Wow! That last month sure flew by what with all those snow days and a vacation week! And we finished up our Ski/Snowboard program with temperatures in the 60’s yesterday! Crazy! We’re looking forward to a little consistency this month!
We have another staffing change to share with you. Emily Kershner no longer works for the Program. Given that we are over halfway through the year and the hiring/training process takes considerable time, we are filling this void mostly with current resources. One exception, however, is that we are hiring Debbie Halpern to work with the Minnows Program on Fridays. The plan is for Debbie to start March 10th so please introduce yourself when you see her!
CURRICULUM
Our theme this month will be Endangered/Extinct Animals.
EARLY RELEASE DAY!
The next early release will be held on Thursday, March 9th. We are super excited to have a special presenter coming to the Program that day: Amazing Animal Ambassadors! These live animal shows are designed for any age and are sure to amaze! With their unique variety of animals such as parrots, exotic mammals, large reptiles, and even insects from around the globe, they create an experience unlike any other. Programs are a hands-on experience where kids will learn about creatures from Africa, South America, Australia, Europe, Asia, and even right here in the United States. We’ll be having two hour-long presentations—one for the younger children and one for the older children—from 1:30 – 3:30 PM. We cannot wait! If you’d like to check out their website, you can find them at http://amazinganimalambassadors.com
FIELD TRIPS
March 14th (Adventurers): Spellman Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
March 28th (Adventurers): Laser Quest in West Roxbury
CLASSES
2-3 Grade: Kids Cooking Green for the Barracudas still has a few openings! It starts NEXT WEEK! Please note that registration for this class must be done online: go to www.kidscookinggreen.com and click on “Upcoming Classes” to sign up.
MUSICAL
Mark your calendars! Our annual musical is approaching and you will not want to miss it! We will be performing “Best of Broadway” on the evenings of April 7th and 8th. Tickets will be available soon! The kids have been working hard on this production. You will love it!
PARENT CONFERENCES
Have you signed up yet? If not, please do so! If you don’t see a time slot that works for you, please just ask and we’ll make something work. We have just a couple more weeks to finish these!
ENROLLMENT IN PEDP FOR 2017-2018
Applications for the Program for 2017-18 have been put in mail files. The deadline for turning these in is March 10th, which is NEXT FRIDAY!!
MINNOWS MESSAGE from Kim Ryan, Minnows Coordinator
Early Minnows
During the month of February when our theme was Greece, the early minnows focused a lot on Greek mythology. They learned about Medusa, the Minotaur, Zeus and many others. We tried to show some kind of children’s video about each of the projects we were doing. One in particular that really made the Early Minnows laugh was about the Minotaur, who oddly had an Irish accent and could only be defeated by tartar sauce! Ask your child to share the silly song they learned about minotaurs and tartar sauce!
This month, we will be teaching the early minnows about endangered or extinct animals. I purchased a book called Actual Size by Steve Jenkins to aid us in a project about gorillas. Each child will be able to compare his/her hand to the actual size of a gorilla’s! Look for this cool project that will be hanging in the hallway near the dismissal area at EDP.
Late Minnows
The late minnows enjoyed a pajama party on the early release Wednesday in February. They watched the movie The Shaggy Dog that was made in 1959! We also shared stories about our stuffed animals that were brought in, had pizza for snack, played some games and had a great time!
February also brought Valentine’s Day and a nice surprise treat from the Sharks to the Friday Minnows! We have been working with the shark teachers to bring the oldest and youngest fish together once a month to interact, play games, have dance parties or just some quick visits! We call this Big Fish, Little Fish and will continue these interactions throughout the year! You can reach me at kim@peirceedp.com
BARRACUDA BUZZ from Joanne Malouf, Barracudas Coordinator
The Barracudas seemed to pack a lot into this short month. It started with a fun trip to Roll On America. The kids had a great time roller-skating around the rink that we had all to ourselves! To celebrate Greece, our February theme, Chris made a delicious Greek salad with the kids and Laurie did some clay pot painting. Rachel K. did some yoga with the kids and I continued to have some great domino block builders.
Explorers Trip Program: The Explorers had a trip to the Spellman Stamp Museum on Valentine’s Day. The group started by going on a stamp scavenger hunt in the main exhibit room. They found stamps that had to do with owls, the Olympics, presidents and the Love Stamp series. The group then went to the activity room and searched through bins of stamps to find different denominations to complete a math sheet and stamps of different colors to complete a rainbow of stamps. The group even sent themselves a postcard! The kids were amazed that they had to lick the stamp to get it to stick. Oh, the good old days! The group’s next trip will be Tuesday, April 11 to Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary. This trip has been rescheduled due to the Kids Cooking Green Class. Please feel free to contact me at joanne@peirceedp.com with questions or concerns about your child or the Barracuda Program.
SHARK TALES from Rachel Bastarache, Sharks Coordinator
It’s hard to believe that we are already two months into 2017! I guess the saying “time flies when you are having fun” is the truth. February might have been short but we packed in a lot of fun. Our new Shark, Ms Laurie D has made quite a splash! Besides working hard to make sure she introduces herself to everyone and learn many names, she has made sure all the sharks know she is a wave of fun. From painting projects, sing-alongs and jumping into a game of Scramble, it has been a wonderful transition.
Swimming into the long month of March, we have plenty of exciting things coming our way… Musical Mondays, projects, group games and plenty of outside time. How’s the homework going? Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
It’s been great checking in with many of you during our parent conferences. Keep a look out for some special activities between our big fish and little fish! You can email me any time at rachel@peirceedp.com
REQUESTS AND REMINDERS FOR ALL PARENTS…
* The Early Birds program ($10 per day) and extra hours ($12 per hour) are available to all families when needed. Just ask!
* Please remember that you must notify PEDP whenever your child will not be attending for the day. You may do this in person, by phone (617-332-5881), in writing, or via e-mail: kids@peirceedp.com There is a calling fee of $25 if the staff need to make phone calls to find out where your child is at attendance time.
* Want to know when all the upcoming events are for the year?! Check out our PEDP “Calendar-at-Glance” on our website! www.peirceedp.com
Thanks for reading!
Kathy
