December 2018 Newsletter
Themes
Christmas will be the theme for the entire month of December. We will be making special Christmas crafts, reading stories and playing games related to Christmas.
Open House and Parent/Teacher Conference
On December 4th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm the Carstairs Playschool will be having Parent/Teacher conferences for those who are interested. This will be a time for parents who want to discuss how their child is doing in play school, where they are at for kindergarten readiness, how they are doing socially, etc. There will be a signup sheet where each family will have a ten minute session. As with parent/teacher interviews at CES, you are more than welcome to bring your child with you. You are not at all obligated to sign up, however, I believe our time together will be beneficial for discussing any questions or concerns you may have about your child.
Alongside the Parent/Teacher Conference, the Carstairs Playschool is opening their doors for an Open House. This is for any families who may be interested in attending the playschool this year or even next school year. Please feel free to share this information with any families you know. This is a great opportunity for families to see the space and ask any questions they may have.
December 4th – Open House and Parent/Teacher Conference (5:00pm – 7:00pm)
December 11th – Miss Marg comes to read to the 4 year old morning class (Library books due)
December 12th – Miss Marg comes to read to the 4 year old afternoon class (Library books due)
December 13th – Miss Marg comes to read to the 4 year old afternoon class (Library books due)
December 19th – Christmas party for all classes (9:00am – 11:00am)
December 20th – January 6th – No School Christmas Break
January 7th – Monday/Wednesday classes resume
January 8th – Tuesday/Wednesday classes resume
Christmas Party
The Christmas party will be 9:00am – 11:00am on Wednesday, December 19th. Everyone is invited!! This includes parents, siblings, grandparents, friends, or whoever would like to see these cute little children sing some songs. As it is a busy morning for the teachers and the children, we are asking that ALL children be accompanied by an adult at the Christmas party.
I would like to let you know what Michelle and I have planned for the morning. Parents are to drop off their child at the playschool by 8:45am. The children are to stay in the classroom with their classmates while the parents go to the church sanctuary and find themselves a seat. This year, we will be separating the age groups as to not overwhelm them with so many children in one space. The 3 year old class will go into the church library which is located in the hallway just outside the playschool classroom. The 4 year old children will remain in the classroom. If you have a very shy child, who may feel overwhelmed by all the activity, please feel free to stay with us up in the classroom. If any child is upset and does not want to participate in the singing, don’t worry – it is perfectly fine with us if they choose to sit and watch.
At 9:00, the 3 year old classes will be brought down to the sanctuary by Michelle and myself. They will then sing two Christmas songs. At 9:05am, the 4 year old classes will be brought down to the sanctuary by the classroom EA’s and will line up at the sanctuary door. The 4 year olds will then sing two songs. After that, all classes will sing one Christmas song to the audience. Once all the classes have sung their last song, the children may go and sit with their parents.
After all the children have sang, we will then proceed to the church gym where Santa will arrive soon after. The children are welcome to sit with him and get a little treat. A few volunteers will be needed to provide snacks and to help set up and take down. An additional email will be sent out shortly with more volunteering details. The children do not need to bring a snack to the party as there will be plenty of food available for everybody to enjoy.
Don’t forget your cameras, and we hope to see you all at the Christmas party!!
Photographs and Social Media
The Carstairs Playschool Society would like to clarify the rules that come with taking pictures of the children and posting them on social media. As you may remember from the beginning of the year, all parents had the option to provide consent or to not provide consent to have photographs taken of their child. To ensure that a picture of a child whose parents has not provided consent, does not accidentally get posted on social media, we ask that parents carefully following these guidelines. If you are visiting your child at playschool and want to take pictures, please ensure other children are not in the frame. Because the Carstairs Playschool is a public facility and we hold open to public events, such as Christmas concert, parents are permitted to take group photographs and post on social media if you so choose.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at carstairsplayschoolteacher@gmail.com
On behalf of the myself, Michelle and the Carstairs Playschool Society Board, I hope you have a wonderful and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Danielle
Operation Christmas Child
Over the past several years, Carstairs Elementary School has invited the Carstairs Playschool Society to join them in Operation Christmas Child. This is the creation and collection of shoe boxes filled with items that are then shipped overseas to needy children in many parts of the world. OCC Canada distributes shoe boxes to countries in Africa, Central and South America. For 2018, the hope is to collect an additional 20 000 boxes for the Ukraine, which is in need of cold weather items.
Shoe boxes will be collected on Thursday, November 22 at 2:15pm at Carstairs Elementary School. The playschool will be attending this assembly. We would love to have Carstairs Playschool families join as well, however, you will need to transport your child to the assembly. All children will need to be picked up from playschool at 2pm on this day.
For those who would like to participate by filling a shoe box, we will have them available in the classroom. Please stop by and pick one up.
Now accepting cash!
