January 2009

Parenting is a tough job. There are so many components to consider — your child’s health, safety, nutrition, education, self-esteem, social skills, and spiritual development to name just a few. This year we know parents are more overwhelmed than usual because we are experiencing more missed deadlines than usual — one example is the PVO survey — this first attempt at emailing as a communication method has yielded mixed results. Even though email is an ‘instant’ form of communication, it took days for a majority of the parents to respond. In addition, as we compile the results, it seems some parents want better communication with ‘more flyers in boxes’ while other parents want fewer flyers in boxes — they prefer notices on doors!

We are always trying to figure out ways to improve communication with parents because although our primary focus is to provide your child with a wonderful introduction to formal education; we also pride ourselves on preparing parents for your involvement in your child’s next school community.

The PVO is the formal framework for this preparation and subsequent community building to happen. I am writing this after the Christmas program; the PVO made the lovely reception possible. Of course, we could have had the children sing and then just left the building. However, it was so much nicer to ‘nosh’ and compare notes with your child’s best friend’s mother. That wonderful moment was made possible by parents just like yourself who set-up the tables, hung the stockings (with care) for decoration, and afterwards, sorted the trash and stacked chairs. In addition to the Christmas joy those volunteers experienced, they also earned points.

The Christmas reception is an example of how to earn points. If you are shy — pick a job ‘behind the scenes’. If you are outgoing, be the coordinator of an event. Do not let anyone (including yourself) prevent you from participating – you will look back on this short precious time in your child’s life and be glad you did.

Speaking of missing out — we will certainly miss extended care staff member Alison Versoza. She is taking a trip to Australia. We will miss her bubbly personality and wish her a safe journey.

Child Guest Dinners The Child/Guest Dinner for Kindergarten and P.M. preschoolers is Wednesday, January 14th at 6PM in the social hall. Each child may bring one adult guest. This event counts as the Parent Meeting for January. (There is no parent meeting for the A.M. Classes in January.) Information has been distributed in you family mailbox. Please visit the communication board if you wish to volunteer and earn PVO points. The Child-Guest Dinner for A.M. classes will be held Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6pm. Please save the date. We look forward to a fun evening with our special guests. See you there! --Bernadette Hurley & Joan Mulkerrins Please watch your mailbox for a flyer with instructions on how to sign up for email delivery of the school newsletter. Beginning in February, the newsletter will only be available on the school website and via email delivery. (There will be a couple of hard copies in the office for those who do not have email access.) Any questions, please contact Kerry Dolan Button at kerryadolan@yahoo.com

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Welcome Back! We hope that you all had a joyous and relaxing holiday, spending time with your precious children. We would like to thank all the children and families for giving so generously to us at Christmas time. We were overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness, and we want you to know how much we appreciate your generosity. We love having your children here at Lakeside and spending time with them is an everyday gift to us. Thank you for allowing us to be part of the joy of their early education.

Thank you to all of our P.M. class parents who came in for conferences we appreciate you taking the time to come in and meet with us before Christmas vacation. We are very happy with our conferences and enjoyed meeting with all of our parents.

On Wednesday, January 14th we will have our Child/Guest dinner for the P.M. classes at 6 pm in the Social Hall. Please make sure your child only brings one guest, as space is limited.

With the holiday rush over, we will be easing our way into January activities. We will start with our January calendars. It is amazing how much the children have progressed in their tracing and writing skills since September! With all classes we will be reviewing basic concepts as well as introducing new concepts.

During the month we will be doing a unit on winter-related activities. To warm things up a bit, we will be making cookies and hot chocolate for snacks, so watch for Pajama Day sign-ups. We will also start our unit on dinosaurs, which is fun for all the children. It is amazing how quickly they learn all of the dinosaur names!

All of the classes will continue working on their “Me Books” as well as starting to create their number books. These books will be on going from 1 to 10, and may take a few weeks to finish. The children work so hard on these books and we are sure that you will enjoy them when they are sent home.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
"The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that
every child should be given the wish to learn. " ---John Lubbock

We want to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009! Thank you again for your wonderful generosity to us for the holidays.
Ms. Kerry, Mrs. Chao, Norma, Laura, and Mey

 

Happy 2009!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday and are ready to begin the new year with renewed spirit and anticipation. The class party and musical program were such enjoyable events. Thank you for your support. Your warm wishes and thoughtful remembrances made the Christmas holiday very special for me - thank you!

We will start 2009 off with a unit on sea life. The Kindergartners will study the many creatures that live in the ocean with a special emphasis on whales. We will look at their habitat, their bodies, how they move and what they eat.

There are poems to learn and stories such as Dear Mr. Blueberry and The Whales’ Song. One book, If I Went Sailing Out to Sea, will be the basis for a class book to which all the children will contribute.

Our new rap is as follows:

We will classify different creatures in math and subtract with edible gold fish while playing math games. There is a magnetic fish game that challenges the children to find number pairs and number combinations. We will begin in earnest with number formation, practicing the strokes needed to form legible numbers. We are doing lots of counting, by ones and tens, in anticipation of Day 100, which falls on Monday February 2. More information about that exciting day will follow.

Thank you for giving me the grammar school recommendation forms with plenty of lead time, allowing me to thoughtfully compose them to best reflect your children.

The Child-Guest Dinner will be held on Wednesday, January 14 at 6 P.M. in the social hall. Each child may bring one guest to the dinner. Please save the evening.

If I haven’t told you, thank you for making the time to come in and spend the day in the classroom with us. It is a busy morning and I may not always have the time to chat, but I do appreciate your presence and hopefully, it helps you to better understand what we do at school. Your support allows me to accomplish all that I do with your children.

Molly Wardell

On behalf of the kindergarten extended care parents, a big thank you to Miss Alison and Miss Michelle for all of the time and energy they put into the ABC-123 performance. This was an absolutely wonderful show that brought out all of the personalities in each of the children We also want to thank the YMCA Senior Annex for allowing the performance to be held at their facility at such short notice. It is refreshing to live in a neighborhood that is so community oriented. We are thankful to continue to have Miss Michelle in our children’s lives and will truly miss Miss Alison as she embarks on her new journey. Thank you again to you both for such a fantastic show!

Tanya Miller for the kindergarten extended care parents

Happy New Year! Welcome back to all of you - we hope everyone had a very restful and peaceful holiday season! I want to start off by thanking all of the parents who so generously gave to us at Christmas time. We (myself, Ms. Lupita, Miss Megan, Chika, Maritza, & Jenny) are so appreciative of all of the love and support you have shown us since the school year has started. Your generosity is at times overwhelming and we want you to know how much it means to us - so THANK YOU!

Conferences went very well and Miss Megan & I thank all of the parents for taking time to come and talk with us. It was a great opportunity to sit down and chat about your child with you.

We will be starting off January as busy as we ended December. We will continue to work on our letter of the week and we will be sending home notes asking your child to bring in items beginning with that letter. We will also be working on our teen numbers and lower case letters in the P.M. class. We do not expect your child to memorize all these, so please do not stress out on what they know or do not know. This is for fun and with that will come the learning. We have seen so many strides in just the past few weeks and we know that this will continue. We start out each year just getting to know each other and we are amazed at how much the children grow and learn and mature. They are truly gifts from God and we appreciate each and every moment with them. Thank you for entrusting us with them.

In the A.M. class we will continue sending home El Pato until each child has had a turn. We have so enjoyed the stories so far. Keep it up! The mystery bag will also reach each child - be patient! Thanks for all the creative ideas so far. Remember to let your child pick the item to go in the bag. We will also continue working on our letters, numbers, & shapes - all while having fun of course. For the P.M. class we will continue sending home Flat Stanley with your children. Thank you so much to all the children and their creative ideas! We will be sending home a class bear starting this month so watch for your turn! If your child hasn’t received a “Special Friend” book yet - no worries - they will!!

