Please see this page for Yukon Montessori School family updates.

September 5, 2018 – Montessori in the Yukon; evolving to thrive!

Hello Elementary Families,

We are thrilled to announce that Montessori Borealis Preschool and the Yukon Montessori School are aligning their organizational priorities through governance changes this fall. These changes will help Montessori in the Yukon thrive so that it can grow sustainably.

These changes impact Montessori education in the Yukon; become involved and add your voice to the discussions.

Attached is a pdf that outlines the coming changes. Please take a few minutes to read it through and reflect on how you’d like to be involved in your child’s education.

We invite ALL parents & caregivers to attend their AGM on Thursday, September 27th, 2018 at 7pm in your child’s classroom. After your society’s AGM, a joint meeting will be held to elect new “Umbrella” board members.

Please feel welcome to get in touch with any questions.

See you soon,

Emily Hood, M.Ed.
Executive Director
Whitehorse Montessori Society
Montessori Borealis Preschool

Erin Schultz, B.Ed
Executive Director
Yukon Montessori School
Yukon Parents for Montessori Society

September 5, 2018 – September Newsletter

Good morning Montessori Families!

I will apologize upfront as I will be sending 2 back to back emails. Both are of great importance! So please take a moment through your day to read through each. If you have any questions please feel free to touch base at any time!

Attached to this email is our September Newsletter with important upcoming events as well as a copy of our September Calendar for an overview.

Thank you all for a great first day!

**A note for Upper Elementary Families – Dominic will be having an outdoor lunch and excursion each Friday afternoon as weather permits.

Erin

August 17, 2018 – August Newsletter

Good morning YMS Families!

I hope you all have had a great summer and are feeling rested and energized for our 2018-2019 school year!

As we move into the last few weeks of summer holidays, I wanted to send out a welcome to all of our new, and returning families. I have attached our August Newsletter with some updates, important dates in Sept as well as general info as we move into our school year. I have also attached both the Upper and Lower Elementary School Supply Lists.

I hope you all are able to take the last little bit of summer and we are all looking forward to seeing you Tuesday, September 4th!

Erin

August Newsletter

June 13, 2018 – Reminder

Good morning,

I just wanted to send out a quick reminder to all parents and families that this afternoon is our Year End Potluck! It looks as though we will be having lovely weather just in time.

We will begin at 4:45pm and finish close to 6:00pm

See you all this afternoon,

Erin

June 12, 2018 – Fwd: tie dye steps

A quick instructional message regarding the tie dying steps the lower el group did this afternoon!

Erin

June 11, 2018 – Fwd: From Yukon montessori!

Dear Families,

I have just finished booking some exciting dates with Christopher Gishler! He is the owner and operator of Equinox Summer Camps and is happy to once again offer our families summer camps for the 2 weeks before our school starts (Yukon Montessori School begins Tuesday, September 4th).

Camp Dates are August 20th – 24th and August 27 – 31st.
Running the camps for these 2 weeks will be based on registration – so I have included the info package as well as the registration.

This camp is not run through Yukon Montessori School but is specifically put on for our group of students. Please forward your registration and payment info to camp@equinoxyukon.com

Thank you and talk to you all soon!

Erin

June 9, 2018 – Contact info for Monday and Tuesday

Good morning families!

On Monday and Tuesday (June 11-12) the upper el group will be on their annual biking/camping trip.

Dominic will be keeping the school phone on him in case of any emergencies. So while he is away, if you need to pass on a message or need to speak with Kelly regarding your child’s pick up/drop off/appointments that day, etc, please call the Preschool landline at 456-7100, touch base in the morning or send a note with your child for Kelly.

Also while Dominic is away from the classroom, both Charlotte and Marie-Helene will be assisting in the afternoon activities with Kelly. Both Charlotte and Marie Helene have been in our classroom throughout the school year and were excited to come back for the last week of school to see everyone.

Thank you and I hope you all have a great weekend!

Erin

June 9, 2018 – Fwd: Last minute camping trip news

Dear families,

A slight change in drop off place on Monday morning.
Please take a moment to read through the following email from Dominic, as well as the attached packing list.

Thank you, and enjoy your weekend!

Erin

Dear Parents

Camping trip is all set. I have attached a packing list. Less is more as a general rule, but it will be cold and maybe rainy.

A Change from the initial itinerary:

Meet at Mt. Mac parking lot at 8:40am on Monday. We will store all the camping gear in the vehicles. We will leave Mt. Mac at the same time as the schedule as indicated.

We will leave in three vehicles: Dominic, Erin, and Rob Wood will drive out to to Takhini Hot Springs.

On Tuesday, we will leave the Wilderness Preserve at 1:30. Dominic, Erin, and Brian Stuart will drive back.

I will have the school phone with me. You can reach Kelly at school at the Montessori Borealis Phone (867) 456-7100.

Thanks
Dominic

June 5, 2018 – Upper’s Camping Trip Info Session

Good morning families,

Dominic will be hosting an information session this Wednesday, June 6th at 3:20pm at the school for any parents wanting to have a bit more detail about our upcoming camping and biking trip. We encourage all families to try and make it, however, it is completely voluntary and all the information will be sent home via email as well.

Thank you in advance,
Erin

June 4, 2018 – Year End Potluck

Good morning families,

It’s that time of year again!

We would like to cordially invite you all to join us in our Annual Year End Potluck!

Montessori traditionally marks the end of the year with a social event with friends, teachers and parents! We will hold this celebration next Wednesday, June 13th from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.(finishing in time for kids to hit the soccer field or mtn bike trails). If weather cooperates, we will do this in Shipyard’s Park. If the weather is not so great, we will hold it at the school.

The children will prepare meat and vegetarian lasagna’s for all and a potluck sign-up sheet for the side dishes/desserts will go up outside the classroom for today after school.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing you all next Wednesday!

Mark your calendar:
Wednesday, June 13th
5:00pm – 6:30pm
Shipyards Park

Erin

June 4, 2018 – Upper Elementary Camping Trip

Good morning Upper El families,

Attached you will find the camping itinerary outline for our upcoming Upper El Bike Trip, Monday, June 11th to Tuesday, June 12th.

We would like to ask if there might be any parents who could help with driving? Please touch base with Dominic this week as we will be scheduling drivers, students, bikes and gear.

Students, along with Dominic, will be planning food/meals in class, and doing a shop together – however, some students have mentioned they might be bringing items from home. A list will be coming home this week with those items, along with a camping gear list of items to bring. If you can take some time over the upcoming weekend to help your child in their packing, that would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions please feel free at any time to touch base with Dominic or I.

Thank you in advance!
Erin

May 28, 2018 – Week of May 28th – June 1st

Good morning families,

Although this week isn’t as packed full of out of classroom activities as the last few weeks, we are still doing many things in the classroom! We have a few thing we would like for parents and students to keep in mind as we move through the week:

1. Grade 5’s and 6’s – Elementary School Track and Field Day
Wednesday, May 30th
This event is being held at FH Collins and is another fun event held by Yukon Schools Athletic Association (YSAA). It is from 9:00am – 2:45pm (so pick up and drop off will still be at YMS).
I will send a quick email to grade 5 and 6 families with more details.

2. Outdoor Lunches
As the weather begins to change into summer-like temperatures, we will begin to have picnic lunches outdoors. We will generally head over to Shipyards Park to eat between 11:30 – 12:30.

3. Outdoor Gym
We have already begun our outdoor games during gym – and will do so for the remainder of the school year. Games such as baseball, kickball and soccer along with other outdoor friendly games will be played each Wednesday afternoon. Please ensure your child has a labelled water bottle with them at school for these types of activities.

4. Weather appropriate outdoor clothing. With mornings reaching -7 still and then warmer temperatures mid morning and then rain in the afternoon – we are experiencing a very interesting spring season! We are asking that you please send layers for your children to wear that will meet the needs of our unpredictable weather. Sunscreen and sunhats are also welcomed.

4. Thank you to all the families that contributed to our Northwestel Phonebook Fundraiser! We collected over 230 phonebooks that will now be properly recycled rather than dumped in our landfill. We also surpassed the typical amount for any elementary school in the Yukon! Way to go YMS!!

5. Lots of work is being done, students are finishing up all their work and large scale projects over the next few weeks – so don’t be surprised when work starts flooding home.

Upcoming Events to Remember
The grade 3’s and 4’s will be having their MacBride Sleep Over June 8th
The Uppers will be camping June 11 and 12th
Year End Potluck will be the last week of school (I will send an email this week with more details)
Report Cards will be coming home the last day of school

Have a great week!
Erin

May 22, 2018 – This Week

Good morning Families,

We have a busy last few weeks of school so I will do my best each week to send a quick update on what will be happening throughout that week to try and keep everyone as up to date as possible!

This upcoming week, we have a few items to take note of:

We will be doing Garbage Clean Up as part of the city wide clean up. Our area is along front street and Dominic and Kelly will take time throughout the afternoons to begin the clean up. All safety precautions are given out (through the City of Whitehorse) as it is part of their program.

We are still looking for PHONEBOOKS!! If you haven’t sent any in just yet please grab one from your house, office, neighbours! We are looking to collect as many old phonebooks as we can as part of the Northwestel Recycling Program. We need all phonebooks in by this Wednesday, May 23rd.

Starting on this afternoon, the lower elementary students will be showcasing their Plastic Art Show and it will go through the week until Friday in our hallway. We have Ira Webb coming from Zero Waste on Wednesday at 3pm to take a few pictures and interview some of the students interested in speaking with him (we are helping launch their plastic program)!

An in class survey was done to determine who had wanted to participate or not in the Haines Junction Run this upcoming Friday, those students who are not participating in the run will be remaining in class on Friday with Kelly. Those who wanted to participate will be going with Dominic (along with parent volunteers) to Haines Junction. I will send more specific details for those going to Haines Junction tomorrow.

Students will be bringing home written notes with details of the upcoming MacBride Sleep Over (for grade 3’s and 4’s) and Upper Elementary Biking and Camping trip.

Have a great week!

See you soon,

Erin

May 18, 2018 – Haines Junction Run

Good afternoon families! I hope you all had a lovely Friday :

Friday, May 25th we would like for our students to participate in the annual Forestry Run in Haines Junction. This has been a fun event we have taken part in each year and are keen to be a part of it again this year.

We will need a minimum of 6 drivers to join us, that if you would be interested please send me an email so I can start making the lists.

We will leav YMS by 10:30am on Friday

The event begins at 1:00pm

We will head back to Whitehorse after the event (approx 2:15pm)

and Arrive back to YMS approximately 3:45pm

Thank you all in advance for all that you do! I hope you all have an incredible long weekend and we will see you Tuesday morning.

