February Newsletter
February is a month to start thinking about Spring – longer daylight hours makes everyone think of planning for the garden and outside activities. In school we plan for Valentine’s party, Valentine’s crafts, the Chinese New Year, and going outside for walks to look for signs of spring.
February is also amonth where, as teachers in a Montessori classroom, we see the children start to make important connections;for example, a child may notice that the 1000 cube is the same shape and size as one of the Pink Tower cubes. You may notice that your child wants to help sweep or fold clothes at home because he’s been folding cloths at school. These connections are always exciting and should be rejoiced. Maria Montessori once said that “education is not something which the teacher does, but it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.” As we see spring naturally develop, we also see children’s skills develop spontaneously too.
Valentine’s Cards:
If you would like your child to hand out Valentine’s Day cards to friends in the school, please bring them in by February 9th, and follow these requirements:
- There are 24 children in the school, to prevent anyone feeling left out, please bring a card for each child.
- Please do not name the cards, as this can make it hard for the child handing out the cards to read the recipient’s name. Please just have your child write “Love from..( your child’s name) “. Then it is much easier for your child to hand a card to each of his/her friends.
- Please put the cards in a named ziploc bag, as they have to sit for 72 hours at school before they are handed out – unfortunately, COVID affects even this fun activity for the children ☹
- Please keep in mind that we can not share or hand out candies. If you particularly wanted to add a small gift to the card, please consider a Valentine themed pencil, or stickers. Candies attached to the cards will be sent home.
- Valentine’s cards will be handed out during circle time.
Valentine’s Party:
- Snack – please bring a fun, valentine’s themed snack for your child, such as heart-shaped sandwiches, strawberries, heart-shaped cheese and
cucumber slices.
Valentine’s Poem:
- Please write a poem with your child about how special you are to each other and how special your child is to you. We will read out the poems during circle time. Your child can decorate the poem too!
Dates to remember!
Friday February 12th: Valentine’s Party – see notes above.
Monday February 15th: Family Day – School ANDDaycare CLOSED
Friday February 19th: SchoolAND Daycare CLOSED for Teacher Professional Development Day.
Monday 15th – Friday 19th: School is CLOSED for half day children.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Daycare is open.
(16th, 17th, 18th)
Monday February 22nd: All classes resume.
Chinese New Year – Year of the Ox.
We will be talking about the Chinese New Year this month, reading books about the
celebration and doing some art and crafts. If you happen to have any Chinese
artifacts that you could share, please do bring them in!
IMPORTANT REMINDERS!
- Please bring bedding in each Monday for your child. This is very important as due to the COVID restrictions; we can not share or supply bedding.
- Please remember to bring your child’s work towel in on Monday if it goes home for laundering on Friday.
- Please pack a water bottle every day for your child.
- Junior Preschoolers! We are finding that now the younger ones are more active when they’re working, the leather-soled slip-on shoes are causing some problems, such as slipping on a water spill. Therefore, please bring in a pair of Velcro runners for your child; we do want your child to be safe!
- February school and daycare fees are due by the 1st of February. Thank you!
Birthdays this month: Please look out for a personal email about birthday celebrations!
Sophie.
Sounds of the week:
Each week we are focusing on one letter sound. Please bring in a different object each day of the week, in a named Ziploc bag. The object should be based on reality, so please leave the stuffed toys and cartoon characters at home. Life-like miniatures or models, names of familiar people, places, photosand even a wordare fine to bring, as long as it contains the sound that we are listening for. Remember we are looking for the sound that the letter makes, not its name. The sound can be at the beginning, the middle, or at the end of the word.
February 1st: s as in snail, sock, nest.
February 8th: t as in token, top, hot.
February 22nd: u as in umbrella, up, jump.
Teacher’s tip! Have your child carry a basket or a box around the house during the weekend, and help him/her collect 5 objects for that week. This makes it easier for your child to then take one object from the basket to bring to school each day.
As a team, we thank you for your continued support of our wonderful school.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
Mrs. Divya, Mrs. Joce, Miss. Nicole, Ms. Diana, Ms, Michelle.