Monica Ros School

It has been a busy but happy beginning in the first grade. The children are adjusting nicely to the expectations and routine of Grade One.

Thank you all for your help with the “Home Folder”. The children bring their folders to class each morning with a feeling of pride and responsibility.

Tyler and Alice were our class representatives at Student Council this week. They reported on the plans of our student government for the days ahead.

During these first days of school Mrs._Stovesand and I have been assessing the children for reading and math readiness. This is an important part of planning programs in language arts and math.

Next week I will e-mail specific information and a permission slip for a field trip that is planned for September 12th. To enhance our study of nutrition we will visit a farm to pick fresh vegetables. After Labor Day you will receive all of the particulars concerning this trip.

May you all enjoy a happy three day week-end.—Mrs._K.

August 29, 2008

As you can see, we had a wonderful first week of school. We decorated our cubbies, drew our self-portraits, explored our classroom and enjoyed meeting new friends. I am looking forward to having your children in the Red Room this year. They are ready and willing to learn. We want to provide them with enriching opportunities that inspire them to create, discover and enjoy their experience at Monica Ros.

Keep in mind, though, that the best schools do more than just teach children academically. We will introduce your child to the alphabet and practice his/her math skills, while doing so we will also touch your child’s heart. Enhancing Self-esteem and building effective relationships are important goals for our program.

We want to work with you this year to make a real difference in your child’s life. We want each child to feel a part of our school family, to make friends and play cooperatively with others. We will help them learn and explore such basic human emotions as happiness, sadness, anger and fear. We will encourage them to respond compassionately to others during difficult moments, treating others with respect and gentleness and to be generous and to offer help when possible.

Our first unit of learning will focus on friendships. Over the next few weeks we will discover the uniqueness and similarities we each hold as members of the class. We will create a book to take home illustrating these qualities. Next week we will be graphing family size (number of people in our homes) and also our favorite color.

To encourage the connection of home and school, we will be compiling our summer scrapbook. Please send in your summer souvenir page, if you haven’t done so already.

Our school address book will be out shortly, in the mean time, student phone numbers are attached. Please feel free to give me a call at anytime. When something occurs to you or concerns you, I would like to know.

Our bikes were opened up this week. We are aware that it can feel overwhelming to a child when a bike zooms by. Please help us as we provide a safe and secure environment for all preschoolers. Monday we will discuss the bike rules and receive a “bike license“ after a lesson on bike safety.

Pick up time at the gate is often hectic and confusing. For safety reasons we ask the children to wait at the rock bench bench until a teacher can take them to their parents waiting on the parking lot side of the gate. This way, we hope to prevent a young student from wandering out the gate behind an unsuspecting parent focused on his or her own child. I appreciate your patience as you wait for me to bring your child to you.

We need to know if your child will be staying for daycare on a regular basis. Please make a note on the sign in sheet or speak to one of us personally. Daycare is available on a drop in basis as well. If you find yourself running late, it is better to call the office so your child may go directly to daycare as opposed to waiting for you at the gate not knowing when you are going to come. We encourage play dates to be arranged in advance to avoid hurting the feelings of other friends. A note from home is always better than a last minute call to the office.

Please remember to send in an extra change of play clothes as our work is OFTEN messy. This is in addition to the change of clothes requested by the office in case of an earthquake/disaster.

I want to thank Ashley_Brown for volunteering to be our room parent. I look forward to parents helping in any way they can. Reading a story to a group of children, spending time with us in the classroom, bringing a favorite recipe and cooking with the class, there is no end to the ways in which you can help make this year more rewarding, not only for your child but for you personally as well. Please sign-up in the classroom.

In class we will honor birthdays. Please send all birthday invitations in the mail if only a few classmates are invited to a party. Little hearts are easily hurt over birthday party exclusions. Each child may bring a simple, nutritious treat to share on his or her special day. Classroom celebrations will be simple, but special. For children born in the summer months, we will celebrate in June. At Monica Ros we try to practice healthy alternatives, with special attention given to food allergies. Here are just a few suggestions: apple slices, grape clusters, orange segments, fruit kabobs, tangerines, raisins, popcorn, vegetable sticks, crackers, cheese, fruit leather, sunflower seeds (shelled), mini bagels and cream cheese, mini muffins…….and your OWN creative ideas!

Our Family Picnic and Open House is scheduled for Tuesday, September 10th. Please see the monthly calendar attached for more details about this and other upcoming events. Don’t forget to check out the website!

I care deeply about being a teacher. You and your child are important to me. I feel honored to be a part of your child’s life. I am also aware of the great responsibility I have as a partner with you in teaching and nurturing your child. I am eager to hear of your concerns as well. Let me know what is important to you.

