Recycling in Pre-Kindergarten

Posted on May 3, 2016 by missdekuyper

For our recent celebration of Earth Day, the Pre-Kindergarten students have been using recycled materials to build. Many of the children displayed an interest in space, so the PK teachers took this opportunity to practice teamwork in a fun and motivating way. In order to create a “rocket ship” and “a space station”, the class had to employ many of the KCS Habits. Building together alongside their engaged teachers developed their already emerging cooperation and collaboration skills. It began when the PKs themselves brought in recycled materials from home, providing a meaningful home-school connection, further enriching their collaboration experience. They were then able to brainstorm about what they would like to create – an activity requiring patience, listening skills, and the ability to take on another’s perspective. This is no small feat when you are three years old, but developing these skills in the realm of play makes for a safe learning space and only good ideas!

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After their structures were built, the children were given the opportunity to add paint, glitter and open ended art materials to their structure. The purpose of this was not only to make it look beautiful, but to add further meaning to something that the children worked on themselves. Engaging their senses and tactile experience, this step of the project also fostered focus, persistence and their individual sense of self within a group: a skill that will last them a life time. The “rocket ship” and “space station” were completed, but the children carried the learning from that experience into their everyday play, by re-enacting the building process, singing about taking a trip to the moon, and turning their play dough into “a rocket ship”. Recreating what they have seen, heard and learned, they are making meaning in their world.

Bonnie De Kuyper, RECE
PK Teacher

What does Mental Health mean to you? Let’s talk about it!

Posted on January 26, 2016 by tdrummondkcs

Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 27, is Bell Let’s Talk Day. This is a day where Canadians are encouraged to talk, text, and tweet in order to help encourage conversation around mental health, increase awareness, reduce the stigma, and raise funds to support mental health initiatives across the country (to learn more, go to http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/ ).

Here at KCS, we have made it a priority to address the importance of mental health and wellness for our students and our staff. We strive to promote overall wellness through our programs, curriculum and extra-curricular offerings, and we’re determined to keep the conversation going every day. We encourage students to talk to their teachers, parents, or other adults in their lives when they are feeling as if something may not be quite right. We work to assure all of our students that if they choose to talk to someone here at KCS, they know the conversation will happen without judgement or the need to feel any shame for how they are feeling. And in doing so, we hope that this helps to reduce some of the stigma that exists around mental health.

Over the past couple of weeks, in grades 1 – 8 either your child’s health teacher or I have taken some time to talk about mental health. The conversations and lessons have been tailored to be age- and developmentally appropriate, and aligned with the Ministry of Education Health curriculum. As part of the lessons, and in following one of the Bell Let’s Talk initiatives of answering the question: “What Does Mental Health Mean to You?”, the students were asked to fill in a thought bubble to share their ideas around mental health. These are now displayed in our front lobby and throughout the school. Our youngest students framed their answers by telling what they do when they are worried about something; our grade 4s answered the question “What Makes me Happy?”; and our grade 5 to 8 students and many faculty explained what mental health means to them.

The answers are moving, insightful, and show that there is a growing understanding of what mental health and wellness means at KCS. These answers weren’t prompted; they came from the heart of everyone who chose to share their ideas. Read them, and be inspired to do your part to make sure this is a conversation that will continue each and every day. It is just that important.

Tamara Drummond
Director of Student Life

KCS Pre-Kindergarten Students Love to Share

Posted on December 14, 2015 by missdekuyper

‘Sharing What You Know’ is one of the KCS Habits of Mind, Body and Action, so I want to share with you one thing I know about our Pre-Kindergarten program. When I’m in the PK room, my heart fills with joy. Yes, they are our youngest students in the school and yes, they make me laugh, but my heart fills with joy because they share with me what they know from the moment I walk into the room.

