Update

Dear Parents,

During these unprecedented times, we the staff and board of directors want to keep you updated and informed of the status of Hansel & Gretel Preschool. As we are located in a public school we follow the policies and guidelines of Saskatoon Public Schools. In some provinces schools have been closed due to the corona virus with  the intention to stop the spread early. Currently Saskatoon Schools still remain open.

We as a preschool  are monitoring the situation closely as circumstances change. In case Saskatoon Schools should close, we would follow suit and communicate the closure to you immediately.

At this point, we leave it up to our families to make the best choice for your child  based on your individual  decision. 
If you should decide to keep your child home, we kindly ask you to communicate that  to  us,  as you would for any other absence.
We will continue to update you and will continue to  take extra measures to disinfect surfaces and toys to  keep our preschool a healthy and happy place!

Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or concerns!

Warmly,

Wendy Schneider (President of Board of Directors)
Uli Hecker (Coordinator/Teacher)

March 2020

February News

Dear Parents,

Having talked about ocean and having scared winter away with our “Fasching” songs has worked! The temperatures have started to climb up and we are finally able to play outside again!

FEBRUARY THEME: 5 SENSES

This month we will be exploring the 5 senses. Children naturally perceive the world around them by using their five senses. This month we will provide our students with a variety of activities that allows them to explore and learn about the different senses that help us to better understand the world around us.

Here are the five senses that of our umbrella unit:

          -Feel

        -See

        -Hear

        -Smell

        -Taste

It will be a fun unit, and we look forward to exploring one sense at a time with our little ones.

Outdoor Fun with Care Partners: February 14^th (M-W-F class)

We are planning another fun filled morning with our care partners on Friday, February 14th. We will take the children outside to the small hill for some winter fun. Our little ones will have a chance to toboggan with their care partners, explore in the snow, and afterwards enjoy a warm cup of hot chocolate. We will make a friendship card to give to our care partners on this day. Sleds will be provided by our care partners.

Valentine Cards:

Any families wishing to bring Valentine Cards to preschool are welcome to bring them to school. In case you are planning to do so, we kindly ask you to please ensure your child has a card for ALL students of our class. If you are in need of an updated class list please let us know, we are happy to provide one for you. (Tuesday/Thursday class is invited to wear pink or red on Thursday Feb. 13th)

FRIENDLY REMINDERS

- Dress for the weather

As our lovely Saskatchewan weather continues to warm up off and on, we would like to be outside each day. Please ensure your child has all the cozy, warm and water proof clothing items and foot wear they may need for these days.

This may affect our daily routine for Sharing times. On your child’s scheduled day, please let us know if your able to stay a few extra minutes in the morning, and we will start the day with your child’s sharing! If you're not able to stay at 9 a.m.  but would like to watch later, we will come back inside and have sharing at our usual 11:35 time. Just let us know, prior to your child’s show and tell date.

-Frau Hecker Away (February 6-25)

Frau Hecker will be away visiting family in Germany February 6-25th. During her absence Frau Lorenz will be team teaching with Frau Skinner. Mrs. Skinner has worked as a preschool teacher at our school in the past.  She also does special story time, and our little ones are in for a treat.

For any questions, reported absences or concerns while Uli Hecker will be gone please call or text:

Larissa Lorenz: 306 -220-4830 email: riss@sasktel.net

We ask parents to only contact the front office of Brevoort Park School if you can’t get a hold of the teacher.

DATES & REMINDERS

Feb 13      Students are welcome to wear red and pink

Feb 14         M-W-F class: Care Partner activities outside

Feb 17-21   Winter Break (school will resume Monday 24)

Feb 26         Scholastic Book orders are due

                     Frau Hecker will be back from Germany

Feb 28      Last day to return order forms for Mom’s pantry fundraiser forms

A special Thank You goes out to Kira’s dad who visited our MWF class to tell us all about Chinese New Year! Your special visit was greatly appreciated!

SCHOLASTIC BOOKS: ONLINE ORDERS

For any families wishing to order books for the month of February:

The deadline to order for this month is Wednesday Feb. 26th. If you need any help to set up an account, please don't hesitate to contact Frau Lorenz. As of now, we will only be using the online ordering system and no longer sending home the paper flyers. If you need another copy of the steps to create an account, please let us know.

Beach Party

BEACH PARTY

Wednesday, January 29^th

Thursday, January 30^th 

After a long cold stretch, we are ready for a hot trip! As part of our ocean unit, we are planning a fun beach party in our classroom.

Our tables will turn into coral reefs, we will have snack on the beach and enjoy a variety of fun ocean activities.

Fasching

At this time of the year, many provinces in Germany celebrate a cultural tradition called “Fasching” or “Karneval”. This is a celebration that originated in the 13^th century and is meant to scare away winter.

We have decided to celebrate our traditional Fasching (carnival) a little early this year as Frau Hecker will be gone for an extended week in February. Therefore, we will combine two parties into one. Fingers crossed that Fasching mixed with beach themed activities will help to chase winter away!

Snack provided

Larissa and I will put a “beach snack” buffet together.  So please enjoy a break, and just pack a water bottle for your child. It’s going to be sunny and hot in the room, so they will get thirsty.

We invite the children to dress in whatever “summer/beach clothes” they like for this fun day. Please bring a beach towel!

Parents are invited to join us from 11:15 - 11:45 a.m.!

We invite all parents/caregivers to join us for the last 30 minutes of class on this day. Our little ones will march through the room chanting for winter to GO AWAY and sing a variety of our ocean songs. We will end the day with a traditional Fasching “candy toss” parade and a special beach drink for our parents!

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