A Message From the Principal:
Dear Chesterbrook Parents,
Snow snow, go away! Man, have we had some crazy weather this winter! And I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the warm weather! I hope we have see the last of the snow! Speaking of warm weather, it is time to go ahead and start thinking about back to school registration and summer camp registration! We will be sending home a letter and out fee schedule for you to re-register your little one for the 15-16 school year. If your child is graduating and going to kindergarten, you will not need to complete this. We will need everyone to complete the summer camp registration form so that we can make sure everyone has a spot this summer! Please be on the look out for these forms in the upcoming weeks!
I wanted to apologize for having to reschedule the Pajama Family Movie Night! With the weather being so crazy we weren’t sure if it was going to cooperate. We will reschedule this when the weather starts to get a little more cooperative. Also, picture day has been rescheduled again. I apologize about that too. The photographers said they didn’t want to risk the weather and so we have rescheduled it for March 26,-27th. We will be doing class pictures as well as individual. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We have our next Open House coming up Saturday March 21st, from 10am – 1pm. If you all know anyone who is looking for a wonderful preschool, please send them our way! Don’t forget about our parent referral program!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Parent Survey! I know I mentioned this last month, but we got the results and we LOVED hearing all of the positive feedback you all had for us! We are also excited to roll out several new initiatives to work on other feed back we received! So than you all again for this invaluable feedback.
We have a new music program called MusIQ. We have not started this class as of yet, so if you are interested, please let me know! I have two sign ups so far! This is piano based and is for children ages 3 and up. It will not take the place of our current music program as it is very different. Please let me know if you have question about this!
If your child is not currently enrolled in Soccer Shots, JumpBunch, MusIQ, or Music for Little Ones, and you would like them to be, please let me know! These programs run all year (some will have small breaks between sessions) and it’s never too late to get signed up!
I want to remind everyone of a few things as well…. We offer an auto draft option for tuition payments! Please help us go paperless and sign up for this awesome option! If you are interested in this payment option please see Melissa or myself for the form to complete.
Please remember that all tuition is due the Friday before care. If not received at that point a $25.00 late charge will be assessed. This is something that is in place at time of enrollment when you sign off on the tuition agreement. If you have any questions in regards to weekly tuition payments please feel free to speak with me.
With the weather being cold now, we ask that you please check your child’s cubby for a full change of clothes that is weather appropriate. Accidents do happen and we want to make sure that your child remains as comfortable as possible while they are here.
We are very excited about all of the fun planned as we continue to move into the 2014-2015 school year!
Sincerely,
Lindsey Soban, principal
Cooking With Kids
Cheesy Chicken Bagel Pizzas
What you’ll need:
- 2 (4 1/2-inch, 2 1/4-ounce) plain bagels, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce
- 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken breast
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
How to make it:
- Preheat broiler.
- Place bagel halves, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Broil 2 minutes or until lightly toasted.
- Spread 2 tablespoons marinara on cut side of each bagel half. Top each half with 1/4 cup chicken, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil bagel halves an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts.
Upcoming Events
- 16th- Early Bird Registration begins!
- 17th- Shamrock Party/St. Patrick’s Day
- 21st- Open House 10am – 1pm
- 26th- LifeTouch Preschool Portraits
- 27th- LifeTouch Preschool Portraits
- 27th- Progress Notes go home
- 31st- End of the Month Folders go Home
FYI
Enrichment Programs
Why spend your evenings and weekends driving to and from practices and programs when your child can participate in there right here at school? Please see the front desk for more information on any of these wonderful programs!
- TUESDAYS: Soccer Shots @ 3pm
Soccer Shots has three rules: Score a goal, be a team player, and HAVE FUN! This is a great way to get some extra physical fitness in and have a blast doing it! Spaces are still available so sign up today!!
- WEDNESDAYS: MUSIC FOR LITTLE ONES @ 3
Weekly music classes with Music For Little Ones will be lots of fun!! Each week the children will participate in different songs, and activities with music. They will even get to try different musical instruments. They will receive a CD of all songs learned that session. It is a wonderful, musical experience!
- THURSDAYS: JUMP BUNCH @ 10:00am
Jump Bunch introduces sports and fitness to your child in a hands-on setting. It builds coordination and interest in sports, teaches through constant praise and encouragement, offers a safe, non-competitive environment, and promotes healthy fitness and nutrition!
- MusIQ- Is a new program we will be offering. Please see Melissa or Lindsey for details
Sick Policy
The purpose of our sick policy is to reduce the spread of illness among children and to encourage full recuperation of sick children before they return to school. We depend on parents to assist us in maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all of our children. We reserve the right to send home any student who shows signs of illness at school. Any student who becomes ill at school will be made comfortable until his/her parent can be notified and the student is picked up from school. A parent must pick up the ill child within one hour of notification. A sick child must stay home where he/she is most relaxed and comfortable. Children may be sent home if they have any specific symptoms as listed below. In addition, a child must be free of all of these specified symptoms for at least 24 hours before he/she can be returned to school. These symptoms are as follows:
- A fever of 100 degrees or more
- Vomiting within the previous 24-hour period
- Diarrhea within the previous 24-hour period (including recurring episodes of diarrhea at school)
- A heavy nasal discharge indicative of infection
- A constant cough or sore throat
- Fussy, cranky behavior and generally not himself/herself
- A skin rash, excluding diaper rash
- Head lice
- Symptoms of a communicable disease
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 the illness is not contagious. (A doctor’s clearance may be requested.)
OUR PROGRAM
LINKS TO LEARNING (LTL): Links to Learning is an integrated series of programs for children ages six weeks to five years that engages the young learner’s senses, mind and body. The components of each program build upon each other as children grow and develop, ensuring an excellent preparation for elementary school. Links to Learning takes advantage of a child’s readiness to learn with activities that are fun, challenging, easily understood – and meaningful. The curriculum gives a child the freedom to discover in a supportive, loving and nurturing environment. It is truly the perfect balance of learning and play!
BABY SIGN: In our infant and toddler classrooms, baby sign language is taught to our students to help teachers better understand the needs of our children! Each month two new signs will be taught- including the basic “need” signs of more, all done, mommy, daddy, diaper, milk, tired, and many many more!
SPANISH: From the ages 2 to 5, children display an amazing capacity for learning language. By integrating Spanish throughout the day at an early age, children get a head-start on acquiring a second language. They develop listening and speaking skills while honing conversational skills, as well as explore music, clothing and activities from another culture right in their own classroom.
SPORTS, PLAY & ACTIVE RECREATION FOR KIDS! (SPARK): Spark promotes physical activity in ways that are creative and fun. It teaches social skills and enhances personal skills with maintaining high activity time.
SECOND STEP: Our character education program is designed for our Pre-K students but may be appropriate for our intermediate students in some cases. This wonderful program helps teach children how to recognize feelings of others, how to handle conflict on their own, how to take turns, share, and wait patiently for their turn to talk- to name a few! Parents will get ideas to take home as well to help with this program!
LETTER BUDDIES: This wonderful program is a supplement to our already amazing Links to Learning Language and Literacy component. This is for children who are ready to start with sight words and reading in our pre-k program. This will not be for every student, however it is a great resource for children who are ready to begin reading!
PARENT REMINDERS
- Please remember that tuition is due on Fridays for the next week. There will be a $25 late fee assessed to your account if payment is received after noon on Mondays.
- Parents, please join us for all of our exciting events this month! Calendars are still available at the front desk!
- No outside food or drink should be brought to school unless your child has allergies or food restrictions. If they are bringing food from home for these reasons, please see me to sign our food waiver. Please see me with any questions.
- Please make sure you are signing your child in and out each day! This is essential as we use the sign in and out sheet to make sure all children are accounted for at fire drills or incase of a real emergency evacuation situation.
- Please make sure all children are washing their hands upon entering the classroom each morning. This will help us prevent spreading germs
- Please make sure there is a weather appropriate change of clothes (or more if potty training) in your child’s cubby!
- In the event of inclement weather, there are a few ways in which we will communicate this to you. You can call the school and it will be on the voicemail message. We will also send an email. I believe I have everyone’s correct email- if I don’t, please get it to me ASAP! You can also check the local news station, WSOC, as well as their website, www.wsoctv.com, or even our school website for information.
FROM THE 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:
Dear Chesterbrook Parents,
Snow snow, go away! Man, have we had some crazy weather this winter! And I don’t know about you, but I am ready for the warm weather! I hope we have see the last of the snow! Speaking of warm weather, it is time to go ahead and start thinking about back to school registration and summer camp registration! We will be sending home a letter and out fee schedule for you to re-register your little one for the 15-16 school year. If your child is graduating and going to kindergarten, you will not need to complete this. We will need everyone to complete the summer camp registration form so that we can make sure everyone has a spot this summer! Please be on the look out for these forms in the upcoming weeks!
I wanted to apologize for having to reschedule the Pajama Family Movie Night! With the weather being so crazy we weren’t sure if it was going to cooperate. We will reschedule this when the weather starts to get a little more cooperative. Also, picture day has been rescheduled again. I apologize about that too. The photographers said they didn’t want to risk the weather and so we have rescheduled it for March 26,-27th. We will be doing class pictures as well as individual. Please let me know if you have any questions.
We have our next Open House coming up Saturday March 21st, from 10am – 1pm. If you all know anyone who is looking for a wonderful preschool, please send them our way! Don’t forget about our parent referral program!
