Category: Diversity

Celebrations & Community Spirit

The second term was filled with celebration and community spirit! From honouring our shared milestones to diving into new learning adventures, we’ve had plenty of reasons to cheer. We also made and displayed some fabulous artwork!

At the end of January, our school had a special visit from local British Columbia author and educator, Cathy Hussey. She brought her passion for storytelling and the natural world directly to our readers. Cathy’s work often reflects her deep connection to the Pacific Northwest and her background in working with young learners. Her book, Doug: The Story of a Tree, is a heartwarming tale designed for children (ages 6–8) that explores themes of growth, resilience, and the interconnectedness of nature.

 

We learned about ourselves and shared information about our families with our classmates. Our “I Am From” poems are simple, personal reflections that foster self-identity and creative expression. We love that they are original and list favourites or feelings about ourselves. At the Pink Shirt Day assembly, some of us read out our poems about why our families are special.

 

We celebrated Valentine’s Day, Lunar New Year, 100th Day, and learned about Anti-Bullying (Pink Shirt Day) and Black History Month. Please see our beautiful Valentine’s Day bags – we filled these with cards and messages for our friends. We made bracelets with special words and experimented with a variety of materials in Art. We also learned and talked about the Olympics in Italy!

 

During the 100th Day of School, we jumped 100 times (over the week). We imagined what it might look like in the future when we are 100 years old! We created necklaces with 100 beads/Cheerios. We continued to explore a variety of Math and Literacy activities. We can now count by 10s to 100, and we are reading so many new words!

 

We got to know our Div. 6 Big Buddies a little bit more and managed to do some fun activities with them!

 

The Planetarium visited our school Gym. Ocean Wise marine educators took us into the Sea Dome, a large black dome theatre, and we had a blast watching the big screen. We learned about sea animals and protecting our waterways. The educators brought some marine artifacts and we were able to touch things like shark jaws and sea turtle shells.

 

We ended this term with inviting our families to come into our classrooms for Student-led Conferences, and we were able to show our family members just a few of the things we learned in school.

 

What a fun Term 2 we had!  Please have a wonderful and enjoyable Spring Break!  See you back at school on Monday, March 30!

A December to Remember in Kindergarten

December may have been a short three weeks, but our kindergarten classroom was filled with big learning and even bigger fun! The children stayed busy with festive and creative activities, starting with cookie decorating and lots of arts and crafts that helped them practice fine motor skills while expressing their creativity. We also explored learning about leaves through art, connecting seasonal changes to hands-on creative projects.

 

We danced our way through the month by learning a hip hop–choreographed routine and proudly performing it, showing confidence and teamwork. Literacy came alive as students retold The Gingerbread Man, acting out the story and strengthening their comprehension skills. As a class, we also worked together on a Christmas puzzle, learning the importance of patience, cooperation, and helping one another.

 

One of the highlights was making Stone Soup with Ms. Steverding’s class. The children peeled, chopped, cooked, and then shared a meal together to celebrate teamwork and community. They also enjoyed open play time with friends, building social skills, imagination, and cooperation through play. We wrapped up the month with cozy moments like movie day, a special pancake breakfast and lots of open play. December was short but sweet, and full of memories we’ll carry into the new year!

 

We would like to wish all our families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and thank you so much for your generous gifts and continued support—it truly means a lot!

October – Autumn Adventures

This month has been full of excitement, curiosity, and friendship in our kindergarten classroom! As the leaves turned colours, our young learners explored the wonderful themes of apples, pumpkins, and celebrations from around the world.

We began our journey by discovering apples—tasting different varieties, labeling parts of an apple, and making apple prints with paint. The children loved learning about how apples grow and sharing which kind was their favorite!

 

We talked about Thanksgiving—a time to be grateful and to share kindness. The class shared what they are thankful for, from family and friends to food and toys. We made “Thankful Leaves,” where each leaf showed something special that fills our hearts with gratitude. We also had fun painting rainbow turkeys for Thanksgiving!

Next came pumpkins, we went on our first field trip to the pumpkin patch (see pumpkin patch post), we explored the inside of a pumpkin, their life cycle and tasted pumpkin seeds.

 

Our Halloween celebration was filled with costumes and laughter as we explored different ADST (Applied Design, Skills, and Technologies) challenges and math with a Halloween twist.

 

We also learned about Diwali, the Festival of Lights. The children listened to stories about how Diwali is celebrated and made colorful rangoli patterns and paper diyas to brighten our room.

 

Division 12 learning and exploring hands-on activities in literacy, math, and art.

