Monday, October 8th is a Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. 

This month our focus is on Thankfulness. The Thanksgiving Holiday is a good time to remember all we have to be thankful for, including our privilege to live in a beautiful and peaceful country. Being thankful and knowing how to express appreciation are important for children to learn and practice. This holiday is a good opportunity for them to find ways to express appreciation to parents, grandparents, teachers, and siblings. At our family meals when we sit down together is a time when parents can model these skills and attitudes and help children to express gratitude. Please take time to look at our Thankfulness Bulletin Board at the front of the school and encourage your children to add something.

I would like to express my gratitude to the staff, parents and students for making Maple Grove a wonderful school full of joy and kindness, enthusiasm for learning, tolerance and celebration of all our differences, and commitment to good citizenship. May I wish everyone a lovely Thanksgiving.

Please take time to read the words of the Haudenosauni Thanksgiving Address

GREETINGS TO THE NATURAL WORLD!

Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People.Now our minds are one.

 

We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.

 

We give thanks to all the Waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us with strength. Water is life. We know its power in many forms – waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of water. Now our minds are one.

 

We turn our minds to all the Fish life in the water. They were instructed to cleanse and purify the water. They also give themselves to us as food. We are grateful that we can still find pure water. So, we turn now to the Fish and send our greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.

 

Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come. Now our minds are one.

 

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks. Now our minds are one.

 

Now we turn to all the Medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning, they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those special few who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the Medicines and to the keepers of the Medicines. Now our minds are one.

 

We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so. Now our minds are one.

 

We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many peoples of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the Tree life. Now our minds are one.

 

We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds – from the smallest to the largest – we send our joyful greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.

 

We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds. Now our minds are one.

 

Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers. Now our minds are one.

 

We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun. Now our minds are one.

 

We put our minds together and give thanks to our oldest grandmother, the Moon, who lights the night-time sky. She is the leader of women all over the world, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Grandmother, the Moon. Now our minds are one.

 

We give thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the Moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to all the Stars.Now our minds are one.

 

We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened Teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring Teachers. Now our minds are one.

 

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator. Now our minds are one.

 

We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way. Now our minds are one.

 

Photo Day is October 11

Volunteers – Thank You So Much

Safe Arrival

There are many people stepping forward to help us. Your contributions make the school a safer place and a richer learning environment. We are pleased to announce that the SAFE ARRIVAL PROGRAM is up and running this week. Thank you to the volunteers and to Monika Gay for organizing this.  Please call 604 713 5792 to report if your child is late or absent.

Class Parents

A class parent for each class is our goal. These volunteers really help make a difference for the whole school community and help the teacher in building a class community. Thank you very much to Karrie Bogart for organizing class parents. If you could volunteer to be a class parent, please email her at: ckbogart@shaw.ca

Thank you to the following people who have volunteered to be class parents for their divisions.

Division 4         Patricia Lowe and Lily Wu

Division 10       Emily Ng and Alexis Zehr

Division 12       Jean Kwon and James Tang

Division 13      Orah Chaye

Division 14       Nuha Amara

Division 15      Farah Shroff

Division 16      Joanne Randle

Division 17      Jodi Brown

Division 18      MingMing Guo

Division 20     Kamila Kopczynska

 

Hallowe’en Bingo is three weeks away!

If you would like to join our spooky committee, we are meeting at 3:00pm on Tuesday, October 9th after school for 45 minutes.  For more information, please email Alisha at alishamann@shaw.ca.

Hot Lunch and Lunch Time

We are very lucky to have a hot lunch program at Maple Grove and appreciate the help we get from parents in order to run this. We also have a very efficient office staff and a wonderful person in Rose who runs this program.  Here are a few  notes below concerning the hot lunch program and lunch times.

1. We cannot accept any late orders.

2. The trays for hot lunch are counted and cannot be used by students bringing their own lunch from home.

3. The hot lunch program cannot provide cutlery for students who bring their lunch from home. Please provide spoons or forks for your child.

