Mrs. Newes

The children had a great time on our trip to the Kohl Children's Museum!  The bus riding made it even more fun.  Our preschoolers were very well behaved at the museum and on the bus.  Well done children!

As you know, next Tuesday, May 21st, is our field trip to the Kohl Children's Museum! Please have your child come to school at the normal time. Pick up will be at 12:00. Our Helper of the Day picked our chaperones' names out of a basket...Mrs. Doherty, Mr. Jaeger, and Mrs. Lazzara. Thank you volunteers!

We had fun in Gym today!  After warming up, the children voted to play bumblebee tag!  What fun!


Yesterday, we went for a long walk and played Red Light, Green Light in the school parking lot.  These preschoolers are fast!


Enjoy the rest of the week!  I'll see you Tuesday!

This week, we will continue learning about the letter I and insects.  I hope all our mothers had a wonderful day and enjoyed their special gifts!

The children brought home their grass heads. They sure need a haircut! To practice cutting, your child can trim their hair again and again. What fun! This coming weekend is the 85^th Anniversary Gala!  If you haven’t returned your RSVP, time is running out!  Click here for information, tickets, and links to the auction site!

I shared with the children that I will be out of town Thursday, May 16^th through Monday, May 20^th.  Mrs. JoAnne LaSusu will be subbing for me.  Please talk to your child about his/her school day and what is expected of him/her.  Thank you! :)

We released our butterflies yesterday!  The children were so excited to see them fly off!!



Happy Mother's Day to all our mothers!  The children are looking forward to giving you the special presents they made.


Mrs. Wrzesinski was back today! We were all happy to see our special friend.

Oops!  I forgot to send home the insects books brought from home.  I have them set aside for your child to bring home next week.

I hope you and your family have a lovely weekend!

Today, the children had fun in Gym!  After stretching, the children fluttered like butterflies around the Gym.  We then played insect tag!  The children enjoyed choosing which insects they were!

Later in the morning, we enjoyed some outside time with chalk!

We've been busy bees preparing for Mothers' Day!  I don't want to ruin the surprises we have in store for our room 4 moms!  (Don't worry, we won't forget the dads come June!)

Permission slips for our field trip to Kohl Children's Museum were sent home yesterday (FYI: The date was changed from May 23rd, as seen on the calendar that went home, to May 21st.)  Please return the permision slip and payment by Tuesday, May 14th.  Thank you!

Mrs. Wrezsinski has been out this week due to personal business.  She is not sick, yet we aren't sure when she'll return.  Please keep Mrs. Wrzesinski and her family in your prayers.  Thank you.

This week, Mr. I is visiting our room. He loves insects! We have a few "buggy" projects planned along with learning great poems and songs, sharing fun insect themed stories and estimating bugs! Also, our butterflies are ready to be released! We'll set them free this week!
Your child is welcome to share his/her insect themed books with the class.  Please write his/her name in them and send them in.  Books will be returned Friday.

The children had a fun time visiting the Parish Garden this morning!  A dozen preschoolers are a bit much for this area, but it was great for a short visit.  We will be trying to go there more often throughout these last weeks of school.


We had super healthy snacks today!  I loved seeing all the fruits, vegetables, and yogurt!!


Our first butterfly emerged... after the children left.  Please let your child know.


Enjoy the extra day with your child!  See you on Monday!

The children are enjoying nursery rhymes and fairy tales this week. The children made the "Hickory Dickory Dock" clock, Humpty Dumpty, the Cow Jumping Over The Moon, and a Twinkling Star!



We had a fun time in Gym today! The children rotated through stations using a balance beam, a stepper, hula-hoops, and a brief soccer practice to work those large motor muscles!

 
Yesterday, we finally went on our Spring walk in honor of Earth Day.  The children picked up quite a bit of trash around the school.  (They wore a glove and washed their hands with soap and water when we returned.)


Our take home book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, is going home now.  Every child will get to keep the caterpillar sent home with the bag.  Enjoy!

The children wore their Peace Building Project shirts today.  Please wash and return by next Tuesday.  Thank you!

We had a special celebration today!

Dominic turns five on Friday! 
Happy Birthday Dominic!

Our theme for the coming week is Mother Goose along with alphabet review.  We do not have a new Letter Person coming this week.

This morning we visited St. Juliana Church with Fr. Roger Caplis. Fr. Roger talked to the children about their Baptism and the Holy Water. He showed them different areas of the church, including "behind the scenes."


The caterpillars are changing! All five Painted Lady caterpillars are now in their chrysalis.  We are getting ready to move them from the "nursery" cup to the Butterfly Pavilion, so that we can continue to observe them transition into butterflies. Later, we will set them free outside!  So cool!



Please return your child's April reading log. Thanks!

Did your preschooler tell you about…
-Fonzie, the guinea pig that visited last week?  He is Ms. O’Malley’s classroom pet.  Mr. G loves guinea pigs!
-working through the Earth Day activity on http://www.starfall.com/n/holiday/earthday/play.htm?f?  The children “cleaned up” and sorted recycling to make the forest a better place for the animals.
-Mrs. Wrzesinski being home sick?  We’re thankful she’s back today and feeling much better!  We missed her!  We even postponed our walk last week.  Tomorrow, we will take our Spring walk and pick up trash along the way to help take care of our environment.  (Gloves will be provided.)
-how much our grassheads have already grown?  Check them out!


