Dear Families,
This will be my final blog and I can't say I will miss it! Computers are not my strong suit! This week we'll be cleaning the classroom. I'll put all of your children's belongings in a bag to take home on their last day. If your child was a napper at any time during the school year, please let me know what their sheets look like so I can send them home. Friday was the last day of one of my students and I cried like a baby! Your wonderful children were very worried about me but I explained to them that I love them so much and that I was going to miss them when they go to Kindergarten. I also said that I'm so proud of each and every one of them! The last week of school for 20 years has always been hard for me emotionally and this year is devastating me!!! I know that this is the right time for me to retire, my body and brain knows it but my heart is breaking!!! The teachers and staff have been there for me constantly through my ups and downs and that includes the upper grade teachers and staff and of course Mrs. Blackburn. When my youngest child, Ian, entered preschool here, I was a stay at home Mom , I was volunteering as much as I could. Mrs. Jill, the Director at the time asked me if I wanted to get paid for what I do. So my story of working at OLM began. The love and support I've been given is truly amazing! Quite a few years ago, the apartment that my 3 boys and I were living in caught on fire. It was the middle of the night and we got out in shorts, t-shirts with no shoes. I grabbed my purse, keys and my Grandma's Bible and told the kids we had to get the car out. We parked down the street and came back to begin knocking on doors to get people out. The fire department couldn't get in because the gate was closed so we ran back to the car to get the clicker for the gate. I was running with it in my hand and my oldest son Alec, took it out of my hand and clicked it open for the fire trucks to get in and then he propped open the walk in gate with a huge rock, (I don't know how he lifted it!) for other life saving personnel. We were in a parking lot after that waiting for my Dad to come and pick up the boys when Mrs. Irma showed up! She said her husband was getting off work and noticed the fire and asked her if one of her co workers lived there. She said yes and they came back to see if they could help. Mrs. Irma took her shoes off her feet and gave them to me because I was bare footed! OMG! I will be forever grateful to her for that! That is just one of the many, many times my co workers have gone over and above for me and they do the same for your children every day! Back to school work. We'll practice three phonemes to make a word...c - a - t. Count to 30, begin subtraction, mix colors and practice writing our letters and numbers 1-10. I can't wrap my head around saying good bye, so I'll say maybe I'll be your younger children's substitute teacher! I love every single one of the students that I was blessed to teach these past 21 years. My life has been full of love, joy and hoping I make a difference in the children's journey to Kindergarten and more importantly their faith journey. I love you, Miss C.
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Dear Families,
Only two more weeks of school left and it'll be all about review and prepping the kids for Kindergarten! They're all very excited to be going to a "Big Kids" class so we'll focus on what their new teacher's expectations will be. It's going to be very different for the kiddos, so hold onto your hats! I've sent home the Kindergarten requirements for OLM and if your child has mastered these, they're off to a great start. If your child is going to public school and have mastered the list, they're ahead of the game. The children won't be getting any faith based lessons in public school, so please help them keep up on their faith journey. They know many prayers, maybe you can say them as a family. I'm starting to get emotional...I die a little every year when school ends because I love the children so much. Now with me retiring, it's tenfold! This week our themes are "Moving on and Ready for Kindergarten." We'll finish our letter review and concentrate on the letters Uu - Zz. We'll also work on patterns and ending sounds. In Second Step we'll learn about making new friends in Kindergarten. Lastly in Religion we'll revisit The Rosary. Thank you again and again for allowing me to guide your precious children on their faith journey and on the road to Kindergarten. It has been such a blessing to me. God bless you all, Love, Miss C. Dear Families,
