1st Church Preschool Newsletter                                                                            NOVEMBER 2010 Parent Night has come and gone with a wonderful turnout! We appreciated your enthusiasm and enjoyed getting a chance to talk about our program and to show our presentation of the many activities happening in each room. Children were delighted with their parents’ visits and the drawings left for them.  We have also enjoyed having many parents join us for lunch.  Children love to have the chance to introduce their new friends and see their mom or dad here at school.   Thank you to all who participated in our annual fundraiser.  Together we raised over $1500 for our preschool!   Delivery is scheduled for November 10th at approximately 10:00 am.  The delivery and distribution process requires a few extra sets of hands, so if you are available on that Wednesday anytime between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, please let me know.  Thank you to our fundraising coordination team, Juliet Rivera and Natalie Gilmore, for spending their valued time and energy putting this together and helping it to flow smoothly.  Remember, the pies will be frozen and can be picked up between 11:00 am and 5:30 pm on Wednesday, November 10th.  Unfortunately we do not have the room to store these pies overnight, so please make arrangements to have them picked up on that day. It is clear that without the help and support of our parents, this school would not be what it is.  Many thanks to the parents who have signed up to help us with sewing, fixing, shopping, making phone calls, serving on the Board of Directors, maintaining our web site, and for all of the “Wish List” donations we have received.  Our Fall Work Day on October 23rd was a great success!  We were able to spread mulch, rake, weed, prune, power wash the toys, enclose the rabbit hutch and much more.  Thank you to everyone who volunteered their time, energy, and equipment.  It is amazing how much work can be done when we work together!   The cooler weather will soon be upon us and we will continue to go outside every day.  Please be sure to send your child with a labeled hat and labeled mittens. (We prefer mittens rather than gloves since it is easier for children to do themselves and they are warmer!) Of course, they should also have an appropriate warm coat and footwear for use outside.  Remember, their winter gear should be things that you don’t mind getting dirty.  They should also be safe and should not limit active inside or outside play.  Also, please restock change of clothes bags with warmer clothes and extra socks as we approach winter. Please review the symptoms of the flu and the precautions that should be taken to protect you and your family - keep up with good hand washing/hygiene practices, follow our sick child policies by keeping your children home for at least a full 24 hours if they have had a fever or vomited or are showing any other signs related to a communicable disease.   As a reminder the State of CT, Dept of Public Health is requiring that all children attending a preschool get their influenza vaccines and provide documentation of such by Jan. 1, 2011.  Please keep this in mind if your child has not had the vaccine yet. There will be NO SCHOOL on Veteran’s Day. Thursday November 11th.  We will have an early dismissal on Wednesday, Nov. 24th at 4:00 p.m. and be CLOSED for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 25th & 26th.  We will celebrate this special time with “sharing tables”. Each child will be asked to bring in some fruit, fresh vegetables, or bread to share.  All of our classes will feast together for lunch on Wednesday, November 24th..  You will receive more details as we get closer to Thanksgiving. Conference sign up sheets are now posted outside the 3’s and 4’s room classes. We ask that parents sign up for a fall conference as teachers look forward to getting a chance to meet with each family for a more extended, uninterrupted time of sharing.  The 5’s room conferences will be held the 1st two weeks in December and Miss Cindy will be posting the 5’s sign up sheet soon.  At the end of November/early December, we will be sending home a completed Preschool Assessment Framework with the information we have gathered about your child over the last 10 weeks. Its purpose is to help us focus curriculum, to assess each child’s skills, chart growth, and develop goals with you for your child. At conferences, teachers will review with parents the summary of their child’s assessments. Also, teachers have been observing children and completing Daily Activity Records which will be sent home. The Activity Record documents the activities that your child chooses and participates in while here each day.   Finally, new brochures and applications for next year will be distributed early in December.  Within school applications will be accepted on a first come basis during December.  Registrations from new families will be accepted beginning January 1, 2011.   Sincerely, Karen Bergstrom Important Dates to Remember: Wed., Nov. 10                         Lyman Orchards Pie Pick-up Thurs., Nov. 11                        Closed for Veteran’s Day Wed., Nov. 24                         Sharing Tables     Wed., Nov. 24                        Early closing 4:00 p.m.     Nov. 25-26                         Closed for Thanksgiving      Reminders: ·        Please sign up for a fall parent conference. ·        Tuition payments are due the first week of each new month (no written reminders) and should be put into the      blue tuition envelope located to the right just inside the office door. ·        Please remember to wash and return your child’s cot sheet in the basket located in the outer hallway near the      cots, so it is ready for the following week.