A Message from the Principal:
We are super excited to introduce our new Innovation Lab! Each of our classrooms will have opportunities each week to visit on lab located by our front lobby to participate in great observations, creations, discoveries, and more. I know this will help our school continue to develop 21st century learners.
The amount of learning taking place in our classrooms infant-pre-k just amazes me! Have you taken a moment to check out your child’s classroom and hallway learning boards? If not, make sure that you do so that you can see all of the great learning that is happening every day. The second period report cards will also go home by the end of the first week of March. This report will help you see the progress your child has been making with our Links to Learning curriculum. If you have any questions, please feel free to talk with your child’s teacher. If you would like, you are always welcome to schedule a private conference with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s learning or any other concerns.
February’s Wacky Wednesday was a flashback through the decades! This month we will use our super powers with a Super Heros Day on March 18th. I can’t wait to go up, up, and away with our Chesterbrook Superheros!
VPK Updates: Our VPK program will be on Spring Break March 23rd-27th. During this time, there will be no school for our VPK only students. Our VPK Full Time students are welcome to attend on their normal schedules. If you have any questions, please see us at the front desk.
Calling all Future VPK students! It also time for the parents of our future VPK students to start the process to receive their child’s VPK voucher from the state office. Application for VPK vouchers for 2015-2016 will begin in January. Please check http://www.familycentral.org/VPKRegisterBC for how to obtain your child’s VPK voucher for the 2015-2016 school year.
Graduation: Graduation preparations are in full swing! All graduates who will be participating in our graduation ceremony should have already turned in their Grad Pack form and payment. Once again as a reminder, our graduation ceremony will be on June 6th at 10 am. Pre-graduation pictures will be on Friday, March 13th. The cap and gown will cover your child’s clothes and will be provided by us for the pictures.
Early Registration: Our school is so happy to see that so many of our families took advantage of our Early Registration for the 2015-2016 school year. Spaces are now starting to fill up for many of our programs. Any remaining spaces are now being offered to the community. If your family did not take advantage of our promotion and would like to save your child’s spot for next school year, please see us at the front desk ASAP.
Book Fair: In honor of March being National Reading Month, our school will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair March 9th-21st. This will be a great opportunity to purchase books for your child while supporting our school. We receive 50% of the profits to help us grow our school library! We will end our book fair with a special Saturday Story Time at 10 am at our school! Come join us for lots literacy fun!
Links to Home: We want to keep our parents involved and one way to do that is making sure to read the information posted on your child’s classroom’s parent board as well as checking their folder for papers to go home each day. The “ What We Learned Today” paper located on the classroom doors will also share a special activity from the class’s day. I encourage you to ask your child questions about that activity. This is a great way to get them to share their day with you. Also, always feel free to talk to the teachers at drop off/pick up or call and check in throughout the day.
Parent Share: Another thing we love to do at Chesterbrook Academy Pembroke Pines is take lots of pictures and videos. This helps you see the activities that are happening in our classrooms. Please make sure to make it a habit to check out all of our learning boards in the classrooms and hallways to see work samples, pictures, and QR codes. To watch the videos, all you need to do is download a free QR reader on your smart phone and scan the code. If you need help, please stop by the front desk. We don’t want anyone to miss out on catching these great videos! We also now have a special app called PARENT SHARE where our teachers are able to e-mail pictures directly to you using our iPod Touches.
Warm Regards,
Christina Roberts, Principal
For Parents
Menus: Menus are located in the front lobby. Please feel free to see us up front with any questions that you have about the menu or ordering. All menus are due by the due date. If you do not turn your menu in on time, you will need to pack lunch for your child.
Parent Boards: We are constantly taking pictures and videos to share. Make sure to check the education boards around the school for work samples, pictures, and qr codes with videos of all the great things happening here at Chesterbrook Academy!
Food Activities: The state of Florida now requires all child care centers to obtain written permission for all food related activities. This includes all of those great sensory activities as a part of our hands on learning approach, classroom cooking projects and parties including birthday celebrations. Thank you to all of our amazing parents for signing and returning our sensory activities waivers in a timely manner so that all of our students could continue participating in all of those amazing activities. Please be on the lookout for the different cooking project and parties permission slips that will go home as needed. Without the return of these forms, your child will not be able to participate. Thank you in advance for making sure all of our students will be included.
Book Fair Info: Reading books is so important for development for every child from birth. Our school participates in the scholastic reading club. This is a great way to find age appropriate books for your child at a reasonable price. The flyer will go home every month and parents will have the option of choosing books to buy for their little ones. Visit https://clubs2.scholastic.com to order and pay online. The classroom code is kv8yx.
