From the Office of the Principal
The thermometer keeps ticking up, which can only mean one thing… summer is definitely on the way! May was quite a busy month…Teacher Appreciation Week was a success! The teachers enjoyed their breakfast on Monday morning and loved all of their flowers, cards, and treats from your wonderful children! We hope all of our mothers had a wonderful Mother’s Day and enjoyed muffins and OJ on their way to work the following Monday. We held our first Chesterbrook Academy Parent Night on Tuesday, May 24 at Sweetfrog Frozen Yogurt in Conlan Circle. It was a huge success! Thank you to all our families who attended–we hope you all had as much fun as we did! Finally, we hope everyone had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.
June will also be another busy month with all summer camp activities starting up. Monday, June 13 marks for the first day of our Elementary and Preschool Summer Camp activities! Please remember that your Summer Camp Activity Fee is due Wednesday, June 8.
Tuesday, June 14 is Flag Day, a day commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States of America. Sunday, June 19 is Father’s Day, and we hope that all our Dads have a fun and relaxing Father’s Day. On Monday, June 20, we will have Donuts for Dads, and we hope all of our Dads can join us for donuts and OJ when dropping off the children here. We will have to-go bags ready in case you would like to get it to-go! Monday, June 20 is also the first OFFICIAL day of summer, even though it seems like it is already here. Finally, Links to Learning folders will go home on the last day of June, Thursday, June 30.
As always, we will always be here to help you in any way possible if you have any questions or concerns.
Kindest Regards,
William Gordon, Principal
Candi Staines, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Events and Special Days
Friday, June 3: Repeat Day Repeat Day
Wednesday, June 8: Last Day to turn in Summer Camp Activity Fee
Wednesday, June 8: National Best Friends Day
Monday, June 13: First Day of Elementary and Preschool Camp Activities!
Tuesday, June 14: Flag Day
Sunday, June 19: Father’s Day
Monday, June 20: Donuts for Dad from 6:30 am to 10 am
Monday, June 20: First Day of Summer
Thursday, June 30: Links to Learning Folders Go Home
Summer Camp Activity Fee Information
It’s getting to be that time of year again! Summer will be here in a few short weeks, which means that camp activities for children ages 2 and 5 will be starting the week of Monday, June 13. We want to make sure your child can participate in our fun summer activities. This fee will cover ALL activities for the summer. Some of the activities the children will be participating in include Mad Science class experiments, Zootastic Animals, Water Play Days, Chocolate Bar in a Car, Fish the Magish, Ice Cream Sundae Fundays, and much more! Our elementary summer camp is quickly filling up, so please make sure you reserve your spot for your school-ager today. The activity fee differs according to age groups. Listed below are the activity fees based on the age of your child(ren):
Age Group FT Summer Activity Fee M-W-F Summer Activity Fee T-Th Summer Activity Fee
Beginners $60 $45 $35
Intermediates $75 $55 $45
PreK (1 & 2) $100 $75 $60
Elementary $125 $125 $125
Please make sure to turn in the appropriate Summer Camp Activity Fee by Wednesday, June 8 so that your child can participate in activities through the summer.
We look forward to an eventful summer here at Chesterbrook Academy!
Automatic Draft Program
“CHECK” IT OUT… No checks necessary! Enroll in our Automatic Payment Program and never write another check for your monthly tuition or pay another late payment. Tuition can be automatically deducted from your checking account. You can find more information about the ACH program here in the office. Let us sign you up today!
Parent Sign In/Out Policy Reminder
We wanted to take this time to remind you all about an important security feature here at Chesterbrook. Please remember to sign your child in and out on a regular basis on the class Sign In/Out sheets located at the front desk. If someone on your child’s authorized pick-up list is picking up, please remind him or her to do so as well. In the event of a true emergency, the Sign In/Out sheets will give Chesterbrook as well as the authorities an accurate count of who is actually in our building at any given time. Although we have never had any problem nor do we expect to in the future, this is an important security measure that keeps all of the children safe. Thank you for your continued compliance with our security policies.
From the Education Department at Nobel
Fostering Creativity and Imaginative Play
One of the beauties of childhood is the ability children have to find innovation in everything around them and to delve into imaginative and make-believe play. Not only is this an inherent quality of early childhood, but it is through such creative exploration and imaginative activities that children are able to learn problem solving, investigative skills, and to explore various social concepts. Children use creative play and imagination to “try on” different personas, to attempt to understand the world around them, and to build and practice communication skills. Studies have shown that imaginative play may be used as a valuable tool to prepare children for school. In a number of studies, Singer and Singer (1992, 2001) trained parents, teachers, and other childcare providers in various make-believe games with embedded academic concepts in them, such as shapes, colors, and size. These researchers found that children who played with their caregivers in imaginative play were more academically and socially ready for Kindergarten.
