Parent Education Meetings are normally held at Tom Thumb Preschool the second Tuesday of every month at 7 – 9 PM.
The goal of these meetings is to offer informative speakers on topics related to teaching, enriching and raising our preschoolers.
Attendance at these meetings is required for all parents. If you miss a Meeting, you are required to 1) Read the Minutes and 2) Make up this missed time. Please refer to the Missed Meeting Letter that your Class Representative is required to give to you to sign and return.
Remember that parents act as teaching assistants in the classroom and the Community Care Facilities Licensing Board – the organization that sets standards for child care centres in BC – requires parents to complete at least 10 hours of orientation as well as have ongoing access to parent education.
| TOPICS 2011-2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| Sept. 20, 2011 | Initial Meeting | No speaker – Introductions and discussion about Tom Thumb Practices |
| Oct. 11 | Kerry Harding | Draw Me a Story (preschoolers and the importance of art) |
| Nov. 8 | Various Educators | School Options (we will be joined by Susan Hutchison, Director of the Junior School at Crofton House, Colette Foran, Principal at ICS and Elizabeth Rainer, Vice Principal at Queen Elizabeth Annex to discuss options for elementary schools. This will be about the benefits of different types of school not the individual schools) |
| Dec. 8 | Brenda Bradshaw | Healthy Lunches (will discuss the subject of her recent book “Good Food to Go: Healthy Lunches Your Kids Will Love”. Her previous books include “The Baby’s Table”. Tom Thumb will also benefit from the proceeds of any book sales on the evening) (Note: this meeting is on a Thursday) |
| Jan. 10 2012 | Jackie Kloosterboer | How to be prepared for emergencies and natural disasters |
| Feb. 7 | Carolyn Hart | Ideas to help promote early literacy and a love of reading |
| Mar. 6 | Sue Dvorak | A Lighthearted Look at Authoritative Parenting |
| Apr. 10 | Cori Howard | The Memoir Project offers mothers a chance to discover their voice and the confidence necessary to believe that the seemingly mundane details of our day-to-day lives matter – and make compelling stories. |
| May 8 | Jodi Proznick | The Importance of Music, ways to introduce music to children |
| June | Year End Meeting | No speaker |
| 2011-2012 | |
|---|---|
| September 20, 2011 | Approved |
| October 11, 2011 | Approved |
| November 8th , 2011 | Draft |
| Dec. | |
| January 10, 2012 | Draft |
| Feb. | |
| March 6, 2012 | |
| April 10, 2012 | Draft |
| May | |
| June | |
If you miss a General Meeting, you are required to:
Your Class Representative is required to send you a formal Letter to sign and return stating how you plan to “make up” your required Parent Education time.
Please download the Missed Meeting Letter.
For formal information on the General Meetings, please refer to our Tom Thumb By-Laws section on “Proceedings at General Meetings”.
| PARENT EDUCATION TOPICS 2010-2011 (For your info) | ||
|---|---|---|
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| Sept. 14 | Initial Meeting | No speaker – Introductions and discussion about Tom Thumb Practices |
| Oct. 12 | Janice Bannister | Laugh Out Loud |
| Nov. 9 | Comm. Health Nurse | Teachers Discussion |
| Dec. 14 | Wendy McDonnell | Naturally Gifted |
| Jan. 5 | Dr Jane Garland | BCH Psych – Simplify Family Life (shared speaker with Crown – note meeting is Wednesday) |
| Feb. 8 | Deborah McNamara | Transitions (preschool & kindergarten) (shared speaker with Crown) |
| Mar. 2 | Fran Kammermayer | It’s Not a Plot to Drive You Crazy (shared speaker with Crown – note meeting is Wednesday) |
