February 2012

Our celebrations of Valentine's Day will be held on:

• Monday, February 13 - MWF Classes
• Tuesday, February 14 - T/TH Classes

Due to several allergies and food restrictions and in the interest of a healthy alternative to cookies and candy, this year we are having a pancake breakfast with heart-shaped pancakes. Sign-up sheets for breakfast supplies and volunteers to prepare the breakfast are adjacent to the wall calendar in the hallway. Breakfast will be served at 9:00 am.

The children will again be creating "mailboxes" to receive Valentine cards. If your child would like to deliver valentines to his/her classmates, send the valentines to preschool in a bag labeled with your child's name. Please do not put names on the outside of the envelopes. We will help the children deliver their valentines during class time.

There will be no school on: Monday (2/20), Presidents Day

Parent Visitation

Sign-up sheets for parent visitation (beginning in February) have been placed on our bulletin boards. Your child will enjoy having you visit and so will we! It is fun for the parents to see their little ones interact with others in the classroom. Be aware that your child's behavior, while you are visiting, may not necessarily be reflective of his/her normal preschool behavior. It is not unusual for children to either become timid or to act out or act silly when parents visit. They may be inclined to show off a little bit. Feel free to discuss any concerns that you may have, with your child's teacher.

In addition, if you have questions regarding anything that occurs during your visit, please discuss them with the teacher. We hope that your visit will enable you to acquire some understanding of our preschool program as well as our philosophy of early childhood education.

If you are unable to schedule a visit on the available days, please speak with your child's teacher about scheduling an alternate day. We can be flexible. Two parents may visit with their child on the same day or each may schedule his/her own visitation day.

A Note about Snow Days:

We do not require tuition payment for snow days or any other day for which we cancel school. If tuition has been paid ahead and a cancellation occurs, an extra day will be credited for your child.

Show-and-Tell

• February (6 - 10): something that your child has made or created. It may involve art, cooking, gardening, carpentry, etc.
• March (5 - 9): Children choose a plastic egg to take home, and then bring something that will fit inside the egg.

In an effort to support our preschool family businesses, while enabling other preschool families to do the same, an area of the wall (to the right of the playroom) has been designated for this purpose. Please let Cathy know if you have information you would like to place there.

Fundraisers

Unfortunately, fundraising events are necessary in order for us to avoid the tuition increases that would be required to keep up with ever-increasing costs. First Covenant Preschool has been educating young children for over 50 years!

Because it is imperative that we keep our equipment and supplies safe and in good repair, we must regularly replace and update them. We are also committed to providing tuition assistance to families with children who would otherwise be unable to attend our preschool. You will continue to receive information as the events approach.

• Our annual Easter Candy Sale will be beginning soon. This year our fundraiser will include several alternatives to candy, including flower seeds/bulbs and hanging tomato and strawberry kits.
• Our Silent Theme Basket Auction will be held on March 4, at our Open House & Art Show. We will be looking for basket donations from both families and local businesses. Please let us know if you can help.

Participation in the fundraisers is appreciated, but not required.

Remember...

When our weather is bad, please tune in to WJTN (1240 AM), WKSN (1340 AM), WHUG (101.9 FM), SE93 (93.3 FM) or WQFX (103.1 FM) and Buffalo television channels 2, 4 & 7 to find out if preschool will be closed. You can also check online at www.wjtn.com . We follow the Jamestown Public School (JPS) system for our weather-related closings. However, if JPS uses a one or two-hour delay, we will make our decision independently because we need not be as concerned about sidewalk (walking) conditions throughout the district. Extra copies of our school closing policy are available on the information table in the preschool hallway

Thinking About Next Year?

Registration begins on Monday, February 6 for families of children currently enrolled in First Covenant Preschool. Many preschool families are carefully considering their options. Please see Mrs. Byrne if you need information about how our pre-K program and how it differs from Universal Pre-K (UPK).As you consider your options, please be advised that tuition assistance is available to any family. Our policy is to make this preschool experience available to everyone, without it being a financial concern.

In addition to our T/TH and MWF options, we also offer four and five-day classes for 3- and 4-year-olds.

