November 2009 Newsletter

November 2009

School is Closed on Tuesday, November 3rd, Thursday, November 26th and Friday, November 27th

School News
Flu Update
We have now had 4 doctor diagnosed H1N1 flu cases, 2 in the Preschool and 2 in the Pre-K. It is important to notify us when you are keeping your child home, letting us know why, erring on the side of caution or calling to ask us when you are not sure. A helpful chart listing the symptoms of the Cold, Swine flu and Flu that a parent has shared is being sent home in your child’s folder next week. Given the vast amount of information being made available especially about the H1N1 or “Swine Flu”, this chart is one of those good items for the refrigerator door. We continue to do our part here and we thank you for doing yours. The children are also doing a great job remembering to wash their hands and to cough in their elbow. I am convinced that those efforts would be in vain if it were not for the great job Mrs. Dunkelberger does when she cleans every day! 

4th Annual Fall Festival and Bazaar
It was another successful event in spite of all the other things that were happening that day! Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success. As a result of everyone’s efforts we added just shy of $1,000 to the God is Good Scholarship Fund. Donations to this fund are welcome at any time and they are tax deductible. Next time you want to make a charitable donation to a good cause, think of the GIGSF!

Happy Face Photography
Our friends at Happy Face Photography will be here to take individual portraits of the children on November 12 and 13th. There is no prepayment or obligation to purchase. Picture packages will be sent home within 10 days. You may purchase all, part, or none of the package. Proceeds will benefit the GIGSF this year. The photographers must know no later than Monday, November 9 if a younger sibling is to be photographed or siblings are to be photographed together so they are prepared with the correct equipment. Please call or the preschool office. A reminder “sticker” will be sent home the day before your child’s picture day.

Annual Lamb’s Basket Turkey Dinner Drive
Once again we are celebrating Thanksgiving with “Turkey Dinner” donations to the Lamb’s Basket, a food pantry serving the Lakeside community established and supported by area churches, including ours.  Each classroom is putting together a “turkey dinner” box.  Your child’s item for their turkey dinner box will be attached to this month’s calendar. All items are due on or before November 19. The Pre-K and Kindergarten children will deliver our “turkey dinner” boxes on November 23.  Please feel free to send in extra items for the box or the Lamb’s Basket.

Pre-K/Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast Program
The Pre-K and Kindergarten children will hold their annual Thanksgiving Play and Feast on November 24 at 6:00pm.  Information has already been sent home with the children participating in the program.  If you haven’t sent a t-shirt in for your child’s costume, please do so as soon as possible.  An RSVP will come home in your child’s folder on Monday, November 16 to be returned on your child’s next day.

Caring and Sharing Day
We will celebrate our annual Caring and Sharing Day on Wednesday, November 25.  Each child is asked to bring in an “ingredient” for a special snack mix they will make together and share.  We will send a note home the week of November 16th with suggestions (remembering that there are no peanut products allowed!). Please help your child pick an “ingredient” and send it in on Monday, November 23.

Thank you to our Vounteers
Our program is that much better because you choose to make a commitment to be here.  Your involvement makes a powerful statement to your child.  Many thanks to the parents who chaperoned the pumpkin patch and fire station field trips and all those who sent in items for and/or volunteered to help with the annual Pumpkin Party!

Staff Updates
Mrs. Christina Dunkelberger (Leah’s mom) has taken over as the teacher for the Toddler Morning Out class replacing Mrs. Layton who resigned for personal reasons.
Mrs. Loren Johnson (Chase’s mom) has replaced Mrs. Dunkelberger as the classroom assistant in the TMO class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Mrs. Lara Anderson (Julianna’s mom) has joined our staff as the 5-day classroom assistant for the TMO class. Her son William, will also be joining the TMO class! 

