December 2008
Letter from the Director
Key Dates to RememberDec 12 Dec 17-23; 29-31 Dec 24-26 Jan 5 This time of year, you need this newsletter in one hand, and your day timer in the other, so you can transfer all the important dates mentioned here to there before you forget! Ready…? First of all, your child and all of his classmates will be performing on Friday, December 12 at 10:00AM upstairs in the church sanctuary. There are no classes that day and it is the last day of school before Christmas break. Classes resume on Monday, January 5, 2009. However, before you book that holiday, getaway plane ticket, parents of pre-kindergartners & kindergartners must be here for parent /teacher conferences on Monday, December 15, and Tuesday, December 16. Sign-up sheets are posted outside the classroom. Typically, parent/ teacher conferences are held later in January. However in response to concerns parents have voiced, specifically, that to return from Christmas break only to have another two consecutive days without class due to conferences was often difficult to schedule; and other parents added that January conferences were too close to the deadlines for kindergarten applications. Consequently, we are going to try December conferences to address these concerns. Speaking of scheduling, if you need care over the break, I trust you have returned your green flyer to the office by now. If not, do so right away! We need to know how many need care so that we may schedule staff accordingly. Speaking of flyers, as soon as you return from Christmas break, start looking in your box for a flyer asking about your child’s’ schedule for next school year; any desired changes (no need to designate AM or PM, your child’s birthday determines that placement: the typical Lakeside progression is that our youngest children attend classes in the morning; then, next year they are in afternoon classes. Children in afternoon classes usually move on to an older pre-k or kindergarten) are processed on a first come, first served basis. NOTE: This guideline is especially significant for our Kindergarten program. Kindergarten is a five-day a week class from 8:30 – 11:30AM. It is held in two cozy classrooms adjacent to the social hall. Classroom size limits the number of students we can enroll. Seems like just when you are finally remembering to check the classroom work calendar, and remembering the deadline for the monthly point sheet, we are talking about next year already! Hope you get a nice day planner for Christmas – with all the aforementioned dates, plus unmentioned upcoming ones (like the Child / Guest dinners), we plan to fill it up! Until then, may you and yours enjoy a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.
Christmas Program Reception
Ms. Kerry & Mrs. Chao’s Classes
Happy Holidays from Ms. Kerry and Mrs. Chao's Class! HO! HO! HO! The month of December has arrived and we are ready for the festivities to begin. Looking back a bit, we hope everyone had a very restful Thanksgiving with your families and friends. We also hope that you enjoyed the children's Farm Animal Books. They were so excited to bring them home to share with you. We enjoyed a bountiful Thanksgiving feast with all the classes joining together before Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims and Indians had a wonderful time and it was a great community builder. We are now in full swing for the holiday season. December is sure to be very exciting and busy month. For a few short weeks, we will be working on lots of fun and festive Christmas decorations and activities. This season is a time to be mindful of the importance of giving--giving to those less fortunate, those who may not have family close by and those in need of extra care. We hope that when your children bring home their handmade gifts to you, it will be in the spirit of "giving" of love and attachment they feel for you, one which goes beyond material things. Be with your children often, listening to them and paying attention to them. Santa will come and visit again this year on Mon. Dec. 8th, and Tues. Dec. 9th. Please be assured that we are always sensitive to those children who may be a little apprehensive about sitting on Santa's lap. We will leave it up to each individual child's comfort level. We will be having our class Christmas parties on December 10th and December 11th. Please watch for sign-ups. If there is something special any of the parents would like to share with the class, whether it be food items or special traditions, please let us know and we would be happy to accommodate you. The annual Lakeside Christmas program will be on Friday, December 12th, at 10:00 AM in the church. Please have your child at school by 9:30 A.M. All AM children will meet in Miss Michele and Ms. Lupita's classroom and all PM children will meet in Ms. Kerry and Mrs. Chao's classroom. The children have been working hard practicing their songs and we are sure this will be a delightful event for all! Please note that the Parent/Teacher Conferences for the PM parents will be on Monday, December 15th and December 16th. We have posted a schedule of conference times in the hallway outside of our classroom. Please make sure you sign up for a conference time. We appreciate your cooperation. The Child/Guest dinner for the P.M. children will be on January 14th. Invitations will be sent in January and more information about this wonderful event will be sent as the event approaches. Congratulations to the Muzzy family on their new son Sawyer. His older brothers are Hudson in our AM class and Jackson in our PM Class. We hope everyone has a joyous holiday season. Thank you to all who have participated in the classroom, done seemingly endless cutting projects, and brought in lots of yummy and nutritious snacks. Your contributions have not gone unnoticed and it is such a pleasure working with you and your children. Your support is greatly appreciated. It makes our job so much easier. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us. We will see you in the New Year when school resumes on January 5th. QUOTE OF THE MONTH: We wish you all a very happy, joyful, and peaceful holiday season with family and friends. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Mrs. Wardell’s Kindergarten
December has arrived and a chill is in the air! Please make sure that your child has a warm jacket to wear in the yard. The fresh air is wonderful but we need to be prepared for the brisk temperature. This weather also promotes colds and runny noses. Please do not bring your child to school to infect the rest of the children. Though they may miss a day of school, they will convalesce faster at home with rest and appropriate medical care. Advent begins and the waiting during the weeks before Christmas is difficult for young children. At school we will be working on projects that remind the children that the holiday season is about giving as well as receiving. Allowing your child to help get ready at home, whether it be decorating the tree or making cookies, gives them an opportunity to be involved as well as establishing family traditions. The kindergartners have Christmas lists to generate for the word bank, songs to practice and poems to learn-December will be a short but busy month. Our new rap has, predictably, a holiday theme:
Math activities during the month will include patterned holiday chains to decorate the classroom, counting and number practice games. Even our daily calendar activities are a rich lesson in which we count by 5's and 10's, predict the next calendar number character, talk about number concepts and explore odd and even numbers. Our small group time is when I introduce new concepts and give the children hands on activities that reinforce the concepts presented. Many of the games and manipulatives are used over and over, encouraging mastery of concepts as well as allowing the children’s natural curiosity to lead to independent discoveries. Santa will be coming in early December to visit, have his picture taken with each child and ask what they would like for Christmas. Watch for the notices indicating the exact day the kindergarten will be scheduled as the time approaches. Our class party will be on Thursday, December 11. As always, your generous snacks are appreciated and lend such a festive air to the day. A sign up sheet will be posted in early December if you would like to contribute. The Christmas program is scheduled for Friday, December 12. Exact times will be posted outside the classroom to remind you of the particulars. The children work very hard preparing for the musical recital and are so proud to perform for you. Please make arrangements to join us. I have been receiving letters of recommendation to fill out for your children. Please check the due dates when you receive the applications so that you have plenty of time to fill them out. Your portion of the application is sent independently of the teacher evaluation. The more lead time you give me, the more thoughtfully I can write my portion. I will send you verification of the recommendations as I send them directly to the schools to which you have applied. Kindergarten conference information and sign ups will go out in early December. Our conference dates are Monday, December 15 and Tuesday, December 16. Classes will resume on Monday, January 5. The Christmas holiday is always a special time for family and friends. I would like to wish you a joyous season. May 2009 bring us a brighter, peaceful world in which to live.
