NOVEMBER 2014 Newsletter

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From the Teachers

Dear Wesbrook Families,

What a beautiful beginning of Fall! Leaves are blanketing the park in

their beautiful orange, red and brown colours. We have enjoyed the

weather while at the playground and the afternoon class had fun

taking walks in the neighborhood and collecting nature treasures for

our science table.

This month has inspired many great discussions at circle time thanks

to themes like Thanksgiving, Harvest, Apples and of course

Halloween! We made soup, pizza, corn bread and the afternoon

class made pasta from scratch, thanks to Aliz (Ailsa’s mom).

Children brought vegetables from home to make soup, and when we

asked James what he brought he said: “I got smashed potato!”

The Pumpkin Patch field trip was lots of fun and the light drizzle

lasted just a few minutes while we were at the farm. We again had a

most successful Pumpkin Carving Day. It has been a favorite for

many Wesbrook children over the years and we hope that you were

happily carving pumpkins while children had fun showing off their

costumes.

Important Dates

Thursday, Nov. 6

Monthly General Meeting 6:45 pm

Monday, Nov. 10 & Tuesday, Nov. 11

Remembrance Day - School Closed

2nd

week of November

Deadline for Fundraising Donations

Wednesday, Nov. 19

Pajama Day

Thursday, Nov. 20

Pre-registration forms due for 2015-16

Saturday, Nov. 22

Open House - 10:00am – 12:00pm

3rd & 4

th weeks of November

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Birthdays this Month

Morning Class

Happy Birthday Luella! – Nov.17th

In this Issue

Message from the Teachers 1

Important Dates 1

Message from the Presidents 3

Fundraising Update 4

Enrollment Update 5

Fall Fun 6

Emergency Contact Info

School Phone: 604-224-3112

3’s Class Safe House – The Copeland’s

Cathy (Will’s mom): 3943 W. Broadway

4’s Class Safe House – The Giesen’s

Anette (Pippa’s mom): 4383 W. 3rd Ave

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2’s Class: Children in our 2’s class are having fun getting to know each other and finding out all

the things to do at preschool. It is great to see some friendships forming and real quality time

happening with parents and their children.

Pajama Day: Wednesday the 19th of November we will be having a pajama day,

so children and Parent Teachers can come to school in their pajamas and bring

along their favorite story and stuffies.

Cold Weather Attire: November is upon us and that means colder days are here again. Please

make sure that you send your child in weather appropriate attire. Mittens and toques often get

forgotten while we are getting ready to go outside. To make sure that does not happen please put

the toques in the hood of your child’s jacket or in the sleeve. Mittens can be tied to a long string

and put through each sleeve.

Parent Teacher Conferences: Please note that there is a signup sheet on the notice board for

the November Parent Teacher Conferences. The dates in November are 17th-20th and 24

th-27

th

This is for parents only and we ask that you “team up” with another parent (if child care is an

issue) who would take care of your child while we have an uninterrupted chat.

In November we will continue with fall theme and we will talk about cold and rainy days,

hibernation, nocturnal animals, etc.

It has been such a pleasure to spend time observing and getting to know each child at Wesbrook.

With the support from all of you, being parent-teachers, we are able to take time to find out what

they like, whom they are and meet their individual needs. They are all so unique and with

consistent, gentle guidance and patience we hope they will grow to be kind, independent and full

of all life has to offer.

Thank you again for letting us care for your children.

Ann and Jasmina

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From the Presidents

We hope you and your family have enjoyed the many fall activities that have kept Wesbrook a

busy and fun-filled preschool this past month. Our field trip to Richmond Country Farms was a

delight. The rain held off just long enough to allow for some perfect pumpkin-picking. Children

and parents enjoyed tractor rides, sing-along songs, farm animals, frolicking in bales of hay, and

dancing to the band music. Thank-you to teachers Jasmina and Ann for organizing the trip, and

for making the Pumpkin Carving/Special Persons Day at the school so much fun! We would also

like to thank organizer Genese Castonguay and to all those who came, brought things to share,

and helped clean up.

As you will read from our fundraisers, November is an important month to involve yourself in the

largest fundraiser of Wesbrook’s year. Please remember to sign up and contact at least five

businesses to solicit donations for our live and silent auction items. Thank-you to fundraisers,

Sarah Rowley and Jessica Walsh, who have been very busy planning the event. It promises to be

a fantastic night! Perhaps the biggest note of appreciation should be extended to all of our

parents for participating in every way that you do to make Wesbrook Preschool the very best for

our children.