Happy Birthday
Happy November Birthday to Jai Spicer - Nov 1; Nick Hosey - Nov 1; Brooklynn Bowen - Nov 10; Jacob Ashworth - Nov 11; Mrs.Oliver - Nov 13; Emory Troxell - Nov 16; Garrett Mattox - Nov 17; Julianna Anderson - Nov 22; Mrs. Riley - Nov 24; Addison Harris - Nov 27; Wiley Hormel - Nov 28; Fischer Kendrick - Nov 30;

Congratulations
Wiley Hormel - He is a big brother!
Mrs. Amrhein - She is a grandmother again!
Kai Williams and Mrs. Gill - He is a big brother and she is a grandmother again! 

For your thoughts and prayers
Pastor Dick as he recuperates from surgery on October 19. He will be out for 2 weeks.
Mr. Ed as he continues to “wow” his doctors in his fight against Leukemia. He is such a miracle that they want to use him for a case study!
Mrs. Spalding and Mrs.Gill upon the death of their sister’s mother-in-law.
Christopher Wade, a former student, now serving in Afghanistan.
Ashlynn Russell’s family - her Mom’s cousin was killed suddenly and tragically last week. 

Reminders
Folders and Backpacks
PLEASE CHECK YOUR CHILD’S FOLDER BEFORE THEY RETURN ON THEIR NEXT DAY REMOVING PAPERS, READING NOTICES AND CHECKING FOR PERMISSION SLIPS.

Tuition Payments
Monthly tuition payment due dates: November on/before Friday, October 30
December on/before Tuesday, December 1
January on/before Friday, January 1
February on/before Monday, February 1
March on/before Monday, March 1
April on/before Thursday, April 1
May on/before Friday, April 30
As a nonprofit we do not maintain a reserve fund to cover tuition payments when they are not paid on time. Meeting our financial obligations, particularly payroll, is compromised when monthly tuition payments are received after the 1st. Thank you for sending yours on time!

Don’t forget to Vote!
On Tuesday November 3rd, the school is closed for voting! Please exercise your right as an American to get out and vote.

Outside Play
The temperature will be getting cooler, then cold. Even so we will go outside as long as the temperature is 40 degrees or above. Please dress your child accordingly and consider hats/ gloves as it gets cooler. 

Aluminum & Boxtops 4 Education
Don’t toss that can (or any other aluminum!) Bag it and send it in and we will add it to our collection. Ask family, friends and neighbors to save too! The money earned goes directly into the church maintenance fund which benefits all of us. Keep checking products you buy for Boxtops 4 Education. Look for collection sheets to come home attached to your monthly calendar.  We sent in our first submission for 2009-10 on October 31 for reimbursement and will receive a check for $274.00!  If you have any questions about the program please go to boxtops4education.  Money received from boxtops is designated specifically for the purchase of new outdoor play equipment. For the past 2 years we have been working on replacing our aging “riding fleet”. Last year we purchased 4 more new trikes. This year we want to purchase scooters!

From the Director’s Desk:
“LPC Heatin’ & Coolin’ Update Project”
Since establishing the Weekday Preschool in 1947, the church family has made it their mission to make sure that the Preschool had appropriate and adequate space in which to operate and grow. A big part of that mission was making sure that the building was properly heated and cooled. This has been no easy task over the past 62 years as the heating is done by a steam boiler system run with fuel oil and the cooling is done by individual air conditioning units.
The boiler system is 45 years old. Repairing it has become costly and because of it’s age some parts are no longer available. The air conditioning units, most of which are in the classrooms used by the Preschool programs, are now failing, and need to be replaced. The systems are no longer reliable or efficient.
The decision has been made that it is time to update the existing systems. The estimated cost to do this is between $41,000 and $51,000. This is a huge financial undertaking for this church and we want to help with a special one time fund raiser..
Coming home with your November Calendar is an Enjoy the City Coupon Book. We have all looked through it and decided that the coupons for Dick’s Sporting Goods alone make it a great deal! We are asking each family to buy one book. Of course if you want more, we can get them!. Just give the Preschool office a call and we will see that you get them. The books are $20 and we keep 50%.
All the proceeds from this special fund raiser will be donated to the church to help with the cost of updating the heating and cooling system - a project that will benefit all of us who share this building - thank you!

