Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with family or friends! I love all the tradition surrounding this holiday. Thanks to all of you who supported the Program by attending our Wine Tasting event and/or sending your children to the Kids Night In event!
Back at school now, we are gearing up for a month filled with activity…
CURRICULUM
Our theme this month will be Around the World.
EARLY RELEASE DAY
Our annual Holiday Craft Fair will take place on Tuesday, December 6th and Thursday, December 8th, both early release dates. That’s NEXT WEEK! The fair will be held in the Greenhouse and Clubhouse (otherwise known as the cafes), auditorium and gym. It goes from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. (At 4:00, all items left will be moved to the Greenhouse—the room just inside Door #4 and the rest of the rooms will be freed up for a normal activity for the kids.) We have all sorts of crafts, jewelry, pet gifts, holiday decorations, and edibles! The picture above shows just a few of the many items you’ll find at the fair! If your children attend on either or both of these days, please help them to remember their shopping money! For those families whose children do NOT attend on Tuesday or early release Thursday afternoons, we hope that you will arrange for your children to be able to attend the fair. Ask any PEDP child and they’ll tell you it’s one of their favorite days of the year. We have a goal of raising $3000 this year. We will be creating care packages to donate to those undergoing cancer treatment at Tufts Medical Center. Our plan is to involve the children in helping to assemble these packages as well as decorate and create cards for the gifts. Please help us reach our goal by supporting our Holiday Craft Fair!
FIELD TRIPS
Adventurers Group: Tuesday, December 20 – Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston
Explorers Group: Tuesday, December 13 – Einstein’s Workshop in Burlington
CLASSES
2-3 Grade: Registration for Kids Cooking Green for the Barracudas will open after the holidays. This class will be held on Tuesday afternoons . Please note that registration for this class must be done online through Kids Cooking Green. We will be sending the info and link to sign up after the holiday break.
The Ski/Snowboard program will begin on Tuesday, January 3rd.
MUSICAL AUDITIONS
Auditions for this year’s musical “Best of Broadway” will be held on Monday, December 12th in the auditorium. Children in grades 2-5 are invited to audition for a role in this year’s production. Rehearsals will be held on Mondays from January to April. We’re looking for a cast of many enthusiastic actors, singers, and stage crew!!! Please be sure to send in the permission slip for auditions if your child is interested.
MINNOWS MESSAGE from Kim Ryan, Minnows Coordinator
Early Minnows
The Early Minnows have been busy little fish creating wonderful items for the upcoming craft fair from magnets to jewelry and coasters to ornaments and much more. This is such an exciting time for all the kids as we get ready for the fair.
Late Minnows
Tuesday clubs have ended and what a great time all the minnows had. Miss Emily’s cooking club made adorable turkeys and mini pumpkin cheesecakes. Miss Laurie’s club made amazing oceans in an egg carton. Miss Kathy’s crafting club worked hard to complete dog bones, ornaments and pencil cups for the fair, and my club learned a few new board games! Starting in December, the Minnows and Sharks will begin their Big Fish/Little Fish partnership where we meet to do joint activities or give fun surprises. This is a great way to form relationships with the older kids and gives the Sharks an opportunity to mentor the younger ones. We plan on continuing this throughout the year.
Those Minnows that are on the homework list have been so great at getting their work done early in the day so they have time for all the fun activities we offer. If you would like your child added to the HW list, please let me know. You can reach me at kim@peirceedp.com
BARRACUDA BUZZ from Joanne Malouf, Barracudas Coordinator
November flew right by, maybe because the Barracudas were so busy. The Monday kids have been doing clubs. Chris’s group has been busy writing creatively. Kids in Nancy’s club and my club have been creating items to sell at the Craft Fair. You can never have too much stuff! Rachel’s club has been learning to play the ukulele. The two craft fair clubs were treated to a mini concert last week. This week is the final of clubs and the Ukulele club will give a short performance for the Barracudas and Sharks at the end of the day. This month all projects have been for the upcoming craft fair. It’s been great seeing so many kids help create crafts for this fun event. Please let me know if your child should be working on homework while at PEDP. There is always time after snack for this.
Explorers Trip Program – The group had a ton of fun jumping on the trampolines at Launch in Watertown. The weather cooperated so we were able to head over to the Charles River, just off of Moody Street, in Waltham for snack outside. 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
The Sharks have been very busy crafting for the fair. They all seem very excited in anticipation of where they will be working this year. It’s always great to see the older kids helping and working together with the younger ones.
The 5th grade did it again! They won the “Sharks Superbowl” by only ONE point with a score of 67 to 66! It was perfect weather for a great game. Following the game, the hungry Sharks gathered together and shared a Thanksgiving meal. They all shared what they were thankful for which was really sweet to hear.
Swimming our way into the month of December, the Sharks will be doing clubs on Fridays. We have Ms. Kathy doing a Fiber Arts club, Mr. Sean doing a “minute to win it” Club and Ms. Rachel doing the edible building club. Sounds like fun for all.
Switching gears for a moment, homework stills seems to be an area where many Sharks stumble getting it done. It was brought to my attention that some kids haven’t been completely honest when telling us their work is done. I have addressed this with my staff. From this point forward we will be trying our best to check and make sure that all homework is actually finished. Please let me know if there are ever any questions or concerns. You can email me any time at rachel@peirceedp.com
REQUESTS AND REMINDERS FOR ALL PARENTS…
* When picking your child up from outside, please be sure to VERBALLY check out with the child’s teacher.
* 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.
* Let’s play it safe! Please DO NOT PARK IN THE DRIVEWAY to drop off or pick up your children. Nellie, our horse, is being rebuilt but there is a cart in the driveway in her place for now.
* 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
PROGRAM CLOSURES
December 26th through Monday, January 2nd. Please note that December 23rd is a normal day.
Wishing you peace this holiday season,
Kathy
