October Newsletter

St. Bernard Preschool andKindergarten

Notes about our Special

Fire Safety Month

Fall

Share my World

Halloween

Colors

Columbus Day

October Themes

A Message from The Director

Dear Parents,Please Join us For Share My World!

Day: Friday October 14th Time: From 9:00 am to 11:30 am

* School is open all day * Prayer Service at School Gym at 9:30 am

This is a wonderful opportunity to share in your child’s Preschool and Kindergartenworld.You will have a terrific time! Your child’s teacher and teaching assistant are look-ing forward to seeing you...they have some wonderful morning activitiesplanned, including: Circle Time, songs, arts and crafts and a morning snack!Moms and Dads please drop off your child at his-her classroom and join us at9:30 am in the school’s gym for a prayer service. Then after that join your child atthe classroom.Children who attend our 3 half day program please come to school that Fridaymorning! Kindergarteners and those who attend Extended Care will continuewith their school day following Share My World… Look for reminders on theclassroom ‘write on” boards

Regards,Mrs. Turse

MusicThroughout the year, the chil-dren will develop their naturalmusical abilities in music class.They will learn about rhythm,harmony, music dynamics,through songs/fingerplays andexploring different instruments.We will play games and alsoperform simple stories. Dancingis very important for the chil-dren’s motor skills, so there willbe a lot of dancing to all kindsof music, including Classical,Rock and Roll, Tango and Sal-sa!During our school year thereare many different eventswhere children sing anddance. Coming soon you willhave the chance to hear themsinging at Share My World, andat the Halloween Parade!During the months of Novem-ber and December we will besinging songs for Thanksgivingand getting ready for the mostwonderful celebration of theYear!Mrs. Mitchell

ReligionThe girls and boys will bevery busy this month learn-ing “The Our Father”, sing-ing prayerful songs, paint-ing and discovering allabout God’s beautiful cre-ation. Our little friends inMiss Dickey’s Class areworking on a special pro-ject to illustrate each dayof Creation. What fun!Our four-year olds and kin-dergarten friends will alsoprepare a special Creationproject as well.We look forward to thecoming months as we ap-proach Thanksgiving, Ad-vent and Christmas. We willbe focusing on the truemeaning of the season.God BlessMrs. Zarzycki

Traveling TumblersMs. Derek has met and exercised withall the children already! What fun theboys and girls are having on the obsta-cle course: hopping, skipping, climbingand jumping...every week new gamesand activities are presented to chal-lenge the children and help developtheir gross motor skills! Ask your childabout the games they played!

Cultural ArtsThe objective of the Cultural Arts pro-gram (for the children enrolled in our ex-tended care/full day) is that our younglearners participate in activities that pro-mote cultural awareness and respect fordiversity.We will “travel” around the world andvisit different countries and learn abouttheir celebrations, culture, people, na-ture and landmarks. We will celebratethe children’s various cultural back-grounds! In October we will learn aboutDiwali the Festival of Lights in India.*Mrs. MitchellPlease see next page for an oncoming specialevent.

AlwaysWearSneakersForGymClass!

Share My World

Day: Friday October 14th Time: From 9:00 am to 11:30 am

October is Fire Prevention Month!

A Fireman from the North Branch Volunteer Fire Department will visit the children thismonth on Thursday , October 6th.We will practice fire drills monthly, weather permitting, throughout theschool year. ..Ask your child about the fire truck and the fireman’s visit!

Gentle Reminder: Our school is closed for Columbus Day on Monday 10/10.Have a happy and safe long weekend!!!

Mom and Me GroupOur “Mom and Me” Group was a great success in previous years...please join us in Oc-tober 2016...First class will be held on Tuesday, October 18 from 10:30 to 11:30 am. Thisspecial invitation is for a Mom and her little one to enjoy new experiences together asher child “discovers” school!

No fee and attendance is “at will”; however suggested $5.00 donation per classwould be appreciated.

Age appropriate for infants to 2.5 years old Mom will stay with her child at all times Group meets in room #6 (Mrs. Mitchell’s Classroom) The group meets every Tuesday when the school is open (10/18, 10/25, 11/8, 11/15,

11/22 11/29)

Halloween Parade

Day: Monday, October 31st Time:9:15 am Place: Gym

Parents please meet us in the Gym! We will be parading at this time to provide“photo ops” for parents and we will sing some Halloween songs for you!.Please arrive by 9:00 am on this special day! Following the parade children will return to their

class- rooms for Halloween Parade Parties

Halloween Costumes– Have your child come to school dressed in his/her cos-

tume! Please, no masks covering eyes, no guns, no swords, or weapons. Please

bring a change of clothes for your child for the remainder of the day. Please

make sure your child is able to move easily in his costume and shoes, so he/she

can safely navigate the stairs, hallways, etc.

Time for some spooky fun!

Note

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Will be held in November 2016 and January 2017; however, if you have comments orconcerns at any time, please contact your child’s teacher for an appointment. Progressreports and children’s academic portfolios will be reviewed at conference time!Please be certain to make an appointment with your child’s teacher.

Cultural Arts– Diwali

Diwali, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a very important celebration in

India. Diwali signifies the triumph of light over darkness. On Diwali people celebrate by illu-

minating their homes with candles, diyas ( earthen lamps) and colorful lights; decorating

their homes with beautiful Rangolis (drawings on the ground outside); bursting of firecrack-

ers and sparkles; eating sweets; wearing new clothes and sending wishes and gifts to one an-

other. Diwali is celebrated either in October or November. This year, the festival is on Oc-

tober 30th.

As part of the Cultural Arts curriculum, children will learn about this beautiful Holiday dur-

ing the month of October. On Friday, November 4th between 9:30 and 11:30 we will have

a special Diwali Day. We are inviting our students’ parents with Indian ancestry to please

come dressed with your traditional clothes and bring some things from your country so we

can share them with the boys and girls!

Please come and read a story to our children , make rangolis with sand and decorate a beau-

tiful plate with them!

Please join us, even if your child doesn't have school on Fridays. Visit us between 9:30 and

11:30 AM

Autumn is here! Autumn leaves are drifting by our windows….trees, leaves, pumpkins:arts and crafts galore! Combine them with math, language and science: what a won-derful way of learning! Add a little monster, a funny witch or a flappy bat and the chil-dren will have a blast!We are readying many fun time activities for the girls and boys!

Kindergarten CornerOur Kindergartners adjusted nicely to our classroom routine. We continue to play“what’s my name?” game as we continue to get to know one another. Our lady-bugs have been released in our children’s garden and the season of Autumn hasquietly arrived! Our hallways are filled with the wonder of Autumn and our cele-bration of Halloween. Bats are flying and leaves are changing. In Reading Corner,we celebrate “Clifford” and his leaf pile; in Discovery Center and Let’s Find Out,we explore nocturnal animals. In Math, we introduce Geometry and Patterns. Lan-guage Arts (Them2 “Colors All Around”), we continue to introduce the alphabet.And in Phonics, “We are Special”, review of initial consonants. Our kindergartnershave the school October bulletin board where as part of our NGSS (Next Genera-tion Science Standards) we explore how a pumpkin grows. We also plan to plantbulbs on our school grounds as we wait to see what may grow come Spring!Proudly displayed on the stairwells, our Family Jack-O-Lantern projects where weturn a simple pumpkin cutout into a Jack-O-Lantern. As we count down to Hallow-een!! And as always, we keep on Reading….