Olivet School at Private School Expo

Olivet School was well represented at the Private School Expo this past Saturday. We had some good conversations with inquiring parents, some of whom we hope to see at our November 20^th open house.

This year in addition to Olivet Staff members (Mr. Smith, Mrs. Bradfield, Ms. Williams and Miss Mueller), Dmitry Petrakov (one of our elementary school parents) and Vitan and Yoan Pravtchev (alumni) joined us for the whole time. They were invaluable additions -  both in speaking to inquiring parents and giving valuable feedback on how to present the booth in the future.

Thanks very much for the support!

We Found a Snake!

The students found a garter snake in the field by the school. They were playing in the trees when one of the students came shrieking out with excitement. The snake had loitered into their fortress! The snake was eagerly shown around to the other students before being released back into the field.

 

If you would like more information about Olivet School please visit our website www.olivetschool.ca.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is a natural human tendency to look for and talk about the petty annoyances in our lives.  If we’re not careful, this can get in the way of our being able to see the many blessings we enjoy in this beautiful and peaceful land.  That’s why it’s such a good idea for us to have a national day of Thanksgiving – it gives everyone an opportunity to take a fresh look at their situation and instead of looking for things to complain about, begin to see and be reminded of the things that are good and useful.

We should remember the natural blessings of life in Canada, and the blessings that come from the protection of our rights as citizens, especially the freedom of thought and speech.  Let’s take it up one more step.  Let’s also try to be thankful for our Divine blessings.  These are the blessings that are most important of all, because they provide nourishment and protection for our eternal soul. 

One of the reasons that Olivet New Church School has been around for more than a hundred years is because there are people who are dedicated to the idea that there should be a place where children can be educated in a loving environment, where their natural, mental, and spiritual needs are all taken into consideration in everything they do.  To live in this world in a way that prepares one for eternal life in the next is one of the greatest blessings, and we are truly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this great work.

 

Rev. James P. Cooper

Pastor, Olivet Church

Playschool Goes to the Orchard

“A” was for apple in Playschool last week. The students and their parents went to Carl Laidlaw Orchards to learn about apples from the farmers.

During our time at the orchard Playschool enjoyed several sensory activities.

These students had fun playing with tractors in corn and grain.

Romping in piles of hay was fun!

Before going out to the orchard we had the opportunity to try different apples.

It was a gorgeous day for a tractor ride to the orchard to pick apples.

 

Some families made pies. 

Making pies required some effort, as the students had to peel, break apart the apples,

mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

before preparing the pie crusts.

Here is a pie before it goes into the oven.

Doesn’t it look delicious!

For more information about Olivet School visit our website at www.olivetschool.ca.

Taking soil samples at school

Soil samples are being taken around the school this week and the kids are enjoying being able to watch these mighty machines at work. They were so interested in fact that the engineer in charge of the job offered to speak to the students in KG to Grade 6 and answer any questions they might have about what they have seen the crew doing. It was a learning experience for all!

The Junior Room students watch as the drilling machine is being prepped for boring the first hole.

The first drill piece is put in place.

The first step is for the machine to dig past the asphalt so that is can get to the soil to collect samples. 

The engineer speaking to the students about the job.

The engineer drew a diagram showing the different components of the job. The picture of the far left shows the soil composition from the first sample set they took. The picture at the top of the page is a cross cut diagram of the building and what they think is under the foundation. The bottom picture is a top view of the school showing all the different areas the machines will be taking samples. The last picture on the right is the drilling machine, showing how is sends its drill 15 feet into the ground and collects samples as it goes.

The students enjoyed his talk and gave him a round of applause when he had finished.

For more information about Olivet School visit our website at www.olivetschool.ca.

Fun with Magnets

 

The Junior Room students are playing with magnets in class.

 

They enjoyed using magnetic attraction and repulsion to make their magnets do different things.

 

Follow the link to see what they did http://youtu.be/mwxiyKMqVgY.

   

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For more information about Olivet School visit our website www.olivetschool.ca.

Colours in Nature

The Kindergarten class took pictures for their Colours in Nature books. They found:

red apples,

purple grapes,

 

yellow flowers,

and a grey tree!

 

Interested in learning more about Olivet School? Visit our website at www.olivetschool.ca!

Our Mural of Summer Time

The Kindergarteners painted their impressions of summer time in two large murals. Be sure to take a look! The murals are in the hallway of the Principal’s office.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back to school! We hope that everyone is as excited as we are to start the new school year! Just a quick reminder, the first day of school is Tuesday, September 3rd and its only a half day for students in Kindergarten to Grade 6, so they are dismissed at 1:00 p.m. 