We want you to know that we make it a point to be aware of each child’s individual needs; if there is something that you would like us to be aware of that you feel we are not, please do not hesitate to see us.
We all thank you again for your support and as always please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns! Can you believe it is 2009? Stay Warm!

Miss Michele, Ms. Lupita, & Miss Megan

P.S. Weren't the children absolutely adorable and incredible at the Christmas program? We were so proud of them.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! FELIZ ANO NUEVO!

I hope that you all had a joyous and relaxing holiday, spending time with your loved ones. The Christmas program was beautiful. Listening to the children brought us so much joy. Chika and I would like to thank all of you who so generously gave to us at Christmas time. Your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated. We feel so blessed to have such a wonderful community of supportive and caring parents.

I really enjoyed talking to you during our parent-teacher conferences. I felt the conferences were very productive, and I was so happy to hear how much your children enjoy coming to school.

We are starting our new year with 2009 calendars and some winter projects. The children will continue working on their ABC books. Pajama day is also coming up this month. On that day we will be making pancakes and hot chocolate. The child/ guest dinner is also taking place on Wednesday January 14. This is a special dinner for your child and one guest. We will continue learning new words and we will practice our numbers.

In the month of January we will be studying sea life. The children will be learning about the many creatures that live in the ocean. January will be a fun month. Remember I am here for you. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Ms. Lupita

Happy New Year and welcome back to school! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas break. Our Extended Care kids had a blast during the break. We had fun-filled days making Christmas and winter-themed ornaments and decorations. In January we will continue with our winter-themed projects, and begin our activities and projects for Chinese New Year.

Many thanks are due to all of the parents who have supported Extended Care. Thank you to all the parents who helped out with our Christmas party snacks. The children had a great time celebrating. Please remember to keep bringing those snacks in, and remember that you get 1 point per snack.

A special thank you to the parents of the following children – Gino Andrini, Andrew Angeja, Hannah Angsten, Jake Beere, Rebecca Button, Kendra Char, Claire Curry, Claire & Liam Donohue, William Doyle, Matthew Duggan, Kristen Dunham, William Dunnigan, Tyler Flaherty, Henry Frazier, Mario Gutierrez, Kyra Howell, Bryan Jiang, Audrey Lee, Katie Lee, Madeline Lee, Jessica Leon, Luka Lewin, Michael McDonough, Caroline & James McFadden, Jack McFadden-Mitchell, Mason McKee, Doran & Grace Miller, Michael Mulkerrins, Hudson Muzzy, Colin O’Brien, Molly O’Connell, Paige Retajczyk, Billy Sanchez, Stefan Tsakalakis, Caroline Wang, and Megan & Thomas Zang – for your generous gifts. You go above and beyond to support our staff. Thank You!

Congratulations to the Kindergarten Extended Care students on a successful performance! They danced to the Jackson 5 song, “ABC”. Our Extended Care classes had the privilege to witness their dress rehearsals, and have been copying the dance routine in the yard since then. They loved it! Kudos to the performers! Thank you Kindergarten Extended Care teachers Miss Michelle and Miss Alison for putting your time and effort into the show.

Our winter season has finally arrived, so please make sure your child is dressed in warm clothes when coming to school. We will be going outside unless it is pouring down rain. If you have an extra jacket at home, it would be a good idea to leave it in your child’s cubby. If your child has misplaced or lost a jacket, please check the lost and found located in the office in front of Denice’s desk.

Some quick tips for the New Year:

1. Please remember to check in with us in Extended Care if you would like to drop off your child or add an Extended Care day. If you are thinking about changing your child’s schedule, please fill out an Extended Care change form and hand it into the office. Please do not assume your child’s schedule has changed once the form is filled out. The office needs to process your request and will let you know when the new times you are requesting will start.
2. Pizza lunch will start up beginning January 6th, the first Tuesday back at school. Remember it is $2 for pizza, and we need you to sign up for it before 11:00 the day of. We call the order in at 11:00 and we have to get the count correct before ordering.
3. Colds are very common during this time of year. It you think your child may be coming down with a cold, please do not bring him/her to school. A few days of nursing the sick at home will help prevent “bugs” from spreading. Thank you!

