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NOTE: CALENDAR CHANGE
The August newsletter had the Back to School night on the calendar for Tuesday, September 7th, but the actual date for Back to School Night is Monday, September 13th. Please make a note of this change.
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
Wednesday, 9/1 School Opens, Workday and Contract Deposits Due
Monday, 9/6 Labor Day, School Closed
Monday, 9/13 Back to School Night for All Classes, 7:00-9:00pm, ADULTS ONLY
Tuesday, 9/21 Picnic in the Park for Families & Staff, 6:00-7:30pm
Tuesday, 9/28 Board Meeting, 7:30-9:30pm
Friday, 9/24 October tuition due
OCTOBER
Saturday & Sunday, 10/2 & 10/3 Los Altos Fall Festival, WorkDay Opportunity
Wednesday, 10/20 School Pictures (Individual and group room photo), 9:00am-1:00pm
ROOM 6 UPDATE
Welcome to Room 6! We are looking forward to getting to know you and your child! The children have been visiting the room to help make the transition easier. We will be helping children settle into their new classroom. We sing name songs and take pictures to put in their cubbies so children can make new friends. Please label all items that come from home. We would appreciate extra clothes and diapers be kept in the cubbies. Please talk to a teacher if you have questions or concerns and of course let us know if your child has any food allergies.
In the beginning of our school year we spend time on helping children get to know each other. We also spend time getting to know the personality and temperament of each child so we can help them be comfortable and successful in school.
We hope you come to our Back to School Night where you can really get to know the teachers and spend time in your child’s classroom. It’s a wonderful opportunity to ask specific questions and to get more information on how your child spends their time at school. We hope to see you there.
We look forward to an exciting year watching your child explore, learn, and laugh. Welcome!
- - - Laura, Irina, and Jeff - - -
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS VOLUNTEER???
Children’s Corner is looking for assistance with marketing and communications activities. If you have experience in these areas, please contact Claire Ledwith at 650-962-1582 or Gini Brown at 650-948-8950.
ROOM C UPDATE
Welcome to Room C. We are excited to get to know you and your child(ren). Although the children from Room 6 have been visiting Room C, sometimes transitions are still tough. We will do our best to help your child have a smooth beginning in Room C. The transition can also be tough for parents. In the morning time block, Room 6 had 15 children, while Room C has 24 children. This can be overwhelming at pick-up time. In order to help this transition, we ask that parents pick their children up through the door closest to the sand yard. We will have the children put their things on the tables closest to that door, thus avoiding the need to visit the crowded cubby area. If you want to visit with other families at transition times, we ask that you use the picnic table area outside the office or visit the Train Park.
If there is any information you would like us to know about your child, please feel free to talk to a teacher. We want both your and your child’s experience at school to be a positive one.
We are all looking forward to a year filled with fun, play, exploration, learning, and friendships.
- - - Ada, Iris, Lynn, and Chris - - -
WANTED: FRESH FRUITS
If anyone has fruit trees, the teachers love to get fresh fruit to give to the children at snack time. We will take any fruits from apricots to lemons. Please talk to your child’s teacher.
ROOM 5 UPDATE
Dear Parents: Hello and welcome to Room 5. We are looking forward to a great year working with your child.
We have an appropriate curriculum for toddlers that centers around self care activities (such as eating, toileting, and dressing), learning to cope with separation, making new attachments with children and adults, and free play in a safe and interesting environment.
During the month of September we will be focusing on helping the children learn to cope with separation. Children need time to become comfortable in new surroundings. Daily separation may be difficult but it can also be valuable for children. It can help children establish trust, and give them opportunities to build significant connections with other caring adults.
We hope to see you during Back to School Night to learn more about our program and to feel free to communicate with us if you have questions, comments, or concerns regarding our program.
Sincerely, Room 5 Staff
NO SILENT AUCTION THIS FALL
Although there was a strong effort towards a silent auction fundraiser this fall, we did not get enough help to realize it, so we are putting the idea on hold. We appreciate the volunteer time to start looking into it and any donations we received for it. We are contacting donors and will try to use the donations to raise funds in other ways.
DIRECTOR'S CORNER
As always, in September I want to welcome all of our new and returning students and families. In November, I will have been at Children’s Corner for 25 years! As I get older, the years seem to fly by! It is hard to believe that in September we will be starting again with new two year olds, more younger siblings, and new friends - what fun for us! The teachers have been busy finishing the summer programs and planning for the fall in anticipation of new students.
This year we will be doing something new. Instead of our traditional New parent Orientation, we are having a Back to School Night on Monday, September 13 from 7-9pm for all parents. This will be an opportunity for parents to see their child’s classroom and meet their teachers. Teachers will be providing an overview of the year’s curriculum, letting parents know their child’s primary teacher and answering questions. We hope that all families will be represented. Please remember this night is for adults only.
Each September, I feel it is important to utilize our newsletter to share information and to review some of our policies and procedures. When families first come visit, parents receive information about our program, philosophy, curriculum, and policies. Initially, parents often feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they receive and feel that they will never remember everything. Usually after about a month or two, families are feeling comfortable with the new routines. However, over the years we have discovered that no matter how hard we try to communicate with families, some still miss information. We share information in several ways at Children’s Corner. A monthly newsletter is mailed to all of our families. (If you move, please be sure to change your address in the office as this newsletter is mailed bulk rate and is not forwarded.) We also post signs on the bulletin boards and portable easel in front of the office, and on the gate leading to the classrooms. In addition, teachers post notices in the classrooms by the sign-in sheets and put flyers in the children’s cubbies. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask! Ask the teachers, the directors, the office staff, and other parents! We want to be sure that everyone understands Children’s Corner’s program and feels a part of it. Keeping the lines of communication open is critical if we are to provide the best care for children while also trying to meet the needs of our families and teaching staff. If you have any suggestions, we also have a suggestion box in the office for your use.
