“ If you go down to Willow’s Beach today you’re in for a big surprise, if you go down to Willow’s Beach today, you won’t believe your eyes…”

The Gonzales Preschool community celebrated Earth Day with garbage collecting ended our afternoon together our fun Teddy Bear’s Picnic! We gathered in the sunshine at Willow’s Park, there was lots of fun for the children, their fuzzy friends and their grown-ups: Earth Day crafts, delicious snacks & refreshments. As well, Angela lead a story-walk!

Gonzales Preschool is excited to have Colleen Adrian present at our Parent Education evening this Thursday April 11th at 7pm. Business meeting to follow at 8:30pm.

We all want our children to have healthy self-esteem. And it can be heart-breaking to see your once-sparkly-eyed child begin to show signs that her confidence is faltering when they:

• self-criticizes (e.g., “I’m terrible at skating”, “I’m stupid”),
• becomes easily discouraged,
• feels defeated before even trying (“I’ll never be able to do that”),
• is reluctant to try new activities, or
• easily becomes anxious.

This presentation focuses on regular parenting practices that you can use to nurture self-esteem and self-confidence in your child, and calm the Inner Critic.

Colleen Adrian, author, educator and retired nurse has spent many years exploring health, and researching and writing about connected parenting. She draws on her observations, and current research in neuroscience, psychology, spirituality and the 8 shields model to create fresh new perspectives. She shares her understandings in her blogs, at speaking events, and in her book, Freeing Your Child from Self-Criticism and Perfectionism.  www.colleenadrian.com

The Gonzales Preschool Community would like to extended their appreciation for all the donations from these generous businesses- thanks to you our online auction was such a HUGE success! And to everyone who participated by bidding and sharing this event. Our fundraising efforts allow us to keep tuition costs affordable and help fund monthly parent education speakers that creates enrichment programming for our preschool community.

A BIG thank you to:

Cinecenta/ Victoria Butterfly Gardens/ BC Forest Discovery Centre/ Ballet Victoria/ Victoria Symphony/ Art Gallery Of Victoria/ Royal BC Museum/ Bug Zoo/ Miniature World/ Big Wheel/ IMAX/ Greater Victoria Shakespeare/ Blue Bridge Theatre/ Raptor Centre/ Belfry/ Caffe Fantastico/ Mosi Chocolat/ Bon Macaron Poppet Art/ The Collective/ Banbutsu/ Cold Comfort/ Bolen Books/ Tapas/ Bodega/ Thorn & Thistle Flowers/ Rodan + Fields/ Ajna Yoga/ Victoria Police Department/ Hide & Seek/ Sunday’s Child/ Moksana Yoga/ Heart Of The Village Massage/ Hemma Yoga/ Shampoo/ Silk Road Tea/ Victoria Harbour Ferry Tours/ Uvic Sports Camps/ Boulder House/ Sea Cider/ Natalie Lord Photography/ BK Studios/ Nezza Naturals/ Ocean River Sports And Adventures/ Paint Box School Of Art/ Jon Clarke Designs/ Modern Baby/ Tidal Toys/ Oak Bay Fitness/ Timeless Toys/ Buddies Toys/ Mad Science/ Munro Books/ Russell Books/ Bolen Books/ Charelli’s/ Flying Squirrel/ Orca Book Publishers/ The Village Restaurant/ Pepper’s Foods/ Rupert’s Bees/ Smuggler’s Cove Pub/ Mt. Royal Bagels/ John’s Place/ Pizzeria Prima Strada/ The Fernwood Inn/ The Tartan Toque/ Market On Yates/ Ooh La La Cupcakes/ Spoons Diner/ Lipsense/ John’s Place/ Canvas Hair Salon/ Eleven Speed Roasters/ Massage Therapy By Kristin Richards RMT/ Robert Waddell Art For The Heart Home Or Office/ Nutty Island Foods/ Estevan Pharmacy/ CJ’s Auto Bling/ Ooh Ooh Darling Photography/ Oak Bay Fire Dept/ Beach Acres Resort/ Helms Inn/ Slater’s Meats/ Oak Bay Beach Hotel/ Fairmont Hotel Vancouver

And Special Donations from Gonzales Family & Friends!

Shannon Husk will be speaking to us at our next Parent Education night 7pm March 14, 2019. 8pm is our General Preschool meeting.