The other day, as soon as I entered, one child said, “Miss De Kuyper, I’m building a house!” I could tell he was proud, and I asked him who was going to live there, to which he replied, “You!” When another child put round connectors up to her eyes, I asked her what they were. She looked at my bespectacled face, smiled and said, “Glasses!” Several children brought me toys that matched the colour they were wearing that day, while some told me what they were “cooking” with playdough.

At the beginning of the school year, the PKs are coming out of toddlerhood and into the next stage of learning; something that a lot of us take for granted. This time in their little lives is huge, and it sets the stage for every year of learning after it. When children are given time to explore, they learn to identify colours or how to build a sturdy house, all while learning to share toys, space and ideas. Children absorb what they see and hear, and as the world unfolds around them, the PK program provides them the space to drive their own learning as they continuously share what they know.

Bonnie De Kuyper, RECE
PK Teacher

No Place Better Than Kindergarten

Posted on September 3, 2015 by kerrierobins

Kindergarten. When people ask what I do for a living and I tell them I teach Kindergarten, I get a range of interesting reactions. Many people respond with a look of fear or dread on their faces and incredulity at the idea of spending one’s days with a room full of 5-year-olds. Others speculate about how much fun it must be to spend one’s days in Kindergarten, perhaps reminiscing about their own fun-filled Kindergarten years. Having spent the last school year as my first year teaching Senior Kindergarten after teaching a variety of other grades for 16 years, I can assure you there is no place I would rather be.

What is life like in Kindergarten? Well, there is no shortage of energy; that is for sure. It oozes out of their little bodies and minds every minute of every day. Their curiosity knows no limits, and their endless enthusiasm is extremely contagious. I have to say that it is truly inspiring to see the world through the eyes of a group of 5-year-olds. They explore and wonder and try to figure out the answers to their multitude of questions. Their imaginations take them beyond the limits they may come to know later in life. Wooden blocks become underwater sea castles, roads, storefronts, or forts. Little bits of paper become “dudes” that travel around the classroom in the hands of their creators. A few sticks, some paper, and a whole lot of tape are magically transformed into a kite or a flying machine of their own invention. When Kindergarten kids find something they want to do, they approach it with determination, creativity, and persistence. They are not afraid to try something new. If it doesn’t work the first time, they make adjustments and try again. Taking responsible risks happens naturally every day, without a second thought. The way Kindergarten kids embrace learning creates a magical environment where anything is possible.

In so many ways, the kind of learning that happens in Kindergarten should be used as a model for older grades. At KCS, many things happen that try to preserve that spirit of learning for the love of it. While there may not be the same flexibility in terms of subject matter, the more we can let kids hang onto learning for the love of it and in ways about which they are passionate, the longer we can let the magic continue. Because why shouldn’t all students have the opportunity to say, as did one of my students to a classmate last year, “My face hurts from smiling so much!” That sums up the world of Kindergarten.

Kerrie Robins
Senior Kindergarten Teacher
Kingsway College School

Stories from our Beloved Outdoor Classroom

Posted on November 25, 2014 by SFreeman

We are very excited and proud when we talk about our new outdoor classroom at KCS. Over the summer of 2014, there was a major transformation of one of our early learning playgrounds by Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds. After consultation with staff members and administration, the aged climbing structure, artificial surface and cement stairway were all removed and replaced with a much more natural and inviting setting.

Surface for play and discovery was significantly increased by developing a previously unused upper portion of the playground. This unused area was replaced by a central, gently-sloping Durolawn-covered hill, shrubs, and several upright posts and saplings. Students entering the playground from the spider gate, can choose to explore the upper tier beneath the mature pine tree and navigate its obstacle course of embedded logs and round, wooden slabs. Or they can choose to curl up in a log-carved chair or couch and wait for their friends to arrive. When they are ready to engage in more active play, students can follow the downward pathway defined by horizontal cedar logs, take the option of the embedded, double hill slide, or negotiate the rows of log seating in the adjoining amphitheater, using them as balance beams or hurdles.