Uniforms: All students in our intermediate and Pre-k programs are required to wear uniforms. The uniform consists of a Black Polo with the Chesterbrook Logo and Khaki bottoms. If you have already purchased the navy blue CBA polos for the fall we will allow the children to continue to wear navy blue for the school year, but as you buy new uniforms, please purchase the black ones. Please see the front desk to order uniforms.
VPK Hours: Our school VPK hours are 9AM-12 Noon. As a part of the VPK program, the state requires that all VPK students are at school during VPK hours. For more information, please see the front desk.
Reminders
Here are a few reminders and updates to keep us on track for the rest of the school year:
- Contact and Emergency Information: Please remember to update your information at the front desk if there are any changes.
- Lunch Menus: are due before the beginning of the month, so that we can order from the catering company. If we don’t have your child’s lunch menu, we can’t order a lunch. Please pack a lunch for your child if you haven’t filled out a lunch menu.
- Peanuts: can cause severe allergy symptoms; therefore, we are a peanut free facility. Do not include any peanut products in your child’s lunch or snack.
- Tuition: payments are due the 1st of each month. A $25 late fee will be applied to all tuition payments turned in after the 5th day of each month.
- Late pick-up: fees apply to children picked up after 6:30 pm. There is a fee of $1 per minute after 6:30 pm as stated on your tuition fee schedule agreement.
- Sick Policy: Children may be sent home if they have any concerning symptoms. In addition, a child must be free of all of these symptoms for at least 24 hours before he/she can return to school. These symptoms include:
– A Fever of 100 degrees or more
– Vomiting within the previous 24-hour period
– Diarrhea within the previous 24-hour period
– Symptoms of a communicable disease
– Fussy, cranky behavior and generally not himself/ herself
Following an illness, a child may return to school once he/she has either been seen by a doctor or it has been determined that illness is not contagious. ( A doctor’s clearance may be requested.) Please help us keep all of our children healthy by following these rules.
If you have any questions or concerns please let us know. You can talk with your child’s teacher or any one of us in the front office. Also, you can email me at christina.roberts@nlcinc.com or call (954) 443-3002. As always my door is always open, please feel free to stop by, email me or call with any questions, concerns or comments. Our goal is to provide each family with a fulfilling educational experience.
Parent Ambassador Referral Program: Spread the word about Chesterbrook Academy and save on your child’s tuition. Stop by the front Office for more details.
Chesterbrook Academy has six locations in South Florida: Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Sunrise, Pembroke Pines, Port St. Lucie and Palm Beach Gardens.
Our Mission: Chesterbrook Academy provides a safe environment that is loving, nurturing, educational, and individualized for each student. Our school utilizes a rigorous academic curriculum that promotes respect, acceptance and achievement for creating a foundation that is everlasting.
What does our SACS CASI Accreditation mean to you?
“Accreditation is inextricably linked to institution and educational system improvement. The accreditation process asks institutions and systems to
critically evaluate their vision, strategies, priorities, leadership, and programs and resources. The process of earning and maintaining
accreditation provides institutions and educational systems with clear and compelling direction for implementing changes to move toward excellence.”
– www.advanc-ed.org
A Message from Our Education Department:
Developing Confident Future Readers
March is National Reading Month, so it is a great time to reinforce how important it is to expose children to books from an early age. We engage all of our students in language and literacy activities every day throughout the school year.
Research has shown that reading aloud to children has a profound influence on their speech development and listening skills. Reading allows children to experience the wondrous world depicted in books, and thrive on the interaction with adults.
Below are age appropriate activities that we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about reading, as well as recommended books to read with your child at home.
INFANTS – Linking sensory and reading experiences
- In the classroom: We introduce language and literacy beginning with our infants, by consistently speaking, reading and singing to them. Teachers choose interactive books with bright colors, different textures and pop-up designs to help stimulate infants’ growing sensory awareness.
- Books to read at home: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings by Matthew Van Fleet and Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont
TODDLERS – Rhyme and repetition
- In the classroom: Toddlers enjoy hearing the same books read over and over again, because they are able join in as the stories become more familiar. Teachers read books with rhyme and repetition, such as Goodnight Moon, and vary their voice each time they tell the story. The change in tone gives children a chance to hear different sounds, and encourages them to practice making the sounds themselves.