Erin

May 18, 2018 – Fwd: Arctic Council

A note from Dominic for the Upper Elementary Families,

Dear Upper Elementary Parents,

This coming week the Upper Elementary students will be participating
in a Model Arctic Council Committee Meeting on Thursday May 24 at the
Canada Games Centre from 9 to 12.

Over the last few weeks the students have prepared for this committee
meeting of the Arctic Council with work in school. The topic for this
Model Arctic Council Committee Meeting will be the issue of Affordable
Housing in the Members Countries and how member countries have chosen
to respond to this challenge.

To bring a greater degree of legitimacy to the meetings we have
arranged to have the meeting at the CGC board room where the students
will work for the morning. The committee meeting will open with a few
words by MLA Kate White and then the meetings will begin under the
chair/president by Rob Wood. The meetings will move through the
morning and end around noon and we will take the city bus back to
school.

To help the students prepare for this event can I ask you as parents
to please remind your child to where more formal attire to school at
least for the morning on Thursday. Business casual is a good choice
(non-sport clothes, shirt with a collar, and no hoodies etc).
Students are welcome to change out of these clothes at lunch time once
the meeting is over. I have attached a draft of the schedule for the
event to give you a sense of how it will play out.

It is an interesting event and if you are interested in visiting the
proceedings to observe you are welcome to come in for a portion or all
of the event. Please let me know by text or email if and when you
plan to attend. I will be involved with the event and not able to
talk, but you are welcome to slip in and sit in the observation
gallery that we will have prepared in the room. You are welcome to
glance at the real Arctic Council Website to learn more about the
Arctic Council. The aim of this exercise is to help students
experience the procedure of working in a formal discussion setting
with some preparation for what they can contribute. While it is a
formal committee meeting , I have kept the preparation particularly
low key so that it is a subtle introduction to this kind of work. The
plan is to have a larger scale Model Arctic Council in early December
2018 on another topic and this is a dress rehearsal for that.

As well as the special dress code I would ask that you provide your
child will a larger than usual snack for the mid-morning break.
Please no soft drinks or sugary treats.

If you have any questions about this event please email or call me
on the school phone.

I hope you have a good weekend
Dominic

May 10, 2018 – MacBride Sleep Over

Hello Parents of Grade 3 and 4 students!

This is a very busy time of year and we have more to come!

This year the Macbride sleepover will take place on Friday June 8th starting at 6pm at the Museum and pick up will be Saturday June 9th at 8am.

I have recently been advised that there is a dance recital that same night. Unfortunately there are no other available times for us to book this event. If your child cannot make the sleepover due to other arrangements we sincerely apologize!

Save the date and we will give more details as we get closer!

Thanks,

Kelly

May 10, 2018 – Mock Event Today

Good evening,

As many of you may have already heard, or saw this morning and afternoon our local RCMP, EMS and Paramedics, Firefighters and many other emergency personelle staged a mock emergency at Shipyards Park in the parking lot. It was a way to bring awareness to our community. And it was very well done. Some of our preschoolers were taken on a tour of the fire truck and ambulance!

The mock emergency was a car collision, and it was explained to us, as well as the students that there were local youth actors ACTING in the emergency, and the emergency teams did what they do best!

We wanted all families to know that there was a debrief of the events in the class afterwards about what the children had seen, as sometimes sirens and events such as this can be somewhat overwhelming. We did want you to know that if you have any questions to please contact us for more information.

Hope you all had a lovey evening and enjoyed that beautiful sun!

Erin

May 10, 2018 – Friday, May 11th, 2018

Good morning families,

I would like to send a note to everyone regarding tomorrow as there are a few events happening through out the day:.

In the morning students will be walking over to the S.S. Klondike at approx 8:30 to take in the Mining Week Day Camp Session! Elementary Schools are invited to participate in a variety of activities in small groups throughout the day. YMS has booked 9:00am with Leyla Weston (a geologist who has worked with Yukon Montessori School in the past) she will be giving us a guided tour and discussing the information in each section of the displays. Students are able to explore and learn hands on about the mining industry in the Yukon and always have a lot of fun.

We will all be heading back to school for lunch, we may eat outside if it is a nice day so please send a healthy picnic style lunch (no heating) and then heading up to Golden Horn for the Pine Grove Run for the afternoon. Parent and Staff drivers have already been booked – we will be leaving YMS at 11:30am and returning back after the run at approximately 2:30pm. There are different loops for each grade (so grade 1’s are not expected to run the same loops as the grade 7’s, etc)

If your child needs a booster seat please send one labeled with their name in the morning.

After school, Lower Elementary families will be meeting for their Cook Out at the Chadburn Lake Day Use Area at 4:00pm. Lauren Lester from Wild Side Adventures and Kelly will meet everyone there.

A busy day, but filled with some great experiences, If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email any time!

Have a great day,

Erin

May 10, 2018 – Parent Evening

Good morning everyone!

We would like to invite you to a Parent evening regarding sexual health in children. This evening will be hosted by the Department of Education at the Montessori Borealis Preschool.

Monday, May 14th from 6:00pm – 7:00pm

See the attached poster for more details,Erin

May 2, 2018 – THURSDAY, May 3rd ** Shakespeare Gala

Please take a moment to read carefully through the following as there have been some scheduling changes for tomorrow:

EVERYONE is being dropped off Thursday morning at 8:45am at the Guild Hall.

The morning will be focusing on the dress rehearsal and music practice.

Children are to wear:
Grey, green or brown clothing (dark/nature) (if there is a logo, etc, we can turn the shirt inside out.
No florescent colours
Foot wear is to be discreet in colour (no heels or boots etc)
Please no large clothing items (sweaters, etc)

Children doing sound effects and songs will spend the morning at the Guild doing the dress rehearsal. And then will be brought back to YMS for the afternoon.

The rest of the class will remain and rehearse lines and stay until 2:00pm. At that time everyone will be brough back to YMS.

Parents can pick up at YMS anytime after 2:30pm – this will give your children a moment to break from the theatre at that time, as they will have had a long day and a change of venue is important. We would like to make the show fun for all of them and balancing rest with work is the key.

Drop Off for the GALA

We will have a pizza and veggie dinner for children participating in the Gala please drop your child off between 4:30pm and no later than 4:45pm at the Guild Hall.

*******
We are all very much looking forward to tomorrow evening’s event and the children are excited to show you everything they have been working so hard at for the last few months.

Doors will open at 5:00pm, with introductions to start at 5:25pm and show to begin at 5:40pm

If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email and I will do my best to answer in a timely fashion!

See you all tomorrow!

Side Notes:

**We are asking that no trinkets/toys or games be sent in to the Guild with your child. We will have games to play in between scenes that we don’t want anything to be lost or become a distraction.

**Please send some extra healthy snacks for throughout the day

**We will be participating in the Law Day Run on Friday. Please ensure you are sending good running shoes with your child Friday morning.

Erin

April 27, 2018 – SHAKESPEARE WEEK

We have arrived! There haven’t been any really big changes to the upcoming week schedule, but I thought I would send it again for everyone’s reference with a few more details. Please just take a moment to read through and mark times and locations of pick up and drop offs.

If you have any unsold tickets and/or ticket money could it all please come back to school and hand in to me by the end of the day Monday, April 30th.

We are very much looking forward to this amazing evening where our students and children are able to showcase all of their hard work.

Thank you!

Monday, April 30th to Wednesday, May 2nd

GRADE 1 and 2 — Morning drop off will be at school at the regular 8:15/8:30 drop off time, and students will be working away until after lunch. We have booked Equinox owner, Christopher Gishler and the Equinox Van to transport the group up to the Guild Hall. There are some booster seats that Christopher has said he has, but if you have one for your child please drop off in the morning with your child’s name clearly labeled on it.

The afternoon will be learning the stage and space through games and activities with Eleanor and Isaac at the Guild. This group will be working on their parts in the play and learning about theatre!

Pick up for grade 1 and 2 students will be at the Guild Hall at 3:15 pm
________________________________________________________________________

GRADE 3 – 6 — 8:45 am drop off at the Guild Hall
The students will be working with Eleanor and Isaac on their script with games, voice and music for the morning.

Please send your child with the following items each day:
** indoor running shoes for in the Guild
** a healthy picnic style lunch for easy eating and easy clean up
** healthy snacks
** a labeled water bottle.

We have booked Christopher Gishler and the Equinox Van to transport the grade 1’s and 2’s up to the Guild, and he will then bring the grade 3 -6’s back to school for 2:00pm.

Pick Up will be 3:15 at YMS

(if parents can not pick up or drop off at the Guild please speak to Dominic and Kelly to arrange a ride beforehand)

THURSDAY, MAY 3rd
**Day of Shakespeare Unplugged Gala**

EVERYONE to be DROPPED OFF AT THE GUILD AT 8:45am
and
PICK UP at the GUILD at 3:00pm

All students will be working at the Guild all day. Activities, games, music and dress rehearsal will be taking place.

*** Pick up will be at 3:00

***Students to be dropped off again at the Guild at 4:00pm to get ready for GALA. We will be providing a pizza and veggie supper for the YMS children

***Doors will open at 5:00pm for the Gala with some food, h’orderves, cash bar, silent auction, art displays and mingling.

***Show to start at 5:40pm

Erin

April 23, 2018 – **Lower Elementary Group Camping UPDATE – Please READ CAREFULLY

A note regarding changes being made to our upcoming adventure.
Please ensure to read through carefully.

Hi Parents,

Due to an unforeseen issue with early morning waiting lines to get campsites at Wolf Creek on opening day (May 11th), we will be changing the event from a campout to a cookout. This way we will have a solidified site for the outing and everyone can participate.

food prep
safe fire tending
outdoor educational games

The Parent Volunteers have been secured and in total there will be 6 adults present with 17 students. This adult to child ratio is in place to be sure that the children can explore and interact freely, as they would in the classroom. We can assure you that each child will be supervised at all times while still being free to develop initiative and take action.

We will have a student-written description of the prepared outing available for parents leading up to May 11th for added information. The details will include the menu for snacks and dinner, specifics of the activities as well as a list of any items your child may want to bring with them.

We are doing everything in our power to be sure that this is an educational outing as well as a time to grow socially with classmates in a different setting.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Kelly

April 19, 2018 – Spring Camping Adventure

Hello Parents!

We have an exciting opportunity coming up on May 11th!

All of the lower elementary group will be going camping for a night at Wolfcreek on May 11th. We do have the Pine Grove run this same day, however, it is perfect as the children will sleep really well!

We have Lauren from Wildside Adventures who is going to do a pre-session at school to help get us organized. She is also going to host activities while we’re out there there (fire building, shelter building, a short hike etc).

