Queen of Angels Preschool 

 

Welcome Letter- PDF

 

Supply

 List

& Snack Ideas

2009-2010 Calendar

Daily Classroom Schedule

Preschool

Newsletter

February 2010

 

Preschool Handbook

 

Classroom Rules:

 

Walking feet

 (no running)

 

Helping hands

(no hurting)

 

Inside voice and listening ears

(no yelling and wait for your turn to talk)

 

Don't go out of the room until you tell a grownup why you are leaving

 

WWJD?

(Treat others like

Jesus would)

 

For more on classroom rules,

click here.

        

 

Curriculum topics

 

Early September: new friends and growing

 

Late September & Early October:

changes in seasons, changes in nature

 

Late October: Halloween

 

November:

Foods, Native Americans, Pilgrims, and Thanksgiving

 

December:

Christmas (religious and secular)

 

January:

changes in seasons, changes in nature, families and homes, animal hibernation

 

Early February:

St. Valentine's Day, showing love for others

 

Late February & Early March:

Community Helpers

 

Late March/April:

changes in seasons, baby animals, spring insects and animals, Easter (religious and secular)

 

May:

Mother's Day, warm weather activities, end of school

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated:

February 7, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now offering

 

Two, Three or Five Day

Preschool  Options for

3 & 4 year olds

Hot lunch, Before & After Care available

 

Call 483-8214 to register or

for more information

The main goal for the preschool classes is to prepare your child for school. The foundation for future learning is set in place first in your home and then in our classroom.

There is a teacher and aide in each class. The limit for the 3 year old class is 14 with a child/adult ratio of 7:1. The 4 year old class has a limit of 18, with the ratio of 9:1. Those ratios are set by the Catholic Schools Office and they follow the guidelines put out by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

A child must 3 or 4 by September 1st to be able to be in the 3 or 4 year old class. All children must be able to take care of their own needs in the bathroom (that is, potty trained).  We will encourage the children to be as self-sufficient as possible; washing their hands themselves, cleaning up their own messes and spills, putting on their own jackets and backpacks. We will gladly tie shoes though!

Our Teachers

Welcome to Preschool!  Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Paula Johnson and I will be your child’s teacher. My husband, Jim, and I have been parishioners at Queen of Angels for 30 years. Our four daughters are products of Catholic education, having graduated from Queen of Angels and Bishop Dwenger High School. I am a graduate of the University of St. Francis.  In the past, I taught at the YWCA Preschool for a total of 7 years. This is my 16th year at Queen of Angels.

My aide is Christine Wright and this will be our fourth year of working together. She has 3 sons, one at a Catholic grade school, one at Bishop Dwenger High School and one in college. Mrs. Wright enjoys being around our students and they enjoy being around her. She is the one who keeps our classroom organized and functioning well. (I really appreciate that!)

So, are you ready for preschool? I’m sure your child is ready and can hardly wait! Here are some important things you need to know about our program.

Parent Orientation &

Student-Parent Open House

Parent Orientation Meeting:  In early August, we host a Parent Orientation meeting for parents of our registered students. This meeting is for approximately 1 ½ hours.

An Open House for students and parents to visit the classroom together will be held the week classes start. You will get a chance to meet the teachers, help your child find his/her own tubby, listen to a story, meet other people and explore the room. You may bring your child's supplies at this time. Please plan to stay with your child for the entire time. The 3 year old classes visit on a separate day from the 4 year olds.

Classes begin when the school bell rings at 8:15 am. The classroom door opens at 8 am. Dismissal is at 11 am for 3 year olds and half-day 4 year olds. The full day 4 year old class will dismiss at 3 pm.

 

Always plan to accompany your child into and out of the building. Please wait outside the classroom door for the doors to open. Never leave your child unattended in the hallway or alone in the classroom.

Three Year old Program

Our main focus for the 3 year olds is in the area of social growth and development:

  • The children will learn to follow rules other than those in the home.

  • They will learn to obey others besides Mom, Dad, Grandma and the babysitter.

  • They will develop a sense of cooperative, pro-social behavior: cooperating with others, expressing anger in non-aggressive terms, sharing toys, taking turns, waiting turns to speak, listening attentively, cleaning up after themselves and using the school's equipment correctly and safely.

  • They will learn to sit quietly for increasing amounts of time.