Miss Melanie, Miss Michelle, and our Extended Care Staff

SAN FRANCSICO FAMILY APPRECIATION DAY

On January 11^th, the city – led by Mayor Gavin Newsom – is celebrating SF families with a “Family Appreciation Day”, with free entrance for the entire family to many museums and attractions in the city. For more information check out www.sfkids.org

GREEN CORNER “Thinking Green”
You can “think green” when selecting snacks to buy for your child'sclassroom or when asked to provide food for other Lakeside events. Consider these green guidelines:
- select drink items that can be compostable (e.g. juice or milk boxes) or recycled (e.g. plastic bottles)
- select drink items that don't require purchasing extra cups
- select food items that don't require utensils
- select food items that have less packaging (i.e. packaging can be a big landfill concern)
- select paper food products (e.g. plates, napkins, cups), instead of plastic

  Janelle L. White-Farinacci jwhitesf@sbcglobal.net

Dear Parents,
On behalf of the PVO, I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fun filled holiday season and enjoyed your time with friends and family. We are gearing up for the remainder of the school year and the biggest items on the agenda for January and February are the Child/Guest dinners, one of the most popular events for children and parents alike.

December was quite the busy month and we have many people to thank. First of all, the Christmas program was wonderful and we want to thank all of the teachers and staff for their hard work in preparing our little performers. A special thanks to Miss Winnie for her fine piano playing, Miss Jelisa for her musical coordination of the program and to Denise Heath for capturing the event with her photography. The bagels and drinks after the program in the social hall were a big hit and a thank you goes out to Lori Doyle for setting up this very festive reception-love the giant stockings! That last week of school was sure busy. The children met Santa Claus and not only got their pictures taken, but also brought home wonderful goodie bags-thanks to Lynne Kenney and Cathy Doyle for making these fun arrangements. Another thank you to all of the families who donated to Toys for Tots and to Meredith Mannion for making this happen.

Next month will be our first newsletter sent out solely via email. Please watch your mailboxes for a note on how to sign up for email delivery. We would love any feedback, so feel free to email me at miller_tanya@comcast.net. I hope that we are able to communicate more and more via email and through the school website. A copy of the newsletter will also be available at the website and a hard copy will be available in the office.

Cheers!

Tanya Miller
PVO President 2008-2009

Restaurant Manners 101 While etiquette classes are available for children on the proper manners to use in a restaurant, with preschoolers the goal should be to not need to cover your face with a napkin when you leave the restaurant! Here are some tips for dining out with preschoolers. Clearly explain your expectations to your child before arriving at the restaurant in positive terms: for instance, say, "This is going to be a meal you'll really enjoy and a time for us to talk together, but you can't run around or talk loudly because it bothers the other people there who are also trying to have a good time." Some basic manners to communicate are: The age of your children is a key factor in how quickly you are served in a restaurant. We once had a waiter in Canada who said, "Could I get you your check?" and we answered, "How about the menu first?" - Erma Bombeck We don’t disturb other guests (no hurling food or objects!) We use inside voices (or quiet voice, depending on your house’s decibel) We stay seated in the chair (not standing on it!) We say “please” and “thank you” (when asking for anything!) We use our utensils to eat with (not poke our neighbor) We put our napkin in our laps (not create paper airplanes) We don’t speak with our mouths full Stick to the rules you've set. If your child doesn’t comply, simply leave quietly, being firm and clear about why you are doing so. Be realistic about your children’s behavior. Behaving in a public place often means sitting still and keeping quiet – which is difficult at this age, especially around meal time. Bring some quiet activities or toys like crayons/coloring books (if the restaurant provides these, it is a great sign they are family friendly!) and ask the waiter to bring a basket of bread ahead of the meal.