| Apr. 12 | Brandy Wiebe | Brandy Wiebe, from Saleema Noon’s company, will talk on “Birds and Bees Basics for Parents”. This is one of the most requested topics of the Tom Thumb parent body generally, and has been highly valued in the past. Her talk will start at 7pm (prompt). This talk is just for Tom Thumb parents, so we will be back in our classroom for this speaker. For more information on Saleema Noon’s organization, see: http://www.saleemanoon.com/. |
| May 10 | Kathy Lynn | Renowned parenting expert Kathy Lynn will be speaking about self-esteem in children to both our parent body and Crown’s, beginning at 7:15pm in Crown’s classroom. The talk is entitled “I Like Myself”. Kathy has written two books on parenting, the first of which is now a Canadian best-seller. She has also hosted a television show and a radio phone-in program and she currently writes parenting columns for community newspapers, and for Today’s Parent magazine. She has been involved with parent participation since the early 70′s when her children attended. For more information, see Kathy’s website: http://www.parentingtoday.ca/ |
| June 7 | Year End Meeting | No speaker |
| DATE | PARENT EDUCATION TOPICS 2009-2010 (For your info) |
|---|---|
| Sept. 15 | No speaker – Introductions and discussion about Tom Thumb practices |
| Oct. 13 | Healthy Home and Preschool: “Greening your space for little ones” Tanis Frame, Founder: MamaMaven – Scientist in Children’s Environmental Health and Risk Assessment (BSc, MRM) Facilitator |
| Nov. 3 | NOTE – this is the 1st Tuesday of the month NOT the 2nd7-8:00 – 3s Class Evaluation with Liz and Patricia 7-8:00 – 2s Class Discussion with former teacher of Tom Thumb 8-8:30 brief general meeting in Crown 8:30-9:30 – 4’s Class Evaluation with Liz and Patricia.Usborne book orders with Janine in crown for the duration… |
| Dec. 8 | Speech Development for Preschoolers |
| Jan. 12 | Chris Burt, Peer Social Competence (shared speaker at Tom Thumb with Dunbar Memorial) |
| Feb. 9 | Nutrition for Preschoolers Kristen Yarker-Edgar, VitaminK Consulting. She is an MSc, and Registered Dietitian. |
| Mar. 16 | Felicia Lee: Readers are Leaders: Setting teh Scene and Developing Pre-Reading Skills |
| Apr. 14 | Value of Play – speaker Barbara Mathieson (shared speaker with Crown at Crown) |
| May 4 | Sharing the Task of Raising Children: Building an Attachment Relay Team Deborah McNamara) – see PDF description AGM |
| June 8 | Year End Meeting |
| Date | PARENT EDUCATION TOPICS 2008-2009 (For your info) |
|---|---|
| Sept. 9 | No speaker – Introductions and discussion about Tom Thumb practices |
| Oct. 7 | Kathy Flood – discussing the Virtues Project |
| Nov. 18* | Community Health Nurse and Program Review
* Note this meeting is the 3rd Tuesday of the month due to the fact that the 2nd Tuesday of the month is Remembrance Day. 4s Families with no other children at Tom Thumb only need to arrive by 8pm (not the usual 7pm) |
| Dec. 9 | Katherine Dean of Westside Music |
| Jan. 13 | Mike Warrington – Boys To Men: the next generation |
| Feb. 3 | NOT FEB 10th Meeting is 1st Tuesday not 2nd Tuesday . Plan to attend Dunbar Memorial PPP’s meeting |
| Mar. 10 | Tom Thumb Evaluation – focus group format (an annual event) |
| Apr. 14 | Carolyn Hart – Winning the Reading Game |
| May 12 | Saleema Noon (Alex) – Sex Ed for the preschoolerAnnual General Meeting – AGM |
| June 9 | Year-End Meeting – Intro of New Executive and New Families |
| PARENT EDUCATION TOPICS 2007-2008 (For your info) | |
|---|---|
| Sept. 11 | No speaker. Instead a discussion about how we as parents help run the school. Everyone will talk briefly about their portfolio. |
| Oct. 11 | Brought back by popular demand – also highly recommended – Chris Burt who will be discussing “How Parents Influence Their Children”. |
| Nov. 13 | Usborne Book Fair 6:45 Business Meeting 8:00-8:30 7:00 – 8:00 Health Discussion led by Jo Chahal – 2s Class 3s & 4s Class: “Making Learning Visible with 3 or 4 year-olds” led by Patricia and Liz |
| Dec. 11 | Lets raise our children’s self esteem with the help of well known speaker Kathy Lynn who will teach us on ways “Raise Our Child’s Self Esteem”. |