Family and friends of students starting school  on the first day are welcome to attend the school opening worship service at 11:35 a.m. in the playschool classroom for playschool students and families or at 11:30 a.m. in the chapel for JK-Gr.6 school families. The first day of school for the Tots’ Time students is on Monday, September 9^th.

After worship all are welcome to join us on the school yard for a BYO picnic, so make sure you bring your picnic blanket!

Forest of Reading Awards

Last week the Grade 2-6 students attended the Forest of Reading Awards. This year was particularly exciting as we had 3 Olivet students on stage during the ceremony! One of our grade 3 students was the official sign holder for author Angus Mike Deas. Another of our grade 5 students introduced author, Ingrid Lee. We even had one of our grade 6 students help to announce the nominees for the 2013 Silver Birch Fiction Awards! We are so proud of all our students!

The Forest of Reading Awards is an event much anticipated by the students and teachers. Every year a box of new books is delivered to the school and the teachers almost have as much fun as the students going through it and reading the new arrivals.

The students are required to read a certain number of books for their reading level to be able to vote on their favourites. To ensure that the students comprehend the stories they are reading they are also tested on the books they have read. These book reports are always captivating to hear, as a student describes their favourite part of the book.

But the best part of the Forest of Reading is going down to the Harbourfront each year and hearing the cheers of excitement from the young audience members as their favourite authors take the stage. It is great to see these authors being greeted like rock stars! After the award ceremony the students have a chance to meet the authors and get their autographs.

For more information about Olivet School visit us at www.olivetschool.ca.

Mississauga Marafun Marathon

Olivet School participated for the second time in the 2km Mississauga Marafun Marathon on Sunday. The students have been running during recess and gym class. All runners were required to run 40km before participating in the marathon, so that they would have ran 42km by the end of the race, just like a real marathon!

Many students, parents and even teachers ran in the marathon. Our Pricipal, Mr. Smith, managed to survive the race but was hobbling around on Monday morning. He never did catch up with the speedy grade 5 students though. Parents, students and past students joined in and afterwards and enjoyed a picnic in the beautiful May weather.

 

For more information about the Olivet School please visit our website www.olivetschool.ca.

The French Show

Last Friday, the grade one through six students starred in the French Show. Each class performed a play that was followed by a song and dance number.

The night was started by all the students singing the “Bonjour” song, which is a song the grade one through four students sing to begin each French class. The Kindergarteners in the audience were also welcome to join in and sing the welcome song.

The first performers were the Primary class. They performed a puppet show about a cat who was looking for a home. After the puppet show they took a bow and then danced and sang about the cat who had found his home.

Next the Junior Room students took the stage and performed a skit about a girl named Marie from Quebec who was trying to visit her friend Pierre in France and all her adventures along the way.  

Finally the grade five and six class performed their welcome rap and the play Louis la Grenouille. It is about a frog who loves rock music and is lonely, one day he comes across a magic lamp and rubs it. A genie appears and tells Louis to look in the woods for a friend. Louis meets several potential friends but they did not appreciate his love of rock music. Finally Louis finds a girl grenouille (frog) who also loves rock music and they live happily ever after.

 The students sang their goodbye song and all enjoyed refreshments after the show.

For more information about Olivet School please visit our website http://olivetschool.ca/.

Earth Day 2013

Olivet School celebrated Earth Day yesterday!

The students collected litter around the school and in the hydro field. The Kindergarteners were partnered up. One student was in charge of collecting recyclable items and the other collecting non-recyclable items.

 

 

The kindergarten students made models of the planet Earth.

For more information about Olivet School please visit our website www.olivetschool.ca.

 

Today cellist William Findlay of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra came and performed two concerts. The first was for the younger students and was enjoyed by the Playschool, Kindergarten, and Primary Class. He demonstrated to the students how he could play a song two different ways a happy way (in a major key) and in a sad way (in a minor key) William Findlay played a few children’s songs and had the students guess which one he was playing. Finally, he told the students a story and used his cello. He used different music to depict different characters in the story. The students had to tell him what animal or character he was playing at different parts and what the characters were feeling based on the music. One of the favourite animals he played was the cheeky squirrel.

 

 

The next performance was for the older students and any staff or parents who wanted to watch as well. For the older students he talked about the cello and about the composition of the bow. I was very impressed to see every students’ hand shoot up when he asked what the bow was made of. He discussed how important it is for the beat and the melody to work together. He played “O’ Canada” using different beats and showed us how it could completely change the song. He then got the students to be the “beat” of a song by clapping their hands and saying “chhh” to imitate a drum and cymbal while he played his cello beautifully. The students and faculty had many questions for him and he eagerly answered them all.

Both were great performances which I very much enjoyed!

To learn more about Olivet School please visit our website http://olivetschool.ca/.