Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, November 24@ 7:00pm on Zoom
All Parkcrest Families are members of The Society and are invited to attend the Virtual Annual General Meeting on Zoom. You can nominate and vote for our board members, get an update on this year's operating budget, and learn about our society initiatives.
This year’s parent night will be around The Importance of Social Skills, presented by Arzoo Rupani (ECE and certified Pyramid Model Trainer)
Please sign up to reserve your spot!
October – What a Fun Month!
What a fun month it has been! We have been busy exploring nature in our neighbourhood and discovering all the little details that make fall so special. We explored the different characteristics and colours of leaves, enjoyed our time in the forested areas, compared leaves of different sizes, and went on exciting leaf and stick hunts!
We are fortunate to have a lovely apple tree within walking distance of the Centre. We have been observing the apples as they fall to the ground, noticing how some have little holes, others have been partially eaten, and some have started to rot. We even picked a few apples and brought them back to preschool for a closer look! The children explored the inside of an apple, learned about its different parts, and had the opportunity to open up a pumpkin to discover what was inside!
While some children enjoyed pulling apart the pumpkin strands and exploring the seeds, others preferred to observe from a distance – and that's okay too! Some children chose a different approach and used wooden skewers and colourful beads to decorate the outside of the pumpkin, creating their own unique designs and patterns. We love seeing the different ways children explore, create, and express their interests!
The highlight of the month? Of course, our very first field trip to the pumpkin patch! A huge thank you to all our families who joined us and helped make the experience so much fun. We truly appreciate your participation and support!
Coming Up in November…
Next month, we will begin working towards our annual Winter Market! To introduce some of the concepts behind creating, selling, and buying, we will be setting up opportunities for dramatic play within the classroom. The children will have opportunities to explore these ideas through pretend shops, markets, and hands-on experiences.
We will also be introducing a new art medium: mosaic art! This will give children opportunities to explore colour matching, filling in spaces, creating designs, and experimenting with different patterns.
We have also noticed a growing interest in building throughout the classroom! The children's structures are becoming increasingly detailed and intricate, and we are excited to continue nurturing this interest by introducing new materials and seeing where their creativity takes them.
Another exciting addition has been storytelling with loose parts! The children have really enjoyed using different materials to bring their imaginations to life, and we have heard some wonderful stories along the way. We will continue to expand on this interest by introducing new materials and opportunities for creative storytelling.
Our Classroom Wish List
As we continue to introduce new materials and expand on the children's interests, we would appreciate donations of the following items:
Loose Parts & Creative Materials:
• Small tiles in different colours
• Small geometric-shaped tiles
• Small wooden shapes
• Flat buttons (colourful or decorative)
• Decorative jewels and gems
• Beads
• Small bows or gift bows
Thank you, as always, for your continued support and for helping us create an environment where children's curiosity, creativity, and imagination can flourish!
FALL BOTTLE DRIVE
Last month we hosted our first bottle drive of the year. We collected 91 bottles. Families are welcome to continue donating empty, unflatten and rinsed beverage containers to help us reach our goal of 500 bottles. Additional bottles are always welcome throughout the year!
Kensington Return It Depot has an easy drop off system. At the kiosk near the entrance, type in 604-294-6224. You can attach the printed labels to each bag and drop them in the large blue bins just past the cashier. They will do all the sorting and deposit the funds directly into our account.
The Return-It Express app has an automatic donation tab to organizations. If you would like to donate your next return to our Centre, simply click on SET AUTOMATIC DONATION, search for Parkcrest Child Care Society and click on donate funds. Every little bit helps us plan and implement special activities, and purchase program supplies.
GIFT CARDS FOR SALE THROUGH FUNDSCRIP
In 2025 we introduced an easy new way to help support our Centre—just in time for the holidays! Families and friends purchased gift cards through our dedicated FundScrip order forms, and received the full face value of their purchases. In return, our preschool earned a 2%–10% rebate from FundScrip on every purchase. Through this initiative, we were able to generate over $1000.00 in funds for our Centre!
This year, FundScrip is offering a 6-15% rebate with special monthly offers! Families can first participate in our Holiday fundraiser as a group to avoid shipping fees. All ordering details and instructions are included on the forms and will be sent home during the first week of November. Additional order forms for your friends, family and workplace-near and far are available upon request.