I am excited about the coming year!

Fondly,

Kristy_Laszlo

Week of August 25-29, 2008

A Note from Mrs. Drury and Mrs. Winbury
Welcome to the Green Room!  We have officially started the school year.  Our first days went well.  We were busy painting, exploring the classroom, and separating from our parents.  We only had a few tears and those will dry up over the next couple of weeks.  How did all of you do?  We appreciate that you allowed your children to separate at 9 a.m.  This truly is the easiest way for them to learn to trust us and become independent in their new school.
A few important reminders:
Arrival time is 8:45.  Morning daycare is 7:30- 8:45.  You may come and play with your children starting at 8:30 and separating by 9:00.
Please remember to sign in and out every day.  Sign in sheets will always be on a table at the front gate.
Please label EVERYTHING your children bring to school… clothes, jackets, lunchboxes and Tupperware.  Packing up lunchboxes after the children have eaten becomes confusing for everyone if each item is not labeled.  This insures you are able to reduce and reuse lunch containers. 
At 12:45 we walk the children to the rock wall by the front gate.  They sit on the rock wall and we will walk them to you one at a time to insure safety.  This is also the best time for us to have conversations with you about their day.  After a few weeks and the children have adjusted to their new surroundings and learned the routine we will invite you to have lunch with us, join us for our end of the day song, and to come and play.
Please look on the Green Room front door for daily updates.  We will post volunteer opportunities, sign-up sheets, class information, children’s quotes, and other important news.
The Green Room milk program will be ORGANIC!  We are also working with Tajmana’s parents to create an organic snack schedule.  We appreciate your interest and efforts to create a healthy and safe environment.  We are very excited!
Our planned curriculum and small group activities will begin in the next two weeks.  We have the class set up with exciting activities every day.  At this time we are teaching the children how to use the classroom and our routine.  We are spending time with each child and getting to know their interests.   
Socialization
Many of your children are experiencing their first school situation.  We are all discovering what behaviors are acceptable within a group and within our play.  There may be an occasional situation where a child is hit, but not many.  We take the proactive approach and we will help the children learn safe and respectful play with others.  Please be patient with your own children and the others.  Know that this is all age appropriate behavior and we are prepared to help them through every stage of their development.
This Week
This Friday, August 29th, is the First Annual Green Room Social.  We hope you will all attend.  This is a potluck!  Please sign up on the front door to bring a dish.  This is not a mandatory event.  Our goal is to create a well- bonded community.  We will share information about Monica Ros and answer any questions you may have about our class and the school.
 We are very excited for this year!  Many of you have approached us with wonderful fieldtrip ideas, sustainable living ideas, and much more.  Your children are wonderful!  Thank you for the opportunity to spend our days with them!  Let’s PLAY!

Your Green Room Teachers,
Mrs. Drury and Mrs. Winbury

August 18, 2008
 
Welcome to Kindergarten!

Dear Parents,

We are excited to welcome your child to Monica Ros Kindergarten. We are looking forward to a year of fun, wonderful, and magical kindergarten memories.  Our goal is to assist children in developing and expanding their love of learning, their general knowledge, their ability to get along with others, and their interest in reaching out to the world.  Alice_Fiore and Rychelle_Krout will be your child’s teachers.  There are 19 children enrolled in the class.  Below are a few details that will help get the year off to a smooth start

The kindergarten day begins at 8:45 with a whole group meeting time.  The kids will enjoy playing outside on the ship from 8:30-8:45, something many of them have waited to do for a long time!  After “ship time”, we will ring the bell to come into the class and begin our busy day. This is an ideal time to say good bye to your Kindergartener and wish them a great day! Please feel free to come early, or visit after school to look around the room and share experiences with your child.   A complete Kindergarten schedule is included in your communication folder.

Separation:  Despite previous experience in a preschool program, it is not unusual for kindergarten children to feel anxious about separating from their parents.  We recognize that this can cause strong emotions, and can affect both children and their parents.  Our teachers are ready to help you make this experience as easy as possible for your family.  Early in the year, children’s concerns often arise from the child’s uncertainty about being reunited with the family.  Therefore, it is important for the parents to tell the child when he/she will be picked up and by whom.  It is also very important for the parent to be on time for pick up.

Field Trip:  We will begin our year learning about ocean life.  We will be exploring and researching many of the creatures and conditions that exist in the oceans that make up 70% of the earth’s surface. Much of our focus will be on whales and sharks.   We will be going to the Ty Warner Sea Center in Santa Barbara.  The Permission slip will follow.