Your role:

Each student will have a ride to and from Wolfcreek by their parents.
Drop off will be at Wolfcreek at 4:30pm and pick up Saturday morning at 10am.

Equipment/camping gear:
A more detailed note will come home from the school over the next week so you can prepare at home with the necessary things.

Parent Volunteers:
I have approached a few parents about volunteering overnight with us. we will need 3-4 volunteers and I will keep you all posted as I hear back from parents to see their interest.

That’s it in a nutshell and I hope this sounds enticing to you all as it does the class.

Thanks!
Erin

April 18, 2018 – Shakespeare Week!

Good morning families,

For those of you who have not taken part in our Annual Shakespeare Festival, you are in for a big treat!  We are very excited to be bringing back Eleanor Crowder and Isaac Giles. This will be  Eleanor’s 4th Shakespeare event with YMS! Eleanor is a writer, director and actor with over 20 year experience working with children and theater.  This will be Isaac’s 2nd year with us, and he brings a whole host of experience and creative ideas.

Along with all the fun games, activities, singing and rehearsing, the weeks leading up to Shakespeare, and the week itself are very busy.  I will do my very best to send notice as much in advance as possible.

Please make sure to read through carefully and if you have any questions please feel free to send me an email any time.

1. LINES

April 16, 2018 – Northwestel Phone Book Collectiing is about to BEGIN

Good morning YMS families,

Once again YMS will be collecting Northwestel Phone Books for Yukon’s Annual Directory Recycling Program. If you have an old phone book laying around (or 2 or 3!),  know people who do, or work in an office – please bring them all to school!  The more we collect the better!

Collecting will begin Monday, April 23 until Wednesday, May 23.

Our goal is to beat our amount from last year (we collected 200) and we can receive the Northwestel BONUS!

Thank you in advance!
Erin

April 16, 2018 – Drivers Needed

Good morning everyone,

I just wanted to send a quick reminder to all parents that we are in need of drivers for this upcoming FRIDAY, APRIL 20th.

We are going up to Holy Family Elementary school for our partnered wrestling competition.

We will need drivers to meet at YMS at 11:30am to take children up to Holy Family, and drive from Holy Family at 3:00pm so that we can have regular pick up at 3:15pm back at YMS.

If you are able to drive please let me know!

Thank you in advance,
Erin

April 16, 2018 – Fwd: Word Lists

A note from Kelly!

Dear Parents,

Here are the second round of word lists we will be using over the course of the next two weeks. I have heard great things so far about using these lists outside of school and look forward to getting them started this week on these lists.

Thanks!

Kelly
Grade 1 – IP
Grade 2 – EA
Grade 3 – Sight Words

April 10, 2018 – No Skiing Tomorrow

Good evening,

I just wanted to send a note to all families that we will  not be going up to Mt.Mac tomorrow afternoon for a ski. Sorry for the late notice and thank you for your understanding!

Thank you and have a great evening!

Erin

April 10, 2018 – Shakespeare Tickets

Hi Everyone,

April 9, 2018 – Results of the Parent Survey

Erin

April 5, 2018 – Welcome back!

Good morning,
Welcome back! I hope you all had an amazing and relaxing Spring Break.  I just wanted to send a few updates for the upcoming month, so please take a moment to read through and if you have any questions please feel free to send me a note.

1. Cross Country Ski Day
Next Wednesday, April 11th, we will be heading up to Mt.Mac for the afternoon for the last Cross Country Ski. The whole class will be heading up on the bus with Dominic and Kelly. They will return back to school for regular pick up at 3:15pm.

2. Wrestling
Even though the annual wrestling tournament has been cancelled this year, we have been working closely with Holy Family and have booked Friday, April 20th for our very own tournament. We will be heading up to Holy Family at 11:30am and returning back to school by 3:00pm.

We would like to ask if there are any parents that could help transport to and from Holy Family. If you can be a driver please let me know. Thank you!

3. Shakespeare Gala
This year we will be having our Shakespeare Gala, Thursday May 3rd at the Guild Hall.  Details are being confirmed this week and we will be sending tickets out! Eleanor and Isaac will be arriving at the end of April, and we will be doing a whole host of great theater games and role playing from April 30 – May 2nd. I will send out a more detailed Shakespeare email once we have everything confirmed.

4. Running
The way the weather is going, it doesn’t feel as though we should be talking about the upcoming outdoor running meets. However, here we are looking at the first run at the end of April!

I have listed all the dates, however, it doesn’t mean that we will be participating in all of them. So please stay tuned as I will confirm which runs we will be taking part in this year.

Friday, April 27 – Law Day Run

Friday, May 4 – Carmacks Run

Friday, May 11 – Pine Grove Run

Friday, May 18 – is our PD Day no school

Friday, May 25 – Haines Junction Run

Mark your Calendars

5. UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

April 11th – Cross Country Skiing at Mt Mac (afternoon)

April 20th Wrestling at Holy Family (will need drivers)

May 3rd – Shakespeare Gala at The Guild Hall

May 18th – PD Day No School

May 21st – Victoria Day No School

Have a great week and I will see you all soon,
Erin

April 2, 2018 – Fwd: Word Lists

Dear Parents,

Hope you all had an amazing holiday and were able to take in as much relaxation as possible.

We are looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, and I look forward to seeing you all this week,

Below you will find a note from Kelly with some ideas for working with words.

Erin

Hello Parents!

I am sending an email regarding word lists that we will be using regularly at school. I would like to have a weekly list of words, however it may be more of a bi-weekly word study since Shakespeare prep will be taking up some time over the next month.

Purpose
The reason for sending these lists to parents is so that you can be in the know with what spelling rules or words we are using in the moment but also so that you too can practice the words at home with your children.

Steps
These activities can take a short 5 minutes or longer, depending on the interest your child has in reading them with you. The steps at school (and at home) will be as follows:

1. Read a word on the list.
2. Spell the word you read aloud. Correct if spelled incorrectly.
3. Read the word again.
4. Use the word in a sentence.
5. Repeat for all words on the list

Your Participation
As a parent you can partake in this activity by choosing a word to go through then your child takes a turn. It can be done in the car, at the dinner table, in your morning routine, while tidying up, etc.

This is something I would like to try so that parents are getting involved with their child and can feel more connected to the classroom work. I will send out a new list of words when we are ready for them.

Follow-up work at school
In the meantime we will study these words to focus on spelling rules, looking closely at word families (suffixes, prefixes, root words, compound words, phonograms within words) and these are aspects you too can highlight and discuss at home with your child.

There will not be spelling tests specifically but we will add often misspelled words to personal dictionaries, we will use the words in writing activities and we will quiz each other on these words.

Feedback from parents regarding their child’s interest or disinterest in these short word games would be appreciated, as well as feedback on whether this is something you can fit into your schedules or what the outcomes may be for your family while using these lists.

Thank you for your dedication and see you all this week!

Kelly
Grade 1 – Double L List
Grade 2 – ER List
Grade 3 – UR List

March 16, 2018 – Today’s Ski Day at Mt Sima (driver list is included please read)

Good morning everyone,

Today is Mt.Sima Day

We will all meet at school at our regular time (8:20-8:30)  (unless you are meeting us at Mt.Sima)

Drivers will be:
Kristy Kennedy
Susanne Behrens
Whitney Sandulak
Brooke Alsbury
Dominic and Kelly

Ski Day will be from approx. 9:00am – 3:00pm. Pick up will be at Mt.Sima before 3:15pm. Staff will be leaving Mt.Sima at our regular dismissal time, that if you would like your child to stay longer at Mt.Sima please just let Dominic and Kelly know so that everyone is aware of the plans.

Dominic and Kelly will have the school phone 867-334-7482

For families meeting us at Mt.Sima, We have heard from a few families already – but please make sure to let Dominic and Kelly know so that they do not wait at YMS for you for too long.

Have a great time, and hope you all have a great Spring Break!
Erin

March 13, 2018 – Skiing Drivers for this Friday and Wrestling Tournament Info

Good morning families,

Just a reminder that this is the last week before Spring Break.  and on Friday March 16th We will be heading out to Mt. Sima. If you CAN BE A DRIVER please let me know and let me know how many students you could take with you – and then we can organize transportation.

We will meet at the hill at 9 am and and parents are more than welcome to join us for the fun!

Secondly, Thank you to all the parents who put their names forward for the wrestling tournament. We had a great turn out of YMS parents, however, the YSAA has decided that in total, there just were not enough volunteers overall to ensure the safety of all the children. So this years wrestling tournament has been cancelled. In saying that, we (YMS) have been working closely with Holy Family and we will create a small in-house school event.  Mr. Hupe and our YMS staff will work together to organize a date that works for everyone. Once I have that information i will sent it to everyone. Thank you once again for all the parents from YMS who were willing to help. Maybe next year!

Have a great Spring Break!

See everyone back at school Tuesday, April 3rd.
Erin

March 13, 2018 – LDAY Information

Parents who have an interest in learning differences, attention difficulties, and executive skill deficits are invited to a meeting on Wednesday March 14^th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Elementary classroom. This information session is presented by Kim Porter (LDAY Centre for Learning).

Topics include:

· Learning differences and preferences amongst all people

· Attention difficulties (ADHD) and executive skill deficits

· Definition of Learning Disability; procedure for diagnosis, red flags to watch for

· Simulations for you to experience what it can feel like to have certain difficulties

· Strategies for supporting students at home

· Any questions parents have!

Please RSVP to Susanne Behrens susa.behrens@gmx.de Susanne can also provide further information, and if you would like to suggest a topic that is not listed here, or if this date does not work for you but you are interested feel free to contact her.

Erin

March 6, 2018 – **Correction**

Good morning families,

I have just been notified that the date of the wrestling tournament has been changed to Wednesday, April 11th.

Along with this date change, the YSAA is asking for parent and teacher volunteers. This year, they seem to be unsure that the wrestling tournament will continue as they do not have enough volunteers coming forward. If you think you could/would be available for the day on Wednesday, April 11th – please send me a note. It could be somethings as easy as monitoring in between mats, or refereeing a match, there may bend for score keepers or data entry! So if you have a bit of flexibility please let me know and I will submit a group of volunteers from YMS to help make this really fun day happen!

Thanks again,
Erin

March 5, 2018 – March Update

Good afternoon!

Only a few more weeks until March Break – and the sun is shining brightly!

A few things to remind you of over the next little while:

1. Registration

I have sent out a reminder to all families that our registration process has begun for the 2018-2019 school year.  Please take a moment let us know and to fill out the paperwork as we will be starting to open up spaces to the public as we finalize our numbers. Thank you very much and if you have any questions or would like to come in and observe, please let me know and I will coordinate with Dominic and Kelly.

