Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends and were able to relax just a bit after such a busy December!
Thank you to everyone who came out to support “Legends”, the K/1 Review. It was fantastic! Thanks to Miss Kim, Miss Deb, Miss Courtney, Miss Laurie F and Miss Laurie P for putting together a great show! Miss Rachel posted a little photo recap of the event which can be viewed on the door near the dismissal area.
Thank you also to everyone—nearly our whole program!—who attended or supported our annual Craft Fair! It was a great success and we raised just over $3000! After deducting expenses for putting on the fair, we gave a $2500 donation to the Service Dog Project. Sizzle and Bentley visited us just a couple days before the break to accept the donation and educate us about their work. The kids had a lot of terrific questions!
CURRICULUM
Our theme for January is Prehistoric Times.
FIELD TRIPS
There are no field trips planned for this month.
CLASSES
The Ski/Snowboard program is scheduled to start on Tuesday, January 8th.
MUSICAL
Rehearsals for “Seussical” begin Monday, January 7th. Miss Rachel will be directing the production this year with assistance from Mr. Pablo, Miss Laurie D, and Miss Carol. We’re looking forward to getting started with it!
PARENT CONFERENCES
This month, we will begin scheduling conferences with all interested parents. We are required by our licensing agency to do an annual progress report for each child and we like to go over these with you in person. We’ll be sending info out this week about how to sign up for your conference.
VACATION WEEK PROGRAMMING
We will be sending a survey this week to determine whether or not we will be running during the February and/or April vacation weeks. Please let us know promptly if you think you would have need of this service. The decision will be made quickly in order to allow for planning.
MINNOWS MESSAGE from Kim Ryan, Minnows Coordinator
Early Minnows (Kindergarten)
During our theme on communication, the Early Minnows learned that there are many different ways to communicate. They practiced sign language, letter writing, cipher wheels and even learned how to dial a rotary phone! They were certainly interested in the last one! Coming up next is our Prehistoric Times theme. Reminders: Please make sure your child is coming to school and PEDP with hats and gloves. Many Early Minnows have not had these lately and haven’t been able to join the group outside.
Late Minnows (Grades K&1)
The Tuesday Minnows brought down the house with their K/1 Review performance of “Legends”, singing songs from Queen, The Beatles, The Supremes, Michael Jackson, Elvis and USA for Africa. I cannot even begin to tell you how proud we all are of our Minnow stars! A big thanks for all the children and their families that were not part of the performance but came out to show their support! It did not go unnoticed! While we were busy preparing for the show, we still had a lot of other things going on. Communication projects such as carrier pigeons, fortune tellers and acrostics using the military alphabet were a big part of the month! There was also plenty of drawing, gym, outside and music happening!
When we return in January, our home base will now be in the Treehouse (Art room). Keep in mind that this space is further away than where we were in the clubhouse so it may take our Minnows a little bit longer to get down for pick up.
Parent conferences will also be starting soon, keep an eye out for more information!
You can always reach me at kim@peirceedp.com
BARRACUDA BUZZ from Joanne Malouf, Barracudas Coordinator (Grades 2&3)
December was a busy month for the Barracudas. Our third graders did a great job working at the Craft Fair. They were excited to be able to participate in this way and took their jobs very seriously. Many asked questions in the days before the fair about what was expected of them. The Tuesday group had a ton of fun bowling at Ryan Family Amusements in Millis. The kids are always so excited on this trip, watching where their bowling ball will hit and cheering for the other kids as they knock over pins. It’s a great thing to see! The Seussical audition and a visit from two Great Danes from the Service Dog Project added to the special days in December. We did manage to get in some regular activities, too. Dylan’s science group tried to make elephant toothpaste. They learned that science is often a trial and error activity, as it didn’t quite work, this time. Carol worked on a Barracuda magazine with the kids. They wrote articles and worked on puzzles for the magazine. This is a work in progress and will continue over time. Kids in one of my activities created secret codes as a way to communicate with each other. As we return in January, the Barracudas home base will be the Greenhouse. We’re looking forward to a change of scenery and being closer to all the action the Greenhouse brings.
You can always reach me at joanne@peirceedp.com
SHARK TALES from Rachel Bastarache, Sharks Coordinator (Grades 4&5)
The Sharks are ready to swim into the new year. Last month, we started working on helping each other be better leaders and will continue to give each Shark some helpful tools to grow their skills. Also last month we learned a lot about different ways to communicate: old cave drawings, sign language, and even emoji’s. The Adventurers group had an amazing time Rock Climbing at Rock Spot in Boston. It was great to hear how many can’t wait to go back.
Swimming into this month, we are looking forward to moving into our new home base, the Clubhouse. While talking about our move during our end of day meeting, the Sharks were giving great ideas of how to decorate it. I hope you all will stop by and see what the Sharks have come up with to make it our own.
I’m looking forward to parent conferences that will be coming up soon, keep a look out for more information to come. Feel free to e-mail me anytime 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.
NO SCHOOL OR PEDP
Tuesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day
Monday, January 21 – Martin Luther King Day
Cheers,
Kathy