Researchers in education, medicine, and family studies have begun focusing increased attention on the importance of such creative play. No matter the lens through which it is studied, the outcome is always the same—children fare better when they are encouraged to use imagination and creativity. A 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report went so far as to conclude that creative play increases children’s problem solving, resiliency and establishes an emotional and cognitive foundation for life-long learning (Ginsburg, K. et al, 2007). The point is clear—children need to be encouraged to use their imagination and to foster creativity. So how can we as parents promote this in our children?
• Build unstructured time into your child’s day. While it is important to expose children to athletics, the arts, and technology, it is equally important that children have time without such organization to create their own play. Be sure that children have time in which they can create their own activities and scenarios, and participate in this unstructured, creative play with your child.
• Provide a hodgepodge of props and items for your child to explore. Create a place in your home where you set aside interesting items and props for your child to explore. This can be as simple as a large cardboard box (which may become a bus, an airplane, or a dollhouse). Encourage children to still see wonder and possibility in the everyday.
• Explore the great outdoors. Children have the uncanny ability to see the world from a different angle than we as adults do. Go on a nature walk, look at the clouds, experience the wildlife, and allow your child to bring you into her world of imagination as you discuss the possibilities existing in nature. “Maybe this is where fairies live or maybe this is where frog families have dinner or maybe the clouds do look like a row of ducks walking towards a pond”. The sky is the limit!
• Provide children with open-ended toys. What this means is find toys for children that have multiple uses or rather do not have a single-way to use them. What this does is teach children that anything can serve a dual purpose and it is up to us to determine the purpose we chose to engage. Give children open-ended prompts to build this multi-modality thinking, such as “[referencing a hollow block] I bet that would be a perfect house for a mouse, what do you think?” The goal is to guide children to create and discover beyond the scripted norm. Never tell a child that they are playing with a toy “incorrectly.”
• Let children learn creatively. Encourage children to explore concepts and situations through song, dance, role play, and dress-up. Allow children to build their own understanding by creating and being. Give children props, dress-up clothes, and household items which lend themselves towards such creative play.
• Lastly, Teach children to see the gray. In all new situations, model and show children how to see things from multiple viewpoints. Teach them that there is rarely a single “right” way to do things. For example, “We could walk to the mailbox, or we could pretend we are horses and gallop there to get the mail. Maybe I will be a horse and you can be another animal.”
You will be surprised at the wealth of novelty children can find in the world around them and just may be surprised to find the inner creativity in yourself.
-Lauren Starnes, PhD- Manager of Curriculum and Instruction
Chesterbrook Academy June Newsletter
From the Office of the Principal
The thermometer keeps ticking up, which can only mean one thing… summer is definitely on the way! May was quite a busy month…Teacher Appreciation Week was a success! The teachers enjoyed their breakfast on Monday morning and loved all of their flowers, cards, and treats from your wonderful children! We hope all of our mothers had a wonderful Mother’s Day and enjoyed muffins and OJ on their way to work the following Monday. We held our first Chesterbrook Academy Parent Night on Tuesday, May 24 at Sweetfrog Frozen Yogurt in Conlan Circle. It was a huge success! Thank you to all our families who attended–we hope you all had as much fun as we did! Finally, we hope everyone had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend.
June will also be another busy month with all summer camp activities starting up. Monday, June 13 marks for the first day of our Elementary and Preschool Summer Camp activities! Please remember that your Summer Camp Activity Fee is due Wednesday, June 8.
Tuesday, June 14 is Flag Day, a day commemorating the adoption of the flag of the United States of America. Sunday, June 19 is Father’s Day, and we hope that all our Dads have a fun and relaxing Father’s Day. On Monday, June 20, we will have Donuts for Dads, and we hope all of our Dads can join us for donuts and OJ when dropping off the children here. We will have to-go bags ready in case you would like to get it to-go! Monday, June 20 is also the first OFFICIAL day of summer, even though it seems like it is already here. Finally, Links to Learning folders will go home on the last day of June, Thursday, June 30.
As always, we will always be here to help you in any way possible if you have any questions or concerns.
Kindest Regards,
William Gordon, Principal
Candi Staines, Assistant Principal
Upcoming Events and Special Days
Friday, June 3: Repeat Day Repeat Day
Wednesday, June 8: Last Day to turn in Summer Camp Activity Fee
Wednesday, June 8: National Best Friends Day
Monday, June 13: First Day of Elementary and Preschool Camp Activities!
