Newsletter,
2008
Montessori Starters |
Ladybirds/ Busy Bees |
Hungry Caterpillars |
Term 1 |
||
General News
A note about Birthday Celebrations
Ladybirds/Busy Bees - Term 1, 2008
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to a whole new year and term. We
hope that you had a refreshing break and that the children are all geared up
for the new year ahead.
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Jonathan Francis and Adrien Fort who
are joining us this term. We also
welcome Joanna Dinnis, Austin Fuad, Duncan Hauber, Ryan Lim, Claire Tan, Madison
Tong, Himari Wong and Ashley Yee who are moving from the Starters class.
Ms. Jasmine will be moving to the Hungry Caterpillars
to help Ms. Ek Kian and her team., and we welcome Ms. Sherene as the new Montessori
teacher in the Ladybirds and Busy Bees class. We look forward to tapping into her expertise and experience, and
she will work closely with Ms. Tracey and Zhang Lao Shi to provide a stimulating
environment for the children to learn and grow.
What’s happening in term 1?
This term, we will be exploring two new themes,
USA and the human anatomy. The children will be introduced to the American culture
and some of its famous landmarks. In addition, they will also be learning more about parts of their
bodies and the functions.
Volunteers:
If you are able to volunteer your time to help us out with class activities,
please let us know. Reminders
and requests will be sent out closer to the date.
Some reminders:
Wednesday is fruit and vegetable day. Please make sure you pack only fruits and/or
vegetables as snacks for your child.
Please ensure that your child wears his/her
school t-shirt every Friday and during school outings.
Kindermusik classes remain unchanged, and are
scheduled every Friday.
A gentle reminder of our library routine – Children
check out new books every Thursday, and return them the following Tuesday.
Children go to the park almost everyday for
outdoor play, and are therefore required to bring mosquito repellents and caps
to school everyday. We do not allow children without caps to play at the park
as it can be very sunny and hot.
Please label all your child’s belongings. Folders should be sent in every day along with
the blue communication book.
Please inform the bus driver should you decide
to change your transport arrangement for your child. We will appreciate if you can also indicate the change in the blue
communication book so that the teachers are aware of the new arrangement.
Health and Medical Issues: Please keep your child at home if:
1. She/he has a running nose.
2. She/he has a constant cough.
3. She/he has symptoms of a possible communicable
disease such as chicken pox, conjunctivitis or hand-foot-and-mouth disease.
The teachers should be notified immediately, and the siblings are to be kept
at home until the incubation period is over.
Please produce a doctor’s certificate clearing your child of any infectious disease before sending him/her back to school. We appreciate your help to keep the school clean and safe for our children.
Indoor Shoes:
Children need to bring in a pair of indoor shoes
to be kept in the school. The shoes
should be rubber-soled, safe and non-slippery. Please remember to bring them
home at the end of every term for it to be cleaned.
We look forward to another fun and fruitful term ahead with the Ladybirds and Busy Bees.
Best regards,
Miss Tracey, Miss Sherene & Zhang Lao
Shi
Hungry
Caterpillars - Term 1, 2008
Dear Hungry Caterpillars,
WELCOME to an exciting year ahead!
We extend a warm welcome to the new ‘caterpillars’,
James, Janine, Jasmine, Kiana, Kota, Luc, Milan, Miyuku, Noah and Yasmin who
have moved from the Ladybirds and Busybees.
In addition, Ms. Jasmine will also leave the
Ladybirds and Busybees to join Ms. Ms Ek Kian, Ms Rajni, Ms Mui Keng and Liu
Laoshi at the Hungry Caterpillars. They look forward to creating a stimulating and fun learning environment
for the children in this upcoming year.
Looking Ahead
Theme:
We will be learning about the Untied States of America and the Human
Anatomy. We welcome
your participation to share any materials on USA and the human body with your
friends and teachers. Please contact
the teachers-in-charge for more information.
