Arcadia Episcopal Preschool Newsletter SEPTEMBER
From The Director
Welcome back to our regular school year. A lot of changes will start happening around the curriculum. Teachers will take a more active role at planning the weekly interests of the children to help them meet their goals. To find out what your child is currently working on in their class, please look at the lesson plan that I will email to you every week beginning September 9, 2020. We will record a back to school night on Zoom for September 11, where parents can see what is taught in their child’s class. If you have questions about anything in class, email them to me by September 9 and I will give them to the teachers to answer in the recording. I will send you the recording when we have finished. You may also wish to schedule a parent teacher conference via zoom with the teachers, but it will need to be after 2:00pm. Just send an email to me and I will confirm, please give me at least a days’ notice. Conferences will be limited to 15-20 minutes.
This year the enrollment is getting off to a slow start. If you have any friends or acquaintances that need a school, please refer them to us. We have one space in Kindergarten, one space in the Pre-kindergarten and one space in the Seahorse class. So we are still practicing social distancing and try to keep enough space between the children.
School spirit day is Tuesday and we celebrate together by wearing our school t-shirts. Some children have red, blue or even purple shirts and its okay to wear any of them. Unfortunately I only have larger sizes left, but if you wash it in hot water it should shrink. If it fits just right, then wash it in cold water and line dry.
Mother Ada (Rector) will do zoom recordings for chapel time which we will watch weekly. Ms. Kathy (A church member and
volunteer) will also do Zoom recordings to help the children learn Christian songs.
There have been changes in the staff schedule. Ms. Debbie will work 8am until1pm and Ms. Frannie 1pm until closing. Ms. Beth stay at am until 5 pm daily and Ms. Kim or I will do drop off and pick up and continue with the kindergarten children.
Grandparent’s day is September 13. If you happen to have a picture of your parents, please bring it in on Monday, September 14 in a Ziploc bag and we will have the children share it.
The Stingrays are doing great. They are still get used to the on-line learning and love it when they get to have playtime with the Dolphins.
I think this is working out well. Please let me know if you have any ideas to add. Thanks!
Let us all have a happy and safe month.
In God’s service,
Marie Ostrowski
Dolphins-Ms. Frannie
The new school year of 2020-2021 is here! Let me introduce a little bit about myself. I obtained my Bachelor degree in Child Development at Cal State Fullerton in 2001. I have been working at AEP for sixteen years. I started working as a lunchroom/assistant teacher and then promoted as the pre-k teacher. After a couple years of absences from working, I decided to come back working at AEP again and became the Turtle teacher and Starfish teacher a few years later. I am excited that I am back teaching the Dolphin class again. Through working with various preschool ages, I have learned many experiences and knowledge. Both of my children attended their preschool years at AEP . This year they are thirteen and ten years old. During leisure time, I enjoy spending time with my family, cooking, baking, and making crafts.
All of the children had so much fun with August themes. I have enjoyed seeing the children’s developmental growth in cognitive, social-emotional, physical, and creative skills. Inch by inch, they are learning to develop those skills. During this pandemic, I’ve noticed the children are expanding their language and creativity skills during play and art. The children are very imaginative at building innovative structures with Legos and many other manipulative toys.
On Book Day, the children drew amazing pictures and told stories about them. Everyone enjoyed listening to each other’s stories they created. They all did a wonderful job for their literacy project. On Backwards Day, we had fun saying our names backwards. Ice Cream Day was a big hit for the children. They just love ice cream so much and couldn’t wait to eat it for afternoon snack. Fairy Tale week was amusing for the Dolphins. They enjoyed listening to tales and at the same time learning valuable lessons in the stories such as not talking to strangers, being safe, listening to parents, and other good lessons.
The children do their physical exercises in the Daum Haul during hot days when they cannot play outside. They have practiced bouncing, throwing, and catching a ball. In addition, they have been practicing how to be a friend by using kind words and actions. It is important to teach children how to be kind and use kind words. At home, you can point out and praise the kind act you have caught your child doing. It will boost and promote kindness.
We will explore more new fun themes in September. I am looking forward to autumn.
I hope you all had a great summer. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please call Ms. Marie to set up an appointment by phone for a meeting.
Have a wonderful month
Dolphins –Ms Debbie
Welcome to the 2020/2021 school year. I am so excited to be back in the class teaching. This month we are getting to know our class routine and rules. We will continue to work on our social skills such as communication, waiting for a turn and following directions. We are doing this while social distancing.
Our themes for the month are All About Me, Family, Friends, Safety and Five senses.
For all about me the children will learn about themselves by discussing how we look and our likes and dislikes.
We will look at a feelings poster each day and learn the different feelings and how we can express each emotion without embarrassment or being ashamed of them. We will focus on ways to express our feelings in appropriate ways. Once the children can identify and name their feelings, they are able to express themselves verbally. It will also help them with controll their impulses.
Please bring in a family picture to share. The children will each get a chance to talk about their family and then we will display the photo on the bulletin board.
Letter of the week will begin September 14th. A new letter will be introduced each week.
- Wear a mask
- Wash hands
- Social distance 6 feet
- Follow directions
- Be safe
- Be kind
From Ms. Beth- the Seahorses
Hello everyone! Welcome to the new 2020-2021 school year. We had a wonderful month filled with exploration and experimentation. Our class used purple day as a jump start to observing colors. The primary colors of red, blue and yellow made the secondary colors of purple, green and orange. Don’t worry if you missed it. We will repeat the experiment when we explore color in art study. The class finished off the summer in an explosive fun fest on Hawaiian luau day. We discussed the customary foods of the luau, the culture of the islands and witnessed a volcanic explosion. What a great way to wave goodbye to summer and dive into the new school year.
As we set sail into September, we will get to know each other through math, art and social studies activities in the theme of “All About Me.” The class will graph their favorite things, hear stories about family, friendship and learn how to express their feelings. We will create art collages that depict their understanding of their world. One of our goals for the month is to help children trust that their parents will return. Stories like Don’t Forget to Come Back by Robie H. Harris will assist them in this. We will also sing songs and play games that foster a sense of safety and fun. Safety is a primary concern at our school. So later in the month we will discuss school rules and learn about safe play with stories like How Do Dinosaurs Stay Safe? By Jane Yolen. The children will use stepping stones to work on balance and coordination safely, which is another monthly goal.
I like to spend some time talking with students at the beginning of the new school year. I observe where they are in their learning process and how I can help them advance. Each month there will be goals we strive to meet. As I have a split age group of three and five year old students now, the goals will be geared to the individual needs of each child. Art projects like “feeling faces” will utilize the same materials, but how much is prepared will depend on the child’s ability. Once we have settled in, the class will begin tray tasking. Tray tasks are designed to promote cross body movements that foster thinking between both sides of the brain. They also promote hand-preparedness for future writing skills and critical thinking skills. Each age group will perform tasks geared to their level.
It looks to be another fun filled year of learning. I can’t wait!
Sailing into September with excitement…
From The Assistant Director- Ms. Kim
Hello,
I hope everyone had a nice summer. It certainly was the oddest one I can remember. I have to say that under these circumstances the children are doing a remarkable job and I see lots of smiles and hear laughter all day.
Our new class is the Stingrays and they are the kindergarteners. They have learned so much already. They are doing their zoom meetings with their teachers and doing their schoolwork as independently as possible. Way to go Stingrays.
I am getting used to my new job as assistant director. It is very different from being a teacher. I have been a teacher for 27 years and I will miss being in a classroom. The good thing is I get to do the teachers breaks and lunches, so I get to know and spend time with each student in the school. We are having so much fun.
Have a wonderful month.