Registration is now OPEN for 2021-22 School year.
There are still a few spots in both classes.
M/W/F - 4 yr old Kindergarten Readiness class T/TH - 3 yr old class
Please see the "Registration" Tab on how to get your child registered at Hansel and Gretel Preschool.
We also have a few spots in our current TTH class. Contact us if you are interested!
We invite you to see our classroom at Brevoort Park School in Saskatoon, meet our teachers and see what we do during the school year with our preschoolers. For additional information please email Ulrike at coordinator.hanselandgretel@gmail.com or call (306) 281- 4428.
JANUARY NEWSLETTER
HANSEL & GRETEL PRESCHOOL
I hope all of you have had a chance to relax and spend some special time with your family during the Christmas break! I truly recharged my batteries, mostly by slowing down and hibernating with my husband and two children. Even though life stood still for many weeks, the year seems to have flown by. 2020 was an unprecedented year that we will all remember for so many different reasons. We still have ways to go before our lives regain a sense of “normal” but at least there is “light at the end of the tunnel”!
I am just so very grateful that we were able to start classes in September and did not have to rely on technology to provide a learning environment for children.
We were a bit anxious as to how our little ones would adjust to all the safety measurements and regulations that we have had to follow to keep everyone safe. Children truly are more resilient than we think. Even masks didn't stop them from having fun and making new friends. Besides a few “adjustment bumps” at the beginning of the school year, it now feels as if preschool has become the second home for most children. Our buckets are overflowing with joy when our students greet us with a big smile every day.
Outdoor space has turned into our extended classroom! Playing in the park and exploring the wonders of nature have provided so many creative and stimulating teaching opportunities. We spent many hours, running up and down the big hill, using our imagination by turning trees and bushes into bear caves and shelter places for lady bugs and dinosaurs.
We used items in nature as math counters and sticks served as pencils. Who would have thought that dirt and pinecones are a perfect (and fun) tool to help print letters and numbers? Trust me, no flash card or any worksheet can compete with that!
The biggest gift for me was, to see the calming effect that nature play has on children. With all the uncertainty, rapid changes and anxiety causing effects that a pandemic can trigger, seeing children PLAY and making friends felt like a natural “remedy”, not only for the children but also for us as teachers.
Thank you to the families and friends that participated in the Mom’s Pantry Fundraiser. Combined with monetary donations we raised $ 618.05 for our preschool. We truly appreciate your efforts to support Hansel & Gretel Preschool during a financially challenging year! Thank you to Brianne Semenchuk for organizing this Fundraiser!
Thank you to all parents who are ordering books from Scholastic. Every order helps our preschool to purchase educational material for the classroom! Thank you to Miranda Lettrari for taking care of Scholastic book orders each month!
I would like to say a special Thank You to all the people that help us run this program smoothly!
Thank you to our board of directors for volunteering your time and supporting us with your input and advice!
Thank you to Wendy Schneider who has volunteered her time in the T-Th class over the last 3 months! It helped us so much with the transitioning into a new school year!
Thank you to the staff of PCDC day care for making the daily transition of your children so smooth.
Thank you to Larissa Lorenz for being the loving, caring and passionate teacher that you are! Thanks for the countless extra hours that you spend in the classroom with me cleaning and sanitizing to ensure that everyone is safe!
Currently enrolled students will have the opportunity to pre-register before registration will be open to the public. Please let me know if your child will be returning for a second year of preschool. We will hand out registration packages on January 4th and Jan 5th. Please return your package, latest by January 14th!
On January 19th online registration for the 2021-22 school year will open to the public.
Please spread the word to your friends and families who have children that are eligible for preschool! Classes may fill up quickly!!!
Instead of an Open House we created a beautiful virtual tour/slideshow that has beautiful pictures that show what we are all about! Feel free to visit our website/blogspot page or Facebook page and share the virtual tour video with friends (https://youtu.be/YF7JmSs0U28).
Due to several of our families that have moved away, we now have 6 openings in our current T-Th class and are asking parents to pass on this information to families that have children that are currently 3 to 4 years old and are interested in joining our program in January.
Thank you again for all the support that we have received from you this year! I promise you that we will do whatever it takes to ensure that our preschool continues to be a safe and fun place for all children!
School will resume after the Christmas Break on January 4th!
We can’t wait to see our little ones again and are looking forward to a New Year of FUN and LEARNING!
We wish all our families a HAPPY and SAFE 2021! FROHES NEUES JAHR!
Kind Regards,
Uli Hecker and Larissa Lorenz
Dear Parents,
Registration information for the next school year will be available in early January!
