Archive Monthly Articles

This page will have an archive of all previous month's news articles from Cindy McDowell, beginning with the most recent month. Scroll down the page for the entire school year.

April 2012

WE ONLY HAVE TWO MONTHS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!! We enter into April knowing that the calendar is not slowing down one little bit and we still have sooooo much we want to do together! Registration for our 2012-2013 school year opened to the public on March 1st, 2012, for those vacancies that remain.

Registration Tuition

2 days/wk $150.00 2 days/wk $245.00/month

3 days/wk ages 2.5 & 3 $175.00 3 days/wk $335.00/month

age 4 $200.00

5 days/wk $225.00 5 days/wk $435.00/month

2 days/wk 1.5 yr old (diapering provided) $295.00/month

AND NEW IN 2012-13

VPK comes to Little Disciples Preschool - Register today for all classes.

We begin April having a Wacky Wednesday. Everyone come in Wednesday, April 4th, dressed in your wackiest outfit, with the wackiest hairdo!

On April 12 and 13, we will begin each day at 9:20am with our Annual Umbrella Day Parades in the courtyard. We hope everyone will stay a little longer in the morning and enjoy these must-see parades!

It’s time for SPRING CARNIVAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Friday, April 13, here in the courtyard we will hold our third Carnival (but it IS our first SPRING Carnival!). Tell everyone you know and then see Cindy to find out how you can be part of the fun! 924-9290!!

Be sure to join us for our upcoming Spring Concerts!! The children will be singing a medley of songs all celebrating one of our favorite seasons as "Spring Is In The Air". Come join us on Thursday and Friday, April 19 & 20. Concerts start at 11:30am both days in the sanctuary and will be followed by a delicious reception in our courtyard. Come enjoy some music, food and our third annual butterfly release!!!

On April 26 & 27, it’s your final chance this year to enjoy Chapel and Musical Moments starring your preschoolers! We will be singing our FAVORITES so be sure to come have some tooty-ta fun!

And mark your calendars right now to be at our Annual End-of-Year Family Picnic! Monday, April 30, we will gather at the playground pavilion at Siesta Key Beach from 5 - 8pm. This is a potluck dinner and always such fun. Look for your RSVP and be sure to check the YES we will be there box!!!!!

Closed for Good Friday. Have a Happy Easter!

Teacher’s Tidbits by Mrs. Martin

Mrs. Martin’s class has been very active this past month enjoying our sport’s theme. We began our unit by testing our physical capabilities as we ventured through our obstacle course. We continued to enjoy a variety of sports: soccer, football, golf, and hockey as we learned about teamwork. We even worked as a team to create a giant sport’s collage. Next month, we are looking forward to spending time “Under the Sea”.

March 2012

March! Is it March already? Our school year has entered into its last trimester. We end the month of February with our Registration for the 2012-2013 school year open to our on-campus and alumni families. Registration opens to the public on March 1st, 2012, for those vacancies that remain.

February was such fun. We had our vision tested by the NCJW and our class photos and Graduation portraits taken by our photographer. We shared Valentines with our friends and had a yummy luncheon for Valentine’s Day. We had our hearing tested by the NCJW and also enjoyed a visit from the Tooth Fairy and we will end the month with Outdoor Center Day!

What is Center Day? The children get the opportunity to be in every classroom on Center Day. Children move with their class from room-to-room to have time with every teacher. They have the opportunity to play, to do a specific project or craft, to sing, and have story-time with every teacher here throughout Center’s Days.

They will do activities with other classes. Some Center’s Days are run in the East wing; others use the West wing -- depending upon the theme of the day. And some, like February 29th are just full of surprises and held outside! Getting to know these other classrooms and Teachers helps the children find comfort levels for the next year.

Everyday in everyway we are providing opportunities for children and their families to be ready for the next adventure in learning.

Our Early Care program continues making smiles at 8am each day, and our Extended Care program is a favorite lunch spot for many preschoolers daily. Come join in the fun!

Teacher’s Tidbits

By Mrs. Plattner

Love was in the air this February in Mrs. Plattner’s class as we created beautiful hearts and special Valentine’s for the ones we love.

We are now preparing to Blast Off into space in our very own classroom rocket ship. We will be learning about astronauts, the planets, constellations and will take part in a rocket launch (alka-seltzer really makes a BLAST!) NASA has cleared us for take off. So long for now! See you back on Earth soon, Mrs. P’s class signing out!