Class routine: The kindergarten class begins the day with a whole-class meeting.  After that, the students break into small groups for language arts or math experiences.  At 10 a.m. the children consume a snack brought from home and enjoy recess on the upper yard.  At 10:45 a.m. they return to the classroom for further small group instruction.  Lunch is at noon and followed by a play period that lasts until 12:45 p.m.   The last hour of the school day is typically spent with special subject teachers in art, music, music and movement class, Spanish or library depending on the day of the week. 

Snacks:  Snacks are provided from home.  Please pack a modest, nutritional snack for your child each day.  Possibilities include: half a sandwich, some cheese or fruit and a drink of milk or juice. Please remember that your child should be capable of consuming the snack in 5-10 minutes.

Lunch:  Children also bring lunch from home each day.  On Tuesdays, your child can sign up for burrito delivery from Ruben’s.  On Thursdays they can sign up to receive pizza delivery from Ojai Pizza.  The pizza lunch will include salad, milk and dessert.   It is possible to do this on an occasional basis in which case you can stop by the office or call to place your order.  Occasionally snacks and lunch will be supplemented by food prepared at school or by special treats provided by other children in the class (birthday celebrations, for instance).  If your child has any food allergies or dietary restrictions, please alert the teachers.  The school supports a zero waste lunch program.  We recommend sending food and juice in plastic storage containers, using cloth napkins, reusable utensils and insulated lunch boxes/bags. Please do not send candy, sweets, or soda or anything in glass bottles.

Clothing: Children play actively and frequently get dirty.  Please send your child to school in comfortable, washable play clothes. Children’s shoes must be safe and comfortable.  Rubber-soled, closed toed shoes are most appropriate. Flip flops, thongs, and other types of backless shoes make it impossible to run or climb safely.   Such footwear is not appropriate for school. 

All kindergarten children should have an extra set of clothing at all times.  These should be kept at school in a marked plastic bag in the classroom.

We ask that every child bring a water bottle from home and keep it in his/her cubby.  We have some hot days and feel it is so important for the kids to stay hydrated.

Daily schedule:  Kindergarten children attend school daily from 8:45 to 1:45 p.m.  Following the Ojai school tradition of a shortened day on Wednesday, kindergarten children are dismissed at 1 p.m. each Wednesday.

Delivery and Pick-Up: It is important that you deliver and pick up your child on time.  Young children are much more comfortable entering school before the program has begun so that they can settle into the routine easily with their classmates.  Please be here before 8:45 a.m.  When school is over, children are tired from an active day.  If you are late they often become worried.  Please call the office to let us know if you’re running late so that we can reassure your child.  Please use After School Plans ledger outside Kindergarten to inform us of your daily plans.   At pick-up time, please stay in your car or stand outside the gate and we will come out to meet you.

Daycare: We provide continuous care from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.  Kindergarten children being delivered to school before 8:15 a.m. should be walked into school by their parent and signed in.  Children arriving from 8:15 a.m. on can check in at the gate and enter the playground directly.  Parents may either choose to drive through the driveway and we will welcome your child at your car and escort them to the gate, or they may choose to park on the street and escort their child in to school themselves.  Children not going home at dismissal time will participate in our kindergarten daycare program.  Our daycare teachers supervise the children as they play and also organize games and activities for them.  A snack is served at 3:15 p.m. each afternoon.

Communication/Homework- Each Monday, we will be sending home a communication/homework folder.  We find this an efficient way to communicate with families.  Please include any notes, comments you may have, field trips slips, after school schedules etc.  (Homework begins the week of August 25th)

Book Orders:  Please Return with a check made payable to the book club by that Friday.  

Sharing:  Kindergarten sharing is every

Please do not send toys on days other than sharing!

Birthdays:  Birthdays are special and children enjoy celebrating birthdays at school.  Please verify birthday plans with one of the kindergarten teachers a few days ahead of times so that she can give you an accurate count.  We ask that you send simple nutritious treats to share with the class.  Some successful suggestions:  fruit kabobs, berries, apple slices, grape clusters, orange or tangerine segments, popcorn, vegetable sticks, crackers, cheese, fruit leathers, sunflower seeds (shelled), mini bagels and cream cheese, fruit smoothies, garlic bread….and your own creative ideas.  We will be celebrating and serving these treats after snack or lunch.  We want to encourage healthy food for healthy happy children.

Parent Participation: Parent involvement is welcomed at Monica Ros School.   We know that when there are strong connections between home and school it is the best for the children, teachers and the parents.  We will be talking at Open House about the many ways you can be involved.  We appreciate your help and support.  A parent sign up is posted outside the room on the parent’s board. Parents are encouraged to share their special talents and interests such as cooking, playing a musical instrument, singing songs with the children, reading a favorite book or playing games, you name it! 

