Sunday, January 29, 2012

What a GREAT Hibernation Day!! & Upcoming Events

Hello Beautiful Preschool Families:)

Our first annual "Hibernation Day" was a blast with all classes! Of course the popcorn and hot cocoa topped it all off! We played games like the Hibernation Dance and the students introduced their hibernation friends that they brought to school. Thanks to the families that let us borrow their popcorn poppers! One of our PreK students surprised us and donated a popcorn popper to the preschool! We now have our very own popper so I am sure we will have more popcorn parties in the future;) Thank you so much to those who also donated hot cocoa mix. We ALWAYS greatly appreciate the generosity of our wonderful families. We also want to say thanks to Mrs. Walsh's K2 class that came to read with our Friday classes. The kindergarteners did a fabulous jobs reading and interacting with the preschoolers. Thanks Mrs. Walsh;)

Our New Theme...
Our New theme this next couple of weeks will be Snow & Snowflakes.
In our Imaginations Station, we will have a snowman that the students will be able to dress and undress! We will be reading books about snow and snowflakes. We will be studying about a man named "Snowflake Bentley" who was one of the first to photograph and study snowflakes.
In our Art Station, the students will be making snow flakes and using different media to create snowmen and other winter items.
We will have our Listening Center open again in a our Reading Station to read snow books on CD.
Spanish words of the Week: Azul (blue) for Penguins and Once (11) and Doce (12) for Polar Bears
Religion focus for the week: The Holy Bible and Our Church
Lots of great things planned this week!

Parent- Teacher Conferences:
For those who have scheduled conferences with me, they will be held on February 2nd. Remember these are NOT mandatory conferences. As a result, unless I have contacted you for a conference OR you have requested one from me, you do not have to meet with me during the Winter Conferences. If you would like to meet, please feel free to contact me and we will schedule a time.

February Community Helper:
Our February community helper will be Trooper Brian Stischok with the State Highway Patrol. He will be speaking to the Penguins and Polar Bears on Friday February 3rd.

Catholic Schools Week:
As we go into "Catholic Schools Week" this week, we encourage the students to wear green, blue and yellow (our school colors) at some point during the week. It does not have to be St. Francis wear but just these colors or a combination of these colors.


Concluding Thoughts:
I see so much growth from the children! They are all doing such a great job. We continue to work on the fine motor with all the classes. Name writing with the Seals and Penguins, and Word families number formation with the Polar Bears. What a SUPER group of children we have been blessed with! May your week be blessed.

Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom

"Sing a new song to the Lord, who has done marvelous deeds."
Psalm 98:1

Monday, January 23, 2012

Hibernation Day and other fun stuff ;)

Hello Outstanding Preschool Families,

We have another fun-filled week hibernation week ahead! We will wrap up this week up with finishing our hibernation theme. We have been reading Karma Wilson's book "Bear Snores On" and we will end our week with a Hibernation Day. Each child can wear their most comfy pajamas as well as bring a favorite hibernating animal. We will pop popcorn and have hot cocoa too! We will play some hibernation games too!
Hibernation Day for SEALS: Thursday Jan. 26th
Hibernation Day for PENGUIN and POLAR BEARS: Friday Jan. 27th


PLAYDOH Recipe:
This week I made "sparkly white play-doh" to mimic snow as next week we dive into the theme of Winter and Snow. Some of the Polar Bears wanted me to "tell mom and dad how to make this stuff." I told them I would post this on the blog so here is the recipe for really EASY play-doh:
1 cup of salt
1 cup of water
2 cups of flour
1 TBSP of cooking oil
Food coloring or glitter (optional)
If you want to use food coloring, mix it in with the water before adding it to the other ingredients. If you use glitter, I mixed it in with the dry ingredients before adding the water.
Mix all the ingredients together and knead the mixture until it is dough and pliable.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK:
This upcoming week is Catholic School Week. Our open house is January 29th from 11:30- 2:00 pm. If you know of anyone who is searching out preschools, please feel free to invite them to our Open House on Sunday.