2. Outdoors

The weather is all over the place lately, so please send weather appropriate gear with your child each day, as they will be outside for their recess.

3. MISSING Item

We are missing a pair of MEC size 8 Black snow pants. If you or your child happened to grab them by mistake, if you can pop them back into the classroom and give them to Dominic or Kelly that would be greatly appreciated!

3. Gym Schedule until March Break

Wednesday March 7
Lowers – wrestling at school
Uppers – gym at CGC (will be back at school for regular pick up at 3:15)

Wednesday March 14
Lowers – wrestling at school
Uppers – gym at CGC (will be back at school for regular pick up at 3:15)

4. Mt Sima Day

We have booked Friday, March 16th for our Mt.Sima Day. It is the last Friday before March Break, We will be spending the day on the hill.  If you are available, you as parents are more than welcome to join in our day of fun!

I believe I received everyone’s sizes if you are renting, so thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly on that!

5. LDAY Information Session

Parents who have an interest in learning differences, attention difficulties, and executive skill deficits are invited to a meeting on Wednesday March 14^th from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Elementary classroom. This information session is presented by Kim Porter (LDAY Centre for Learning).

Topics include:

· Learning differences and preferences amongst all people

· Attention difficulties (ADHD) and executive skill deficits

· Definition of Learning Disability; procedure for diagnosis, red flags to watch for

· Simulations for you to experience what it can feel like to have certain difficulties

· Strategies for supporting students at home

· Any questions parents have!

Please RSVP to Susanne Behrens susa.behrens@gmx.de Susanne can also provide further information, and if you would like to suggest a topic that is not listed here, or if this date does not work for you but you are interested feel free to contact her.

6. MARCH BREAK!

March Break this year starts Saturday, March 17th.  With Easter falling on the first weekend in April, we will be back in school on Tuesday, April 3rd.

7. Wrestling Tournament

Students have been having a great time learning and practicing their wrestling skills and techniques. The Wrestling Tournament is being held at the CGC again and it will be on Thursday, April 19th. It is an all day event.

For those children choosing not to participate in the wrestling tournament themselves, there will be other activities planned. This information will all be sent home in April.

Have a great afternoon, and I look forward to seeing you all soon,
Erin

March 5, 2018 – Registration Information for 2018-2019 School Year

Just a reminder to all families,

Thank you very much for those of you who took a moment to fill out paperwork and hand all your registration to me by the deadline of last Friday, March 2nd.

For those of you who haven’t gotten your registration in to me, please do so by this upcoming Friday, March 9th as that is when we will be opening registration up to the public and I would like to be able know how many spaces I can will be needing to fill.

Again, if you know you will not be coming back next fall, please send me a quick note letting me know.

Thank you in advance for your time,
Erin

February 28, 2018 – GYM

Good morning,

Just a quick update regarding gym activities over the next few weeks:

Wednesday February 28
Lowers – wrestling at school
Uppers – gym at CGC (will be back at school for regular pick up at 3:15)

Wednesday March 7
Lowers – wrestling at school
Uppers – gym at CGC (will be back at school for regular pick up at 3:15)

Wednesday March 14
Lowers – wrestling at school
Uppers – gym at CGC (will be back at school for regular pick up at 3:15)

If you have any questions please feel free to touch base with Dominic or Kelly,
Erin

February 28, 2018 – Childcare Receipts

Good morning,

I will be sending home childcare receipts for 2017 in everyone’s backpacks this afternoon.  If you pick up – I will send home with you in the hallway!

Have a great week!
Erin

February 21, 2018 – Upcoming

Good morning,

I just wanted to send out a few reminders to everyone.

1) Shipyards – at the moment, I am sure you all noticed this morning. Rendezvous is in full set up mode, which means parking is very limited for all families.

2) PD Day tomorrow, February 22nd – there will be no school.

3) Heritage Day, February 23rd – No School

4) I will have tax receipts ready for the end of the week next week for families.

Thank you, have a great Rendezvous Weekend!

Erin

February 20, 2018 – Toilets and Trust 🙂

A note from Kelly!

Hi parents,

We are noticing that a flu bug seems to be going through the classroom over the last 5 or so days.

A reminder that if your child has vomited within 12-24 hours of drop off time we ask that your child stay home. Our hopes is that we can stop the spread of colds etc as quickly as possible.

Last week the class discussed the topic of health, safety and trust. When a child or a few children have difficulty aiming their urine into the toilet, for example, there is an easy solution of mindful practice. When someone puts school materials or garbage in the toilets, we have less of an easy solution as we do not know who the culprit is if they do not speak up. It is harder to solve this issue without knowing who needs the direction specifically.

This is not the first time we have had all of these issues arise at the same time. Our focus on the conversation this round is how important it is to tell us when something has happened, even if it is something they should not have done. A clear understanding of right and wrong, of respecting school property and of being truthful are all important factors of trust.

Unfortunately we have a trust issue related to the toilets and we are hoping that you at home could follow up on this conversation with your children.

Ideally it would be great to know who is placing materials in the toilet so that we can solve this problem. For now we are asking that all families try to discuss at home and if any new information comes to light please share that with us.

It is not a surprise that children are testing out boundaries and even experimenting but we’d like to nip this in the bud before we lose all the beads from racks and tubes!

Thank you for your continued support from home and fingers crossed this flu bug won’t slow us down too much,

Kelly

February 16, 2018 – Registration Information for 2018-2019 School Year

Good afternoon,

Yukon Montessori School is now opening our 2018-2019 school registration.

We would like for parents to let the school know if you are planning to register your child for the 2018-2019 school year, or not.

If yes, please complete the attached registration package and return it to school by Friday, March 2nd, 2018 along with:

– registration deposit of $1006.25 ($956.25 + $25 society fee + $25 reg fee)

– post-dated cheques dated Sept 1 through May 1 (see attached schedule of fees for amounts)

– signed last page of the 2018-2019 Parent Handbook

If not, please send a short email reply so that we do not continue to bother you with reminders.

Thank you in advance,

Erin

Annual Student Registration Package

YMS Parent Handbook 2018-2019

Registration Letter from the Board

Schedule of Fees 2018-2019

 February 13, 2018 – Mt.Sima Day

Good afternoon,

I am finalizing our plans for our annual Mt. Sima day!

We have tentatively booked March 16th (the Friday before March Break), however, once I have lessons and times all confirmed I will send out an official email.

I did try and send a google.doc to all families. It is my very first attempt so please bare with me! If you notice that it is not coming up – please let me know and we can move back to pencil and paper.

If you can open it, please fill in the info needed for rentals etc. and I can submit it all together by the end of next week (Due date is Thursday, Feb 22nd)

Thank you in advance,

Erin

February 12, 2018 – Sleds and Helmets

Hello parents,

We have a week full of exciting events in the classroom and outside of the classroom. At Shipyards Park there will be snow sculptures, mushers arriving for the Yukon Quest, etc. We will be sticking to one area of the park and we are asking that all sleds and helmut be taken home since there will be no sledding over the next two weeks- due to these events as well as Rendezvous.

This will allow us to do a deep clean of the cloakroom space- an early Spring cleaning!

Thank you!

Erin

February 10, 2018 – Upcoming weeks

Good morning,

The next few months are going to zip by! I have included some of the recent coming events for your to browse through. If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to send an email and I will do the best I can to answer.

1. MINT SMOOTIES
We still have Mint Smoothies to sell! If you have friends and family that would love a delicious treat for Valentine’s Day grab a bag at the door for 25$. All proceeds will go to our upcoming Shakespeare Gala.

2. VALENTINE’S DAY
We wanted to touch base about Valentine’s Day coming up this next week.  With some amazing events happening this week, our Valentine’s will be a bit more subtle. We will take some time in the afternoon to distribute Valentine’s cards if your child would like to make valentine’s cards or a small treat (there will be baking in the classroom in the afternoon, so don’t feel like you need to). I have included a class list for your reference.

3. CHINESE NEW YEAR
We have a special guest coming in Wednesday, February 14th, Shirley Ng, to do some baking with the students. The students have been busy over the last few days learning about Chinese New Year, doing some beautiful art projects and learning about traditions and culture. This will be a great treat for all of them.

4. SUBSTITUTES THIS WEEK
This upcoming week Dominic will be away, we had anticipated Malwina would be available – but due to an injury she is not able to sub this week. So we have booked Marie-Helene and Charlotte to be in the classroom with Kelly.  From my last email I had mentioned Marie-Helene has been in our classroom over the last few weeks doing some art projects, as well as subbing. She has a great relationship with the children and we are very excited to have her coming in this week. Charlotte is new to the Yukon. She has moved here from Victoria where she was a substitute teacher at Selkirk Montessori. She has been in to observe our classroom and will be able to help during this upcoming week as well. I have included the schedule below so that you can see who and when these lovely substitutes will be with Kelly in the class.

Monday:       Marie-Helene all morning

                        Charlotte all afternoon

                        (** Mari (Montessori Borealis) will be helping at the end of the day)

Tuesday:       Charlotte all morning

                        Marie-Helene all afternoon

Wednesday:  Marie-Helene all day

Thursday:      Marie-Helene all day

Friday:           Marie-Helene all day

5. GYM

The uppers will continue with their wrestling practice in the classroom this week with David Eikelboom.

The lowers will have another session at Peak Fitness. They have been having a lot of fun creating obstacle courses, learning about body movement and body awareness.

I have included the gym schedule below for your reference as well.

Wednesday the 31st

Lowers: Peak Fitness

Uppers: Wrestling at school with instructor

Wednesday February 7th

Lowers: Peak Fitness

Uppers: Wrestling at school with instructor

Wednesday February 14th

Lowers: Peak Fitness

Uppers: Wrestling at school with instructor

Wednesday February 21st

Lowers: Wrestling

Uppers: Peak Fitness

Wednesday February 28th

Lowers: Wrestling

Uppers: Peak Fitness

Wednesday March 7th

Lowers: Wrestling

Uppers: Peak Fitness

The Wrestling Tournament is later in April this year – so we will also have time after March Break/Easter to do some practicing of wrestling skills.

5. SHAKESPEARE

We have already begun the reading of 2 Gentlemen in Verona. Venues are being booked, and Eleanor and Isaac have booked their tickets. Things are falling into place, and we will be sending out more details as we move towards the end of the month. Our Gala has been booked for April 30 – May 3rd, with the Gala event taking place on Thursday, May 3rd. So please mark your calendar now!

6. REGISTRATION FOR 2018/2019

I will be sending all families a registration form and parent handbook this upcoming week as we will be starting our registration for our 2018-2019 school year. More details will be included and I will be able to answer any questions you may have.

