March 2010 Newsletter

March 2010

***We are closed on Friday, March 19th***
The staff will be attending workshops and seminars on that Friday and all day Saturday at the Virginia Association of Early Childhood Educators Conference.

School News
One Hundredth Day Celebration
The Pre-K and Kindergarten children will celebrate their one hundredth day of school on Wednesday, March 3 with special activities and snacks. Be sure to ask your child how it went!

Virginia Museum of Fine Art
On March 5, 12, and 26 the staff from The Virginia Museum of Fine Art will bring their “Young@Art” program to our Preschool. The Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten children will be using a variety of materials to created art which will be shown at our annual “Little Hands, Big Art” Show in April. Smocks will be provided, but we have been advised by the museum staff to strongly urge parents to send their child “dressed for mess” on these days.

Dr Suess’s Birthday!!
We will celebrate Dr Seuss’s birthday with “Mystery Readers” the week of March 8 - 10. A mystery reader can be any adult (parent, grandparent, family friend) who would like to share their favorite book with one of our classes. A sign up letter was sent home with each child and was due back to your child’s teacher by Tuesday, March 2. If someone finds that they can participate at the last moment, please call the preschool office and volunteer!  We will also be sampling “green eggs and ham” on Tuesday, March 2 with the Pre-K and Kindergarten children, then again on Wednesday, March 10 with the Playgroup and Preschool children.

Annual Leprechaun Hunt
What would a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day be without our infamous “Hunt for the Lakeside Leprechaun”? Like Pajama Day, this event has become a tradition. Just ask any former LPC Weekday Preschooler! We’ll all wear our green and who knows someone just might catch that leprechaun!  Preschool, Pre-K and Kindergarten classes will hunt for the leprechaun on Wednesday, March 17. Children in Mrs. Hudson or Mrs. Johnson’s classes who do not normally attend school on Wednesday are welcome to come to school on that day to participate. Please let Mrs Hudson or Mrs. Johnson know if your child will be coming. Drop off and pick up will be normal times. Playgroup classes will hunt for the leprechaun on both Wednesday, March 17 and Thursday March 18.  Remember to wear green and look for lots of pictures of this exciting event!

Easter Celebrations
We will hold our annual Easter Party March 31 - April 1. We will have games, crafts and a snacks! Parent volunteers are needed to facilitate crafts and run games. Please email or call the preschool office to volunteer.
Wednesday, March 31:
Pre-K and Kindergarten classes from 9:20 - 10:00am
Preschool classes 10:00 - 10:45am (Children in Mrs. Hudson or Mrs. Johnson’s classes who do not normally attend school on Wednesday are welcome to come to school on that day to participate. Please let Mrs Hudson or Mrs. Johnson know if your child will be coming. Drop off and pick up will be normal times.)
Playgroup class 11:00-11:45am
Thursday, April 1:
Playgroup class 11:00-11:45am

Easter Egg Hunt
Our Easter Egg Hunts are another one of those Lakeside Preschool traditions! But, we need your help. We are asking that each family send in 1 dozen filled plastic eggs for the egg hunt by Wednesday, March 24. Please fill the eggs with any small item i.e. stickers, small toys, tattoos. No candy or gum items, please. The dates are: Friday, April 2 - 11:15am for all classes. (Parents of children who do not normally attend on Fridays are welcome to bring their child at 11:15am to participate. Parents of all other children are welcome to come back at 11:15am to watch the fun!)

“Little Hands! BIG ART” Show and Spaghetti Dinner
Save this date: Saturday, April 24! It is an event your family won’t want to miss! It is the annual event where we show off art work created by your children and enjoy another yummy spaghetti dinner prepared by the Preschool staff! Mark your calendar now! Bring the whole family and all the friends you want! Reservation forms will be sent home the week we return from Spring Break. We will also be looking for parent volunteers to help serve at the dinner. April is God is Good Scholarship Month and all proceeds from this event go into the God is Good Scholarship fund.

