January/February 2015 Newsletter

Hope Montessori - Creve Coeur
January/February 2015 Newsletter
January/February Calendar Events:
February 1 – 28 Black History Month
February 10
“Thanks-a-Latte” Coffee Event, 7-9 a.m.
February 12
Valentine’s Day Classroom Celebrations
February 13
Hope & Andrews Annual Professional Conference –
All Hope and Andrews Schools Closed
February 16
President’s Day Observed – School Open
February 18
2015-16 Kindergarten Orientation, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
February 19
Chinese New Year Parade (Year of the Ram), 10 a.m.
February 24
Parent Breakfast, 7-8 a.m., with Melissa Eddy,
“Bedtime Routines and the Importance of Sleep for the Whole
Family”
March 8
Save the date - Grandparent Tea
March 16-20
Spring Break – No Montessori Classes, Childcare will be
provided
From the Director…
Dear Parents:
I want to wish each of you a Happy New Year. I hope you had time during the holidays to
spend time relaxing with friends and family and that the New Year is off to a wonderful
start.
As Montessori educators, we treasure this time. Children return from the holidays with a
fresh, eager dedication and focus. We observe this every year. Children can barely wait for
new lessons and their intellectual and social growth is tremendous during this period. With
that said, I would encourage you to make certain that your children arrive in a timely
manner each day. The Montessori work time is an essential ingredient in our approach to
education. We thank you for your support.
On behalf of the staff, I want to thank you again for the generous gift cards and kind notes
in the holiday journal. Your kind and gentle words mean more to us than you can imagine.
We are very grateful. It is hard to put into words how much your thoughtfulness means to
us.
Thanks,
Theresa
From the office…
Year-End Tuition Statements
Year-end statements are now available in the office for pickup.
Black History Month, February 2015
We are just beginning to plan for Black History Month. If you have ideas and are interested in
helping, please let us know.
“Thanks-a-Latte” Coffee Event, February 10, 2015, 7-9 a.m.
To show our appreciation for all your support throughout the year, we have
organized our annual “Thanks-a-Latte” coffee event. This year we have a new company/
barista…Carol Schuermann from The Friendly Cup will arrive early on the morning of Tuesday,
February 10th, to serve chai tea, hot chocolate and delicious coffee and lattes for parents and
staff from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. Please plan a few extra minutes on this morning to pick up a
beverage to go. It is one of our favorite mornings!
Valentine’s Day Celebrations, February 12, 2015
The classes will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 12 (since we will
be closed on Friday, February 13th, for our annual professional workshop). Specific details
about the celebrations will be posted on the bulletin board outside your child’s classroom as it
gets closer. If time permits, you might consider making valentines with your child. The ones
they bring to share can be VERY simple. The teachers ask that the preschool children not
address their cards. They may sign their name. The Kindergarteners may address and sign
their cards.
Annual Teacher Professional Conference, February 13, 2015 – School Closed
On Friday, February 13th, the entire staff from all of our schools will be attending a
professional conference at The Doubletree Conference Center in Chesterfield. Approximately
300+ of our St. Louis staff will be in attendance. School will be closed on the 13th; classes will
resume on the following Monday.
2015-16 Kindergarten Orientation, February 18, 2015, 4:30-5:30 p.m.
Mark Robinson, Norlita Simon, and I invite you to attend a Kindergarten
Orientation Meeting on February 18th at 4:30 p.m. in the multi-purpose
room. This meeting provides an opportunity for you to meet the teachers, learn about the
curriculum and the Hope Kindergarten program. One of our Hope parents will also share their
insights about our Kindergarten. We always save time for you to ask questions. We know this
is a big decision for parents, and we welcome your attendance at this meeting. A sign-up
sheet will be posted in the lobby. Parents are also welcome to observe the Kindergarten class
any afternoon between 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Please call or email the office to arrange a visit.
This meeting is geared toward those families whose child is eligible for Kindergarten in 2015;
we use the cut-off date of July 31st. Families who are interested in their child attending
Kindergarten for future years may stop by the office and place their child’s name on a waiting
list. Our Kindergarten program generally is full, nearly a year ahead of time. The class size is
limited to 16.
Chinese New Year, February 19, 2015, 10:00 a.m.
One of our favorite days of the year is our annual celebration of the Chinese New
Year. Each class creates a dragon/animal head for the children to parade behind. Some play
instruments; others wiggle under the long red cloth. On February 19th, at 10:00 a.m., Hope
will host its annual Chinese New Year Parade. Parents are welcome to join us. The entire
parade takes only 15 minutes, so if you plan to join us, please be sure to come on time.
Weather permitting, we will parade outside. If you are interested in sending a special Chinese
dish for lunch, please talk with your child’s teacher. Please do not send dishes with nuts or
pork. Many countries in Asia celebrate the lunar New Year; please feel free to send in dishes
from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Parent Breakfast, February 24, 2015, 7:00 – 8:00 a.m.