February 2012

January was a terrific month for us. We returned from holiday recess ready for lots of fun together. Back in September, each Teacher held a Parent Meeting in their classroom to provide an opportunity to discuss classroom rules, goals, the use of our student evaluations, and to participate in a Question/Answer time together. Parents also received a copy of the current student evaluation form we use. Each January we then hold our Parent/Teacher Conferences and in addition to the student evaluations, our Parents are also able to see their child’s active Portfolio which is rich with art, skill level activities, dictation and many photos. We realized 100% attendance and 100% agreement that everyone is having a great year!

We LOVE February here at preschool and this month we will have some very busy days. What fun it will be sharing Valentine’s with our classmates on February 13th & 14th. On February 16th and 17th, our photographer will be here taking class and graduate pictures. All 3’s and 4’s will have their hearing checked on Wednesday the 22nd and we invite our 2-day students to set an appointment if you have concerns about your child’s hearing. Chapel & Musical Moments will be held on the 23rd and 24th. And because we get an EXTRA day in February this Leap year, we’ve made February 29th an Outdoor Center Leap Day for the whole school. Fun, FUN, FUN!!

February also means that Registration for the 2012-2013 school year is just around the corner. On February 15, 2012, current students and their siblings and alumni families will begin registering for Fall 2012. This is also an extremely busy month for us as we spend the days showing Little Disciples Preschool to families who want their children to attend next fall. On March 1, 2012, we will open registration to the public. If you or someone you know is interested in joining us, please call us soon to set an appointment to visit (note: we offer 10% discount on tuition to our church members).

Teacher’s Tidbits
By Miss Snider

Happy New Year! We are rolling right along here at preschool. Miss Snider and her friends spent the first month of the New Year learning all about transportation. We made traffic lights and sail boats. We also made torn paper roads for cards, trucks and buses to drive on.

For the month of February we will be learning all about Art and making masterpieces, painting sunflowers like Van Gogh and beautiful garden collages like Monet. We also celebrate Valentines Day with a card exchange and a party! We are having so much fun and our days are filled with love, laughter and learning!

January 2012

Happy New Year from all of us! We hope your holidays were filled with love and laughter. We look forward to being together again and can hardly wait to see what adventures the New Year brings. A great big thank you to everyone who purchased gifts for others within our community. Thank you for making their Christmas special.

January is our midpoint in the School Year and is the time for our Parent/Teacher Conferences. AGAIN THIS YEAR: We will hold these conferences on Tuesday, January 16th throughout the day on a sign-up basis. This is the opportunity for our parents to meet with their child’s teacher, to find out how they are doing, and to look toward goals for the remainder of the year. Public schools and Little Disciples will be closed for this professional day however childcare will be provided in our Learning Center for our students while their parents attend conferences.

We also send out information at the end of January regarding Early Registration for the next preschool year. Registration for our current and alumni families typically begins mid-February annually so watch for more information to come home.

Teacher’s Tidbits
By Mrs. Kohut

Can you believe it?! Christmastime is here! The year has flown by so far. We just had a great concert and our rooms are filled with holiday sounds, smells and presents for our families and Beneva’s friends! Thank you! Hope your Christmas and New Year are enjoyable and safe! With Love- Mrs. Kohut

December 2011

November has been a beautiful month for us. We have been very busy going on nature walks, learning about food and so much more and we are REALLY enjoying our time on the Outdoor Classroom and the Playground. Before closing for Thanksgiving Break, it is a long-standing tradition for our children to come together for our annual Friendship Feasts where a delicious time is shared by all.

We will return from Thanksgiving break to begin stuffing Christmas Stockings with toys for children and much-needed items for their families in our community. Every room will have a big, red stocking hanging on the doorknob. Please give only new items. Collecting gifts for others during the holidays is another one of our traditions and one that makes all of us feel a bit like someone’s Secret Santa. We also continue to collect canned goods for Sarasota’s Food Pantry and this year we want to fill the Food Pantry with holiday blessings for those in need. The collection box is in the hallway. Please help us make sure everyone has enough food this holiday season. See the office if you have any questions or to find out how you can help those in need.