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your good wishes for the next chapter of my life. This will be my last month and I plan on enjoying every minute of it! The month of May is dedicated to The Crowning of Mother Mary and we will be going to Mass on Friday. Usually, pre covid, we would go to Mass the first Friday of every month. This year we haven't been able to attend at all and I'm really looking forward to it. The previous Mass's have been held outdoors and I assume this one will be as well. We'll also be celebrating our Grandparent's this month with a special project. Don't worry Mom's we could never forget about you! Your children have worked very hard on your gift and I hope you love it as much as I do! As usual, it will be a very busy, faith filled and fun filled month. If you haven't registered your child for the summer program, there's still room! It's a great way to keep the kiddos busy having fun, faith and learning all through the summer! The theme for this month is: "Nature All Around Us." We'll concentrate on Growing and changing. The letters we'll review are K-O and the numbers are 6,7,8. God bless you all for your commitment to our classroom this year. The constant donations of cleaning supplies, healthy snacks and tissues have helped make our classroom a success! If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to let me know. Much love and many blessing to you all, Miss C. Dear Families,
I'm officially announcing my retirement, this will be my last year at OLM Preschool. The past 21 years have been such a blessing to me. Being entrusted to teach and care for your most precious children and all of the children from the past has made my life complete. I have loved every single child who has passed through my classroom door and it's going to HURT to say good bye. All the teachers and staff are family to me and I love them with all my heart. They have all been there for me through my joys and sorrows, through laughter and tears and most importantly through their prayers. I'm ready for retirement and am looking forward to whatever this next chapter in my life brings my way. I know I won't be able to stay away for too long before I come back to help in any way that's needed, to Sub, to prep or to just bring goodies and soak up the love. Ok, I'm going to cry...again...so I'll get back to work! This is our second week of the Theme: Growing up healthy. We'll learn all about our 5 senses and eating healthy foods. I would love it if each family could bring in 2 pieces of fruit, any kind, so we can do a 5 senses project. When we're done, with any leftover fruit we'll make a fruit salad! In Handwriting Without Tears we'll review the letters F - J and the numbers 3,4 and 5. In religion we'll discuss how God always loves us and learn all about Noah's Ark. We'll cover Math Mat 21 and rhyme shape words. We'll also continue blending words such as st/op. Please remember to check out our Little Caesar's fundraiser...who doesn't love pizza??? Many blessing to you all, Miss C. Hi Families,
Last week we spent time talking about famous artists and we had so much fun painting! The artist we learned about was Claude Monet. It was wonderful to see the children's eyes light up when they saw what they had accomplished. We're keeping the painting a secret since it will be given to you Mom's for Mother's Day!!! This week we'll start a new theme: Growing Up Healthy/Growing and Changing. We'll concentrate on learning how to be healthy, and learning how to take care of ourselves. We'll cover first aid, germs, eating healthy and exercise. The letters we'll be working on this week are Aa - Ee review. Earth Day is April 22nd so we'll be talking all about how to keep the Earth healthy and also about recycling. In our Handwriting Without Tears curriculum the focus will be on the letter X,x and the numbers 1 and 2. In math this week the children will be given 3 different sized containers and they'll try to figure out which one holds more water. That should be fun (and messy!) We'll be matching beginning sounds and in our Second Step curriculum the children will learn how to speak assertively. Yesterday was First Holy Communion Mass at St. Patrick's Church and it was beautiful! We were able to have it indoor and it almost felt like old times except for the fact that the children had to wear masks with all their finery! Please join me in praying for these children who have taken a very special second step, and that they walk in the Lord's light forever. Important dates: 4-12 - School resumes 4-19 - Little Caesar's Pizza fundraiser begins...YUM!!! 4-22 - Earth Day 4-28 - April Birthday celebrations God bless you all, Miss C. Welcome back families!