7. DATES TO REMEMBER

Feb 8 – 16th – Grade 6 students away with Dominic on the Ottawa Trip

Thursday, Feb 22 – PD DAY – No School

Friday, Feb 23 – Heritage Day – No School

March 17 – April 2nd – March Break and Easter Long Weekend (Back to school Tuesday, April 3rd)

May 3rd – Shakespeare Gala

As events are confirmed I will be sending emails – thank you for taking the time to read through them and keeping up to date – it is greatly appreciated.

Erin

February 8, 2018 – While Dominic is away

Good afternoon families,

As you know, Dominic is boarding a flight as we speak with the grade 6 students to begin their amazing adventure in Ottawa.

While Dominic is away, we will be having M.H. Comeau and Colin Abbott joining us in the classroom each day next week. Our routine will remain the same in terms of our daily activities.

If you need to contact Kelly during the day, we will be using Montessori Borealis’ phone – 456-7100 as the primary contact.  

You are also welcome to email me, and I can pass on the information to Kelly as well.

Dominic will be away Friday, Feb 9th – Tuesday Feb 20th.

Thank you very much for your support and we look forward to the next week and a half!

Erin

February 8, 2018 – Kicksledding on Monday

Hi Parents!

We are welcoming Anne Midler of Kick Sled Revolution to come speak about kick sleds before taking the children out on a short ride along the river during recess Monday February 12th.

Anne will speak with the group around noon and then we will go outside. The children will be in small groups and will either be having recess at the park or sledding with Anne towards the Wheelhouse and back.

We are looking for a parent volunteer interested in going kick sledding with Anne to help supervise. I would go myself but we will likely go over our hour recess and with a parent I can go in with the students while you enjoy a ride.

If this is something you are interested in helping out with, please get back to me and we can talk more in detail. If many parents respond I will keep you in mind when a group goes to the storefront on 5th sometime in the next few weeks and, that way, everyone can help!

What: Kicksled supervisor
Where: Shipyards Park to Wheelhouse
With whom: Anne Midler and groups of 6 children at a time
When: Monday Feb. 12th from 1215-145 (hour and a half)

Thanks!

Erin

February 1, 2018 – A Note From Kelly

Hello Parents of Lower Elementary Students,

This is a quick note to share a few juicy details for some upcoming events the children are hosting together at school in the next month.

Friday February 2nd Art

We have a French speaking Art teacher coming in for the whole day to work with the lowers as I will be away at a Montessori workshop in Vancouver. The artist has asked that each student bring in a shirt they can get paint on (acrylic) as she will be hosting an art activity with them in the afternoon. We have a few backup shirts but not enough for everyone.

Chinese New Year

We are celebrating the Chinese New Year this school year and have already begun our studies of this cultural celebration. We will be in full force of making decorations and baking to prepare for the February 16th date.

We will be making some beautiful lanterns as decorations and I have worked out an agreement with a local artist who has instructions for them, including a battery operated candle for safe use. She is asking for $5 per student to cover the cost of supplies.

I will be speaking with the group tomorrow, Thursday, to find out which students are interested as they do not all need to make a lantern. This is to confirm that, yes, if your child asks for $5 for school it really is legit! We do not need the money until next week so no rush on that this week.

Also, if anyone knows where I might find gold coin loonies (to put in the red envelopes) please let me know! Or if you have any other suggestions for what to put in the envelopes, I am all ears!

Yukon Quest

We are following the history of the YQ as well as following along with the mushers on their trek. The students who are interested will be choosing a musher to follow. This will be displayed in the hallway as a large trail map of sorts.

I encourage you and your children to use this link to the official website for up to date news and information about the mushers to keep their interest peaked throughout the next week or two. We will be checking at school twice a day but there is a lot of ways t get involved even by looking on the website.

http://www.yukonquest.com

Yukon Quest Short Story Competition

One of the Education pieces offered is a short story competition. I have given the group the layout of rules and requirements for this. The deadline is February 20th and we will get started this week.

The main requirements are that you cannot exceed 700 words and the story must be about the Yukon Quest 1,000 mile Dogsled Race! There is more information here if you would like to read more.

http://www.yukonquest.com/events/yukon-quest-short-story-contest-0

So get your Yukon Quest “on” this weekend to celebrate the beginning of the race this Saturday!!

Thanks,

Kelly

P.S. Gym at Peak Fitness today was a huge hit!! Great warm ups, interval training and circuit training, thanks to Erin!

January 30, 2018 – Reminder to participate in Parent Survey

Just a quick reminder for parents who have not yet submitted a survey.

We would love to hear what you think, so please take a moment before Feb 2nd (this Friday)

Have a great evening.

Dear Parents,

The board of directors and staff at Yukon Montessori School would appreciate your feedback via the following anonymous survey. If you’d like us to call you about a specific response, please add your name and contact information in the comments block.

Please submit your answers by February 2, 2018.

Your answers will help guide the board and staff in future years.

If you’d like to speak directly to a Board Member, contact Kathy Fredrickson at darrinkathy@northwestel.net to arrange an in person or telephone conversation.

Thank you.

Click on the following link to take you to the survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPSSQXB

Erin

January 25, 2018 – Family Toboggan Party Invite

Good morning families!

We have been invited to join in the fun with our Montessori Borealis Preschool Family. Everyone is invited!

If you’d like to join in the party it is this upcoming Sunday from 1:30 – 4:00pm.

There is a sign up sheet in the hallway for items you’d like to bring for the Potluck!

Enjoy the rest of your week,

Erin

January 23, 2018 – Parent Night this Thursday, January 25th

A quick reminder, as noted in the Jan/Feb Update, our upcoming Parent Evening is coming up this Thursday evening at 6:30pm

Mark your calendars!! We have a Parent/Student Showcase Evening Thursday, January 25th at 6:30pm. We are inviting each family to come and join their children in sharing their hard work. This is a great opportunity for parents to see the amazing work their children do each and every day. It also gives an opportunity to mingle with families from our school, as well as the Casa Classroom next door. We have also invited families from the Preschool to come and see what the Elementary Class is all about! We hope to see you all there!

Hope to see you all this Thursday!

Erin

January 22, 2018 – Parent Survey

Dear Parents,

The board of directors and staff at Yukon Montessori School would appreciate your feedback via the following anonymous survey. If you’d like us to call you about a specific response, please add your name and contact information in the comments block.

Please submit your answers by February 2, 2018.

Your answers will help guide the board and staff in future years.

If you’d like to speak directly to a Board Member, contact Kathy Fredrickson at darrinkathy@northwestel.net to arrange an in person or telephone conversation.

Thank you.

Click on the following link to take you to the survey
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MPSSQXB

Have a great week!

Erin

January 15, 2018 – Jan/Feb Update

Good morning families!

Hope you are all doing well and have enjoyed both the freezing temperature and the lovely warm weather! As we get through January, events and sports are going to start speeding up – so please take a moment to read through our upcoming events and updates!

Parent Evening

Mark your calendars!! We have a Parent/Student Showcase Evening Thursday, January 25th at 6:30pm. We are inviting each family to come and join their children in sharing their hard work. This is a great opportunity for parents to see the amazing work their children do each and every day. It also gives an opportunity to mingle with families from our school, as well as the Casa Classroom next door. We have also invited families from the Preschool to come and see what the Elementary Class is all about! We hope to see you all there!

Mint Smoothies

We would like to ask families once again to join us in the selling of our delicious Mint Smoothies. A great treat for Valentine’s Day! All proceeds go towards our upcoming Shakespeare Gala.

We ask that each family take one bag of 10 chocolates (sending 25$ in with your child) and you can sell each bar for 2.50. You can sell to your neighbours, co-workers, friends and family.

Skiing

As most of you know this last week hovered around -30 which was just a bit too cold to take our younger students for their week of skiing. We will be scheduling a make up week and I will let you know the exact dates soon. Thank you all for your understanding.

Group 2 is scheduled to start January 22nd – 26th. 

Polar Games

Each year the department of education along with YSSA host a Territory wide sports event they call the Polar Games. Grade 6 students from all over the Yukon come into Whitehorse to spend  2 days playing and learning new sports. Teams are made, and sports like curling, archery, bocci ball (as well as many others) are all taught and played throughout the 2 day experience. It is a great way to bring all the students together in a fun and entertaining way.  This year the games will be hosted February 1st and 2nd and they travel between Canada Games Centre, Mt.Mac and Elijah Smith Elementary. Bussing is provided throughout the day to get students from one place to another – as well as a large group of staff to ensure students stay safe and get to the venue on time for their games . Once I receive teams our grade 6 students are on I will be sending it to their families directly along with more details about the events.

Substitute Teacher

We would like to welcome Malwina Bukszowana into our classroom. You may have seen her working at the pool, training young athletes and in our classroom a few times. She has her Bachelors of Education as well as her Masters Degree from Poland with specialization in Physical Education.  She loves the philosophy of Montessori, and has been able to come and visit the classroom to get to know our students.

Malwina will be coming in 3 days per week for an hour to help our teachers have some prep time during the day, she will also be working alongside Dominic during our ski weeks.  Malwina will also be working full time in our classroom for the time when Dominic takes his grade 6 students to Ottawa. 

 

Ottawa Trip

Dominic and the four grade 6 students have been busily planning their Montessori Exchange to Ottawa. They will be leaving February 8th and returning to Whitehorse Feb 16th.

Malwina will be in the class with Kelly.

Gym

As we move into February we will start our fitness and wrestling programs, Peak Fitness has donated time to use their studio space. As we firm up details I will send an email regarding the schedule. 

 

Dates to Remember

Thursday, February 22  PD Day – No School

Friday, February 23 Heritage Day – No School 

March 17 – April 2 – March Break + Easter Weekend – No School 

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to send an email or give us a call.

Erin

January 4, 2018 – January 22 – 26 Ski Group

Good afternoon Parents,

I am sure you’ve touched base with Dominic – but wanted to clarify groups of skiers. And please excuse the last email stating that they would be skiing on the week of the 29th. I realized afterwards that there might be some double booking that week, so it has now changed to the week of January 22nd.

Monday January 22nd – Friday January 26th

Group 2 will be:

Emma

Gwen

Fin

Aramintha

Olivia

Nyah

Everett

Baden

Tammo

Nash

Luke

Daniel

Luca

 We will ski if it is -20 including windchill and warmer.  

There are rental skies available for those children who need them and we will take care of this.  Dominic will take the children to the Mt Mac ski centre at lunch time and will be accompanied by an assistant. The assistant is Malwina Bukszowana, who is the head swim coach at Glacier Bears Swim club. She is familiar with working with children and in sport. The group will travel by city bus. This group will work on skills and games applicable to their skill levels.

