Victoria School for Ideal Education

Week in review: May 21-25, 2012

Ideal School — Tue, 29 May 2012 06:16:42 +0000

Although this past week at Ideal School was filled with outings and activities and lessons, the highlight of the week was the Talent Show and whether performing or helping to keep the show running smoothly, everyone had the opportunity to participate. So this week’s blog will be used to showcase their talents.

Talent Show Begins!

A couple talented artists show their work:

Young Artists Show Their Creations

Some art from the older students:

More Art!

A fantastic piano performance:

Rocking the Keyboard

A flawless tap dance routine:

The Next Savion Glover?

A comedic mime skit that had the audience entertained:

Miming Around!

What an enjoyable way to end the week…Great job everyone!

Week of May 14 – May 18, 2012

Ideal School — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:02:39 +0000

In the Kindergarden/1 room, students have been learning about different kinds of homes and are taking pride in their emerging reading and writing skills:

The warm weather engaged the imagination at recess as the younger students set up a hair style salon:

It was the older girls’ turn to cook with Trevor: this time a cold cucumber, apple, watermelon and fresh mint soup which was very refreshing on a hot day.

The outdoor education class hiked in Francis King Park and among other things, were fascinated by 100 year old burn scars on the douglas fir trees, a wonderful thatching ant hill, and a tree bridge that was a doorway to a different kind of forest:

Week of May 07 – 11, 2012

Ideal School — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:05:37 +0000

Constable Kristin visited the K/1 class to tell them about her role as a community police officer as part of their Social Studies unit on Community Helpers. Some highlights included being allowed to get inside the police car and press all the buttons, being given Junior Police Constable badges, and being handcuffed. The girls particularly enjoyed the pink handcuffs.

Constable Kristin visiting the kindergarten – Grade 1 class

K/1 enjoyed a visit from baby Lillie and the opportunity to discuss all they had learned since they were that size. They enjoyed holding the baby, entertainining her and singing her some lullabies. They are looking forward to seeing how much she has grown when she comes to visit again in June.

Learning all about babies!

The older students spent an afternoon learning about the history of the The First Nations in the area of Willows Beach and Uplands Park with Margaret, the founder of Friends of Uplands Park. We went “grocery shopping” in the park, discovering many of the edible plants and how they were used.

Visiting the First Nations in the area of Willows Beach

Enjoying Cattle Point

This week the older girls had their turn to explore the beautiful forest, stream and beach at The Gowland Todd Provincial Park. They took many wonderful pictures of wildlife, flowers and the beautiful scenery.

Girl Power! The girls at Gowland Todd Provincial Park

Definitely a very full week at the Ideal School. See you next week!

Week of April 30 – May 4, 2012

Ideal School — Sun, 06 May 2012 21:20:51 +0000

Another busy week at the Ideal school.

The K/1 class has been exploring 3 dimensional shapes in nature and in the neighbourhood. They also built recognizable objects using various construction tools, and made their own inuksiuks after learning about the inuksiuks created by the Inuit people.

The kids built inuksiuks

learning about 3d shapes outside

Working with shapes

This week in outdoor education, the students hiked in the beautiful Gowland-Todd Provincial Park, taking many photos of the wonderful sights there. In the joyful words of one of the younger students it was “Mother Nature everywhere, all around us!” The children were very interested to observe the culturally modified trees along the trail.

outdoor class at Gowland-Todd park

The intermediate class has been enjoying caring for a classroom pet, Oreo, the hamster. Oreo resides in a large comfortable cage and can observe the classroom activity (when she’s not napping, which is frequently!). The students love holding her and have gained a sense of responsibility by participating in her care and up keep. Some quotes from the kids about Oreo: “she’s hopeful”, “she doesn’t complain” and “she’s cute”.

Our smallest student – Oreo

The classroom thoughts on “Oreo”

the Gr 4′s: continuing with the First Nations studies, they’ve learned about the Seven Grandfathers (Ojibway Tradition) and created a poster where each student contributed to the art work on it:

The Seven Grandfathers

Thank you to everyone who came out to our walkathon this weekend. Everyone who came had a great time and enjoyed the wonderful potluck breakfast. The kids worked really hard at walking/running laps around the trail as did the parents, who had to try and keep up! It was a wonderful morning that embodied the spirit of friendship and community which makes our school so special.

