As our circle of friends at Spruce Street expands, so does the distance between the present and past. Spruce is like the pebble tossed in the pond; the circles it initiates widen but remain intact. As our children are faced with life’s transitions, they (and their parents!) are reminded of those first big changes. It is during these subsequent times that their thoughts turn to Spruce, the little pebble that began it all.

Last spring I visited with Lucy Florman, a student who started at Spruce when it was still a family daycare in Brookline! A senior at Brookline High, Lucy dropped by to talk with me about her strong interest in Early Childhood Education. While Lucy is now a poised young adult, there was still a recognizable spark of the insightful, funny child I knew in 1996. How incredible to meet the remarkable person Lucy has become!

This past fall, Acorn teacher Line Hamre (2004), returned to visit. She is now the Director of the Kulturparken Fus Barnehage As school in Oslo, Norway! It was so good to see her and compare the different Early Education practices in our two countries.

Soon I will be seeing Theresie Gordon, now a senior at Commonwealth School. Theresie was one of our very first students at the old Spruce, and her parents kindly hosted our fall Back-to-School potluck at their home in Gloucester in 1997. I am looking forward to connecting with them again!

As our lives continue forward at an increasingly rapid pace, it is a testament to the community established at Spruce that our school serves as a touchstone to so many children and families. The circles remain intact, and increasingly, the pebble is revisited. I am so grateful!

Yours always,

Christie

Spruce Street Nursery School Newsletter

Returning to our Roots: Connections Between Past and Present at Spruce

Winter 2012Volume 17

G H

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”

-Roald Dahl

Auction 2012

Friday, April 27 at 6:30PMRitz-Carlton Ballroom

Planning is underway for the 2012 Spruce Street Nursery School Auction, and it is shaping up to be a stellar event! With the creative talents of Andrea Brodeur, Jaime Eisenberg, Erin Lopez and Towne Williams, the committee will create an “Out of This World” experience by transforming the Ritz-Carlton into a galaxy far, far away. In true Spruce fashion, it will be a memorable night of fun, food and other-worldly cocktails.

This fundraiser is a true group effort, and its success depends on the dedication, innovation and talent of the entire Spruce community. Our mission requires everything from video editing to an army of craft lovers willing to break out their glue guns, so if you would like to get involved, please contact one of the event co-chairs and join the fun. We are grateful for any contribution or involvement!

Leading the solicitation charge, Jaime Eisenberg is hard-at-work finding the city’s best products and services for donation. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the packages this year:

Q Is your daughter princess-obsessed? You can bid on a turn-key Princess Soiree with a horse-drawn carriage ride!

Q Acorn parent, Judson Samuels, will impress Oenophiles with a new-and- improved approach to wine contributions.

The committee is still looking for unique items to include in both the silent and live auction, so please send ideas our way!

Christie visiting with Line Hamre this fall

Heard on Spruce StreetWith Valentines Day quickly approaching, we asked the Willow students what Love means. Here are their responses:

♥ Emma: “Superguy”

♥ Taylor: “Hearts”

♥ Lila: “Kindness”

♥ Kearney: “Nola”

♥ May: “Mommy and Mary”

♥ Devin: “A heart”

♥ Hannah: “Mommy, Daddy and Noah”

♥ Alexis: “Thankful”

♥ Francisco: “Thumbs up”

♥ Antonio: “Dad”

♥ Luke: “My (lovie) Puffie”

♥ Vivan: “Hugs”

♥ Tanner: “Valentine’s Day”

♥ Lincoln: “Giving hugs and doing kisses”

♥ Story: “I love my Mama”

♥ Julian: “Hugs/Kisses”

♥ Will: “My mommy”

♥ Clara: “Love”

♥ Eleanor: “Hearts”

♥ Lexi: “Big hugs”

Teacher NewsAs busy as our teachers are in the

classroom, they still have found time for some major life changes outside of Spruce Street.

