September 10, 2007

Dear Parents,

Last week in DK had a wonderful beginning, and we teachers would like to express thanks to you parents for sending us your sweet children—They are smart and kind and so much fun to be with!  We love them already and are looking forward to a great year.

Here are a few reminders for the upcoming days:

 CARPOOL

As you know morning drop-off for D.K. begins at 7:45 a.m., when our aides start opening the car doors and helping children to sit down on the curb, until they are walked to their classrooms in small groups.

  • If you wish for your child to be picked up at 12:00 noon, please let us know – a note in the morning would help -- We will gladly walk your child out to the curb for noon pick-up. 
      
  • Afternoon pick-up begins around 2:50 p.m, at which time most children are walked out to the curb. 
    • At 3:10 p.m. any child who hasn’t been picked up will be brought back into the PreSchool Office.  Parents picking up late will be charged $8.00. 
       
      We understand that there are often extenuating circumstances, so please call if you’re going to be late.
      • If you know before 2:45 p.m. that you’re going to be late, call the PreSchool Office at ext. 261. 
      • After 2:45 p.m. call the Extended Day Office at ext. 163. Both extensions are at the main school number of (214) 351-5688.

“Carpool Reminders”

Our object is safety for the children, and we would ask you to remember the following: 

  • Please do not allow a child to get out of your car and walk into the building unless there is an adult there to help him/her.
  • Please remind your child to sit down, and that toys and food are not permitted in the carpool. 
  • During pick-up time, please encourage your child to wait on the curb until an adult takes his/her hand.  Thanks for your help with this.

EXTRA CLOTHING

At this age children still have bathroom accidents, so we are asking that you send an extra set of clothing (doesn’t have to be a uniform) with socks and underwear in a plastic ziplock bag..  Most of these accidents are easy cleanup, but please understand that teachers are limited in the amount of help we are allowed to give to a student.  In the event of a really messy accident, we will call parents to come and get the child.  Thank you for your understanding.

ROOM MOTHERS

We are so fortunate to have the best room mothers – Sherrill Hearne (James Kameron) for Mrs. Arraj, and Karen Gibbons (Blake) in Mrs. Seltzer’s class. Our Grade Level Representative, Courtney Bristol also has a son, Mason in DK.  Already these ladies have been hard at work organizing activities to help us teachers, and they really need for everyone to sign and submit the Parent Information sheet, which gives us e-mail addresses and phone numbers and permission to compile our very own Pre-School Directory.  If you haven’t signed this form, please do, so that you may be included.

SNACKS  & LUNCH

 As you know, we have been providing snacks for the class, and  we will continue to do so until our room mothers complete a schedule for the Student-of-the-Week to bring daily snacks for the entire class.  Please remember that some of our children have peanut allergies, and do not send any peanut butter in snacks or lunch.

We are also trying to promote health education by encouraging the children to try healthy foods.  Therefore, when it is your turn to provide snacks for the class, please remember the following things:

  • No peanut butter snacks -- Some children have allergies.
  • Healthy foods for 3 days – Send fruits and veggies like bananas, grapes, apples, watermelon slices, carrot sticks, etc.  Believe it or not, most children will try these healthy foods, and many will ask for seconds.
  • Days 3 & 4 of the week – One day can be “Salty Day” with Goldfish, pretzels, “Cheezits” ,etc., and another  may be a  “Sweets Day”, on which  you may send cookies or cupcakes .  Sweets Day is an especially good day for a birthday celebration.
  • No drinks or juice boxes are necessary – We have lots of water.
  • For the week -- Send one large box of Teddy Grahams, Goldfish, Cheezits, etc. to supplement the daily snacks .
  • Please understand that in our encouragement of children to try fruits or veggies, we will never force a child to eat anything, nor will your child ever go hungry.  There will always be an extra snack for your child.

THIS WEEK IN D.K.

  • LANGUAGE ARTS
    We began our discussion of the letter “B b” last week, and we will continue more “B” activities including bats and bears.  Friday is “Bear Day”, so bring your favorite bear to school for some fun activities.   We’re also practicing writing our names in capital letters.  For fun we’ll go on a “Bear Hunt” and dance the “Bean-Bag-Boogie”.
  • RELIGION
    We’ve been learning about the Creation Story, and this week we will make a special  Creation Story Book.  On Monday, we will celebrate the birthday of Mary the mother of Jesus.  We’ll continue reading Bible stories, singing fun songs, saying our prayers, and learning how to make peace at the  “Peace Table”
  • MATH
    We’ll be practicing writing the numbers “1” and “2”, and sorting gummy bears and Teddy Grahams.  On Friday (Bear Day), we’ll even weigh and measure our bears.
  • SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES
    We’ll be reading about bears and their favorite foods and habitats.
  • HEALTH & GUIDANCE
    We’ll be discussing healthy food choices and learning about solving problems with our Second Step Program.

COMMUNICATIONS

FOLDERS
Your child’s school work and notes to you will be sent home on a regular basis in colored folders.  Please return the empty folder promptly, so that we know that you have read its contents.  If you wish to send us a note, please enclose it in your child’s folder and have him/her give it to the teacher.
  
PHONES
We are fortunate to have telephones in our classrooms, so please write down these numbers:

  • St. Monica School number - (214) 351-5688. 
  • Mrs. Arraj’s extension - 262
  • Mrs. Seltzer’s extension -  263

CONFERENCES
Although we have formal parent-teacher conferences scheduled in October, we welcome impromptu conferences and conversations at any time.  If you have any concerns or just want to talk, please let us know.

We are looking forward to a great year with your children, and we thank you for entrusting us with their education.

Sincerely,
SMS Pre-School Staff
Mrs. Seltzer & Mrs. Arraj
Ms. Haba, Mrs. Moreno, Ms. Bell, and Mrs. Blank