A beautiful day for our annual walkathon

Week of April 23 – 27, 2012 at Ideal School

Ideal School — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 19:05:43 +0000

Another wonderful week has passed at Ideal School….here’s a glimpse:

Every morning at Ideal school, the students begin their day with meditation (walking meditation for the primary class) and yoga, which encourages the mind and body to come together and feel grounded. Such a healthy way to start the day!

The primary class doing sun salutation

The primary class enjoyed learning about how caterpillars transform into butterflies and completed the lesson with an art project:

caterpillars and their journey to butterfies!

Outside, exciting projects were also taking place:

Some of the younger students created a lovely table for the fairies, hoping to entice them to visit.

The Intermediate class is showcasing their nature photography on the display board in the hallway:

Drop by and have a look, they did a great job!

In the unit on First Nations, the grade four students have been learning about the oral tradition of storytelling and they are sharing family stories with the class. Some of the parents have been coming in to share their family’s history, something the students have greatly enjoyed:

Grade 4 Student Art

As a final note, weekly cooking class saw the girls’ learning how to make quesadilla’s….a tasty way to end the week!!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, see you here next week

Recent Activities at Ideal School

Ideal School — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 02:16:02 +0000

Welcome to a new feature of our blog….weekly posts. These will reflect the activities and highlights each week at Ideal School and feature pictures of the students and teachers engaging in the various activities offered at our school. Some of the activites occur on an ongoing basis while others are specific to the lesson being taught that week.

This post reflects back on last week, April 16th – 20th, 2012…Enjoy!!!!

Special Note: On Saturday April 14th, there was an Independent Schools Art Show at Westmont Montessori School….some of the students from VSIE submitted entries…here is just a small sample of their wonderful work…

It was the boys’ turn at cooking class this week and they made a tasty Hawaiian Couscous Salad…and the most important part of cooking is having a cleanup crew!The primary class always enjoys storytime

The Grade 4 class proudly dislpaying their dreamcatchers…nicely done!

Outdoor Education saw the girls take a trip to Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary to explore the various plant life and practice taking photos, which allowed them to experience and connect with nature in a unique way.

As the week drew to a close, the students began to anticipate celebrating Earth Day on Friday…and the sun decided to join the fun. As much time as possible was spent outdoors and students enjoyed sharing stories with each other as well as the entire school taking their lunch to the park for a picnic

We hope everyone had a lovely weekend enjoying more of the sunshine…see you back here next week!

Oprah visits TM school

Ideal School — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:39:40 +0000

Watch Oprah Winfrey on her visit to “America’s most unusual town” Sunday March 25, 9—10pm on the Own TV network. Oprah travels to Fairfield Iowa, one of the safest and greenest communities in America, to visit a school where the students practice transcendental meditation every day. For more information go to:

http://wp.me/pD0BA-4Hq

About Ideal School

marymcalister — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:13:39 +0000

Visit this wonderful little school where individual personalities blossom in a dynamic, peaceful, nurturing environment. With a maximum class size of 12, The Victoria School for Ideal Education provides quality individual attention to each child from kindergarten (half day or full day) to grade 6. The curriculum goes well beyond the mandated BC curriculum by developing an understanding of how each subject area relates to broader life principles. Daily meditation and yoga develops clearer thinking, creativity, happier relationships and improved self esteem. VSIE incorporates conflict resolution and nonviolent communication skills as natural aspects of its culture.

“Developing the full creative potential of consciousness makes the students masters of their life; they spontaneously command situations and circumstances. Their behavior is always nourishing to themselves and everyone around them. They have the natural ability to fulfill their own interests without jeopardizing the interests of others. Such ideal, enlightened individuals are the result of ideal education— Consciousness-Based Education.” —Maharishi

Video shows benefits of meditation for schoolchilden

marymcalister — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 19:11:45 +0000

As of September 2011, the government in England is fully funding the Maharishi school in Lancashire. They plan to open in other locations in the coming years. The Maharishi Free School follows the same program of Consciousness-Based Education as we do here in Victoria at the Ideal School. To see the benefits of their program of Transcendental Meditation, follow this link to a video:

http://www.maharishischool.com/index.html

Halloween!!!

marymcalister — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 15:09:53 +0000