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Pro-D Day!

Calling all super heroes and super villains!! Due to the very popular trend of the new movie, Avengers: Endgame, here at Senior OSC we decided to make the May 17^th Pro-D Day Avengers theme!

To kick-start the long weekend, we conducted various games and art projects throughout the day revolving around this theme.  Beginning the day with our popular game of Empires and transitioned to create your own super hero and super villain name-tags, which we used for another activity later in the afternoon. Following lunch, the kids split into teams and participated in a word scramble obstacle course challenge in the gym. Teams would relay through the obstacle course, unscramble the hidden word and attempt to explain the word to their teammates without talking.

As the sun began to shine in the afternoon, we headed outside to play a group game called predator vs. prey.  Teams worked together to find all the different coloured markers, which resembled the great and powerful “infinity stones.” The stones were hidden throughout the field and playground as players had to find all the colours while attempting to not get tagged.

Our day ended with a sweet popsicle treat as we enjoyed the rest of the sunshine.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend!

Until next time,

Emily

Snow Day!!

Hooray for the first snow day since 1996!!  This year’s winter has been pretty mild so far until we were finally reunited with snow.  On Tuesday February 12, 2019 the Richmond School District announced that all schools are closed for the day; resulting in OSC being closed as well!  

Once we were back to our routine the next day we couldn’t waste this beautiful weather, so we made sure that each child had the appropriate snow gear and we headed outside.  The children were so excited to go sledding down the big hill at Gilmore.  

They went down the hill individually and also in groups by holding onto each other's sleds. It was so much fun watching them have such a great day outdoors.

The activity for the following day was building a snow fort with Carolyn.  They managed to make a hollow igloo that fit at least two children inside.  It looked like they had a blast creating it and later destroying it before they headed inside.  

            

The snow may come back so come prepared and drive safely.  Spring Break is ahead of us and we are so excited for our upcoming out trips and themed in days. 

Until next time,

Tessa

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!!

To kick-off Winter Break at Senior OSC, we celebrated with a pyjama party for our first in-day! For this day, we encouraged everyone to wear their favourite pyjamas, whether it was their favourite animal onesie or a fluffy pair of slippers to get into the holiday spirit.

The day started with the children working together to create forts out of tarps, sheets, chairs, tables, and couches. The end result was a giant fort that we called “Party Palace” that took up the entire room. To add some festive decoration to the forts, the children added christmas lights, rugs, and our OSC speaker with colourful lights. The children listened to christmas stories and sang along to their favourite holiday songs.

Afterwards, Brianna lead an activity of making marshmallow monsters with different sizes of marshmallows and some lollipop sticks to connect them. It was a great hit with the children as they were able to use their creativity and imagination to create unique and wacky figures made of fluffy sweetness. This activity was followed by smaller activities such as nail painting and “Name that Tune”.  

Here are some examples of their creations:

In the afternoon, we prepared the gym for a newspaper snowball fight since sadly no snow has yet to fall this Winter. It did not stop us though as hundreds of newspaper balls flew through the air, back and forth, as the gym filled with joy and laughter. The children were challenged to work together in teams to create their own base using gym supplies such as soccer nets, mats, and benches to protect themselves from the newspaper snowballs. The day ended with warm hot chocolate and to add some more sweet treats, the children melted their marshmallow monsters into their cups.

Some upcoming out-trips to expect this Winter Break is Sun God Pool, Science World, and Garden City Park. With the addition of some in-days such as OSCITY Day and a News Years Bash!

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!

Until next time,

Emily 

Card Hunter

Hi everyone,

With daylight savings in full swing, it's abundantly clear that it is getting darker earlier in the afternoon. That does not stop us from heading to the playground and enjoying our time together outside. At times, free play and multiple rounds of the tag game 'manhunt' is enough to pass the time. However, sometimes we like to shuffle things up and provide options for new activities we haven't tried before. I want to take the time to share a game we played this week at the park titled 'CARD HUNTER'.










The children got themselves into their own teams and were racing to go! One player at a time was tasked with running into the playground and scavenging the area to try and find a playing card.





Once they found a card, they had to run back to their teams and send out the next member. This process continues until the time limit runs out. Using the collected cards from the playground, teams were provided two minutes to create the best 5 card hand possible.



Once teams sorted through all of their best options, it was time for the grand reveal! Teams' best hands ranged from straights, to flushes to full houses.

Although each round was short and simple, it was great to see the children so excited and engaged in the activity. We will certainly be trying this game again some time in the near future!

Warmest Regards,

Matt

Community Building

At OSC we strive to create a welcoming environment for all of our students. We know that it takes people to create a community. A couple weeks ago, we gathered all of our kids and worked together on an assignment. We were all given the same three questions to answer:

1. What is a community?
2. What is one community you belong to?
3. What do you like about your community?

Each of the kids (and leaders) answered the questions on a blank sheet of paper. The answers we received were very unique and varied from individual to individual. Each reflected how that person saw their surroundings. Most kids noted that other people fill up their community.

They then had to decorate the back of their sheets. They could either decorate it to resemble a community that they belonged to, or in a pattern. We saw soccer and hockey teams, houses and forests, gardens and playgrounds. The next step was especially fun.

Each of the sheets were cut out by a leader, constructed into 3D houses, and mounted onto one of our bulletin boards with lights strung through it. When we turn the lights off in our room, we can see our community come to life. Even though we don’t get to see the messages that everyone wrote, we are still aware that each member has contributed to our OSC community. We each have values that we share. And we are all responsible for taking care of and growing our paper city, our program, and each other.

Until Next Time,

Keefer

STOP! And stay ZEN!

Konnichiwa (“Hello” in Japanese)

Traditional Japanese Zen Garden

In he 12^th century Ancient Kyoto, Japan, or the “Muromachi Period” was a start of Zen Buddhism to the Japanese people. Zen is a Japanese word that translates to “mediation” or “absorption.”  The Japanese people would have special rock gardens in Ancient Buddhist Temples that were called “Zen Gardens” would represent meditation, peace, and were intend to imitate the intimate essence of nature.

A Finished Zen Garden

Popsicle Stick and Cardboard borders

After all the craziness that the week of Valentines brought, Matt thought of an awesome Art Project to bring some peace and quiet into Senior OSC. Some of the kids joined us to create some beautiful Zen Gardens, hidden with messages of what they think their own definition of what life means for them. This project's goal was to find inner peace and relaxation in their own miniature sands of time and tranquility.

Hidden Messages of What Life Means

Addition of Sand and Designs

Hopefully, the calm nature of these cute gardens will resonate throughout OSC, so everyone can find a little peace in their lives.  Keep calm and stay cool!Sayonara (“Goodbye!” in Japanese)

 -Damian