Wish List
Spaghetti jars - emptied and washed
crib sheets for port-a-cribs
baby blankets
toddler-size outdoor climbing toys
double stroller
laptop computers and printers for a computer lab we are hoping to set up on the Pre-K floor
.
From the Church
Brown Bag Bible Study every Thursday at 12noon led by Pastor Dick. Bring a lunch and if you need childcare to attend please call the Preschool office and we’ll help with that. 
WOW Worship on Wednesday is November 11 at 6pm featuring contemporary music, fun activities, upbeat worship and dinner. Nothing to bring but yourself and your family. Nursery available for children under 3yrs. Program topic is “Being Thankful”. 
Lamb’s Basket, the food pantry serving the Lakeside area needs volunteers to help with stocking and distributing weekdays 9:30am-1:15pm and with clean up on Saturdays 10-11:30am.
Please call Janet Jones (364-1841) to volunteer yourself, your family or a group you belong to that’s looking for a service project.

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. Look out for a welcome email from your child’s teacher in the upcoming week. You will be prompted to register at that time. 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.

Toddler Morning Out: The children really enjoy this time and have learned songs like “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, “Head Shoulders Knees and Toes”, “Five Little Trucks”(Karsten’s favorite) and our farewell song “Amen”. Some of the children have even started folding their hands for The Prayer Song before snack. ...read more.

Playgroup:
Mrs. Bobbie’s Class - We talked about bats and spiders. So, of course, we read the Itsy Bitsy Spider and had a great time using the felt board for props. We also read The Very Busy Spider. We used our handprints to make spiders and a stamp to make bats. ...read more
Mrs. Jackie’s Class - Did you know November 7th is National HUG-A-BEAR Day?  So, November 2-6, we will be reading “Goldie Locks and the Three Bears”, “Winnie the Pooh”, and others! ...read more.

Preschool:
Mrs. Hudson’s Class - October in the red room preschool class has been filled with exciting Halloween and fall music and stories.  We have had a good time saying “boo” in songs and listening to our favorite book, A Snappy Halloween and The Big Pumpkin. ...read more
Mrs. Johnson’s Class - We read Elly Offers to Help and The Elephant’s Watering Hole and My Letter E Book.  The bookmobile came on Monday the 19th and the librarian read us some stories about fall and pumpkins.  We will also continue working on Halloween-themed crafts and reading some Halloween stories....read more.

Pre-K:
Mrs. Oliver’s Class - We played a game where we walked around a circle of paper pumpkins, and when the music stopped, they had to identify the letter on the pumpkin they were standing on.  Wednesday, we read the story “The Little Old Lady Who Wasn’t Afraid of Anything,” and acted it out using gloves, a shirt, pants, a pumpkin head, a hat, and boots. ...read more.
Mrs. Parent’s Class - This week we will work on the letter E and things that start with E. The animal of the week will be an eagle, and out theme is pumpkins. I have some neat centers that involve pumpkin activities, and we will do some pumpkin crafts.  ...read more.
Mrs. Riley’s Class - They really enjoyed carving the pumpkin.  Some were more willing to get there hands dirty than others:). We have been learning about bats (ask them about “echolocation and being nocturnal), we know Frankenstein starts with F, and we have been “shaking our skeleton bones”.. ...read more.

Kindergarten: We spent some time sorting buttons and discovering all the different ways we could sort them.  We practiced one-to-one correspondence with our sorting bears and foam shapes.  We worked on simple addition and subtraction problems using the bears.. ...read more.

Music with Mrs Gill: We also morphed into monsters for a few songs, like “Horns, Fangs, Knees and Claws"--a monster-inspired variation on “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”.  As we move into November we will begin singing songs of thanksgiving and Thanksgiving.  ...read more.

Dance with Ms. Mandy: They already have their favorite songs and love requesting them. Some of Mrs. Mandy’s favorites we have been doing are “Don’t Forget Your Clothes”, “Wiggle In My Toe”, “I Had a Dream”, and “The Sports Dance”.  ...read more

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions!