From Kathy’s Desk…
BRRRR! It’s a cold one today! Fortunately, we haven’t had a day like this yet for our Ski/Snowboard program. The kids sure are having fun at Nashoba Valley and I am seeing a lot of improvement in their skills on the slopes!
Make sure to save the date and book your sitter for Friday, March 15th! That evening will mark our first ever TRIVIA NIGHT! There will be several rounds of trivia questions, a silent auction, delicious dinner, prizes, and more! Trust me, you will not want to miss it! Invite to come soon!
CURRICULUM
Our theme for January is CATS. Miss Deb and Miss Laurie P are spearheading this month’s theme and have teased us with Famous Cats (the Cheshire Cat, Felix the Cat, The Pink Panther), cat idioms (“you are the cat’s meow”), and the “Litter-ary Feline (the Cat in the Hat, Puss in Boots).
In keeping with the theme of the month, we invite PEDP families to bring in pictures of your cats, past and present. We will display them on the PEDP bulletin board that can be found upstairs across from the auditorium. If you would like to share a picture (one per family), write your family’s name and the name of your pet on the back. All pictures will be returned to you at the end of the month. Please bring in all photos by Friday, February 8th.
ENROLLMENT IN PEDP FOR 2019-2020
It’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year but it is! Applications for the Program for
2019-2020 will be available to all current PEDP families on February 25th. This year we are very excited to share that you will be completing your forms ONLINE. You talked. We listened. Parents have been wanting less paperwork. Parents have also been asking to pay by credit card. We have been working hard to address both of these issues.As we approach our launch date, we’ll be sending you more information about how to access the application.
We will be holding an informational session about the Program for incoming Kindergarten families and any other families who are not currently in PEDP but might wish to learn more about us. This presentation will be on Wednesday, February 13that 5:30 PM and will consist of a short PowerPoint and Q&A. Please help us spread the word to any families who might want to enroll!
FIELD TRIPS
On Early Release Wednesday, February 6th, the Sharks will be visiting the Ecotarium in Worcester. This three-story museum offers hand-on, interactive exhibits that explore nature and the physical sciences. Permission slips and trip information have gone out via email and need to be returned ASAP. The cost for the trip is $25/student which covers the bus and entrance into the museum.
The Adventurers will be heading to the Weston Ski Track on February 26th. Let’s hope for a little snow over the February break!
CLASSES
The Ski/Snowboard program has two more classes: February 8th and 12th.
MUSICAL
Rehearsals for “Seussical” will continue each Monday in February from 3:30 to 5. Our young actors and actresses have been very enthusiastic about this fast-paced musical and can often be heard singing the songs in the hallway. For those PEDP families that have students in the musical, please encourage them to continue to practice their lines and music and to bring their script with them every Monday. We will start practicing without scripts towards the end of the month.
PARENT CONFERENCES
We have completed about half of the teacher-parent conferences. These meetings are a great way for us to share information about your child and for you to get a glimpse of what and how your child is doing while at PEDP. If you have not signed up, there are still plenty of openings. Refer to the Sign-Up Genius e-mail sent in early January. We look forward to meeting with you.
VACATION WEEK PROGRAMMING
PEDP staff are busy planning for a fun-filled February break! We offer a full day program February 19-22. Please sign up promptly if you think you will be using this service. We will be confirming trip reservations and staffing as soon as we have a final student count.
MINNOWS MESSAGE (Gr. K-1) from Kim Ryan, Minnows Coordinator
Early Minnows
Prehistoric times was a great learning experience for the Early Minnows. We talked about all the different types of dinosaurs and all the Kindergarteners know what it means for a dinosaur to be a carnivore, herbivore or omnivore! We also learned that Stegosauruses were able to move their plates on their backs to intimidate predators! We even went a little “old school” and watched a clip of The Flintstones!
Late Minnows
The Late Minnows certainly were busy during this month! Projects with Miss Laurie P, games with Miss Deb, gym with Miss Laurie F, drama with Miss Courtney, and Science with Miss Kim are just some of the activities that kept the Minnows engaged and involved!
On our early release Wednesday, February 6th, the Minnows will be joining the Barracudas for a cat-themed special event! Cat games, cat crafts, cat treats, cat ears will all be part of our purr-fectly fun event!
Coming up in March, the Minnows will take a field trip to The Boston Children’s Museum. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon!
You can always reach me at kim@peirceedp.com
BARRACUDA BUZZ (Gr. 2-3) from Joanne Malouf, Barracudas Coordinator
January sure has flown by! The Barracudas did several Prehistoric Times crafts with Miss Carol and Mr. Dylan. Miss Carol made dinosaur cookies and Mr. Dylan made caveman smoothies. My activity for January was cooking and the kids made pizza three ways. Who knew you could make a pizza on top of a Ritz cracker!
The Barracudas spent time throughout the month discussing friendship. Everyone described what it was like to be a good friend and how they felt when others were not being good friends to them. Miss Carol read a book about friendship and there were a lot of great conversations among the group. This is a theme we will continue to discuss throughout the rest of the year.
You can always reach me at joanne@peirceedp.com
SHARK TALES (Gr. 4-5) from Rachel Bastarache, Sharks Coordinator
The Sharks had a wonderful start to 2019, and it felt like January just flew! Our Shark teachers offered many creative activities in keeping with our Prehistoric Times theme. We spent time talking about what it would have been like to be a cave person. With Mr. Sean, they took pictures of themselves and added features like a lot more hair and different types of clothing worn. Also with Mr. Sean’s help, the doorway to Miss Kathy’s office was transformed into the mouth of a dinosaur. Careful as you pass through – from the looks of it, it’s a carnivore! Mr. Pablo and the students in his projects created life-size creatures out of boxes. Students crafted Saber Tooth tigers, a Woolly Mammoth, and a few dinosaurs too!
This month we played our first “lights out” tag in the DARK!!! Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun—even the teachers played. We will be playing a few more times through out the next few months before day light saving catches up with us.
On February 28th, the Sharks will be celebrating the Chinese New Year. We will learn about different traditions and what it means to be in the year of the Pig.We kicked off parent conferences with great momentum. They have all been a great way to check in and connect with so many of you.
Feel free to e-mail me anytime at Rachel@peirceedp.com
REQUESTS AND REMINDERS FOR ALL PARENTS…
- Fill out our quick survey on Program hours if you have not already done so!
- Sign up for a conference if you have not already done so!
- 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.
NO SCHOOL OR PEDP
FEB. 18 – NO SCHOOL
FEB. 19-22 – WINTER VACATION (PEDP WILL OFFER VACATION PROGRAM)
Stay warm!
Kathy
p.s. A big thank you to Miss Laurie D for doing the writing and layout of much of this newsletter!