Have a super duper week! God bless.
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Hibernation theme and delay info;)

Hello Beautiful Preschool Families!
I hope this note finds you doing well and everyone staying healthy! Lots of respiratory yuckiness going around all over St. Francis...not just the preschool. ;( We continue to lift up and pray for healing for all of our preschool friends who are out sick. We miss you!!!! Please continue to encourage your precious little one to cover their cough/sneeze and keep those fingers off their noses and mouths;)

SCHOOL DELAYS/CLOSING Policy due to snow/ice:
I just wanted to remind everyone about the policy of delay/cancellations. IF St. Francis Elementary has a 2 hour delay, there is NO morning preschool for that specific morning group that comes that day. IF St. Francis Elementary is closed, then the preschool is closed as well.
Please check the blog site if you are in question of anything. You will want to go directly to the blog site. Do not wait for the email for your notification. The email notification for our blog is a bit inconsistant. I strongly encourge EVERYONE to check the St. Francis blog site directly if you are in doubt regarding snow delay and or cancellation.


Hibernation Theme for the weeks of Jan 17 and Jan 23rd:
We wrapped up our Polar Animal theme last Thursday. Check out all the Polar work in the hall that your beautiful children have done!
**We are now starting our Hibernation theme. Lots of great things planned. Our Imagination Station has now become a "Hibernation station". We have a hibernation den set up with different books about hibernation and all the different animals that hibernate. If anyone happens to have a large refrig. size box you would like to donate for this station, we will happily take if off your hands;)
**The sensory table has sand in it so the children can build dens for the plastic bears and other hibernating animals.
**Hibernation Science!!
**Lots of great songs to teach(..Going on a Bear Hunt!) and super books to read regarding the different animals that hibernate.
**Next week (the week of Jan. 23) will have a day for "Hibernation day" where the children can wear their jammies to school, bring their favorite hibernating animal, and we will have popcorn and hot cocoa!
**Seals' "Hibernation Day" is: THURSDAY January 26th
**Penguins' "Hibernation Day" is FRIDAY January 27th

**Here is a silly story I share with the students about the meaning of hibernation.
I have a friend named Bernate who gets real sleepy when the weather gets
cold. Whenever I see her, I wave my hand at her and say Hi Bernate!
Usually the very young ones stare at me wondering why I told this goofy story but the older Pre-K's get it and think it is so ridiculous!
** Next week, your student will be bringing home a bear that they have painted. Their "homework" is to place their bear in a hibernating spot for the night. They are to bring the bear back and tell us where their bear has hibernated!

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK OPEN HOUSE:
St. Francis will have open registration and open house visitations on Sunday January 29 through Tuesday January 31. Families who are interested in our preschool or in the elementary school are strongly encouraged to visit our school. If you know of anyone who is interested or looking at preschools, we humbly ask you to invite your friends and family to visit us!

Optometrist Dr. Dietz visits Polar Bear class!
Last Thursday, Dr. Brett Dietz visited our Pre-K Polar Bear class. He discussed how he helps our community stay healthy. Dr. Dietz is also a parent of 3 beautiful girls at St. Francis and does the eye screening at kindergarten registration. Many thanks goes to Dr. Dietz and to our wonderful Polar Bears! They were perfectly behaved and asked great questions. My FAVORITE was when one student ask Dr. Dietz if he is "able to see through me with your glasses?"

ENROLLEMENT AGREEMENT:
Please make sure you return your enrollment agreement as soon as you can so we can ensure a spot for your child. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to come in and ask.

PARENT SURVEY:
Within the next week, I will be sending out a parent survey to all families. Please keep on the watch for this in your child's folder. This helps me tweek things in the program and improve as a teacher and director so our preschool continues to grow and improve. I humbly ask you to take some time to fill this out and return it to me as soon as you can. We appreciate you input;)

Concluding thoughts:
To all our little ones who are out sick, we will pray you get well quickly!