We are delighted to welcome Nancy Hood back to the Oak classroom after the birth of her second daughter, Eloise (Lolly).

After spending the fall teaching in the Oak room while Nancy was on maternity leave, Kate Lefevre started her practicum teaching at the Heath School in Chestnut Hill.

Maya Shugart, our amazing Administrative Assistant, will also be leaving us when she moves to New York City in February. In her short time at Spruce, Maya has made a tremendous impact behind the scenes.

Maple teacher Kristin Lyon was engaged over the holidays to long-time boyfriend Ashton Jones. Congratulations, Kristin!

Extended DayExtended day has been marvelous, messy

and fun! Some of our upcoming themes this year are Dinosaurs, Superheros and Cooking. We hope to see you there!

Annual Fund 2012The 2011-2012 Annual Fund continues

to gain momentum! Thus far, we have raised $118,125 in contributions, generously made by 32 current families, as well as many alumni, grandparents and friends of Spruce. Thank you all for your incredible kindness and devotion to Spruce. As always, our goal is one of participation—we hope to reach 100% participation from our current families and have a record year for alumni participation. Please consider a gift of any size! The Annual Fund will close on June 30th. You may send your donations to: Spruce Street Nursery School, 5 Avery Place, Boston, MA 02111.

Spruce Partners with Family to Family for the Holidays

This year former students Henry and India Claudy celebrated the fifth anniversary of their charity Family to Family. This tradition of giving came about in December 2006. Their father, Peter Claudy had passed away a few months before from colon cancer. Peter loved to give and they wanted to give to cancer families in need, as he would have. This year Spruce Street friends joined the effort.

Spruce donated gifts to ten families at Christopher’s Haven, an organization that provides housing to families with children at MassGeneral for cancer treatment. With the donations, Spruce helped The Claudys assist more than 55 families. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this wonderful effort, and thanks especially to the Claudys.

SAVE THE DATE

Monday, February 20thPresidents’ Day - No School

Tuesday, February 21stStaff Development Day - No School

March 12th - 23rdWinter Break

Thursday & Friday, April 12th & 13thParent Teacher Conferences

Monday, April 16thPatriots Day - No School

Monday, May 28thMemorial Day - No Classes

Wednesday, June 13th Ending Ceremonies

Mabel Gantos ’01 finished up 10 years at Park last spring and is now a freshman at

the Cambridge School of Weston. In addition to her core curriculum, she’s been taking advantage of their varied course offerings, with dance and painting classes, costume design

and yoga. At a recent all-school art evening, she had paintings on display, modeled in a student fashion show and danced in the night’s performance. This past fall, she was a starting forward on the CSW field hockey team. Thanks, Spruce, for the best beginning!

Former Willow and Oak teacher Brooke Jordan writes: Petr and I bought a house (after about 100 home viewings and 13 offers!) in Emerald Hills, CA this year. Emerald Hills is a beautiful little neighborhood that was originally a resort community for city-weary San Franciscans in the 1920s. We have a great view of the bay and a hillside locale that takes full advantage of the beauti-ful weather— often sunny and 68 de-grees in Janu-ary! I’m taking the year off after 4 years of teaching K at the Keys School in Palo Alto and tutoring some former students. I love working one-on-one with these incredible, inspiring children. Petr and I are enjoying traveling (recently Costa Rica, Alaska, and home to visit Petr’s family in Prague, Czech Republic) and spending time with friends and family. We hope for a trip back to Boston in the near future...especially to give hugs to my former Spruce friends. Below is a photo of me, Petr, Chelsea (current Acorn teacher) and her husband Adam when they came for a week-long Carmel beach trip!

The Janes girls are all at BB&N. Chloe ’04 is in 6th grade, Whitney ’06 is in 4th grade, and Samantha ’09 is in 2nd grade. Tommy ‘09 is in Kinder-

garten at The Atrium School. Everyone is healthy, and our big news is that we moved to Chestnut Hill over the summer. Best wishes to everyone for a great new year!

