From Kathy’s desk…
Our visit from meteorologist, Mark Rosenthal, was fascinating! What great timing too, as he shared with us some of the forecasting challenges for the upcoming Nor’easter storm!
Did the kids tell you about our Mardi Gras event a few weeks ago? That was a fun time!
Lest we not forget… Escuela Fermín Delgado is now on day #176 without power.
CURRICULUM
Our theme this month will be Pioneer Days.
EARLY RELEASE THURSDAY
A reminder that Thursday, March 8th is a 12:30 PM release day. Did you know that day is National Popcorn Lover’s Day? Yep, and we are going to celebrate it with games, crafts and a snack all inspired by popcorn!
FIELD TRIPS
Adventurers/Explorers Programs: Both groups are heading to John Smith Sports Center on March 6th. JSSC has huge indoor athletic fields with all sorts of equipment for the kids to use. They also have a fun play structure—to me, it looks like a gerbil maze for kids!
Early Release March 8th Sharks: The Sharks will be going on a field trip to Launch Trampoline Park.
CLASSES
Come join the circus! We are really excited to offer a new program this year! Simple Circus will be coming to PEDP to teach an 8-week course in circus skills to all ages. Think handstands, stilt-walking, juggling, hula hooping and other fun tricks. The classes will be held on Wednesdays starting March 21. Information has been emailed to parents and enrollment is done online.
Our final class of the year will be “Coding” by the Hatch Company. This 7-week class will be open to Barracudas and Sharks and will be held on Thursday afternoons starting April 27th. Information about signing up will be sent out at a future date.
MUSICAL
Rehearsals are well underway. Some reminders:
- Children should be practicing their lines/songs several times a week.
- Please use the recordings that were e-mailed out to you. They are a great practice tool!
PUERTO RICO SUPPORT CONTINUES
Our pen pal program is off and running! We have 35 interested children in PEDP that will be matched up with one of our friends in Puerto Rico. We’re excited for both groups of children to learn more about each other.
Stay tuned…I am planning a day this month where we are going to UNPLUG! No lights, no computers, no electricity of any kind. I think doing this for one day will be a powerful (pun intended!) way for us all to appreciate what those children in Puerto Rico have been going through for months now.
SPRING VACATION WEEK
We operated a very successful Winter Vacation Week and plan to offer a Spring Vacation Week program, too. Enrollment forms will go out soon for this fun week of activities. We are running a full day (8:00 AM to 6:00 PM) program April 17-20.
ENROLLMENT IN PEDP FOR 2018-2019
Applications for the Program for 2018-19 have been sent to all current families. The deadline for turning these in is March 16th. Please observe this deadline if you are able. It really helps us with the budgeting and staffing process. We did have a waitlist this year and we were not able to get most families off it.
MINNOWS MESSAGE from Kim Ryan, Minnows Coordinator
Early Minnows
The Early Minnows were very interested in our weather theme this month! They learned about storms and weather patterns and made fun projects like Emilio the storm cloud, sun masks and umbrellas with rain beads. As the weather (hopefully) begins to get warmer, the Early Minnows will be spending more time outside and some of our theme projects can be done outside! Our theme for April will be taking us back to the 1700’s and 1800’s as we learn about Pioneer Days!
Late Minnows
The Late Minnows have also been able to participate in some pretty exciting weather projects this month! From cloud lamps to weather stations to storms in a jar and more! It was a fun theme full of interesting weather facts and information ending with a visit by meteorologist, Mark Rosenthal!
Miss Deb has continued with our “Minnow-of-the-Week”. These are hung in the PEDP hallway, showcasing a first grader each week. Make sure to check them out!
March 8th, the early release, is also Popcorn Lover’s Day! So, of course, the Minnows and Barracudas will be celebrating with popcorn themed crafts, games and popcorn eating! Did you know popcorn’s first “pop” did not appear until the 1820s when it was sold under the names “Pearl” or “Nonpareil”?
Contact me anytime at kim@peirceedp.com with questions or concerns about your child or the Minnow Program.
BARRACUDA BUZZ from Joanne Malouf, Barracudas Coordinator
Well, February flew right by! We had science projects, weather projects, and even enjoyed the great weather outside. The Wednesday Barracudas had a great discussion about “What a friend says and does”. Check out our chart hanging in the Greenhouse. Stopping an activity and cleaning up when a teacher asks is something we are working on with all the kids. The Thursday Barracudas practiced this task and shared their observations about how the group did completing the task. The kids are very observant and the group had another great discussion about the importance of following directions. Now we’ll see if they remember what we practiced! We’re looking forward to a busy March as the Explorers trips return.
Contact me anytime at joanne@peirceedp.com with questions or concerns about your child or the Barracuda Program.
SHARK TALES from Rachel Bastarache, Sharks Coordinator
February might have been a short month but the Sharks sure packed in a lot of fun. During our weather theme, we did science projects creating clouds in a jar, learned about lighting and even made it rain. We tracked our weather on a chart in the Clubhouse–each child got to draw a descriptive picture of the weather for each day. The Sharks enjoyed art projects like making rainbows with raindrops, “It’s raining cats and dogs” photo art and sun catchers. Swimming into March, we have a St. Patrick’s special event on the 14th. The “luck of the Sharks” will be put to the test!
I’m excited to see what the Sharks will be learning while we explore the Pioneer days for this month’s theme. We have some cooking, art projects, and group games planned around the monthly theme. Keep a lookout for great projects and goodies coming home.
Looks like we have another exciting month ahead of us!
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. You can email me any time at rachel@peirceedp.com
REQUESTS AND REMINDERS FOR ALL PARENTS…
- When school is canceled due to inclement weather, PEDP is also canceled.
- When Newton Public Schools declares a one- or two-hour delay, the Early Birds Program will not run on that day.
- For our children’s safety, please remember there is NO PARKING in the Peirce driveway at any time.
NO SCHOOL OR PEDP
Friday, March 30th – Good Friday
Get your umbrella (snow shovel?) ready!
Kathy