Thursday January 3rd: Back to school
Thursday January 17th: Amazing Race in Chinatown (details to be confirmed)
Tuesday February 5th: CNY Celebration
Wednesday to Friday February 6th to 8th: NO CLASSES, CNY Holidays
February 27th: Outing (to be confirmed)
GENTLE REMINDERS
1. Circle time starts at 8:45am. Please be punctual.
2. Every Wednesday is Fruit & Vegetables Day. Please encourage your child to cultivate the
healthy habit of eating fruits and vegetables by packing only fruits and vegetables
on Wednesdays. You are also welcome to pack more for your child to share with
his/her friends.
3. For easy administration, we will appreciate
if you can ensure that all library books and readers (where applicable)
are returned promptly on Mondays, or Tuesday if same Monday is a Holiday.
4. Library takes place every Wednesday. Please
note that books must be returned
before another set of books is issued to your child.
5. SPELLING exercises take place on Wednesday unless
otherwise advised.
6. School t-shirts, caps and appropriate footwear
are required for P.E on Fridays, as well as for all
outings. We request that your
child brings a water bottle with
a sling. In addition, kindly note that no
flip flops or sandals are allowed on outings.
7. Children must bring a pair of slippers to be
kept in the school until last day of term. Kindly note that children are required
to put on their indoor slippers for safety and hygienic reasons while working
at the practical life area (where glassware is used). We trust you understand
that your child will not be able to work in this area without the appropriate
footwear.
Please keep your child home if:
1. She/He has mucous discharges from the nose.
2. She/He has a constant cough.
3. She/He has symptoms of possible communicable
disease. The teacher should be notified immediately, and the siblings must be
kept at home until the incubation period is over.
Kindly produce a doctor’s certificate to clear your child of any infectious diseases before sending him/her back to school.We appreciate your help to keep the school clean and safe for our children.
SHOW AND TELL
Show and tell takes place every Friday. We encourage the children to bring in something to show and tell their friends. We will go by rotation and the children will be informed of their turn for the week.
Best regards
Ms Ek Kian, Ms Jasmine, Ms Rajni,Ms Mui Keng and Liu Lao Shi
Dear parents,
As term 1 comes to a close, we wish all of you
a well-rested holiday ahead, and look forward to welcoming you back to school
in March.
Moving Out
We bid farewell to Ms Tammy who will be moving
out to the Lady Birds and Busy Bees class. Best of luck also out goes to Wei Laoshi, who will be on maternity
leave till May. Finally,
we say goodbye to Ghazal, Indiana and Louis as they move to LB/BB next term.
Joining Us
We welcome Ms Tracey and Lin Laoshi to the Starters
class. Both teachers
have already spent some time in term 1 getting to know the children, and we
look forward to an exciting term ahead with them. We also welcome Aiden Lim, Terisse Tay, Atticus Fanshawe, and Theodor
Harr, who are joining us in term 2.
Looking back at term 1…
Term 1 was all about our body as we learned
to identify and name different parts of our body. We also discussed facial expressions and learned to associate them
with different emotions such as happy, sad, angry and surprised. The children enjoyed all the thematic craft
activities, especially tracing their bodies, and making hand and foot prints
on art paper.
Chinese New Year celebrations definitely left us with many good memories. The children had the opportunity to make paper rats and lanterns. Some even had their hair sprayed in different colours, and their hands and faces painted by our talented teachers and parent volunteers. The highlight of the day was the Lion Dance, and the children had a good time trying the lion head and following the beat of our very own Starters drummer – Ms. Tammy.
Thank you
Our sincere appreciation goes out to all parents
who volunteered their time to help out with our art & craft sessions, story
& snack mornings as well as the Chinese New Year celebrations.
What’s going on in term 2?
This term, we will focus on the theme, United
States of America. The children
will learn all about its flag, the different states, leaders, national monuments,
Disneyland, etc.
Story & Snack Morning/ Art and Craft
Sign-up sheets will be placed above the Starters cubby hole, and all parents are welcome to volunteer. Kindly take note of the timings.
