It’s Monday and now that Halloween has passed, we’re moving quickly into the busyness
of the holiday season. We had
another great Parade on Friday,
however, and the children really did well with all the “goings on”. It’s not easy to maintain some sense of
routine during a celebration that boasts unpredictability and surprise but with
your support and the skills of seasoned teachers, we were able to keep the
tears to a minimum and come away having fun. Thanks to all the parents who set up, brought food and added
the hospitality touches. It was a
great day.
Thanks, again, to the green thumb talents of the
Leitzes-Hoeber family and the creative talents of the children. The pumpkin raffle brought in $1290! Wow! Really fun!
Since we’ve moved into Standard Time this past weekend we are preparing for some
disequilibrium as we all adjust to a shift in time reference. Know that this may be confusing to the
children who are being picked up in the late afternoon (from about 4:00
on). Because it will get darker
sooner, it will seem like you’re late and they may worry a bit. Just understand that and acknowledge
the confusion. “It feels like I’m
late. The clock says 4:30 but it
feels later.” We will be talking
about the differences and supporting the feelings that accompany change. Let us know if your child needs a
little extra.
East Wing Parent-Teacher Conferences are starting so be sure to check out the sign ups
for those assigned times.
Remember, though, we want you to come so let us know if the times posted
don’t work for you and we will check out the calendar and make it work. It’s a great time to revisit the goals
that were set for your child from last year and plan for the next developmental
steps for learning and growing.
This Thursday I will be connecting with the other directors
and parent committee chairs of the local Reggio-inspired schools for another
meeting to continue the plans that will bring the Wonders of Learning
exhibit to Santa Monica. I sent some information from Jean
Kaneko out on the blog. Most of
you met her at our Parent Partners Meeting in September and she is the Project
Coordinator for this huge undertaking.
I’m hoping some of you are inspired enough to join in the planning and
support all that needs to be done.
I will be posting information as we go along. Time is moving fast.
The exhibit will be free to the public and will be housed at the
Fairmont Hotel at 2nd and Wilshire from January to June.
On Friday, November 6th, we are co-hosting, with
Rediscover Center, a Professional Development day for the teachers from
Wilshire Blvd. Temple. I’ve been working with a couple of the
local Jewish schools that have been interested in implementing some of the
principles of the Reggio Approach.
It’s always hard to “see” the work in action when the schools are empty
and so with our teachers’ support, we are opening our morning to them to come
and observe how the flow of the day, the environment, and the relationship with
materials supports small group work and curriculum planning. But the true gift is seeing how our NSW
teachers interact with the children and each other to make it all move so
smoothly with purpose. The
visiting teachers will arrive around 8:00 and will be here until 11:30. We will move onto Rediscover Center for
lunch (thank you, Mark and Anna and La Vecchia), Q & A and a powerpoint
presentation. After the day, we
will have $1000 for our own professional development fund. Not bad for a day’s work!
Sadly, we have to postpone the Natural Tie Dying workshop with Ilaan scheduled for this
Wednesday. Her stepfather passed
away this week and she will be with her family in Napa. Our thoughts are with you and your
family, Ilaan, and we look forward to your return. We will let everyone know our rescheduled date for the
workshop. It will be a good one so
plan to join us.
It’s sad, too, that we have to postpone our Saturday’s
Music Night at the Grossmans with Laurie,
Jonathan, Holly, and Biff. We’ll
keep you posted but it looks like something that might happen in the spring
when weather is warmer. We’ve got
some amazing talents here at NSW and I’m so grateful you want to share your
gifts. Looking forward to what I
know will be a great event.
We are in the planning stages for our Holiday Bazaar scheduled for November 21st. We are looking for parents who want to
submit baked goods to sell. We’re
also looking for some crockpots of chili (both meat and vegetarian) to sell for
lunch. Get out your recipes and
plan to volunteer. Keep on the
look out for sign ups for this great holiday shopping day. It’s a sweet community event.
So “It’s Monday” and there it is. Enjoy your week.
Roleen