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Parent Survey! I know I mentioned this last month, but we got the results and we LOVED hearing all of the positive feedback you all had for us! We are also excited to roll out several new initiatives to work on other feed back we received! So than you all again for this invaluable feedback.
We have a new music program called MusIQ. We have not started this class as of yet, so if you are interested, please let me know! I have two sign ups so far! This is piano based and is for children ages 3 and up. It will not take the place of our current music program as it is very different. Please let me know if you have question about this!
If your child is not currently enrolled in Soccer Shots, JumpBunch, MusIQ, or Music for Little Ones, and you would like them to be, please let me know! These programs run all year (some will have small breaks between sessions) and it’s never too late to get signed up!
I want to remind everyone of a few things as well…. We offer an auto draft option for tuition payments! Please help us go paperless and sign up for this awesome option! If you are interested in this payment option please see Melissa or myself for the form to complete.
Please remember that all tuition is due the Friday before care. If not received at that point a $25.00 late charge will be assessed. This is something that is in place at time of enrollment when you sign off on the tuition agreement. If you have any questions in regards to weekly tuition payments please feel free to speak with me.
With the weather being cold now, we ask that you please check your child’s cubby for a full change of clothes that is weather appropriate. Accidents do happen and we want to make sure that your child remains as comfortable as possible while they are here.
We are very excited about all of the fun planned as we continue to move into the 2014-2015 school year!
Sincerely,
Lindsey Soban, principal
Cooking With Kids
Cheesy Chicken Bagel Pizzas
What you’ll need:
How to make it:
Upcoming Events
FYI
Enrichment Programs
Why spend your evenings and weekends driving to and from practices and programs when your child can participate in there right here at school? Please see the front desk for more information on any of these wonderful programs!
Soccer Shots has three rules: Score a goal, be a team player, and HAVE FUN! This is a great way to get some extra physical fitness in and have a blast doing it! Spaces are still available so sign up today!!
Weekly music classes with Music For Little Ones will be lots of fun!! Each week the children will participate in different songs, and activities with music. They will even get to try different musical instruments. They will receive a CD of all songs learned that session. It is a wonderful, musical experience!
Jump Bunch introduces sports and fitness to your child in a hands-on setting. It builds coordination and interest in sports, teaches through constant praise and encouragement, offers a safe, non-competitive environment, and promotes healthy fitness and nutrition!
Sick Policy
The purpose of our sick policy is to reduce the spread of illness among children and to encourage full recuperation of sick children before they return to school. We depend on parents to assist us in maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all of our children. We reserve the right to send home any student who shows signs of illness at school. Any student who becomes ill at school will be made comfortable until his/her parent can be notified and the student is picked up from school. A parent must pick up the ill child within one hour of notification. A sick child must stay home where he/she is most relaxed and comfortable. Children may be sent home if they have any specific symptoms as listed below. In addition, a child must be free of all of these specified symptoms for at least 24 hours before he/she can be returned to school. These symptoms are as follows:
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 the illness is not contagious. (A doctor’s clearance may be requested.)
OUR PROGRAM
LINKS TO LEARNING (LTL): Links to Learning is an integrated series of programs for children ages six weeks to five years that engages the young learner’s senses, mind and body. The components of each program build upon each other as children grow and develop, ensuring an excellent preparation for elementary school. Links to Learning takes advantage of a child’s readiness to learn with activities that are fun, challenging, easily understood – and meaningful. The curriculum gives a child the freedom to discover in a supportive, loving and nurturing environment. It is truly the perfect balance of learning and play!
BABY SIGN: In our infant and toddler classrooms, baby sign language is taught to our students to help teachers better understand the needs of our children! Each month two new signs will be taught- including the basic “need” signs of more, all done, mommy, daddy, diaper, milk, tired, and many many more!
SPANISH: From the ages 2 to 5, children display an amazing capacity for learning language. By integrating Spanish throughout the day at an early age, children get a head-start on acquiring a second language. They develop listening and speaking skills while honing conversational skills, as well as explore music, clothing and activities from another culture right in their own classroom.
SPORTS, PLAY & ACTIVE RECREATION FOR KIDS! (SPARK): Spark promotes physical activity in ways that are creative and fun. It teaches social skills and enhances personal skills with maintaining high activity time.
SECOND STEP: Our character education program is designed for our Pre-K students but may be appropriate for our intermediate students in some cases. This wonderful program helps teach children how to recognize feelings of others, how to handle conflict on their own, how to take turns, share, and wait patiently for their turn to talk- to name a few! Parents will get ideas to take home as well to help with this program!
LETTER BUDDIES: This wonderful program is a supplement to our already amazing Links to Learning Language and Literacy component. This is for children who are ready to start with sight words and reading in our pre-k program. This will not be for every student, however it is a great resource for children who are ready to begin reading!
PARENT REMINDERS
FROM THE 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