Families can continue to place individual orders throughout the year through FundScrip's online ordering system. Please use our invitation code before placing your order GQFN56. Individual orders will be subject to shipping fees and maximum purchase cutoffs.
It’s a simple way to give twice—buy the gifts you already plan to give while helping our preschool grow and thrive! Thank you for supporting our preschool community this holiday season!
SCHOLASTICS
The Scholastic Book Club is a wonderful way to spark your child’s interest in reading! Our goal is to help children learn how to sit with a book, turn pages gently, and use the pictures to imagine and follow a story. Reading together builds curiosity, imagination, and a lifelong love of books.
With the holiday season approaching, ordering through Scholastic is also a great way to get gifts in advance—while supporting our preschool’s love of reading. If your order includes gifts, please let us know so we can bag your order separately and keep it a secret!
Orders can be placed online at www.bookclubs.scholastic.ca/en/home and are due by Friday, November 13 to ensure delivery before the holiday.
When ordering, please use our Class Code: RC174102.
Thank you for helping us nurture a love of reading in our preschoolers!
PICTURE DAY
Every year Photo Franco visits the preschool to take individual and class photos.
Pictures will be taken against a white background therefore, dark solid colour clothing is preferred. A QR code will be provided for each family on these days where proofs and orders will be accessible online. All photo orders should be placed no later than November 30th.
Picture day:
Tuesday, November 17th for Tuesday and Thursday preschoolers
Wednesday, November 18th for the Monday, Wednesday and Friday preschoolers
Please note that children attending five days a week will have their photos taken on Tuesday, unless they have been marked absent. If your child misses picture day, families are encouraged to arrange an individual photo appointment directly with Photo Franco by calling 604-255-6372. Children who miss the scheduled picture day will still be included in the class photo through digital photo editing.
PRO D DAY
District Pro D Day is on Friday, November 20. There will be no class on this day.
WINTER MARKET
We will be hosting our annual winter market on Tuesday, December 8th and Wednesday, December 9th from 12:30 pm - 2:00pm. Families, friends and community members are invited to join us for a fun filled afternoon of shopping.
As a part of the market, the children are working on making items to be sold at the market. Items include trail mix, baked goods, photo frames, decorations and more!
We have also invited some local vendors who would like to support our fundraising efforts by donating a portion of each sale. We will have handmade soaps, lip scrubs, balloons, crocheted figures, and jewelry. If you are crafty and would like to sell or donate items to sell at the market, please connect with Miss Farhana.
Classes will run from 9:30-12:30 on these days. Families are asked to arrive at 12:30pm and join their children for a shopping adventure.
In addition to these special items, we are looking for some big-ticket items such as gift cards, travel related vouchers, gift baskets, or local restaurant/spa vouchers. Families who are able to donate items for raffle backets, can connect with Miss Farhana.
You can also support Parkcrest Children’s Centre by making cash donations to the Center, for which you will receive a tax receipt.
We look forward to welcoming you as the children show off their handmade market creations and we make efforts to ensure that the preschool can always be the special place that it is for the children.
Thank you for your support!
ILLNESS
A reminder to keep your child home when cold or flu symptoms are present.
The key symptoms to watch for are fever, chills, cough, difficulty breathing, loss of sense of smell or taste, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Check with your health care provider, or call 811 to speak with a nurse, if you have concerns.
PARKING AND WEATHER SAFETY
A friendly reminder to all our families to please park your car in the appropriate areas. The staff have noticed some families parking in the “no stopping” zones and on the wrong side of the road. This creates a safety issue for the children attending Parkcrest Elementary School and our Preschool families. Please note that the new parking lot is designated for staff parking ONLY.
Be prepared for the weather. Please note that during heavy snowfall, if Parkcrest Elementary School closes, the preschool will also close.
IMPORTANT DATES
November 11 - Statutory holiday for Remembrance Day - No School
November 13 - Scholastic Book Orders due
November 17 & 18 – Picture Day!
November 20 – Pro D Day - No school
November 24 - PARENT NIGHT & ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING @ 7:00 pm
November 30 – All photo orders due
December 8 & 9 – Winter Market
December 16 & 17 – Mosaic Art Display (more details to come)
All notices will be available on our website. info@parkcrestchildcaresociety.ca