To help you become better informed about our program and curriculum, extra copies of our weekly plans for preschool and pre-K classes are located on the preschool information table.

Preschool Art Show

The children are busy creating original works of art to be displayed during the Open House & Art Show on Sunday, March 4, 1:00 - 4:00 PM. Friends and family are welcome! This will also begin registration for families of children not currently enrolled in our program. A basket of Preschool Handbooks is located on the information table in the preschool hallway. Please take as many as you need, along with invitations to our Open House, to share with any families of preschoolers.

January 2012

Happy New Year1 We hope that your holidays were filled with peace and joy. Thank you for the cards, gifts, holiday greetings, and for your generosity in donating food, mittens, hats, and scarves to our Mitten Tree. The food was donated to First Covenant Church's food Pantry. The 21 hats, 5 scarves, 59 pairs of mittens and 5 pairs of slippers/socks will be distributed through Community Helping Hands (located at the Gateway Center).

Our preschool staff extends our heartfelt thanks, also, to the many volunteers who made our Christmas Cookie Frost possible. We couldn't have done it without you.

There will be no school on: Monday, January 16 (Martin Luther King's Birthday)

COMING IN JANUARY...

We hope to have snow and ice in the classroom as the children learn more about winter and weather: What is snow? Where does it come from? Can we save some? How? What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like? Taste like? It is quite fun to play with snow.

A Note About Parent Visitation

Sign-up sheets for parent visitation (beginning in February) will soon be placed on our bulletin boards. Your child will enjoy having you visit and so will we! It is fun for the parents to see their little ones interact with others in the classroom. Be aware that your child's behavior, while you are visiting, may not necessarily be reflective of his/her normal preschool behavior. It is not unusual for children to either become timid or to act out or act silly when parents visit. They may desire to show off a little bit. Feel free to discuss with your child's teacher any concerns that you may have.

In addition, if you have questions regarding anything that occurs during your visit, please discuss them with the teacher. We hope that your visit will enable you to acquire some understanding of our preschool program and our philosophy of early childhood education.

Winter Requests...

Please remove your child's coat and boots before (s)he enters the classroom so that we may keep the classroom floors dry and safe. We have non-skid slipper socks available for the children if shoes are forgotten. Boots, coats, sweaters, etc, should be labeled with your child's name. We recommend that you dress your child in layers so that sweaters and sweatshirts can be removed if a child becomes too warm.

When our weather is bad, please tune in to WJTN (1240 AM), WKSN (1340 AM), WHUG (101.9 FM), SE93 (93.3 FM) or WQFX (103.1 FM) to find out if preschool will be closed. We will also notify Buffalo television stations 2, 4 and 7. We follow the Jamestown Public School (JPS) system for our weather-related closings. However, if JPS uses a one or two-hour delay, we will make our decision independently because we need not be as concerned about sidewalk (walking) conditions throughout the district. Extra copies of our school closing policy are available on the information table in the preschool hallway.

Book orders may now be placed online!

You will still continue to receive the flyers each month. However you will have the option of placing your order online or returning the order forms to us, with payment. To order online you must register and then pay with a credit card. You will be asked for our 5-letter activation code which you will find on the flyers, located near the due date. If you miss the order due date, we may still be able to place your order through us.

Show-And-Tell

Our Show-and-Tell theme for January (3 - 6) is your child's choice. Remember. . . we will be collecting food for the church food pantry throughout each week of Show & Tell. Donated items may be placed under the trees in the hallway.

Registration

Registration for the 2012/2013 school year will begin on Monday, February 5 for families with children currently enrolled in our preschool - more information will follow. Registration will be open to the public beginning on Sunday, March 4 at our Open House and Art Show. Please tell your friends…you are our best advertising. Some people select a preschool based primarily on location. Hopefully you can share, with friends and family, the importance of selecting a preschool based on its reputation, its philosophy of early childhood education, the qualifications of its staff, the facilities, and safety precautions and considerations.

Thinking About Next Year?

With registration beginning soon, many preschool families are carefully considering their options. Please see Mrs. Byrne for information about our pre-K program for four and five-year-olds. A child is eligible to attend Kindergarten in the public school system if (s)he will turn five on or before December 1, 2012. If you have any questions or concerns about your child's "readiness" for Kindergarten, please feel free to schedule a time to come in to discuss it.