The lower portion of the outdoor classroom is dominated by a very majestic-looking log fort. Here our students congregate to make plans, stop to catch their breath after running games, and to practise their skill of climbing. Early in the year we discovered a cooperative game of rolling tennis balls over the very high roof and trying to catching them as they fall from the other side. Teachers have been spotted having fun with this activity as well!

Next to the fort is a fabulous open sandpit complimented by an adjoining log tunnel, a mirrored wall, a large sunken stump table, and a portable water pump. Younger students spend extended periods of time digging holes, burying dinosaurs, making pails of “soup”, and creating sand castles. Water from the pump helps to extend the activities even further as glorious mud adds a new dimension to play.

The southern perimeter facing Dundas West is defined with wooden panels, a huge chalkboard, mirrored panels, and some Plexiglas which embraces the action beyond the playground: a mature tree, a hedge (home for insects), and the bustle of vehicular traffic. The chalkboard is often the object of water painting which is a good way to clean the surface in a fun way and also to keep cool on a hot day.

The lowest section, hugging the walls of the school, is built on a surface to accommodate bouncing balls, a portable ball run, a staging area for the amphitheater, and a calmer creative area. Our students love to send multiple tennis balls down the ball run, watching as gravity does its work in a zigzag formation. Tucked in the corner, multiple stump tables and seats accommodate outdoor classroom activities, afternoon snacks, and creative work.

Curriculum cabinets and shelving units have been placed in strategic locations to house accessories for the enhancement of play and discovery. One cabinet houses dramatic play fabric, sand toys, sand accessories, paint brushes, paint trays, and chalk. Another cabinet has been stocked with clipboards, paper, watercolours, paint brushes, pencil crayons, pencils, and assorted balls. The shelving units in the upper discovery centre are stocked with seasonal bubbles, insect containers, magnifying glasses, measuring tapes, sandpaper, and cedar slabs.

When the SKs were asked what they liked best about the outdoor classroom, many of them highlighted the space to run, the wonderful sandbox, and the amazing fort. They thanked Adam Bienenstock, CEO and principal designer of Bienenstock Natural Playgrounds, in personal letters for this exciting space where they can have fun in so many ways while interacting with nature and learning in this enriched landscape!

We look forward to many more new adventures during the winter season.

Sharon Freeman, RECE
Senior Kindergarten Teacher
Kingsway College School

JKs Look for Spring in High Park

Posted on May 13, 2014 by SFreeman

We can all agree that this past winter was brutal and seemingly endless. Generally speaking, spring has never been more anticipated and welcomed than this year. Where does winter end and spring begin?

We had timely discussions in our JK classrooms, prior to the official date, so we would recognize spring when it arrived. We read kid-friendly books with promises of better things to come. We printed spring words using our best HWT (Handwriting Without Tears) letters. We drew hopeful pictures of spring in the brightest colours we could find. We took a few pictures in the playground with our iPads of even the slightest hint that spring was around the corner: receding snow banks, patches of ice from the previous day’s melt, and stubborn hedge buds reluctant to unfurl. Spring just wasn’t coming to us fast enough!

We decided to go on a field trip looking for spring. High Park was close and pretty expansive with its alluring variety of habitats: the wetland, the woodland, and the endangered black oak savannah. Surely we would find spring there! Following a lovely warm spell of sunny weather, snow had fallen on the weekend prior to our trip: one last blast of that relentless polar vortex. Our unfortunate traffic delay on the Humber Bridge, due to road work, hinted that we were definitely getting closer to spring!

Our two JK classes, along with teachers and parent supervisors, were greeted by two knowledgeable and captivating guides, Katrina and Mallory, who invited us into the intriguing High Park Nature Centre for the first part of our tour. Our students impressed them with their first-hand knowledge of spring during our lively discussion, book reading, and introduction to the resident critters: turtle, lizard, and snake. Our students carefully created seed balls by rolling together mud and seeds for our outdoor planting activity: our contribution for the upcoming Earth Day and for the restoration of the rare black oak savannah.

