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Mrs. Feldmann4-Year-Olds PMemail: kfeldmann@sainttimothyschool.org Assistant: Mrs. Anne Patsalosavvis May NewsletterGeneral InformationPlease refer to our 2007-2008 Orientation Booklet for all general information regarding a typical preschool day, carpool information, uniforms, school supplies, preschool goals etc.. CONTACT ME: If you need to contact me, please send an email or put a note in your child’s backpack with the telephone numbers where you can be reached. Please do not leave a message in the school’s voice mail box. RED FOLDER: A red folder is sent home each Friday with your child’s work for the week and any school notes. Please empty the folder and return the folder each Monday. NEWSLETTER: I will send a monthly newsletter home in your child’s red folder. Monthly newsletters are also available online at the school website. BROWN ENVELOPE: The school office sends home a monthly brown envelope to each family containing important school information. Please empty the folder and return it to school. SNACKS: Please send a daily snack and a drink with your child each day. ROOM MOTHER: Our room mother, Mrs. Duncan, will be contacting you regarding various events after we settle into our routine. SPECIAL ACTIVITIES: Each child will be assigned a time to be our “Star of the Week” and an opportunity to share a special item for our “Show and Tell” at circle time. Beginning in January, each child will also have an opportunity to bring home a Care Bear for the weekend. LESSON PLAN THEMES: September: Welcome to Preschool: We are all God’s Family October: Fall into Colors: Playing with Songs and Dance November: Counting our Blessings: Harvest and Thanksgiving December: Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus: Gifts January: Senses: Using the Gifts God has Given Us February: Emotions: God is Love March: Marching into Spring: God Gave us a Beautiful World April: New Life: All Creatures, Great and Small May: Flowers: Mary is Jesus’ Mother ORIENTATION INFORMATION: Parents play an important role in their child’s education. Parents are the child’s first and natural teacher. Family involvement in the education of a preschool child is essential. Parent conferences are held in the Fall and progress reports are completed at the middle and end of the school year to communicate with parents about their child in the school setting. Parents are a vital, integral part of the preschool educational team. The Arlington Diocese requires Virtus training for all adults (including parents) working or volunteering in school. At Saint Timothy Preschool, parental involvement is welcomed in the following ways:
The preschool experience enables children to mature physically, socially and emotionally with their teachers and their peers. Some young children find it distracting to have their parents in the classroom. Our primary goals are to enable the children to separate from their family and expand their social skills in a safe and secure environment. Thank you so much for your support – we simply couldn’t do it without you! NEWSLETTER May 2008 It is hard to believe that the year is coming to an end! It has been an absolute joy to teach your children – they are such wonderful students! They have grown academically, socially, developmentally and physically. It has been extremely gratifying to watch them grow and assist them with their progress. We have finished the alphabet and have had such a great time learning all of our letters. We will review the letters daily (through song, dance and bingo). We will also learn about the vowels, Aa, Ee, Ii, Oo and Uu so that we can begin to make simple words. In Math, we will continue working on the proper number formation, comparing bigger and smaller numbers, counting, sorting, classifying, matching and simple addition and subtraction. In Religion, we will be finishing our Religion Book and discussing the Holy Bible, God's family, the Church, prayer and Mass. The children will attend Mass every Friday in Kindergarten. We will also begin to pray the rosary and talk about our devotion to our Blessed Mother. As we close the school year, I want to express my sincere appreciation for all that you have done to help make our Preschool great! Believe me when I say that we could not do it without your support. The children have worked so hard, and have had so much fun learning and growing – they are now ready to step up to Kindergarten! Some important dates to remember: Happy Birthday to those with Summer Birthdays – Julianna, Dianna, J.P. and Gabrielle. We hope that you have a healthy, happy and relaxing Summer! We will miss you! NEWSLETTER April 2008 Well, it’s finally Spring!!! We have been enjoying the beautiful weather, especially learning how to climb on all of the playground equipment. Please make sure that the children have sturdy tennis shoes – no boots or sandals as they could cause safety issues on the playground. We have been so busy with our letters and have enjoyed making turtles, umbrellas, “vegetable people”, and watermelon slices. I hope that you have complimented them on all of their beautiful work. In Language Arts, we will be finishing the alphabet – only Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz are left! The children truly enjoy our letter games – please ask them to play them with you at home. In Math, we will continue practicing correct formation of the numbers 1 through 10. We will also work on activities that compare greater/least, biggest/smallest, and more/less. We will compare sizes, shapes and amounts, using coins and everyday objects. We will also continue to review our shapes and colors. In Religion, we have enjoyed hearing the story of Jesus’ Resurrection, and looking for signs of new life in the blossoming flowers and trees. We continue to read the Holy Bible each day and talk about God’s family. Here are some important dates to remember: April 8th Class Pictures – Traditional Uniform must be worn Happy Birthday to Lucy on April 12th and Michael on April 28th! God bless you. NEWSLETTER March 2008Time is flying by!!! Spring will be here before we know it, and we hope that the groundhog was wrong and that warm weather will arrive soon. The children are all growing up so quickly – please make sure that you savor these times for they will be gone all too soon (spoken like a parent whose only child is getting ready to go off to college!) We hope that you heard about our One Hundred Day and our President’s Day celebrations. We had so much fun counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. We also paraded through the hallways of St. Timothy’s in our Presidential three-cornered hats! Did you hear about our first President, George Washington, who could not tell a lie when he cut down the cherry tree? There was also much discussion about “President Lincoln Log” who was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre. In Language Arts, we are almost done with the alphabet. During March, we will finish the letter Tt and move on to the letters Uu, Vv and Ww. Be on the lookout for tornados, umbrellas, and windsocks! In Math, we will continue with our number mastery – counting by 1’s, 5’s and 10’s. We will continue to sort, graph, count and match items. We will also review our shapes and colors. Here are some important dates to remember: Happy Birthday to Owen on March 5th! Happy Spring! NEWSLETTER February 2008Wow…January finally brought us some Winter weather! We’re glad to see that all of the children are coming in bundled up warm…it gets chilly waiting in the carpool lines. We have had a fun-filled return to school. For the letter M, we created our very own hot chocolate, complete with real marshmallows! For the letter N, we were visited by our School Nurse, Mrs. Caracciolo. We learned the importance of washing our hands and coughing or sneezing into our elbows. The letter O brought some adorable owls into our classroom – they are hanging on our window. We hope that you have been admiring all of the work that has been coming home in the Red folders. The children are so proud of their masterpieces! For February, in Language Arts, we will be learning the letters Qq, Rr, Ss, and Tt. We have some fun activities to go along with them. For the letter Qq, we will decorate a Quilt; and, for the Letter Ss, we will have a Crazy Socks Day. I’ll let you know the date for this very special day! We will be starting to rhyme words and learn about opposites. When you are in the car or at home, say a word like in and see how many words they can say that rhyme. Say the word hot and see if they can tell you that the opposite is cold. Make it fun and enjoy. In Math, we are preparing for our 100th day celebration and learning to count by tens. We are also learning to group things into tens. We will continue to learn how to zip our zippers, and will attempt to learn how to tie our shoes. These are important skills to master for Kindergarten. Here are some dates to remember during the month of February: February 6 Ash Wednesday Have a Happy Valentine's Day…if you attend the Open House, please stop by and say Hello! NEWSLETTER January 2008Happy New Year! We hope that everyone had a healthy, happy and peaceful holiday break. Mrs. Patsalosavvis and I want to express our heartfelt thanks for all of the wonderful Christmas gifts. Your generosity and thoughtfulness were very much appreciated. A special thank you to our Room Mother, Mrs. Duncan, and to everyone who helped to make our Christmas celebration such a memorable event! This month we will be focusing on correct letter and number formation. Please continue to practice at home. We will also be reviewing the letters Aa through Kk and learning about letters Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo and Pp.. We are moving right along! Please continue to practice the sounds that these letters make while you are at home or driving in the car. In Religion, we will be discussing God’s gifts of plants and animals. We will be discussing the needs of plants and animals, how they grow and their different types. We will continue to emphasize the importance of treating all of God’s creatures – great and small – with respect. We will begin to pray the “Our Father” and the traditional Grace before Meals: “Bless us O Lord and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive from Thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen”. Please help them memorize these prayers. In Math, we will be counting up and down and working on recognizing numbers one through ten. Each child will have his/her own calendar so that they can recognize numbers, days of the week and months. We will continue to sort and classify small, medium and large objects. There will be worksheets that involve matching, sequencing, patterning, connecting the dots and mazes. We will also measure each child’s height and record it. It will be interesting to see how much they grow between now and the end of our school year! A quick reminder – there is NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 21st in honor of Martin Luther King. Also, in the event of inclement weather, Saint Timothy School will follow the Fairfax County school cancellation policy. In addition, you can always check our website, http://sainttimothyschool.org. NEWSLETTER December 2007Dear Parents, We can’t believe that December and the Christmas holidays are upon us! It was a pleasure meeting with you at the conferences. All of the children are so special to us. They are all growing and learning at such a rapid pace. Over the holiday break, here are a few suggestions to help them “remember” all they have learned. Continue working on recognizing letters at home and while you are traveling. By Christmas break, we will have learned the letters Aa through Jj. So, if you are eating broccoli and carrots at dinner, you can ask your child what letters these foods start with and they will be able to tell you. As we discussed at the Conference, practice writing the letters we have learned in school while you are at home. Ask them to “autograph” any work they do. And, always keep in mind the correct “pencil grip”. Don’t forget to ask them what month it is and what day it is. Advent calendars are a great way to review as you get ready for Christmas. Encourage “acts of kindness” and working together as a team. For a Math review, if you are in the car, start counting and ask them to continue. If they are playing with Legos or colored blocks, they can make a pattern (for example, AABB equals two red blocks, two green blocks). Watch them as they build with blocks, tinker toys, Legos, K-nex and Lincoln Logs. We have some budding architects in our class! Also, while you are at the Mall or toy stores, ask them to point out items that are small, medium and large. Some of the upcoming events are the Chick-Fil-A Spirit Night on December 5th from 5-8 p.m., the St. Timothy Christmas Angel Pageant on December 17th (9:45 am in the church). Even though we don’t have class at this time, you are welcome to bring your children and stay with them to enjoy this event. The Red Sailboats Class Christmas Party will take place on Tuesday, December 18th at 2:15 p.m. The Red Sailboats will not have class on Wednesday, December 19th, so our Christmas Break begins at dismissal on Tuesday, December 18th and classes will resume on Thursday, January 3th at 12:15 p.m. Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus on December 25th! We wish all of you a very peaceful, happy and holy Christmas. Please take the time to relax and enjoy this blessed season. We are so grateful for all you do for us and for giving us the opportunity to spend time teaching your children. They are truly God’s most precious gifts! Peace, Mrs. Feldmann and Mrs. Patsalosavvis NEWSLETTER, November 2007Dear Parents, October was filled with so many wonderful activities! Our Leaf Walk was a delight – even though some of us found some creepy crawlers among the leaves we collected. Hopefully, you’ve displayed the leaf rubbings, black cats, and scarecrow pumpkins as fall decorations throughout your house! In Language Arts, we have now learned the Letters Aa through Ff. Please take the time to go through the Red Folders each week and admire the beautiful work that your children have completed. Preschoolers love to hear your encouragement and praise! Also, you can help reinforce our work by writing the letters of the week at home, and talking about words that begin with those letters. In Religion, we continued to discuss and learn about sharing and helping through loving and caring acts. If you notice a kind act at home, please send me a note, and I will read about the “Acts of Kindness” during our Circle Time. At Circle Time, the children have been learning about the days of the week, the months of the year, the daily weather, and counting. In Math, we are learning about patterns, sorting, and classifying. We are counting everything – pennies, buttons, even our fingers and toes. We have even been having fun with simple addition and subtraction! The children should be telling you about their day at Preschool. Here are some questions you can ask to start a conversation: “What is the Letter of the Week?” “What activities or projects did you do at school today?” “Who did you play with at school today?” “Did you sort today or make a pattern…what did you use (buttons, bears, plastic clips)?” “Did you hear a story today…what was it about?” Happy Birthday to Kloe Truvan on November 19th. During November, our monthly theme is “Counting our Blessings”. We will be learning about the importance of being thankful and sharing our good fortunes with others. We can’t wait to enjoy our “Thanksgiving Feast” on November 20th from 2:15 to 3:15 p.m. and hope that many of you can join us. I am looking forward to seeing all of you at Conference time. Please remember that the children do not have class on Tuesday and Wednesday, (11/13 and 14), and