1st Church Preschool
MAY 2011 NEWSLETTER
On Monday, our school received some much awaited news—confirmation that we have achieved NAEYC
Accreditation! NAEYC recognizes our program as a high-quality early childhood program providing a safe and
nurturing environment while promoting the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of young
children. Accreditation has been a lengthy process and a lot of hard work. Thank you to Karen Bergstrom, the
staff, board members, and parents that have contributed to our outstanding achievement!
The spring flowers we planted in the fall are blooming. Once again, 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. Our next
planting project will be our herb garden located alongside our playground. The garden is dedicated to our
Founder—Marilyn Donovan for her many years of creativity, hard work, dedication, and for her commitment to
families by ensuring that children have a safe and happy place to grow and learn. Each year, we like to add
perennials and annuals, especially those that attract butterflies, smell good, or are tactilely or visually
interesting. Parents may contribute an herb or flower for their child to plant in the garden. Be sure to label the
herb or flower with your child’s name and the plant’s name. We will have fun watching our “smell and touch
garden” as it grows!
We are getting ready to order our Annual 1st Church T-Shirts; hopefully, we can have them ready for the last
week of May. Children have finished their original self-portraits for the t-shirts which are on display in hallway. I
have attached an order sheet with the price and sizes available. Please pay when you submit your order,
($15.00 per shirt). Checks can be made out to “1st Church Preschool” and payment should be placed in the
Tuition Envelope. All orders must be submitted by Friday, May 13th. A sample of this year’s shirt color
(Tennessee Orange) and sizes will be 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. Please keep extra summer/lightweight clothing 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, please
provide your child with a labeled water bottle (with a manageable cap) full of cold water each day. Please keep
the water bottle in your child’s cubby as there is not enough room in the refrigerator for everyone’s water. We will
add additional water throughout the day as needed.
As the weather becomes warmer, here are a few reminders for our afternoon parents. We close promptly at 5:30
p.m. Please arrive as close to 5:20 p.m. as possible to allow time to gather your child’s belongings and to sign
them out. Our staff is not paid beyond 5:30 p.m. Also, at this time of year, children really enjoy being outside on
the playground with their friends. We ask that when you arrive to pick up your child that you take them home with
you at that time. If your child requests to stay longer, or for you to leave and come back later, perhaps you can
suggest a later pick-up time for a day in the future, but take them with you once you have arrived. We feel that
pick-up time should be the decision of the parent, not the child. Please review our afternoon departure rules
located on our afternoon program board.
Sign-up sheets are posted outside of classrooms for Spring Conferences for parents who are interested in
meeting with teachers. Spring conferences are not required, so if your questions have been answered, please do
not feel that you are obligated to sign up. As the year is rapidly drawing to a close, we will be sending out our
spring update of the Preschool Assessment Performance Standards that chart your child’s growth and changes
over the school year. Please remember that conferences are for parents only and child care arrangements must
be made for children.
We are closed on Monday, May 30th for Memorial Day. Field Days will be held Wednesday, June 1st and
Thursday June 2nd. Our last day of school is Thursday, June 17th. Our 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 are closed Friday, June 18th, for our Teacher Clean-Up
Day. Since Cheshire Public Schools are still in session, families of kindergarteners need to make transportation
arrangements for that day for children normally getting on or off the school bus at 1st Church.
Our Summer Program begins on Monday, June 20th and continues through Friday, August 12th. Summer
Program information and registration forms were distributed last week. Extra forms will be available at the sign-in
desk. If you are interested in participating, please complete and return the form to me by June 1st. This eight
week program is open to Three’s, Four’s and Pre-K children. Due to the excessive amount of snow days and the
extended public school calendar, Kindergarten children may sign up for the 1st week only--June 20th-June 24th.
We will accept outside applications for the summer program if there is space available. Children must be 3 years
of age by 1/1/11. It is helpful to know our enrollment status as soon as possible so we can determine staff
schedules.
There are still some spots available in our program for next year. If you know anyone who might be interested in
2-5 days, please have them contact me. Also, please remember to return your signed contracts and $100
deposit for next year.
Brenda
Important Dates to Remember
May 11 (Wed.) 4’s Room Trip to Cheshire Hollow Farm
May 18 (Wed.) 5’s Room PM Group Trip to Cheshire Hollow Farm
May 19 (Thurs.) 5’s Room AM Group Trip to Cheshire Hollow Farm
May 25 (Wed.) 4’s Room Trip to Vo-Ag Fair – Lyman Hall H.S. Wallingford
May 26 (Thurs.) In School Special – Dr. Bugman
June 1 (Wed.) Field Day (Raindate: 6/7)
June 2 (Thurs.) Field Day (Raindate: 6/3)
June 16 (Thurs.) Last Day of School / Good-Bye Picnic
June 17 (Fri.) PROGRAM CLOSED – TEACHER CLEAN-UP DAY
June 20 (Mon.) 1st Day of Summer Program