issue no. 3 binkley bugle · holiday wreath fundraiser - as part of our fundraising campaign this...
TRANSCRIPT
WE’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN
On October 2, teacher workday, the teaching staff and I went to Raleigh to the NC-AEYC conference. Each teacher was asked to choose workshops that would enhance their curriculum. The following workshops were attended:
- Bringing Puppets to Life for Learning- Communication Without Words- Mother Goose Brain Boost- Hands and Senses- Development Through the Use of Blocks- Music Together- Temperament Traits and Teaching Styles- Reinventing Calendar Time- Green Yoga for Kids- Building All Areas of Development Through Blocks- Destination Imagination- Gift of Challenging Out of Control Child - Effective Consequences
We all came back with new ideas and are adding them to our curriculum. The workshops that brought about the most discussion were the two given by Becky Bailey on Effective Consequences and Out of Control Child. Dr. Bailey is an award-winning author, renowned teacher and internationally recognized expert in childhood education and developmental psychology. She is the developer of the “Conscious Discipline” program. It’s a
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUN The terrific 2s class finds fun in everything they do.
DYNAMIC DUOS Life long friendship are easily formed in our super 3s class.
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES What could be more fun then celebrating with your friends at school?!
BINKLEY BUGLEALWAYS FREE ISSUE NO. 3
BINKLEY PRESCHOOL / NOVEMBER 2009 / VOLUME 01
social-emotional program that facilitates early childhood and elementary teachers in creating “school families” where children and teachers can reclaim joy, helpfulness and caring as a foundation for the educational process. Research shows that her program decreases aggression, increases academic scores on state tests, decreases impulsivity/hyperactivity in “difficult” children, increases collegiality of staff, and creates a positive school climate.
October is behind us and November is here. Thanksgiving Day is approaching. It’s a time to share with family and friends and a time to give thanks for all the bountiful gifts we have been given. Let us remember that some find themselves doing without. For this reason I hope that you and your child might drop a few coins in our “FEED THE PIG”. These coins go to Meals on Wheels and will help feed a needy person in our community…….not just on Thanksgiving.
Marlene Dickison
Let’s Raise Some Funds!Wondering how you can support Binkley this month? After a few important thank-you’s, check out our current fundraising opportunities.
A BIG THANKS TO...
Stephanie Mosteller for Sally Foster, Caroline Irick for Grocery Certificates, and Annette Murray & Janice Trusky for Scholastic. Your hard work is much appreciated!
SEASONAL FUNDRAISERS
School Photos - How great are the photos?! Paul Wingler does a fabulous job of capturing all those wonderful smiles. Due to the popularity of this fundraiser, the due date for orders has been extended to Friday, November 6.
Halloween Costumes - Donate your children's Halloween costumes to Binkley! Just drop them in the big box outside the 2's classroom. Next year we plan to have a Halloween Costume Sale in early October. Ask your friends to also donate their children's costumes!
Holiday Wreath Fundraiser - As part of our fundraising campaign this year, Binkley Preschool will again be selling beautiful holiday wreaths, garlands, and bows. Order forms will be distributed on Monday November 16th and due on Tuesday November 24th. Samples of the wreaths will be displayed in the preschool hallways. If you have any questions you may call Kelly Carruthers at 942-4620.
Original Works - November is the time to order from Original Works, the #1 art basedprogram in the country. Your child created a beautiful work of art in class, and that work of art can be featured on any number of fabulous products! The mugs, note pads, t-shirts, aprons, and many other items make terrific holiday gifts. Along with the order form, you received a preview magnet made with your child's artwork. You’re welcome to purchase the magnet for $6; however, if you do not wish to purchase the magnet then please bring it back to school along with your order form.
All orders are due Monday, November 9; please place unwanted magnets, order forms and checks made out to Binkley Preschool in the folder on the glass case in the hallway. Your purchases will arrive in mid-December! Questions - please contact Laura Phillips ([email protected]).
Scholastic - There will be one more opportunity to order books in 2009. Look for flyers just before Thanksgiving. Orders are due December 1 and will be delivered before the holidays. BONUS - with every online order, your child’s class gets a FREE book!
http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp (user name: Binkley / password: Marlene4)
YEAR ROUND FUNDRAISERS
Grocery Store Loyalty Cards - Be sure to link your Harris Teeter VIC card to #2666. You can also link your Food Lion MVP card to Binkley.
