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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
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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:
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The children
will learn to follow rules other than those in the home.
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They will learn
to obey others besides Mom, Dad, Grandma and the babysitter.
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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.
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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:
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Pre-reading
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Pre-writing
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Pre-math
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Pre-science
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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:
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beginning and
ending sounds
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opposites
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visual patterns
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predicting
outcomes
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categorizing and
classifying
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sequencing and
working with patterns
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making
comparisons according to size, weight, volume, quantity
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matching like
shapes and identifying them
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using the senses
to identifying common objects
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understanding
basic properties of water, magnets, and magnification
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recognizing that
temperatures can affect change
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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
Picture
Gallery





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