and creating and maintaining supportive, reliable relationships help children deal with these stressful moments. As educators we aim to provide you and your child with a growth-promoting environment which offers children the support or “scaffolding” that helps them practice necessary skills before they must perform them alone.
We are now using the Seesaw program to communicate with all our parents. This is a new for us, so please allow the staff to get used to this form of message system. Our past systems of documentation and communication with parents have all been in a written format.  Changes in technology have encouraged us to move to this computerized photographic system. It is our hope that it will help us all realize the infinite forms of learning that your children are experiencing when attending their preschool program at RPNS.
The photos and videos that you will be receiving will be tagged with messages from the educators. It is our hope that you will recognize these pictures as some of the memorable moments of “learning” that your child is experiencing and practicing during our morning program. We are basing our photos on the Ontario government’s pedagogy called “How Does Learning Happen”. The 4 foundations and explanations of their meaning is displayed on our bulletin board which is on the wall when you enter the program. We also follow an Emergent curriculum. The list of materials that we started with at the beginning of the year are also posted on this bulletin board. When we follow the children’s interests we add or change these materials (which will be documented on these same cue cards). The emergent curriculum allows the educators to follow the children’s focus and enrich the classroom according to the children’s interests.

                         A few words from Tina
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Welcome to October!
The children have all settled in nicely to the program. We have two lovely groups. It has been an awesome September. A real treat for me!
During the month of October we will be looking at concepts related to fall and of course, Halloween!
   At circle time, the group will play “Pumpkin Patch” as a way to continue with turn-taking activities.  We have already been cooperating and working with others: I can’t wait to see what the kids have in store for me next!!
Socialization and effective communication with adults and peers are my main focus right now. Emergent curriculum has us watching the children closely and we are slowly phasing in new activities.
 
Here are our Halloween songs:
5 Little Pumpkins
5 little pumpkins; sitting on a gate. (Hold up 5 fingers)
The first one says “Oh my! It’s getting late”.
The second one says “There are witches in the air!”
The third one says “Well we don’t care!”
The fourth one says  ”Let’s have some fun!”
The fifth one says “let’s run and run and run!
“Woooooooohhhh” went the wind and (loud clap) out went the light.
And 5 little pumpkins, roll out of sight (roll hands)
 
 
HOO!
(Tune: Farmer in the Dell)

The owl goes hoo, (cup hands to mouth) The owl goes hoo,

Hi ho on Halloween, the owl goes hoo.
Other verses:
The ghost goes boo (wave hands out in front)
The bats go eek (flap arms)

The pumpkin rolls around (roll hands)

The scarecrow waves good-bye (wave)
 
 

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