"Free Pass for Fundraising!” - Don't have time to look through the different fundraisers that come home? Simply make a donation straight to Binkley! It's that easy... just drop off your check in the envelope marked "Free Pass" located in the glass case as you enter the preschool wing. All donations are tax deductible... so donate before the end of 2009!
FUNDRAISING CHAIRS
Have questions about any of our fundraisers this school year? Feel free to contact the appropriate committee chair.
Grocery CertificatesCaroline [email protected]
Sally FosterStephanie [email protected]
Scholastic Book ClubAnnette Murray & Janice [email protected] [email protected]
Individual/Family Photos Julianna [email protected]
Original WorksLaura [email protected]
Holiday Greenery Kelly [email protected]
SilhouettesHeidi [email protected]
Family Benefit Night Taylor [email protected]
Make-A-Plate Robyn [email protected] Binkley DVDThomas [email protected]
Car MagnetsAmy Charney
For general fundraising questions, suggestions, or to volunteer, please contact our Fundraising Coordinator: Deb Conley [email protected]
Binkley car magnets will be here soon!
BINKLEY NOTES
CHEERS!
We’d like to extend a big thank you to the parents who have volunteered their time to help clean the preschool toys over the past month. We’re working hard to keep sickness down and this is one small way we can help combat the germs.
Please check the sign-up sheets outside your class room door to see which month you have volunteered to help clean toys. If you haven’t signed up yet, there are still opportunities for you to help.
When it’s your turn, please speak with the teacher for specific requests and instructions. You can either take a bundle of toys home with you to clean or stay after drop off one morning and use the Binkley kitchen to do the job. Thanks again for your support!
THINGS TO REMEMBER...
Lunch Bunch
Lunch Bunch is moving right along! It is great to see such healthy lunches and the children enjoying some social time with their friends.
Please remember to include a drink, utensils, and a napkin.
Also, 3's class: cut grapes and cherry tomatoes, no nuts or popcorn. Thanks for being prompt to pick-up between 12:50-1:00.
If you are going to be absent from lunch bunch and would like to sell the spot, log the pertinent information on the Lunch Bunch Swap Sheet in the glass case. If you want to buy the spot, enter your child's name in the correct space. The $5.00 payment goes directly to the spot owner via their cubby or folder or in person.
Don’t forget... Lunch Bunch Registration Forms for Spring 2010 are due no later than Friday, November, 13 at 12:00p.
FROM THE PARENT HANDBOOK...
Illness
Your child must be kept out of school for 24 hours if he/she has a fever, vomiting or diarrhea. Please call the school and leave a message on the machine before 8:45a on the first day of the illness. Children with contagious diseases such as conjunctivitis, strep throat, chicken pox, etc., should be seen by a doctor before returning to school.
No medication will be given to a child without written parental and physician permission and complete instructions. If your child becomes ill while at school, you or a designated person (as stated on your emergency form) will be notified to come and pick up your child. In addition, ill siblings are not allowed in the classroom.
Binkley Preschool follows the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
Management of Communicable Diseases guidelines.
Parent-TeacherParent-teacher conferences will be scheduled once a year. You may request a conference at any other time during the school year.
Weather
Binkley Preschool will follow the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools inclement weather policy. When the city schools are closed, we will be closed. if the city schools operate on a two-hour delay, Binkley will open at 10:00a. Information on closings will be available on the CHCCS Weather Hotline: 967-8211, ext. 317 and on the city school’s website (www.chccs.k12.nc.us)
Missed days due to inclement weather are not made up.
TUITION REMINDER
CLASS DAYS TUITION2s 2 – T/Th $1422s 3 – MWF $1953s 2 – T/Th $1423s 3 – MWF $1954s 5 – MTWTF $305
Monthly tuition is due the 1st day of each month and is delinquent by the 10th day.
IMPORTANT DATES
NOVEMBER
11 (WED) No School (Veteran’s Day)17 (TUE) Parent Coffee - Guest Speaker: Mary LaScala26 (THU) No School (Thanksgiving Holiday)27 (FRI) No School (Thanksgiving Holiday)DECEMBER
15 (TUE) Teacher Holiday Lunch – No Lunch Bunch21 (MON) Winter Holiday Begins – No School: 12/21 - 1/1
JANUARY
4 (MON) School Resumes18 (MON) MLK Holiday – No School
photo - Jody Benedict
FANTASTIC, FABULOUS, STUPENDOUS, STELLAR! The 2’s are now experts on orange circles and balls! We have painted, stamped, rolled, kicked, popped and squished them!
