Dear Montessori Families,

I hope everyone has had a great start to the new school year! The children are doing very well adjusting to BMS routine, and have proven to be quite proficient at fire drills! Even the KCS teachers have complimented us on our fire drill practices.

As we enter cold and flu season I would like to reiterate how important reporting absences to the staff are. When you report, please call the school at or email the staff at Please do not send absence reports to the other emails as they do not reach the staff. When you report an absence, you must give the reason for the absence. We need to know when it is illness and what the symptoms are for reporting purposes. When we have several children out with similar symptoms, it must be reported to the Health Unit so they can determine the proper course of action to stop or slow germ spread. Also, reporting an absence can be helpful in determining how much snack and lunch should be prepared, as well as ensuring the safety of the children in case we had to leave the premises due to an emergency.

On Thursday, September 21st we enjoyed a visit from Jess of Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre. She provided some wonderful interactive games that taught us about respect, empathize and care for injured animals. We learned so much and had such a good time that the children thought it might be nice to send Sandy Pines a Christmas gift that will help the animals they care for. Look for more information about this in our November newsletter.

We have a few dates for you to remember this month! On October 5th, Blue Marble learning will visit the school. We will be learning about animal habitats. October 9th is Thanksgiving. There is no school on this day. Music with Miss Pamela begins on Thursday, October 12th and local children’s author, Kristine Henck visits October 16th. She will be reading her book, Daisy’s Missing Shoes, to the children. We have a professional day on October 27th. There is no school for the children on this day. Tuesday, October 31st is Halloween.

I would like to thank all who purchased scholastic books! We made a total of $40.17 in bonus bucks. We are looking forward to making some school purchases in the future. We hope you enjoy your special purchases.

For the last few years, Bayside Montessori has helped support the Kingston Basketeers volunteer project. One of your fellow parents (Hazel’s mom, Claire) is the local chapter lead and has asked me to share this information with you.

Each year violence and abuse drive more than 100,000 Canadian women and children out of their homes and into shelters. The Basketeers mission is to provide some of the simple necessities of life to women as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. For more than 20 years, the Basketeers chapters across Canada have helped collect laundry baskets of new items and provided them to women at crisis centres over the holiday season. Kingston Basketeers will continue to support Kingston Interval House (KIH) this fall.

If you can provide new, small household and personal items to contribute to the Bayside Montessori baskets, Claire will collect the items and wrap the baskets at the end of November. They will be delivered to KIH who will provide them to women at risk as they transition from shelter to new home.

Please know that 100% of items will directly support women and their children in need across Kingston and Frontenac County.

The deadline for donations to Basketeers is Friday, November 10, , 2023. We would like to have all donations delivered to the school no later than

October 20th. A list of items is attached to this email. You can bring your items directly to the classroom.

Kingston Interval House has provided some suggestions about what items are most useful. They fall into the “household” or “personal” category and will be bundled in one of those themes. The list of suggested items is attached.

Thank you for your generous support.

You can contact Claire directly at the coordinates below:

Claire LaPlante
Chapter Lead, Kingston Basketeers

519-496-6523
Follow along on Facebook!

In closing, I would like to thank Kai and his family for donating an easel to our classroom. We appreciate your generosity! Also, we have spaces we would like to fill. Please feel free to mention our program to any potential families you might know, or put them in touch with me at

Kindly,
Melissa