"My son, when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God who will heal you:"
Sirach 38: 9

Friday, January 13, 2012

2nd School delay/cancellation Update- 7:43am- St. Francis de Sales Preschoo

2nd School delay/cancellation update: 7:43am

St. Francis de Sales Preschool will be CLOSED today Friday, January 13th. All classes are cancelled.
Any questions or concerns, please feel free to call 740-364-8280

Jan. 13- 1 st update: Snow delay- No morning Preschool

1st Snow Delay update: 5:30am:
**** St. Francis de Sales Preschool is on a 2 hour delay with NO MORNING Preschool today

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Reminder- No School on Monday ;)

Hello Fabulous Preschool Families ;)

Just a few things to share with you all:

1. No School on Monday January 16 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) Enjoy the day off;)

2. Health Notice:
Just a heads up, we are beginning to have more students sick with throat and respiratory illnesses . We are cleaning and disinfecting more than normal to help prevent the spread of these type of sicknesses. I have spoken to all our students regarding keeping their hands away from their noses and mouths. I also continually talk to them about the proper way of covering their coughs and sneezes as well as thoroughly washing their hands. I would greatly appreciate your help with reiterating these simple health tips.

I have had questions regarding what we would term as "stay at home" symptoms. Great question! So here are the policies:
**Please keep your child home if they are running a fever greater than 99.5 degrees.
**If your child is diagnosed with an illness that requires an antibiotic, they must be on
it for 24 hours before they can return to school.
** Please keep your child home if they have a cough that sounds hard or"barky" or
one in which they have uncontrollable fits of coughing; even if there is no fever.
**Please keep your child home if they have loose stools, stomach cramping, or vomiting.

Any questions regarding this policy, do not hesitate to talk with me.


3. Phone Issues:
We have no working phone in our office at this time. Please call Mrs. Burd's cell if you need to speak with either teacher or top call your child absent. This number is: 1-740-364-8280. I will let you all know once we get a working office again;) You can also contact me via email at: mburd@cdeducation.org



May the rest of your week be a very blessed one! God bless.

Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom

Monday, January 9, 2012

ooops...one more thing!

Hello Again Preschool Families...
I forgot to include some great info about a great opportunity:

Catco. Productions is putting on a play of " If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" on the following dates: January 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15. This play is based on the Laura Numeroff book series "If you Give a...." Our preschool used her books for an author study theme. The children loved these books and I am sure would love the play as well!
If you are interested, you can find further information on the following website: www.catco.org
Thank you to Katie Shay-Sutton for providing this information for a great dramatic opportunity.

Mrs. Burd

Back into the swing again;)

Hello Lovely Preschool Parents!
Ahhhh, back into the swing of things again...I LOVE structure! Now that we are back into a "normal" schedule, here are some items that we will be underway!

Enrollment Agreement for the 2012-2013 school year:
An Enrollment Agreement will be sent home this week in the PENGUINS and SEALS classes. This Enrollment Agreement will tell us who intends to come back next year and at which level you want your child to attend. This helps us determine how many enrollment spots remain after the intentions have been made which ensures your student's spot. If you need advice or input on which level your child would best be suited, please do not hesitate to ask Mrs. Bloom or I as we would be more than happy to give you our professional input on this decision.
If you know of anyone who is interested in St. Francis Preschool or who is looking for a preschool, please encourage them to call my office extension (345-4049 ext 236) or visit us during Catholic Schools Week held during the week of January 30th.


Winter Conferences:
Winter Conferences will be held on Thursday, Feburary 2nd from 3:30-6:00. This conference session is NOT mandatory however, I would be more than happy to meet with anyone who wishes to conference with me. If you would like to request a conference with me on February 2nd, please contact me and we can set up a time to do so.


Our Polar Animal Theme:
We started our new year out, with a polar animal theme. This theme will last into this week as well. (We will do a Hibernation theme starting next week.)
The children have been learning all about polar bears, walruses, seals, different types of whales, and penguins. Last week we had our water table actually filled with water and polar animals...they L-O-V-E the water table. The students so enjoy the tactial learning stations!

Here some other parts of our theme:
* Letter of the Week: B (we are learning about Beluga whales!)
* For Penguins and Seals: Spanish Colour Word of the Week: rojo (red)
*For Pre-K Polar Bears- Spanish counting Words- once (11) and doce (12)
*For Pre-K Polar Bears- Sight Word of the Week- big
*For Pre-K Polar Bears- Word Family of the Week- "am" words.

