Dear Parents,

          January has been a month of weather fluctuations. We have very cold days followed by warmer temperatures. As a result of the weather and the season, we have had children out of school due to colds, strep throat, ear infections, and the like. Thank you for letting your child remain home to recuperate rather than send him/her to school when he/she might be contagious. Because of your diligence, we have not had any epidemics thus far.

Curriculum

The theme this month will be Dinosaurs. In addition to learning about dinosaurs, teachers will be teaching rhyming patterns and the values of kindness, taking turns, and honesty. Teachers will also be revisiting the skills of last month, especially patterns and positional words. In music, the theme is “Out and About” and “On the Go”.  February is also Dental Health Month; therefore, the classes will be discussing the proper care of their teeth and seeing the dentist.  This month we will look at Being Hospitable as a way to show love for one another.The Bible stories will focus on this concept, and the Bible verse is “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

1 Peter 4:9

Special Events

          Ground Hog Day – February 2                                                                       Valentine’s Day Party – February 13 – More information to come

          Presidents’ Day – February 17 – Schools are closed        

Scholastic Books

            If you are ordering from Scholastic Books, the due date for all orders is Thursday, February 13.

Valentine’s Party

Thursday, February 13 is our Valentine Party. Each teacher will send home a class list for you so that valentines can be sent in for the classmates. If help is needed in preparing for the party, the teacher will notify you. Enrollment for Next Year

February is the start of enrollment for next year’s two, three and four year olds. An enrollment letter and enrollment form are attached. Please read and respond within the next two weeks if you would like to verify early placement. Your recommendations to neighbors and friends have always brought us wonderful families, so if you need extra forms, please let me know.

Have a Heart Month

          Each year, we have a coin collection month. The purpose of this project is to instill in the children that it is never too early to do good for others. We ask each child to bring in any loose change each day and add it to their class’s “piggy bank”. At the end of the month, we take the change that has been collected to the bank, have it counted, and use the money to help someone in need. In the past, we have collected money for the food pantry, purchased Thanksgiving meals for a few families in the community, and given a donation to our local animal shelters. Anything that you can do to remind your child to bring in a few coins each day would be greatly appreciated. We will begin the drive on Monday, Feb. 3 and end on Thursday, February 27.

Snacks Reminder

          Thank you to those parents who have been so diligent in providing a snack for their child’s class. Children enjoy the variety that you provide. Please let your child’s teacher know if you are unable to provide a snack on the day that you were given on the calendar. The teacher needs to know so that a snack is prepared for that class. The snack can be simple. There are some food suggestions in the student handbook.

Tax Information

          Some of you have requested our school’s identification number for tax purposes. The number is 56-1983731. I hope this will help you during your tax preparation.

          February is a short month, but it is such an important one because it makes us all stop and reflect on those qualities in our loved ones that we so love and appreciate. It certainly makes our staff know how much we love your children and how much we appreciate you for allowing us to help them grow developmentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

          Happy Valentine’s Day to each of you.

                                                Sincerely,

Donna Russell
Sherry Marshall
Gini Powell
Jean Summers
Kellie Frey
Cathy Milstead        

Dear Parents,

          Happy New Year to each of you. I hope you had a blessed Christmas and feel ready to face the New Year with enthusiasm, optimism, and good health. We are ready, willing, and very enthusiastic to see the children again.

          We appreciated your support at the Christmas program. We were very proud of the children and they were thrilled to see you out in the audience to see them perform. You will be surprised to see their growth as they perform at our end of the year program. This is the time when we begin to see a big learning spurt and development in the children. In the next few months, you will probably begin to see a “maturity” in your child at home as well.

January Curriculum

January will focus on the theme of Homes and Habitats. Each class will be making models of habitats that they have studied in class. We hope you will stop in and see them. We will let you know more details later.We will also be focusing on the skills of patterns, positional words (over, under, behind, etc.), and tracking (following a defined path to reach the end). Values that we will stress are team work and being helpful. Kindermusic’s theme will be “On the Go”. In our Bible lessons, we will focus on Teaching  as a way to show love for one another. The Bible verse that the children will learn is Colossians 3:16, “Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom.”