 

During Story Workshop, our classroom came alive with stories from our trip to the pumpkin patch! Division 12 used their voices and imaginations to share their favourite moments — from finding the perfect pumpkin to completing the obstacle course and corn maze. Ask your child to share their story with you.

Our young artists explored self-expression! They looked closely at their reflections in mirrors to draw detailed self-portraits, noticing the unique shapes and features that make them special.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Our two kindergarten classes had such a fun experience visiting Laity Pumpkin Patch (South side) in Maple Ridge. For many of the students, it was their very first pumpkin patch experience. And for the majority, it was their first school bus ride! The morning began with clouds and a chance of light rain. The students were prepared for the rain with boots and rain gear. The weather held out for us, and our cloudy day turned into a fabulous sun-shiny afternoon!

Students had ample time to explore in small groups, thanks to our parent volunteers. The children were excited to visit the barn and the outdoor areas with many animals!  We were able to see and touch some of the animals. We saw goats, a “mountain” of sheep, a village of rabbits, chickens, turkeys, and even the “three little pigs” who lived in their houses of straw, sticks and bricks!

The area was divided into many smaller areas for exploration. The western pumpkin town had creative pumpkin displays. Some of the children’s favourites were the saloon and the sheriff’s office where students could pose as the “town thief” inside a jail. Inside the Garden Glow tent was a walk-through of fluorescent pumpkins and characters. Students also enjoyed the corn mazes and obstacle courses. The large games area featured ball tosses, pinball-inspired challenges, pumpkin tic-tac-toe and other unique puzzles and trick shot games.

Students enjoyed the Laity Launcher pumpkin cannon show; it hurled pumpkins at some large stacked barrels. It was such a huge “hit” with the children. At the end of the trip, we travelled to the pumpkin field and each student chose a pumpkin to take home!

It was a bumpy but quick bus ride back to school. Some children managed to get a quick nap on the bus! Ms. Steverding led us with some fun bus-riding songs!

During our journal writing the next day, students were asked to share about their favourite part of the trip, here are a few things that were said:

“I loved petting the animals.”

“It was hard to pick (a pumpkin)…I wish I could take lots!”

“The pigs – I loved the houses.”

“I liked sticking my head out the holes for pictures.”

“I love bus ride.”

“It was glowing and singing in the tent.”

“I love the cute animals. I love cats and bunnies.”

“I like riding the bouncy animals.” (the inflatable toys)

Please ask your child to tell you what their favourite memory or moment was, and feel free to share their answers below in the comment box.

Thank you so much to our educational assistants (Ms. Lee, Ms. Nguyen), as well as all the parent volunteers, and the parents who were able to join us for this memorable field trip! Also thank you to the parents who helped to take photos.

 

Gymnastics

The children had a blast exploring the different stations led by Lucinda of Gym Sense Gymnastics. Lucinda did a wonderful job of introducing the children to the equipment safely and in a fun way. Many students stated they had never tried Gymnastics equipment before, and some were a little hesitant to start. Students developed their skills in strength, flexibility, balance and coordination, confidence and most importantly, they had fun!  Individual photos of children will be sent to you in separate emails.

Some comments from the children:
“I liked the beams.”
“I love swinging and climbing the rope.”
“It was hard to stand on the balancing thing, but I liked it.”
“The monkey bars were hard. But fun.”

September and October

 

The Kindergarten year is off to a busy start! We have been learning, playing and establishing our classroom routines.  It has been great to see friendships forming among the children as they get to know each other! Here’s a little glimpse of what we have been doing.

 

 

Learning to recognize and write our name

 

We learned Terry Fox is a Canadian hero who raised millions of dollars for cancer research through his Marathon of Hope event.  Our class participated in the event by running around our field and raising money for cancer research.

 

For Truth and Reconciliation Day, we learned the day honours the children who never returned home and survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities.  We also learned a Powwow dance and saw a Powwow performance.

 

Playing with numbers 0-10

 

Learning about pumpkins

 

Ask your child to share their Leaf Man story with you.

 

We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch! Ask your child to share their favourite part of the field trip with you.

 

 

 

We had a great time celebrating Halloween together! Thank you for all the yummy treats!

 

Jack-o-lantern art

 

Halloween Stations

 

What will happened to Candy Corn when we put them in hot water, vinegar and Bubly?  Ask your child about the candy corn experiment.

 

 

 

Happy Diwali

 

Diwali is also known as the Festival of Lights! We learned Diwali is India’s biggest holiday of the year! Diwali is a 5 day celebration.  People decorate their homes and meals are shared with families and friends.  They also celebrate with fireworks and gifts are given to children.

 

Diyas are small type of lamp or candle holders lit on Diwali.