Hello, November! We're Ready for You!
There's a definite change in the air! The mornings are getting cooler, the days are getting shorter, and our school adventures are taking on a cozy November feel. It's the time of year when dressing in layers becomes an art form and having a few extras tucked into a backpack can save the day! Please remember to send along weather-appropriate clothing, including a warm hat, mittens and an extra pair of socks. You never know what the day might bring!
A little note about communication: We really appreciate families letting us know ahead of time when their children will be away. It helps us organize our classrooms and plan activities accordingly. And if your little one is feeling under the weather, please keep us in the loop. These small acts of communication make a big difference in helping us care for everyone and keep our school community healthy and happy. Thank you for being such a wonderful part of our school family!
🍕 Pizza Night & Cake Walk! 🎂
Thursday, November 19th | 5:30–7:30 PM
Get ready for one of our favourite nights of the whole year! Pizza Night & Cake Walk is back, and it’s sure to be an evening full of laughter, friendship, and delicious fun.
At St. Catherine’s, we believe that when families, children, and teachers come together, something magical happens — a real sense of belonging. These shared moments help our preschool community grow stronger, creating lasting friendships and happy memories for everyone.
Order forms will be sent home on November 3rd and 4th, so please fill them out and return them as soon as possible — no later than November 17th. You won’t want to miss out on this wonderful night!
We’ll have pizza, nine amazing salads lovingly made by our teachers, and desserts galore prepared by our incredible board members. And of course... CAKE! 🎉
We’re inviting families to donate a cake for our Cake Walk or Auction. (Because let’s be honest — there’s no such thing as too much cake!) If your little one doesn’t win during the Cake Walk game, don’t worry — you can always try your luck in the cake auction! Any unused Cake Walk tickets will go into the final raffle for one last delicious cake or maybe even a special prize basket!
So come hungry, come cheerful, and come ready to celebrate the wonderful community that makes St. Catherine’s Childcare Society so special. We can’t wait to see you there!
CLASS PHOTOS
CLASS PHOTOS will be held on Nov 4th and 5th. We will be taking individual portraits as well as class photos these days. If you know your child will be absent on these days, please let us know.
Once the photos have been edited, we will send you one group shot and one individual shot for you to keep.
In lieu of paying for a package of photos, we suggest that, if you are able, please think about a donation to the school. All donations will go directly to the upkeep, maintenance of our play yard with some monies going to our gym/yard equipment.
PURDYS CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER
ONLY 1 MORE WEEK TO ORDER CHOCOLATE FOR OUR FUNDRAISER!!!
Try this link to order some Christmas Chocolate: https://fundraising.purdys.com/fundraising/campaign/000032438
Ordering Sheets: Paper forms will also be available in the Church lobby as well as the Daycare Office. And you can also download one from the Purdys website.
Share the Love: Pass the links and forms along to your friends and family so they can join in!
Thank you for your continued support—let’s make this our sweetest holiday season yet!
THE LAST DAY TO ORDER IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH!!!
Samosa Fundraiser coming soon…..!! November 16th!!
Scholastic Book Orders due on Friday Nov. 27.
Use our class code:
RC168576
https://bookclubs.scholastic.ca/en/digital-cataloguesSCHOOL CLOSURES COMING UP!! Check the calendar below for all the upcoming events!!
RAINBOW ROOM
October in the Rainbow Room: Apples, Autumn & Halloween Fun!
October has been a wonderful month filled with colourful leaves, exciting discoveries, and fun learning experiences!
Our little learners have been exploring the beauty of Autumn through creative activities, hands-on experiences, and playful adventures.
Apple Adventures
Our children explored apples, learned about their different colours and shapes, and enjoyed fun apple-themed art projects and activities. These experiences encouraged their curiosity, creativity, and hands-on learning.
Halloween Fun
Our classroom was filled with Halloween excitement! The children enjoyed pumpkin crafts, creative decorations, and fun Halloween-themed activities that encouraged their imagination and creativity.
Halloween Party
The children had a wonderful time celebrating Halloween at our school! They enjoyed festive activities, creative fun, and special moments with their friends.
A big thank you to all the parents who generously provided food for our Halloween party. Your kindness and support helped make the celebration extra special. We truly appreciate your generosity!
Thanksgiving & Gratitude
We celebrated the season of giving thanks by learning about kindness, sharing, and appreciating the special people and things in our lives.
Our little learners had fun creating their own Thanksgiving turkey crafts! They explored different colours, used their imaginations, and expressed their creativity while making their adorable turkeys.
It was lovely to see their little hands at work and their creative ideas come to life! These activities also helped develop their fine motor skills and introduced them to the traditions of Thanksgiving.
A Friendly Reminder for Colder Weather
As the weather gets colder, please remember to send your children to preschool dressed in weather-appropriate clothing. Warm jackets, comfortable layers, and suitable footwear help keep our little learners warm and comfortable during outdoor play.