- Books to read at home: All Fall Down by Helen Oxenbury, Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
BEGINNERS – Engaging the imagination
- In the classroom: Around age two, children begin to develop a love for the world of imagination. It’s important to engage children’s imaginations and encourage them to participate in shared reading experiences. A picture walk motivates children to rely on pictorial clues to decipher the story’s plot and make predictions. Before reading the story, the teacher and student flip through the book, and the child is encouraged to make predictions about the characters and plot. The teacher then reads the book aloud with the student. When finished, the child is asked to relate his predictions to the actual outcome of the story. For example, “Now that you know what happened, why was the elephant wearing a tutu?” or “What would you have done if you were the elephant?”
- Books to read at home: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Corduroy by Don Freeman or Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
INTERMEDIATES – Exploring the wider world
- In the classroom: As our Intermediates are introduced to the Citizens of the World component of our curriculum, they read about different places, cultures and traditions in books. Books help children understand and enjoy learning about the diversity of human experience. During circle time for example, we may read a story about children living in another country, in a different type of house and wearing different types of clothes. Afterward, the teacher connects the story back to what the children know by asking, “What does your house look like?” and “Who lives in your house with you?”
- Books to read at home: Abuela by Arthur Dorros, So Much by Trish Cooke and On Mother’s Lap by Ann Scott
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 – Nonfiction Adventures
- In the classroom: Children are naturally fascinated by the lives of real people and the world around them. Our teachers cultivate this fascination by exposing students to nonfiction books. For example, the class may read both a fiction and nonfiction book about animals. Afterward, they are encouraged to compare and contrast the two books and discuss what was accurate in the fiction book.
- Books to read at home: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (fiction) and Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies (non-fiction)
By experiencing a literacy-rich environment, both at school and at home, we instill a love of reading and provide the foundation for our students to become successful, confident readers in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education
March News
A Message from the Principal:
We are super excited to introduce our new Innovation Lab! Each of our classrooms will have opportunities each week to visit on lab located by our front lobby to participate in great observations, creations, discoveries, and more. I know this will help our school continue to develop 21st century learners.
The amount of learning taking place in our classrooms infant-pre-k just amazes me! Have you taken a moment to check out your child’s classroom and hallway learning boards? If not, make sure that you do so that you can see all of the great learning that is happening every day. The second period report cards will also go home by the end of the first week of March. This report will help you see the progress your child has been making with our Links to Learning curriculum. If you have any questions, please feel free to talk with your child’s teacher. If you would like, you are always welcome to schedule a private conference with your child’s teacher to discuss your child’s learning or any other concerns.
February’s Wacky Wednesday was a flashback through the decades! This month we will use our super powers with a Super Heros Day on March 18th. I can’t wait to go up, up, and away with our Chesterbrook Superheros!
VPK Updates: Our VPK program will be on Spring Break March 23rd-27th. During this time, there will be no school for our VPK only students. Our VPK Full Time students are welcome to attend on their normal schedules. If you have any questions, please see us at the front desk.
Calling all Future VPK students! It also time for the parents of our future VPK students to start the process to receive their child’s VPK voucher from the state office. Application for VPK vouchers for 2015-2016 will begin in January. Please check http://www.familycentral.org/VPKRegisterBC for how to obtain your child’s VPK voucher for the 2015-2016 school year.
Graduation: Graduation preparations are in full swing! All graduates who will be participating in our graduation ceremony should have already turned in their Grad Pack form and payment. Once again as a reminder, our graduation ceremony will be on June 6th at 10 am. Pre-graduation pictures will be on Friday, March 13th. The cap and gown will cover your child’s clothes and will be provided by us for the pictures.
Early Registration: Our school is so happy to see that so many of our families took advantage of our Early Registration for the 2015-2016 school year. Spaces are now starting to fill up for many of our programs. Any remaining spaces are now being offered to the community. If your family did not take advantage of our promotion and would like to save your child’s spot for next school year, please see us at the front desk ASAP.
Book Fair: In honor of March being National Reading Month, our school will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair March 9th-21st. This will be a great opportunity to purchase books for your child while supporting our school. We receive 50% of the profits to help us grow our school library! We will end our book fair with a special Saturday Story Time at 10 am at our school! Come join us for lots literacy fun!
Links to Home: We want to keep our parents involved and one way to do that is making sure to read the information posted on your child’s classroom’s parent board as well as checking their folder for papers to go home each day. The “ What We Learned Today” paper located on the classroom doors will also share a special activity from the class’s day. I encourage you to ask your child questions about that activity. This is a great way to get them to share their day with you. Also, always feel free to talk to the teachers at drop off/pick up or call and check in throughout the day.
