Serenade

I had the wonderful chance to hear the intermediate grades in Ms. Bailey's class sing today. When When I arrived they sang, "You're Beautiful to Me." Play the clip above and enjoy what I heard.
It's heart-warming song with a message close to my heart. Hopefully, our children will develop this sense of self-worth independent of peer actions. Indeed, it is what leads to strength in adulthood. I will soon be teaching my sons and kindergarten students the same song.
Thank you boys and girls for sharing it with me!
Love Mrs. App

Here's the words.

You're Beautiful to Me
You don't have to dress a certain way. Change your hair, your style, your face.
Or play the games some people play.
You're beautiful to me.

When it seems that life just knocks you down. And you don't measure up somehow.
Remember what I tell you now.
You're beautiful to me.

Oh, you're a shining star.
Oh, just the way you are.

You don't have to wear your mask today. Just be yourself in every way.
No matter what this world may .
You're beautiful to me.

Oh, you're a shining star.
Oh, just the way you are.

Don't you know you're worthy to be loved. Not for what, but who you are.
A pure and precious child of ____.
You're beautiful to me.
You're beautiful to me.

International Day was GREAT!

Our International Day was a great success. Thank you to all the families for bringing food to share with the rest of the class. We enjoyed looking at each other's pictures, listening to musics, seeing favourite clothes, and of course tasting new food! In the slide show above, you will see the Kokomo African group performing Somalia music for the school. Look closely, can you see some of our classmates dancing? Wait a minute.... Is that Mrs. App? Yes. See how many teachers and children you recognize dancing. There was also a Kids Write performance in the afternoon. We enjoyed it, but I do not have pictures in our slide show.

Thank you to all the parents who helped make this event possible.
Love Mrs. App

Spring Fever!

The sun came out today and it finally started to feel like Spring! The children are getting excited about the change in weather.

After 8 months of routines, I need to point out that some are starting to forget a few. Guess what? I'm referring to the parents, not the children! Please remember the following class start and pick-up times.

Morning Class:

8:45 am. start (9:00 am on Wed.)

11:25 am dismissal

(This means the last 10 minutes of class the children are putting on their clothes and waiting to be picked up. JKC kids go next door at 11:25 am.)

Afternoon Class:

12:30 pm. start

3:00 dismissal (JKC students go next door at 3:00 pm. The other students have the last 10 minutes to gather their belongings and leave.)

It's fine to be late every now and then, but I have noticed that people are drizzling in later and many children are missing the start of the day. The end of class is a difficult transition time for many children and some start regressing if they have too much wait time. I noticed the trend is leaning towards coming or leaving at the last minute, and it is changing the class times. Stephanie and I then struggle to meet our other school, job, and family obligations.

Thanks for your support.

Love Mrs. App

Telugu New Year

This week one of our students is performing a dance at UBC for a Telugu New Year Party. We were fortunate to watch M practice his performance in our class. The song and the dance has lots of jumping and kicking to illustrate that a child at this age has great promise and energy to work towards achieving something. Thank you for sharing this dance with us. Good luck at your UBC performance!


Remember: We are valuing various cultural foods and traditions on Thursday. Bring a family food and explanation to class.
Love Mrs. App

Class News - April 14

This is going to be a busy week! This morning we had 4 students from Ms. Quinlan's class come in to talk to us about bears. They also read us the Bear Hunt story with the felt board. Click above to see this class activity.
Here's important reminders for this week.

1) Gymnastics is over. Children need proper shoes for the gym again.

2) Class International Day. On Thursday, the children will wear their favourite clothes or culturally traditional clothes to school. Children may also bring an object that has a significant meaning to their family or culture. This does not mean stuffed animals. It is meant to give children a chance to share a part of their culture with the class if they wish to. Many children may not know what to bring and that is fine. HERE'S THE BIG PART. We will be having food tasting stations during class time. Please send some food with your child to share with the rest of the class. Some families may easily think of something that reflects their cultural background. An other option is to bring something to share that is a favourite food for your family. Please have the food labeled with a title and explanation of why it is important to your family. If there is a tradition around the food or special time of the year you eat it, please explain that information too. Remember to have enough food for all students to try a sample. The left over food will go into the fridge to be served at the evening parent social.

