Quality Early Education for Your Children

Welcome to Tot Spot! Our staff is excited about the upcoming school year and looking forward to getting to know each child and their family. We have many fun and interesting activities planned for this year! “I Am Special” will be our first theme of the year. We will then move into a “Fall” theme where we will discover some of the unique things that happen at this time of year. Each theme is explored through a variety of stories, crafts, gym activities, songs and finger plays. Our special day this month will be Orange Shirt Day on September 28th/29th leading up to National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (September 30th). Wear an orange shirt to school that day! We will make an indigenous craft, celebrate the uniqueness of all children and focus on kindness. Please make a special note of the following itemsto help our program run smoothly: - The main doors will be unlocked 5 minutes before school begins and relocked at 9:15 and 1:15. If you arrive late, please knock on the craft room window to have someone let you in. - Please make sure you have taken your child to the bathroom before bringing them into the classroom. - As we spend time in the gym each day, please make sure your child is wearing appropriate footwear (running shoes are best). When the weather is wet, children will need to change into dry footwear for school. There are mats in the foyer for wet boots. Please LABEL outerwear (boots/coats) and backpacks with your child’s name. - Please put your child’s snack and filled water bottle in a lunch bag with their name on the OUTSIDE of the bag. Please place ONLY your child’s snack bag in the snack bins. Backpacks and coats should be placed in the coat room behind the fireplace as the snack bins have limited space. We encourage nutritious snacks and two items are usually plenty. Tot Spot is NUT FREE and grapes and grape tomatoes MUST be cut in half lengthwise. No juice boxes please. - If your child is not feeling well, please keep them at home and inform us of symptoms. We need to track and report ill children (see Communicable Disease Policy in the information package emailed in August). Refer to this document for information as to when your child can return to school. If your child will be absent for any reason, please let your child’s teacher know. - Please ensure you fill out all the Tot Spot forms COMPLETELY and give them to your child’s teacher (4 pages). - Volunteer signup sheets for the month of September will be available at school on the first day of school. We need one volunteer per day, per class. If you aren’t able to sign up in person, please email your child’s teacher to arrange volunteer dates. - All hot beverages must be in spill proof containers when volunteering. Take out cups (e.g. Starbucks or Tim Horton’s) are not classified as spill proof, so hot beverages need to be put in a travel mug if they are brought into the classrooms. We have travel mugs you are welcome to use at Tot Spot. We partner with I’m For Kids Team to provide services to children that need extra support in the areas of speech and language development, fine motor skills, and challenging behaviours. IFKT will be coming to Tot Spot to offer screening to students registered for our 2026-2027 school year on Monday, September 21st and Tuesday, September 22nd. Both the screening and services (if needed) are funded by the Alberta Government and are at no cost to families. Attached is a package that explains what they do in more detail and also includes fillable forms that need to be completed if you would like your child screened. There are also paper packages and forms available at school. If you would like your child screened, please return the attached forms (along with a copy of your child’s birth certificate or passport) by email to lorrie.crowe@shaw.ca or bring them with you to school. We will book you an appointment when you have returned your forms and appointments are available on a first come, first served basis. The deadline to return forms is Wednesday, September 16th. Your child DOES NOT need to be screened if he/she was screened at Tot Spot in May, has been screened elsewhere in the last six months or has already qualified for PUF funding. If you have any questions, please contact Lorrie Crowe at lorrie.crowe@shaw.ca. We participate in the Scholastic Book Program. You can access their website here: https://www.scholastic.ca. Paper flyers will be available at school. When ordering online, please use our class code RC132090. Although many parents appreciate this opportunity, please do not feel pressured to order. The Tot Spot newsletters will be sent to you via e-mail and posted on the website at the beginning of every month. Please watch for them and make a note of the important dates. If you do not receive the newsletter, please let your child’s teacher know. We will have a few paper copies of the newsletter available at school if you need one. IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER: September 21st/22nd - I’m For Kids Team Screening Days September 28th/29th- Orange Shirt Days September 30th - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (Tot Spot will be closed) October 12th- Thanksgiving Day (Tot Spot will be closed) October 20th/21st - Photograph Days (individual and class photos will be taken) October 29th/30th- Halloween Celebrations (costume parade and short presentation at the beginning of class)

It is hard to believe this school year is winding down and this will be the final newsletter of the year! This month, the three year old classes will be learning about zoo creatures while the four year old classes will finish the year by studying ocean life. Our year end celebrations will take place on Thursday, June 18th for all T/Th morning and afternoon classes. The M/W/F morning classes will have their celebration on Friday, June 19th. Everyone is invited to attend this special program which includes a short performance, a craft and a special snack. The programs begin at 9:15 am for the morning classes and 1:15 pm for the afternoon classes and will be about one hour in length. Please drop your children off in their classrooms at the regular time. The celebration will be the final day of school for your child. Your child will be dismissed at the end of the program. During our celebrations, we permit photographs and videos to be taken. Out of consideration for other parents we ask that you refrain from posting these on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc). If your child will be not be attending the last day of school (June 18th/19th), please let us know so that we may be prepared to say goodbye to them on their final day. Our licensing officer visited us for our regular unannounced inspection in March. We “passed” the inspection with flying colours and the report is posted on the bulletin board outside the entrance to our classrooms. Please feel free to read it if you would like to. Kenzie Field (a Tot Spot parent) has a series of books called the Woodland of Wonders. They are great books with beautiful illustrations and filled with information on nature for kids. Please see the attached poster. The church we are located in (Bonavista Baptist Church) is offering Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God day camp July 27th – July 31st (9:00-12:00) for children entering Grades K-5. There is information on the bulletin board above the snack bins as well as on their website (bonavistabaptist.ca). If your child is returning to Tot Spot in the fall, the first days of classes will be September 9th (Wednesday) and September 10th (Thursday). Parents will receive an information email the middle of August and a phone call from their child’s teacher in late August. If your plans have changed and your child will no longer be attending Tot Spot in the fall, please let us know as soon as possible. If you know of anyone looking for a preschool for September, we have spots available and always appreciate your referrals! We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for trusting us with your children this past year. It has been a fun year and we have thoroughly enjoyed your little ones! We are also grateful to you for your many volunteer hours, and it has been a pleasure to get to know you and have you involved in our program. For the families that we are saying goodbye to because you no longer have any more children to send us, we wish you all the best in the coming years. We will miss you! The Staff at Tot Spot wishes you all a sunny, safe and fun filled summer! Important Dates to Remember: June 18th/19th – Last Days of School/Celebrations September 9th/10th – First Days of School