Ellie Cornell ’01 is a freshman at Winsor (with Caroline MacGillivray) and is preparing for

her first Model UN trip to NYC in February. Thayer ’04 is in 6th grade at Dexter (with Nick Miller and Walker Stressenger) and is active in HAM Radio and Technology. Schuyler is a junior at Winsor and getting ready for SATs and summer internships. “We’re all living in Brookline and hoping that there is some semblance of a ski season this year,” says Sara. Here’s Thayer (pictured right, with glasses) with his best pal Travis at the Red Sox this summer; Sky (far left) and Ellie (2nd from right) are pictured with cousins over Christmas break.

“We’re doing well,” says former teacher Allison Obrecht Schultz. “Busy with the everyday craziness of having a 5- and 2-year-old! Madeline started kindergarten in September, and Sam just started in the twos at the same nursery school that Madeline attended. September was busy, but now the kids are settled into their routines. I always think about Spruce and wish Madeline and Sam could have gone there! Miss you, Spruce!”

Lilly ’05 and Harry ’09 McIntyre are both enjoying The Advent School (Lilly in 5th and Harry in 1st grade). Lilly

took a trip this fall to New York City with her class for 3 days as part of their studies on immigration. (No parents were allowed on the trip, and they had a great time!) They both like piano lessons; Lilly takes fencing, and Harry loves roller-skating. They loved their summer camps where Harry was ouside all day every day, and Lilly took a class called “Celebrity Make-over” where she chose to impersonate Santa Claus.

Nellie Havemeyer ’11 is enjoying exploring Southern California with her baby brother Nate (7 months). She loves making lemonade and orange juice with fruit growing in her backyard and learning Spanish in her new school’s immersion program. She says “Hola” to her Spruce friends and teachers. We miss you all so much!

Spruce friends, current and former, love the new Esplanade Playspace. Here’s a crew this past November: (back row, from left) Gavin Zug ‘11, Ella Leighton ‘09, Jacqueline Dowdle ‘07, Charlotte Ketterson ‘06, Charlotte Morey ‘06, Danny Crowley ‘08, James Shaw ‘08, Charlie Crowley ‘10; (front row from left) Margaux Dowdle ‘05, Reef Leighton ‘07, Sophia Panayotou ‘10, Emma Shaw, Julia Shaw ‘09, Henry Kirk ’10, Jack Panayotou ‘08, Max Kerrigan ‘11, Anna Mueller ‘10.

Dorothea ’08 and Spencer ‘09 Dunne are thriving at Southfield and Dexter, both very serious about their homework this year. Dorothea embraced ice hockey and plays squash outside of school. Spencer is still trying to figure out what his favorite sport is after recovering from a

broken elbow last year. They both swim for the Brookline Dolphins. We miss Spruce and think about our “little” days there with great fondness and happy memories.

Seven Spruce alumni reunited on the ice at the Boston Garden! Colin Dowdle ‘09, Danny Crowley ‘08, Jack Kerrigan ‘08,

Henry Kirk ‘10, Cole Oberg ‘11, Tait Oberg ‘09 and Charlie Crowley ‘10 represented Hill House Hockey scrimmaging between periods of a Boston Bruins game this past December.

Send your Alumni updates to sprucestreet@rcn.com

Alumni Family Tree

Please join us forSPRUCE STREET NURSERY SCHOOL’S

Sixth Annual Alumni and All-School Ice Skating Party

Steriti Memorial Rink561 Commercial Street

Boston’s North End

March 3rd4:00-6:00 PM

Pizza and drinks will be provided. Please bring helmets.

Skate and crate rentals available.

Hockey sticks and pucks will be allowed on one end of the rink for the annual Alumni Hockey Game.

Holiday Party 2011

Spruce Street Nursery School 5 Avery Place Boston, MA 02111 617-482-5252