Parent - Teacher Conference
Parent - teacher conferences are scheduled on
May 9th and 10th (Friday and Saturday respectively). We will confirm your timing closer to the date.
Fruits & Vegetable Day
Every Wednesday is fruit & vegetable day. Please encourage your child to have a well-balanced and nutritious
diet by packing only fruits and vegetables on Wednesdays.
Medical and Health Issues:
1) Please inform the teachers if your child
has any food or skin allergies.
Kindly note that any child with skin conditions
will not be permitted to participate in waterplay until a doctor’s certificate
is produced.
2) Please allow your child to rest at home if
he/she has the following symptoms:
a) running nose
b) yellow/green mucous discharge from nose
c) possible communicable disease. In such cases, we will appreciate if his/her
sibling is also kept at home until the incubation period is over.
Please note that your child will be sent home
if he/she shows the following symptoms as it could be signs of a possible infectious
disease:
a) unusual red spots present on any part of the body (e.g.
HFMD)
b) yellow/green mucous discharge from nose
Kindly produce a doctor’s certificate to clear your child of any contagious diseases before sending him/her back to school.
Gentle Reminders
1) Please bring the communication book daily.
2)
Please label your child’s belongings.
3)
Please call to inform the school if your child
is not feeling well and will not be attending school.
4)
Children have to wear the school t-shirt every
Friday.
5)
Please ensure that your child
has the appropriate attire, i.e. swimsuits / swimming trunks for waterplay.
6)
Please check your child’s calendar and communications
book daily. We will
also appreciate if you can clear the folder daily to avoid overloading the folder.
We look forward to an exciting term ahead!
Best regards,
Ms Nani, Ms. Tracey, Lin Laoshi, Ms Li-Ann and
Ms Caroline
Ladybirds
& Busy Bees - Term 2, 2008
Dear Parents,
As the first quarter comes to a close, we would
like to take this opportunity to share with you some of our activities in the
first term, and to wish all of you an enjoyable end-of-term holiday.
As Term 1 draws to a close, we would like to extend our best wishes to Leanne Chng, Sarah Lim and Samuel Garcia who will be joining the Hungry Caterpillars next term. We would also like to welcome Clara Lau to the LB/BB family next term, as well as Indianna Burton, Ghazal Thiruvengadam and Louis Lim who are joining us from Starters.
Changes
in teachers
We bid farewell to Ms. Tracey, who will be joining
the Starters from term 2 onwards. The children will miss her dearly, and we wish her the best. We welcome Ms. Tammy as a co-teacher of the
Ladybirds and Busy Bees, and look forward to benefiting from her many years
of experience as a teacher.
Highlights from Term 1
The children have enjoyed working with the Montessori
materials this term.
In addition, we also embarked on a journey to discover and learn about the human body and the United States of America. The children discussed the general facts and history about the United States, and learned some in-depth knowledge about Johnny Appleseed, the Statue of Liberty and the American Bald Eagle. In keeping with our theme on the human body, we also learned about the various parts of the body; the skeleton, the heart, the brain, the lungs and our teeth.
Mandarin classes this term included the naming of various parts of the body, colours, number work and innovative craftwork every Friday.
Chinese New Year was an exciting time for the children, who thoroughly enjoyed the different activities set up for them. The craft centre saw the children making colourful paper fish and tangerines. The crazy hair dressing and face painting area was a hot favourite with both girls and boys alike. Participating in the traditional tea drinking ceremony was a new and interesting experience for most of our LB/BB children. Grating carrots in preparation for the tossing of the yusheng was another exciting experience for them. Dressed in their colourful cultural costumes, the children sang Chinese New Year songs with great enthusiasm. Special thanks to all our parent volunteers who helped us that day!
The term ended with a much anticipated trip to the Science Centre. The children had great fun as they learned more about the human body. What a wonderful learning experience!
We would like to thank all the mothers who volunteered their time to help on Wednesday mornings for art and craft activities. The children and the teachers definitely enjoyed having you around, and we look forward to your continued support next term.