They will be exposed to these different areas of the curriculum often. There will be time for them to explore these areas on their own as well as time when there will be more formal instruction. The cognitive skills we expect to develop are essentially "pre" skills:

  • Pre-reading

  • Pre-writing

  • Pre-math

  • Pre-science

  • Pre-social activities

For religious development we expect the children to develop an increasing awareness of God, Jesus, and His love. They will pray together to develop a sense of being together as God's family. We try to encourage the values of justice, peace, and a respect for life that the home first teaches at an early age.

Four Year Old Program

The goal for the 4 year olds is to master everything expected of the 3 year olds. Plus, they will have additional instruction time to develop the skills necessary to succeed in their subjects in later years. These include but are not limited to:

  • beginning and ending sounds

  • opposites

  • visual patterns

  • predicting outcomes

  • categorizing and classifying

  • sequencing and working with patterns

  • making comparisons according to size, weight, volume, quantity

  • matching like shapes and identifying them

  • using the senses to identifying common objects

  • understanding basic properties of water, magnets, and magnification

  • recognizing that temperatures can affect change

  • developing an awareness that they are part of larger communities of school, parish, The Church, neighborhood, city, state, and nation.

In the areas of motor development, we will work with balls, bean bags, and activity records to move our larger muscles. For the smaller muscles, we will work with play-dough, paints, pegs on a pegboard, scissors, nuts and bolts, buttons, tweezers and of course, pencils.

Classroom Information

In the interest of safety, always plan to accompany your child into and out of the building. Please wait in the hallway outside the classroom door for the doors to open. Never leave your child unattended in the hallway or alone in the classroom. The classroom door will be opened early for your convenience at 8AM.  (Please do not bring your child into the room any earlier. The last few minutes before class are precious moments for us to prepare for the children.) After class, when we see parents in the hallway, we will release your children a few at a time. This will be the arrival/dismissal policy for the entire year.

Lunchtime will take place in our classroom beginning at 11 am. Please "practice" eating lunch before school begins in August. Pack a lunch and put it in a lunch bag or lunch box, and let your child do as much for themselves as possible: getting everything out of the bag, opening the packaging, eating in the order they prefer (they will eat dessert first so if you want them to eat anything else, pack a very small dessert), and cleaning up their place and throwing any disposables away. Mainly, pack the foods they will eat, not just what you want them to eat. We will send any uneaten food home so you can see what's left over.

Hot lunches will be available from the FWCS hot lunch program. Whether packing lunch or purchasing from FWCS, keep in mind your child's appetite and food likes and dislikes so that food does not go to waste and your child still gets the nutrition you expect.

Snack time will take place in the afternoon, about 2 pm. The Board of Health requires us to share prepackaged, store-bought snacks.  This means we cannot accept homemade food.  We ask that you keep our snacks nutritious.  Please save the sweet treats (store-bought cookies, cupcakes, etc.) for special events like birthdays and party days.  Remember, these are just suggestions for healthy snacks.  Check here for a list of  snack suggestions. You don’t have to follow this list exactly, just consult it occasionally when you run out of ideas. If your child has food allergies, let us know as soon as possible, so that all of us can be aware of the situation.

Also included is a list of supplies needed for our class. These are items that will be stored in our room and used when we have the need. I have enough to get us through the first few days, but please bring these items at the open house or during the first week of school.

On the supply list is a back pack.  We prefer this to be a bag that can actually be worn by the child so both his/her hands are free. It is most important that your child bring a back pack every class time. Please make sure that it is large enough for an unfolded 9 x 12 inch paper and that your child can open and close the back pack by him/herself.

Now is a good time to ask you to mark your child’s name on everything that comes to school. This includes things that are worn to school but that can come off, e.g.: shoes, sweatshirts, sweaters, hats, coats, etc., and the back pack! 

The classroom rules can be summarized by the following:

 

1. Walking feet (no running)

2. Helping hands (no hurting)

3. Inside voice & listening ears (no yelling & wait for your turn to talk)

4. Don't leave room until you tell a grownup why you are leaving.

5. WWJD? (Treat others like Jesus would)

These rules are pictured for the children on the bulletin board. Written rules can be seen in their entirety above the bulletin board in the classroom. Also, there is a list of positive rewards and consequences.

If, after reading all of this information, you still have questions, please feel free to contact Mrs. Johnson at the school (483-8214).  She is looking forward to working with you and your children. 

 

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For more information about our preschool programs, call the school at 483-8214 or email our Preschool Director.

 

 

Preschool

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Gallery