Category "Preschool Newsletters"

Family Picture
Bring in a picture of your family by Friday 9/16. Please bring a picture that we can keep at school all year long. These pictures will be laminated and placed in your child’s portfolio at the end of the year. Make sure your child is in the picture along with the family. Pictures should be no larger than 4″ X 6″.

Emergency Comfort Kit
If you haven’t already done so, please compile your child’s Comfort Kit and bring it to school A.S.A.P. Comfort kits should include pictures of your family, a comforting letter written to your child, and a variety of non perishable foods that your child enjoys / is considered a special treat. A book, a small notebook, a pencil and small games were other items suggested on our Comfort Kit instructions.

Fall Fundraiser
On September 29th you’ll find Fall fundraiser information in your child’s cubby. There is no obligation to participate. All profits from our fundraiser will go toward the purchase of items for our school. All sales are online and will be delivered directly to the purchaser. If you would like to make a donation in lieu of catalog sales, please avoid using the fundraiser website as they take a 20% profit from direct donations. Donations in the form of cash and checks (made payable to Growing Years Preschool) can be submitted directly to the preschool. Please label donations clearly so they are not mistaken for tuition payments. Your participation is not required but greatly appreciated.

Air Quality
As we approach fire season we will be checking the AQI (air quality index) daily to determine if it is safe for outdoor play. We will stay inside and play when the AQI is above 150. We may adjust our schedule to allow for outdoor play in the morning before the AQI becomes unhealthy in the afternoon. We run air purifiers in all of our classrooms daily and will run the air conditioners as well.

Covid Test Kits
The California COVID-19 Testing Task Force has provided two COVID-19 test kits for each family enrolled at Growing Years. You’ll find test kits in your child’s cubby along with information regarding the extension of the expiration date. We will notify you when the CDPH has considered these test kits no longer usable.

Reporting Absences
Daily attendance is taken at 9:00am. If your child will be absent or late, please call the preschool before 9:00am so we can have an accurate head count for our day.

We Look Forward To A
Great School Year!

Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley
Miss Van

Thank you for all your support throughout the year. Summer time is here and that means lots and lots of outside time. We’ll also continue to introduce themes as well as review letter and numbers through games and hands-on activities.
Please make sure your child is at school by 8:45am.

THANK YOU!
Our staff would like to thank you for all of the Hearts, Flowers, Food and Treats that were sent to us during Teacher Appreciation Week. We appreciate all the wonderful notes and messages.

SCHOOL CLOSED
Growing Years will be CLOSED the following dates: July 4th and August 11th & 12th.

SUMMER CHANGES
Some of our Maple friends will exit this month for a summer break and return in the fall. We’ll also welcome new Preschool and Pre-K students throughout the summer. You may notice new faces and hear about new friends as the summer progresses. Please join us in welcoming our new students and their families. If you requested schedule changes for your child during the SUMMER SESSION these changes will begin June 13th.

PIZZA PARTY
We’re celebrating the end of the school year and the beginning of the summer with a Pizza Party! There will be dancing, fun games, and pizza for lunch! Friends who do not stay for lunch time are welcome to join us. They should be picked up at 12:45pm.

SUMMER CURRICULUM
During the summer we will be planning a variety of theme days and activities. Please make sure you read your newsletter carefully so you know what’s happening throughout the month.

We try our best to schedule theme activities on varying days throughout the month in order for everyone to get a chance to participate. Because we must maintain our child/teacher ratio, we cannot allow schedule changes or drop-ins in order to participate in the theme day. We’ll make sure your child has a chance to participate on his/her days.

VACATIONS
Please verbally remind your child’s teacher of any vacation time you will be taking this summer. Just let us know the week before you leave. You can also drop a note in the tuition box or send an email reminder.

TUITION
Our tuition rates will increase beginning August 15th. Our new rates are posted on the parent information board in the main building.

If you need a receipt for your tuition payment, drop a note in the tuition box and a receipt will be provided for you when tuition is paid in full for the month.

May was a busy month for the Maples!

We practiced writing our name, talked about what we want to be when we grow up, conducted cool science experiments, explored with magnets, measured to see how much we grew this year, played with kinetic sand, read lots of new stories, shared our crazy hats, participated in our Trike-A-Thon, played fun games that improved our letter and number recognition, learned about insects and watched our ladybugs and butterflies go through their metamorphosis.

This month we’ll learn some new songs, read some great stories, have some fun theme days, welcome new Preschool friends into our class, and spend lots of time outside in the sunshine.