December is a very musical, very EXCITING month here!! Our calendar is bursting with special days. Did you mark your calendars for the greatest concerts ever?! On December 8 and 9, Little Disciples Preschool will come together in song for our preschool families at 11:30am. A cookie reception will follow.

We will end our month with classroom holiday luncheons, lots of special/secret workshops and soooo much fun!! Remember December 15th & 16th are PJ days, so wear your holiday jammies everyone!

Pastor Shane will bring us the Christmas Story in Chapel moments on Dec. 15th & 16th at 11:45am both days. Parents are always welcome to join us in Chapel Moments and we hope you will be there for this very special BIRTH-day story. School ends on December 16th, and resumes January 2, 2012. We wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

With Love from EVERYONE here at Little Disciples Preschool!

November 2011

Before we begin talking about November, I want to tell you about the wonderful time we all enjoyed at our Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction in October. Through the Dinner and the Auction we raised the exact amount it will cost to send our staff to the NAEYC Annual Conference in Orlando. This is the first time a NAEYC Conference has ever been held in Florida and we are so thankful to be able to attend. Thank you for your support.

November is always a terrific month to be at Little Disciples Preschool. Every year we collect canned goods for Sarasota’s Food Pantry and this year we want to fill the Food Pantry with holiday blessings for those in need. The collection box will be in the hallway soon! The following week we will enjoy Patriotic Center’s Day and get ready for our Veteran’s Day Parade. Come join us in the courtyard on Friday the 11th at 9:25 am and be sure to wear red, white and blue!

Each year before Thanksgiving we gather together for our “FRIENDSHIP FEAST”. Both Monday and Tuesday (11/21 & 11/22) all the children will gather together to enjoy our “Friendship Feast”. No Extended Care is available on these days. Our preschool will be closed Wednesday, November 23rd - Friday, November 25th, in observance of Thanksgiving. We will reopen our doors on Monday, November 28th. Little Disciples Preschool wishes you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Teacher’s Tidbits
“Can you guess what we are?”

We start each month with curriculum calendars filled with seasonal projects, age-appropriate lessons, developmental activities and special events. We create snack calendars. We take tons of pictures to capture special moments. We write down the cute comments we hear daily in our Dictation logs. We take attendance. We play on a playground! We help children to learn, laugh and love all that life has to offer everyday. Have you guessed what we are yet?

We’re PRESCHOOL TEACHERS
and we LOVE spending each day with YOU!

October 2011

Our first weeks of school went very well and lots of new friendships have been made. The Teachers are having just as much fun as their students and the sounds of music and laughter can be heard throughout the building. (I can’t stop smiling!!)

Our Teachers enjoyed some special time together with their class parents in their ‘Parent / Teacher’ meetings throughout the month of September. Well attended and well-received, we feel lucky to have the best parents in town at Little Disciples!

We can hardly wait to see what fun October has in store for us! From student picture days, to center activities, everyday is sure to be a great adventure! We look forward to our Music and Chapel Moments this year and until our new Pastor arrives, Ms. McDowell will continue to provide both music and Chapel moments. To all our Beneva readers; if you would like to join us or share your talent with us, call me at 924-9290 to find out more... thank you!

Our staff heads to Orlando November 3-5 to attend the annual NAEYC Conference. We always return from our annual Early Childcare Conference bursting with ideas and excited to begin sharing all WE’VE learned with the boys and girls! THIS year, for the first time, the NAEYC Conference is being held in Florida!!! To help off-set the costs of this National Conference, we are getting ready to hold our first:

FAMILY FUN NIGHT!

Join us on Wednesday, October 12, from 5:30-7:30 for a Spaghetti dinner with all the fixing’s. Call 924-9290 to RSVP no later than October 10th! Tickets are only $4 child; $7 adult, or use our Family Plan ticket (2 adults & 2 children for $20.00). Dinner in Fellowship Hall and while you are there be sure to check out or Silent Raffle Gift Baskets! Hope to see you there and be sure to tell your friends!

As October winds down, a change always seems to come over our preschoolers. Come and see for yourself as all the children participate in our Fall Costume Parades in the courtyard at the end of the month. Join us as we parade and sing pumpkin carols for our guests.

It’ll be SPOOK-TACULAR! Have a safe and Happy Halloweeeeeeen!

Teacher’s Tidbits by your staff returns next month!