October News

Gratitude unlocks the

fulness of life. It turns

what we have into

enough.

-Melody Beattle

October Calendar/Online Clothing Store 2

School Council & Fundraising Guild 3

Casa dei Bambini & ELMO 123 4/5

ELMO 456 News/From the Gym/Parking 6/7

Social Emotion Learning/VTRA Fair Notice 8/9

GPPSD Stay at Home Guide 10

Inside this issue:

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Volume 5, Issue 2

October 7, 2020

The colors of fall can be viewed all

around us and the crisp morning air

assures us that the season has

changed, and autumn has ar-

rived! We have been so fortunate to

enjoy warm afternoon temperatures

over the last few weeks. Thank you for

partnering with us on our fifth Septem-

ber as a school community!

September is a time for reviewing ex-

pectations, routines, and for building

our school community. Each fall we

spend time determining our student’s

areas of strength and areas for growth

to enable us to plan for each child at

their current level of achieve-

ment. Montessori materials have

come out and we have a busy and

exciting learning environment at

Parkside! October is here and in the

coming weeks information will be sent

home about Halloween celebrations

and our Term One Parent Teacher In-

terviews.

Our social emotional learning theme

for the month of October is grati-

tude. Children at Parkside will be

learning what gratitude means, how

to express gratitude and will be prac-

ticing internalizing gratitude strate-

gies. Gratitude will become an inten-

tional part of our daily interactions and

practice at Parkside.

Two weeks ago, you received letters

specific to a “Shelter in Place” emer-

gency procedure that was used be-

cause a lynx or bobcat was in the

neighborhood. Shelter in Place is one

of the many procedures that we will

practice with students throughout the

year. The dates for our practice drills

can be found in the Family Calendar

that was sent home in Septem-

ber. Each time we practice a drill, you

will be notified in advance with a letter

that outlines how and when the specific

procedure would be used. To properly

prepare students, and ensure they are

not frightened by the drills, teachers will

be discussing them with students both

prior to and following the drill. While we

hope we never have to use the proce-

dures for emergencies, we want to

make sure all our students and staff are

well prepared to utilize the procedure

should the need arise. In the event of

an emergency protocol being used,

information will be shared as soon as

possible with parents. Thank you for

your continued support and coopera-

tion in ensuring the safety of our stu-

dents.

During this season of Thanksgiving we

continue to be grateful for the support

of our parent community. Wishing all

our Parkside Families a safe and healthy

Thanksgiving season!

-Miss Corrine & Miss Terra

Page 2

On the Calendar...

M ONT ESS ORI NE WS

NEW in October, Online Clothing Store is OPEN Oct. 5 to 19!

We are pleased to partner with Playfair Athletics to offer an online clothing store to purchase Parkside Mon-

tessori gear. The online store will be open at select dates through the year, with the first being Oct. 5-19. You

can access the store through this link: https://parksideschool2020.itemorder.com/

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5

Online Clothing

Store Opens;

World Teachers’

Day; School

Council @ 6PM;

Fundraising Guild

@ 7:15PM

6 7

Lock Down Drill

8 Lock Down Drill

9 Lock Down Drill

Silly Sock Day

10

11 12

Thanksgiving,

NO SCHOOL for

students and staff

13 School

Spirit Day

14 15 16 17

18 19

LAST DAY for

online clothing

store orders

20 21 22 23

NO SCHOOL for

students, Profes-

sional Learning for

staff

24

25 26 27 28

Casa Halloween

29 Casa Halloween

30

ELMO1-6

Halloween

Costume Day

31

October 2020

V OLU ME 5, ISS UE 2 Page 3

School Council & Fundraising Guild

School Council & Fundraising Guild meetings are the FIRST Monday of every month! To receive the School

Council meeting link,

please email:

parkside.montessori@gppsd.ab.ca

To receive the Fundraising

Guild meeting link, please

email:

theguild.pm@gmail.com

Did you know that all Parkside Montessori parents are mem-bers of the school council?

It’s true!

EVERYONE is welcome to the

monthly school council meetings.

Both the School Council of

Parkside Montessori and The

Fundraising Guild of Parkside

Montessori are active on Face-

book.