Kindergarten Readiness Tests and Conferences                                                                                                 

Miss Gini and Miss Donna are seeing some areas that still need more attention in teaching before mastery. Therefore the kindergarten tests will be completed in March. After the testing is completed, conferences will be scheduled. We want you to have an accurate depiction of what your child is ready to do in kindergarten and what areas will need more reinforcement over the summer.

Safety First

Please make sure that your child is always with an adult whether it is in the parking lot or in the building. If a teacher is not in the room, please wait with your child until the teacher returns. Don’t let your child out of your car away from the door and expect him or her to get inside alone. We want safety for your child at all costs. Thank you.

Dates to Remember

January 16 (Thursday) – Scholastic book orders are due          

January 20 (Monday) – Martin Luther King’s birthday – School is                                   closed

We are hoping to avoid any more outbreaks of illness this winter. If your child has a fever or shows sign of illness, please let him or her have a day at home in the hope that it will ward off any contagion in the classroom. Thank you for your part in avoiding illness.

          Each of the teachers and staff want to thank you again for your generous gifts to our school and us. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful parents such as you to support us with your time, your money, and most of all the love you show your child. Each of them models the love and nurturing that you give them every day. There were a few gifts without identification as to they were from. Please know that we appreciated each and every one and apologize that we could not thank you and your child personally.

We all wish you a year filled with blessings, health, and peace. Thank you for your continual support of us.

Sincerely,

  Donna Russell
Cathy Milstead
Jennifer Gerrald
Sherry Marshall
Kellie Frey
Pat Herdic

                                                                     

                                                               

                                                                 

DECEMBER  NEWS

Happy Holidays,

November seemed to fly by. We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that you are now preparing for the busy Christmas season ahead.

Christmas Program

We are busy with rehearsals for our Christmas Program. The children are learning to march in and find their places at the front of the church where they will serenade you with a number of Christmas melodies. The program will be on Thursday, December 19 at 10:00 A.M. in the church sanctuary.  After the program, there will be punch and cookies. School will reopen on Monday, January 6.

Change of Clothes

Please bring in a change of clothes for your child conducive to the change in weather. Many of our children have shorts and short-sleeved tee shirts and now need long sleeved shirts and long pants. We will send home the other clothes. Also, be sure to send a sweater or jacket in case of breezes that make an otherwise warm day too cool to play outside

Scholastic Books  

The Scholastic Book orders will resume in January. Those orders made in November will be here in time for Christmas.

Bible Lessons

This month’s theme is Welcome Baby Jesus. The children will learn the Christmas story and will learn that Encouragement is another way to show love for one another. Our Bible verse this month is “…encourage one another and build each other up.” 1 Thessalonians 5:8

Santa’s Visit

            Santa will visit us before vacation. The date is to be announced. He will visit with each child. A photograph will be taken that will be given to you in the next week.  You may want your child to dress in a Christmas outfit for this keepsake photo, so we will let you know the date.

Speech Screening

            On Wednesday, December 4, Joan Morris will be here to give a free screening of our three and four year old classes of children. You will be notified of the results and may speak directly to her if you have questions. This is a benefit to you as parents as it gives one more piece of information that you may need to know before your child starts kindergarten. Clear speech is a very important component in the progress your child makes in school.

Skill Development

We will focus on scissors skills and sequencing this month and stress the values of sharing and generosity. The study of letters and numbers continue. January always proves to be a turning point in learning. We will then begin assessing the four year olds for kindergarten readiness. Conferences will begin after that is completed. Parents of the two and three year old classes may request a conference as well, but they are mandatory for our Pre-K class.

Thank You!!!

            Because of the support of many of you, our school will receive a check for nearly $130 for our fundraiser.

Polar Bear Express Day

            On Thursday, December 12, we will have a special day. We are asking you to let your child come to school in his or her PJ’s. We will have a fun day of reading The Polar Bear Express and enjoying cookies and hot chocolate.

Final Wishes

It is our wish that your Christmas will be filled with happy memories and the remembrance of the true meaning of the season. We wish for your children a holiday of safety, health, and much happiness, and we wish you and your family a very blessed and Merry Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                      Donna Russell
Gini Powell
Jean Summers
Sherry Marshall
Kellie Frey

OCTOBER  NEWS

Dear Parents,

          The first month of school is behind us, and all of the children seem comfortable and have settled in. The teachers in all of the classes are remarking on how quickly the children have gotten into routines and the mode of learning.

