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Lakeside Presbyterian Church Weekday Preschool

March 2009 Newsletter

March 2009

School News
Dr Suess’s Birthday!!
We will celebrate Dr Seuss’s birthday the week of March 2 - 6. Once again we have asked for parent volunteers to be mystery readers of their favorite Dr. Suess book. A sign up letter was sent home with each child and was due back to your child’s teacher by Friday, February 27. If you find yourself able to participate at the last moment, please call the preschool office and volunteer!  As has become our tradition, we will be fixing green eggs and ham for everyone. Yum! Yum!

Annual Leprechaun Hunt
What would a celebration of St. Patrick’s Day be without our infamous “Hunt for the Lakeside Leprechaun”? Like Pajama Day, this event has become a tradition. Just ask any former LPC Weekday Preschooler!  The “hunt” will be held on Tuesday, March 17th*. We’ll all wear our green and who knows someone just might catch that leprechaun!
*Children who do not normally attend on Tuesdays are invited to come for the morning. They can be dropped off and picked up through the arrival and dismissal lines. IF YOU WANT YOUR MWF CHILD TO COME ON TUESDAY, MARCH 17, YOU MUST LET YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER KNOW NO LATER THAN MONDAY, MARCH 9 SO WE WILL BE EXPECTING THEM!

Attention Pre-K Parents
It is time to administer the PALS Pre-K test. PALS Pre-K is a phonological awareness and literacy screening that measures preschoolers’ developing knowledge of reading fundamentals. Your permission is required for your child to take the test. Permission forms will be sent home in your child’s Important Papers folder on Friday, March 6 and are due back signed by Monday, March 9. The test will be given the week of March 23 - 27. The Pre-K teachers will discuss the results with individual parents at their Parent-Teacher conference to be scheduled in April after we return from Spring Break. If you would like more information about the test, please click here .

“Little Kids! BIG ART” Show and Spaghetti Dinner
Save this date: Saturday, April 25 5:30pm because it is the evening we’ll show off art work created during the year by your children and enjoy another yummy spaghetti dinner prepared by the Preschool staff! Mark your calendar now! Bring all the family and friends you want! Reservation forms will be sent home the week we return from Spring Break. April is designated as Scholarship Month and all proceeds from this event go into the God is Good Scholarship fund.

Parent Group
Meredith Hertzler (Henry, TMO) and Loren Johnson (Chase, Playgroup) are moving forward with the creation of the Preschool Parent Group. We are pleased to see that several parents that have responded on the forum. There will be a meeting on Thursday, March 19th at 7pm at the preschool. We will discuss the Spaghetti Dinner and what we can do to support the staff for this event. Please contact Meredith or Loren for more information. An email will be coming closer to the March 19th date.

2009-10 Enrollment Update
Program Openings:
*TMO class: 1 space on Monday, 2 spaces on Tuesday, 1 space on Wednesday, 1 space on Thursday and 1 space on Friday
*Playgroup: 3 - 5 openings depending on the days desired
*Preschool: 2 day (T, Th) openings only
*Pre-K: full, waiting list available
*Kindergarten: 2 openings left
**Staffing needs: Applications are now being accepted for 2 openings on the Toddler Morning Out staff, additional PM Extended Hours staff, and substitutes. Anyone interested in more information or an application is asked to call the Preschool office (261-7942) and speak directly with Mrs. Amrhein.

Ukrop’s Golden Gift Program
Ukrop’s has launched their Golden Gift program, and you can help our Preschool earn a portion of the $200,000 dollar payout! You will earn one point for every dollar you spend at Ukrop’s from March 2 through March 28.  No registration is required, just use you UVC card.  The more you shop the more points you earn.  When you donate your points at the end of the program, our Preschool can redeem them for a portion of the payout.  For more details about the program, visit Ukrops.com. The proceeds from this program are used to help with the annual cost of maintaining the playground which runs about $3000.00. This includes mulching every year, replenishing sand twice a year, replacing hay bales every year and adding or replacing at least one piece of equipment every year.

March Birthdays
Happy Birthday to: Mrs. Hudson - March 2, Noah Matthews - March 10, Leah Dunkelberger -March 24, Lindsey Johnson - March 25, Mrs. Hackenberg - March 26, Caleb McCain - March 29.

For Your Thoughts & Prayers
*The Skaggs (Ms.Amy & Brady) family are having a baby in September!
*Mrs. Gill (April) and Mrs. Amrhein (September) are going to grandmothers again!
*Cindy Ransom, whose sons Jesse and Luke attended our program some years back, is undergoing treatment for cancer.
*Our families who have lost or are facing the possibility of losing their jobs due to their companies closing or down-sizing.

Reminders
Summer Adventure Camp
We are still registering for our Summer Adventure Camps. With only 20 spaces available per camp, they are filling up fast. Don’t be left out, the last day to register is March 31. If you would like more information visit the website. We made it even easier to register by doing so right on the site!

Thank You:
To Jamie Foster (Kaitlyn) for coming in and sharing your “occupation” as a dental hygienist with us on Friday, Feb. 27. Jamie is a member of the Boyle Dentistry team in Mechanicsville. For more information about their practice please visit their website.

To Parents for sending in requested items for our Valentines Day “sundaes”.  Everyone had a great time creating and eating!