Thank you for your continued support and cooperation!
Learning, Growing & Making Memories
Through play, art, stories, and group activities, our children continue to develop new skills, build friendships, and create wonderful memories together. Every activity provides an opportunity to explore, learn, create, and grow!
We are grateful for all the wonderful moments we share with our little learners and their families.
Our Music Class Has Begun!
We are excited to share that our music class has started!
Our little learners will have the opportunity to sing, dance, play musical instruments, and explore music in many fun and creative ways.
Through music and movement, the children can express themselves, develop their listening skills, and enjoy making music together.
We look forward to lots of singing, dancing, laughter, and musical adventures!
Azam & Karen
TREEHOUSE ROOM
October in the Treehouse Room
October was a busy month for teachers, children, and, of course, parents! After settling into preschool routines, activities, and getting to know their friends and teachers in September, the children were ready to enjoy all the fun October had to offer.
We celebrated Thanksgiving by learning about turkeys, harvest time, cornucopias, and the importance of celebrating with family and friends. We also danced to the “Turkey Hokey Pokey”! We enjoyed some felt stories, including Fall Is Not Easy, which introduced the children to the many changes that happen during Autumn and reminded us that this season is a wonderful opportunity to be thankful for everything we have.
The weather was beautiful for much of October, with many sunny days and colourful Autumn leaves. We took advantage of the lovely weather by going for walks around the neighbourhood. The children especially enjoyed visiting the nearby Dudley Park.
Our final and perhaps favourite topic of the month was Halloween!
We decorated our classroom with all kinds of spooky decorations: spiders and spiderwebs, witches, ghosts, pumpkins and jack-o'-lanterns, bats, and skeletons. We also displayed the children's artwork, which added a special touch to our Halloween decorations.
We talked about the costumes we would wear for trick-or-treating, how pumpkins can be turned into jack-o'-lanterns, and how to stay safe during Halloween celebrations.
Marion also organized a special fire safety workshop in the music room with Firefighter Dan. The children learned two important safety rules: “Stop, Drop, and Roll” and “Crawl Low Under Smoke.” They had the opportunity to watch, learn, and practice these skills. We will continue to review these important safety messages throughout the school year.
Some of our favourite Halloween books and stories were The Lady Who Was Never Scared, Halloween Day, and the CD story Boo Who? We also enjoyed matching and memory games, as well as singing and dancing to “Witch Broom,” “Ghostbusters,” and “The Spooky Hokey Pokey.”
For art activities, we explored different textures and creative processes. The children made spiders using colouring and beads, along with witches, ghosts, haunted houses, and other creative projects through free art.
We also had a science experiment, which was one of the children's favourite activities! We made a little Halloween surprise using a plastic bag, a small spider, vinegar, and baking soda. As the baking soda and vinegar reacted, the gas inflated the bag, making the little spider appear to come to life!
Another exciting activity was our neighbourhood Halloween walk. We went outside to admire the Halloween decorations around the community, especially the impressive decorations on Highland Boulevard. The children were very excited to see all the spooky displays!
October at school always ends with a wonderful Halloween party, made even more special by everyone's costumes. We shared special treats with our friends, watched Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest, and danced to spooky Halloween music.
A big thank-you to all the parents who contributed food for our party. Your help and support are truly appreciated!
We were lucky to enjoy some lovely weather this October, which allowed us to spend more time playing outdoors than usual. However, the weather has become much colder recently, so please remember to send your children to school with warm jackets, toques (hats), and mittens.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to talk to one of the teachers.
Gabi, Mary, Vibha, Chris, Rebecca and Karen
RESOURCE ROOM
Marion Porter
I know it is hard to believe but Christmas is just around the corner. I thought it might be helpful to give you some gift ideas for your child.
The 4s are developing specific skills. They are working on their social interaction with peers, learning basic academic skills, e.g. recognizing their names, sorting and counting. They are learning to adjust to more structured activities with defined roles during play. Some recommended toys would be board games, card games, dominoes, puppets and dress-up clothes.
The 3s are all working so hard on primary social skills, e.g. communicating with peers and sharing toys. Language is starting to emerge, and they are beginning to realize that their needs can be met by using their words. Imitative and imaginary play is an important part of their day. They love to be creative and enjoy rhythmic movement and the more repetitive the better. Some suggestions would be toy telephones, riding toys, puzzles, simple musical instruments, dolls/stuffed animals and lots of puppets, both finger and hand ones.
Toys enhance play value when they:
- Can be used in many ways
- Allow children to determine the play
- Appeal to children at more than one age or level of development
- Are not linked to video games, TV, or movies
- Can be used with other toys for new and more complex play
- Will stand the test of time and continue to be part of play as children develop new interests and skills
- Promote respectful, non-stereotyped, non-violent interactions among children
- Help children develop skills important for further learning and a sense of mastery
Happy Shopping!
Marion