If your child will not be attending Kindergarten next fall, we invite you to talk to us about what First Covenant Preschool can offer your child next year. Parents of children in the Two-By-Two and preschool classes are welcome to visit one of the preschool or pre-K classes. You are also invited to take copies of our weekly plans (located on the information table) to help you know what is going on in those classes.

Preschool Art Show

Some of the art projects that our toddlers and preschoolers will be creating during the next couple of months will be kept at school in preparation for our Open House & Art Show in March. We will be talking to the preschool and pre-K children about art, artists, art shows and art museums. We will be reading some wonderful children's books about art. If you have any interesting pieces of art that you would be willing to share with the children, please speak to Cathy or Maureen. You can help your child understand why artwork will occasionally remain at school by discussing the upcoming art show.

December 2011

It seems as if we have one continuous holiday whirl from Halloween to New Year's Day! We enjoy the excitement and enthusiasm of the children as they learn about, and celebrate, these special times.

Our Christmas Cookie Frosts are coming soon. . .

• MWF AM classes: Monday, December 19 10:45 AM
• T/TH AM classes: Tuesday, December 20, 10:15 AM

Be sure to sign up grandparents, or a special person in your child's life (it may be you!) on the sheet outside of your child's classroom. Your child may invite multiple guests. The guests will be invited to join us in the church sanctuary for a presentation of holiday songs and finger plays before proceeding to Fellowship Hall to decorate cookies.

We will need help! Sign-up sheets are located on the wall, next to Mrs. Beresford's bulletin board.

Cookie bakers are needed during the week of December 5 - 9

We need volunteers to spend class time baking cookies for our Christmas Cookie Frosts. We will provide the cookie dough. The dough will then be rolled out, cut out, and baked by volunteers in the church kitchen. Sign-up sheets are located on the wall to the left of the wall calendars.

Thank you...

• to those who helped with the Thanksgiving Feasts, with both donations and the preparation and clean-up.
• to the families who have made donations to our Hat & Mitten Tree and to First

Preschool families are invited to receive food if needed and donate food when able. We will continue to collect food for the food pantry throughout the rest of the school year. Because the need in our community is so great, it has been a challenge to keep the shelves full. This past week, in one 4-hour period, the food pantry provided food for more than 60 people. Beginning in January, the first week of each month will be Show & Tell and food collection week.

Show & Tell for January (3 -6): Child's Choice

Campbell's Labels For Education Program

Remember to save those labels and UPCs! They may be placed in the designated container in the preschool hallway. Check the information table in the hallway for an information sheet outlining the specifics about the products that are included in the program.

Reminder to Parents:

Please encourage your child to use the bathroom before class begins. We try to make the most of our time with your children. While many children seem to enjoy making trips to the bathroom (especially with a friend) less staff time for bathroom trips means more time for meaningful activities in the classroom!

School Closings

When our weather is bad, please tune in to radio stations WJTN, WKSN, WHUG or SE93 or television channels 2, 4, & 7 to find out if preschool will be closed. We follow the Jamestown Public School system for our weather-related closings. If JPS uses a one or two-hour delay, we will make our decision independently because we need not be concerned about sidewalk conditions throughout the district. The school closing policy is posted on each bulletin board, with extra copies on the information table.

Parent Visitation Will Begin in February

Be sure to sign up for this special day with your child! This is an excellent opportunity to see your child in the classroom environment. Feel free to either observe, or participate in, our daily activities. Some children desire their parents' individual attention during the visit while others are willing to share their "grown-up" with the other children. Just take your cue from your son or daughter. Sign-up sheets will be placed on the bulletin boards after the holidays. Also, your child's teacher will be available after class for a brief conference to answer any questions that you may have. Please let the teacher know, in advance, if you wish to schedule time to talk after your visit.

Book Orders . . . If you did not receive your November book order, please let Cathy know.

We wish you all a blessed & merry Christmas along with a happy & healthy New Year!