Shannon is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and has been doing counselling and outreach for the past 18 years. She has worked and volunteered in the community in a variety of settings including:  Victoria Women’s Transition house, Police Victim Services, School District 63, Community Living Victoria, Lifetime Networks,  and the Victoria Youth Custody Centre. Shannon chose her current role of prevention and community engagement, along with being a gaming and gambling information representative, after seeing many of the students and clients she works with share how much their lives were being impacted by technology.

Our 3’s class has openings for September 2019. Please contact our Enrollment Coordinator at enrol.gonzalescooppreschool@gmail.com to find out more.

Our three’s class is a gentle introduction to learning the routines of school and enjoying the wonder with other children in a nurturing and caring environment. We cap our 3’s program at 16 children.

Everyone’s royality here

Pompom tank

Foot circle

Our puppet friends

Outdoor fun

TYPICAL DAY:

9:00am to 11:30am, Tuesdays & Thursdays

9:00      welcome, book sharing, apple snack and circle time
9:30      free choice play, activities and art
10:15    clean up and circle time
10:30    snack from home
10:45    outside play
11:30    home time

FEES, 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR:

Annual non-refundable registration fee per child: $105

Full Participation: $145/month
Limited Participation: $180/month (limited to 4 families, read more about participation options and duties here)

FEES INCLUDE:

Four field trips/in-class guests (typically Tuesdays), plus neighbourhood walks.

An apple snack provided at story time.

Discount on registration to the Making Tomorrow Conference.

Gonzales Preschool red t-shirt for each student.

Membership to Vancouver Island Cooperative Preschool Association (VICPA).

NOTES:

We provide a longer than typical preschool session allowing for a more child-centered day: more engaged playtime and less transitions. However, September is a month of gradual entry. This means in order to help children ease into our preschool day, and gradually transition from home, we begin with shorter preschool sessions but within two weeks we are into full length classes. We are an allergy-aware and nut-free school. We are epi-pen trained.

Vancouver Island Cooperative Preschool Association (VICPA)’s  Making Tomorrow Conference provides a special day of information, community building, creative ideas and insights into the important job of educating and caring for our children.

The 2019 theme is “The Essence of Play” – and our experts will guide participants through discussion of the pivotal role of play in development, risky play, development of “Hygge”, supporting children with Autism Spectrum Disorder through play, pedagogical narratives, kids and technology, the new Early Years Learning Framework, and more!

Please join us on May 25, 2019 at the luxurious Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, BC to share ideas, experiences, and a delicious buffet lunch!

For more details go to: http://makingtomorrowconference.com/

We are taking our popular annual silent auction online again this year! Our fundraising efforts allow us to keep tuition costs affordable, and help fund monthly parent education speakers and enrichment programming for our preschool community.

Mark your calendars, our silent auction is LIVE: February 24th at midnight and ends March 10th 2019 at 9pm PST.

Auction is HERE, items being added daily.

This Thursday February 7th is our Parent Meeting, at 7pm Gonzales Preschool is thrilled to have Stephanie Curran here for the parent education portion of our evening. She will be speaking about the role of mindfulness as a resiliency/wellness tool for parents, how/why to bring this awareness to parenting and how to share this with our children and in the context of family life.

Stephanie Curran, a practitioner of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, is a long time practitioner of meditation. She has completed teacher training course work in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (with Jon Kabat-Zinn), Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting, Listening Mothers and Mindful Schools. As a parent, Stephanie is deeply moved and inspired to share the benefits of mindfulness with children, families and her community. She leads a variety of courses for parents and educators in Victoria and presents at conferences across the province.

Please join us for our annual Gonzales Preschool Open House this Saturday, February 2nd  2019 from 10:00am – 12:30pm.   We’re located at 2928 Eastdowne Rd.

We look forward to seeing you!

Parent meeting is this Thursday January 10th at 7pm parent education, 8pm business meeting.

Our world is full of huge challenges that adults seem unable to “fix” or mend–climate change, economic inequality, racism and sexism, etc. For us parents, it is hard to know how to talk about the issues in our world that we want them to understand. During this parent ed session we will explore together how to talk about class, poverty, and homelessness. How do we talk with our kids in a way that feels honest but not scary? How do we maintain a sense of the humanity and complexity of the lives of those living on the margins?