Songs We’ve Been Singing
5 Little Sausages
Ram-Sam-Sam
Mr. Clown
It’s An Insect, Not A Spider
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Insects have Antennae

Books We’ve Been Reading
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
Bugs Are Insects by Anne Rockwell
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle
If.. by Sarah Perry
Old MacDino Had A Farm by Becky Davies

We Look Forward To A Great Summer Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley

TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK
The week of May 2nd is Teacher Appreciation Week! Show our staff how much you care by sending them a note of appreciation. Our Teacher Appreciation board is located at the entrance of the main building.

CONFERENCING
Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place this month. Please look at our schedules on the attendance board and make an appointment. We will review assessments and discuss your child’s growth and progress over the past nine months.

SPRING PHOTOS
Kathleen Ahern photography will be here Wednesday 5/4 and Thursday 5/5 to take school photos. Photo package order forms were sent home the week prior to our picture days and must be returned by the date indicated on the envelope. Order envelopes must be submitted even if you are paying by Venmo.

TUITION
*May is a 5 week tuition month.

*If your child will NOT attend in summer, you will owe 1 week tuition for the month of June (6/6 – 6/10). Children are expected attend the last week of school.

*If your child will NOT attend in summer but will RETURN in FALL (8/15), your holding fee (equal to 4.5 weeks tuition) is Due by 5/27.

Last Month…
We learned about dogs and cats and different breeds of each. Some friends brought pictures of their pets to school and we displayed them on our Pet Pic Wall.

We had a great time at our Easter Party! We played fun games like Pin The Ear On The Easter Bunny and Easter Basket Bean Bag Toss. We went on an Egg Hunt and spent a lot of time looking for that tricky Easter Bunny.

We did the “Rubber Eggs-periment” by putting an egg in a jar of vinegar and observing what happens when the vinegar reacts to the calcium in the shell. We learned new words like dissolve, reaction, calcium, carbon dioxide, acidic, experiment, and hypothesis.

We explored with magnets and things that are magnetic and experimented with baking soda and vinegar explosions.

We popped corn with the top off the popcorn popper and used all our senses during this experience. We listened to it POP!, smelled the popcorn, watched the kernels fly out of the popper, felt it crunch in our hands and later tasted it for snack.

We participated in lots of cool art activities; Crayon melting on foil, sand art, salad spinner painting, crayon resist painting, impression painting, and free art with scissor practice.

This month we’ll plant flowers and veggies in our garden and learn about insects and reptiles.

Books We Enjoyed Last Month…
The Easter Bunny Is Missing by Steve Metzger
Jack And The Jelly Beanstalk by Joan Holub
Bad Dog, Marley! by John Grogan
Not Norman by Kelly Bennett
A Dog For Davy by Jean Merrill
He Came With The Couch by David Slonim

Songs We’ve Been Singing…
5 Little Jellybeans
Little Bunny Foo Foo
Peter Cottontail
Mr. Sun
5 Little Ducks
There Once Was A Turtle
Here Is The Beehive

Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley

EASTER PARTY AND EGG HUNT
Our Easter party and egg hunt will be Thursday 4/14. If your child does not come to school on Thursdays they’re invited to join us but must be picked up by 11:00am. Please let us know if your child is coming so we can set a spot for them at our party table. Look for our sign up to bring goodies for our egg hunt. Items will need to be at school BEFORE the day of our party.

SPRING PHOTOS
Kathleen Ahern photography will be here next month on Wednesday 5/4 and Thursday 5/5 to take school photos. Kathleen and her staff are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and will wear masks while present.

Photo order forms will be sent home the week prior to our picture days and must be returned by the date indicated on the envelope.

TAX INFO.
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

TRIKE-A-THON
This month we’ll raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital by hosting a Trike-A-Thon. Information will be sent home later in the month. Our Trike-A-Thon will begin at 9:00am on Thursday 4/28. It is suggested that you collect pledges of a flat donation. Please make checks payable to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Please have all donations collected and submitted by Monday 5/2. Donations can also be collected online at stjude.org/trike. Our fundraiser page can be found under Growing Years Pre-School.

PET PHOTOS
The Maples said they would like to learn about cats and dogs, so this month we will be reading books and looking at pictures of different breeds of each. If you have a pet cat or dog at home, please bring in a photo of them that we can display in our classroom. Please write the name(s) of your pet on the back of the photo along with the breed of dog(s)/cat(s) they are. If you have other pets that you would like to share, bring their photo in too!

REMINDERS
**Please call the school by 9:00am if your child will be absent.
**If you’re leaving for the Summer and returning in the Fall, a HOLDING FEE (1/2 your weekly tuition rate X 9 weeks) is Due by May 27th.

LAST MONTH…

Last month the Maples spent lots of time talking about St. Patrick’s day and the Leprechaun. We read stories about Leprechauns and talked about ways we could catch him. We learned that if you catch him he has to grant you a wish and take you to his pot of gold. We made up plans and built some very cool Leprechaun traps. We learned that Leprechauns come from Ireland. We listened to lots of Irish Celtic music and learned how to do a jig. On the day of our St. Patrick’s Day celebration, we set up our trap but the Leprechaun was too smart and tricky. He left us a special letter and some treats.