November 2011

A Time for Giving Thanks The Thanksgiving season is approaching quickly, and this means a fun and busy time for our preschoolers. We will be learning about the traditions passed down to us from the Indians and Pilgrims. Mrs. Beresford's classes will be invited to join Mrs. Byrne's classes for Thanksgiving feasts. Our dinners will include foods that remind us of the menu served on the first Thanksgiving. Yum! Watch for sign-up sheets to see how you may help, either with food contributions or food preparation. You are invited to join us for the last few minutes of our celebrations. Come to Room 102 (Mrs. Beresford's room) at 10:35 am (MWF AM classes) or 10:05 am (T/TH classes).

Our Thanksgiving Feasts will be:

• MWF classes: Monday, November 21
• T/TH classes: Tuesday, November 22

Throughout November we will be talking to the children about being thankful. We encourage you to take some time to tell your child about things for which you are thankful. Then allow your child to tell you about the things that make him/her thankful (happy). These conversations will help your child to understand the concept of what it means to thank God for the material things that we enjoy daily, and for the special people in our lives. Begin building avenues of communication early!

November Vacations

• Friday, November 11: Veteran's Day
• Thanksgiving Vacation: November 23-27

School pictures will be taken on:

• Tuesday, November 8 (preschool, multi-age, Tuesday Two-By-Two)
• Wednesday, November 9 (preschoo & pre-K)
• Thursday, November 10 (Thursday Two-By-Two, picture make up day for other classes)

Siblings and other family members are welcome to have their pictures taken as well. Extra order forms are located on the information table in the preschool hallway.

Coming in December: Christmas Cookie Frost

• MWF classes: Monday, December 19
• T/TH classes: Tuesday, December 20

Cookie Bakers Needed:

December 5 - December 9

We need volunteers to spend class time baking cookies for our Christmas Cookie Frost. We will provide the cookie dough to be rolled, cut out, and baked by volunteers in the church kitchen.

Thank you!

A big THANK YOU to all who are helping to make our Halloween Treat Street possible! Show-And-Tell

Show-and-Tell is the first full week of the month. November's theme (Nov. 7 - 11): a book that is special to your child.

We are in need of. . .

• cornstarch packing peanuts for our water table.
• drawing paper. Our preschool children are very prolific artists and therefore use a great deal of paper on a daily basis. If you have access to paper that is no longer suitable for its intended purpose (e.g. computer paper with holed strips on sides), we will gratefully accept it!
• bones for our skeleton unit. I am always looking for new and different animal skeletons. We have a shark mouth, deer skull with attached antlers, frog, turtle, fish spine, tarantula exoskeleton, and misc. skulls and chicken & turkey bones. I would also love a turkey egg to go with my emu and ostrich eggs.

Throughout the months of November and December we will be collecting non-perishable food items for First Covenant Church's food pantry and children's hats, scarves & mittens to be donated to area children through Community Helping Hands. As we take time to give thanks for the many blessings that we have, we can encourage young children to care for, and share with, others. Hats, scarves, and mittens may be placed on the branches and food items are placed under the tree. It would be wonderful if each child would bring at least one food item each week! The need often exceeds the food available. The children will have an opportunity to visit the food pantry (2nd floor) to see where their donations are going.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Because it is our desire to accommodate the varying schedules of our preschool families, rather than scheduling limited conference days, we remain available to parents throughout the school year. You are invited to contact your child's teacher to make an appointment to discuss your child's progress.

A Few Thoughts. . .

• Please put your child's name on the labels of coats, sweaters, boots, etc. to avoid mixing up similar or identical items.
• Even though the temperature outside is dropping, it can get quite warm in our classrooms full of active children. Please dress your child in layers so that the extra layers may be removed if it gets too warm.
• If your child leaves before the third hour (MWF classes), be sure that he/she is picked up promptly.

First Covenant Church Presents

five performances of The Living Christmas Tree on December 2 (8 pm) and December 3 (5 pm & 8 pm) and December 4 (5 pm). Tickets are available in the church office. Some performances sell out quickly so plan on getting your tickets early!

October 2011

We are off to a great start of a new school year! Fall offers so many possibilities for fun learning activities: the changing weather and seasons, brightly colored leaves, apples, pumpkins, and so much more. Enjoy this season with your child. . .time spent walking, talking and discovering will provide special moments together.