We would ask that children bring any of their own ski gear  to school for the entire week they are skiing.  We will eat lunch at the ski chalet so a sandwich lunch will be easiest for that week.  Please double check that your child is well dressed for the week they are skiing so they can enjoy the experience.  This means snow pants and jacket plus hat, mitts and buff.

Parents are welcome to join us.  If you do join us we require that you have some skiing  experience yourselves so that this encourages the children to feel they are ready to enjoy this sport fully with you.

If you have any questions please contact Dominic  at his school email address dominic@yukonmontessori.com.

Erin

January 4, 2018 – January 8 – 12 Ski Group

Good afternoon Parents,

I am sure you’ve touched base with Dominic – but wanted to clarify groups of skiers.

Monday January 8th – Friday January 12th

Group 1 will be:

Asha

Keele

Owen

Seth

Hunter

Esker

Coco

Luka

Leo

Lucas

Mischa

Tyne

Josephine

Kate

Asher

Ben

Elliott

Jack

 We will ski if it is -20 including windchill and warmer.  

There are rental skies available for those children who need them and we will take care of this.  Dominic will take the children to the Mt Mac ski centre at lunch time and will be accompanied by an assistant. The assistant is Malwina Bukszowana, who is the head swim coach at Glacier Bears Swim club. She is familiar with working with children and in sport. The group will travel by city bus. This group will work on skills and games applicable to their skill levels.

We would ask that children bring any of their own ski gear  to school for the entire week they are skiing.  We will eat lunch at the ski chalet so a sandwich lunch will be easiest for that week.  Please double check that your child is well dressed for the week they are skiing so they can enjoy the experience.  This means snow pants and jacket plus hat, mitts and buff.

Parents are welcome to join us.  If you do join us we require that you have some skiing  experience yourselves so that this encourages the children to feel they are ready to enjoy this sport fully with you.

If you have any questions please contact Dominic  at his school email address dominic@yukonmontessori.com.

Erin

January 2, 2018 – Skiing Information from Dominic

Dear Parents

For gym in January we are going to start with skiing.  We will divide the class into two groups and Dominic will take  each group for a week of skiing.  We will ski if it is -20 including windchill  and warmer.  

There are rental skies available for those children who need them and we will take care of this.  Dominic will take the children to the Mt Mac ski centre at lunch time and will be accompanied by an assistant. The assistant is Malwina Bukszowana, who is the head swim coach at Glacier Bears Swim club. She is familiar with working with children and in sport. The group will travel by city bus. Each group will work on skills and games applicable to their skill levels.

The first group will go out the week of January 8, each day of the week and the second group will go out the week of January 29.  The group that is not skiing will be at school with Kelly.

The first group will be: the lower elementary excluding a few children who are already have a lot of skiing experience with families outside of school. Dominic will touch base with families.

The second group will be:  the upper elementary students plus the experienced lower elementary skiers.

We would ask that children bring any of their own ski gear  to school the week they are skiing.  We will eat lunch at the ski chalet so a sandwich lunch will be easiest for that week.  Please double check that your child is well dressed for the week they are skiing so they can enjoy the experience.  This means snow pants and jacket plus hat, mitts and buff.

Parents are welcome to join us.  If you do join us we require that you have some skiing  experience yourselves so that this encourages the children to feel they are ready to enjoy this sport fully with you.

If you have any questions please contact Dominic  at his school email address dominic@yukonmontessori.com.

Thank you and see you this week!

Erin

December 12, 2017 – This Week

Good morning families,

With all of this lovely warm weather, our plans for a lovely snowshoe afternoon will have to be cancelled. It is just too dangerous to have 31 students snowshoeing on ice. So instead, we have planned to have a fun afternoon of other activities. One of them being from 1:45-2:30 we will be skating at the CGC on Friday December 15th, You are still more than welcome to join us!

Please touch base with Dominic or Kelly if you are able to join in.

Other activities this week: 

Tuesday, December 12th – 1:00pm Swim uppers only

Thursday, December 14th – 1:00pm Swim uppers and lowers

Students will be busing up to the CGC and returning back to school before end of day. So regular pick up at school at 3:15pm

Christmas Break: I have had a few questions regarding our Christmas Break. We will be having our last day of school this Friday, December 15th. We will return to the classroom on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018.

I may not see everyone before the holidays begin so I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Sincerely,
Erin

December 4, 2017 – This Week – Skating, Arctic Sports and Mint Smoothies!

Good morning families,

I just wanted to send a brief update for this week’s schedule of events, please take a moment to read carefully as this is the schedule for arctic sports as well.

Tuesday December 5th, – 9:00am All students will be going – Skating (children will be catching the 8:20 bus up to the Canada Games Centre) if your child is being dropped off at CGC please touch base with Dominic and Kelly.

Wednesday, December 6th GRADE 1 – 4 ARCTIC SPORTS
The students who are competing are:
Asha- gr 1
Keele- gr 1
Tammo- gr 1
Lucas- gr 2
Hunter- gr 1
Esker- gr 1

Asher- gr 3
Fin- gr 4
Luka- gr 4
Mischa- gr 3
Josephine- gr 3
Minty- gr 4

Gwen and Jack will be going as coaches helpers.

We were limited to how many students could compete this year to 6 children per category. The children were all involved in the process and decided on who would be competing. Those who are not on this list will have a regular day at school with Dominic.

We are asking that students competing please be dropped off at Porter Creek High School. Kelly will meet the students at the doors for check in between 8:15am and 8:30am. Pick up will be at 2:30pm at the high school. Kelly has everyone’s cell number (or if she doesn’t please ensure you touch base with her) She would like to contact you throughout the day to let know how everyone is doing. If drop off at PC High School is not possible please touch base with Kelly to organize how your child will travel.

Thursday, December 7th – GRADE 5-7 ARCTIC SPORTS
The students who will be competing will be:
Nash – grade 6
Daniel – grade 6
Luke – grade 6
Kate – grade 6
Everett – grade 5
Olivia – grade 5

Baden will be going as coaches helper

Again the schedule is (drop off between 8:15-8:30) and events 8:30am – 2:30pm, with pick and drop off being at Porter Creek High School. Dominic will have his cell phone with him at the event and will touch base with families as the day progresses.

If this isn’t possible for you please touch base with Dominic to arrange travel.

LASTLY – MINT SMOOTHIES have arrived!!
A bit of history on these delicious chocolates!
Each year we order Rheo Thomspson Mint Smoothies as our Shakespeare fundraiser. All proceeds go towards hosting our Shakespeare Gala in the spring. We ask each family to sell one bag (minimum – you are always welcome to take more)

We are asking that parents send in the 25$ before the bag of chocolate (10 bars per bag) goes home. Each bar is $2.50.
You can sell them to neighbours, coworkers, friends and family. They make delicious stocking stuffers and gifts for teachers. We have quite a following of supporters of Mint Smoothies across town.

This year we also have 200 dark chocolate mint smoothies for those of you who like dark chocolate and mint.

If you have any questions please feel free to touch base with Dominic or Kelly.
Thank you in advance for all of your help.

Hope you all have a great week!

Erin

November 29, 2017 – One more plea for drivers

I have heard back from a few people but I am wondering if there are a few more parents that might be able to help drive?

We need parent volunteers for:

Thursday, Nov 30th– Swimming 1:00 – 1:45pm with Lower’s Only. We are asking for help mostly with the transition in the change rooms, we need a parent in the boys change room to keep. If you don’t want to swim that is okay, but if you are willing and able to join Kelly that would be greatly appreciated.

Friday, December 1st for our Tree Hunt Adventure. We will be leaving the classroom at 8:30am and returning back before lunch.

Sue taking children out – Erin bringing kids back
Dominic
Kelly
Lara
Brooke
Patrick
who have all said they can drive, however, we have 31 lovely children 🙂 So if you can be a driver for this fun event please let me know!

Thank you in advance!

Erin

November 28, 2017 – A fun request for parents

Dominic and Kelly are looking for parent volunteers to come into the classroom for a ‘work bee’ to help prepare school materials.   No skills required!

It’s a great way to meet and hang out with other parents and help the school at the same time.

We know no one has any extra time, especially this time of year, so the school will be open for volunteering from 6pm-8pm on Wednesday December 6^th.  Please drop in, and any time you can give will be very much appreciated.

Hope to see you there!

Erin

November 25, 2017 – December Update

Good morning families,

A lot of really amazing things have been happening over the last month! The momentum in the classroom is wonderful to see. We have a busy schedule coming up over the next few weeks before Christmas Break! So take a peek below and mark your calendars.  We are asking for parent volunteers for some of the events, so please if you are able to make it work in your schedule to join us let us know.

1. Skating and Swimming Days:

We have made some changes in our events to help alleviate all the things we are doing in the next few weeks.

Tuesday, November 28th – 9:00am Skate Uppers only 

Thursday, November 30th – 1:00pm Swim Lowers only and Uppers will have the afternoon with  for Arctic Sports 

Friday, December 1st – while the uppers are at gymnastics the lowers will have their Arctic Sports afternoon

Tuesday December 5th, – 9:00am Skate Uppers and Lowers

Tuesday, December 12th – 1:00pm Swim Uppers only

Thursday, December 14th – 1:00pm Swim Uppers and Lowers

 

If the event is in the mornings – we will be catching the 8:20 bus so please have your children at school before 8:10am. Or if you will be dropping them off directly at the CGC please let Kelly and Dominic know so they can plan accordingly.

If the event is in the afternoon, students will be catching the bus there and back, and will be back at school for regular end of day pick up time at the classroom.

 

2.  Annual Tree Cutting Adventure

Each year we go tree hunting for our classroom Christmas Tree. This is going to happen the morning of Friday, December 1st. We are looking for parent volunteers to help with the driving.  We will be driving out to our special spot – Scout Road on the Old Alaska Highway. It is about a 20 minute drive going out towards Haines Junction.

We will be leaving the classroom at 8:30am. Having our Christmas Tree Hunt, enjoying some delicious hot chocolate and we will also be bringing some snacks. Although we are not asking parents to provide any treats, if you would like to send something please feel free! Once we are all loaded up, we will be heading back to school. We are planning on being back at school before lunch. If you are able to drive please let Dominic, Kelly or I know so we can plan accordingly.

3. Arctic Sports

for the last few years the teams from YMS have participated in the Yukon Arctic Sports Inter-School Tournament. They compete in a variety of different Arctic Games, things like Kneel Jump, Triple Jump and Two-Foot High Kick are always a favourite! The children really love the challenge and opportunity to showcase their skills in a very friendly and supportive environment. This year, the tournament is being help at Porter Creek High School. I will be looking at transportation options and will let you know if we need parent volunteers/drivers by the end of this weekend,

The tournament is being held over 2 days,

Wednesday Dec 6th – Grade 1,2,3 and 4

Thursday, Dec 7th – grade 5, 6, 7

In gym the students have been discussing and learning about Arctic Sports, and we will be hosting Sarah Walz  from The Yukon Aboriginal Sports Circle next week.  She will give us some technique pointers for the different events and share her knowledge of Arctic Sports.

4. Annual Snowshoeing Afternoon

Each year we plan our Snowshoe Adventure! This year we will be, weather permitting, going up to Mount Mac on Friday, December 15th.  We will meet up at Mount Mac, and snowshoe the lovely trails. Dominic is very comfortable with the area, and we are asking for as many parents to join us as would like to. We trek up to Sarah Steele Hut, enjoy some lovely treats and hot chocolate. It’s a nice way to go into the Christmas Holidays. If you would like to join us please let Dominic, Kelly or I know and we can make it all possible. More information will be sent home about times and transportation. Also if you (or your children) have your own snowshoes please let us know as I will be booking rentals this upcoming week. 

 

5. Christmas Break 

This year Christmas Break is Saturday, December 17th – Tuesday, January 2nd, 2018. 

 

If you have any questions or comments about any of our upcoming events please let me know.

Erin

November 21, 2017 – BOGS

Good morning families,

I’m doing one last plea to families to double check their homes for a pair of Black Bogs.

The ones that have been missing for about a month now are size 2 and have a round label on the inside of the boot.

We are hoping they have been mixed up and taken by mistake. So if every family could chat with their children about looking for labels, and also double check your home in case they were mistakenly taken that would be greatly appreciated.

Erin

November 16, 2017 – A note from Kelly

Hello Parents!!

We have a skating date scheduled at the CGC for Tuesday November 21st at 9am. The Upper Elementary students will not be joining us as they are going to the Geo Science Forum with Dominic.

I am looking for 2 volunteers to help with tying laces and being on the ice with us during our hour skate time.

Transportation:

The bus leaves at 8:20 near the school on Second Ave.

-If your child will be taking the bus with us, they need to be at school before 8:15 as we will be leaving the school promptly at 8:15 to walk over to the bus stop.

-If your child will be dropped off at the CGC please let me know so I can plan for that.

I do not need a volunteer for the trip to and from but I do need the help once we get there.

Thanks!!
Kelly

November 9, 2017 – Parent Teacher Interview Reminder

Good morning families,

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is our PD Day and Dominic and Kelly will be hosting Parent Teacher Interviews.

There are still a few time slots open for you to sign up if you haven’t had a chance already.  Hope you have a great long weekend.

See you Tuesday, November 14th.

Erin

November 4, 2017 – Time Change

Dear families,

just a reminder that this weekend we ‘fall back’ an hour at Sunday morning at 2:00am for Day Light Saving Time.

Enjoy your extra hour this weekend!

Erin

November 3, 2017 – Parent Teacher Interviews – Lowers

Dear Parents,

Next Friday, November 10th is our PD Day. We will be scheduling Parent Teacher Interviews.

Kelly will be starting at 8:00am. She will be doing her best to maintain a 15 minute session with each family and we ask that you please arrive a few minutes early in order to keep the day flowing smoothly.

I will have the sign up sheet outside the classroom door today after school, please take a moment to find a time that best suits your schedule.

Thank you very much,

Erin

November 3, 2017 – Parent Teacher Interviews – Uppers

Dear Parents,

Next Friday, November 10th is our PD Day. We will be scheduling Parent Teacher Interviews.

Dominic will be starting at 8:40am. He will be doing his best to maintain a 20 minute session with each family and we ask that you please arrive a few minutes early in order to keep the day flowing smoothly.

I will have the sign up sheet outside the classroom door today after school, please take a moment to find a time that best suits your schedule.

Thank you very much

Erin

November 3, 2017 – Winter Items

Good morning Families,

With the colder weather quickly approaching.  we would like to remind parents to please send warm outdoor winter gear.  We would also like to ask in sending all of these items, please clearly label with your child’s name. With items looking fairly similar, we have already had a few things mixed up.

If  we can ask all parents to take a look, as one particular item is a pair of black Bogs, size 2 with a round name tag on the inside of the boot. 

Thank you in advance. Have a great Friday,

Erin

November 1, 2017 – **REMINDER** Parent Evening Tomorrow

Good morning,

I just wanted to remind families that Dominic and Kelly are hosting a Parent Info Evening tomorrow at 6:30pm in the classroom.

This particular evening will be information and discussions on Cosmic, Morality and the Social development according to Maria Montessori’s second plane of development.

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Erin

October 26, 2017 – Parent Evening Thursday November 2nd!

Dear Parents!

Dominic and Kelly would like to invite you all to join them for our first Parent Info Evening!

This particular evening will be information and discussions on Cosmic, Morality and the Social development according to Maria Montessori’s second plane of development.

We will be hosting this evening on Thursday, November 2nd, 2017 at 6:30pm

Thank you in advance and hope to see you all!

Erin

October 21, 2017 – Photos for 2017 Montessori are ready

Attached are the amazing photo’s of our Montessori Classes.

Please take a look through! Ordering details are all included.

Have a great weekend!

Erin Schultz

————

The photos for your child(ren) are ready for viewing by clicking on the View Photos, using the password Stonesoup (case sensitive).

How to find my photos: There are 3 tabs (Class Photos, Montessori Borealis, Yukon Montessori School). Click on any of these to find you photos.

Free Shipping: All orders placed by Friday November 10th are eligible for Free Shipping using Coupon Code FREESHIP.

Picture Packages are available as wells as a la Carte options and digital downloads (just scroll down through the shopping cart). I have created a double for each picture package for families with 2 children.

CLASS Photos: Are only sold as 5x7s. You purchase these through the picture package option. Please choose your class photo when ordering (you can now order 2 class photos).

All orders will be placed together the Remembrance Day week-end to be here the end of November.

If you have any questions, do not hesitation to contact me by email (sneill@northwestel.net) or phone 393-4799.

Sarah Lewis

October 16, 2017 – Tomorrow’s gymnastics

Good evening,

I apologize for the late notice, we were sent a note regarding gymnastics that they had an event tomorrow during our time slot. We have rescheduled the Upper El’s for Friday at 1:00pm.

The Lower El’s will still remain Wed. at 1:00pm.

Thank you!
Erin

October 8, 2017 – Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease

Good morning Families,

There is a confirmed case of hand, foot and mouth disease in one of our students. It is a common childhood disease, and while it is often uncomfortable, it is not usually a severe illness. Please read the attached information sheets and watch your child closely for symptoms.

Here is a link to the BC Healthfile on Hand, Foot and Mouth disease (provided by Dr. Catherine Elliott):

https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease.

And here is another source of helpful information:

http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/hand_foot_and_mouth_disease

To help protect others, and because this is a highly contagious illness, we ask that children who are affected stay home if they are feeling ill, and until any blisters are dry.

We will remind the children to wash hands frequently, and will continue to practice rigorous cleaning and disinfecting standards in the classroom.

Erin

October 7, 2017 – A Suzuki Strings Association Yukon Workshop

Dear Montessori Parents,

Students have received an invite from the Suzuki Strings Association Yukon for a workshop they are putting on in November. Please take a look through the information and see if it is something you would like your child to take part in. The registration details are all below.

Suzuki Strings Association Yukon is hosting a music camp with a theatre elective.  We’ve got extra spots to fill and we are inviting any student currently enrolled in music classes (outside of school) ages 6 (grade 1 in school) and older to register.  The theatre elective is Introduction to Vaudeville.  Scroll to the end of the email to learn more about this class.

When: November 11, 12, 13
9am-12 noon OR 1pm-4pm(the theatre elective is a three hour block and can be taken in the morning or in the afternoon)

Where: Whitehorse Elementary School

Cost: $90 per student (this includes 3 hours of Vaudeville for 3 days)

Registration can be made by emailing:   suzukiwhitehorse@gmail.com

Please include: Parent(s) name(s) with email and phone contact information, Student’s name and age, and Indicate whether you would like the morning or afternoon session

E-transfer can be made to the email address above.  Or cheques can be mailed to SSAY Box 32108 Whitehorse YT Y1A 5P9.

Spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Please visit our website for more details:  http://suzukistringsyukon.weebly.com/events.html

About the Theatre Elective, Introduction to Vaudeville (written by Grant Simpson):  
This course is designed to give children a chance to try some of the skills used on stage during real shows while teaching them some of the art of stage presence and in true vaudevillian fashion – “hamming it up”.
Students will be exposed to the three basic families of vaudeville – playing and incorporating music into an act, using “interesting” musical instruments, juggling and dance and choreography.
There will be three stations set up with a teacher and props.  Children will be rotate through the three stations  where they will be coached in the basics of each vaudevile act.  Then they will rehearse until polished.
The camp is designed to allow children to experience the different aspects of entertainment that make up a vaudeville or variety show.  The end result is the experience of putting “having fun” to work in your favor on stage.
“New Vaudevillians” will be taught basics on banjo, musical saws, dance, movement and choreography, singing, telling jokes and running gags.
The camp is designed and supervised by Grant Simpson Vaudeville Productions who will be on site looking for future vaudevillians for shows. 

Erin

October 6, 2017 – Field Trip on Tuesday, October 10th

Good afternoon,

Kelly has booked a tour at the art center for Tuesday October 10th at 1pm to 2:30pm or 2:45pm. We will be having a tour and meeting the artist for the exhibits in the gallery. It is a beautiful showcase of nature and art, something the lower elementary students have been talking about at school recently.

We have booked a bus with standard bus company and will be leaving the school at 12:45pm to arrive at the Yukon Arts Centre before 1pm.  Kelly is in need of 2 parent volunteers to join us. If you are able to, please email and I will book you in!

Our bus will pick us up at the Arts Centre by 2:45pm and have us back at school for regular pick up at 3:15pm.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Erin

October 2, 2017 – YSIS Form

Good evening Parents,

I have attached the YSIS Form for Aurora Virtual School. Each year they are asking for a new form to be filled out for each child. If you can please take a moment to fill it out, and either scan, print and send in with your child, or email it back to me that would be greatly appreciated.

This is not the same form you have already signed for your Home Schooling Grant. This is for your child’s records to be a part of the Department of Educations data base.

Thank you in advance,

Erin

October 1, 2017 – October is Here!