Valerie and Anette

Co-Presidents

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Fundraising Update, 2014-2015 school year

Hello Wesbrook Fundraisers!

To all of you who have started acquiring donations for our Friday, December 5th Festive – a huge thank-you! We've already received some Fundraising party and Silent Auction

fantastic donations and we appreciate your support.

The 2014 Wesbrook fundraiser is a ticketed event and a good excuse for everyone to get together to eat, drink and be merry. Each family is required to buy at least 2 tickets ($15 ea tbc). Extended family and friends included and especially welcome, if they would help our fundraising cause! :)

During the evening a Silent Auction will take place and raffle drawn. The week of October 27th, 25

raffle tickets will be put in each cubby of 3's and 4's parents. They will be $10 each (totally worth it, the prizes are great and the winning chances high) – and each family is required to sell all 25 to friends, family, colleagues, random strangers.

In addition to selling raffle tickets, each family (3's and 4's) is responsible for soliciting five businesses for silent auction donations. Please make sure to put your name next to the businesses you would like to target in the fundraising binder at the entrance to the classroom by October 29

th at the latest. Help yourself to donation sheets and letters to merchants, which can be

found in envelopes on the wall behind binder. This list is not exhaustive, so please feel free to add other business names you wish to contact at the bottom of the list and email Sarah or Jessica (co-fundraisers) to let us know, to prevent overlap.

Nothing is too small or too big - but aim high - focus is on quality over quantity! And, it would be very appreciated if, when getting gift certificates, we could also get something tangible (no matter how small) that the business carries, for presentation purposes. (E.g. a spa certificate + beauty product; a restaurant voucher + a package of tea they sell; etc.)

Also, if you have any personal items (gift certificates, ski passes, event tickets etc.) that you are in a position to donate, they would be very gratefully received AND you can get a tax receipt. Do you or someone you know have a skill or service that you could donate? A weekend at a vacation home?

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We are still looking to confirm alcohol sponsorship (wine/beer/liquor) so if you have any contacts on this front, we would be grateful. A case of wine (even a bottle), a flat of beer or a 26er of vodka...all very welcome :)

Deadline for donations is the week of November 10th

, with a completed pledge sheet. Please let us know if this won't be possible.

Two tickets for the Festive fundraiser will be in your child's pocket soon. You can leave your payment of cash or cheque in Luella Rowley's or Oscar Walsh's pocket (3's class). Please invite your friends and families and another reminder to all the 2's parents – we would really love it if you would join too! Please let Sarah or Jessica know as soon as possible if you would like more tickets. The more the merrier!

As a gentle reminder (since we know how busy everyone's lives are, especially at this time of year), fundraising is a crucial activity at Wesbrook Preschool and part of everyone's “Parent Participation” expectations. We are required to meet certain fundraising goals in order to qualify for our government grant and pay for things such as field trips, new equipment, gymnastics and music. With your support we can easily meet – or even surpass – that amount. With only a month left to go before the event, it's go time!

We look forward to sharing some festive cheer with you all and hopefully, reaching our fundraising goals! Thank-you in advance for everyone's assistance, we appreciate it hugely.

Thank-you,

Sarah Rowley, co-fundraiser (Luella Rowley’s mother, a.m. class) sjarowley@gmail.com

Jessica Walsh, co-fundraiser (Oscar Walsh’s mother, a.m. class) jessica@jessicajwalsh.com

Enrollment Update

Hi Everyone!

Our first Open House is coming up this month on Saturday, November 22nd, from 10am-noon.

Current Wesbrook families are given priority over the general public in registering their children

for the following year. I will soon be placing pre-registration forms in the pockets of all children in

the 2- and 3-year-old classes. If these forms are returned by , current Thursday, November 20th

families are guaranteed a space for their child / children for 2015-16. General registration will

open to the public at the Open House, after which point we cannot guarantee a space if forms

have not been returned.

We would greatly appreciate a few families coming out to the Open House on the 22nd

to field

questions and share their enthusiasm for Wesbrook with prospective families. It’s a great

opportunity for your kids to play, do crafts and meet with friends. I’ll be asking for volunteers at

the November GM.

Many thanks in advance,

Janine (James’ mom), Enrollment Coordinator

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Fall Fun

In case you need even more motivation to head outside on these beautiful fall days, try this fun

Autumn Scavenger Hunt below: