February 2012 Newsletter (pdf)

ENROLLMENT FOR NEXT YEAR
Students returning to the Academy will bring home a re-enrollment form after the February break. Space is limited, and returning students are given preference-so please complete and send in your form by the return date. Let us know, too, if you have a younger child you'd like to enroll.

For new students, we will be hosting registration sessions on Wednesday, March 7 from 1:00-6:00; Friday, March 9 from 9:00-2:30 and Friday, March 16 from 9:00-2:30. As part of registration, all children will receive a free developmental screening. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis. Families should call us (772-1390) to set up a registration appointment. Please encourage friends and family to come check out our program!

Kindergarten registration at all three Greenfield elementary schools is scheduled for March 9 with additional times to be announced. We will send home registration information once all the dates have been set. It's not too early to start touring the schools. This can help you decide which school may provide the best fit for your child. We are always available to help you through this process.

OPEN HOUSE
We will be hosting an open house on Wednesday, February 29th (5:00-6:00 p.m.) to showcase the preschool to prospective families. In addition, we are glad to give tours during the school day to anyone who is interested in seeing the program in action. Please help us spread the word!

DATES TO REMEMBER
Feb. 20th – 24th
WINTER BREAK
NO SCHOOL & NO WRAP CARE

Feb. 27th
Professional Development Day
NO SCHOOL & NO WRAP CARE

WRAP CARE
We currently have openings on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons as well as all day Friday. Please call the office at 772-1390 if you are interested in Wrap Care.

LATE ARRIVALS AND IDLING
Our bus arrives between 8:40 and 8:50 every morning. We must keep the bus lane open for the bus to pull up to the curb to disembark students safely. Therefore, we ask that if your child is arriving late for school, please park in a parking space or on the road and walk your child over.

Please remember to turn your car off when you are leaving your vehicle to drop off your child. For safety's sake, we ask that there be no idling of unattended vehicles on school grounds.

HEALTHY SNACKS
We believe that it is important that healthy eating habits start early. We encourage families to send in healthy snacks and lunches for children. Some great snack ideas are fresh fruits and veggies, cheese and crackers, and yogurt. Foods that are best in limited amounts and best at home are candy, gummies and snack cakes. 100% fruit juice and water are great drinks to send. Please refrain from sending candy for snack.

LABELING CLOTHING
More and more clothing items are finding their way into our lost and found, or worse yet, disappearing. Please take a moment to label all of your children's items with a permanent marker so that we can easily identify and return clothing. Our lost and found is filled with everything from jackets to socks. If you believe your child is missing some clothing, please stop by and check the lost and found.

THE BOOK NOOK
Read early and read often! The early years are critical to developing a lifelong love of reading. Here are some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader.

Read together every day: Make this a warm and loving time when the two of you can cuddle close.

Give everything a name: Build your child's vocabulary by talking about interesting words and objects. For example, "Look at that airplane! Those are the wings of the plane. Why do you think they are called wings?"

Say how much you enjoy reading: Tell your child how much you enjoy reading with him or her. Talk about "story time" as the favorite part of your day.

Read with fun in your voice: Read to your child with humor and expression. Use different voices. Ham it up!

Know when to stop: Put the book away for a while if your child loses interest or is having trouble paying attention.

Be interactive: Discuss what's happening in the book, point out things on the page, and ask questions.

Read it again and again!

FREE PARENTING WORKSHOP SERIES
The Coordinated Family & Community Engagement grant will be supporting a 5 week parenting series.  This is a free opportunity to learn more about emotional literacy and the following topics: spending quality time with your child, and using positive comments and encouragement;  understanding the importance of play and using play as a way to parent, as well as encouraging positive behavior; making expectations clear including ways to develop and teach household rules;  strategies to help children learn to manage anger, handle disappointment, and learn problem solving skills as well as strategies to promote positive behavior, and to help when dealing with challenging behavior, including everyday routines.  Childcare and dinner provided. Transportation provided upon request.  Limited to 10 families.  If you are interested, contact Suzie Hale @ 772-1302 or email suzhal1@gpsk12.org

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Food Rules Workshop
Workshop for parents/Guardians/Teachers

Presenter:
Sarah Patton
LICSW/Holistic Health Counselor

March 26th at 6:00
At Girls Club of Greenfield
35 Pierce St Greenfield, MA

Child Care and Dinner Provided

Please RSVP by March 1st
Limited to 8 AEL slots.
Contact Suzie Hale to sign up.  772-1302 or suzhal1@gpsk12.org

Copy of FOOD RULES book to each AEL participant.

Academy Staff
Full-Day Classrooms
• Jennie Horton (teacher), Diana Lemay, Melissa Miller, &Susan Perry (paras)
• Janice Fuller (teacher), Maria Greene & Jacob Miner (paras)
• Julie Letendre (teacher), Beth Winn (para)

Half-Day Classrooms (morning & afternoon)
• Mona Halket (teacher), Tina Henry, Leah Minks (AM) & Tarah Perna (PM) (paras)
• Caissie Putnam (teacher) & Jenna Gancz & Cathy Marcum (paras)

Intensive Special Needs Classroom
• Liz Bednarski-Mahon (SPED Coordinator  & teacher) with paras Tarah Perna, Claire Glabach, Melinda Kosterman, Nicole LaRoche, Sheila McLane & Ryan Pearson

All-School Staff
• Nancy Garlock, assistant to the principal, SPED case manager, social worker
• Suzie Hale, coordinator of tuition, wrap-around care & CFCE
• Chuck Adams, custodian
• Kendra Kuhn, school nurse
• Lori Provencal, Receptionist
• Renee' Southwick & Donna Gaylord, Speech & Language Pathologists