January 2020

                JANUARY NEWSLETTER 2020

Dear Parents,

We wish all of our families a very Happy New Year! We hope that you had a restful and relaxing break and spent lots of time with your family.

We are looking forward to our first month of the 2020 school year with our batteries fully recharged. Our children must be excited to see their friends again! Now it’s time to settle back into our routine and explore new things.

JANUARY THEME

OCEAN FUN

Our team has decided to break up the long winter! We will have a unit on “Life under Water” and we will spend most of January with activities related to our OCEAN THEME.  You will see a lot of sea creatures hanging in the hallway. The highlight will be a “Hawaii Beach Party” at the end of January. Coming to school in flip flops, sun glasses, shorts and summer dresses is one way to make winter fun!!

We will also explore questions such as:

·         How do fish sleep?

·         What happens when a star fish loses a leg?

·         Why does an octopus squirt ink?

·         Why do some fish have whiskers?

·         Why do shells have holes?

·         etc.

If you have a fish in a small tank at home, we would be happy to borrow it for a few days and invite your fish to join our class!

INDOOR SHOES CHECK

We realized a BIG GROWTH SPURT in some of our children and wonder if their little feet

still fit in their indoor shoes! Please check your child’s indoor shoes to make sure that their little “happy feet” are not “trapped”.

FLUE PREVENTION

We encourage all parents to be cautious and keep children at home when they are sick and show flue/cold symptoms. The best way to prevent germs from spreading in our classroom is covering coughs and sneezes (and in some cases keeping fingers out of mouths and noses J).  

PRE-REGISTRATION FOR THE 2020-21 PRESCHOOL YEAR

Parents of students that are currently enrolled can pre-register their child prior to the Open House when registration will open to the public.

All students currently enrolled will have a spot guaranteed. However, final class placement will be based on a combination of factors. Our registrar will contact you once we have sorted through the 2020/21 applications after the Open House. Families who are pre-registering do NOT have to attend the Open House in order to get a spot.

·        Pre-registration is now open until January 17^th.

·       Please spread the word about the Registration Night (open to public) on January 22 @ 7p.m.! You can also find us (and like us J) on Facebook!

DATES AND REMINDERS

Jan 15              Brevoort Park School Kindergarten Info Night @ 6 p.m.

Jan 17              Last day to pre-register for 2020-21

Jan 22              2020/21 Information & Registration Night for new families

Jan 27              PD Day, no school  

Jan 29/30        HAWAIIAN PARTY - Come in your shorts and summer dresses, sun glasses etc. and bring a towel. A snack “wish list” will be hanging in the hallway!

If you would like to stay updated about activities in the German-Canadian Community, you can subscribe for the monthly newsletter of SGC (Saskatchewan German Council) www.saskgermancouncil.org. You will find all kind of interesting news and listed special events.

We would like to say “Thank you” for all the nice cards, kind gifts and special Christmas treats that we had received from families in December!! It was not expected but greatly appreciated! 

We are excited to start a New Year and are looking forward to another month of FUN and Learning!

Happy New Year! Ein Frohes Neues Jahr!

With warm wishes,

Uli Hecker & Larissa Lorenz

December 2019

December 2019 Newsletter                             

Dear Parents,

We are quickly approaching the end of the year, and it shows how time has flown by! It seems like yesterday that we had started our school year in September. At the same time, we have seen so much growth and exciting changes in all of our children. Not only their little feet have grown, their interest about the world around them has expanded so much. Your children are filling our “buckets” with their unconditional love, trust in the world and the many hugs we are getting from them on a daily basis. This is the most rewarding and “touching” part of being a preschool teacher!

Thank you to all the parents and family members that had joined us for our Nikolaus celebration and contributed to our amazing cookie buffet! We were so proud of our little singers and each of them deserved to have their boot filled!!!

DECEMBER ACTIVITIES

This month will be full of fun, learning and enjoying the special season.

December will be a relatively short month, and we will focus on activities that revolve around the Holiday Season. Over the next 2 weeks we will make crafts, count and sort snowflakes, snowmen and explore the science of snow!

Speaking of Holiday Season and cultural traditions, we always encourage our families to share their cultural traditions with us. Whenever your family is celebrating a special holiday or season, please let us know. Our children love to hear and learn about their friend’s heritage and special traditions.

PRE – REGISTRATION for 2020/21 SCHOOL YEAR (January 6^th – January 17^th)

We ask all families of currently enrolled students to let us know if your child will be returning next school year. Depending on enrollment numbers we will offer a M-W-F morning class (4 years old) and an age mixed Tue-Thur morning class (3 and 4 years old).

As of Wednesday Night, January 22, 2020 registration will be open to the general public and we will take registrations at our Registration Night on a first come first served basis.

Please contact us, either via email or in person if your child will be returning for the 2020-21 school year.

Special THANK YOUS

·         A very special Thank You goes to our bucket filler Mrs. Marilyn Stehr, who is volunteering every Thursday morning and helping us with activities for our children.

·         Thank you to all parents who joined us for the parent teacher meetings to discuss their child’s individual progress with us. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns in regard to Kindergarten Readiness for your child.

·         Thank you to all of our board members for supporting Hansel & Gretel Preschool and helping us to run our preschool smoothly!

·         Thank you to Mr. Tod, the care taker of Brevoort Park school for helping us with the setup for our Nikolaus celebration!

DATES to REMEMBER:

Dec 19/20                                 Last day of school before Christmas Break

Jan 6/7                                    Classes resume, pre-registration for 2020-21 starts

Wednesday, Jan 15               Brevoort Park Kindergarten Information Night @ 6:00 p.m.