Miss. Michele, Ms. Lupita & Miss Megan’s Classes
The month of November is coming to an end, and December is upon us! This past month was filled with many fun activities for the children both the Am and PM classes. During our farm week, the children created their own barnyards, made a little farm animal, and helped cook ham and eggs and mix yogurt shakes. They really seemed to enjoy the hands on experience of cooking and preparing food in the classroom. The month of November was also full of exciting Thanksgiving festivities. Both classes made " hand turkeys", decorated a book about their favorite activities during Thanksgiving, and designed their own thankful feather to put on the big turkey display on our classroom. The children also took part in a Thanksgiving feast with Ms.Kerry and Mrs. Chao's classes, as well as the kindergarten classes. The children really enjoyed dressing up and sharing food with the other classes. It was a great success. Now December is here and it is going to be a busy month! Both classes will take part in many wonderful holiday projects and activities. Santa is visiting Lakeside on December 8th and 9th! We understand some children may be apprehensive towards our visitor, and participation will be their choice. We will have our Class parties the week of Dec. 8. Look for signups. We wish you a very happy and peaceful holiday season. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo! Miss Michele, Miss Megan, and Ms. Lupita Give a Gift that Gives Back! The Entertainment Book is a wonderful gift that will not only give the recipient amazing deals at a variety of local establishments, but it will also give back to Lakeside. Books are only $25. Place your order in the office today! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Toys for Tots Toy Drive The annual San Francisco Firefighters’ Toy Drive has begun at Lakeside. Please bring in a new, unwrapped toy and place it in the red bin located in the school hallway. The toy drive runs through Monday Dec. 15. Any questions, please contact Meredith Mannion (Meredith.mannion@sbcglobal.net) GREEN EFFORT UPDATE: Located throughout Lakeside are color-coded trash cans and carts. Snack-time in our kids’ classroom is the perfect opportunity to Compost and Recycle. When you work in the classroom consider the following guidelines for disposing of Janelle L. White-Farinacci, jwhitesf@sbcglobal.net Green Coordinator
PVO President’s Note
Dear Lakeside Parents: Happy Holidays! This will be a busy and short month for us at school. Please be sure to mark your calendars for the following events: *Mon Dec 15h –Last day for Toys for Tots: Our annual Christmas toy drive with the SF fire department. Be sure and involve your child in the process. *Friday Dec. 12th 10 am-Christmas Program and reception: The PVO is sponsoring the reception this year with bagels and cookies in the social hall immediately following the program in the Sanctuary (volunteers will be needed for this and Santa’s visits, so be sure and keep your eyes open for the sign-up sheets on the PVO bulletin board). As the year ends, I want to take the opportunity to thank all of the parents for their continued involvement at Lakeside, especially for all of the food that was donated in the annual Thanksgiving food drive. A big thank you to Nina Howell for spearheading this effort. Thank you to Maureen Kosewic, who has set up the upcoming and ever-popular holiday outing at the San Francisco Symphony. Speaking of cultural events, the children had the opportunity to again enjoy the work of Gary Lapow-Thanks to Maureen McFadden, our new enrichment coordinator, for inviting him back this year! Lastly, thank you to all of the parents who donated to our annual fund drive and to Sonali Herrera for initiating this effort with much success. By now, hopefully you have all had the opportunity to complete the PVO survey. If you have not had the chance to do so, please take 8-10 minutes out of your day-this is your opportunity to let us know which PVO programs are most important to you and give us ideas for the future. A very big thank you to Liz Zang and Leigh Admirand for their time and expertise in setting up the survey and to Cheryl Garcia, Lakeside’s registrar, for helping get the emails out to the whole school. We are really looking forward to hearing from all of you! Have a wonderful holiday season! Tanya Miller, 2008-2009 PVO President
Parents’ Corner
A few fun (and free) things to do in the Bay Area this month. Dec 5, FREE Day at The Exploratorium, 10-5 pm Dec 13, 5-7 pm, Parol Lantern Festival and Parade at Yerba Buena Gardens. Filipino-American Center hosts its holiday festival with the glow of hundreds of lights from colorful handmade parol lanterns. Dec 16, 11-6, FREE Day at Museum of Craft and Folk Art, 51 Yerba Buena Lane. (Every Tuesday is free) Dec 26, FREE, Annual Kwanzaa Celebration at Bay Area Discovery Museum. Kick off this week-long Pan-African festival with a joyous celebration with hands on crafts, performances, and food.
Annual Fund Drive
With support from 46% of the families in the school we raised $10,455.00 to help improve our school! Your thoughtful donations help purchase items that enrich the learning experience of your children both inside the classroom, and out in the play yard. On behalf of the P.V.O., thank you so much for your generosity and support! Annual Fund Drive § Platinum Circle $1000 or more
|
ABCDE- it’s time to get your Christmas tree