We all agree that the safety of our children is the fundamental concern of both parents and teachers. If you, the parents, or “alternative care provider” (nanny, relative, etc.) are on the premises of Children’s Corner, you are responsible for your children and any children accompanying you. “Premises” is defined as classrooms and playgrounds of Children’s Corner or any other designated site for a scheduled event (i.e. multipurpose room, etc.). We ask that you please keep all of your children with you while at Children’s Corner. Our reasoning is that when the parent is present, the child assumes the parent is in charge, and this philosophy makes staff members hesitant to intrude when parent and child are together. We will, of course, intervene if we observe an unsafe situation. We ask that you not allow children to climb on our gate and fences or open the gates. It is dangerous for your children, and the added wear on the gate is a continual maintenance problem. We tell children that only teachers and parents open gates to insure that gates are securely closed and do not remain open, allowing other children to enter or leave the play yards. We would greatly appreciate your attention in this area. As many of you know, transition times can be difficult when we have children arriving and departing. We want our families to feel welcome at Children’s Corner and we also want all children to benefit from their scheduled time at school. If you want to visit with other families at transition times, we ask that you use the picnic table area outside the office or the Train Park. This allows teachers to focus on the children in their group and for all children to enjoy their preschool experience.
Another safety precaution is keeping your children’s files current. Please remember to inform the office of changes in addresses, home and work numbers, and children’s allergies. Often parents remember to fill out information about allergies on the initial forms, but neglect to inform us about additions or deletions. In case there is an emergency, we want our information about your child to be as current as possible.
One of the most important aspects of caring for young children is the continuity between home and school. Let teachers know when things change at home or if your child is having difficulties at home or school. We want to work with you to make sure that we do our best to meet your child’s needs at school. We want to be sure that he/she has a positive experience at Children’s Corner.
Due to the developmental needs of the younger children, we will continue to have 3 teachers with 12 children in Room 5 (a 1:4 ratio). Hopefully this increases the opportunity for regular feedback for parents. We will not be doing formal parent-teacher conferences for this age group. However, as always we will be available to discuss any concerns concerns on the part of either the teachers or parents and will set up conferences on request. We will continue to have 3 teachers and 15 children (a 1:5 ratio) in Room 6 and Room C will remain the same with 3 teachers and up to 24 children (a 1:8 ratio at the maximum). This year we will also continue our Young Fives Program at the Clark Avenue Location where we will have a five morning program. In the spring, for Rooms 6, C and the Young Fives students, teachers will offer the opportunity for parents to sign up for conferences on sign-up sheets in the child’s classroom. Parents and/or teachers may also request a conference at any time and we will do our best to schedule a convenient appointment. We hope that this year all parents will take advantage of this opportunity. When teachers are in the classrooms, their primary responsibility is to the children in their charge so please do not get into lengthy conversations with them in the classroom. Our teachers are always willing to give you a call or set up an appointment at a convenient time for both of you and this allows our teachers to give both you and the children their undivided attention.
As most of you know, Children’s Corner has been accredited by the (NAEYC) National Association for the Education of Young Children (and is currently in the process of becoming reaccredited). We are currently awaiting our validation visit but unfortunately NAEYC is running about 18 months behind schedule. As part of this accreditation program, we ask parents to complete an annual parent survey questionnaire that evaluates our program. Surveys are one opportunity for parents to give us feedback. In addition, the entire staff hopes that all of our families will feel that they may ask any questions, share any concerns, make suggestions, and yes, even voice any complaints to us. Remember, we also have the suggestion box in the front office. If you want to make any suggestions in writing, please feel free to drop something off in this box. Signed comments and questions will be addressed individually, and questions and concerns of general interest will be addressed in our monthly newsletter. As a staff, we are continually evaluating our program and view our parents as partners in our efforts to bring the best pre-school experience to each child in our care. Please consider this an open invitation to talk with any of us. My hope is that questions and/or concerns will first be directed to your child’s teacher. If for any reason this is not possible, in addition to myself, Chris Losch as our Program Director, is responsible for staffing and curriculum. We work closely together and one of us tries to be available at all times. In September, I will be with the Young Fives at the Clark Avenue location every morning and will be at Hillview most afternoons. However, when I am off site, the office is always informed of my schedule and may contact me as necessary. We also always respond to any messages left for us if we are not immediately accessible. We want to keep the lines of communication open in order to provide a positive pre-school experience for you and your child. Know that we appreciate your support. Our partnership will greatly strengthen our school community.
Our goal at Children’s Corner is to design an environment that provides outstanding nurturing and the opportunity for all children to reach their fullest potential. We want to help all children respect others, develop their social skills and creativity, develop their language and self-help skills while promoting their cognitive development in a play filled environment. I also hope that through our member activities, workdays, and participation with your children at school, our Children’s Corner community will grow and provide opportunities for families to be together and enjoy each other’s company. I am looking forward to another wonderful year.
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