What goes on behind the scenes at a school? Well, a lot, an awful lot! To love, to design curriculum, to program details, to ensure safety and challenge, takes a team to work hard to bring these outcomes to a program. Last week, on our professional development day, we spent time dialoguing as a team, about ways to support each other in our individual and collective goals. We shared our strengths and our areas to develop-this is emotional and hard work, requiring vulnerability and trust. I noticed this week all of us paying a little more attention to eachother- making space for others to jump in or taking the lead when needed. It felt good- a true essence of a team is knowing how much better you are all together and we certainly are just that- better together! Thanks TNNS team!
Laren slows down as she walks, looking intently at the water. After a moment I say “Laren, it looks like something caught your attention.” She tells me “Yes, there is a brown thing in the water and I wonder what it is.”
The Owls notice the fallen tree and we are trying to figure out if it is similar to the willow tree. William says ” No, it has needles, spiky needles. It’s a pine tree.”
These Owls are hearty- eating outside on a cold day, enjoying snack and each other’s company without complaint.
A quiet sit spot on a cold day.
Frazer experiments with opening the bottle and pouring in the remaining liquid into another bottle. Darel and Dion support him in this endeavour.
Erika, Ohnyou and Soyon use the dinosaurs to play act family roles of mommies and babies. I might say they are rather boisterous mommies and babies!
No matter what the weather, these kids are outside doing what we do!
A familiar sight on a familiar pathway. We treasure our walks together.
Darel accidentally pokes Frazer’s eye. Rather than a quick apology, we have been working with the children to try to do something to help a situation. A check in with the person, to see if they can help. In this photo we see Darel gently wiping Frazer’s eye, asking him if he is okay. Isn’t this beautiful?
The Eagles investigate the fallen branch, noticing it’s cones and wondering how this branch fell.
Watching the power of colour on the snow. What will they want to try next?
Some cozy inside time!
Audrey spends a lot of time on this painting, carefully choosing her colours and thinking about its composition.
Cuddled up and reading in the Cottage with Shantelle. Quinn, Ronan and Jackson learn to enjoy literature, develop friendships and a bond with Shantelle during this 10 minute activity.
Rhys serves William and Sarah some noodles.
Yehuan is testing the magnetic attraction between the pieces. He tries different configurations, enjoying stacking them up in a sets.
Everyone wants to paint- a waitlist is created to ensure people get a turn.
William tells Tricia a story about an owl swooping down into it’s nest.
Misuzu and Daniela snuggle during story time, a lovely way to close the day.
Tricia captures everyone’s attention with her expressive reading.
Reya experiments with colour mixing, also learning to wash and dry her brush to create the best effect.
Avalon makes up a story about a squirrel and her acorns on the feltboard.
Our Eagle class attended the Coastal Dance Festival at the Museum of Anthropology, a recommendation put forth by the Delta Aboriginal team that joined us a while back for professional development. The beauty of this field trip is that it evolved from a natural, authentic place as this group, with Ashlyn leading the way, has explored Pow Wow dancing in class. As well, one of our small groups has been focusing on learning about animals in First Nations art and stories.
The dancers were extraordinary, sharing a tiny piece of their history and culture through dance. It was perfect for our TNNS children as their dances represented frogs, flickers, dragonflies, beavers and other animals from our very own lands at Terra Nova! It was magical to see these captured in such a dramatic and beautiful way. There were no photos allowed but here are a few images before it began.
Owls at work:
Ginny is getting ready to show her buddy the garden beds, using a magnifying jar to look for any bugs- still too cold?
Bevelyn listens to Kate’s instructions on planting seeds.
Yehuan and Daniela start to turn the soil- feels good to be back in the garden!
Kyo is so brave on his first day! He jumps right into digging with his buddy.
Sarah and her buddy weave the yarn in and out to decorate their book mark.
Lilja sets herself up a cozy little table in the sun to enjoy her snack.
Wayden, Myles and Yehuan bond over work trucks with our new Owl, Alvin.
Cleo uses markers to draw designs on her bookmark, her buddy watching her as she works.
Mia’s big buddy writes her name in block letters. Activities with our buddies support new ideas! Will Mia try to write in a different style as she begins to form letters?
Best,
Emily