Friday, Jan 17                          Deadline for Pre-Registration for 2020-21 School Year

Wednesday, Jan 22                  Informational Registration Night for 2020/21 Preschool Year

                                               @ 7p.m.  Brevoort Park School Library

                                               (no need for current families to attend)   

January 27                              PD day, no class

We had a few children missing their show & tell day last month. A friendly reminder to please check the monthly event calendar that we send out. It has all important dates and events in it. It is also hanging in the hallway.

We will celebrate all late December and early January birthdays after the Christmas break. 

Whatever winter celebration your family celebrates, embrace it wholeheartedly!

Thank you for the gift of working and learning with your precious children!

                           Frohe Weihnachten & Alles Gute im Neuen Jahr!

                                      Uli Hecker & Larissa Lorenz

2020/2021 Registration

St. Nikolaus Celebration on December 6

St. Nikolaus Celebration on December 5

November 2019

                        NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER 2019

Dear Parents,

I hope this letter finds you in a warm place. Winter has arrived and with the colder days now here, we will “hibernate” in our classroom and only go outside on special “winter activity days”. However, we will from now on take our students to the gym for fun filled games and physical activities each day.

We had a very busy October! Each class enjoyed a variety of fall activities, exploring the inside of a pumpkin, letting pumpkins roll down the hill and learning spooky Halloween rhymes!

Our first two field trips of the year were fantastic! We had a fun filled morning at the Children’s Discovery Museum and at Dutch Growers hay maze. Thank you to all parents that joined us for these special events!

NOVEMBER THEMES

November will be a potluck of preparation for cultural events and looking into the winter season.

HOW DO YOU ANIMALS SURVIVE IN WINTER?

We have already started with this umbrella unit. This month our children will learn about how frogs, bears, squirrels, hedge hogs and other animals protect themselves from the cold and how they survive winter.

NURSERY RHYMES

We  will also focus on literacy this month by teaching students different nursery rhymes and nursery songs. Can you think of a better time in the year to sit inside cozy and  warm and listening  to fairy tales and  rhymes with your little one?

CULTURAL EVENTS

ST. MARTIN HOLIDAY (GERMAN LANTERN FEST)

St. Martin is a traditional holiday that people in Germany celebrate on November 11^th every year. It is based on the legend of a soldier named Martin who lived in Hungry around 316 B.C. One cold winter night, Martin was riding his horse and saw an old beggar, shivering in the snow. The old man had no warm clothes on. Martin stopped his horse, lifted his sword and cut his own red cape in two halves. Martin kept one hand and shared the other one with the old man. On Martin’s Day, in Germany children parade through the streets at night, singing Martin songs and carrying their lanterns with lit candles in honour of St. Martin. Often times the parade is accompanied by a rider on horseback in a red coat. At the end of the night, people are gathering around a big bonfire and warm up with hot chocolate and other warm beverages. St. Martin is a festival of sharing and bringing light into the dark.

ALPHABET ACTIVITIES

We have noticed that our little ones are getting really excited to learn a new letter every week!

Realizing that every letter has a sound makes it even more fun to look for words that start with the letter of the week. The word “Daddy” has even 3 “D” s in it!!

Our younger students always enjoy tracing individual letters with stickers.

In addition to letter recognition, we are teaching older students how to print letters and how to write their name.

We always encourage children to start each letter from the TOP! It is a great pre-printing skill to have prior to starting Kindergarten. 

OPTIONAL PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

Thursday, Nov 28^th    3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Friday, Nov 29^th         8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 

We will be offering optional Parent Teacher Conferences for our families. The meetings are a great opportunity to share and exchange information that will help you and us to support your child’s growth. We believe that communication is the key to positive relationships and  we would be happy to discuss our observations and any questions that you have regarding your child. 

I will hang a sign-up list with slots for meeting times in the hallway.

NIKOLAUS VISIT & CELEBRATION WITH OUR FAMILIES

(Dec 5/6 10:30 a.m.  -11.45 a.m.)

On December 5/6,  Nikolaus will visit our class! Our children will select a few songs and rhymes  a that they have learned over the last few months, and perform for Nikolaus. Based on the German cultural tradition, Nikolaus will fill our children’s boots with treats after their performance.

We will send out an invitation and hope that all of you will be able to join us for this special celebration!

DATES TO REMEMBER

November

6/7    Picture Day 9 (class picture/ individual pictures)

          Parents are invited to join us for a short St. Martin lantern parade at 11.30 a.m.

7/8    Scholastic Book Orders due (place your order online at scholastic.ca/canadaclubs)

 8       PD day, no school

11       Remembrance Day Holiday, no school

28      Parent Teacher Conference  3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

29      Parent Teacher Conference  8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (class will be running that day)

December

5/6     Nikolaus Celebration:  10:30 a.m.  – 11:45 a.m.     

          All  Families are invited to join us for this special event!

·         Visit from Nikolaus

·         Children’s performance

·         Christmas cookies and traditional German mulled punch

If you are interested in special events of various groups within the German Community, please check out www.saskgermancouncil.org.

WINTER WORDS:

Winter (vin’tah)  – winter

Schnee (schnay) –  snow, Schneeflocke (schnay flaw’ken) – snowflake

Schneeball (schnay’bahl) – snowball

Jacke yak’eh - jacket , Mütze (mut’tzeh) -  touque

Schal ( schahl) – scarf, Handschuhe (hahnd shoo’heh) – mittens, Stiefel (schtee’fehl – boots

Kalt (kalt) – cold Eis (ice) – ice, Schneemann (schnay’mahn) – snowman

Kind Regards,

Uli Hecker & Larissa Lorenz