A Message From the Principal:

This month  we are hosting our mid-year curriculum night themed ” Emergent Literacy”. Please join us on Tuesday, March 3rd from 6:00pm to 7:00pm to participate in learning centers with your child and see how we teach literacy skills here at Chesterbrook Academy Preschool. We are also celebrating one of my favorite authors this month, Dr. Seuss! I have included my top five books by Dr. Seuss and my favorite quotes in this newsletter. What were your favorite Dr. Seuss books growing up? Take this month to share them with your child(ren).

This month the article from the education department is all about literacy, please take a moment to scroll down to read “Developing Confident Future Readers” by Dr. Lauren Starnes.  Dr. Starnes also gives some suggestions of stories to read to your child. Reading out loud with your child not only models reading for them, but gives you and your child some one on one time together. Although my children are older now and independent readers we still enjoy reading together; sometimes all of us are reading our own books, while other times we enjoy reading out loud to each other. I hope you take a moment this month to read one of your favorite books together to celebrate National Reading Month.

My Favorite Books by Dr. Seuss

1. Horton Hatches an Egg “I meant what I said and I said what I meant.”
2. Did I ever tell you how lucky you are? “Just tell yourself, Duckie, you’re really quite lucky.”
3. McElligot’s Pool “Oh, the sea is so full of a number of fish, If a fellow is patient, he might get his wish.”
4. Horton Hears a Who “A person’s a person, no matter how small.”
5. The Lorax “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

” The more that you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

Nicole Gleason
Principal

Upcoming Events

• Curriculum Night is on Tuesday, March 3rd starting at 6:00pm
• Book Fair Begins on Tuesday, March 3rd
• Book Fair Ends on Thursday, March 12th
• Priority Registration for the 2015-2016 School Year is due on Friday, March 20th
• Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny is on Friday, March 20th at 3:30pm
• Egg Hunt with the Easter Bunny is on Saturday, March 21st at 10:00am
• Open House for New Families to Tour on Saturday, March 21st from 10:00am to 1:00pm
• Summer Camp Information Sent Home on Monday, March 23rd
• Summer Camp Registration due on Monday, April 20th
• Spring Portraits (class pictures taken) on Thursday, April 23rd
• Spring Portraits (class pictures taken) on Friday, April 24th
• End of Month Folders sent home on Wednesday, April 29th
• Teacher Appreciation Week begins on Monday, May 4th
• Mother’s Day Breakfast on Friday, May 8th
• Chesterbrook Academy is closed for Memorial Day Holiday on Monday, May 25th
• Spring Parent Reports sent home on Wednesday, May 27th
• Curriculum Night “Portfolio Night” on Wednesday, May 27th from 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Curriculum Night on Tuesday, March 3rd
Please join us for our mid-year Curriculum Night themed “Emergent Literacy” on Tuesday, March 3rd from 6:00pm to 7:00pm. This is a family event for both students and parents to experience literacy activities at Chesterbrook Academy Preschool. We hope to see you there!

Egg Hunt on Friday, March 20th
Please join us on Friday, March 20th at 3:30pm for our annual “Egg Hunt” on the playgrounds. We will have a special visit from the Easter Bunny during our egg hunt. We hope to see you there! Please note that this event is over very quickly so please arrive early to participate.  This event is weather permitting and we will have a make up day for Saturday, March 21st at 10:00am if we need to cancel.

Traffic Flow in Parking Lot and Safety Concerns
Please take a moment to review how traffic should flow in our parking lot: Traffic is to enter the parking lot on the Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School side and then follow all the way around the lot and park on the preschool side. Traffic should exit the parking lot on our preschool side.

Please make sure to slow down near the cross walk so that you are able to watch for pedestrians crossing from one building to the next and to avoid any accidents or injuries.

Heavy traffic times are from 8:30am to 8:45am and 3:35pm to 3:55pm; to avoid these heavy traffic times please arrive to the campus either before or after these arrival and dismissal times.

Become a Chesterbrook Ambassador!
If you refer a family to any Chesterbrook Academy school, you will receive a free week of tuition off of your oldest child’s tuition.  There is no limit to the number of families you refer. Note: The referred family must be full-time student and enrolled for 90 days before the free week of tuition can be applied. If the referral is for a part time student you will receive one hundred dollars off your child’s tuition.

Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School
Please take a moment each month to view what is new and exciting at our Chesterbrook Academy Elementary School website. You can learn more about all the specialty teachers under the Parent tab or enjoy reading the elementary newsletter.

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