Wonderful Question...for Q&A session!
Q- "I notice my child is still struggling with the fine motor. How can I help them with this?"

A- I encourage parents to allow their child to play with scissors...supervised of course! ;)
The same muscles it takes to open and shut a scissors are many of the ones they will use to hold a writing tool and write! If you want to contain the "mess" cutting can potentially make, allow them to cut Play-doh on a place mat or allow them to cut paper in a tote or tub.
Also sorting small items such as M&M's, Cherrios, or Lucky Charms works the "pinching" and "grasping" muscles. This can help the fine motor as well.

GREAT question! Thanks for the question!

Concluding Thoughts:
Thanks for all you do for your child and our preschool! We appreciate it. God bless.

Respectfully yours,
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Delay and cancellation policies

Hello Dedicated Preschool Families!

Well, the snow has finally graced us and so we come to the issue of school delays and cancellations. Here is how it will work:
** If St. Francis Elementary is closed, the preschool is closed as well.
** If St. Francis Elementary is under a two hour delay, there will be no MORNING preschool for that day; however if school is in session after the two hour delay, we will still hold AFTERNOON preschool (Pre-K Polar Bear group).
Once the school administration calls me, I will post the update on the BLOG as soon I get the information and on WCLT radio.(www.wclt.com)
If you have any questions regarding this policy, please let us know and we will be happy to clarify.


AFTERNOON PICK-UP:
We would like to extend a HUGE thanks to all the Afternoon Pre-K families for adjusting to our new pick-up policy with such grace and class! You have all been so great about this and I think it is running very smoothly. Remember, if you ever have a concerns or questions regarding the afternoon pick-up routine, please do not hesitate to bring it up to us. We are here to help!

Change of Clothes:
Remember, with winter upon us, please make sure to take a peek into your student's "change of clothes" bag to make sure you have winter clothes and not shorts or short sleeved t-shirts. My suggestion is the following:
**Long pants or sweatpants, **long sleeved shirt, **a pair of socks, and **an extra pair of underwear.
I also recommend throwing an extra sweatshirt into the backpack during the winter. With the heat being shut off during holidays, the building does take a while to warm up. Having an extra sweatshirt that the kids could throw on would be helpful.

PASTA:
Please check your pasta order over to make sure we have filled your orders accurately. If you discover an error, please let us know;)

Concluding Thoughts....
It was so good to see the kids today! I truly missed those little laughs and shining smiles! What a blessing! God bless.

Yours in education,
Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year Everyone ;)

Happy New Year Preschool Families ;)

I hope you all had a very peaceful and joyful Christmas holiday! I wanted to remind everyone that SEALS and POLAR BEARS will be starting back to school on: TUESDAY January 3rd and PENGUINS will be back on WEDNESDAY January 4th. I can not wait to see you all and to welcome you all back.
Mrs. Bloom and I would like to THANK YOU ALL for your wonderful effort and support on the FunPasta Fundraiser! We also want to recognize ENZO BORLAND. He is being recognized for having the highest amount of FunPasta sales for our school! He will recieve a $10 Walmart card from the FunPasta Company for this achievement. Way to go Enzo !!!!!

Here is a run down on what the first pary of January will bring for our classes:

Our theme for the first two weeks of January: Winter/Polar Animals and those that hibernate

Our letter for this week: "W"(for Seals and Penguins) Word Family feature: "at" family
(P Bears)
Sight Word of the week: "we" (Polar Bears)

Saint of the Month of January: St. Francis de Sales (feast day is this month!) all classes

Author of the Month: Jan Brett (all classes)

Religious focus for this week: The Epiphany (all classes)



To the SEALS Moms and Dads: I will have your pasta orders in bags for you when you drop your precious ones off on Tuesday morning.

Enjoy your Monday off! See you all back on your scheduled day. God bless you all!

Mrs. Burd and Mrs. Bloom
"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw His glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth."
John 1: 14