Dear Parents,
Welcome to our 2015-16 Hansel Preschool Year! We promise you
that it is going to be an exciting year, filled with lots of fun and learning.
Looking back at our first two weeks of
school, we could not have wished for a smoother beginning. Thank you so much to all those parents/
grandparents who joined your child on his/her first day of school. We are convinced that this helped our children
to be comfortable, and hopefully it also helped you to get a better
understanding of our program and daily routine.
All children seem to have settled in very well and they are already
starting to make new friends. We see lots of happy faces in the classroom and
we are excited to see the children sharing, taking turns, and exploring their
new ‘home’.
We are sure that reading the book “The Kissing Hand” has also
helped some of our students (and even
some parentsJ)
to ‘fly solo’!
SEPTEMBER THEME:
FRIENDSHIP and COLOUR
This month we will continue to establish/reinforce routines,
and learn about colours and friendship. Our hand puppet ‘Kiki’ will help the
children to learn each other’s names. Kiki takes attendance every morning by asking
the children’s names and each child gets to say: “ Ich heiße ………..!” (my name is) or “Ich bin hier!” (I am here). J
Two books about friendship that we will read with the children
are the “The Crayon Box that Talked” (by Shane DeRolf), and “Have You
Filled a Bucket Today?” (by Carol McCloud). This second book will be referred
to throughout the year. It talks about everybody having ‘invisible buckets’,
and we can fill each other’s buckets by doing kind things and helpful things.
SOCIAL SKILLS are one of the most important things we will
foster in our preschool.
CHANGE OF A.M. CLASS
TIME (very important!)
New Class time: 8:55 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.
As some parents already know, we will have to make a slight
change in starting and dismissal time for our morning class. Many
of you have noticed that the hallways of Brevoort Park School get very crowded
once the school bell rings and all the older children start streaming past. It
can get quite confusing and overwhelming for little pre-schoolers. Therefore we
have decided to have the a.m. classes start
5 minutes earlier. Our DOORS WILL
OPEN at 8:55 a.m. This will also enable us to END AT 11:40 a.m. (instead of the 11:45 a.m. listed in our handbook),
and give us teachers a bit more breathing room before our afternoon classes
start at 12:30 p.m.
It is very important that parents are prompt when picking up
their child!! Sometimes children get very confused and insecure when they see
everybody else leaving with a parent or a caregiver and they have to wait. In case that you are late, please contact us.
We hope this change does not interfere with your own schedule.
If you have any concerns with the new start/end times, please don’t hesitate to
talk to us!
BIRTHDAYS
On the day of your child’s birthday the class will be singing
Happy Birthday in German and the birthday child will get a little gift from the
teacher.
If your child would like to share a treat with the class,
please ensure that it is nut-free. It could be muffins, cookies or fruit to
share with 15/16 children. We prefer non - messy treats (no frosting please, as
it usually ends up on tables, chairs and clothes). J
THANK YOU’S:
·
Thank
you parents for encouraging and teaching your child to independently put shoes and
jackets on ! Things like zipping/buttoning can be tricky and our
teachers will be glad to help your child.
·
Thank
you for taking your child to the bathroom before class and teaching
him/her how to use the ‘big kids toilets’. It will save us precious playtime.
·
Thank
you for providing your child with a healthy and nutritious snack and for
using reusable containers. Some of the snacks may have a few too many options,
and they may take a LONG time to eat – all our little ones really need is some
water and one or two fruit/veggie options to recharge their engines.J
We prefer that you not send
cookies or sweet treats – we will save those for special occasions.
·
Thank
you to Kristy Wiens. She has offered to place the monthly Scholastic book
orders for our classes.
DATES TO REMEMBER (please mark your calendar)
SEPTEMBER
Thursday/Friday Sept 17/18 Scholastic Book Orders are due
OCTOBER
Friday Oct 9 PD Day (
no class)
Monday Oct 12 Thanks Giving
Day Holiday (no class)
Thursday Oct 29 Field Trip to
Dutch Growers Hay Maze*
Friday Oct 30 Field Trip
to Dutch Growers Hay Maze*
(*We need 6 parent helpers/chaperones for each class!! There
will be a sign up list hanging in the hallway.)
OUTSIDE PLAY
We will continue to take our children outside for as long as
the weather cooperates. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather.
Just a quick reminder to avoid
flip-flops as outside play includes running, climbing trees and walking
through bushes.
We are looking forward to watching the change of seasons and
exploring the beauty of nature with your wonderful children!
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Uli Hecker, Ruth Skinner
Susanne Pachal, Samina Roohi
