Dear Parents,
February may be the shortest month, but it is also the busiest. With Valentine’s Day, two president’s birthdays, and Ground Hog Day, February always promises excitement.
Ms. Loretta and Ms. Miranda continues to help our youngest children with the exciting process of learning. Our MDO’s will spend their time enjoying “Fun with Food”. They will make Cinnamon Pretzels, play with dough (and spaghetti), paint with fruit and sample many tasty and healthy treats.
Our three-year-olds will be introduced to life on the farm. The focus of this unit is farm animals and their products. Although the school doesn’t take field trips, I’d like to suggest a trip to a working dairy farm. The petting zoo at the Virginia Zoo also has many farm animals the children can touch and feed. As the children become more aware of their environment, their curiosity deepens. These studies are designed to help them understand and organize their world.
The four-year-olds travel to Farmer MacGregor’s Garden. They will study nature from a more imaginary viewpoint. Taking a leap into fantasy, Cindi, Brittney, and Kari introduce the children to the world of Beatrix Potter. After they are thoroughly entranced by Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit, and Jemima Puddle-duck, they have a marvelous English tea party. We have a good bit of fun with this unit while introducing the children to some excellent literature. Because Beatrix Potter’s books are so delightfully illustrated, reading them aloud to your child at home will help reinforce her world in their minds.
Ms. Michelle’s class cover the hodgepodge of February – Ground Hog Day, Lincoln’s and Washington’s Birthdays, Valentine’s Day and the Chinese New Year. It’s a great time for them to learn a bit of our country’s history, the pledge of allegiance, and those anecdotes about George and Abe. Busy!
The kindergarten class finishes rhyming using the stories of Dr. Seuss. Ms. Tracy Garlow introduce the children to the various systems of the human body. They will focus on themselves and learn about our similarities. They begin by studying their skin and work their way through the body systems to the heart (the most important part!).
Valentine’s Day with its messages of love and friendship is special to children and to Greenbrier Manor School. Each class exchanges valentines and has a party on February 13th for Ms. Mickey, Ms. Brittney, Ms Michelle, Ms. Adrieen and Ms. Cindy classes or February 14th for Ms. Loretta, Ms Miranda, Ms. Karen, Ms Kari and Ms. Tracy Garlow classes. Enclosed is a list with the number of children in each class. On February 13th or 14th 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 progressing nicely. It is satisfying to know that so many of you are pleased with GMS’s program. Thank you for all your support and cooperation. Without your smiles and encouragement my job would be so difficult. Instead, it’s a joy! Openings are still available in some of our classes even though registration is now open to the public. If you intend to register your child for next year and haven’t yet done so, I strongly urge you to turn in your registration forms immediately. The only way to ensure a place next year is to turn in both the registration form and the registration fee while spaces are still available.
Many of you have asked questions about our kindergarten program. We realized that when most of you initially register at GMS we go into detail about our 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 that began in the four-year-old program. 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; they learn math facts to 10, graphing, fraction recognition, and how to count money. The joy of the program, however, is the incredible amount of information the children learn in the unit studies (constellations, musical instruments, 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.
The Chesapeake public school bus will drop off students from Greenbrier Primary and Greenbrier Intermediate for afterschool care. Please speak to Elizabeth or myself if this plan appeals to you.
Summer: Our summer program will be from June 26 thru August 18. Summer preregistration forms will go out soon. We will have two-, three-, and five-day programs, both half and full day.
Inclement Weather Policy: Although our inclement weather policy states that we will close if the public schools close, sometimes it is not necessary. It all depends on the roads and the power conditions. Be sure to check our website under “Special Announcements” at www.manorschools.com. Of course, if your neighborhood conditions are even slightly questionable, stay home.
Sincerely,
Jackie
Notes:
TAX INFORMATION: If you claim the cost of childcare as an expense on your Federal Tax Return, you must include the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).
Greenbrier’s TIN is: 54-1636775 January-February 2022
Greenbrier’s TIN is: 87-3864717 March-December 2022
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.
Please 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!!!!
VALENTINE INFO
Two Year Olds: Ms. Loretta 10 Ms Miranda 10
Three Year Olds: Ms. Mickey 16
Ms. Karen 15 Ms. Adrieen 16
Four Year Olds: Ms. Brittney 18 Ms. Cindi 17
Ms Kari 17
Pre-K: Ms. Michelle 15
Kindergarten: Ms. Garlow 14
DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
February 20….………………..Presidents Day, School Closed
March 9 &10………………….Individual & Class Pictures
April 10-14…………………….Spring Break, School Closed
May 23………………………..Conference Day – No classes (We are open for all day children only)
May 29………………………..Memorial Day, School Closed
June 8…………………………Kindergarten Graduation @ 9:15
June 16………………………..Last Day of School
June 19-23……………………Greenbrier Manor Closed
June 26-Aug 18………………..Summer programs
August 19-23…………………Greenbrier Manor Closed
August 28-Sept 1………………Open for all Day Care Only
Sept 5…………………………Fall programs begin