Dear Families,
Welcome back to a full week of school as we try to push winter away and hope for signs of spring to arrive early. I would like to thank all of the families who phoned, emailed and wrote letters of support for Heath Extended Day. Your messages were heard and we have learned that our downstairs Pre-K and K/1 space will remain as a dedicated space for HEDP. We will also be using the cafeteria during the 2010-2011 school year. HEDP may have to share our upstairs 2-6 and pickup room to show support and flexibility to the Heath School. I appreciate your support and welcome ideas from any parent who may have creative suggestions for storage and how we can maximize a small space.
Heath Extended Day will be holding pre-registration for the 2010-2011 school year during the month of March. I will be sending out forms and asking for a commitment of days to be returned to me by March 19th. Pre Registration will be open for the entire Heath School March 29th-April 1st so please send in your form ASAP.
I am pleased to announce that we are continuing to work in cooperation with Wheelock College as a Field Learning Placement. We currently have twelve students that are working in both the K/1 and 2-6 rooms. Please help us welcome these future educators and childhood professionals by introducing yourself. Feel free to contact me should you have any questions on concerns.
We look forward to working with you and your child as the season changes. Please look for future notes regarding changes in policy from the Department of Early Education and Care in MA and how it what that will mean to you and HEDP.
Kindly,
Noelle
Important bits...
Fill out our Pre-Registration form and return it no later than 3/19.
Please continue to provide your child with appropriate winter clothing (hat, gloves, coat, boots...).
Label each piece of clothing and check the lost and found on a regular basis.
We encourage you to provide an extra pair of shoes or slippers for Extended Day use.
Continue to offer your suggestions and comments to help enhance our program.
We will hold classroom clean-up days for those who want to fulfill volunteer hours on Monday 3/15 and Monday 4/5 from 5pm-7pm. Please see Noelle for more information.
Thank you to all of the families who have donated supplies and shopping trips to HEDP during the past couple of months.
HEDP Wishlist
Staplers
Tape dispensers
Paper towels
Pencils
Pencil Sharpeners
Duct Tape
Drawing Paper
Masking Tape
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
K/1 is out of this world!
K-1 NEWS LETTER
February 2010
2-6 is learning about others and making a difference
February 2010
Heath Extended Day 2-6 Newsletter
During the month of January:
The 2-6 children began the month of January with an All about Art theme. Using different art mediums and techniques, the children created many creative pieces of artwork. Glass painting was a big hit! The kids chose from an assortment of glass squares, which they painted patterns on using glass paint. The patterns they created were vibrant and creative! The big painted squares make wonderful drink coasters for your home, while the small glass squares they painted were turned into magnets. Furthermore, during the All about Art theme, the children used markers to create trading cards and 2010 calendars, clay to make functional pieces, liquid watercolor to paint the snow and scratch art to create metallic designs.
The second half of January and the first week of February was dedicated to a three week theme of Cultural Celebration. The 2-6 team created this unit as a way for the children to learn, understand and appreciate the many cultural backgrounds of their peers. The countries the children learned about during this unit were Italy, Greece, India, Israel, Slovakia and China. For each country we studied, the children learned about the country’s map, flag, a specific landmark, traditions and foods. In learning about the map, the children colored a small blank outlined map for each country and wrote facts that they learned. They then outlined a bigger version of the country’s map and recorded their favorite fact. In learning about the flag, the children individually created the country’s flag using different art mediums. They learned about traditions through stories, readings and from kids’ personal experiences. The biggest hit during this unit was building landmarks from different countries and the cooking their traditional foods. The children were given a choice to be builders or cooks. The builders built a given landmark by using paper, recycled materials, clay and cardboard. Some chose to work in small groups while others chose to work independently. The results of their creativity and interpretations of a landmark were wonderful. Please see all the displays of the maps, flags and landmarks during the 2-6 Cultural Celebration. The cooks followed recipes of foods traditional to the country. We made two recipes from each country, typically a meal and a dessert. The kids loved making and tasting the different foods.
Cultural Celebration Family Potluck Dinner:
Thank you to all who join us for the 2-6 potluck dinner on Monday, February 8th. It was a wonderful evening filled with art, culture and wonderful food. We were lucky to have shared this very special event with you and your family. Each family was asked to bring in a dish or dessert traditional to their culture. Your recipe will be used for the recipe book we will be making for all the 2-6 families. This book will also include all of the recipes we made during our unit.
What to look forward to in February:
During the first week of February, the children will be finishing up with the Cultural Celebrations unit. While learning about China, the children will also be celebrating Chinese New Year! During the second week of February, the children will be participating in art and craft activities and gift making for Valentine's Day! During the last week of February, after vacation, we will be focusing on an Olympics theme to celebrate the 2010 Winter Olympics! Included in this theme will be a focus on team building, good sportsmanship and conflict resolution.