4. The lunch room is very crowded and we already have a semi-staggered lunch hour in that kindergarten students eat first. We cannot accommodate parents in the lunch room unless they are volunteering

5. We really appreciate the parents who come to help us to serve the hot lunch

 

Dress for the Weather

Wonderful sunshine now, wind, rain, snow and ice to come. We still believe that everyone, including children, should be outside for at least part of the day getting fresh air and exercise. Children need that time for free play and vigorous activity. We count on parents to provide them with warm and waterproof jacket, hats (huge amounts of heat are lost from the head), gloves and boots.

Maple Grove Chinese Tea

Taking place on Friday 12^th October 2012 , from 13:30 pm to 14:30 in the Lunchroom. Parents are warmly welcomed to this social event (particularly newly arrived families).

Come join us and discuss any topic related to your child’s education.

Maple Grove Elementary School Principal Ms. S. Sellars will answer parents’ questions. Elisabeth Chan, VSB Settlement Worker will support you by understanding better schooling in Canada. Experienced and supporting parents will talk about the coming events in the school

Parent Information Session

VANCOUVER BOARD OF EDUCATION Settlement Workers In Schools (SWIS) Program, Multicultural Liaison Workers (MCLW), English Language Learner (ELL) Consultant in collaboration with Kerrisdale Community Centre jointly present a free parent information session on 

温哥华教育局多元文化工作员, 学校移民安顿项目,英語語言學習顧問及可丽诗古社区中心

联合举办免费家长讲座 

BC Elementary School System  卑詩省小學教育制度

Is your son or daughter starting school in Vancouver for the first time?  Are you ready?  Do you want to know more about the BC elementary school system?  Do you have questions about your child’s elementary education?  Do you want some ideas on how you can help your child succeed in school?  Please join us for this free information session provided by the Vancouver Board of Education English Language Learner Consultant Ms. Janice Grace L.

Tue. 9^th Oct.                           09:30-11:00

您的子女是否第一次來到溫哥華上小學? 您們準備好了嗎? 您是否想多了解卑詩省的小學教育體制? 關於您的子女在此地接受小學教育，有任何問題或疑難嗎? 協助孩子上學順利成功，有哪些觀念?有甚麼好的方法?

請踴躍參加此項由溫哥華教育局英語語言學習顧問Ms. Janice Grace L. 所提供的免費諮詢及說明會 

    日期和時間: 十月九日星期二 上午九點半到十一點

     地点: 可丽诗古社区中心 5851 West Boulevard, Vancouver

           额外停车场在Royal Canadian Legion 西42街2177号（中心对面）

All workshops will be conducted in English with interpretation available.  For registration and information, Please contact VSB staff:  Ms. Iray Yu at iyu@vsb.bc.ca or 604-713-6000 #2498 or Elisabeth Chan, CIRS, SWIS at  echan@vsb.bc.ca or 604-713-6000 #2485

以上工作坊與討論都將以英語進行，配有同步口譯。

報名及相關資訊，請與以上溫哥華教育局工作人員余小姐或 伊莉莎白。陳小姐聯繫                 

Maple Grove Elementary School is a community that

 CARESdeeply, SHARES generously, and HELPS willingly.

 楓林小學華語家長茶敘

2012年10月12日 (星期五),下午一時半至二時半在學校餐廳擧行。誠心歡迎所有說華語（國、粵語）的家長出席這項聯誼活動，齊來參與和討論關於您孩子的教育。

楓林小學校長莎樂女士將會出席並回答家長提問。

溫哥華教育局區域職員伊莉莎白.陳帮助您了解加拿大学校资料。其他有經驗的家長將談及學校最新活動訊息。

會場備有茶点，與大家分享。

楓林小學是一個互相深切關懷、慷慨分享和樂於助人的社區。

Upcoming Events

October 5                       First Mad Science Session in the lunch room

October 8                      Thanksgiving Day Holiday

October 10                    Early Dismissal 2pm – Goal Setting Conference

October 11                     Individual Photo Day

October 11                     Early Dismissal 2pm – Goal Setting Conference

October 19                    Professional Development Day – No school for students

October 26                    Hallowe’en Bingo!

October 26                    Last date for Hot lunch orders for November