that they come to school on Thursday and Friday (11/15 and 16) in the morning from 8:15 to 11:30 a.m. There is no class for the P.M. Red Sailboats on Monday, November 19th as the teachers must attend a Design for Excellence meeting. They will attend class on Wednesday, November 21st from 8:15–11:30 a.m. There is no school on Thursday, November 22nd and Friday, November 23rd. We wish you all a very peaceful, healthy and joy-filled Thanksgiving. We all have so much to be thankful for! God Bless You. Mrs. Feldmann and Mrs. Patsalosavvis NEWSLETTER, October 2007Dear Parents, WOW – it is true that time flies when you are having fun! September was filled with so many fun activities. We had a fantastic time learning about the letters Aa and Bb. We practiced writing the Letter Aa using magic markers, crayons, and play dough! We even made our own books about the Letter Bb. Hopefully, the Alligator Puppets, Boo Masks and Bats are still intact! Thank you for all the generous supplies you sent it for our classroom. It is so important to have plenty of antibacterial wipes on hand, especially as flu season approaches. A special thanks to our Room Mother, Mrs. Duncan and our Scholastic Book Order Mom, Mrs. Phares! Important dates for October: Monday, October 8th, No School for Columbus Day; Monday, October 15th – PM Red Sailboats come in the morning (8:15-11:30 a.m.); Friday, October 26th – No School due to Diocesan Meeting. The children have been meeting new friends and visiting different areas around the school. They truly enjoyed visiting the Art Teacher, Mrs. Sponagule and the 5th grade with their bats hanging from the rafters! They love visiting the library and listening to stories told by our librarian, Mrs. Watson. We have been having fun with our changing season, and this month we plan to have an Apple Tasting Party. Stop by and see the pictures and look at our graph to see which apple will be voted the tastiest! During October, our monthly theme is “Fall into Colors”. We will be learning about Fall colors and autumn leaves. We hope to take a “leaf walk” around the school and collect leaves. Of course, October would not be complete without a discussion and some activities about Halloween (nothing too scary – spiders, bats and pumpkins). We will learn some new letters, Cc, Dd, Ee and Ff. Be on the lookout for centipedes, dogs, eggs and firetrucks coming home in the Red Folders! In Math, we will continue to use our manipulatives to sort, create patterns and classify (color, shape and size). We will also enjoy playing with Dominoes. For Religion, we will learn about the importance of Sharing. Happy Birthday to Carson on October 2nd, Cassandra on October 4th, Nicholas on October 5th, Ariel on October 11th and Jack on October 27th! Thankfully, we love parties - you’ll be hearing from our Room Mom soon about our upcoming Thanksgiving Feast! God Bless You, Mrs. Feldmann and Mrs. Patsalosavvis
NEWSLETTER, September 2007Welcome to Preschool! It was a delight meeting you at Orientation. Please feel free to contact me with any questions at kfeldmann@saintttimothyschool.org. Also, please visit the school website at www.sainttimothyschool.org.You will note that the PM red Sailboats will not attend school on Monday, September 10th as the teachers participate in the Design for Excellence process. We are very excited to get started. Each month, we will have a “Monthly Theme”. Our monthly theme for September is “Families”. Please be sure to work with your child to complete the “My Family” worksheet that will be sent home in the first weekly blue folder and return it in his or her folder. We will use it as a way for your child to introduce his or her family to the rest of the class. We have a few reminders: Snacks –Please provide a daily snack and drink (water or juice) for your child. Each day, in accordance with Fairfax County Health Department regulations, you’ll need to note the date of the snack on the inside of the lunchbox (you can use a piece of masking tape or a “post it note”. Red Folders – Each child has a red folder with his or her name on it. We will send it home each Friday with any notes and your child’s schoolwork. Please empty it and send it back in your child’s backpack on Monday morning. Change of Clothes – Please send a labeled change of clothes for your child in a plastic baggie, along with any school supplies noted in your orientation booklet. Birthdays – Please let us know if you would like to bring in a treat for your child’s birthday. Please remember that we are a “Peanut Free” preschool. This month, we want to wish Austin a Happy Birthday! Volunteers – We are fortunate to have Mrs. Duncan as our Class Room Mother and Mrs. Phares as our Scholastic Book Order Mother. They’ll be contacting you soon! Our Religion curriculum has themes to coincide with our monthly theme. For September, we will discuss God’s family and our place in the Church community. Math Centers will involve opportunities to sort, classify and group a variety of manipulatives. Please read to your child daily to help them develop listening skills and recognize the importance of the printed word. Thank you for your willingness to instill the love of learning in each of your children. It makes our job so much easier! God Bless You,
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