Birthdays
Happy March Birthday to Mrs. Hudson - March 2, Jack Beagle - March 9, Noah Matthews - March 10, Matisse Body - March 23, Leah Dunkelberger - March 24, Lindsey Johnson - March 25, Mrs. Hackenburg - March 26, Hazel Miller - March 26, Hayden Phillips-Jamerson - March 26, Kai Williams - March 29, Caleb McCain - March 29, Mrs. Cooke - March 31

For your thoughts and prayers
Caleb McCain and his family as they relocate this month to a new city, Mrs. Hudson’s father (Lily Holtz’ grandfather), Mrs.Gill & Mrs.Spalding’s mother (Mrs. Dunkelberger’s grandmother & Leah Dunkelberger’s great-grandmother), Mrs. Porter’s mother-in-law (Katie Porter’s grandmother & Garrett Mattox’s great-grandmother), Pastor Dick’s son Russell stationed in Germany, a former student Christopher Wade stationed in Afghanistan

Reminders
2010 -11 Enrollment
Enrollment Packets will be sent the last week of April and are due back with the non-refundable enrollment fee no later than May 15. No spaces will be held after May 15th unless prior arrangements have been with Mrs. Amrhein.

Summer Adventure Camp
We are still registering for our Summer Adventure Camps. Don’t be left out!  The last day to register is March 31. If you would like more information visit the website. We made it even easier to register by doing so right on the site!

Arrival & Dismissal Safety
Please start a second line if when you come into the parking lot you see that you are nearer the entrance than the curve you come around just before reaching the drop off/pickup spot so no one will have to sit out on Hermitage Road. This is a safety issue. Please respect the other drivers and take turns entering the drop off/ pick up turn. Also make sure to leave your child in their car seat for us to take out when it is their turn. Lastly, remember to turn off cell phones and DVD players when we come to your car.

Hugs for Haiti
We are continuing this effort to provide hygiene kits for Haiti earthquake victims. Each child is asked to contribute 2 of the items needed for each kit:
Playgroup, Preschool and TMO:  one wide toothed comb and one washcloth.
Pre-K and Kindergarten: one pair of fingernail clippers and one bar of soap. 
New due date for all items is Friday, March 12.
We participated in a similar effort for tsunami victims. The response of our parents and the staff then was overwhelming and we have no doubt it will be so again - thank you!

Upcoming Scheduled “No School” Days
Monday, April 5 - 9 for Spring Break! Please make note.

Shoes
Children must wear socks and a shoe that is secure on the foot. Flip-flops, crocs and slides are not acceptable. A child will not be allowed to go outside or to Creative Movement if they do not have on appropriate shoes. Parents will be called to bring appropriate shoes if they have not been sent with the child to change into. We do understand the battles that occur at home. So if need be, pack alternate shoes in your child’s backpack and we will take care of it for you. Thanks!

Box tops
Thank you for continuing to send in those boxtops!  We just submitted another batch and will receive a check for over $200.00! Look for a collection sheet attached to your calendar. All proceeds from the boxtops go to fund additional outdoor play equipment. Currently we are working on our “riding fleet”.

Aluminum
Don’t toss ‘em! Bag ‘em and send ‘em to us! Ask family, friends, neighbors, co-workers to save too. All proceeds go into the building maintenance fund which we use for minor repairs like repairing toilets, replacing light bulbs, etc.

From the Director
At our January staff planning meeting Mrs. Hudson, who handles the Scholastic Book orders, suggested doing a Book Fair. Everyone thought it was a great idea so Mrs. Hudson went to work making all the arrangements with Scholastic to get it here and the rest is history. Thanks to your generosity our sales total over $1800. Our profit is 40%, all of which is going directly to the teachers to purchase more books and other fun things for their classrooms. Thank you for making this event an overwhelming success. The staff is looking forward to their “shopping day” before the books are sent back. On behalf of the teachers thank you for all of the books you bought and donated in addition to the books you purchased for your family.