Once outdoors again, in winter jackets and snow pants, our students hurled their seed balls into an open grassland. They were encouraged to undertake a sensory exploration while engaged in a nature hike into the woodland. We captured signs of spring with the iPads: tufts of green grass emerging from the leaf piles, footprints in the mud, and buds on branches. We heard the songs of many birds calling for mates and announcing their readiness to start building nests. Our keen guiders kept reaching into their educational pouches, bringing out soft replicas of the elusive birds, and coaxing their proper songs with gentle tummy squeezes. We captured images of the trees through bark rubbings, and we hugged a few trees.

It was over too quickly! Both the children and adults agreed that it was an amazing field trip. The bus ride home seemed a little quieter, but no one fell asleep! There were so many images dancing in our heads, luring us to come back again.

Yes, we found spring, but we still want MORE!

On a personal note, I have experienced High Park as a wonderful place for families to spend quality time together. There is nothing more humbling than hand-feeding tiny tame chickadees at the south end of the park. It is not unusual for a butterfly to land on you as you stroll through the beautiful gardens. The chipmunks along the pathways love to gather snacks thrown for them. There are great playgrounds, opportunity for many sports, a small zoo, a pioneer museum, and many special events. What a great place for all family members to slow down, take a mental break, get one with nature, and engage in fun physical activities! I highly recommend High Park as a place to visit frequently.

Sharon Freeman, RECE
JK Teacher

Big Steps with our Little Ones

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Andrea Fanjoy

It’s been almost six months since KCS’s first-ever PK, JK and SK classes began. You may recall that when you’re that young, six months is a very long time. Between everything our youngest students have learned and all that their teachers have accomplished, it’s time to step back, take note and celebrate.

All good teaching starts with learning. Discussions on how to align the Early Learning Program (PK-SK classes) with grades 1 to 8 began in January 2013. These discussions were promptly fuelled by external professional development throughout the spring and summer at a kindergarten conference, a reading institute and at workshops on play-based learning.

Since September, professional development hasn’t let up. More external workshops, online courses, internal guidance on emergent curriculum and technology, iPad workshops, plus visits to observe and learn from kindergarten teachers at another independent school have also taken place. Without question, the newest members of our KCS faculty are exemplary models of our KCS Habit Embrace Learning. Commitment to ongoing learning and improvement is an inherent part of KCS from PK to grade 8.

Reading Mastery is a Direct Instruction program that is now established at KCS from JK to grade 6. First introduced at KCS two years ago, the small-group, research-based instruction is proving exceptionally effective in ensuring all students master the fundamentals of reading, from phonics to making inferences. Our kindergarten students get further opportunity in reading through take-home readers, regular get-togethers with KCS Reading Buddies, the excitement of guest Mystery Readers, teacher read-alouds and multiple other opportunities to learn the power of print.

Project-based learning (PBL) is another school-wide area of focus embraced by our kindergarten classes. PBL is a method of teaching that optimizes both learning about the world and also development of the KCS Habits of Mind, Body and Action. Through a tantalizing question or challenge, curiosity is piqued, and students are ready to engage in a wide variety of learning related to the topic at hand. The Emergent Curriculum practised in our PK classes and play-based learning also practiced in kindergarten are the age-appropriate ‘cousins’ to PBL. This excellent foundation aligns with the learning that awaits in grades 1 to 8 and indeed, the rest of their lives.

Incoming young students can also look forward to much more. iPads are being leveraged to help support skill development in our kindergarten program. The program ‘Handwriting Without Tears’ is being used to teach fine-motor skills, printing and eventually cursive writing from PK to grade 3. Math is being taught according to best practice with small-group instruction, a wide variety of hands-on learning experiences and engaging games. Music and French are taught by passionate specialist teachers who have aligned their efforts with the program in grades 1 to 8. Social and physical development have dedicated time with daily outdoor play and physical education classes in our full day program. Community service included a PK-SK partnership with the George Hull Centre collecting gifts for families in need. And exciting field trips to the Humber Arboretum, Aquarium, Toronto Symphony and more allow our students to learn from the many opportunities within the GTA.