Getting to know you…please fill out this questionnaire to help us get better acquainted with your child.

We strive to create a warm, nurturing, stimulating environment for you and your child.  If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us any time.

We are looking forward to a fun and rewarding school year.  Please don’t hesitate to call the office for any further information you might require. 

As your child embarks upon this important Kindergarten journey, we would like to know more about his or her likes and dislikes.  You can help us to know your child better by giving us any information you feel relevant!

Your child’s name
What kinds of books she or he enjoys
What areas do you see as his/her strengths
Some topics that interest your child
What areas do you see as difficult or challenging
What is a goal you would like to set for your child this year

April 27, 2008

What a fun filled two weeks we have had since spring break–we’ve been traveling through space!  But, don’t worry; we’ve been wearing the astronaut helmets we made to keep us safe during our journey.  This week we will finish our Rocking Robots and make our own oxygen tanks. 

Last week we had the pleasure of seeing the Yellow Room students perform their play “That’s What Friends Are For.” It was great to see our friends in this production. For the preschoolers it’s the culmination of many small steps designed to make such an undertaking possible.  We sing every day on the yard, we sing to our classmates and we shares songs and poetry with each other at informal assemblies.  We begin our public speaking/performance opportunities in appropriate ways beginning with our youngest children in the Green Room singing to their mothers and fathers at the Mother’s ay Tea and the Dad’s breakfast, respectively. In every class, each year culminates in a class play with the Gradeschool Play serving as the icing on the cake. 

These experiences provide children with the sense of self that makes these moments in our school, breathtaking.  These are the moments of childhood that make this school such a special, enriching, and safe place to spend the first six years of a child’s education. There is nothing more satisfying to a teacher than to see our students holding themselves so poised on stage.  We know our students who are able to share themselves on stage and work successfully in a group project will be able to take these skills with them as they move into bigger arenas.   The Yellow Room did a wonderful job last week and we look forward to our own performance later this spring.

Our thanks are in order:  Wendy_Thurston, Elizabeth_Moore and Denise_Hansen thank you for our lovely Spring Party before we left for Spring Break. 

This week we have the pleasure of three special events.  This Thursday it’s time for one of our favorite traditions at Monica Ros: the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.  At 10 am the lawn just outside our classroom will be is transformed into a fantasy haven with tea tables hosted by parents. Mixed-age groups will enjoy tea and an abnormally wonderful snack in some imaginary land before running off to their own recess world.  Friday we will be watching the Village of Tales performance at the Ojai Art Center.  When we return to school we have a special Astronaut Party planned as we conclude our unit on Space. 

Mark your Calendars:

Thursday, May 1: Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Friday, May 2: Village of Tales
Friday, May 23: Red Room Play and Cast Party Luncheon

Our most secret wish would be for a:

Ellis - I wish for a pricker pine.

Heather - I wish for a toy bug.

Isabella - I wish for a baby and mommy kitty and a baby and mommy rabbit.

Noelle - I wish my kitty is on her bed and playing with her toy.

Noah - I wish for energy balls.

Kate - My wish is for a cat.

Rachel - I wish I had three Dalmatian puppies.

Robbie - I wish for TV tonight.

Ryan - I wish for a puppy and a little hamster.

HERE IS THE LAST GREEN  ROOM         NEWSLETTER!!

We can not believe the end of the year is here!  We want to thank you for trusting us with your wonderful young children.  We learned so much from them and you this year and we appreciate you!  This last newsletter is to inform you about what to expect the last week…

Monday June 2- 9-12:45- Preschool Play Day!  This is a wacky fun filled day!  We’ll be playing outside ALL DAY!  We’ll have water play, shaving cream art, a bike wash, crafts, and a jumpin’ jumper!  Pizza lunch and snow cones will be provided!  Children not enrolled on Mondays are welcome to come and play.  A small fee of $20. to add the day.

Tuesday June 3rd-  In the Green Room we’ll celebrate the last day of Tuesday, Thursday children.  If you’d like to bring a special snack or treat you are more than welcome!  We will have a final Rugtime at 12:30 to sing our final “Four Hugs a Day” song.

Wednesday June 4th- Last Day OF School for everyone! 
11:45 dismissal.  No Daycare.  If you’d like to bring a special snack or treat you are more than welcome!  We will have a final Rugtime at 11:30 to say our final goodbyes!
3rd Grade Graduation 5 pm.

Oh my goodness… Good Bye!  Have a wonderful, wonderful summer!  We’ll see you at Monica Ros next year!
Mrs. Winbury and Mrs. Weston