Looking Forward to Term 2
We will continue to learn more about the human
body and the United States next term.
Parent-teacher conferences will be conducted in May, and confirmations on your appointments will be sent out closer to the date.
Some Reminders:
Health and Medical Issues
Please keep your child at home if:
1)
She/he has a mucous discharge from the nose.
2)
She/he has a constant cough.
3)
She/he has symptoms of a possibly communicable
disease. The teachers should be notified and the siblings should be kept at
home till the incubation period is over.
4) Kindly obtain a doctor’s letter to clear your
child of any contagious disease before sending him/her back to school.
We look forward to an enjoyable time working
with all our Ladybirds and Busy Bees next term.
Happy Holidays!
Ms Tammy, Ms. Sherene and Zhang Laoshi
Hungry
Caterpillars - Term 2, 2008
Dear Hungry Caterpillars,
We trust that you had lots of fun with your
new friends and teachers in the first quarter of the year. We are very proud
to see you adapt so well to the six-hour programme. You certainly have both
worked and played hard! Keep up the good work!
We had a fantastic time at the Amazing Race in Chinatown, and also enjoyed an enriching experience at the Science Centre. The Chinese New Year celebrations in school went very smoothly, and we would like to thank all mummies who took time off to help us on that day.
We are sad to bid farewell to Rian and Kota next term. Rian is leaving us to join an international school, and Kota is returning to Japan with his family. We would also like to thank Ms Rajni for helping at the Hungry Caterpillars. She has been a valuable asset to the class, and we will miss her presence next term. We welcome Ms Rachael who will be joining us in term 2 to work with the Hungry Caterpillars. She will work closely with Ms Ek Kian, Ms Jasmine, Ms Mui Keng and Liu Lao Shi to create a stimulating and fun learning environment for all of you in the new term.
Theme: The Untied States of America and the Human Anatomy will remain as the themes for the second term. We thank those of you who have brought in your books to share with the class.
We had much fun putting together the puzzle of the map of USA. Thank you Alaina!
Please bring in any materials on USA and the human body to share with your friends and teachers. Please contact the teachers-in-charge for your participation.
Tuesday March 18th : Back to school
Friday March 21st: Good Friday
Wednesday April 30th: Outing (to be confirmed)
Thursday May 1st: Labour Day
Friday & Saturday 9th & 10th May: Parent Teachers’ Conference
Monday May 19th: Vesak Day
Circle time starts at 8:45am. Please be punctual.
Every Wednesday is fruit & vegetables day. We encourage you to cultivate the healthy habit of eating fruits and vegetables by packing only fruits and vegetables on Wednesdays. You are also welcome to pack more to share with your friends.
For easy administration, we will appreciate if you can ensure that all library books and readers (where applicable) are returned promptly on Mondays, or Tuesday if same Monday is a Holiday.
Library takes place every Monday. Please note that books must be returned before another set of books is issued to you.
SPELLING exercises take place on Wednesday unless otherwise advised.
School t-shirts, caps and appropriate footwear are required for P.E on Fridays, as well as for all outings. We request that you bring a water bottle with a sling. In addition, kindly note that no flip flops or sandals are allowed on outings.
Please bring a pair of slippers to be kept in the school until last day of term. Kindly note that you are required to put on your indoor slippers for safety and hygienic reasons while working at the practical life area (where glassware is used). We trust you understand that you will not be able to work in this area without the appropriate footwear.
Please stay home if:
1. You have mucous discharges from the nose.
2. You have a constant cough.
3. You have symptoms of possible communicable disease.
The teachers should be notified immediately, and the siblings must be kept at
home until the incubation period is over.
Kindly produce a doctor’s certificate to clear you of any infectious diseases before returning to school. We appreciate you help us keep the school clean and safe for everyone.
SHOW AND TELL
Show and tell takes place every Friday. We encourage you to bring in something to show and tell your friends. We will go by rotation and you will be informed of your turn for the week.
Best regards,