3) Two performances. On Thursday, we will also have a performance for each class. The morning class will watch an African Dance by Kokomo. I'm very pleased that this falls on our International Day. The afternoon class will watch the Vancouver Youth Theatre performance.

4) Parent Night. Yes, our social with Deb MacNamara speaking is on the same day as International Day. Come to the library at 6:15 pm. It is over at 8:30 pm. I hope to see as many people as possible. We are so fortunate to have Deb donate her time for us. She will talk to us about "counterwill" - Why Children Say No. It's a fascinating (and life-changing) topic. You are welcome to bring any friends that you would like. The more the merrier. I would like you to let me know so we have enough hand-outs. Child-care will be provided by donation in the carpeted area. Our adult function will be in the library. Remember to check out the links on the right for more information about Deb MacNamara or Gordon Neufeld. As always, you can ask me any questions. See you there.

5) No School on Friday. Remember, it is a professional development day for teachers. Teachers have workshops. Children do not come to school. Regular classes will resume on the Monday.

See you soon.
Love Mrs. App

Class News Update - April 7

Wacky Hair and Pajama day was a blast last week. Here's some upcoming information for this week.
1) COINS FOR CARING will begin Monday, April 7th and run through Friday, April 11th. As a part of their Social Studies Action projects, the Grade 6 students in Ms. Quinlan’s class are collecting money to support an orphanage in Africa. Coins for Caring will be a one week coin drive: on Monday, they are collecting nickels; Tuesday is dimes; Wednesday is quarters; Thursday is loonies; and Friday is toonies. We will set up collection jars. I strongly encourage the children to participate in this great show of social responsibility. The class with the most money raised gets a Pizza Party. Of course, this is not the reason to give, but it would be fun!

2) Gymnastics. This week is our last week of gymnastics. The children need to be able to take their socks off to go on the equipment. Ms. Veda would like to remind parents to avoid sending your child in stocking or a skirt on gym day. They need appropriate clothing for climbing and rolling etc. We had two parent volunteers help the morning class last week. The afternoon class struggled without any parent volunteers. Due to all the equipment, please let me know or just show up if you can volunteer to help with the afternoon gym class on Friday. It starts at 12:55 pm.

3) April 17 Parent Social. Information went home to the afternoon class on Friday. The morning class will take home the reminder on Monday. I am still tracking down the PAC chair for confirmation on child care. We are VERY fortunate to have Deb come to share her wisdom with us. I can't tell you how amazing she is. Of course, it's all based on the Neufeld paradigm. Please check the Deb blog in right column for her background and to read recent comments on parent matters. Our night is included in her public speaking schedule.

Must run,
See you tomorrow!
Love Mrs. App

Class News - April 1

Division 15 enjoyed a performance today about water conservation. Look closely at the actors. Do you recognize the "sizzle" sun?

Here's more NEWS.

1) Division 14 welcomes our new student to the class! B is a delightful boy from sunny California. I'm sure his family was scratching their heads as it hailed three days in a row last week!

2) Tomorrow is April Fools Day! Just for Fun the whole school will be coming to school in Pajamas and Wacky Hair. This is not a joke. I'm sure the morning class will enjoy not having to bother getting dressed. The afternoon class may or may not find it convenient. We still need coats to go outside!

3) It turns out I will not be away for Tuesday or Wednesday this week. I was able to reschedule appointments. However, the school is giving me 3 missed prep periods on Tuesday afternoon. This means I am around, but there will be a TOC teaching most of the afternoon class.

4) Gymanastics starts tomorrow (Tues.)
Both classes will have their gym classes on Tuesday this week. Ms. Veda would like to invite as many extra parents as possible to help the kindergartens on the equipment. The morning class by period is at 10:35 am. The afternoon class period is at 2:20 pm.

