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June 16 2014 Newsletter
Mulberry is Twitter-less
Grade One Cats - Handwork projects

Upcoming Dates

Tues. June 17th at 4 pm
Grade 2/3 Play
 
Wed. June 18th at 2 pm 
Grade 7/8 Graduation

Thurs. June 19th at 5:15 pm
Kindergarten potluck

Fri. June 20th at 11:30 am                                           Morning Garden potluck
 Last day of school!

June 23-27
Camp 
Deadline for registration is Tuesday June 17th!

 
Manners and the Young Child – Seeing the Other
Do manners still matter, really? My own memories of using “forced” manners trace back to uncomfortable Christmas gift exchanges with distant aunts and uncles and keeping my elbows off the table at my Grandparent’s house. But somehow I came through those “stiff” experiences of manners to believing that basic manners matter a great deal in a young child’s development.
An impressive peak of self-interest seems to occur at age three or four, first rearing its head sometime around the age of two with a ferocious cry of “MINE!” For children age 3-6, manners do not come easily. What manners are important and realistic for young children? Below are three of the many manners/skills we work on and value at Mulberry School.
Greetings 
Saying “hello” or “goodbye” when being addressed is important. Every time we greet others in the presence of our children we are modelling “seeing” the other person and demonstrating that their presence matters to us. Slowing down to be present for a greeting can be really pleasant too. It takes us beyond our own mood or concerns and connects us with another.
Greetings between teachers and students at a Waldorf school are given attention and thought. In the grades often a handshake is involved and an expectation for eye contact. Depending on the teacher, this may occur in some form in kindergarten as well. For the teacher, this is a quick visual “check in” (does the child appear tired, excited, upset?) as well as a brief moment of personal connection. Each child starts the day feeling “seen” and met in a pleasant manner.
Expectations for greeting others need to take the individual child and their age into account. By the time a child is five, regardless of temperament, simple greetings are a very reasonable expectation A shy child may struggle with articulating “hello” or “goodbye” but the request to do so can be pleasantly and persistently there.
Waiting or Delayed Gratification
For young children, manageable acts of delaying gratification (waiting until everyone is at the table until starting to eat, serving others before yourself on a special occasion) help them learn they are capable of waiting and illustrate the simple fact that there are other people around them.
The experience and understanding of delayed gratification has been studied many times over, the most famous study being Walter Mischel’s “marshmallow study” in the 1970’s (1). The results were striking. The ability to delay gratification as a preschooler correlated strongly with impulse control, the capacity to plan ahead and academic achievement later in life.   
As a parent, you may receive complaints about expectations to wait for food, or a turn, but you can push past these complaints and remember you are building a skill in your child. If your own reasons for the request are clear, your child will likely sense the resolve behind the request.


Continued on our website
Grade 7 and 8 Trip to Toronto 
On our trip to Toronto we enjoyed a variety of activities at a wide range of places.  Personally I loved the worldly, cosmopolitan feel to the city, with its many, many cultures, all with their own traditions and food 9the latter of which I sampled generously). Among my favorite destinations were Kensington Market, Casa Loma and the Evergreen Brick Works. 
Our trip was also a valuable learning experience. When my dad’s friend Bruce gave us a walking tour of the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 I learned a lot about the rebellion and what kind of a man William Lyon Mackenzie was. I also learned a lot from Casa Loma, the AGO, and at the Brick Works.  I would also like to thank the school community for your generous support that made our wonderful trip possible. Thanks so much (all you guys!) 
Sincerely, 
Simon


I had fun the entire trip but I have few things that I especially favoured. First of all, the food was superb. It was yummy, but it was also interesting to see the different cuisine in Toronto. I also loved Casa Loma and the Mackenzie House. It was cool to see houses from historical Toronto and how different they were. Kensington Market was of course, fabulous. I love shopping therefore I love Kensington Market. I LOVED Legally Blonde. It was funny and perfect for teenage girls (and maybe boys). I also appreciate it more now that I’ve seen the movie (which was awful). I really am grateful that we could go. In all it was a great trip, I had fun seeing Toronto and just hanging out with my friends. Harper.
We learned a lot in Toronto, especially about the history of the city. We went to Casa Loma, Kensington Market, the AGO art gallery, on a special tour, the Mackenzie house, to a show, and to Brick Works.  At Casa Loma I learned that this massive mansion’s construction began in 1911 and took three years to build. The owner back then was Sir Henry Pellatt. He had paid for it and lived in it for less than ten years (because he couldn’t deal with the cost anymore). The grounds of Casa Loma are over 300, 000 ft.
At the AGO art gallery were many, many different kinds of art. There were things from old paintings, to photographs, to modern sculptures.  We also had a “art talk” with someone about a painting called “Raphael’s Dream” It was very interesting to see and talk about all the different styles of art. 
On our second day we went on a walking tour. We walked through Toronto and learned about the history of the printing press and William Mackenzie. Mackenzie had his most famous newspaper done in the early 1800’s, but there was competition between other papers. Mackenzie wasn’t getting enough subscribers and he was still in debt. So eventually he fled to escape from his creditors. While Mackenzie was gone a group of men broke into Mackenzie’s office in the middle of the day, and destroyed his printing press and threw the type into Lake Ontario. Unfortunately no one stopped them. But Mackenzie took this event to his advantage and he returned and sued the perpetrators. After a trial, which had brought him money and fame he re-established his business.
Highlights:
I especially enjoyed exploring the many rooms, places and gardens of Casa Loma. I thought it was beautiful and a great experience. I also really liked the musical play we got to see. It was fun. Another thing I found interesting was the art gallery and also Brick Works. Brick Works was nice because, in such a big and busy city there was still a nice green space with much nature. I found everything fun and interesting and I learned a lot about Toronto. We got to see Toronto in a way I’ve never seen it before. 
Annika 

