If you are having trouble reading this newsletter, please click here to view it in your web browser
Lakeside Presbyterian Church Weekday Preschool

April 2009 Newsletter

April 2009

School News
Annual Spring Party & Easter Egg Hunt
We will hold this annual event on Wednesday, April 1.  The children that do not normally attend school on Wednesday are welcome to join their class at their scheduled party time.
--9:20-10:00 Pre-K classes
--10:00-10:45 Preschool Classes
--11:00-11:45 Playgroup Classes

Breaking News: The weather forecast for Wednesday is calling for rain, so we are moving the party inside to the fellowship hall and postponing the egg hunt portion of the party to Monday, April 13.  On that Monday we will hold a school wide egg hunt at 11:15am.  As with the Easter party, children that do not normally attend school on Monday are invited to join us at 11:15. We still need all parent volunteers to come at their scheduled time on Wednesday, April 1.  We do not need parent volunteers for the egg hunt, but you are welcome to join your children on the playground for the egg hunt at 11:15.

Annual Farm Day & Pony Pictures
On Friday, April 17, Happy Face Photography will be here to take class pictures. They also will take spring pictures, which will be on a pony! After the photos, the kids get to have a pony ride.
Happy Face has asked that parents who want to have any siblings photographed let the Preschool office know beforehand so they are prepared with the appropriate equipment. Please let us know no later than Thursday, April 16. Lambeth Petting Zoo will be here 10 - 11am with their animal friends for the children to see and pet. Children who do not normally attend on Friday are invited to come for the morning. They can be dropped off and picked up through the arrival and dismissal lines. If you want your child to come to this event, you MUST let your child’s teacher know NO LATER THAN Monday, April13, so we will be expecting them!

Field Trip to Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
The Preschool classes will be visiting LGBG on Monday, April 20 for the Spring Treasure program. The children will be riding the bus. Parents who wish to join us are welcome, but please be aware that we are unable to accommodate younger siblings.  Also, parents will be responsible for paying your own entrance fee. The Garden will only allow teachers to attend the program with their classes. Any child who does not normally come on Monday is welcome to come for this event. Parents must let their child’s teacher know NO LATER THAN Monday, April 13. We need to give a final count to the Garden.

GIGS “little hands! BIG ART!” Show, Silent Auction & Spaghetti Dinner
Our annual fundraiser for the God is Good Scholarship Fund will be held on April 25. Mark your calendar now and be here to see awesome art created by your child, bid on birdhouses painted by each class for the silent auction, enjoy great fellowship and the best spaghetti in town. We will have 2 seatings for dinner, 5:30pm and 6:30pm. Each dinner will include baked spaghetti, salad, bread, dessert and a beverage. For each meal we are requesting a donation of $5 per person for 12 years and older; $3 per person for 3-11 year olds and no charge for under 2 years. All currently enrolled Lakeside Presbyterian Church Preschool children will eat for free as well. This year’s silent auction items are birdhouses that have been painted by the children in each class. All of the proceeds from the dinner and the silent auction will benefit the God is Good Scholarship Fund. ~Ticket information will be sent home April 13 & 14.~ Once again it will be parents volunteering to help with this event that will ensure it’s success. If you would like to volunteer to help with setting up, cooking, serving, or cleaning up, please let us know. Volunteers eat free, but don’t delay put your name on a list ‘cause spaces in each area are limited! 

April Birthdays
Happy April Birthday to Seth Holtz 10th, Mia Helmlinger 17th, Charlotte Callahan 19th, and Kaitlyn Foster 29th.

For Your Thoughts and Prayers
*The McCain family as they wait for their new baby
*Our families who continue to search for new jobs.

Congratulations
*Mrs. Gill, she has a new grandson, Kai, born Sunday morning!
*Cindy Ransom (Jesse and Luke Ransom’s mom), whom we have learned has responded positively to chemo treatments and is going to be just fine for a long time!

2009-10 Enrollment Update
Program Openings:
TMO: 1 space on Monday, 3 spaces on Tuesday, and 2 spaces on Friday
Playgroup: 1 3-day (MWF only) opening
Preschool: 2 2-day (T,Th only) openings
Pre-K: full, waiting list available
Kindergarten: 1 opening .

Reminders
Monthly tuition
These payments are always due on/before the 1st of the month unless other arrangements have been made. If there is a problem please make Mrs. Amrhein aware of it immediately so other arrangements can be worked out - thank you. 

Shoe Policy
All children must wear soft-soled shoes and socks. Hard soled shoes, sandals, slides, “Crocs”, boots, flip flops - any shoe that is not secure on their foot is not acceptable for safety reasons. Parents are reminded that your child will not be allowed to go outside or to Creative Movement with Ms Mandy if they do not have on appropriate shoes. On days when it rains or snows, please put an extra pair of shoes in your child’s backpack if they insist on wearing boots and we will change them.

