Saturday, December 1, 2012

December Newsletter from School (minus pictures)

Dear Threes Parents,

Although our wonderful Thanksgiving holiday memories are still quite vivid in our minds, it is time for our class to begin moving into the magical Christmas time. The classroom has been transformed to a Christmas wonderland with toys, a Christmas tree for the children to decorate, and lots of holiday activities.  Please look at the calendar closely and check your emails for notices of upcoming holiday activities. Most importantly mark your calendars for Friday, December 14th at 11 am when the children will present their Christmas concert in the sanctuary of St. Aidan’s.  The children will have been working hard on their songs and a child does notice if a parent or someone special to them isn’t in the audience. We will again be sitting in the middle section just like at Halloween. We will dismiss for Christmas break right after the concert.

Prior to the concert, our class will be attending a Nativity Play presented by the Kindergarten Class. Precious and a true reminder of what the holiday season is truly about. We will also have our Christmas party that day. Thanks to the Romley and Talay families for providing a special snack for that day.

Your children were very busy during the month of November and truly are bonding as a class. They are interacting amongst themselves and their imaginations are truly in full gear especially in the housekeeping area and with the little people, puppets, dinosaurs and they love to do art projects as a group around the table at the same time. That is what is all about! 

I enjoyed visiting with each of you during our conference time. Thank you for giving me a bit of your time to share my insight into your child. This is a terrific group of children. Thanks to all who signed up to provide a Letter Snack. The monthly calendar will indicate the name of the family and what day I would appreciate the snack. It would be great if you would consider thinking about the letter and trying to come up with a healthy snack but truly anything with beginning with the letter will be loved by the children. This could be a fun project with your child. They so delight in sharing what snack they have brought in for the class. I will try to send a reminder email to you.

Even though December is a short month we will be busy with Christmas projects and emphasizing the Core Knowledge goals that are attached.  Our letters for this month will be “I” and “J” and the color will be primarily green and of course, some red. 

Music will be a big part of our daily schedule as we learn the Christmas songs and will sneak in some of our curriculum by way of rhythm, a form of counting. If you would like a copy of the Christmas songs so your child can practice at home, please let me know and I will gladly email them to you.  We will continue to work on the concept of before and after, in front and behind, past and present, and work on recognizing the first letter of our name.

Hopefully you and your family will be able to attend the Santa’s Breakfast on the morning of Saturday, December 8th  that the Parent’s Committee sponsors.  Invitations were sent home a few weeks ago but check your emails for other details especially in ways that you might help.  Hope to see many of you there that morning.

On Sunday, December 16th St. Aidan’s Church will host their annual Christmas Carol Sing Along at 3:00 pm.  All Day School families are invited for this special event. Also please consider buying your Christmas tree from St. Aidan’s since a portion of your purchase will go to the Day School.

We return to school on Wednesday, January 2nd.  We will be attending the Tiny Tots concert hosted by the West Potomac Orchestra on Friday, January 4th at 10:30 am leaving the Day School around 10:00 am. It is a fun outing for the children to learn more about music and instruments with familiar songs and an instrument “petting zoo”. As many parents who would like to accompany us are welcome but unfortunately we are unable to accommodate siblings on our field trips. Thank you to those parents that expressed an interest in driving and I will be in touch with more details closer to the concert date.

This month we will be saying good-bye to Tommy Romano as his family moves over the holidays to Colorado Springs where his father has taken a new position. We will miss Tommy but wish them all the best. For the time being the class will remain at 10 students.

Lastly but most importantly, please remember to take time during this holiday season to enjoy your child and family.  Try not to get caught up in the doing but rather take the opportunity to get caught up in the joy of the experience!

A Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your family.



Mary Olivia
Becky

IMPORTANT UPCOMING DATES:

Saturday, December 1 – Holiday Marketplace and Christmas Tree Sale
Saturday, December 8 – Santa’s Workshop, 8:30 and 10:30
Friday, December 14 – Christmas Concert, 11 am – Sanctuary of St. Aidan’s
                              Class Christmas Party, special snack provide by Romley and Talay families
Monday, December 17 – Tuesday, January 1, 2013 – Christmas Vacation
Wednesday, January 2 – Classes Resume
Friday, January 4 -- Tiny Tots Concert, West Potomac High Schoo1
Wednesday, January 23, 7:30 pm -- Becky McBride, Childhood Nutrition Expert

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