West Neck

Beach Manor March 2023

Dear Parents,

          March has arrived with occasional warm days that promise spring.   February was an intense month, and our children grew in knowledge as they explored Pete the Cat, Bears, past Presidents and the of course our zany Dr. Suess.

 The month of March takes most classes outside. Ms. Alex and Ms. Kendall continue to help our youngest children with the exciting process of learning.  The children will explore the concept of opposites as they compare and contrast the world around us!

Our three-year old’s will begin the month with an in-depth analysis of several nursery tales. The Three Pigs, The Three Bears, and The Gingerbread Man highlight this unit with much puppetry and cooking.  We even grow a beanstalk for Jack to climb! The threes end the month with Little Red Riding Hood and homemade bread baked by the Little Red Hen herself!

The four-year olds discover the world of Beatrix Potter.  After they are thoroughly entranced by Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit, and Jemimah 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 her stories to your children at home will help reinforce her world in their minds.

Ms. Diane’s PreK students will study about our feathered Birds of Prey.  You will be truly impressed with the depth and scope of your child’s knowledge as he/she learns to identify several species of our feathered friends. The study ends with a fantastic bird party –pass the worms, please.

The kindergarten class will now take a trip back in time to the age of reptiles and study dinosaurs.  These budding paleontologists learn to identify close to twenty-five dinosaurs before attending a dinosaur hunt at the end of the month.  This is one of our favorite studies and the children love it.

Spring Break is from April 10th-April 14th.   We will have our annual egg hunt on April 6th and 7th.  Your child’s teacher will communicate to you when they are planning their hunt.  Please send in an empty basket or bag, labeled with your child’s name on the appropriate morning.  Pretend grass is fine, please no candy or stuffed animals.  We will close at the end of the day Friday, April 14th for Spring Break. Both student and teachers will take a well-deserved vacation before returning for the final busy weeks of School.

Many of you have inquired about our summer program that is offered at Beach, Bellamy, BroadBay, and Greenbrier Manor.  It is a wonderful program patterned on the school year and adapted for the summer.  It offers continued play, academics, socialization, and crafts.  The children have plenty of opportunity to use the computers, dress ups, easels, puzzles, games, and train sets.  Enrollment is limited, so please return the registration form if you are interested.

          It looks like a full and fun month.  We are two thirds through the year, and the growth in the children is incredible.  They have learned a tremendous amount in these past months.   We feel so fortunate to have such a rewarding job.  Your children bring joy in so many ways!

 

REGISTRATION:

     Registration for next year is going well.  It is satisfying to know that so many of you are pleased with Beach Manor’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 I have opened registration to the public.   If you intend to register your child for next year and haven’t yet done so, I urge you to turn in your form along with your registration fee immediately. 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. I realized that when most of you initially register at Beach, I 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 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 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.  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.

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 book bag.
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!!!

 Just a quick reminder of our illness policy: children with a fever will be sent home immediately.  Children are not to return to school until they have been fever free for 36 hours.  Do not give your child medicine in the morning to bring down his/her temperature and send him/her to school.  The only way we can contain these illnesses is by keeping the sick children at home.

Thank you for all the help and support.

 Sincerely, Leigh

 DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR

          Picture Day ………………………………………March 21 &22

          Spring Break…………………………………        April 10-14

          Spring program…………………………….        April 4 & 5

          SCHOOL CONFERENCES ………………….     May 23 (Open for all day

          Children only)

          MEMORIAL DAY………………………………    May 29 (school closed)

          KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION………June 9

          LAST DAY OF SCHOOL ………………………   June 16

          SUMMER PROGRAMS AT……………………    June 26- August 18

          (BEACH, BELLAMY, BROADBAY, AND GREENBRIER)

          FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL…………………….    August 28

PICTURE DAY:

MARCH 21:

  1. DIANE
  2. ALEX
  3. YEZ
  4. HARDEN
  5. KENDALL

MARCH 22:

 

  1. KAREN
  2. HEATHER
  3. KIMBERLY
  4. JESSICA

 SPRING PROGRAM – Tuesday/Wednesday April 4 & 5 @9:30

TUESDAY, APRIL 4                                 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5

 Ms. Diane                                            Ms. KAREN

Ms. Jessica                                           Ms. Heather

Ms. Harden                                                Ms. Kimberly

 Ms. YEZ

***SUMMER SCHOOL REGISTRATION FORMS ARE GOING OUT MARCH  2023 IN YOUR CHILDS BACKPACK**** YOU CAN ALSO PICK UP IN THE FRONT LOBBY***