DROP-OFF/PICKUP PROGRAM

          The Drop-Off/ Pickup Program is going well. Teachers are outside in the morning and at the end of preschool either to receive your children or get them to their cars safely. Please feel free to come in once in a while to see what your child is doing and to sign up for party donations if appropriate. If you do come in to get your child, please park your car rather than leave it standing in the line of cars that are waiting. It slows down the dismissal considerably.

OCTOBER CURRICULUM

          October promises to be full. Our theme this month is “Around the Farm”. We will focus on the following skills: 

          Colors: Review

          Skills: Shapes, Classifying, Categorizing

          Values: Respect for the environment; Respect for others      

          Fall Crops,Fall Harvest

          Kindermusic theme: Animals A Dancing/ At the Farm

Bible Stories: Stories based on the concept of “Love One Another”-                                                                             Be Kind

The Bible verse this month is “Be kind and compassionate to one another” Ephesians 4:32

PICTURE DAY

          Classic Images, our professional photographer will be here on Monday, October 7 to take individual photos of the children. Have them dressed in the way you would like to remember them at this age. The pictures always look great and make wonderful Christmas gifts. If you have any little ones at home that you would like photographed with your preschooler, please let your child’s teacher know so that we can schedule them first with very little waiting time for you.

FIRE PREVENTION MONTH

        Sunset Beach Fire Department called and offered to come to our school on Wednesday, October 9. They will review the steps to safety in the event of a fire. We will also practice a fire drill with the children so that they would know what to do in case of fire. The firemen will bring their hook and ladder for the children to climb into and see what firefighters do to provide for our safety.

SCHOLASTIC BOOKS    

Thank you for your support of the Scholastic Books. The new set of flyers are being sent home with this letter. If you are interested in purchasing any of these books, please return order form with payment by October 15. If writing a check, please make it payable to Scholastic Book Services.

A FEW GENTLE REMINDERS

• Please read the information that goes home in your child’s folder. It is the easiest way to make sure that all parents get the same information. Also, you will find your child’s work in the folder to be seen and enjoyed.
• Please remember to send the empty folders back each day so that they can be used for new information and children’s work.

FUNDRAISER

        On October 17, the teachers will be sending home a very important packet. Enclosed in the packet is a piece of art that your child has made. Also included in the packet is a list of many fine products that can be ordered with your child’s artwork on each of the items that you select. Examples of the products are outside of my room in plastic bags. Feel free to come in and see the fine quality of each item. You are asked to send the art piece and your order back to the school on October 23 with a check made payable to the school. We will send one large check with the order to be returned to us by November 21. This is in time for Christmas.

          Thank you in advance for any support that you can give us in this endeavor.

MISCELLANEOUS

          Cold season has come. Please do not send your child to school if he or she is running a fever or is suffering from a very runny nose. We are trying to keep an epidemic from starting.

          Information will be coming home soon regarding our Costume parade and party on October 31. Please keep in mind, as you select your child’s costume, that we are a Christian preschool and, therefore, do not support devilish or frightening characters.

          In addition, a flyer is being sent home at a later date regarding our church’s Trunk or Treat. This is a good way to ensure that your child is in a safe environment as treats are distributed to each little princess or superhero.

SPECIAL DATES

                School Picture Day – Mon., Oct. 7

                Sunset Beach Fire Dpt. Visit – Oct. 9

                   Columbus Day – Mon., Oct. 14 – School is closed

                Scholastic Book Orders – due by Thursday, Oct. 15                                                                                          

                Fundraiser Packets go home – Thursday, October 17

                Fundraiser orders are due back to school –  Wednesday, October 23

                        Costume Party and Parade – Thurssday, Oct. 31

Thank you for letting us be a part of your child’s life. We feel very blessed to have such beautiful children in our midst every day. We will continue to do our best to give them the instruction and nurture that you want for your child.

                                                          Sincerely,

            Donna Russell          Sherry Marshall

           Jean Summers           Kellie Frey

            Gini Powell