Parent Share: Another thing we love to do at Chesterbrook Academy Pembroke Pines is take lots of pictures and videos. This helps you see the activities that are happening in our classrooms. Please make sure to make it a habit to check out all of our learning boards in the classrooms and hallways to see work samples, pictures, and QR codes. To watch the videos, all you need to do is download a free QR reader on your smart phone and scan the code. If you need help, please stop by the front desk. We don’t want anyone to miss out on catching these great videos! We also now have a special app called PARENT SHARE where our teachers are able to e-mail pictures directly to you using our iPod Touches.
Warm Regards,
Christina Roberts, Principal
For Parents
Menus: Menus are located in the front lobby. Please feel free to see us up front with any questions that you have about the menu or ordering. All menus are due by the due date. If you do not turn your menu in on time, you will need to pack lunch for your child.
Parent Boards: We are constantly taking pictures and videos to share. Make sure to check the education boards around the school for work samples, pictures, and qr codes with videos of all the great things happening here at Chesterbrook Academy!
Food Activities: The state of Florida now requires all child care centers to obtain written permission for all food related activities. This includes all of those great sensory activities as a part of our hands on learning approach, classroom cooking projects and parties including birthday celebrations. Thank you to all of our amazing parents for signing and returning our sensory activities waivers in a timely manner so that all of our students could continue participating in all of those amazing activities. Please be on the lookout for the different cooking project and parties permission slips that will go home as needed. Without the return of these forms, your child will not be able to participate. Thank you in advance for making sure all of our students will be included.
Book Fair Info: Reading books is so important for development for every child from birth. Our school participates in the scholastic reading club. This is a great way to find age appropriate books for your child at a reasonable price. The flyer will go home every month and parents will have the option of choosing books to buy for their little ones. Visit https://clubs2.scholastic.com to order and pay online. The classroom code is kv8yx.
Uniforms: All students in our intermediate and Pre-k programs are required to wear uniforms. The uniform consists of a Black Polo with the Chesterbrook Logo and Khaki bottoms. If you have already purchased the navy blue CBA polos for the fall we will allow the children to continue to wear navy blue for the school year, but as you buy new uniforms, please purchase the black ones. Please see the front desk to order uniforms.
VPK Hours: Our school VPK hours are 9AM-12 Noon. As a part of the VPK program, the state requires that all VPK students are at school during VPK hours. For more information, please see the front desk.
Reminders
Here are a few reminders and updates to keep us on track for the rest of the school year:
– A Fever of 100 degrees or more
– Vomiting within the previous 24-hour period
– Diarrhea within the previous 24-hour period
– Symptoms of a communicable disease
– Fussy, cranky behavior and generally not himself/ herself
Following an illness, a child may return to school once he/she has either been seen by a doctor or it has been determined that illness is not contagious. ( A doctor’s clearance may be requested.) Please help us keep all of our children healthy by following these rules.
If you have any questions or concerns please let us know. You can talk with your child’s teacher or any one of us in the front office. Also, you can email me at christina.roberts@nlcinc.com or call (954) 443-3002. As always my door is always open, please feel free to stop by, email me or call with any questions, concerns or comments. Our goal is to provide each family with a fulfilling educational experience.
Parent Ambassador Referral Program: Spread the word about Chesterbrook Academy and save on your child’s tuition. Stop by the front Office for more details.
Chesterbrook Academy has six locations in South Florida: Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Sunrise, Pembroke Pines, Port St. Lucie and Palm Beach Gardens.
Our Mission: Chesterbrook Academy provides a safe environment that is loving, nurturing, educational, and individualized for each student. Our school utilizes a rigorous academic curriculum that promotes respect, acceptance and achievement for creating a foundation that is everlasting.
What does our SACS CASI Accreditation mean to you?
“Accreditation is inextricably linked to institution and educational system improvement. The accreditation process asks institutions and systems to
critically evaluate their vision, strategies, priorities, leadership, and programs and resources. The process of earning and maintaining
accreditation provides institutions and educational systems with clear and compelling direction for implementing changes to move toward excellence.”
– www.advanc-ed.org
A Message from Our Education Department:
Developing Confident Future Readers
March is National Reading Month, so it is a great time to reinforce how important it is to expose children to books from an early age. We engage all of our students in language and literacy activities every day throughout the school year.
Research has shown that reading aloud to children has a profound influence on their speech development and listening skills. Reading allows children to experience the wondrous world depicted in books, and thrive on the interaction with adults.
Below are age appropriate activities that we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about reading, as well as recommended books to read with your child at home.
INFANTS – Linking sensory and reading experiences
TODDLERS – Rhyme and repetition
BEGINNERS – Engaging the imagination
INTERMEDIATES – Exploring the wider world
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 – Nonfiction Adventures
By experiencing a literacy-rich environment, both at school and at home, we instill a love of reading and provide the foundation for our students to become successful, confident readers in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education