Dates to remember

• No school on Friday, October 7 (In-service) & Monday, October 10 (Columbus Day)
• Tuesday, October 25: Parent Information Night (parents only), 6:00 - 7:00 pm

A Note about Halloween...

We use fun and non-threatening Halloween experiences to help prepare the children for some of the more frightening customs that they may encounter during this holiday. We also take the opportunity to reinforce the concepts of real and pretend. Also, the benefits of dressing up for our Halloween parties and Treat Street include opportunities for role-playing, creative expression, imagination, and language development.

It's time to prepare for our Halloween Treat Street. The 3rd floor of the church becomes an imaginary street. Parents volunteer to decorate the classroom doors and provide treats for the preschool children who will be "trick-or-treating". The children will create their own trick-or-treat bags as a preschool art project. Watch the bulletin boards for our Treat Street and Halloween party sign-up sheets.

While many of the children enjoy dressing up for Halloween; some do not. Please do not force your child to do so. However, the costumes of reluctant children may be left with a staff member in case a child changes his/her mind.

Many young children become frightened when they see monsters, witches, devils, ghosts, etc. Please guide your child's selection of a costume. Something less frightening is more appropriate for this age group. If you are unsure of whether a costume is appropriate, please talk to your child's teacher. The same applies to the adults in our 3rd floor "houses". Past experience has taught us that it is best if masks are not worn by the parents. Also, for obvious safety reasons, burning candles may not be placed in pumpkins.

Halloween Party Schedule

• MWF Classes: Monday, October 31
• T/TH Classes: Tuesday, November 1

Labels for Education

Remember to save UPC codes for Campbell's Labels for Education! Please cut and deposit the UPC codes only, no the whole label, unless otherwise specified.Parking

Handicap-designated parking spaces may be used by preschool families, Monday - Friday, when dropping off and picking up children.

Scholastic Books

By purchasing books through the monthly book club flyers, you are enabling our preschool to accumulate points to be used for books and supplies. Because the order is placed with Scholastic a day or two after the due date, book orders may be emailed to mrsbyrne@firstcovpreschool.org when the due date is missed. Please identify the flyer (Honeybee, Firefly...) and include each book number and title.

Show-And-Tell

October's theme (October 3 - 6): a family picture. Please identify family members on the back of the picture.

Just a few reminders...

• Encourage your child to go to the bathroom before preschool begins.
• Please put your child's name on sweaters, coats, boots, & jackets to avoid mixing up similar or identical items.
• Due to health and safety concerns, treats & snacks must be brought to school in unopened packages. Fruits and vegetables will be washed by the staff before being distributed.
• Adults are not permitted to use the women's rest room in the preschool wing during preschool hours (8:30 AM - 4:00 PM). It is used for our preschoolers during this time. There are restrooms in Fellowship Hall and on the 2nd floor.
• Watch the bulletin boards for volunteer opportunities!

Our Volunteers

Once again we have Rita Phelps and Cella Anderson volunteering in our Two-By-Two classes. Helen Peterson is volunteering in the MWF pre-K class and former staff member, Sue Arrowsmith volunteers in the T/TH multi-age class. Pastor Adam is, once again, a popular visitor to our preschool classes, singing, reading, and telling stories to the children.

A Note about the Weekly Schedule of Activities. . .

We send these schedules home so that you know what is happening in your child's classroom and also to help you talk with your child about his/her preschool experiences. Although we plan our lessons and activities carefully and in advance, we must remain flexible and make adjustments and changes according to the needs of the children, and to take advantage of those "teachable" moments. We may not always get to everything on the schedule.

Extra copies are available on the information table in the preschool hallway.

School pictures will be taken on:

• Tuesday, November 8 (preschool, multi-age, Tuesday Two-By-Two)
• Wednesday, November 9 (preschool, pre-K)
• Thursday, November 10 (Thursday Two-By-Two, picture make-up day for other classes)

Siblings may also be photographed. Extra forms will be available on the preschool information table.

If your child is absent on the scheduled day, you may arrange to have the pictures take Thursday afternoon.