A Message From the Principal:
The month of March is already here! Hopefully we can begin to see some warmer weather. The children have all been enjoying the SPARK Room, but we need to get out and get some fresh air. Please remember that once the temperature hits 32 with no wind chill we will be taking the children out for a short period of time. Please make sure that they have the proper clothing need for those temperatures.
March 2nd is here and that means we want to all say Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss! The week of March 2nd we will be holding activities and dress up days to celebrate. Listed below are the spirit days for the week.
- Monday- Cat in the Hat- A sombrero, a cap, or even a beret! It’s a “Wear Any Kind of Hat” special day!
- Tuesday- Oh! The Places You Will Go!-I’ve been here! I’ve been there! I wish I could go everywhere! Wear a Shirt representing a place you have visited
- Wednesday- Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun and read, but you have to know how! Bring your favorite book to share with your class
- Thursday- If I Ran the Zoo- Lions ROAR and cows go MOO! Wear an animal themed shirt or bring in a stuffed animal too!
- Friday- “The Sleep Book”- For a sleepover; slumber party or going to bed, come to school in your pajamas instead! Wear your most comfy PJ’s
- We will have many exciting activities that the children will be participating in. Target will be coming to read with the children for Read Across America. They visit each classroom and read a Dr. Seuss book and even donate a couple books to us. The children will also be decorating their doors with their favorite Dr. Seuss books! We are even going to have Green Eggs and Ham for lunch one day!!
Picture Day – March 4th will be our Spring pictures. We will be doing class pictures and single pictures. Our students in the PreK class will also be doing graduation photos. For any families that have School Age children that would like to get their picture before school, please make sure to arrive no later than 7:15 am. This will allow for us to get organized and get the children in and out before school. If you have a preference on a background, please fill out the forms that were sent home. Otherwise, The photographers will put them in front of the appropriate background based on their outfit.
We will be offering during the School Age children’s Spring Break a gap camp. This camp is for any children that attend a K-5 school. This camp will be offered starting March 23-27th. For our families that attend Chesterbrook, we will have camp sign up and paperwork available in our School age room. For those of you who do not currently attend the school, please check out the camp page on the website for more information. The rates will not be the same as when the children are attending school. We will have that in paperwork or please see the front desk for more questions.
In case we have inclement weather this winter please remember to be checking AM 1230 and FM 101.5. We will also update the school’s voicemail and website as soon as possible. There will also be an email sent out right when we hear the news of closing or a late start. Please remember to keep your email updated with us so we can get can get the information to you in a timely fashion.
Please make sure to use caution and walk slowly through our parking lot. We have a company comes in and salts and plows, but sometimes with the cold there will still be slick spots.
We are always working towards helping children master skills through our Links to Learning Curriculum. If anyone knows a family that would like to get information on our wonderful program, have them contact us to get further information and set up a tour. Please also keep in mind if you refer a family, you can receive a free week tuition! Please see us for more information on our parent referral program.
Reminders
- Make sure to check the parent board for any upcoming news or notices. We will post school closings, notes about fundraisers, and many other important news. We don’t want you to miss out on anything!
- Make sure that you are checking your child’s cubby each day. You may find notes and reminders there as well. Please make sure to be checking that your child has appropriate extra clothing for the temperatures outside. We still love to take the children outside to get fresh air. We will be outside until it hits 32 degrees.
- School Age Parents- Please make sure that you are calling no later than 3:00pm to let us know if your child will not be riding the Chesterbrook bus.
If anyone has any questions or concerns please let us know. Everyone please have a great March!
Shawna and Heidi
Upcoming Events:
- March 1st – LTL Folders Returned
- March 2nd – Dr. Seuss Birthday
- March 4th – Picture Day starting 7:30am
- March 6th- Epiphany and Holy Trinity Early Dismissal 11:30am
- March 11th- Unit 5 One hour late start
- March 14th- Open House 1000-100
- March 20th- No school Holy Trinity
- March 23-27th- Unit 5, Epiphany, and Holy Trinity Spring Break
For the Parents:
When there are changes in your contact information, please stop by the front desk to update your info. We need to keep up-to-date information of cell and work phone numbers for parents and emergency contacts. Also, we are required to have an updated physical and immunization record for every childx.
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 Ed
March News
A Message From the Principal:
The month of March is already here! Hopefully we can begin to see some warmer weather. The children have all been enjoying the SPARK Room, but we need to get out and get some fresh air. Please remember that once the temperature hits 32 with no wind chill we will be taking the children out for a short period of time. Please make sure that they have the proper clothing need for those temperatures.
March 2nd is here and that means we want to all say Happy Birthday to Dr. Seuss! The week of March 2nd we will be holding activities and dress up days to celebrate. Listed below are the spirit days for the week.
Picture Day – March 4th will be our Spring pictures. We will be doing class pictures and single pictures. Our students in the PreK class will also be doing graduation photos. For any families that have School Age children that would like to get their picture before school, please make sure to arrive no later than 7:15 am. This will allow for us to get organized and get the children in and out before school. If you have a preference on a background, please fill out the forms that were sent home. Otherwise, The photographers will put them in front of the appropriate background based on their outfit.
We will be offering during the School Age children’s Spring Break a gap camp. This camp is for any children that attend a K-5 school. This camp will be offered starting March 23-27th. For our families that attend Chesterbrook, we will have camp sign up and paperwork available in our School age room. For those of you who do not currently attend the school, please check out the camp page on the website for more information. The rates will not be the same as when the children are attending school. We will have that in paperwork or please see the front desk for more questions.
In case we have inclement weather this winter please remember to be checking AM 1230 and FM 101.5. We will also update the school’s voicemail and website as soon as possible. There will also be an email sent out right when we hear the news of closing or a late start. Please remember to keep your email updated with us so we can get can get the information to you in a timely fashion.
Please make sure to use caution and walk slowly through our parking lot. We have a company comes in and salts and plows, but sometimes with the cold there will still be slick spots.
We are always working towards helping children master skills through our Links to Learning Curriculum. If anyone knows a family that would like to get information on our wonderful program, have them contact us to get further information and set up a tour. Please also keep in mind if you refer a family, you can receive a free week tuition! Please see us for more information on our parent referral program.
Reminders
If anyone has any questions or concerns please let us know. Everyone please have a great March!
Shawna and Heidi
Upcoming Events:
For the Parents:
When there are changes in your contact information, please stop by the front desk to update your info. We need to keep up-to-date information of cell and work phone numbers for parents and emergency contacts. Also, we are required to have an updated physical and immunization record for every childx.
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 Ed