ALAMEDA PRE-K NEWSLETTER FOR THE WEEK OF:

SEPTEMBER 14-18, 2009 

This Week:

      All About Me week was a great way to get to know the interests and likes of the children who comprise our group this year. We got to see how big each child’s handprint is in tempera and how they render themselves in their sharpie and watercolor self-portraits; got to know how tall they are and how much they weigh as well as what some of their favorite things are through the Time Capsules

      Children learned about and connected with the interests of others through the Life In a Bag sharing time as well as the self-restraint that’s involved in taking turns and showing curiosity about others by asking questions about them rather than by telling about themselves. Asking questions is something a majority of the children will spend much of the year learning to do, and this group is off to a great start. 

Next Week:

      Next week, we’ll expand the All About Me theme to families and friends. Children will delve into the concepts of What makes a family? and Who is a friend?

      We’ll also begin our Letter of the Week study with, of course, the Letter Aa, so bring on those Letter Aa objects from home on your child’s sharing day (posted again below, so you can have a copy of this permanently on your computers).

      We will post the Letter of the Week on the window of the entrance door if you ever lose track and we will simply follow the alphabet on letter per week until we’ve run through them all. 
 
 

SHARING SCHEDULE: 

Monday:  Tuesday:  Wednesday:  Thursday:       Friday:

Wyatt   Kyan   Sam S.   Landon

Maggie  Sam P.   Max S.   Benny   

Scarlet   Addie   Milo   Cleo

Kate   Trevor   Finley   Jack F.

Jack P.      Hannah 
 

Fire Drills:

      The children have now been through a couple of drills and we have two more to go for the month of September. Schools are required to have four of them the first month to set the course of required action for students and teachers, and once a month for the remainder of the year to reinforce it. Your kids sailed through the first one, but it is not uncommon for a little anxiety to get aroused by them because the alarm is loud and it can get some children thinking about the possibility of dangers like fire. We emphasize with the kids that probably no real fire will ever happen at school, but that this practice is the best way to make sure that we’re safe in case it ever does. If your child expresses any anxiety surrounding the fire drill, it can be reassuring to them to hear a similar explanation from

home.

Lockdown Drills:

      In addition to fire drills, PPS occasionally has lockdown drills. The children did a great job staying quietly on the carpet and listening to a story with us while waiting for the all clear. We were even complimented by a police officer for doing such a great job! The kids were quite curious as to the reason for a lockdown drill, and we explained that lockdowns are to help police officers do their jobs. If they have an emergency outside, they need us to come inside quickly, lock the doors, and remain quiet until they ring the bell three times to tell us it's all clear. Many of the children expressed concern about "bad people" being outside and we let them know that like a fire drill, a lockdown drill is just practice.

Thanks and Reminders: 

*  PLEASE NOTE: WE DO NOT FOLLOW THE PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS LATE OPENING ON THE THIRD WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH. We have the regular opening time of 8:30. Thanks!