Newark Cooperative Preschool  

December

4^th-5^th Holiday Shoppe Items are due at school

6^th-7^th Hanukkah will be the theme of the day

11^th-12^th Holiday Shoppe

15^th Family Holiday Party 1:30-3:30pm

20^th 3’s Holiday Presentation/Party, School Hours 9:00-11:00am

21^st 4’s Holiday Presentation/Party, School Hours 9:00-11:00am; 12:30-2:30pm

22^nd-31^st NO SCHOOL

January

The NCP annual Holiday Shoppe will offer the boys and girls an opportunity to buy gifts for their family. The gifts can be for Hanukkah, Christmas, birthday or just to say "I love you." Gifts for the shoppe are due December 4^th & 5^th. The dollar store is a good source. Remember: if your child has mom, dad, and a pet on his/her shopping list, send in a mom, dad and pet gift. Place your Holiday Shoppe donations in a bag labeled with the child’s name and include a shopping list of the names of people for whom your child is shopping. Extra helpers will be needed those days to assist in shopping and wrapping. If you are a scheduled helping parent you will not be helping in the Holiday Shoppe. The children love this chance to independently select gifts for their loved ones. Gifts on shopping day will cost $0.50 per gift. Children may shop for a maximum of 8 people. The coordinator and 4AM representative is Meena Ode (Anand); 4PM representative is Sally Toensing (Campbell); 3’s representative is Lisa Savino (Isabella).

Heather Davulcu (Isabella 3AM), coordinator of the Holiday party, has been preparing sign-up sheets for set-up and clean-up help; volunteers to provide refreshments and preparing gift bags. We still need a volunteer to wear our Santa Suit to greet the boys and girls, pose for pictures and give each child a gift bag. Please call Heather if you are willing to be our "jolly old elf." Craft activities will be set-up in the classroom.

Each class will prepare refreshments, the 3’s will present songs, the 4’s will act out a story and present songs. Our presentations will begin promptly because the children will be too excited to sit and wait so please be on time. After the program you will join the children in the classroom for refreshments. Class hours will be 9:00-11:00am; 12:30-2:30pm.

At the time this is being typed, Patty Walters, our health coordinator(Ashley 4AM) is still trying to get all of the required forms on file in the classroom. Please attend to this immediately. A list is posted in the classroom.

Happy Holidays!!! I look forward to seeing everyone at the Family holiday party. The school children are always so excited this time of year, I know that Samantha and Steven are. I would just like to remind you to try to keep your schedule as close to normal as possible at home for the children. Try to keep meals times and bedtimes the same. That way the children will be productive and interactive at school, not tired and irritable (believe me I learned this the hard way).

Just another reminder, please remember to be considerate of your teacher and the other helping parent's time and pick up your child as soon as their school day ends. The teacher only get a few minutes to relax and eat their lunch, then they are back to school or heading home. If you need to talk to the teachers please call them at home or schedule another time. Also please remember not to hand out our class roster to anyone. The parents of the preschool are the only people privy to the information on the phone and address list. We do not want unsolicited mailings or phone calls because the list somehow distributed.

During this season of good will, please, remember we have our "Change Jar" in the classroom. Explain the need some people have to find a place to live to your child and how New Ark United Church of Christ helps provide food and a place for needy people to live. Plan to have your child put some change in our special jar.

Happy Holidays to all of you and thank you for being part of the NCP family!

• December is an exciting month for the children. Our approach to the holidays will be as low key as possible. We will explain Hanukkah and Christmas in terms of what some people believe. We will avoid "Santa" as much as possible by explaining the holidays in terms of caring for each other and showing love.
• When helping in the classroom, allow the children to do as much as possible for themselves. All the children should be placing their bags in their cubbies, hats and gloves in their coat sleeves then hanging up their coats.
• During the month of December please be aware that your child needs to stay in a familiar routine. Keep bedtime consistent; limit sweets, encourage good eating habits with lots of fruits and veggies. Outside exercise is important too!
• We need the clear plastic rings from soda six-packs.
• If you use the preschool camera, be sure to close the shutter and turn off the flash to save the batteries. Megan Allen(Caelan 4AM) is our film purchaser and developer. Thank you!
• The step stools in the bathroom should be kept on the carpet squares to prevent scratching the floor.
• A great holiday gift idea is to buy your children Fiskars brand safety scissors. Let them cut, cut, cut. They are available at K-Mart, Joanne Fabrics and A.C. Moore.
• Please Note: When you clean the classroom be sure to launder the smocks and close the window if you open it while cleaning.