From the Church
Sunday Worship services 8:30am and 11:00am - Sunday School for all ages 9:30am
Thursdays Brown Bag Bible Study with Pastor Dick 12n
Wednesday, March 10 - join us for another WOW 6-7:30pm featuring a family friendly dinner and worship program
Sunday, March 14 - come hear the children of the church singing and playing bells at the 11am Worship service!
Wednesday, March 24 - come enjoy a family friendly dinner prepared by the Preschool staff followed by special activities for children and a program for adults featuring Bill Brownfield speaking on “The 21st Century Church” 6:15 - 7:30pm .
Sunday, March 28 Palm Sunday - the church choir presents the Easter cantata “The Last Week” at the 11am Worship service
Thursday, April 1 Maunday Thursday Worship service 7:00pm
Sunday, April 4 Easter Sunday - 8:30am and 11:00am Worship services Breakfast 9:15am followed by “flowering” the cross

Classroom Updates
This section will regularly feature a snippet from your child’s teacher’s monthly updates that are featured on our parent discussion forum. The Discussion Forum is here to allow parents more access to their child’s preschool day. It is open to parents and family members of currently enrolled students only.

Playgroup:
Mrs. Bobbie’s Class - We had a visit from the dental hygienist....we learned how to “brush up like the sun, down like the rain and back and forth like a choo choo train”. We also painted a smile using white paint and a toothbrush. We listened to a book on tape about the Tooth Fairy. We also pretended we were dentists by pulling “cavities” (black triangles) out of a tooth (white playdough) with tweezers. ...read more
Mrs. Jackie’s Class - This week is all about the Circus, clowns, lions, acrobats, popcorn and fun!  We have made our own clown mask, worked on some special coloring sheets, and getting ready to build our own circus tent!  We are practicing matching colors with our clown ties and hats, and story sequencing with our circus characters in a story.  ...read more.

Preschool:
Mrs. Hudson’s Class -Has your child told you about receiving star stickers for having a great day at school?  We are working on a reward system in my classroom and each child is trying to earn a sticker at the end of each school day they are at school. ...read more
Mrs. Johnson’s Class - I began working with the children this week on how to spell and write their own names.  Each child has a wipe-off placard that has their name completely written out and also written out with dotted lines.  They can use the washable markers to trace their name on either line to help learn how to write the letters of their name as well as how to spell their names.  We will work on these a little each day.  read more.

Pre-K:
Mrs. Oliver’s Class - We focused on Dental Health this week, with a program given by Kaitlyn Foster’s mom.  Emery and Brooklynn, along with kids from the other classes, pretended to be “teeth,” and were brushed and flossed with a giant toothbrush and piece of floss.  In our classroom we conducted an experiment with boiled eggs--one we placed in a glass of water, and one we placed in a glass of cola.  When we checked the next day, we found the cola egg to be brown and yucky, but we were able to clean it with the help of a toothbrush and toothpaste. ...read more.
Mrs. Parent’s Class - From airplanes to taxis, we will cover ways we have traveled and ways we would like to travel. We will also touch on time, not so much telling time but discussing what time of day we do certain things. ...read more.
Mrs. Riley’s Class - Our letter this week was S. We worked on the S sound, S words, and also did our usual alphabet review. Next week we will be focusing on the letter T and transportation. We have crafts planned to go with our theme, and will focus on what sound T makes and T words. ...read more.

Kindergarten: In Social Studies we talked about wants and needs and goods and services.  We read the books “Peter’s Chair”, “A Chair For My Mother”, and “Something Special For Me”.  We sent home a letter to our parents to find out about their jobs and to see if they provided goods or services to others.  We found that the majority of our parents provided a service.  I thank all of you who participated. ...read more.

Mrs. Gill - Music & God is Good Time!Music:  We spent a lot of time singing about taking care of our teeth in honor of dental health month.  You may heard that we: We brush up like the sun, Down like the rain, Back and forth like a choo-choo train. ...read more

Extended Hours: If arrangements are made for your child to stay on an unscheduled day, you need to send a note to their classroom teacher advising them of the change. If the teacher is not aware of the change, the child will be put in with their regular dismissal group, causing confusion. ...read more

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions! 

Highlights This Month

• Easter Egg Party and Hunt! | Friday, Apr 15, 2011