However, here are some dates to keep in mind:
January 4: Preregistration for currently enrolled families
January 19: Online for school year 2021-2022
HANSEL & GRETEL PRESCHOOL
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Winter has officially arrived! I hope everyone made it sound and safe through the first blizzard of the year! At least we now have enough snow to make snow angels, snowmen, build pretend caves for animals etc. We will continue to go on (short) nature walks in the morning and play in the snow as our students come dressed for the weather anyways. Our “magic forest” will provide shelter for us while we are fueling up with oxygen and strengthen our immune system. We haven’t had any kids sick for quite a while and being out in nature might have played a part in this.
Thank you so much parents for dressing your child warm enough that he/she can fully enjoy our daily part of outdoor learning!! Once the wind chill makes it difficult to “move” our little bodies, we will of course spend most of our teaching days inside! For now, we will play it by ear and just try to keep outside time fun, for as long as we can.
NOVEMBER THEMES
WINTER WONDERLAND
This month most activities will evolve around “WINTER”. We will provide our children with fun activities such as:
· Snow experiments
· snowflake counting activities
· Winter crafts
· Printing with snow and ice
· Winter sensory activities (colouring snow, finding letters etc.)
· Winter themed literacy
GERMAN CULTURAL EVENT: ST. MARTIN (LANTERN FESTIVAL)
Your child might have already told you about the legend of St. Martin, that we had introduced to our classes last week. The children were quite fascinated by the story of Martin, a soldier that shared his red cape with an old poor man who was lost in the dark and freezing in the snow. In this context, we talked to our preschoolers about the importance of caring for others and how we can “fill buckets” in our everyday life by sharing and being kind to each other. Your child will bring home a little lantern that he/she has made. We hope it will bring light into your homes as well! All across Germany, children celebrate St.Martin by joining lantern parades at night, singing Martin songs and warming up around a big bon fire at the end of the night. If you would like to know more about this cultural event you can find many links on You Tube.
In this context, we wish all students that will be celebrating “Diwali” (a different festival of lights) this weekend, a wonderful time with their family!
FUNDRAISER: MOM’S PANTRY (orders are due Nov 23)
If you are interested in supporting our program and to raise funds for Hansel & Gretel Preschool, MOM’S PANTRY is a great opportunity to purchase high quality food and baking products for yourself, friends or family. We have more order forms and catalogues at the school if you would like to give some to friends or family. If you are considering/preferring a monetary donation instead, feel free to contact us and we will give you more information.
Thank you very much to Brianne Semenchuk (fundraiser committee) for helping our preschool to find ways to maintain a high-quality Early Learning Program! If you have any questions regarding fundraising, please email Brianne: brisemenchuk@gmail.com
PICTURE DAY: Nov 12/13
This week a photographer will come into our classroom and take individual pictures of each preschooler.
The estimated gallery days for parents to look at the pictures will be Nov 22 - Nov 30.
Orders will be due Nov 30th.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK ORDERS
Thank you, Miranda Lettrari for taking over the Scholastic Book orders. This is another unique way to support literacy skills and to foster your child’s love for reading!
A big THANK YOU goes out to Frau Schneider who has offered to help and volunteer her time in our T-Th class for the upcoming weeks.
Thank you, parents for helping us by supporting your child to become more independent and put on jackets, shoes etc. by themselves or only with little help!
DRESS FOR THE WEATHER
A friendly reminder to from now on wear:
· warm snow pants or snow suit
· warm and water repellent mittens (long enough to cover wrist)
· warm winter jacket, toque, (if necessary, face cover)
· warm snow boots
DATES TO REMEMBER
NOVEMBER
Nov 9 PD Day, no school
Nov 11 Remembrance Day, no school
Nov 12 Picture Day (no outside play that day)
Nov 13 Picture Day (no outside play that day)
Nov 26 MOM’S PANTRY order forms are due
Nov 30 Picture orders are due
DECEMBER
Dec 21 – Jan 3 Christmas Break, no school
Jan 4/5 First day of school after the break
Winter Words German
Schnee (snow)
Schneemann (snowman)
Schneeflocke (snowflake)
Schnee Engel (snow angel)
Jacke (jacket)
Schneehose (snowpants)
Muetze (toque)
Handschuhe (mitts)
Schal (scarf)
Stiefel (boots)
We will continue to provide you with pictures of our activities at preschool and hope that being part of the What’s App group helps you to get an idea of what we are doing and how much fun your child is having in preschool!
If you should ever have any questions or concerns, please email or text me!
We are looking forward to our first winter fun month!
Stay safe! Stay warm! Stay happy!
Kind Regards,
Uli Hecker & Larissa Lorenz