Also, in October Christine Sedam helped us make pumpkin muffins in class to celebrate Elise’s birthday. Along with Elise, Cooper and Margaux also celebrated birthdays. Over Halloween week, we explored pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns and learned about dressing up and trick-or-treating. One of our favorite songs this month was “Once I had a Pumpkin.” Thank you to Annette Murray (Will) & Page and Caroline Skelton (Page) and Amy Strong (Michael) & Michelle Gordon (Troy) for hosting our Halloween parties.
The color of the month for November is brown and the shape is square. So, we will look at, color, paint, and count the sides on squares. If we can find a way to roll, kick, pop or squish them we’ll do that, too!
November will be a fun and busy month as we begin by learning about farms and barn animals. We will then move on to learning about fall. Keep your eye out for permission slips and sign-ups for our field trip to Harris Teeter on Wednesday, November 18th and
Thursday, November 19th. We will ask for parents to help us walk to the store, pick up supplies, and return to class to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Our month will finish with a segment on Thanksgiving and the concept of gratitude.
Throughout the year we are always thinking about Language Arts as one core area that we hope to address. We encourage book and print awareness when we read a story at circle time, but we also make time throughout the day to sit in smaller groups and engage the children in the book corner. The teachers read, but we also ask questions and listen. This can be as simple as pointing and naming, but can be much more complex as we explore new ways to say things and make the connection between written letters/words/pictures. We introduce phonemic awareness by making sounds and talking about letters. We spell the children’s names aloud as we write them on their projects. We sing the alphabet song, make silly rhymes, and we use letter blocks with pictures inside to represent each letter. And Mrs. Donovan loves to build those vocabularies: how many different ways can we find to say that we are “fantastic?” In the 2’s we are good, great, fantastic, fabulous, stupendous, stellar, super-duper, wonderful, excellent, and awesome!
Jamie Mastin! Sarah Donovan
[email protected] [email protected] 960-5532 942-4385
OUR CLASSMWF
Cooper BerkoffAva CharneyTroy GordonAnna GrabowskiMargaux HerlantMadoc LeeNina MacLeodOlivia ReidElise SedamMichael VanHook
T/TH
Emma CarmoucheGriffin ChingRyan CoxElyse GelladMeriwether JordanWill MurrayClelia RanieriPage SkeltonSam StewartReese Todd
Jamie Mastin : LEAD
Sarah Donovan : ASSISTANT2s
OUR CLASSMWF
Ava BuckleyAbbey CarruthersEmma ConleyGraham DrakeCharlie EhemanLauren HanksMax JordyLily KirbyCole MitchellLucy Rose PhillipsMiller RoesslerJoe WalkerJackson WesleyJonathan Wesley
T/TH
Taka ChimuzingaAlexandra ChingLogan ChingEva GilbertNatalie GreenAmelia KelleyMichael LotchinWynter MacDougall-SmithKate PetersonEllie PoitrasThomas RobertsAdam TruskyJada WilliamsMyla Young
Amy Grau : LEAD
Marcy Derby : ASSISTANT3s
It’s hard to believe we are officially in the holiday season! I’d like to express how thankful I am for the wonderful group of children and parents that we have in our class. As soon as we post something on our wish list it magically arrives in our classroom. We are grateful for your support and kindness.
The children have done a wonderful job adjusting to school and our daily routine. After a few minutes of table toys we move to our morning circle. Circle time begins between 9:10 and 9:15 – this is a great opportunity for us to gather and talk about what we are going to do each day. We often show the project that we are going to do during centers or introduce a new concept.
During this time we also choose the helpers for the day. I think we’ve all grown to love this morning ritual. There is great enthusiasm and anticipation that goes with this process. The jobs are: line leader, door holder, bell ringer, “cones”, book helper and 2 snack helpers. Since there are seven jobs, each child has a job every other time they come to school. I hold up a cutout hand with a child’s name printed on it and that child gets to come up and select a job. Most of the children are recognizing their names and if not a classmate will help them with a “psst, it’s your turn”. It’s a constant stream of smiles and teamwork!
We begin November with the unit “Foods and Nutrition”. We’ll talk about what is good for our bodies. There are lots of fun food stories that help guide us (The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Pete’s a Pizza, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs). On November 16th and 17th, our class will journey to University Mall for a pizza making demo at Alfredo’s. Details and sign ups to follow. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, turkey decorations and thankfulness will fill our classroom.