Also in the last week of February, we will be focusing on a Bully Proof: being a better friend theme. The children will be split into small groups where they will participate in role playing games, friendship building projects and kind word activities.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Important notes from Noelle
It’s a new year and a new beginning! It is a time to look forward to the exciting months ahead.
During these challenging times it is more important than ever to pursue the opportunity to learn, get to know your neighbor and help those in need. Every day provides us the chance to grow and change. Throughout the New Year we will be presented with the opportunity to help someone in need, and though we may feel like we can not do enough, we can often help through small acts of kindness. We can bring a glimmer of hope to those who are facing greater challenges through acts of generosity, a warm smile or words of encouragement.
I am happy to announce that we raised $129.00 for Project Bread through the Spoon Project. The 2-6 group enjoyed creating some of the best spoons I have ever seen. They put love and thought into each detail. Many of the younger children were eager to purchase a spoon and share it with a family member. We are proud of your child's involvement and efforts to help stop hunger in the Bay State. Thank you to all the families who contributed to this wonderful project!
The Heath Extended Day teaching team will be focusing on friendship, teambuilding and service in the months to come. We hope to focus on community service in the months to come in all three of our classrooms. We hope to instill a greater value of helping others in need. Please discuss the importance of giving back to those in need and the community around us. Look for notices in your child's classroom for updates with this project.
YOUR ACTION IS NEEDED
Heath Extended Day will be facing more challenges as the Heath School population continues to grow and the Heath School looks for one more classroom. Our K/1 space may have to be used as a classroom and we would have to share the classroom. This will pose huge challenges since we have already lost space and have our 2-6 program in the cafeteria.
We may be faced with limited enrollment availability, slim storage space and no place to store and prepare our snacks to name a few. In addition, to the $15,000 we used to renovate (lighting, painting, carpet, cabinets to name a few) and update the spaces we had within the last 2 years. I understand the pressure Principal Katzman must feel but worry about the quality and longevity of our program. We take pride in providing an enriching afternoon for each and every child.
PLEASE write a letter to one or all of the names below in support of Heath Extended Day and why it benefits from full time use of a classroom space in the Heath School. Please express your concern over limited enrollment, high quality programming and the challenges of shared space and why it will not work. Please write a few lines to show your support for extended day or call each person listed below.
Principal: milly_katzman@brookline.k12.ma.us ph.617-879-4570
Superintendent: bill_lupini@brookline.12.ma.us ph.617-730-2403
Dept. Supt. Admin. & Fin.: peter_rowe@brookline.k12.ma.us ph.617-730-2424
Mgr. Bld. Svs.: james_pagliaruo@brookline.k12.ma.us ph.617-730-2419
BPS School Committee member/ extended day rep.: barbara_scotto@brookline.k12.ma.us ph.617-730-2430
You may cut and past these addresses should you want to send a mass email.
milly_katzman@brookline.k12.ma.us, bill_lupini@brookline.12.ma.us, james_pagliaruo@brookline.k12.ma.us, barbara_scotto@brookline.k12.ma.us, peter_rowe@brookline.k12.ma.us
I appreciate your assistance, understanding and help with this matter. It is essential that the Brookline Public School community hear your questions and concerns. Please contact me sould you have any questions.
I wish you a wonderful New Year!
Fondly,
Noelle
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Pre-K Extended Day
Happy New Year!! We hope everyone had a wonderful break filled with fun and relaxation!
Exciting Happenings in December:
Pre-K embraced winter by traveling to the coldest parts of the world to study Polar Bears and Penguins. We started with Artic Animals and how they survive in the cold and ended with the long travels of Emperor Penguins in the Antarctic. We even painted our feet to make penguins! Before Vacation we took a break from the cold and made some delicious chocolate treats for families and friends to enjoy over the week!
What is to come in January:
Pre-K has been investigating the snow and doing fun activities making snowflakes and winter scenes. We will also be starting a unit on friendship and making friendship books for each of our friends to take home!
Dates to Remember:
January 18 No School Martin Luther King Day
Sign out:
Please remember to sign out your child at the sign out station when you pick up. If you pick up before 2:15 please note the time. Thank You!
I would like to thank all our Pre-K friends and families for the generous gift I received before Break! It was very thoughtful and gave me another reason to smile at work! Thank you all again!
Beth
K/1 is Jumping for January 2010
Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a relaxing and fun-filled break! We appreciate all the generous goodies and treats that were donated to the classroom and given to our teaching team. Thank you!
K-1 traveled to the coldest parts of the world to study Polar Bears and Penguins during the month of December. We started with Artic Animals and how they survive in the cold and ended with the long travels of Emperor Penguins in the Antarctic. We also began a little of our own penguin sliding with our Sledding adventures. Before Vacation we took a break from the cold and made some delicious chocolate treats for families and friends to enjoy over the New Year vacation!