Throughout the year at Hope, we try to organize several breakfast events offering
both a delicious breakfast and a presentation that we hope will be helpful to parents. The
breakfast begins at 7:00 a.m. and the presentation starts at 7:15. We do our very best to finish
by 8:00. The feedback from parents has been very positive about these meetings. Our next
breakfast is with Melisa Eddy, a teacher at the Infant Toddler Community. Her topic will be
“Bedtime Routines and the Importance of Sleep for the Whole Family”. A sign-up sheet will
be in the lobby soon.
Save the Date, Grandparent Tea, March 8, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015, is our annual Grandparent Tea. This is a very special
event for both children and grandparents. It is always such a joy to see the love
and special relationship between children and their grandparents. We just wanted to alert you
to the date, realizing that some children’s grandparents do not live in the area and might
require a little more notice if they plan to attend. And if it is not possible for them to attend,
your child is welcome to bring another relative or a friend of the family. More details will be
available in a couple of weeks.
Thank You to…
All of the families who donated so generously to the Staff Holiday Gift. The staff
and I thank you so very much! And a special thank you to Jenna Lew-Feit, Tracy Gibli, Gail
Moolsintong, and Alice Hoette for all of their time and efforts in organizing the collection. It is
very much appreciated by all the staff!
Mark Robinson, Howard Shalowitz (Max’s dad, Rm 5) and Gayle Dorshow … for the beautiful
and touching Hanukkah ceremony. Our celebration was truly inspiring.
To Dan and Elsa Impens (Isabella & Elin, Rm 7) for celebrating the Scandinavian holiday
honoring St. Lucia with room 7.
To Dustin James (an ex-Hope parent who travelled all the way from Texas with his wife, Helen
Kim-James, and daughter, Emily, to specifically be here with us); Mark Robinson, Beth Chu
(Apollo’s mo, Rm 6, and a member of the St. Louis Symphony orchestra); and Mark Eulalia (Rm
5) for sharing their musical talents with us. Their exquisite performance enhanced our
program more than words can express. And to Joan Kwong and her daughter Hannah (Rm 7)
for sharing the story of Christmas along with their beautiful nativity set.
To Ashley Hemphill, Rm 1, for helping us to learn more about the Kwanzaa holiday and sharing
her beautiful decorations with us.
All the many parents and grandparents who helped make potato latkes and Christmas cookies
in the classrooms. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have parents who are so generous
with their time to create special moments for our Hope children.
Healthy Lifestyle Info
The following link was provided from Stacy, our Creative Movement teacher, for healthy
snack suggestions - http://naturalholisticlife.com/12-healthy-homemade-kids-snack-recipes/
For those of you who are contemplating New Year’s resolutions, the following information was
in a recent weekly newsletter that we receive from Hope’s insurance carrier.
3 Easy yet Powerful Resolutions for 2015
It's a sad fact of life that few people (only 8%) follow through on New Year's
resolutions. The reason is simple: Most resolutions are too hard to keep. They fly in the
face of habit and demand major lifestyle changes.
Practice these three resolutions that are easy to follow but will transform your life for
the better and make you more successful in 2015.
1. Breathe more deeply.
Deep breaths fill your lungs with oxygen, which your blood carries to nourish every part
of your body, especially your brain, which needs plenty of oxygen to function at peak
performance. In other words, deep breathing makes you smarter.
The oxygen also nourishes your spinal cord and nervous system, making you calmer,
and causes your body to burn fat more efficiently. In other words, deep breathing, just
by itself, helps you cope with stress and lose weight.
No matter how busy your schedule, you have to breathe, so there's absolutely no
reason you can't breathe more deeply. All you need to do is remind yourself a few
times a day, when you think of it. Over time, it will become an effortless habit.
2. Smile more frequently.
Smiling generates a host of health benefits. Like breathing deeply, it reduces stress
and lowers your heart rate. It also releases endorphins into your brain that
automatically put you in a better mood.
Smiling genuinely and more frequently also makes you a more productive
businessperson. It builds trust, helps you form solid work relationships, and positions
you as a leader--somebody whom others actually want to follow.
There's more. Social interactions with strangers--like the person behind the counter or
sitting next to you on the train--make you feel more connected and content. And a
smile, of course, is where such interactions start.
3. Feel more gratitude.
Gratitude makes challenges easier to bear. No matter where you are in your career, no
matter how many problems you're encountering, there is always something for which
you can be grateful. Focus on those positives gives you strength and resilience.
Gratitude also makes success more fulfilling. Without gratitude, you'll be dissatisfied
and miserable even after you've achieved your dreams. Gratitude allows you
appreciate every moment of your journey, wherever that takes you.
The easiest way to feel more gratitude is to express it more frequently. Say "thank-you"
more often, especially to those who do thankless tasks. Take a moment each
morning (a few seconds will do) and be thankful for the precious gift of being alive.