Good evening Parents,

It’s been such a beautiful fall so far! The children have been getting lots of time outdoors and taking in all the beautiful colours and sun. Although the sun is still shining, it’s starting to become cooler and cooler (-5 at my house this morning!) So I would like to remind parents to please send layers and weather appropriate items for the day.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to make it out to our AGM last week. It was so great to see so many of you! I would also like to thank our new 2017-2018 Board of Directors; Catherine Elliott, Karlo Krauzig, Cain Vangel, Susanne Behrens, Kathy Frederickson and Jeff Spiers for their willingness to commit to a wonderful year ahead!

A few things coming up:

1. Thanksgiving Luncheon

One of YMS’ community highlights. Students would like to invite parents this upcoming Friday, October 6th for a delicious turkey lunch. There is already a sign up sheet outside the classroom for side dishes, desserts, etc. that families can contribute. Lunch will begin at 11:30am. and all families are encouraged to join us!

2. Thanksgiving Weekend

NO SCHOOL on Monday October 9th, 2017

3. Gymnastics is starting soon!

We have booked a second day!

Upper Elementary students will be having gymnastics on Tuesdays, starting at 1:00pm. This will begin October 10th.  Each Tuesday for 8 weeks, students will be walking with Dominic to the bus stop, taking the bus to the gymnastics gym and returning back to school before the end of the day. So there will be regular pick up at 3:15pm.

Lower Elementary students will be having their gymnastic sessions on Wednesday afternoons at 1:00pm.  This will begin on October 11th. Each Wednesday for 8 weeks, students will walk with Kelly to the bus stop, taking the bus to the gymnastics gym and returning back to school before the end of the day. So there will be regular pick up at 3:15pm

4. Hallowe’en

I realize it is early to start discussing Hallowe’en 🙂 however, the plan is that YMS is going to create games and activities for the Preschool students in the morning. This has been an on-going tradition for the last 5 years. The children really do enjoy creating fun activities, and the preschoolers love interacting with the Elementary students.

Costumes; we are requesting that costumes not have any weapons or really gory details as we do have a lot of younger children (both in our room, as well as across the hall in the preschool) and we don’t want any one to be too scared.

In the afternoon, the Upper El students will be going to gymnastics and the Lower El’s will be participating in some Hallowe’en activities of their own in the classroom.

The Upper El’s have also been invited to come and see this years M.A.D  Haunted House. We have requested Friday the 27th of October, however, I will confirm the time as soon as I have heard back.

5. YFSA’s for grade 4 and 7 students

This year the Department of Education has decided that the Foundation Skills Assessments will be done in the fall. We are once again working  with Aurora Virtual School in administering the assessments. They have been booked for mid October. As I receive details I will send to parents of grade 4 students and their families.

Coming Up In November

PD Day on Friday, November 10th – This will be parent teacher interviews and a sign up sheet will be coming out at the end of October.

Stat Holiday on Monday, November 13 – The stat holiday will be recognized on the Monday

Along with Gymnastics through November, we also have Skate and Swim days at the CGC.

Nov 21 Skate at 9:00am

Nov 28 Skate at 9:00am

Nov 30 Swim at 1:00am

Students will be busing up to the CGC and back to school for regular drop off and pick ups.

Have a great evening and see you all tomorrow.

Erin

September 29, 2017 – Thanksgiving Lunch

The sign-up sheet for Friday October 6th’s Thanksgiving lunch is now posted in the hallway outside the classroom.

September 26, 2017 – Terry Fox Information for Parents

Dear Parents,

We are looking forward to Terry Fox this Friday at 1:30pm at WES.  We will be joining WES and any donations your family would like to give to the Terry Fox Foundation will be gratefully accepted and Dominic and Kelly will pass these monies on to the principal at WES who can then send them on to the right people.  Our Upper Elementary students will be doing some research work this week about Terry Fox and who he was as a person and what Cancer research is all about.

Also, Kelly is looking for one parent volunteer to join her in a nature walk, meeting at LePage Park for lunch and then continuing on to WES. Please let her know if you are able to help her on Friday.

Thanks

Dominic and Kelly

September 17, 2017 – September Update

Good evening Families!

I have been away this last week, but am back and catching up. I thought a brief update on some upcoming events might be helpful for us all,

1. Attached is a working calendar for the entire school year. It will give you a rough idea of when we have planned certain things. There are some things that we have booked and received confirmation, some events we’re not entirely sure of exact dates. But as they are confirmed I will update you! This calendar is also available on our website, and will be updated regularly by our Board of Directors.

2. September Events:

Friday, September 22nd – School Photos with the amazing Sarah Lewis! The preschool will be in the morning, and the Elementary is booked for the afternoon. If you have any special requests or sibling photo’s please let us know prior to the day of, so that we can be organized and prepared for Sarah.

Wednesday, September 27th – Yukon Montessori School’s AGM at 7:00pm – all parents are invited and encouraged to join us!

Friday, September 29th – Our class will be out of the classroom most of the day, so please ensure to send layers and weather appropriate clothing.

**The Lower Elementary Students will be going with Kelly on a nature hike in the morning, eating lunch at Lepage Park with an outdoor art lesson! Then walking to Whitehorse Elementary to join WES in the Terry Fox Run.  Kelly is looking to have one parent volunteer join her for the morning nature walk and lunch. If you would like to volunteer please discuss with Kelly.

**The Upper Elementary Students will be going with Dominic on a morning hike and picnic lunch, then joining up with the lower el students at Whitehorse Elementary for their Terry Fox Run.

In terms of the Terry Fox Run, we will be asking each student to bring in a “Twoonie for Terrry” to contribute to the fundraiser.  If parents/families would like to join us for the Terry Fox Run, I will send out a separate email with the exact time to meet at Whitehorse Elementary later this week.

3. Gym on Wednesdays

Every day after lunch students have a full hour of outdoor activities, games, free play and recess. On Wednesdays, it is the entire afternoon. Dominic and Kelly plan age appropriate activities that develop skills and technique.  In September children have been playing cooperative games and team sports. 

4. Moving into October:

In October our classroom will be hosting our Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon. If you have not previously been a part of our Thanksgiving event, this is a very special day that the children love to prepare for their families.  As we move closer to the date, a sign up sheet will be posted for parents to bring side dishes/desserts/drinks etc.

Also in October, our Gymnastics sessions begin. Each week for 8 sessions, our class will be participating in a skills and development program at the Polarette’s Gymnastics Gym. We will split the groups into Lower Elementary students and Upper Elementary students and a print out of which group is scheduled each week will be posted in our classroom window as well as sent out at the beginning of October.

If you have any questions regarding any upcoming events please feel free to contact me any time!

Erin

September 17, 2017 – AGM

Good evening!

I am extending a welcoming invitation to all of our YMS parents from our Board of Directors to our Annual General Meeting.

At our AGM we will introduce our wonderful Board of Directors, review our financials, and call for parents who would like to be a part of our Board for this upcoming school year!

It will be held Wednesday, September 27th, 2017 at 7:00pm in our classroom.

Attached, you will find our AGM Agenda along with our 2016 AGM minutes.

We look forward to seeing you all,

Sincerely,

Erin Schultz

September 11, 2017 – Call for Volunteers

The school is looking for parent volunteers to help out on Friday September 29, 2017 with the off site school hike and the Terry Fox Run.

If you are interested in helping out please let Kelly or Dominic know.

August 30, 2017 – Upper Elementary Parent Meeting

Hello Parents,

Yukon Montessori will be hosting a Parent Information Night run by Dominic Bradford, the Upper Elementary teacher, on Wednesday September 13th, 2017. It will be held in the classroom from 6pm-7pm where parents will learn more about the environment. There will be a time for any clarifications, and for your burning questions to be answered, at 7pm

All parents are encouraged to participate however we do insist that any new families to the school make this meeting a priority.

A few example topics to be discussed:

-classroom expectations

-outings

-library

-snack and lunch

See you there!

Erin

August 23, 2017 – A Note from Kelly

Good morning Parents and Families of our Lower Elementary class for 2017-2018!

It’s already that time of year, and I will be trying to keep the welcome emails to a minimum, but there will be a few with pertinent information. This email, is in particular for the Lower El families. So please mark your calendars!

Hello Parents,

Yukon Montessori will be hosting a Parent Information Night run by Kelly Scott, the Lower Elementary teacher, on Tuesday September 12th, 2017. It will be held in the classroom from 6pm-7pm where parents will learn more about the environment. There will be a time for any clarifications, and for your burning questions to be answered, at 7pm.

All parents are encouraged to participate, however, we do insist that any new families to the school make this meeting a priority.

A few example topics to be discussed:

-classroom expectations

-outings

-library

-snack and lunch

See you there!

Kelly Scott
Yukon Montessori School

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Erin

August 7, 2017 – School Supply Lists 2017-18

Upper Elementary Supply List 2017-18 (for download)
2 Packs of 12 quality pencils (please buy good quality)
Pencil Sharpener
Short plastic ruler (15 cm)
Pack of red pens
Pencil Case
Oxford English Dictionary (paperback)
4 erasers
French /English Dictionary (paperback-more words the better)
Scissors
1 pack of glue sticks (UHU glue stick is best)
5 red Notebooks (Hilroy, 8 mm with margin- 72 pages)
One 1 inch binder
2 Address Books with alphabet on left margin
1 pack of construction paper
1 pack of index cards
Indoor Shoes
Water Bottle

Lower Elementary Supply List 2017-18 (for download)
Pencils (preferably without the added plastic coating with fun patterns- they do not sharpen well)
Small scissors (left handed if necessary)
30 cm ruler
Eraser
Glue stick
Pencil sharpener (with cap or lid to hold shavings)
Coloured pencils

June 28, 2017 – Letter to Upper Elementary Parents

Dear Parents of Upper Elementary students at YMS,

We look forward to seeing you all and your children in the 2017-18 School year.  We will start school on the Tuesday after Labour Day.  Dominic will be in school starting Tuesday September 29^th working so those who need to have a place to be during the day of that week are welcome to join him.

The school year promises to be an interesting one with regular schoolwork as well as a few special initiatives.  These initiatives will include a few trips for the Grade 6 students, a focus on examining Yukon as a place to be in the 21^st century, and a model Arctic council meeting in the winter of 2018 with other schools.  We will also continue doing many of the same activities that we have done in the past such as the same sports schedule, Shakespeare Festival in the first week of May, and end of year camping trip.

In the meantime I wish you all the best with your summer and please see the attached school supply list.  During the summer I encourage your children to read a lot and to run jump and play.  For incoming grade 4 students a certain effort on memorizing all multiplication math facts with digits from 1 to 12 is always an asset to helping them have a confident start in the fall.

Happy summer,

Dominic

Upper Elementary Supply List 2017 (for download)