This week we have been doing Social Studies and Science galore. We have been learning about how various plants and animals adapt to the changing seasons. We used Venn Diagrams to learn how to conduct a comparison of two similar technologies and two different animals. We discussed how various cultural groups within our community acknowledge the changing seasons. For more information about Diwali, a major festival in the South Asian community: https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/pages/article/diwali  The younger group even did some of our work by the light of small oil lamps called Divas. You will be pleased and proud to learn how well our kids conducted themselves during our recent Earthquake and Emergency drills. Both groups did the drill perfectly and exited the building in a quiet orderly fashion. We even received compliments from other staff! Very impressive. If you have not already done so, please complete and return the yellow Emergency Reunification page sent home this past week. Only the oldest child in the program would have received it. On Friday our Intermediate group will have some fun with Halloween themed activities. Please send along some treats/goodies to share. Free to come in costume. The Primary Group will have a party on Monday, including a costume parade through the whole school! Please send along some treats/goodies to share. Now that the rains have returned it becomes more difficult to keep our classroom carpet clean. It is common practice in Primary age classrooms for children to keep a pair of shoes at school that are only worn inside the building. Please send along a pair of ‘inside shoes’ or slippers for your Primary aged students to keep at school.  Portfolio Meeting Schedule is now open to book your appointments. Please refer to the calendar on this Blog. Email me your 3 preferred times and I will do my best to accommodate. Times fill up quickly, so I recommend families with sibling sets try to book early. I am always open to receive/pass along resources you think other families might find helpful. A parent recently forwarded a link to a resource for dealing with separation anxiety and other common behaviors with school aged children.  https://www.goodinside.com/book/   I am still hoping to collect a dozen thick rubber bands for a music project. Especially needed are the big blue kind that come with broccoli! Please and thank you! A reminder that Allotment requests are now open. You may order from a list of approved vendors. Requests get processed by our office staff on Wednesdays. This list is not available in digital form, but if you would like another copy of the list please send along a note with your child. There is still some Owl Pellets available to families that would like to investigate them further at home. Just send along a plastic bag if you would like your child to bring one home.  Adopt a Catch Basin: The City of Vancouver invites people to ‘Adopt a Catch Basin’ and help keep it free of leaves and debris. This helps prevent flooding and helps stop garbage from getting into the ocean through the storm drain system. It’s a wonderful Social Responsibility activity. And its free! The city will even send you a rake and a reflective vest if you so desire. AND you get to give your drain a name! I adopted two catch basins on my street and named them Ebb and Flow 🙂  If you think this would be fun for your kids, here is a link to more information: https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/adopt-a-catch-basin.aspx