Before the holiday, we’ll create a special Friendship Fruit Salad for our snack.
Winter is approaching. Please remember to label all jackets, sweaters, hats, etc. so that we can make sure your child comes home with what they brought to school. To help us keep on top of this, please unpack your child’s backpack each morning. This way we know what coats, mittens and other cold weather gear you want them to wear on the playground. If you send it, they shall wear it! This is also the time to send in a “cold weather” change of clothes.
Thank you to Kate and Thomas’ families and Graham and Abbey’s moms for such terrific Halloween parties. The parties and parades were great fun for all of us. Now that the children are settled in, we invite you as parents come in and a share a story or song with our class. During this busy season, we hope that you can take a break and experience the joy of being 3 (and 4) years old. Please email me or send a note and let me know when you’d like to visit.
Amy Grau & Marcy Derby
EKHOLMCody BentonMatteus ButlerCharlie CarmoucheAinsleigh JohnsonJulia KairysAlden MayGrayson MostellerEva PardingtonAlex Petit-RothErin RenganIssac RobinsonJosie SedamElla StricklerSophia VanHookTristan WhittakerClaire Willoughby
JONESTruman AustinCharlotte BevinAmelia BrinsonJonny DonovanDylan EvansJon GrabowskiSpencer Rose JenningsHelen KatzEmilie KirschnerJuliana LaraCharlie LyerlyRiley MonsourBen MurrayLucy RobinsonFrances SkilesGlenn Thompson
ALL ABOUT ME!
The 4’s classes had an exciting, super busy October. Among other things, we explored fall by reading lots of fall stories, taking fall walks, collecting leaves and making leaf rubbings. (Which seemed like “magic” to the kids when they saw their leaf take shape on their paper!)
The end of our month was filled with getting ready for Halloween. We decorated our room for Halloween with spooky, funny and silly jack-o-lanterns! (This was a great activity to practice our cutting skills.) We are continuing to encourage self-help skills and asking the students to try something first before asking for help... using tissues, zipping jackets, opening snack, etc.
In Drama the 4’s had a lot of fun acting out Wild Things from “Where the Wild Things Are” and playing a charade game where they had to act like a trick or treater and their friends had to guess what they were.
COMING UP IN THE 4s
During the month of November, the fours classes will be continuing our exploration of fall, learning some about Native Americans and talking about Thanksgiving and what we are thankful for. We will be making Native American crafts, cornbread and tepees as well as something special to decorate your Thanksgiving table!
Later this month we will be posting a signup sheet to have families share their favorite December holiday stories and/or traditions. We would love to have some families read a favorite holiday story or tell about a special family holiday tradition any morning in December right after drop off. (9:15- 9:25) If interested, please sign up for a morning that works for you! The kids love to hear about what’s going on at their friends’ houses and love to hear new readers! Thanks!
Mark your Calendars!!! The 4’s will be having a short Holiday performance on Friday, December 18th right after drop off in the Binkley Fellowship hall.
Amanda Ekholm & Jenny Jones
Amanda Ekholm : LEAD
Kelly Denno : ASSISTANT
NOTE: Our two 4s classes follow similarlesson plans. This month’s update for
both classes combined into one article.
4s Jenny Jones : LEAD
Jody Benedict : ASSISTANT
BOOKS
- Thanksgiving Trouble- Turkey Surprise- Little Star- Many Nations
SONGS
- 10 Little Children- I’m a Great Big Turkey
I’m a great big turkey ‘cause I’m well fedWatch me spread my fingers, watch me bob my headWhen I strut around, I waddle, waddle, waddleAnd when I try to talk, I Gobble, Gobble, GobbleI’m a great big turkey and I’d like to stayBut Thanksgiving’s coming, so it’s time to run away!
(Tune: I’m a little teapot)
EKHOLM
Ask your child:
- What is a mammal? Is a bat a mammal? Where/how does a bat sleep? - Can you sing We are jack-o-lanterns ?- How do you say “good morning” in sign language?
JONES
Questions to ask your child:
- Can you sing the song “5 Little Pumpkins?” - What are the lines on a pumpkin called?- Can you show me the “hand sign” for STOP?
EKHOLM NOTES
What a wild month we had in our classroom! October is such a fun month with endless activities to celebrate the season. “Where the Wild Things Are” was featured during drama class, and then brought into our classroom by two children as their favorite book! They didn’t tire as it was read a third time, it only seemed to get better. We drew our own wild things and watched a short scholastic “Where the Wild Things Are” video. We had a great time stomping and having a wild rumpus around the room.
