Dear Parents:
We did it! By working together (parents and teachers) Beach Manor School is off to a wonderful start. The turnout for the Open House was quite a thrill for us. Now all the fathers and mothers know what their child’s classroom and teacher look like. I am sure our first few days of school will go well. The most difficult time is carpool, so I appreciate your patience and understanding while we attempt to match children and cars. Please have your ID ready. If we do not recognize you personally, we will check your ID. By next week everything should be easier.
September promises to be a beautiful and exhilarating month. The teachers are just as excited and eager as the children and have planned their activities carefully. There are so many things to teach and ways to teach them. Many of the projects your child brings home will have served several purposes. Often, we are more interested in the process rather than the product. The teachers’ goals are to teach the children how to follow oral directions, to locate top and bottom, and move from left to right across the page. If you are ever distressed by what you perceive as a lack of creativity or too little “hands on” in a project, please don’t hesitate to call your child’s teacher or me. Remember –our goals are the same- a confident child with a positive self-image who loves learning and school.
As many of you now know, the standard response to “What did you do in school today?” is, “Nothing.” Often young children cannot separate the many different activities in which they participated. They remember their preschool hours as one when they “played.” Each classroom has a tremendous variety of teaching equipment so the children are learning as they play. Most of them can remember snack time, but for all of them it is difficult to deliver a blow-by-blow on the way home. Our monthly newsletters are to inform the parents of what is happening so you can more easily share in your child’s learning experience. Each teacher has prepared “units” for the children to study. Art, music, snacks, and papers will reflect a particular unit.
During this month our two-year old classes look at themselves in a unit we have named “It’s All About Me” (of course it is). They look closely at themselves from head to toe. They will learn how they relate to their environment by consciously exploring it. For many of these children this is their first experience away from home. We plan to make it a wonderful, fun and positive one. Their days are filled with many sensory experiences as they look at themselves and talk about their eyes, hair, muscles, etc. We have updated the curriculum, so in addition to individualized papers and art projects there are activity days too. These are the times when Ms. Alex and Ms. Kendall work with each child on fine and gross motor skills such as how to do puzzles or lace a shoe. Although every day may not produce a craft or paper, be assured their teacher works individually with each child on various activities.
The three-year old’s usually settle into the routine of school very nicely. Because apples, school, teachers, and September seem to go together, the threes begin the year with a quick look at apples. Ms., Harden, Ms. Karen and Ms. Mikayla will read about Johnny Appleseed. The 3’s will also eat, paint, and color apples. It is an extremely fun unit and gives the children a chance to experiment with many different mediums. This will be followed by an in-depth study of shapes and colors. The grand finale will be a Shape and Color Hunt (Similar to an Easter Egg Hunt only we hunt paper shapes, not eggs).
The four-year old’s class devotes September to the alphabet – Sounds boring, but not the way we do it! This first month of letter and sound identification is an introduction for some and reinforcement or even review for others. The four-year old’s’ parents will receive a detailed calendar of events for the month of September. If you don’t, let us know. This kind of unit provides tremendous opportunities for music, poems, foods, gross and fine motor experiences. Try to help your child remember bubble (B), glitter (G) and Ice cream (I) day. If you missed the snack sign-up sheet at Open House, call your child’s teacher. Ms. Kimberly and Ms. Jessica have outstanding ideas and would appreciate the help.
Pre-Kindergarten classes will also be doing a quick review of the alphabet and consonant sounds. One of the advantages of beginning the year with an alphabet overview is the opportunity it gives the teacher to assess fine motor skills and strengthen cutting and gluing abilities. Ms. Diane can’t wait to show the alphabet in a whole new way!
Ms. Yez’s Kindergarten classes spend most of September studying the history of transportation. The unit is divided into three areas – land, sea, and air. For those of you new to Beach Manor, I might as well let you know now- we are definitely a party school. It is one of our ways to keep learning a wonderful and memorable experience. We have added a STEM program to our kindergarten class. The focus will be on problem solving and critical thinking through math and science during hands on experiments. We can’t wait to see where these kids go with it!