Save the Date!
The last day of Four Year Old Preschool is Wednesday, June 5th.  Join us for the children's performance and celebration!

Reminder: There is no school this Friday, May 3rd. It's a teacher institute day.

We have a special celebration tomorrow!

Paulina is turning 5!  Happy Birthday Paulina!

The children brainstormed a great “G” list yesterday! They also spread grass seeds to grow "grassheads.”  It will be fun to take care of them and watch them grow!

This morning we enjoyed a game of Duck, Duck, Goose during Gym time. Afterward, we watched a brief video of the story of Creation.  We discussed how God made our world and everything in it, so we should take great care of it.  The children colored a special paper titled, “Praise God!”  Please take a minute to look at and talk about the paper with your preschooler.  The children and I talked about the directions of nicely coloring the paper realistically, and we shared suggestions on how to do that.  This activity was a no talking activity.  (A challenge for a dozen spirited preschoolers!)  After they settled in and began, I was very impressed with how carefully and quietly they worked.  Mrs. Collins, one of our Kindergarten teachers, happened to stop by and was impressed as well.  I am very proud of the children!  We ended our day singing “He’s Got The Whole World.”  The children were marvelous singers!

Our morning did start with a bit of rough play.  Please talk to your child about proper behavior in school and what is expected of him/her.  (If your child was involved, I’ve already let you know.)  Praise for some and gentle reminders for others may be in order. Thank you.

Important Dates:
~Reminder: There is no school next Friday, May 3^rd.  It's a teacher institute day and Preschool/Kindergarten Open House.
~Field Trip to Kohls Children's Museum on Thursday, May 23^rd.  The students, teachers, and a few parent chaperones will be taking a school bus to the museum!
~End of the Year Celebration and Last Day of Four Year Old Preschool on Wednesday, June 5th.

This week kicks off with Earth Day!  The children are learning about recycling their garbage and taking care of the Earth.  Mr. G is visiting this week, and shared his book about Where Does the Garbage Go?.  After also sharing a Religion pamphlet about caring for God's creation, we went outside and enjoyed the sun!  We went to find the recycling bins on the playground.  I explained to the children the importance of recycling paper and how St. Juliana School earns money when the bins are full!  Later this week, we will take a Spring walk and pick up trash along the way to help take care of our environment.  (Gloves will be provided.)  Please help your child pick out a blue and green outfit to wear Friday, April 26th, in honor of Mother Earth.
The children received a new folder today.  Please keep the old folder at home. Thanks!

We enjoyed a relaxing school day this morning.  After a visit to the Library, we estimated keys, shared a couple of K books, and enjoyed the last of the Spring flip-book presentations.  (The children were great presenters throughout the week!  Well done boys and girls!)  After a couple of songs, an early snack and Free Play time, we joined the rest of the school for the beginning of the dress rehearsal performance of our school play, Finian’s Rainbow.  Next thing you knew, it was time to go!

Our letter next week is G. We will learn about caring for our Earth and about growing plants.

Enjoy your weekend!

We visited the Computer Lab this morning. The children used the program, Pixie, to "draw" Spring pictures. They're beautiful! Stop by our room to check them out.


Have you heard? We have five Painted Lady caterpillars in our room! We're looking forward to watching our new pets change before our eyes.  The preschoolers become very excited when they see the caterpillars crawling around!


Stay dry! ;)

This morning we visited the Computer Lab to learn how to use the software program Pixie on the Smartboard.  After that, we headed to the Gym to practice kicking, just like Ms. K!  (I'm sorry it is so dark.  The windows are covered over for the play.)

Free Play and Center Fun!

We had a great day today!  Ms. K came to our room with her KABOOM Kick! So far, we have shared her story and song, made a Ms. K puppet, and went on a K hunt.

After fiction and nonfiction Spring stories (We touch on book concepts thoughout the year: fiction, nonfiction, author, illustrator, etc.), we headed outside for a Spring Walk. The children saw many signs of Spring! Ask your child what he/she liked best. Was it the different types of buds on the trees and bushes, the flowers, the green grass, the insects, the rabbit, the birds, etc?! After a picture in front of Mrs. Wrzsinski’s house, we returned to our classroom for snack and Free Play.  Tomorrow, we will record our observations. The children will make a "Signs of Spring" flipbook. They will "present" their books to the class.. If possible, please practice saying, "The signs of Spring I drew are...," and discuss with your child what he/she will draw.  Every child will draw pictures of three of their observations.

Reminder: Please send in a 4x6 picture of your preschooler with mom. These will be fitted into a 3x5 frame. Please return by Wednesday, April 17^th.  Thank you!

Thursday April 18^th:
Preschool and Kindergarten Open House beginning at 8:30.
Tots and Co.:  9:30am -Everyone is welcome! Extended care room...
Spring Picture Order and/or proofs due.