Find us on Facebook!

Parkside School Council

Casa dei Bambini, Preschool & Kindergarten

Page 4 M ONT ESS ORI NE WS

We are thrilled to be beginning October with a

full, harvest moon! This exciting time will be influ-

encing some of the work we take on this month

as we continue to be inspired by the natural

world around us. September was a busy month

filled with learning routines, expectations, person-

al hygiene, and important safety measures. We

also spent time learning about the Zones of Reg-

ulation and practicing identifying and naming

how we feel. Recognizing and saying how you

feel is an important part of self-regulation, and

Casa students have been making great strides. It

was so wonderful to begin our PATHS Kid of To-

day; a wonderful routine that encourages lead-

ership, pride, and celebrates positive qualities in

ourselves and in others. Every Casa student will

have an opportunity to be a Paths Kid of Today!

In October, we will continue our social-emotional

learning (SEL) with a focus on gratitude. We will

be incorporating this important theme into activi-

ties surrounding Thanksgiving, along with other

month-long and even year-long initiatives. As

Halloween approaches, please keep an eye out

for information on how we plan to recognize this

fun day this year. While things will likely be differ-

ent than past years, we still plan on dressing up

and having fun! Please remember that we will

not be sharing any treats or special snacks.

As the weather begins to get colder, please re-

member to help your child come to school each

day dressed to be outdoors. Layers are great this

time of year! We look forward to getting out-

doors and enjoying beautiful autumn!

-Miss Trisha & Miss Laura

Lower Elementary, Gr. 1, 2, 3

V OLU ME 5, ISS UE 2 Page 5

Autumn has arrived and we are so excited to

experience all the wonderful things this sea-

son brings. We have had such lovely weather

so far and the kids have been enjoying the

days of sunshine. As the weather can shift

quickly this season, please remember to

make sure that your child has all that they

need for the outdoors throughout the day.

Phys. Ed. and recess will be outside as much

as possible this year and it is therefore so im-

portant to dress for the weather!

ELMO students are just doing just absolutely

fantastic at learning and following the new

health procedures! On a daily basis, we see

students helping each other, giving remind-

ers, keeping each other accountable in a

kind way. We love seeing all the socially dis-

tanced creative games in the field and on

the playground!

Though there are lots of changes this year,

Montessori principles are still a vital part of our

classrooms and our daily work. Students have

been exploring the Montessori math and lan-

guage materials during uninterrupted work

block times. These materials are assigned to

students to fit their individual learning needs

for extended periods of time and then sani-

tized before another student has access to

that material.

On September 21st, we also celebrated The

International Day of Peace. Peace and cos-

mic education play a major role in our class-

room environment. On this day, the students

reflected on what peace feels like to them.

We will also continue to read the Five Great

Lessons and extend our learning based on

student interest. The children have enjoyed

listening to these thought-provoking stories

about the history of the world.

-Miss Elise, Miss Jen, Miss Allison,

Miss Megan, Mr. Josh

September flew by as students and

teachers learned about each other and

practiced routines. Students have

adapted to new routines and expecta-

tions easily and should be commended

for their compassion, patience, resilien-

cy, and growth over the past

month. The focus on Social Emotional

Learning has been an important step

and we look forward to continuing this

journey throughout the year.

In October, we will focus on Grati-

tude. We will be doing daily gratitude

journaling and a special ‘Celebrating

Diversity’ project. Students will be intro-

duced to a variety of people from differ-

ent backgrounds who have made a

positive difference in Canada and our

world. Students will research their cho-

sen person, construct a Bio-acrostic po-

em, and reflect on what we can learn

from them. The goal is for students to

learn about gratitude by appreciating

the challenges their chosen person has

overcome.

In Language Arts, students have been

writing Narrative texts based on pic-

tures. They are learning to use an inter-

esting beginning and have a clear prob-

lem and solution. Reading assessments

and goals will be worked on in Octo-

ber. In Math, students have learned

about big numbers and basic opera-

tions. Students will learn about decimals

before completing operations involving

decimal numbers.