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! My husband and I were able to spend it with my three boys and per their request we had chicken enchiladas! Yum!!! I've enjoyed this time off but really missed your kiddos and can't wait to see them! This week will be really exciting as I will introduce the artist Claude Monet to the children. In art we will paint our own version of one of his most famous paintings. The students will also be doing a shaving foam craft that both they and you will love! It'll be so much fun, I can't wait! Besides becoming famous painters themselves, we'll be working on the Letters I,i and Ee in Big Day for Pre K. We'll concentrate on diagonal lines in Handwriting Without Tears by working on the letters Zz and Aa. Working on blending and Thinking of Solutions in Second Step will round out our week. Whew! We can do this! Time to sign up for the super fun 2021 Summer Childcare Program! This is a great way to keep the kids busy and in routine for the upcoming school year. This has always been a favorite, fun, fantastic way for the kids to spend their summer. There are going to be games, science projects, art projects, learning and faith going on. The Summer admission agreement can be found on the school's website or I can get the paperwork for you. Please e-mail or return the completed form to Mrs. Mary or myself at [email protected]. or here at school. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all for your love and support during this crazy year. Your children are doing a fantastic job of carrying on getting ready for Kindergarten! Important dates... 4/12 - School resumes (hooray!) 4/19 - Little Caesar's Fundraiser begins (Oh Yeah!) 4/28 - Birthday Celebrations God bless you all, Miss C. Dear Families,
We are in our last week of March and this is Holy Week. We'll focus our attention on learning all about each day of this special week. Today is Palm Sunday and the children have made Palm Leaves to wave in the air to welcome Jesus as he rides on a donkey. We saw a video called, "The Donkey No One Could Ride" and the children loved it. It's a beautiful story, if you would like to share it with your family you can find it on you tube. The crosses the children made were blessed on Friday at Mass! Hooray! The crosses will be taken home this week. I decided to leave a point at the end in case you choose to put it in your yard or you can put a soda pop pull top ring on it and hang it on the wall. The children decided where to put the cross piece so it's uniquely their own. The crosses have been weather treated so they will do well outside. We'll be having our Easter Celebration on Wednesday, March 31st. Please see the sign up sheet if you can help with our special snack The children made special Easter bags and if your child would like to bring a goodie to fill up those bags, the children would be very appreciative. We have 11 children in the class. On Holy Thursday the Preschool will close promptly at 12:30. We'll be closed on Good Friday and the following week as well. Thursday morning we'll get to see the eighth graders read The Stations Of The Cross and we're so looking forward to that. This week: 3/29 - 4/2; Holy Week 3/31 - Easter Celebration 4/1 - School closes at 12:30 4/2 - 4/11 - Spring Break 4/12 - School resumes May God bless you during this most holy week and always, Miss C. Dear Families,
Thank you so much for your support for our Parent/Club Auction and Dinner! I was so excited when I found out how much our Summer Swim Basket went for!!! Every dollar raised will go to improve OLM School in some way and that, in turn, will benefit your children! I feel very humbled and blessed. I also want to thank you for your continuous donations to our classroom, from snacks to cleaning supplies. At this time we are in need of paper towels...we go through about a roll a day. Any donations will be greatly appreciated! Also the children's school boxes need replenishing. Markers, crayons, glue (both glue sticks and liquid glue), and water color paints. Your kiddos are big into creating art!!! Thank you so much! If I've said this before, please forgive me but your children know the Stations of the Cross amazingly well! I couldn't be more proud of them! We've finished our ABC Bootcamp and I think it's made a huge difference in your children's letter recognition and beginning sound skills, plus they love it! We will continue to review our chart until the end of the year. In Handwriting Without Tears we'll be working on the letters AA, Yy and ZZ, diagonal lines. We'll review shapes and write our letters and numbers. In Second Step we'll concentrate on "Saying the problem." The children have all made their crosses, my husband wants to put a clear finish on them and then hopefully we can get them blessed. I wanted the kids to do the clear finish but my husband told me they shouldn't be breathing the fumes in (sorry what do I know about working with wood?) We'll be very busy but happy! I heard the weather will be beautiful so we'll really enjoy our outside time which is also a learning time as that is where we get out our chalk and either write our names, numbers or this theme make tall buildings! God Bless you all, Miss C. Dear Families,
