Friday 3 April 2015

April Newsletter 2015


APRIL NEWSLETTER 2015
Dear Parents,
April is here and we are keeping our eyes and ears open for signs of spring. It feels good to see the grass again! We will start taking our kids outside daily (weather permitting) after the Easter Break. We can’t wait to see them playing in the trees and rolling down the hill again.
Last month our children enjoyed the shapes and opposites activities.  We hope you took a look at their amazing pieces of “shape art”. They are hanging in the hallway and in the classroom. Here are some “educational comments” that we overheard during snack time. “Look, I have a shape snack! My cucumber is a circle, my sandwich is a square and the lunch box is a rectangle!” As one of our students looked into a mirror and looked at her own eyes, she said:  “My Auge (eye) is oval and has a Kreis (circle) in the middle. I did not know that!”
As part of the opposite unit, we also taught our students how to clean dishes. They were so excited when they cleaned and dried their little plates and cups. We hope for your sake that this excitement lasts for years!  
April Theme: UNDER THE SEA               
Put on your goggles! We will take our students to the bottom of the ocean this month. Our students will discover some of the wonders beneath the waves.
Literacy such as the book “The Rainbow Fish” (by Roland Pfister) will be an important part of the Ocean unit. The book talks about friendship and the importance of sharing. It is one of my favourite books. Another book that emphasizes on social skills is “Swimmy” (by Leo Leonni). It is the story of a lonely little fish that makes new friends. They   share the great fear of a giant fish, which lives in the ocean.  In a team effort, all the little fish form one big fish. The plan works out and together they scare the giant fish away!
EASTER ACTIVITIES
During the first week of April we will provide students with some Easter activities.
Did you know, that it was the German Settlers (early 18th century) who brought the idea of the Easter Bunny to North America?
The Easter Bunny will swing by and visit our classroom on Wednesday, April 1st and Thursday, April 2nd. The children will also learn an Easter Rhyme in German.

Mark Your Calendar
March 31st /April 1st         Scholastic Book Orders due
April 3 – April 12:                Easter Break / no school                                                            
YEAR END CELEBRATION: June 24/25 (not June 19th)
We had originally planned to have a family potluck with ALL our families on June 19th in the afternoon. We realized, however that with our newly added afternoon class this year, we would have an estimated number of 160 people.
In order to have a more intimate and personal year end celebration, we decided to change the format and each class will have their own individual celebration on their last day of school. This will happen during the last half of class time and all parents / family are invited to join us.  The children will perform a number of their favourite rhymes and songs and we will have a potluck in our classroom.
We will extend our regular hours on those days! Please mark your calendar for the following dates:
 M-W-F a.m.: Wednesday, June 24th
Class time: 9:00 a.m. – 11: 00 a.m.
Performance: 11:00 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.
Lunch potluck with family: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
M-W-F p.m.: Wednesday, June 24th
Class time: 1:00p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (different start time than usual!!)
Performance: 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Coffee /Cake potluck 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
T/Th class: Thursday, June 25th
class time: 9:00- 11:00 a.m.
performance: 11:00a.m. – 11:30p.m.
Lunch potluck with family:  11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
We are giving you lots of advance notice in order to give you enough time to juggle work schedules so that you can join us for this special “preschool wind up” day.
As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions, suggestions or concerns!
Regards,

Uli Hecker, Ruth Skinner                                                Larissa Lorenz, Samina Roohi
                                                                   

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