Dear Parents,
Peter Rabbit has hopped off to Farmer McGregor’s garden, the dinosaurs are officially extinct, the insects are gone, and we learned about animals in the zoo. The excitement of tea parties and dinosaur hunts were fun. Now that all these wild beasts are gone, we can get back to work.
February may be the shortest month, but it is also the busiest. With Valentine’s Day, two president’s birthdays, Chinese New Year and Ground Hog Day, February always promises excitement.
Ms. Yanira and Ms. Ariella will introduce the world of color to our Mothers Day Out classes with easel painting, sponge printing, spin art and backed papers, this is a grand time for our youngest.
Ms. Niki, Ms. Jess & Ms. Kristina’s threes will begin February with community helpers. The teachers introduce their children to the people in their neighborhood. Fireman, policeman, doctors, and dentists will come to share their jobs and teach the children safety. If you can offer us your expertise, please give your child’s teacher a call. It’s a terrific month for the threes!
Ms. Sara and Ms. Anna’s fours send Peter and his friends back to Farmer McGregor’s garden and take an in depth look at nature, by studying birds. This is really an important unit since by the end of several weeks, the children can accurately identify about twenty-five different species of birds as they return to Tidewater for the spring. It also ends with a marvelous bird party (pass the worms, please)
Ms. Sandra’s and Ms. Patrice’s PrK classes will cover the hodgepodge of February–Ground Hog Day, Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and Chinese New Year. It’s a great time for the children to learn a bit about our country’s history, the pledge of allegiance, and those anecdotes about George and Abe. Busy!
The kindergarten class will go around the world. It’s a full month’s trip, as we learn about children from other countries. The emphasis of study is the dress, food, homes, and customs of countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. If any of you have traveled and can share pictures or items with the class, please call me or your child’s teacher.
Valentine’s Day with its message of love and friendship is special to children and to Bellamy Manor School. Each class exchanges valentines and has a party to celebrate. The number of children in each class are listed at the end of this newsletter. Your child’s teacher will reach out with party details. Please send in valentines for each student in your child’s class, and we’ll take care of the rest. The teachers have requested that you NOT “address” the valentines–just sign them with your child’s name. This way the children can easily pass them out.
REGISTRATION:
Registration for next year is going great! It is satisfying to know that so many of you are pleased with BMS’s program. Thank you for all your support and cooperation. Without your smiles and encouragement our jobs would be so difficult. Instead, it’s a joy! Openings are still available in some of our classes even though we have opened registration to the general public. If you intend to register your child for next year and haven’t yet done so, we urge you to turn in your form along with your registration fee soon. The only way to be sure of a place next year is to turn in both the registration form and the registration fee.
Many of you have asked questions about our kindergarten program. We realized that when most of you initially register at BMS, we go into great detail about the three- year-old program or the four-year-old program, but often kindergarten comes as a wonderful surprise. Our kindergarten program continues the phonics instruction begun in the four-year-old and Pre-K programs. It includes a very strong short vowel reading, writing, and spelling curriculum that leads to long vowel usage in the spring. The children learn to recognize and write numbers to 100 and beyond; they learn math facts to 20, graphing, fraction recognition, and how to count money. The joy of the program, however, is the incredible amount of information the children learn in their unit studies (constellations, musical instruments, and dinosaurs, children around the world, the human body, and other very hands on science studies.). The goal is, as always, to enhance their self esteem. Having so much knowledge about their world gives them tremendous self confidence. They acquire the skills needed to put them at the top of their first-grade class. Your response so far for next year is gratifying.
INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY. We do not automatically close when the public schools close. Information regarding school closing can be found on our web site. It all depends on the roads and the power conditions. We will send out an email from the school to warn of any weather closings. Be sure to check our website at www.manorschools.com. Of course, if your neighborhood conditions are even slightly questionable, please stay home.
Please return any clothes your child may have borrowed from school due to accidents or playground mishaps. We’re getting low on our supply of spare socks, underwear, and pants. It helps so much to have a change of clothes in the bottom of your child’s bookbag.
Check coats and jackets. Sometimes a child grabs the wrong coat on his way out the door. So many jackets are similar and make ownership difficult to distinguish. PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME ON THE LABEL! Our Lost and Found container is full. Please stop by and check to see if anything belongs to your child.
Sincerely,
Kristine
VALENTINE INFORMATION
2’s
Ms. Yanira 9
Ms. Ariella 10
Three Year Olds: Four Year Olds:
Ms. Kristina 16 Ms. Sara 18
Ms. Niki 15 Ms. Anna 18
Ms. Jess 15
PreK: Kindergarten:
Mrs. Sandra: 15 Mrs. Hobbs:19
Ms. Patrice 14
DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
FEB 1………………..FALL REGISTRATION OPEN TO PUBLIC
FEB 20………….. President’s Day SCHOOL CLOSED
APRIL 10-14…… Spring Break SCHOOL CLOSED
MAY 2…Spring Show (Ms. Niki, Ms. Sara, Ms. Sandra, Mrs. Hobbs @10:00)
MAY 3…Spring Show (Ms. Kristina, Ms. Jess, Ms. Anna, Ms. Patrice @10:00)
MAY 4…..Spring Show (Ms. Yanira & Ms. Ariella @ 11:00 )
MAY 23…Conferences (Open for full day students only)
MAY 29…Memorial Day SCHOOL CLOSED
JUNE 9 …Kindergarten Graduation
JUNE 16… Last Day of school.
PLEASE NOTE: THE SCHOOLS EMAIL ADDRESS IS: bellamymanor01@gmail.com