| Jan. 8 | Susan Swanson – Children’s Temperament |
| Feb. 12 | Dennis Boyd – Healthy Families |
| Mar. 11 | Tom Thumb Evaluation – focus group format (an annual event) |
| Apr. 8 | Ann Echol – Preparing your child for Kindergarten |
| May 13 | Annual General Meeting – AGM – Speaker – Nutritionist |
| June 3 | Year-End Meeting – Intro of New Executive and New Families |
| 2010-2011 | |
|---|---|
| May 10, 2011 (AGM) | |
| May 10, 2011 (General Meeting) | |
| April 12, 2011 | Approved |
| March 2, 2011 | Approved |
| February 8, 2011 | Approved |
| January 5, 2011 | Approved |
| December 14, 2010 | Approved |
| November 9, 2010 | Approved |
| October 10, 2010 | Approved |
| September 13, 2010 | Approved |
| 2009-2010 | |
| 2010 AGM – May 4 | Approved |
| May 4, 2010 | Approved |
| April 14, 2010 | Approved |
| March 16, 2010 | Approved |
| Feb. 9, 2010 | Approved |
| Jan 12, 2010 | Approved |
| Dec. 8, 2009 | Approved |
| Nov. 3, 2009 | Approved |
| Oct 15, 2009 | Approved |
| Sept 15, 2009 | Approved |
| 2008-2009 | |
| June 9, 2009 | Approved |
| AGM May, 2009 | Approved |
| May 12, 2009 | Approved |
| April 14, 2009 | Approved |
| March 10, 2009 | Approved |
| Feb. 3, 2009 | Approved |
| Jan. 13, 2009 | Approved |
| Dec. 9, 2008 | Approved |
| Nov. 18, 2008 | Approved |
| Oct. 14, 2008 | Approved |
| Sept. 9, 2008 | Approved |
| 2007-2008 | |
| June 3, 2008 | Approved |
| April 8, 2008 | Approved |
| March. 11, 2008 | Approved |
| Feb. 12, 2008 | Approved |
| Jan. 8, 2008 | Approved |
| Dec. 11, 2007 | Approved |
| Nov. 13, 2007 | Approved |
| Oct. 9, 2007 | Approved |
| Sept. 11, 2007 | Approved |
If you miss a General Meeting, you are required to:
Your Class Representative is required to send you a formal Letter to sign and return stating how you plan to “make up” your required Parent Education time.
Please download the Missed Meeting Letter.
For formal information on the General Meetings, please refer to our Tom Thumb By-Laws section on “Proceedings at General Meetings”.
Go to Top
| TOPICS 2010-2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
| Sept. 14 | Initial Meeting | No speaker – Introductions and discussion about Tom Thumb Practices |
| Oct. 12 | Janice Bannister | Laugh Out Loud |
| Nov. 9 | Comm. Health Nurse | Teachers Discussion |
| Dec. 14 | Wendy McDonnell | Naturally Gifted |
| Jan. 5 | Dr Jane Garland | BCH Psych – Simplify Family Life (shared speaker with Crown – note meeting is Wednesday) |
| Feb. 8 | Deborah McNamara | Transitions (preschool & kindergarten) (shared speaker with Crown) |
| Mar. 2 | Fran Kammermayer | It’s Not a Plot to Drive You Crazy (shared speaker with Crown – note meeting is Wednesday) |
| Apr. 12 | Brandy Wiebe | Brandy Wiebe, from Saleema Noon’s company, will talk on “Birds and Bees Basics for Parents”. This is one of the most requested topics of the Tom Thumb parent body generally, and has been highly valued in the past. Her talk will start at 7pm (prompt). This talk is just for Tom Thumb parents, so we will be back in our classroom for this speaker. For more information on Saleema Noon’s organization, see: http://www.saleemanoon.com/. |
| May 10 | Kathy Lynn | Renowned parenting expert Kathy Lynn will be speaking about self-esteem in children to both our parent body and Crown’s, beginning at 7:15pm in Crown’s classroom. The talk is entitled “I Like Myself”. Kathy has written two books on parenting, the first of which is now a Canadian best-seller. She has also hosted a television show and a radio phone-in program and she currently writes parenting columns for community newspapers, and for Today’s Parent magazine. She has been involved with parent participation since the early 70′s when her children attended. For more information, see Kathy’s website: http://www.parentingtoday.ca/ |
| June 7 | Year End Meeting | No speaker |