What’s to come in January:
January will be an exciting month about Outer Space. K-1 will learn about Space Travel as they visit each Planet to learn facts and do an exciting project. We have turned our dramatic play into a space station with a control center and a rocket ship! Ask your little astronaut to tell you what they have learned so far! Each day K-1 has been painting one of the planets so we can hang them up in our classroom. Keep a lookout for our mini solar system to appear in our classroom.
Books we are Reading:
It Came From Outerspace by Henry Baker
Stars and Planets by Carole Scott
The Best book of Spaceships by Ian Graham
Eye Wonder Space by DK
Destination Space by Tammi Salzano
If You Decide to Go to the Moon by Faith McNulty
Sledding Information:
K-1 has been bringing students sledding to the back playground. If you would like to have your child involved please see a teacher for a permission slip and provide your child with a helmet! It has been an exciting success! Children may bring in their own sleds or we have a few they can borrow. K-1 Teachers will use their own discretion to decide if we will sled on a particular day. All sledders must wear snow pants, helmets, mittens/gloves, hat and boots. There will be no exceptions.
Snow Gear:
As winter continues we are adding more gear for the children to carry. Please provide a bag for the children to keep track of their stuff. We are asking for waterproof gloves if the children want to touch the snow.
Boot Tags:
Many children have similar boots. Therefore, we have started a boot tag system. After we come in from outside ALL of K-1 take off their boots an change into sneakers or slippers. They will then add a clothespin with their name onto their boots. When you pick up your child please check the hallway for their boots and return the tag to the red string on the wall! Thank you ☺
Dates to Remember:
January 18 NO SCHOOL Martin Luther King Day
Sign Out:
Please note that each child MUST be signed out with the authorized pickup persons initals and time. We are regulated by the Department of Early Education and Care that mandates this policy. PLEASE make it a point to sign your child out each day. This is essential when keeping track of your little ones.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
January news from the 2-6 team!
Happy New Year! The 2-6 teaching team greatly appreciates your thoughtfulness and generosity! Thank you so much for the holiday gifts, treats, donations and warm wishes!
What has 2-6 been up to?
We hope that you enjoyed all the holiday projects and treats that the children made during the month of December. We know they had a fantastic time making them! We began the month with some sewing projects. The children sewed and decorated treat bags and gingerbread stuffed animal friends. The children made treat bags by picking a mitten or mug template, tracing it, cutting it, sewing it and decorating the bag to put homemade peppermint bark treats in. They made gingerbread friends by taking a felt gingerbread template, decorating it with buttons, fabric and paint, and then stuffing and sewing it together.
In addition to sewing projects, we also did many other arts and crafts projects. With a circular wire hanger, they used strips of fabric to tie around the hanger to make a wonderful and welcoming door decoration. The kids also got a little messy! They took pine cones and decorated it with white paint and lots of glitter to make a beautiful snow capped pine cone scene.
The kids also had tons of fun making and decorating food! We made many treats to make as gifts (although many made the gifts for themselves since they couldn't resist!). We made chocolate covered pretzels, hot chocolate bags, peppermint bark, gingerbread houses and cookie in a jar. To ring in the new year, we made "firecracker poppers," where the kids took cardboard rolls, filled them with candy, and wrapped them up to "pop" when the clock struck midnight!
Lastly, the children went above and beyond by sending their holiday cheer to troops overseas! As a group, we discussed the importance of giving during the holiday season. We decided to send letters and cards to the troops since they weren't able to spend their holidays with their families. They spent a lot of time and effort to make WONDERFUL cards for these troops. The 30 minute activity became a whole day event! They wrote inspirational messages, created games within the card for the troops to play and drew heartwarming pictures. We know what they did put a smile on many people's faces.
What to look forward to:
This month will an exciting one! We will be starting off our month with an "all about art" theme. We will focus on working with different art mediums. After Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we will learning about different cultures. We believe it is important for the children to know about their own and others' backgrounds. We will be exploring different cultural foods, flags, games and more. Be prepared! We will be sending your child home with an assignment for you to do with them about your child's background. We will close out this theme with a cultural celebration dinner on Monday, Feb 8 from 5-6pm, where we will ask each family to bring in a dish and its recipe from their cultural background. All families are invited to attend.
Reminders and Information:
We will continue to have outside time daily. Please be sure your child has a warm jacket, gloves and a hat each day. In order to play in the snow, he/she must also have snow pants and boots. Your child may keep a pair of slippers in his/her backpack to change into after coming inside from the cold.
Sledding has been a big hit! Please note, your child is welcome to leave his/her sled in the upstairs extended day room overnight. We would appreciate smaller sleds if possible.
Spots for ice skating are still available. Please see a 2-6 teacher if you still want to sign up your child.
We will be hosting a late afternoon movie from 4:00-5:30pm on Wednesday January 20th due to a scheduling conflict in the Heath School Cafeteria. Our signout and belongings will be in the library with us. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Please see Noelle should you have any questions or concerns.
Mark you calendars:
Monday, January 18th- No School
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