Last Wednesday morning the other grade 7/8 students and I got on a “Mega Bus” and traveled to Toronto with our chaperones. When we got there we did a lot of walking and experienced things that were new to me, like riding street cars and sub-way trains. On the first day there, I got to see “Casa Loma”, a beautiful castle manor with lovely old-fashioned suite bedrooms, a wide veranda with beautiful gardens and so on. The next day we learned about some of the early history of Muddy York aka Toronto when it was but a small village. Later in the day we went to Kensington Market and had fun shopping. In the evening we saw a musical of ‘Legally Blond’. On our last day we went to Brick Works before taking the bus home. 
This trip was exciting, fun and educational leaving me with memories I am truly grateful for. I am truly grateful for all contribution towards our trip, thanks everyone!
Sincerely, 
Angel 


Our trip to Toronto was a blast. We visited many fascinating places and learned a lot  about Toronto. 
One of the highlights of Toronto was Casa Loma. I love horses, so what really captured my attention were the horse stables. On the wall of the barn were plaques, each of which had the name of a horse. The stables were connected to the main castle by an underground tunnel. 
The Art Gallery of Ontario was another highlight. The architecture of the building was beautiful, especially the winding wooden staircase. What was unique about the staircase was the fact that it turned in the clockwise direction instead of the usual counter-clockwise. We also participated in a discussion about a painting called ‘Raphael’s Dream” by Jan Brueghel. 
Another interesting part of the trip was a personalized historical tour given to us by Bruce, a friend of Ned Dickens. After this we went to the Mackenzie House and learned about William Lyon Mackenzie and his printing press. 
One of my favourite parts of this trip was going to see the musical “Legally Blonde”. The singing and dancing was well done and the plot was very funny. Thank you to the entire school community for all the bake sales, planning, samosa purchases and donation that made this trip possible.  This was a memorable experience and a wonderful year-end trip. 
Maya 
Meadow Garden students complete their babies.
Feast Friday Fundraising Update
 
Dear Parents, 
Last Fall, one of the grade 2-3 parents (Janice Law) initiated a wonderful opportunity to raise some funds for the grade 2-3 class. Much time and effort went into this Feast Friday Chili fundraiser and as a result, a significant amount of money, approximately $500.00, was raised to help support our class.
We are very pleased to announce that after much deliberation, we will spend a large portion of the money on book binding equipment for grade school main lesson books. Imagine how wonderful it will be to receive one beautifully bound book representing your child’s entire year’s work!! This would benefit every class in the grade school at every level of their education. The remainder of the money will be spent on improving our library of reading materials.
 
Thank you to everyone who helped make this fundraiser a huge success and a wonderful opportunity that brought together the classroom community.
 
Sincerely, the Grade 2-3 class


The Grade 2/3 class created a large herd of horses!

Grade 4 & 5 Mice
Welcome Baby Gilbert!  
Born on June 1st at 8:55 am at 9 pounds and 9 ounces and 22 inches long (!!) to Kimberly Denison and Tim Crease.  
There is a community meal circle that all are welcome to join.  To sign up please refer to the following link:  
http://www.mealtrain.com?id=m8t6mtmn6j9t.
 




The Meadow Garden class went down to Doug Fluhrer Park this morning to sail our boats!
Next year’s Grade 1/2 class is looking for small desks and chairs!  We are asking the entire community to help us in our search.  For further information, please email J Piercy at 1withthegrain@gmail.com

Baskets of Babies

Théâtre de marionnettes à Ville-Marie
by Johanne Talbot, Grade School French Teacher
For the last few weeks, the grade 6-7-8 class has been travelling.... to Kindergarten and the Grades!  To conclude the year, the students worked on small vignettes taking place in Ville-Marie (Montréal), New-France at the market place: Puppet shows.  Four different fables from Jean de La Fontaine were learned and prepared as puppet shows. Le renard et le corbeau was presented twice: to Kindergarten and to the Grade One classes. La cigale et la fourmi to Kindergarten.  La grenouille et le boeuf to Grade 2-3 class and Le lièvre et la tortue to Grade 4-5 class.  Each student took part in one or two puppet shows.  The marionnettes and puppets (see pictures) were created by them with Mrs Heins in handwork classes.  
Bravo!  





 


Grade 2 and 3 class making birdbaths


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25 Markland st., Kingston, ON
www.mulberrywaldorschool.ca