Newark Cooperative Preschool  

NEWARK COOPERATIVE PRESCHOOL NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2001

October

1^st Tuition is due (3’s $65.00; 4’s $75.00). PLEASE PAY YOUR TUITION ON TIME!

2^nd 3’s First Fire Drill

10^th Pet Day 4’s

11^th Pet Day

12^th NO SCHOOL INSERVICE DAY

19^th Seed Walk

24 & 25^th Bring Halloween Costume donations to school

28^th Newark Halloween Parade/Family Fun Activity 2pm

30^th 3’s Halloween Party (see the classroom bulletin board for details). Costumes will be created in school.

31^st 4’s Halloween Party (see the classroom bulletin board for details). Costumes will be created in school.

The fours are off to a great start. They are busy making friends with me and with each other. Each week I see the comfort levels rising. We are having a great time. Please let me know what your child is saying about school. This is important feedback for the early days of school.

The fours will take a walking field trip around our building and the food coop. We will look at fall plants, especially looking for seeds.

The fours will be having a special activity throughout the school year called "Star of the Week." The star will be line leader with Mrs. Glines, will take a star bag home for the week, will dictate a story about being the star and will make a special picture sharing special information about himself/herself. On Monday the star will bring a book for me to read to the class. There is a star bag for each class for the star to take home on Monday. On Wednesday the stars will make an "I Am Special" picture to share with the class. On Friday the stars return the bag and bring in show and tell for group time. Your child will bring home a "star" note when it is their week to be star, also his/her picture will be on display on the star bulletin board. Our first "Star" week will be the week of Oct. 15^th.

Special Thanks to our VP of Admissions Deserae Mace (Colleen 3AM) for taking care of numerous phone calls and registrations; Patty Walters (Ashley 4AM) for gathering and organizing health forms; Diane Roberts (Steven 4AM) for being NCP President.

Happy October! This is a busy month for the 3’s. We are going to work on getting into our daily school routine so that your child will know what to expect at school. I want to remind all parents they are welcome to stay in the classroom and join in our activities. Sorry, but Preschool rules do not allow siblings.

On October 2^nd we will have our 1^st fire drill. We will discuss fire safety and practice going to our meeting spot which is by the fence.

We will also have Pet Day on October 11^th. Please be aware that some of our children are afraid of dogs so please keep a good grip on them at all times. Anyone who doesn’t have a pet, or whose pet is not able to be present, are invited to bring a teddy bear to share.

Please watch the Parent notice board as we get close to Halloween. We do not bring costumes from home, but ask that you contribute articles of clothing that we can use to create our own fabulous costumes.

We have a delightful group of children this year. I am anticipating a great year of fun and learning! Thanks for your support.

PM 4’s Please avoid meat and meat by products which include gelatin and marshmallows when planning treats.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to reach Shirley Glines during the day please call the preschool number, 368-0178. On Tuesday and Thursday to reach Karen Peterson during the day please call the preschool number, 368-0178. Use our home phone numbers in the evenings or on our "off" days. Thanks.

the next name on the list, but continue trying to reach the family you called originally. Be sure all adults in the house know this procedure. If you work, make sure the family calling you has your home and work numbers.

 Recycle apple juice bottles, rinse them out and place in a bag under the counter in the kitchen.

 Sign up to clean the classroom. Remember cleaning must be done on Friday evening this year. The keys are located on the Helping Parent Bulletin Board.

• New Ark United Church of Christ collects aluminum cans as a fund raiser, if you would like details call the church secretary, Lynne at 737-4711.

• The classroom has a camera available at all times. Ask the teachers for the location and feel free to take pictures any time you are in the classroom. The photos will be placed in the 2001-02 album. If you take pictures with your personal camera, donate copies to the school so they can be placed in the album.

• Matthew Brennemen will be joining the PM 4’s class in November.

• You can sign books out from our classroom book shelf, but please do not take books from the gray rug area. These books coordinate with our theme.

• Congratulations to Sarah and Anna (3AM). They have a baby sister Stephanie Ann.

• The helping parent schedule will be made with as much consideration as possible for all the families. However, if you have been scheduled to be helping parent on a day that is not convenient for you it is your responsibility to find a replacement by exchanging a day with another parent. Please be sure both helping parents make the change and initial the classroom calendar so the teacher is aware of whom to expect for class. We hope to have a smoothly scheduled year!

Coordinating Parents are:

AM 4’s Krista Fleetwood 738-9112 AM 3’s Colleen Tuozzolo 456-5859

PM 4’s Mary Lee Dichiaro 453-0603

• NCP Play-doh

Dear Pets and Stuffed Animals,

Please come to school on Pet Day, October 10^th or 11^th. Mom or Dad will bring you to the outside play area at 11:00am for the AM Class; 2:30pm for the PM class. If you are a live pet you need to be in an animal travel cage or on a leash. Pets on a leash should stay outside the fence area near the sandbox. Small pets can be placed on the picnic tables. Stuffed animals can be placed on the blanket. My friends and I will come outside to see all the pets and stuffed animals.

Love,

Your Boy or Girl

Since we do not have a 3PM class and there are several openings in two of our other classes we need everyone to support each and every fund raiser. We are starting out by taking orders for Joe Corbi pizzas. Last year parents suggested we participate in this fund-raiser as early as possible this school year.

The Annual Halloween Parade will be Sunday October 28^th at 2:00pm. This is a fun event for our preschool families and a fun way for our program to be visible in the community. We will distribute specific information as it becomes available from the City of Newark. Children participating in the parade with our group must be accompanied by an adult. This is an entirely voluntary activity. If you have a wagon to lend so the children can ride, please let us know. Siblings are welcome to join us. This is a family event. Join the fun for a great way to celebrate fall.

Our Halloween parties will be held October 30^th and 31^st. At Halloween especially, what is fun for one child is scary for another. Therefore, children do not wear or bring costumes to school for the parties. The children will create costumes as part of our party. Each family is asked to donate 3 items which can be used for "dress up." Hats, scarves, ties, silky fabric shirts, nightgowns, slips, vests, and belts are popular. PLEASE DO NOT SEND IN SHORTS, PANTS, SHOES, OR STORE BOUGHT COSTUMES OR MASKS. We will encourage non-scary creativity, which will include face or hand painting with washable markers. Feel free to come and take pictures of our "parade around the play area" prior to refreshments. Times will be posted on the bulletin board.

September…Back to School and Homework! As parents, we should be doing our homework, reading aloud to our children, throughout the year. We read aloud according to Jim Trelease (The New Read-Aloud Handbook, 1989, p. 2) for "the same reasons you talk to a child: to reassure, to entertain, to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity and to inspire…regular reading aloud strengthens children’s reading, writing, and speaking skills…by improving children’s listening comprehension." So, let’s hop to it and set an example doing our homework of reading aloud to our children.

Eve Bunting began writing children’s books after taking a "Writing for Publication" class at her local junior college at the age of 40. She has had more than 130 children’s books published, most picture books written for children ages 4-8. She has written about: the everyday (Sunflower House, No Nap, Twinnies), historical events (The Blue and the Gray, I Am the Mummy, HEB-NERERT,<ages 7-12>; SOS Titanic,<young adult>), and difficult topics (The Memory String- loss of a mother/adjustment to a step parent, Smokey Nights –The LA riots, The Wall –Vietnam War Memorial, Fly Away Home – Homelessness). Mrs. Bunting’s books are illustrated by many different artists who do a great job of translating her stories into meaningful picture books. Next time you’re visiting the library why don’t you check out a few of Eve Bunting’s engaging picture books.