First Church Preschool
MAY 2010 NEWSLETTER
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe that May is here and next month school will be over. Didn’t the spring flowers we planted in the fall
look lovely? Thank you for your donations of bulbs this past fall. It is always so exciting and rewarding to see the
beauty and color they bring us in the spring. Along with flowers, spring also means it is clean up time! Thanks so
much to the many parents who helped us out, on the work day and this past Saturday, with the playground. It was a
beautiful and warm day, and we were able to get a lot done. Stop by a see our improvements!
We are getting ready to order our t-shirts, hopefully we can have them ready for the last week of May. I have
attached an order sheet with the price and sizes available. Please pay with your order, ($13.00 per shirt). Checks
can be made out to “1st Church Preschool”. All orders must be submitted by Thursday May 14th . Children’s original
self-portraits for the t-shirts are displayed on our hallway wall. You will be able to see the children’s continual drawing
progress and the developmental differences between each group. A sample of this year’s shirt color (yellow) is also
on display in the center space.
We plan to be spending a lot of time outside over the next weeks, painting, gardening, having picnics, blowing
bubbles, and using water, so please keep extra summer/lightweight clothes available in change of clothes bags, and
let us know of any allergies, especially to bee stings. You may want to apply bug spray and/or sunscreen to your
child before they come to school in the a.m. As the weather becomes hotter and children thirstier, we’d also like to
keep water readily available and as hygienic as possible, so having individual, labeled water bottles in cubbies is
suggested. If you can, please provide for your child a labeled water bottle (with a manageable cap) full of cold water
each day. We will add additional water as needed.
As the year is rapidly drawing to a close, we will be sending out our spring update of the Preschool Assessment of
Performance Standards that chart your child’s growth and changes over the school year. Conferences will be starting
for parents who would like to meet with teachers to wrap things up. Sign up sheets will be posted for those of you who
are interested. Conferences are not required, so if your questions have been answered please do not feel that you
are obligated to sign up. We are happy to meet with one or both parents if babysitting can be arranged, but we
request that children not be present since we will be speaking about them and their performance.
The heat and humidity of this past weekend reminds us that summer is just around the corner. Our Summer Program
begins on Monday, June 21st. Summer Program information and registration forms will be available next week. If you
are interested in participating, please complete and return the forms to me by June 1st. Three’s and Four’s and Pre-
K children may sign up for 2 - 8 weeks and for a regular schedule of days. The weeks do not need to be consecutive
but your child must be signed up for at least 2 days in a week. It is helpful to know our enrollment status as soon as
possible so we can schedule the appropriate number of teachers.
An herb garden was started by Marilyn (our Founder’s) a few years ago, and we would like to keep it going. One of
her former students revamped the garden building raised garden boxes and adding as part of his Eagle Scout
project. The garden was dedicated to Marilyn for her many years of creativity, hard work, dedication, and for her
commitment to ensuring that parents and children have a safe and happy place to be and to learn. Each year we like
to add perennials and annuals, especially those that attract butterflies and that smell good or is tactilely or visually
interesting. Any parent and child may bring in, and plant with their together, an herb or flower (of their choice). Be
sure to include a labeled marker with the child’s name and the plant’s name. We will have fun watching our “smell and
touch garden” grow!
We are closed on Monday, May 31st for Memorial Day. The last day of school here at 1st Church is Thursday, June
17th. The Goodbye Picnic, which provides closure for all groups, will be that evening at 5:30 p.m. If the weather
forces us to forego the picnic portion of the evening, we will meet in the Parish Hall at 6:00 p.m. We will have more
details on Field Day and the picnic as time draws closer but are thinking about offering pizzas for purchase to make it
a little less hectic and more convenient for parents.
We are closed for our Teacher-Clean-Up-Day. The last day for Cheshire Public Schools’ will also be Friday, June
18th, Families of kindergarteners will need to make transportation arrangements for children normally getting on or
off the school bus at 1st Church.
Our enrollment for next year keeps fluctuating as families are forced to face the challenges of our current economy.
We have morning and afternoon spots available in our 5’s room. If you know anyone who might be interested in 2-5
days, please have them contact me.
Thank you again for the many, many things all of you do to help keep our school running. A special thanks to all the
members of our Board of Directors – Houle, Rivera, Eisbach, Gilmore, Stern, Mitchell, Arai, and their families as well
as the Wells, McCauley, Pociu, Steppottis, Ciampi and Ehrenfels, Ms. Cindy and Ms. Karen for all of their help on the
work day.
Dawn