VALENTINE’S DAY
The Maples are having a Valentine’s Party on Tuesday 2/14. If your child does not attend school on Tuesdays they’re welcome to join us. Our party will begin at 9:00am. Children who do not attend on Tuesdays must be picked up by 11:00am. We’ll be sharing Valentine Cards with our friends. Please bring enough cards for 18 children. You do not need to address each card, just write your child’s name in the “from” area.
SUMMER AND FALL REGISTRATION
Its time to start thinking about your child‘s summer and fall schedule. Registration information will be sent out with next months newsletter. Its important that you specify any schedule changes, exit dates, return dates and vacation dates if possible.
Our current families have priority for summer / fall registration but please understand that we have a full list of students waiting to start and we must maintain our enrollment. Therefore it*s essential that you respond in a timely manner and adhere to your chosen schedule.
As a reminder, the last day of the school year is June 9th. Our 2023/2024 School Year Begins August 14th.
TAX INFORMATION
If you need a monthly receipt for future tuition payments, please leave a note for Shalimar in the tuition box. W-10 forms have been completed for your convenience and can be picked up at the parent information board. Our Tax I.D. # 82-4676859
FAMILY BANNER
This month we’ll send home instructions on how to create a family banner. Please complete the assignment at home and return it to school by Wednesday 3/1. Please make sure your child is an active participant in the creation of your family banner. We will share our banners throughout the week and have them on display in our classroom throughout the month of March.
PINKALICIOUS DAY
Wear the color Pink (Or Red) to school on Friday 2/24 in honor of Pinkalicious Day. We’ll read the story “Pinkalicious” by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann, and make yummy Pinkalicious cupcakes for snack. This is only for children who attend school on Fridays.
TEACHER CHANGES
Please be aware of recent staffing changes. Miss Ashlee (Redwood Class) has left Growing Years. Miss Roxann will assist Miss Elli in the Pre-K class.
Miss Dorene will return to Growing Years to assist where needed. Miss Dorene has been a part of the Growing Years Family for many years. She originally joined our team in 1999 and over the years she’s been our cook, meal planner, inventory manager and classroom teacher. We are very pleased to have her back with us!
SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION
Please be aware the sidewalk project on Anita Avenue is set to begin this month. If you drop off after 8am you may want to give yourself extra time to account for any street closures, parking lot closures, and overall traffic. Our staff will do our best to assist with drop offs when we can.
PARKING LOT SAFETY
Please use caution when entering and exiting the parking lot. NEVER let your child walk/run through the parking lot unattended. Drivers should drive slowly and use caution when backing out of spaces. Whether you’re walking or driving, please be aware of your surroundings and be safe in the parking lot.
LAST MONTH…
Last month was full of fun experiences! We played with “icebergs” and excavated polar animals from the ice in our sensory tables. We painted with golf balls, salad spinners, string, and our fingers. We scooped and poured kinetic sand, rainbow rice and cinnamon oats.
We learned about Chinese New Year. We learned how to say “Gung Hay Fat Choy” (Wishing You Great Happiness And Prosperity). We learned that Dragons and the color red are very good luck. We had a cool dragon parade and practiced using chopsticks to pick up pom poms.
We had some cool rain storms in January. Because of our changing weather we’ve been cloud watching and learning the names of different types of clouds. We can spot Nimbus (gray rain clouds), Cumulus (white puffy clouds), Stratus (flat pancake clouds) and Cirrus (wispy clouds).
This month we’ll talk about families and friendship and get ready for our Valentine’s Day party. The Maples have come up with some great themes that they’d like to explore: trains, bulldozers, trees, cars, animals, numbers, and science. We’ll be incorporating these themes into our curriculum over the next few months.
We’re becoming very independent little people. We put on our shoes after nap, bus our own area after snacks and lunch, and did you know we can ALL put on our own jackets and sweatshirts by ourselves? Ask me to show you how I put my jacket on all by myself using the “jacket trick”. Some of us are already zipping and buttoning by ourselves but if we can’t, we’re using our words to ask for some help. Doing things on our own gives us great confidence and self esteem. Be sure to check the “What We Did Today” board daily to see what we’ve been up to.
SONGS WE’VE BEEN SINGING…
*A Hunting We Will Go
*Do Your Ears Hang Low?
*Alligator Pie
*Willoughby Wallaby Woo
*If You’re Happy And You Know It
BOOKS WE’VE BEEN READING…
Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor
Wolf’s Coming! by Joe Kulka
Clouds by Roy Wandelmaier
Snowball by Sue Hendra
Big Bad Wolf by Claire Masurel
My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz
Polar Animals by Wade Cooper
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley