Ages: 6 Weeks – 5th Grade

Christian Values and Curriculum

Certified Teachers

Modern Facility w/Gym

CPR and First Aid Certified

As the new year begins there are a lot of changes going on at Circle of Friends. I’m going to try to update you on everything. Miss Eileen, Miss Holly, Miss Steph and Miss Bethany all headed off to college. We wish them all a great year! Miss Amber has also gone back to college but will still be working with us as she does. However, Miss Amber will be taking the next two weeks off; she is getting married on September 6^th. The staff and I wish her a beautiful wedding day and a memorable honeymoon. Miss Amanda has returned in the afternoons after having her baby. Miss Jen is back in the Older Toddler room anxiously waiting to put her potty training skills into action. Miss Sue is also back from her medical leave. And just when you think she’s gone for good, she’s baaack. Miss Mandi is back and helping us out in the mornings until we find a permanent part-time person. On August 18^th we hired a new staff member to join our team. Her name is Erin Eckert. Erin is joining Miss Jill in the Young Toddler room. Erin has worked with toddlers for several years while attending York College. She enjoys working with this age and comes with a lot of enthusiasm. We all welcome her to Circle of Friends. Please stop by the young toddler room and introduce yourself. As for staffing changes I believe that is all.

Now, onto the children. Last week most of the children moved to their new classroom. Miss Kayte in the Prekindergarten room now has the group of VERY energetic boys. I just know they are going to have an active year. Miss Shelli went from all those very energetic boys to a class that is mostly girls. I know she is going to enjoy slowing the pace down a little. The Older Toddler room still has more girls than boys but I know Debbie and Jen will be able to entertain all of them. The Young Toddler room is small now, but it will grow as the new babies join the Infant room. We are waiting for one more of the infants to be born. Two of the infants were just born within the last two weeks. One is Trey’s younger brother, born on August 19^th. The other one is Jake’s younger brother just born on August 29^th. Both families are doing fine and we can’t wait to have two more boys in our program.

Some of you might see this as a rerun but some of you missed it the first time. If I’m out of the office for a day or more I leave a message on my answering machine stating – If you need to speak with a staff person please call Mr. Baer at #580-3004 otherwise, if you leave a message I will get it when I return. That means no one is checking my messages throughout the day so, don’t leave a message that requires immediate attention.

Just wanted to remind all of you, because I know we have some new families also joining us this month, our next Parent/Teacher Meeting is scheduled for September 11^th. The format will be Open House style. Mr. Baer (church administer and my boss) will be here to show you a power point presentation on our Emergency Evacuation Plan. This meeting is also a great time to meet the other parents in your child’s room and to ask any general questions you might have about the center or your child’s room. The teachers are looking forward to talking to you in a less busy setting than drop-off and pick-up times. We will also be giving away door prizes, one being a FREE WEEK of TUITION. This meeting is also for parents of Afterkindergarteners and Before/After School children.

Speaking of which, our Before/After School program has grown 1/3 of its size from last year. As I write this letter we have 30 children enrolled in the program, but this total can change by the end of today.

I am searching for 1 to 2 more part-time staff members. If you know anyone interested in working with children in the mornings or afternoons and is at least 18 years old please have them give me a call.

September 3^rd – That’s ME

September 11^th – Miss Jen

Camping

Moon & Space

Children Around the World

Welcome Week

Special Events:

September 1^st – Labor Day – CENTER CLOSED

September 11^th – Parent/Teacher Meeting 7:00pm OPEN HOUSE STYLE

October 10^th – Picture Day

There is a 3-way STOP at the corner of the entrance to our parking lot. Please make sure you are STOPPING there. There have been a few close calls recently. The parking lot is ONE-WAY also. Please obey the signs.

PLEASE KEEP YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES WHEN YOU ARE DROPPING OFF OR PICKING THEM UP. I am seeing so many children unattended and running inside/outside at this time period.

Please keep us informed! Any changes to your home or work address, phone numbers etc. MUST be shared with us immediately. If we need to reach you, the last thing we need is a bad phone number!

When your child goes to the doctor for a well check-up please take a Health Assessment Form along and have it completed. They are available outside the office.

Miss Karen’s and Miss Sue’s Babies

We had a wonderful summer with your children. We wished Jake well as he moved up to join the Young Toddlers at the end of August. We welcomed William, who is 9 1/2 months. We are happy to have him and are enjoying getting to know him and his parents. The other four children we will be having in our room this year were all due to be born in August, so we may begin to see them late this month or in October. This will give us lots of time to transition our older children to the Toddler room. And they are very excited about the short visits they make now! We now have five walkers which make for push toys always in use and a few bumps and tears! But they are all so busy that the tears don’t last too long. The best way to encourage their skills is with lots of applause and as many hugs as they can stand!! Sue and I love this part of our job!

Miss Jill’s and Miss Erin’s Young Toddlers

The month of August was full of fun in the young toddler room. During camping week, the kids loved playing in tents, both inside and outside! We had two tents set up on the playground, and the kids sang songs in them and had a good time playing in them. Our indoor tent was a neat place to play too! For moon and space week, we pretended an air mattress was the moon. Everyone really liked taking off their shoes and walking and jumping on it. Since the whole class enjoyed our first water day so much, we had a second one. This time the kids played in the sprinkler with the older toddlers. It was lots of fun!

August was also a month for saying good-bye and welcoming newcomers. We said a sad good-bye to Miss Paula and seven friends who moved up to the older toddler room. Miss Erin started with us, along with Alexis, who is new to the center. Jake moved up from the baby room, and everyone settled in nicely.

Our special kid is Ava. Ava’s favorite song is "Mr. Sun". She likes looking at books and playing in the houses on the playground.

We’re looking forward to the parent meeting and we hope you can all attend. It will give you a chance to see everything in your child’s classroom and hear about their typical day. You can also ask any questions you may have and have a chance at winning a free week of tuition!

Miss Debbie and Miss Jen

Older Toddlers

Focuses:

Red

Square

Aware of classroom routine

Walking/running while avoiding obstacles

Building a tower of 6-7 cubes

Learning to share with others

Saying please and thank you

God loves us

We can’t believe that summer is almost over. We are sad that some of our friends are leaving our class. Andy, Trey, Collin, Ava M, Ava R, Kelsea, Lauren, Rachael, and Sydney have all moved up to Miss Shelli’s class. We will miss them all so much, but we know they will have lots of fun. We had so many big helpers in our room. They all wanted to help push the vacuum, push the microwave, help at the copier, go get the lunches and really just about anything we needed help with. They were always so excited to help. Good luck with Miss Shelli!!!!!!

Thank you to Miss Amber for all her help this summer while Miss Jen was in Summer Camp. Miss Amber just jumps right in and is ready to do whatever needed to be done for the children. We had lots of fun playing outside at water day and our picnic lunches. The weather was perfect most of the summer and gave us a lot of time to run around outside and we even had a day to ride our bikes in the parking lot.

Thank you to all the parents for checking their child’s blue folder for any papers and items that we may have needed. We appreciate all your help and support throughout the year. All of your children were such a blessing to have in our classroom this year and we wish you and your family the best in the years to come here at Circle of Friends.

Miss Debbie and I can’t wait to start the new school year of with our new friends and we look forward to a great year!

MISS SHELLI’S PRESCHOOL CLASS

THIS MONTH’S FOCUSES ARE………..

MENTAL – Letters A, B, and C / Color red / #1 / Circle shape

PHYSICAL – Walking in a line / Moving body parts to given instructions

EMOTIONAL – Feeing that everyone is important

SOCIAL – Adjusting to a new classroom / Adapting to the new surroundings and activities schedule

SPIRITUAL – God made everything /. God is everywhere / God takes care of everything / God made everyone special.

Here we go again! I cannot believe that the summer is over and it is already time for the school year to start again. Our class had a great summer and I hope that you did too!

I would like to thank all of the Parents (and Miss Jennie) for joining us on our fieldtrip to Wildwood Lake. To almost everyone’s disappointment, we did not see any snakes this year, but we saw lots of other plants and animals including a large spider who decided that it needed to eat Andrew’s sandwich. I guess that the spider didn’t think that Andrew looked hungry enough to eat the whole thing by himself!

I would also like to thank Mr. Wayne and Aunt Sally for helping us during our camping and cook out day. The children were all tired, and ate a lot. They also had a great time.

For all of the new friends moving up to the preschool class these are just a few of the fun things that you can look forward to during the next school year. We will be learning, creating, and discovering a lot over the next 12 months together, and I know that we will all have a great time doing so.

The first fieldtrip that I will be scheduling is our annual trip to Paullus’ farmers market. The children always have a great time discovering all of the fun things to learn about while we are there, and Amy Paullus is one of the nicest people that you would ever want to meet. Since this is our first fieldtrip together, it would also be a great opportunity for the new preschool parents to come a long. I will be sending out more information after the fieldtrip is scheduled, so please keep an eye out for it.

I would also like to remind all of the new parents to please read the preschool class welcome sheet that you will be receiving. There are quite a few changes that occur during the classroom change from the older toddlers to the preschool room, and we want everyone to make a smooth transition!

One of the biggest changes is the fact that we spend a great deal of our time with the pre-kindergarten class, taught by Miss Kayte, and all of the children in that class love to talk. So, if you happen to think that your child started talking a lot once they reached the older toddler room just wait, the fun has just begun!

I do spend my time trying to get to know all of the children in the older toddler room, before they move up, but I don’t usually get to know all of the parents real well before their children move up. In that case let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been teaching for a very long time, don’t ask how long because then I would really have to try and figure it out. I really enjoy spending time with the children. I also enjoy reading, drawing, music, theater, nature and animals. I am also currently trying to learn how to crochet, so if you know of any good techniques please let me know!

I am looking forward to having a great year and I hope that you are too!

Have a good month and a happy Labor Day!

 

 

Miss Kayte’s Pre-Kindergarten

I can not believe that I have sent off my second group of kindergarteners, and am receiving my third. I had fun with that group, and I know that I will have a lot of fun with this group. I can not wait to get started on this fun filled adventure that happens to last for 12 months. We are going to learn so much, and the children will learn everything that is essential to move onto kindergarten. You will be amazed as to how much your child will grow. I thank you greatly for allowing me to be the one to share this experience with your child!

As A little reminder…Please do not forget to keep looking in your child’s blue folder everyday, there may be something of importance in there. Also, I am going to be going through extra clothes here soon, and may be sending home some bags that may have clothes that do not fit your child anymore, or clothes that are out of season. And if you haven’t already, please update your pickup pictures…it helps make the pickup process much easier. Thank You!

Keep and eye out for information on our first fieldtrip. Every year…which you should know from last year, we visit Paulus’ Farmers Market, and the children always have a wonderful time. They talk about it for months afterwards! But coming up sooner than the fieldtrip is our parent teacher meeting. The meeting will be held on Thursday September 11^th and it starts at 7:00 Pm. Do not forget that at these meetings you have a chance to win door prizes. And it is always a good time.

This month our specific focuses are…

Mental: Understand numbers 1, 2, 3, 4

Recognize L, I, T, O

Count To 20 In A Group

Physical: Kick A Ball (Moving/Stationary)

Print L, I, T, O

Print #1

Emotional: Citizenship/Friendship

Social: Easily Separates From Parent/Guardian

Follow Rules In Group

Spiritual: We all Are God’s Creation

~Noah And The Ark

~Creation Story

~Jesus Loves All Children

MISS SONIA’S AFTER-KINDERGARTEN CLASS

WELL I MADE IT!!! SUMMER CAMP WAS GREAT. NOW IT’S TIME TO GET BACK TO SCHOOL MODE.

I WANT TO WELCOME ALL THE NEW FRIENDS AND FAMILIES THAT WILL BE HERE WITH ME AT COF. SOME OF YOU ARE COMING FROM MISS KAYTE’S CLASS AND SOME ARE NEWCOMERS BIENVENIDOS. IN THE WEEKS TO COME WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO ADJUST TO CHANGES, MEETING NEW FRIENDS AND FAMILIES. ONE FRIEND THAT YOU WILL SEE AROUND IS FRANKLIN THE TURTLE. FRANKLIN WILL ALSO HELP US WITH LEARNING SOME SPANISH (ESPAÑOL).

ITS VERY IMPORTANT YOU READ THE NEWSLETTER FROM NOW UNTIL JUNE. EVERY MONTH THERE WILL BE A STAR OF THE MONTH. THE STAR WILL TELL US SOME FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT THEM SELVES. SO WHO WILL IT BE FOR NEXT MONTH?

TO HELP YOUR CHILD OUT WITH SOME LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT WE WILL BE WORKING ON A BOOK PROJECT FOR THE YEAR THIS WILL INCLUDE READING AND WRITING AND SOMETIMES THEY WILL NEED YOUR HELP SO THEY WILL BE TAKING SOME SHEETS HOME TO WORK ON.

WELCOME FRIENDS AND FAMILIES, BIENVENIDOS AMIGOS Y FAMILIAS!!!

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FEEL FREE TO COME OVER AND SEE ME IN ROOM 309 OR COME TO OUR ANNUAL OPEN HOUSE SEPTEMBER 11^th AT 7:00PM.