Tuesday, June 14: Flag Day
Sunday, June 19: Father’s Day
Monday, June 20: Donuts for Dad from 6:30 am to 10 am
Monday, June 20: First Day of Summer
Thursday, June 30: Links to Learning Folders Go Home
Summer Camp Activity Fee Information
It’s getting to be that time of year again! Summer will be here in a few short weeks, which means that camp activities for children ages 2 and 5 will be starting the week of Monday, June 13. We want to make sure your child can participate in our fun summer activities. This fee will cover ALL activities for the summer. Some of the activities the children will be participating in include Mad Science class experiments, Zootastic Animals, Water Play Days, Chocolate Bar in a Car, Fish the Magish, Ice Cream Sundae Fundays, and much more! Our elementary summer camp is quickly filling up, so please make sure you reserve your spot for your school-ager today. The activity fee differs according to age groups. Listed below are the activity fees based on the age of your child(ren):
Age Group FT Summer Activity Fee M-W-F Summer Activity Fee T-Th Summer Activity Fee
Beginners $60 $45 $35
Intermediates $75 $55 $45
PreK (1 & 2) $100 $75 $60
Elementary $125 $125 $125
Please make sure to turn in the appropriate Summer Camp Activity Fee by Wednesday, June 8 so that your child can participate in activities through the summer.
We look forward to an eventful summer here at Chesterbrook Academy!
Automatic Draft Program
“CHECK” IT OUT… No checks necessary! Enroll in our Automatic Payment Program and never write another check for your monthly tuition or pay another late payment. Tuition can be automatically deducted from your checking account. You can find more information about the ACH program here in the office. Let us sign you up today!
Parent Sign In/Out Policy Reminder
We wanted to take this time to remind you all about an important security feature here at Chesterbrook. Please remember to sign your child in and out on a regular basis on the class Sign In/Out sheets located at the front desk. If someone on your child’s authorized pick-up list is picking up, please remind him or her to do so as well. In the event of a true emergency, the Sign In/Out sheets will give Chesterbrook as well as the authorities an accurate count of who is actually in our building at any given time. Although we have never had any problem nor do we expect to in the future, this is an important security measure that keeps all of the children safe. Thank you for your continued compliance with our security policies.
From the Education Department at Nobel
Fostering Creativity and Imaginative Play
One of the beauties of childhood is the ability children have to find innovation in everything around them and to delve into imaginative and make-believe play. Not only is this an inherent quality of early childhood, but it is through such creative exploration and imaginative activities that children are able to learn problem solving, investigative skills, and to explore various social concepts. Children use creative play and imagination to “try on” different personas, to attempt to understand the world around them, and to build and practice communication skills. Studies have shown that imaginative play may be used as a valuable tool to prepare children for school. In a number of studies, Singer and Singer (1992, 2001) trained parents, teachers, and other childcare providers in various make-believe games with embedded academic concepts in them, such as shapes, colors, and size. These researchers found that children who played with their caregivers in imaginative play were more academically and socially ready for Kindergarten.
Researchers in education, medicine, and family studies have begun focusing increased attention on the importance of such creative play. No matter the lens through which it is studied, the outcome is always the same—children fare better when they are encouraged to use imagination and creativity. A 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report went so far as to conclude that creative play increases children’s problem solving, resiliency and establishes an emotional and cognitive foundation for life-long learning (Ginsburg, K. et al, 2007). The point is clear—children need to be encouraged to use their imagination and to foster creativity. So how can we as parents promote this in our children?
• Build unstructured time into your child’s day. While it is important to expose children to athletics, the arts, and technology, it is equally important that children have time without such organization to create their own play. Be sure that children have time in which they can create their own activities and scenarios, and participate in this unstructured, creative play with your child.
• Provide a hodgepodge of props and items for your child to explore. Create a place in your home where you set aside interesting items and props for your child to explore. This can be as simple as a large cardboard box (which may become a bus, an airplane, or a dollhouse). Encourage children to still see wonder and possibility in the everyday.
• Explore the great outdoors. Children have the uncanny ability to see the world from a different angle than we as adults do. Go on a nature walk, look at the clouds, experience the wildlife, and allow your child to bring you into her world of imagination as you discuss the possibilities existing in nature. “Maybe this is where fairies live or maybe this is where frog families have dinner or maybe the clouds do look like a row of ducks walking towards a pond”. The sky is the limit!
• Provide children with open-ended toys. What this means is find toys for children that have multiple uses or rather do not have a single-way to use them. What this does is teach children that anything can serve a dual purpose and it is up to us to determine the purpose we chose to engage. Give children open-ended prompts to build this multi-modality thinking, such as “[referencing a hollow block] I bet that would be a perfect house for a mouse, what do you think?” The goal is to guide children to create and discover beyond the scripted norm. Never tell a child that they are playing with a toy “incorrectly.”
• Let children learn creatively. Encourage children to explore concepts and situations through song, dance, role play, and dress-up. Allow children to build their own understanding by creating and being. Give children props, dress-up clothes, and household items which lend themselves towards such creative play.
• Lastly, Teach children to see the gray. In all new situations, model and show children how to see things from multiple viewpoints. Teach them that there is rarely a single “right” way to do things. For example, “We could walk to the mailbox, or we could pretend we are horses and gallop there to get the mail. Maybe I will be a horse and you can be another animal.”
You will be surprised at the wealth of novelty children can find in the world around them and just may be surprised to find the inner creativity in yourself.
-Lauren Starnes, PhD- Manager of Curriculum and Instruction