We're all geared up and ready for the OLM/Parent Club Auction!!! Please go and check out all of the amazing items available! Don't forget about the drive through dinner and the raffle tickets! A few years ago I had already left the auction when I got a call from Mrs. Blackburn telling me that I won $1000.00 from the raffle!!! WOW!!! I thought she was kidding me at first but no, I had actually won!!! So...you never know!!! This week we'll be working on the letters Rr and Yy in Handwriting Without Tears. We'll also concentrate on St. Patrick and St. Joseph. Don't forget to send your children to school in green on Wednesday the 17th! We'll have a special snack that day. We'll be learning how to measure and make a VERY special item using tools for our construction theme. In Second Step, the lesson will be all about joining in play and in ABC Bootcamp we'll focus on...wait for it...Xx, Yy and ZZ!!! The children are already telling me we're almost done with the alphabet and then guess what? We'll start over! I have to tell you that your children already know The Stations of the Cross! They raise their hands and say "Oh me, me, me when I ask them what happens at each station! I told you before that I made a wooden template of all the stations and we have been using it every day. Now I turn it backwards and ask what happens during the first station and so on and they know!!! Your children are amazing!!! What's coming up? Here you go..... 3/17 - St. Patrick's Day...wear green! 3/19 - St. Joseph's Day 3/15 - 3/20 - OLM Silent online auction 3/20 - OLM School Take-Out Dinner/Online Auction 3/25 Picture Day with the bunnies - optional 3/29 - 4/2 - Holy Week 4/1 - Easter Celebration 4/1 - Preschool closes promptly at 12:30 Many blessings to you all, Miss C. Hello Families,
I'm sorry that I didn't blog last week but we had to put our totally loved German Shepherd, Levi to sleep and I took it really hard! I'm feeling better now but miss him terribly! This new month of March is a wonderfully faith filled month as we are in the season of Lent. The children are learning (as gently as possible) the significance of what Lent means to us. Ask your children how long Lent is and they can tell you. We go over the Stations Of The Cross every day and they know what each station means. I have a board that I made that has visual clues to what each station represents. For example, there are purple band-aids when Jesus fell each time, I have a picture of Jesus's face on a cloth that represents when Veronica wiped the face of Jesus and so on. Your children are amazing! The theme we're in is called "Imagine It Make It/Construction Zone." The children will be making a VERY special item using wood and stain and a hammer and nail. Can you guess what it is? In handwriting Without Tears we'll be working on diagonal lines letters Kk and Hh. We'll also work on triangle and diamond shapes, beginning sounds, letter sound patterns and in Second Step we'll concentrate on "Inviting To Play". I'm very excited about the Parent/Teacher Conferences this week! I had one on Friday and it didn't work out so well but we did end up having a great phone call conference! Please be flexible with me since I'm computer challenged! Let's talk about our class Auction donation!!! WoW!!! It turned out amazing!!! Thank you all so much for your donations! You can't really see it when you look at it but we all put our handprints that were turned into fish on the towel! Happy bidding! You know I'll be bidding too! There are a lot of things going on this month so please get you calendars ready!!! 3/5: Registration begins for our Summer Program and also the 2021/2022 School Year 3/8 - 3/11: Parent/Teacher conferences with me via Zoom (hopefully!) 3/10: Kindergarten Information Night via Zoom at 6:00 pm 3/12: See's Candy Fundraiser ends. Please see Mary's e-mail to make a purchase, we are asking for $100.00 per family to reach our goal! 3/17: Saint Patrick's Day! Wear green! 3/19: Saint Joseph's Day 3/15-3/20: OLM Silent Auction online 3/20: OLM School Take-Out Dinner/Online Auction 3/25: Optional Picture Day with bunnies! 3/31 Easter class celebration (look for sign up sheet soon) 3/29 - 4/2: Holy Week 4/1 - Preschool closes promptly at 12:30 I'm praying for each and every one of you always, Miss C. |