Upper Elementary, Gr. 4, 5, 6 Science has been a focus for September

as we took advantage of the nice

weather to study trees and forests. Stu-

dents will wrap up the unit by construct-

ing a slideshow using photos of nature

they have taken themselves. We will also

begin our Social Studies curriculum by

learning about the birthplace of democ-

racy, Ancient Greece.

We have no doubt our students will con-

tinue to persevere and surprise us with

their positive attitudes and love of learn-

ing. We are looking forward to seeing

their creativity and originality as they

begin projects.

-Miss Desiree & Miss Rebecca

Parking at Parkside

News from the gym! I am so proud of the hard-working

Parkside students!! We have been braving

the weather playing outside every day!

We will continue with outdoor Physical Ed-

ucation class so please send your child

with warm clothes and good shoes for

running. The students are very familiar with

the rules and expectations while outside.

The Grades 1-6 classes have been playing

lots of Rock Paper Scissors games. A fa-

vourite is called Rock Paper Scissors Hoop

Chain. The students are in 2 teams travel-

ling in hoops which are on the ground to-

wards each other. Ask your child to ex-

plain the game to you at home. We also

recently learned how to play a game

called Wall Ball Challenge which involves

throwing a tennis ball against the wall and

catching it. The Casa classes have been

playing games called Back to Back and

Here, There, Where. I also have a cart of

PE equipment (balls, pylons, bean bags

and hoops) for the Casa students to play

with which gets cleaned between the

classes.

Keep up the amazing work everyone!!

I love seeing the students each day!!

-Miss Elaine

Loading & Bus Zones…

The Loading Zone area is

for quick pick-ups and

drop offs.

Please do not park in the

loading zone. Doing so

prevents our buses from

stopping safely.

There is no stopping in the

Bus Zone.

Please be mindful of where

you are parking keeping

cross walks and driveways

clear.

Thank you for being good

neighbours!

*Parking is available at the far east end of the staff parking lot or the city lot marked on map.

Social Emotional Learning Tools

Why SEL?

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a critical component of the educational experi-

ence that is proven to lead to improvements in student behaviour, reductions in class-

room disruption, and greater academic achievement. It does so by going beyond tra-

ditional academic skills and teaching students how to resolve conflicts, handle emo-

tions, empathize, and make responsible decisions.

There are five distinct categories of social emotional learning:

• Self Awareness is the ability to understand and manage your own feelings and to

know your strengths and weaknesses

• Self Management is the ability to manage your behaviour and impulses, to have in-

tegrity, and to act according to your values.

• Social Awareness is the ability to understand and have empathy for others

• Relationship Management is knowing how to work with others and get along effec-

tively.

• Responsible Decision Making is the ability to make good decisions and know how to

problem solve effectively both along and in groups.

One of the tools we are using this year at Parkside Montessori to support students’ social

emotional learning (SEL) is the Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS©) curric-

ulum. This program brings students through each of these domains in stages.

At Parkside Montessori, all classes have begun the PATHS© Kid of Today. Each day, the

selected student in each class takes on various leadership roles within the classroom for

the day. Being the PATHS© Kid is an important job and we are so proud of each one!

Each PATHS© Kid of Today also takes part in a Compliment List activity with their teacher

and classmates. Students get to bring home their list or a photo is emailed to parents.

We encourage families to take time to discuss the list and add compliments!

This month our SEL focus is on GRATITUDE. One way to teach children about gratitude is

by showing appreciation for what we have. When we show gratitude, it means we

show thanks for the things that are good in our lives! We can do this by showing appre-

ciation. You can show appreciation in many ways. Some examples of showing appre-

ciation are by saying thank you, drawing a picture, or making a card for someone.

Please do not hesitate to connect with your child’s teacher if you have any questions

about the social emotional learning going on in the classroom!

Source: pathsprogram.com

Parkside Montessori

Corrine Shmyruk, Principal

Terra Shewchuk, Vice Principal

PARKSID E MONTESSORI

9617 91A avenue

Grande Prairie, AB

T8V 0G7

Phone: 780-532-7429

Email:

Parkside.montessori@gppsd.ab.ca

Facebook:

@ParksideMontessori

Visit our school page:

www.gppsd.ab.ca/school/parksidemontessori