C.H.M.S. News
What you need to know, when you need to know
it.
April 2008
Our Mission: We dedicate ourselves
to the joyful task of helping children develop independence, self-discipline,
and a respect for self, for others, and for the earth. In partnership with parents, we strive to plant
the seeds for a lifelong love of learning.
Spring Fling: It’s Spring Fling
time again! We are looking forward to
another fun arts and crafts extravaganza this year and hope you will be able to
join us! The Spring Fling is scheduled for Friday,
April 25 and will start at 10:00. Pizza will be served at 12:00, everyone is invited to stay, and school will
close at 1:00 for a Staff Meeting.
Some of the feedback that we received from the questionnaire that went home
a couple of weeks ago is that both parents and children have enjoyed the Spring
Fling and Fall Festival more when they were free to move about to the various
activities and weren’t assigned to a certain group. We agree!
You and your child can make your own agenda, do what you want to do,
don’t do what you don’t want to do, it’s up to you! See you then!
5th Anniversary Celebration: The
invitations are out, the word is being spread, and the plans are in full
swing! We’re ready to celebrate our
birthday! Please remember to R.S.V.P. by April 18 and let us know if you will be bringing a dish to
share.
We are planning some fun activities and are looking forward to catching up
with old friends, making some new ones, and just having a fun time! The 5th Anniversary Celebration is scheduled for Friday, May 2 from 4:00
until 7:00.
Camping Trip: The third planning meeting for the Family Camping
Trip will take place on Wednesday, April 16 from 3:00 until 4:30. We will be choosing
craft activities and volunteering for the various meals and activities. Sign-up sheets will be available for those of
you who are unable to attend but still want to volunteer. We’ll need lots of people to step up and take
charge of one activity or another and hope you’ll be ready, willing, and
able.
The registration forms
for the camping trip will be going out next week. To help us assign cabins, we’ll ask for the
names of two families that you would like to be near. We’ll do our best to put every family close
to at least one good friend. Because
spaces are limited and we want to do our best to give everyone a cabin that
will work best for their family, please return your registration form and
registration fee as soon as possible. The deadline for registrations is May 1st.
The fee for the camping
trip is $45 per person ages 3 to adult, $25 for 2 year olds, and children 1 and
under are free. The registration fee
will cover the cost of most of the food, the cost of the arts and crafts supplies,
the rental of the campground, and a t-shirt for everyone 2 and older. Every family will also be asked to bring a
drink (i.e. 2 gallons of milk) and a fruit (i.e. a bag of apples) to help with
the logistics of purchasing and transporting perishable goods.
Don’t worry… this will
all be repeated in the registration packets!
A few more dates to keep
in mind:
Tuesday, May 6: Camping
Trip planning meeting
3:00 - 4:30
Tuesday, May 20: Final
Planning Meeting
6:00 - 7:30 At least one parent from
every family who
will be
camping must attend.
Babysitting will
not be
provided.
Friday, May 23 -
25: FAMILY CAMPING TRIP!!!!
Wacky Weather: Spring means
wacky weather! One day it’s cool, the
next day it’s warm, and the next it’s raining! Please help us out by keeping a sweatshirt or light jacket in your child’s
cubby or backpack until it warms up for good. The temperature
can vary so drastically from morning to afternoon and we’d prefer that everyone
be prepared for the weather.
This is also a good time of year to do a backpack check. Take out the hats, mittens, scarves, etc.,
and be sure to have extra t-shirts, light pants or shorts, and a sweatshirt on
hand.
Kindergarten Happenings: It’s fun to
be a kindergartener at this time of year!
So much going on! The
kindergarten field trip to the Discovery Theater will take place on Thursday, April 10. Please have
your kindergartener in school by 8:45 that morning. The bus will leave promptly at 9:15, but
everyone needs to have a potty break before we leave. Kindergarten parents who are interested in
joining the field trip should tell Ursula.
Tickets are $5 and we will need to check ticket availability before we
leave.
The last kindergarten
field trip of the year will take place on Wednesday, May 14, when we go to the National Gallery of Art in D.C. All
kindergarten parents are welcome to attend that trip. This is an annual favorite and is sure to be
a hit with this group of art-loving kids!
Speaking of art, several parents have inquired about the date for the kindergarten art show. The show will be
on Wednesday,
June 4 at The Old Schoolhouse
in Great Falls. Mark your calendars!
This Month In:
Science: Fungi, Sink
or Float
Geography: South
America, Brazil, Rainforests
Art: Paul Klee,
Value, Tint and Shade, Abstracts
Specials: Spanish,
Nature Hikes, Yoga
Earthkeepers: Reduce
Peace: Appreciating differences in people
Kindergarten: Polygon
Drawer, Temperature, Cross Stitching
Lunchtime Composer: Antonio Vivaldi
Specials: Specials
this month will include Spanish, yoga and nature hikes. As the weather warms up, we would like to
remind you that long pants are strongly recommended
for nature hikes. There is poison ivy and other unpleasant
plants in the forest and we want to keep everyone rash and itchy-free!
Please send your child
to school on his or her Specials day dressed for hikes and yoga (leggings or sweatpants are ideal) and send a pair of shorts in their backpack if you think
they will be too hot later on in the day.
Also, Crocs and sandals are not good hiking shoes. Please leave
them in the backpacks and send the kids to school in sturdy walking shoes.
Due to a scheduling conflict, yoga and nature hikes will resume the week of
April 14.
Summer Interest Forms: We are
asking everyone to think ahead to the summer and try and figure out what your
child care needs will be during our 8 summer session weeks. Please take the time to read the letter that
is going out with the Summer 2008 Plans chart.
We are asking everyone to give us an indication of how many weeks their child will be at school so
that we can plan accordingly. This is not a commitment. If you do not plan to send your child to
school this summer, please return your form anyway and indicate, “not
interested.” All Summer 2008 Plans forms must be returned
no later than Monday, April 21. Thanks!
Heifer International: In a few weeks we will kick-off a “global outreach
project” with the children, as we introduce them to Heifer International, an
international organization that donates livestock and other animals to people
around the world. The goal of Heifer International is to end
world hunger and provide training and animal gifts to families so that they
might become self-reliant. A family might receive a flock of geese, for example, and
those geese would produce eggs, which could be eaten and sold, providing both
nourishment and income for that family.
We are looking forward to this event.
Coming Up:
Apr
2: First Gardening Day - Karen’s
class
Apr 7-8: Parent Teacher Conferences (Preschool and
Pre-K only) SCHOOL CLOSED, childcare available for conference time only
Apr
10: Kindergarten Field Trip to the
Discovery Theater
Bus
leaves at 9:00
Apr 16: Camping
Trip Meeting 3:00 - 4:30
Apr 22: Earth
Day!
Apr 25: Spring
Fling & Pizza Lunch 10:00 - 12:30,
SCHOOL
CLOSES AT 1:00 for a Staff Meeting
May 2: Fifth Anniversary Celebration 4:00 - 7:00
May 6: Camping
Trip planning meeting 3:00 - 4:30
May 14: Kindergarten
Field Trip to the National Gallery of Art
Bus
leaves at 9:00
May 20: Camping
Trip meeting 6:00 - 7:30
May 23 - 25: Family Camping Trip at
Prince William Forest Park