5) We are not going to the public library this week for a field trip. You don't know what I'm talking about? Well, apparently our May trip to the public library was booked for April 3rd. The presenter is on sick leave. I called today to say the date doesn't work for us and we will postpone the trip. Stay tuned for the final date.

6) The Bare Necessities. While my sons have watched the DVD of the play over and over, there are many students in the class who haven't seen it. Div. 15 will watch the DVD performance on Tuesday. Division 14 will watch the DVD performance on Friday. If you want your own copy, they are available in the office for $3.

7) Wish List. Wow! Thank to Shannon and Paul who donated a tv and dvd player to the classroom just days after I mentioned the need. I'll say it again and again... I don't think any other teacher has class parents as fabulous as mine!

8) April 17. The kids will have an international day during class. The parents will have a Parent Social from 6:15 - 8:30 pm. We will bring extra food from international day as well as additional yummies. Dr. Deb MacNamara will be speaking on "Why Children Say NO." Some parents from other classes who want a chance to hear Deb speak (for free!) will also join us. All are welcome. I will post a sign up outside the class soon. Just keep the day set aside for the event.

Must run,
Love Mrs. App

Term 3 Begins!

Welcome back, everyone! It's great to see all my little bears again. I hope you all had a restful and relaxing Spring Break. It sure went by fast despite the cold and rainy weather. Some families are still on vacation soaking up the sun and haven't returned yet!



Here's some news updates.

1) Please sign and return report card envelopes. You may keep all attachments and files for your own records.

2) We will be doing gymnastics in P.E for the next 2 weeks. Please send your child dressed in appropriate clothes for climbing, jumping, and tumbling. Also, the children will be required to take off their socks and work in bare feet. My regular volunteers can help with safety supervision while the children are working on the equipment.

2) BARE NECESSITIES DVDs are available for purchase ($3 each) from the office. It's really well done with both performances on the menu. The audio is strong and there is lots of close ups. My sons and I watched it tonight and loved it. James was dancing along and Ryan cheers for the wolves whenever they come on stage! Of course, they both love our singing bears. Who wouldn't!

3) It’s going to be Pajamas and Crazy Hair day on Tuesday, April 1 (no, this is not an April Fool’s joke!). I won't be here on that day, so I suspect the TOC will be in for a surprise!

4) Keep your eyes (and ears) opened for "Coins for Caring" which will be happening every day during the week of April 7th - this will be introduced and explained at our assembly this Friday.

5) Library. Many parents have been asking about additional times when the children can visit the library for book exchange, other than their scheduled Monday time with Ms. Leung. The library is opened a bit earlier on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Friday’s at 8:35. It is also opened after school from Monday to Thursday from 3:10 to 3:30. I strongly encourage you to encourage your children to exchange their books for new ones as soon as they have finished with them, instead of waiting for each Monday. We have an awesome book collection in our school library--one of the best in the district--and I hope the children take full advantage of it!

6) Wish List. I'll try to add an ongoing wish list in the right column. Until I do that, does anyone have an extra tv or dvd player to donate to the classroom. The ground floor no longer has working televisions. I want to show our class the Bare Necessities DVD, but our little tv only has VHS. The colour is hilarious too. I'll tell you that story another time! Also, our staplers are mostly out of order too. Just in case anyone has an extra one?

7) Parent Social and International Food Day. Stay tuned for more information about this combo on Thursday April 17. April 18 is a pro-D, but please don't leave town on Thursday evening. Our evening will be great. It looks like we will have child care so both parents can attend. Remember Dr. MacNamara will be doing the workshop, "Why Children Say No." It's amazing.

8) More about Dr. MacNamara. Go to her link in right column. Her recent blog updates are really good.

See you soon,
Love Mrs. App

Happy Easter

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holiday. I'm sure the Easter Bunny made lots of visits. Here's a little song for you all to enjoy. Want more computer activities for the break? Don't forget the podcasts in the right column. See you soon!
Love Mrs. App