We spent a lot of time exploring rhyming words and nursery rhymes. We sang songs and read stories with words that rhyme and practiced making up our own rhymes. Learning how to put rhyming sounds together is pre-reading and is getting us ready for the next step!

We shared our Family Banners and talked about our family name(s). We had a lot of fun admiring all the different ways each family created their banner. We hope you enjoyed working on this project together.

We explored with light and reflection and did some cool activities with prisms, sparkle plates and flashlights. We talked about rainbows and the colors of the spectrum.

We learned about cars and construction vehicles. We have new monster truck toys in our classroom and we’ve been having so much fun building tracks, ramps and tunnels to play with them. We also have new dump trucks and construction vehicles to play with outside in the tanbark

This month we’ll conduct more cool science experiments, learn about cats and dogs, and plant flowers and veggies in our garden.

Songs We’ve Been Singing
Michael Finnigan
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Peanut Butter And Jelly
Who Stole The Cookie?
Slippery Fish
Yellow Butter, Purple Jelly
Buenos Dias

Books We’ve Been Reading
The Luckiest Leprechaun by Justine Korman
The Family Book by Todd Parr
Families by Shelley Rotner & Sheila M. Kelly
It’s Spring! by Linda Glaser
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
Jack And The Beanstalk by Mara Alperin
The Monster Book Of Monster Trucks by Chris Oxlade

Happy Easter!
Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley

SUMMER AND FALL REGISTRATION
Be sure to return the attached Summer / Fall registration A.S.A.P. Indicate vacation dates and any schedule changes for SUMMER and FALL.

Note: Children enrolled in the Pre-k program are required to attend a minimum of 2 full days or 3 half days. Children entering Pre-K must be 4 years old by September 1st.

All registration must be submitted by Monday 3/14. Failure to submit summer / fall schedules will result in the loss of your child’s spot.

REMINDER
We Will Be CLOSED April 22nd For Staff Development

TAX INFO.
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

TUITION INCREASE
Please be aware, there will be a tuition increase in effect August 15, 2022 (the start of our 2022 – 2023 school year). Our new rates are attached to the Summer / Fall registration form. Please continue to pay our current rates during the summer session.

LOOSE PARTS
We love having loose parts on the playground for the children. Crates, buckets, shovels, pvc pipes, and other random items can be found on our yard to aid in experimenting, constructing, pretending, and exploring. We are always looking for new materials for the children to be creative and have fun with. If you have any “loose parts” for donation, we’d love to have them. Please make sure they are safe for children (no sharp points, lead free, clean, etc.,). Talk to Miss Shalimar if you have any questions or potential donations. Thank You!

THE MAPLES
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 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.

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 Koosh balls, balloons, golf balls, and berry baskets. We scooped and poured kinetic sand, cinnamon popping oats, and played with playdough.

We learned about Chinese New Year. We learned how to say “Gung Hay Fat Choy” (May You Prosper). 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 talked about friendship and Valentine’s Day. We had a great time at our Valentine’s party and we shared our fancy Valentine’s with each other.

We’ve been developing our cognitive skills by singing new songs and playing lots of games. We’ve been playing matching games and working on puzzles. We’re also practicing identifying our names and each letter in it.

We read the book “How Full Is Your Bucket? for kids”. This book explains that we each have an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great. When our bucket is empty, we feel awful. We discussed these “great” feelings and “big” feelings. We discovered that by being kind we can fill up peoples buckets and when we’re unkind we dip into people’s buckets. We have begun identifying big and uncomfortable feelings: nervousness, shyness, loneliness, as well as anger and sadness. We will continue identifying these big feelings and sharing activities to work through them with games, meditation and other activities. We have begun naming kind gestures we observe among our friends by using the term “filling the bucket” and we’ll continue to incorporate these terms into our everyday language.

This month we’ll talk about the Leprechaun and St. Patrick’s Day. We’ll talk about families and share our family banners. We’ll learn about Spring, celebrate Royal Wednesday, and learn about cars and construction vehicles (both the Maples pick).

Books We’ve Been Reading
How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath
Polar Animals by Wade Cooper
Penguins by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
10 Valentine Friends by Janet Schulman
Pete The Cat-Valentine’s Day Is Cool by Kimberly Dean
My First Chinese New Year by Karen Katz
Dragon Dance by Joan Holub

Songs We’ve Been Singing
Skinna Marink
You Are My Sunshine
I Love Somebody
Do Your Ears Hang Low?
Alligator Pie
Little Bunny Foo Foo

HAPPY SPRING!

Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley

VALENTINE’S DAY
The Maples are having a Valentine’s Party on Friday 2/11. If your child does not attend school on Fridays they’re welcome to join us. Our party will begin at 9:00am. Children who do not attend on Fridays must be picked up by 11:00am. We’ll be sharing Valentine Cards with our friends. Please bring enough cards for 23 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 childs 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 10th. Our 2022/2023 School Year Begins August 15th.

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 2/23. 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.

The entire staff would like to extend their heartfelt thanks for all the gifts and goodies given to us this past holiday season. We hope your family had a wonderful holiday. We wish you health and happiness in 2022!

Last month the Maples learned lots of new songs and had fun talking and reading stories about Santa and his reindeer. One of Santa’s elves came to visit from the North Pole for a few weeks. We named him Rufus and we had a lot of fun looking for him in our classroom each day.

We also learned about Hanukkah-the festival of lights. We learned new words like Menorah, Shamash and Gelt, and we had fun playing the Dreidel game.

This month we’ll learn about winter and the changing weather. We’ll talk about polar animals (polar bears, penguins, etc…) and hibernation. We’ll also spend time finding out what the Maples would like to learn about and use their interests as upcoming themes.

Some Books We Enjoyed In December
Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights by Leslie Kimmelman
Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama by Selina Alko
Who Will Help Santa This Year? by Jerry Pallotta
Mrs. Claus Takes A Vacation by Linas Alsenas
It’s Christmas, David! by David Shannon
The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup

Songs We’ve Been Singing
Santa Had A Christmas Tree
Rudolph’s Light
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
S-A-N-T-A!
Jingle Bells

TUITION RECEIPTS
If you need a monthly receipt for future tuition payments please leave a note for Shalimar in the tuition box. A receipt will be provided when tuition is paid in full for the month. 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

REMINDERS
**We’ll be CLOSED Monday 1/17 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
**Label ALL coats, jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts with your child’s name.
**Make sure to send your child with warm clothing for outside play.
**January is a 5 week tuition month.
**Miss Ashley is out on leave for the month of January and will be back next month.

Meet Our New Teacher ~ Miss Dorene!
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. Miss Dorene recently closed her Family Daycare business of 7 years and is excited to return to preschool teaching. We are very pleased to have her back with us!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley

TUITION
December is a 4 week tuition month (2 weeks full rate + 2 weeks 1/2 rate).
ALL TUITION IS DUE IN FULL BY Thursday 12/16. We will be closing out the month and the year on December 31st. Late tuition will result in daily late fees and cash payments only. Tuition will NOT be carried over into January so please make sure your December payment is accurate.

We Will Be CLOSED 12/20 – 12/31. We Will Be Back On 1/3.

REMINDERS
*Please Call Before 9am if your child will be absent. Attendance for the day is taken at 9am and we need to know our count for the day.

*Check the Lost & Found box. Anything left after 12/17 will be donated to charity.

*READ THE NOTICES POSTED ON THE SIGN IN AND OUT BOARD.

FYI
Miss Ashley will be out for the month of January (possibly longer) recovering from surgery. Miss Roxann will continue to assist Miss Shalimar in the Maple class. We will also bring in substitute teachers when necessary.

We are still searching for qualified preschool teachers to join our teaching staff. If you know of anyone looking to teach at a great school with an awesome teaching team, send them our way!

Our job posting can be found on indeed and our Facebook page. Resumes can be sent to [email protected].

LAST MONTH…
In November we learned about the Pilgrims and Native Americans and the first Thanksgiving Feast they shared together. We talked about what it means to be thankful and shared some things we are thankful for.

Last month we played lots of fun games! Color Matching, Stop and Boo!, The Alphabet Hunt, and Musical Dino Prints.

We made coffee filter turkeys, fall collages, fall leaves and handprint turkeys. We painted with plungers, basting brushes, TP Tubes, toothbrushes and our hands.

We scooped and poured cinnamon oats at the sensory table and squeezed and molded pumpkin pie spice scented playdough.

This month we’ll learn new holiday songs and learn all about Hanukkah and Christmas. If your family has a holiday custom or tradition you’d like to share with our class please let us know.

Books We’ve Been Reading
Who Will Carve The Turkey This Thanksgiving?
by Jerry Pollotta
The Story Of the Pilgrims by Katherine Ross
Thanksgiving Is For Giving Thanks
by Margaret Sutherland
Thanksgiving Day by Anne Rockwell

Songs We’ve Been Singing
Mr. Turkey
Smells Like Thanksgiving
Let’s Be Thankful
Turkey Ted
Happy Turkey Day

Happy Holidays!
Miss Shalimar & Miss Ashley