Our housekeeping center has become Halloween central with costumes for dress up, in our sensory table the children are ripping paper to their hearts content for fine motor practice and creating a mural with the pieces. We have had a great time creating jack-o-lanterns on the computer. We also carved an apple into a witches face and are watching her grow older as the apple deteriorates. It is very interesting to check in with our witch daily to see how she has changed.
Thank you to all of our wonderful parents who volunteered to chaperone on our farm field trip. It was a fun and educational day! Thank you to Stephanie Mosteller for reading to our class and sharing their new puppy Hendrix, to David Robinson for reading a spooky Halloween story to us, and to Jill Rengan for cleaning bins of toys at home! Also, thank you to all of our parents who continue to check our wish list outside of the classroom for items needed for special projects. You are WONDERFUL!
JONES NOTES
Thanks to all the wonderful parents who chaperoned our first field trip. What a great time we had! Also, a big thanks to Helen’s mom, Jon D.’s dad and Charlie’s mom for planning our fun Halloween class party!! Thanks to Jon G’s mom and Truman’s mom for being guest readers!!! Thanks also to Amelia and Jon’s families for helping clean our toys for October.
We have had some wonderful books sent in for our featured “book of the day”! The kids love to share something they’ve brought in and the teachers love to read new books!!! The marble run has been a big hit this month in our classroom. We have loved watching the children work together to build some amazing marble runs and then squeal with delight when it actually worked! We have stayed busy painting pumpkins and ghosts outside, decorating our housekeeping house for Halloween (and then pretending to trick or treat at the door), carving a pumpkin and then singing Halloween songs in “the dark” and, of course, the big parade! We can’t believe October is over. It went so quickly!!
4s
OUR PHILOSOPHYAt Binkley Preschool we believe that children should be allowed to be children, and thus, we foster a loving and nurturing environment that is challenging and stimulating, but not frustrating.
(For more information, please refer to our Parent Handbook.)
1712 Willow DriveChapel Hill, NC 27514
919-968-1427www.binkleypreschool.org
SCHOOL HOURSArrival Dismissal Late fee9:00a 11:50a-12:00p 12:00pLUNCH BUNCHBegins Dismissal Late fee12:00p 12:50p-100p 1:00p
NEWSLETTER comments, suggestions, correctionsJulianna [email protected]
Mark your calendars... MARY LASCALA is coming to Binkley!Fall Parent SeminarNovember 17th -- 9:00a-10:30a
This month, Mary LaScala, a licensed marriage/family therapist from Chapel Hill Pediatric Psychology, will present a parenting seminar at Binkley - "Increasing Cooperation with Preschoolers". All Binkley parents are invited! Please join us after drop off for coffee and helpful parenting information. There will also be time for questions and answers.
Mary LaScala is partner and co-owner of Chapel Hill Pediatric Psychology (CHPP), which specializes in diagnosing and treating families and children from infancy through adulthood. Mary is a cognitive behavioral therapist with extensive experience treating children, adolescents, young adults, couples,
and families. Her primary treatment focus is to build competency in communication, problem-solving and coping skills. Areas of treatment
specialty are parent-child relationships and preserving the integrity of the couple during parenting. Her collaborative approach with clients builds the necessary skills to achieve practical outcomes for success.
Mary has discussed parenting issues on national and regional television programs, such as NBC’s Today Show and WRAL’s Family Focus. For more information on her practice, visit the CHPP website at: www.chppnc.com
For those with babies or children not in school on the 17h, free childcare will be provided. To ensure we’ll have enough resources, please RSVP to Jill Rengan ([email protected]) by Nov. 10, if you will need childcare.
AROUND CAMPUS
Even Wall-E and Dracula like learning at school
Wonderful surprises can be found in the Happy Bag!
2009-2010 BoardHave a question for a board member? Here’s how to contact them...Director Marlene Dickison [email protected] Shannon Grabowski [email protected] Chair Lauren Drake [email protected] Christine Sedam [email protected] Treasurer Debbie Bevin [email protected] Laura Kline [email protected] Beth Monsour [email protected]. Registrar Kristen Carmouche [email protected] Raising Deb Conley [email protected] Coord. Tess Wesley [email protected] Jill Hemming Austin [email protected] Liaison Nan Pardington [email protected] Michelle Jordy [email protected]