The Carstairs Playschool is now offering CASH payment as an option for Scholastic Orders!
Please note when paying cash, include the exact amount. Change will not be provided. Any extra funds received will be deposited into our general bank account. If short on funds, the order will not be placed until all funds are received. Should you have any questions, please message me or email carstairsplayschool@gmail.com
Happy Book Ordering!
November 2018 Newsletter
Themes
Five Senses and Space will be the themes for the month of November. As always, we will be reading stories, participating in discussions, making crafts and doing activities that are based on each theme.
Halloween Parties (repeat from October newsletter)
Each playschool class will be having a Halloween party. The children can wear their costumes and we will have fun and games for the day. The last 15 minutes of each class, the children will parade around the classroom in their costumes and then will sing some songs. Parents and siblings are more than welcome to come join us during this time. We would like the children to bring their regular snacks to the Halloween Party. For each Halloween party, we are planning on loosely following the regular routine so as to (hopefully) avoid over – excitement. However, we will be including several games and activities that will be related to the Halloween theme.
October 31 – Halloween Party for the Monday/Wednesday classes
November 1 – Halloween Party for the Tuesday/Thursday classes
November 7 – No school because of the Fall Break at Carstairs Elementary
November 8 – No school because of the Fall Break at Carstairs Elementary
November 20 – Miss Marg from the library visits the 4-year-old morning class (library books are due today!)
November 21 – Miss Marg from the library visits the 4-year-old morning class (library books are due today!)
November 22 – Miss Marg from the library visits the 4-year-old afternoon class (library books are due today!)
Name Printing
Over the past few years, I have discussed printing names with the staff at Carstairs Elementary School. When your child prints his/her name, they must use an upper case letter to begin their name, followed by lower case letters (e.g. John). I have found that the children are learning how to print their name at a young age, which is great! However, a lot of these children are printing their name in capital letters. This can be a very hard habit to break. At playschool, we teach the children how to print their name by following the guidelines of CES. If we can work on this process together, we will have the children properly prepared for kindergarten.
Speech Screening
We, at the Carstairs Playschool Society, feel it is important that we utilize all our available resources to prepare the children for kindergarten, and life in general. Language, speech, and articulation are important aspects to a child, as they must have communication skills in everything and everywhere they go. I will be using a speech screening checklist and will be completing these for the children during class time.
If I hear that certain sounds or letters are missing, or if I can’t hear a word clearly, I will be recommending that parents contact Garth Schindel, the speech therapist at Didsbury Hospital for further screening. We believe it is important to target these speech and language difficulties at an early age, and if needed, get support in place prior to kindergarten.
I want to stress the fact that the Alberta Government only funds PUF (Personal Unit Funding) program for ages 3-5. The PUF program is a free service that is provided to children who require extra assistant in areas, such as Speech. I feel this program is very beneficial in helping children succeed and become more confident with their speech and language skills. Having PUF support should not be seen as a negative experience; instead it gives those children experiencing some language difficulties a chance to thrive to be ready for kindergarten.
I am not a speech therapist, but I feel it is important that all children get as much help and support as they can so that they can be confident in all aspects of their lives. We will be adding some information to the website outlining what each age group should be experiencing in terms of speech, articulation, and language. If you are at all concerned that your child does not meet some of these criteria, I highly recommend you make an appointment with Garth Schindel. Not all children who see the speech therapist will be given PUF funding, but Garth is highly skilled and will be able to give you lots of ideas to help your child in every area pertaining to speech and language.
I am combining the November and December donation wish list, as we have some special crafts planned. We are currently accepting:
Fake fur
Red felt
Paper towel rolls
Toilet paper rolls
Card stock
Picture matte (8x10 that fits a 4x6 photo) does not have to be exact
Scrapbooks
We do a craft each day your child attends playschool, however, some crafts will not be going home with your child right after. This is because over the year I select several crafts and put together a scrapbook, which your child will be bringing home on the last day of class in June. I love putting these mementos together. Watching the children flip through their scrapbooks is so heart-melting for me!!
Scholastic Orders
Recently, the Carstairs Playschool Society board posted a survey regarding the payment options for Scholastic Orders. They have decided there is enough interest in adding a cash payment option, along with cheque and online payments. If you choose to pay by cash, please provide exact amount. Change will not be provided. Any extra funds received will be added to the general back account. An order cannot be placed if it is short on funds. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email carstairsplayschool@gmail.com.
Reminders
Snacks must be peanut free. Please bring snacks in a lunch kit and please label all containers as we have a few juice cups that are the same.
The Lost and Found bucket has a few odds and ends in it that need to be claimed. It is located on top of the lunch kit shelf. Please take a look and see if any of these items belong to your child.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at carstairsplayschoolteacher@gmail.com, or you can phone the playschool at 403 816 1481.
Danielle