January: Our Winter World.

Brr! It is getting colder. We will continue to play outside. We look forward to some creative learning experiences in our winter world. We love to paint snow outside! Please send your child to school prepared for going outside. I often hear "Mommy said it would be too cold to go out." It is rarely too cold to go out. Please assume we will be going out. The children need hats/hoods and mittens. These should be placed in their coat sleeve at check in time. Do not leave them in backpacks. It takes too long to retrieve them. Scarves are dangerous when children are climbing so they will be wrapped and tied to eliminate long ends.

In December we will make wrapping paper to use at the Holiday Shoppe and we make gifts for our parents. We will also prepare refreshments for the classroom party.

Thanks to all of our families for your constant enthusiasm, support and understanding during the early part of the school year. You all prove over and over again that cooperative preschools have the most valuable resource, INVOLVED PARENTS! Happy Holidays.

Happy Holidays! We have a busy and exciting month to look forward to. On December 15^th we have our family holiday party. My children are excited to meet your children because they hear about all the fun things we do at school.

Our classroom party will be on December 20^th at 10am. We will soon begin learning some songs for a short program that we will put on for parents. The holiday shoppe will be on December 11^th and the kids will get a chance to shop for their family’s presents. We will be making wrapping paper, so the gifts will com home wrapped.

We’ve had our 1^st taste of cold weather. Please be sure to sent in hats, mittens and warm jackets as we try to go out each day.

Beginning after the Winter break, we will begin focusing on a "color of the week." I will be asking the children to cut out the color from construction paper or magazines and bring it to school. They can also wear the color to school. I am hopeful the kids will enjoy this activity and that it will reinforce color identification and cutting skills.

Committee chairs (snacks, housekeeping, etc.), the board of Directors request your projected budget needs for the 2002-2003 school year for our planning purposes. Please turn in your budget request by December 20^th to Shirley Glines. The Board will be meeting in early January to plan the budget/tuition for next school year.

Calling all auditors or CPA’s:. As part of our certification, an audit of our books must be completed. If an NCP family/friend can volunteer, we would be greatly appreciative. Please contact Patti Ann Mooney at 836-0273.

Most sales: Amanda Gerhart (4AM)

Colleen Mace (3AM)

The 4’s classes are fortunate to have a varied representation of cultural backgrounds. In the spring I would like to have those of you who are willing, on one of your scheduled helping parent days, tell the children about a custom in your family, teach us how to say "hello", "good-bye" and "I love you" in your language and perhaps provide us with a snack. Please see me to schedule the specific date. Three years ago a family from Germany came to school dressed in traditional German clothes.

Jan Gilmour, a registered nurse who is trained in child car seat safety, will be a special guest at our January meeting. Please plan to attend.

Jerry Pinkney’s pencil and watercolor illustrations are works of art. The detail and realism in the faces of his subjects is what drew me to explore his other works after reading Pretend You’re a Cat by Jean Marzollo (Pre-K) and The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flourney. Many of the children’s books which he has illustrated are based on stories which hold fond memories for him from his childhood (The Tales of Uncle Remus, Sam and the Tigers, and John Henry by Julius Lester; Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling, The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson). He has illustrated over seventy five books since starting his picture book career in 1964. In addition to illustrations he has designed album covers, created a postage stamp, been an art professor at the University of Delaware (!) and had his artwork exhibited in museums throughout the country.

Other books with Mr. Pinkney’s illustrations which my family has enjoyed include: The Hired Hand and The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci; and Mirandy and Brother Wind by Patricia C. McKissack. The detail and realism in the faces of his subjects is what drew me to explore his other works after reading Pretend You’re a Cat by Jean Marzollo and The Patchwork Quilt by Valerie Flourney.