Website and Forum
Weekly Extras!
Mrs. Gill and Mrs. Mandy are both now contributing to our forum in their own special category called ”Weekly Extras”. Mrs. Gill will tell us all about what the kids are learning in Music and God is Good Time. Mrs. Mandy will answer the question “What in the heck is that song my child singing?” by updating us on the things she is doing in Creative Movement. Lastly, Mrs. Amrhein will be doing her own weekly section under “From the Director’s Desk” with articles, stories or just things she wants us to know. We will link to those sections each week from the newsletters, but feel free to check them out if you happen to be looking at your child’s photos or reading those teacher updates.

Credit Card Tuition Payments
We are discussing the possibility of using Paypal on the website to accept credit cards and debit cards for tuition payments. A poll has been created on the forum to determine the interest level of providing this service. Please click here to view the poll and give you two cents! Thanks!

From the Director’s Desk
Lent, the journey to Easter, began February 25 with the traditional Ash Wednesday Service. Lakeside Presbyterian Church will host two more family friendly events during the Lenten season on Wednesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 25. There will be a dinner at 6pm followed by planned activities for children and adults. The Weekday Preschool staff is preparing and serving the dinners on both nights. Mrs. Spalding is planning activities for the children and Pastor Dick will lead a discussion with the adults using the book Christianity for the Rest of Us. We plan to end by 8pm. All are welcome, even if it is just for dinner! To help with our planning, please send us an email if your plan to attend and how many will be coming. 

Have you heard about the book The Shack? Have you read it? If you haven’t I highly recommend it. It is one of those WOW reads. On Wednesday, March 4 at 7pm Pastor Dick is going to lead a discussion of The Shack at Lakeside Presbyterian Church. All are welcome!

We are doing our very best to keep you informed and up to date through your child’s Important Papers folder, the monthly newsletter and the web site. Please check your child’s Important Information folder when they come home, removing papers being sent home for you to look at with your child, reading notices of upcoming events and noting those dates and responding to requests or teacher notes. Please open email notices before deleting them. When you have class/child specific questions or concerns, please e-mail your child’s teacher directly. The teachers check their email regularly and will reply as necessary. Thank you!

Classroom Updates
Toddler’s Morning Out: The toddlers (2+) are actively communicationg with one another.  It has been facinating to watch this progression.  At arrival time they are peeking over the door to see who is coming.  And if someone is late or out...the are asked about often. Gianna has some friends of her own now.  Gianna, Charlotte, Jane and Anthony are all playing nicely with eachother and the toys. There is some crawling and scooting going on too with these little ones...read more.

Playgroup: We read Ten Rosy Roses and Dora Loves Boots. Our Valentine’s Day parties were so much fun! Everyone enjoyed ice cream sundaes and exchanging Valentines. Thank you for taking the time to remember all of your friends and teachers...read more.

Preschool:
Mrs. Hudson’s Class: We have successfully completed our alphabet through the letter T and will paint teeth with a toothbrush and have a visit from a dental hygienist.  The boys and girls will learn all about a visit to the dentist and how important it is to take good care of their teeth.  They have enjoyed completing art work with each letter they learn such as rockets for the letter R and snakes for the letter S… read more.

Mrs. Parent’s Class: During community time on friday, we had lots of S snacks. We had Skittles, Smarties, salsa, Scooby Snacks, Starburst, and Saltines. Yes it sounds quite “sugary”, but we didn’t let them overdo. This week we will work on T. As you saw with the letter we sent, we will be having a T party. These types of activities we do really seem to help them with remembering the letter...read more.

Pre-K:
Mrs. Porter’s Class: On Friday, we celebrated the 100th day of school.  We put together a row of 100 blocks, made a booklet with 100 animals pictured in it, and went outside to see how far 100 steps was.  With Mrs. Porter’s class, we made a 100-day snack mix to take home, and had a snack with a sugar wafer and two Oreos to make a “100” on our plate.  It was an exciting day. Next week our focus will be the letter “T” and dental week...read more.

Mrs. Oliver’s Class: We had a lot of fun at our 100th day celebration.  My question of the day on Friday was “Can you count to 100?” and everyone was able to answer yes!  We colored the number 100, observed 100 seconds of silence, and ate a special snack with a sugar wafer and 2 Oreos.  We sorted and counted out 10 fruit loops in 10 different colors and strung them on a piece of yarn to make a 100th Day necklace.  We put together 10 blocks of 10 different colors to see how long 100 blocks was and then I measured each child to see how many blocks tall they were.  This was a big hit!… read more.

Extended Hours: The morning group had been into beading lately, making many beautiful bracelets and magic wands.  We also listen to music and try to do the dances and motions the children have learned with Mrs. Gill and Ms. Mandy. “God’s Army” and “Tarzan” by Dr. Jean are favorites. The playgroup has loaned us their basket of ponies and horses, and it has been a very popular addition to the room… read more.

Music/ God Is Good Time: In music we sing and learn songs both new and familiar, seasonal and holiday, and just plain fun.  In February we sang about valentines and teeth—brushing our teeth to be exact.  Ask your child who is the best friend of their “happy” teeth.  Hopefully they will tell you it is a toothbrush.  Everyone’s favorite song this month has been “Sticky Bubblegum.” See if they can demonstrate it for you. read more.

Creative Movement: We have been working on following directions A LOT this year.  The children listen to instructions given by me or by a song and put it to motion. The playgroup has been working on alot of their gross motor skills such as walking, running and galloping with songs like “Listen and Move” and “Get on the Move”.  Some of their favorites right now are “Five Little Monkeys”, “These Are My Glasses”, “The Wheels On The Bus” and “Late Last Night”.... read more

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions!

Highlights This Month