The students all have their Valentines mailboxes up and are eagerly making and writing cards for their classmates.  Personally, I love Valentines Day at school, because it is a time when the outpouring of caring and thoughtfulness amongst the children is abundant, and also because the children initiate their own writing to their friends, often asking me to write words and phrases on the board, or on a piece of paper for them to copy out for a friend.

There will be two Valentines parties this week – one for the Intermediates and one for the Primaries.  The Intermediates party will be a low-key celebration between 1:00 and 2:00 on Tuesday, Feb. 13th.  They will share treats and open their mailboxes.  To that end, please send in a treat for the children to share.

The Valentines party for the Primaries will be on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 14th, from 1:00 to 2:30.  We will share treats, open mailboxes, and have a couple of games and crafts.  Parents are welcome to join us.  Please bring a treat for the children to share.  We have many gluten allergies in this group, and an egg allergy, so please label your treat.

The Ballet BC and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra field trips are both fast approaching, so please also remember to sign up and fill out a consent form this week, as the following week is Portfolio Meeting Week…

Which leads me to another friendly reminder to please sign up for your child(ren)’s Portfolio Meeting.

Finally,  please ensure your child is not bringing toys to school.  There have been a few incidents the past couple of weeks of hurt feelings due to children feeling they weren’t able to play with toys that were brought in by a classmate, instances where children have been focused on, or playing with their toys from home rather than participating in class, and time spent looking for toys that were left outside during recess or lunch.  Thank you for your cooperation with this.