While our half-day and full-day programs both offer all of the above, our full-day program provides the time needed to make the most of a rich learning program. Deep learning comes when students take their time, engage in activities until their natural conclusion and pursue ideas until the mind, not the schedule, tells them to stop. Long uninterrupted periods of learning not only support skill development but are also when habits of persistence, curiosity and creative thinking take root.

At the six-month mark, we’re very grateful for the twelve new faculty who collectively bring more than 170 years of teaching, from not only the former St. Georges Nursery School but also other highly regarded schools. Their learning and dedication to our youngest children has made for a very special first half year. With ongoing learning and unwavering dedication going forward, our Early Learning Program can look forward to many more happy half-years to come.

Andrea Fanjoy,
Assistant Head, Academics
You can follow Andrea on Twitter @afanjoy.

A Brilliant Move

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Mark Magee

It’s usually a humbling experience when somebody comes along and succeeds with ease where you have already failed miserably. But sometimes you need a little humility to get to a place of deeper understanding.

Way back at the end of September, I tried to introduce chess to the SKs. I played up the thrilling warfare angle, created backstories to help explain the way the pieces moved, and generally did my best to sell the students on a complex and exciting game of strategy. One month later, the boards were gathering dust and the knights were being used as “guys” in LEGO castles.

But then a Grade 5 student came along. She had recently read a book called The Queen of Katwe, which chronicled the life of a poor rural Ugandan girl whose love of chess helped her pull herself out of poverty and set her on the path to becoming a world-class Grandmaster. Inspired by the story, she decided that her leadership project would be to teach chess to the little ones in Kindergarten. So she recruited a few friends, hunted down some extra boards, and started coming every Friday at lunch.

The first visit from the Grade 5s was at the start of January. And with only a few visits, these student leaders have inspired almost half the SK kids to pick up the game and give it a try. The class now cheers when they see “Chess Club” on the daily schedule, and pick-up games during free choice time have become a common sight.

For me, watching these Grade 5s succeed where I had failed has reminded me that the Official Teacher Voice of Authority just can’t compete with joyful enthusiasm from a fellow student. Peer teaching is a powerful tool, and I feel so fortunate to have ended up at a school where it emerges and grows in an organic and authentic way.

Mark Magee
SK Teacher

Christmas Came Early

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Derek Logan

A joint post by Derek Logan and Andrea Fanjoy

Over the last few nights, both KCS and St. George’s on-the-Hill Nursery School held their Annual General Meetings. Voting on the amalgamation of the two schools was held, and we are excited to announce that the amalgamation has been wholly supported by the parent communities of both schools. As a result, the next few months will be full of new opportunities as we come together and go about the business of aligning our programs.

Those of you who know KCS know that there is something special about this place. To work here is to experience the proverbial 1 + 1 = 3. We all love what we do. We gratefully learn from and collaborate with each other, day in and day out. We’re frank about the challenges we face. And we’re determined to do our absolute best, pushing our boundaries so our best keeps getting better.

With the amalgamation of St. Georges and KCS, we will all have new colleagues. Faculty and staff from both schools are keen to meet, learn from each other and collaborate. Each of us bring experience and perspective that the other may not have, and that will make our best better.

Gift As we head into the holidays, as adults, we can reflect how Christmas has changed for us since we were children. We now tend to experience the joys of the season through the eyes of little ones while we reflect on the year past and the year to come. However, the excitement of new experiences and the things we appreciate hasn’t changed – the appreciation of a meaningful gift hasn’t changed either. In the staff room the other day, chatting with our new colleagues from St. Georges Nursery School, it became apparent that Christmas had come early for us grown-ups as we received the gift of new opportunity.