I want to thank each of you for being so pleasant and cooperative. As this month progresses we will be observing the children closely to see they are properly placed both socially and academically. Our primary concern is always the total wellbeing of your child. If we all keep that as our goal, this year should be fantastic.
Each year brings fresh new faces, many of whom I do not recognize. When you visit the school please come in the front door and introduce yourself. Until we are familiar with you we will check your ID against the names given on the registration form. For security reasons the doors are locked and we are naturally suspicious of strange faces peering in the windows. Remember- USE THE FRONT DOOR AND BRING IN YOUR ID—
You will soon find information regarding the Manor Schools September fundraiser coming home (Due back October 5). We never like distributing this right at the beginning of the school year, but because of the seasonal aspect of gift-wrapping paper, we have little choice. You are under NO OBLIGATION at all. If you do not wish to participate that is okay, although obviously we would appreciate your support. All money earned will be used toward the purchase of more iPads, technology, and outside equipment.
Some quick notes to help the school year start off smooth…
1- We will conquer carpool with your help and patience. Please have a large card with your child’s name clearly printed on it. Hold the card OUT OF THE WINDOW as you approach the door. We can’t see through tinted windows. Carpool starts at 11:40am. STAY IN YOUR CAR.
2- All tuition payments are due the first day of school. Payments received after the 10th of the month should include an additional $25.00 late fee.
3- Hopefully sometime during your time with us, your child will arrive home with his/her PHONICS book, followed several months later by a reader!!! Each workbook will cost $16.00. In addition, math workbooks will be used in the four-year old, PreK and kindergarten classes. A $45.00 non-refundable rental fee will cover your child’s book rental through August 31st, 2023.
**We are a licensed facility and all children attending Beach Manor must have a shot record and birth certificate on hand before they can attend school. **
Introducing Brightwheel for Manor School Payments
This year, we are excited to introduce our new online payment method, Brightwheel! We will be using Brightwheel for all invoices (tuition, reader purchase/rental charges, workbook charges, lunch fees, etc). We think you will find this system provides a simple, efficient way to pay. You should have already received an email to set up your account.
– Invoices will be emailed to parents each month for tuition
– Add on invoices (books, lunches, extra hours) will be emailed
– Parents can set up autopay
– Parents have access to save/print invoices for their records
– There will be no fees for payments made by e-check (credit card payments may have some fees)
Little Things Mean a Lot
- Please write your child’s name on hats, sweaters, jackets, lunchboxes, and book bags.
- Always have your carpool sign for carpool pickup. Never get out of the car in carpool. We will put your child in the car, and you will pull forward to buckle up. This procedure is necessary in the loading process.
- If you have not received your parent handbook, Please let me know.
- We are now collecting half-gallon milk cartons and Pringles cans.
If you ever have any questions, concerns or just want to chat about your child, please feel free to call (757) 430-3338.
Sincerely,
Leigh Peeler
Dates to Remember
September 6 ……………………………………………………………… First Day of School!
September 6 –October 5 …..………………………………………………………… Fundraiser
September 20-21 ………………………………………………………………………………… Individual Pictures
October 25-26 ……………………………………………………………… Fall music programs
November 8 ………………………………… Conference day- open for ALL DAY students only
November 11 ………………………………………………………… Veterans Day-school closed
November 24-25 ….…….……………………………… Thanksgiving Holiday-school closed
December 6-7 ………………………………………………………… Winter music programs
December 19- January 2 ……………………………………………. Winter Break-school closed
Picture Day – September 20 & 21 (Tuesday & Wednesday)
Tuesday, September 20 Wednesday, September 21
Ms. Diane Ms. Karen
Ms. Alex Ms. Mikayla
Ms. Yez Ms. Kimberly
Ms. Harden Ms. Jessica
Ms. Kendall
Pumpkin Patch Parade – October 25 & 26
Tuesday, October 25 Wednesday, October 26
Ms. Diane Ms. Karen
Ms. Jessica Ms. Mikayla
Ms. Harden Ms. Kimberly
Ms. Yez
Holiday Program –December 6 & 7
Tuesday, December 6 Wednesday, December 7
Ms. Diane Ms. Karen
Ms. Jessica Ms. Mikayla
Ms. Harden Ms. Kimberly
Ms. Yez