Kindergarten Registration
Henrico County Public Schools will hold their registration on April 28, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. For more information on what items to bring to registration please visit http://www.henrico.k12.va.us. 

School Closings in April
School is closed April 6 - 10. Enjoy your Spring Break! All programs resume on Monday, April 13.

Scholastic Orders
April Scholastic Books Order will be the last order of the year. The order forms will be going home the first week in April. Due date is April 23rd.

From the Director’s Desk
As most of us are well aware these are trying, scary times for everyone on some level. For some it is a new experience to be facing uncertainty about the future, but for many of us it is just a matter of adjusting priorities to meet basic needs, something many of us do on a daily basis. I think back on when I was raising my own children and it was a constant give and take. (My Mom refers to it as “robbin’ Peter to pay Paul”!) At the time there was no global economic crisis, only the one going on daily in my checking account. We moved every year for five years following job opportunities. We survived a 6 month layoff, filled with lots of resume sending and rejection letter receiving. We faced the real possibility of having, not choosing, to sell our home. These were struggles we certainly had not planned on or really prepared for and we weren’t real sure why we had been chosen to have them. No one else we knew was having these struggles or so it appeared. I do not believe that God makes bad things happen to test us. I do not believe that God creates situations in our lives that make us struggle so we will be better. The reality is that bad things and struggles do happen to us on our journey.

What I have learned is that what we base our response to bad things and struggles on is what makes all the difference. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if our response is not grounded in trusting in the God who loves us enough to die for us, then we will stay stuck in a place where we feel powerless and alone, where hope seems a figment of the imagination. I have come to love connecting the “God dots” in my life, because every time I do I am just blown away by how He has worked me through joy, pain, struggle, success, uncertainty and fear. Imagine that -and here I thought it was me doing all the work! He is risen! He is risen indeed!
Happy Easter everyone,
Ann Amrhein

Classroom Updates
Toddler’s Morning Out: All of the babies are sitting up and many of them are crawling. The older children have begun playing together, as opposed to individually. For example, they are now playing ball with each other and talking together. The older children are also joining the playgroup program occasionally. This gives the toddlers exposure to the older two to three -year-olds and a chance to get to know some of the teachers they will have when they return to school in the fall....read more.

Playgroup: Next week we will be learning all about rainbows and colors. We are starting to talk about Easter, too! We did the bunny hop today....how cute! We have expanded our reading center in the classroom..there are now 2 bookshelves filled with books and lots of comfy cushions to sit on. Everyone has enjoyed it so far and is learning how to sit quietly with books and turning the pages gently....read more.

Preschool:
Mrs. Hudson’s Class: We will tackle “Z” before spring break and then review letters and their sounds in April & May.  We are also going to work on colors, shapes, and writing and recognizing their names.  I would encourage you to work with your child at home on writing their name.  We have had a busy month with Dr. Seuss’s birthday, and we had a couple of mystery readers to read a few Dr. Seuss books.  We had a great time trying to find the Leprechaun on March 17th and I am sure you all heard about the mess he made in our room.... read more.

Mrs. Parent’s Class: I have made wipe off name pages for the kids to work on during table time, or any spare time we may have. I was so surpised at how many of them wanted to work on this whenever they had a moment. A few have been able to accomplish writing their name, and what a HUGE feat that is! They have been SO proud of what they have done, and some of them have taken their name sheets to show Mrs. Amrhein...read more.

Pre-K:
Mrs. Porter’s Class: For the letter “X”, we cut out strips of paper and glued them to a large “X” picture in the shape of “Xs.” We talked about the fact that not too many words begin with the letter “X,” but it is still a very important letter.  We read the book “Fox in Socks.” Before reading the book, I read out pairs of words, and the children gave a thumbs-up if they rhymed and a thumbs-down if they did not rhyme...read more.

Mrs. Oliver’s Class: For the letter “X”, we cut out strips of paper and glued them to a large “X” picture in the shape of “Xs.” We talked about the fact that not too many words begin with the letter “X,” but it is still a very important letter.  We read the book “Fox in Socks.” Before reading the book, I read out pairs of words, and the children gave a thumbs-up if they rhymed and a thumbs-down if they did not rhyme… read more.

Extended Hours: It rained and snowed too much in march! We enjoyed our snow days, but we missed going outside to play. The few beautiful days we had were spent outside as long as possible. We have been discussing the spring weather that is coming and have unanimously agreed that we are ready for it!! We spent last month beading, coloring and decorating the door to our room in the morning, and very imaginative play with the ponies, beanies, and doll house in the afternoon ... read more.

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Highlights This Month