Jan 23, 2014 ... bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat,. The Lorax, One Fish ... 500
Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Fox in Socks, The. King's Stilts ...
Urban Arts Academy January 2014 Preschool Newsletter In This Issue Thank you! Artist of the Month Topic of the Month Survey Results
Thank you JoAnne and Paula!
Kindergarten Information Session We will have a representative from 2 area schools join us to present about their programs on Thursday, January 23, 2014, from 8:30 am to 9:30 am.
We at Urban Arts Academy are sad to see these two fantastic women leave our organization, but we are grateful for the multiple contributions they made to make this place a better place!
Schools respresented will be: Risen Christ School 1120 E. 37th Street Minneapolis, MN 55407 Southside Family School 4500 Clinton Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55419 If you wish to attend, please RSVP to Gretchen by Tuesday, January 21.
Artist of the Month: Dr. Seuss!
Dates to Remember January 20, 2014 No Preschool MLK Jr Day/Teacher Training February 13, 2014 Preschool Play February 17, 2014 No Preschool President's Day March 27,2014 No School Parent Teacher Conferences March 28, 2014 No School Teacher Training Day
Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 - September 24, 1991) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist.
March 31-April 4 No School Spring Break
He was most widely known for his children's books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. He had used the pen name Dr. Theophrastus Seuss in college and later used Theo LeSieg and Rosetta Stone.
Scholastic Book Orders
Geisel published 46 children's books, often characterized by imaginative characters and rhyme. His most-celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, Fox in Socks, The King's Stilts, Hop on Pop, Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. His works have spawned numerous adaptations, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series. He won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 for Horton Hatches the Egg and again in 1961 for And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. Geisel also worked as an illustrator for advertising
campaigns. Scholastic Book Order forms are on the table in the hallway. Please take one! You can order online, or return the order form and your check to the office. Deadline to order is end of day on January 29.
Happy January Birthday to our friends! PENNY H. -- 1/7 CHARLOTTE R. -- 1/30
Friendly Reminder Please remember that we are nut-free facility! Please do not send tree nut products with your child for snacks and lunches.
Topic of the Month: Bullying (Beginning with this newsletter, we will have a "Topic of the Month" that will address issues related to Early Childhood and kids in general.) Urban Arts Academy Preschool uses the Responsive Classroom process for building classroom community. This is the same approach as Minneapolis Public Schools and builds a culture of community, personal responsibility and zero tolerance for bullying. We've heard that some of our preschool students have been bringing home to their parents reports of "bullies" in the classroom. Please rest assured that we keep a close eye on our class dynamics and work with all students to find ways to interact in positive ways with their peers. There are, however, common conflicts in a preschool classroom as children are learning to regulate their own impulses and interact appropriately in a social environment. When two children have a conflict, teachers help the children model the appropriate language to address the problem and make it right. This often means giving back a toy that was taken, apologizing for knocking a friend down accidentally, and cleaning up a mess that was made. Children, however, are fascinated with the concept of bullies and may be quick to label children who act out. Children who are big and active may stand out as threatening to smaller, more timid children. Our job as teachers is to monitor these reactions and relationships and give each child in our class opportunities to
interact with all the other children in a variety of ways to help build community. Because we've been hearing children worrying about bullies, we will introduce the topic in January and talk with children about what it means to be a bully, how grown-ups and kids can prevent bullying and how we can work together to be a peaceful community.
Wish List! If you could donate, we would appreciate it! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
art books artist-quality drawing paper artist-quality pencils blank CDs and DVDs children's CDs container lids/caps digital cameras dry erase markers DVD players Easels Legos headphones irons large paint brushes paint, crayons, markers postage stamps video cameras wood glue yoga mats Printing Press Laminating Machine
If your child seems concerned about bullies you may wish to bring up the topic at home, too. Please email Gretchen with any questions about this topic or suggestions on resources about how to talk with your children about the topic of bullying.
Results from our Survey... Thank you to the 53 respondents who answered our Preschool Family Survey via Survey Monkey. What a fantastic response! Your feedback is very important to us as we move forward and face decisions about how to make UAA Preschool run more smoothly and continue to deliver quality arts-infused programming. We've analyzed the survey results and would like to share with you some of our findings. UAA Preschool is not the sole Preschool for some families. While 77% of our families use UAA to serve all their childcare and preschool needs, 23% supplement the UAA experience with an outside preschool or home daycare. While the vast majority of families find their needs met through UAA alone, we strive to meet the needs of all our families to become their "go-to" place for childcare and arts programming.
Snowpants! Several students do not have snowpants at school. Since we go outside everyday (temperature permitting) we need to have the child wear their snow pants. Please make sure they have a pair here, and please label them! The teachers really appreciate when their students have their snowpants here and they do not have to borrow from the UAA extras. (Sometimes we don't have enough extras for everyone that needs them!)
Next year we'll be offering extended -day programming as well as early care for working parents. We are also introducing a new pricing structure that offers a discount for morning students who extend to full day. Parents appreciate our Preschool Newsletter and white boards, but would like more information on what is happening in the classroom. A number of parents shared comments asking for clearer communication about curriculum content and daily activities. With the implementation of Creative Curriculum next Fall, we will be able to map out the themes for the year in advance and provide take-home materials to support classroom learning. In the short term, we are introducing Morning Muffins, a monthly chance to meet with teachers in the morning, before class starts, to have conversations about classroom activities. Each month we will offer Morning Muffins on a different day (mornings and afternoons) to make the opportunity available to parents with differing schedules. Parents want more information on Creative Curriculum. Creative Curriculum is a preschool curriculum framework we will implement next Fall to guide our morning programming. It is clear from the survey that you would like more information on what the curriculum contains and how morning and afternoon programming will differ. We have prepared a factsheet Urban Arts Academy Preschool and Creative Curriculum to answer your questions. You can refer further Creative Curriculum questions to Gretchen or visit www.teachingstrategies.com/curriculum. While all parents appreciate flexible scheduling options, a Tues/Thurs, M-W-F or Mon-Fri structure works for most families.
We thought long and hard about making this change, but with our growth over the past few years, maintaining a system where each child's schedule is unique has become very difficult. In order to keep our administrative costs down and tuition rates reasonable, we need to streamline our scheduling process. 47% of our respondents who plan to enroll next year shared their preferred schedule under the new design. 37% were not sure which option they will choose. However, 15% (6 respondents) would not be able to attend UAA with set scheduling options. While we do not wish to lose any families, we are simply not able to continue offering so much variation. We will, however, offer families with morning schedules flexibility in the afternoons. So, if your child has a Tuesday/Thursday schedule, you may choose to extend the day on Tuesday, but not Thursday, if there is available space. We are offering this flexibility to help families transition to the new structure. Parents would like to see more Music and Movement in the classroom. Forty-two percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would like to see more music and movement in UAA classrooms. In addition to music and movement, 30% wish to see more Spanish language activities. Both of these priorities will be considered as we move into Fall curriculum planning. Building diversity at UAA is a shared goal. When asked if you would like to see more diversity in UAA students and staff, 49% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed. UAA is working towards building diversity by expanding outreach to more communities in our service area. We aim to building opportunities for siblings of our after-school students, who tend to reflect the diversity of our
neighborhood, to attend UAA Preschool. At our Fall Staff Training, staff participated in a "Facing Racism" workshop and talked about building inclusiveness and access in our program. We aim to serve the whole of our neighborhood and community, and while we are working towards that goal, we welcome input and resources from current families.
Urban Arts Academy | 3901 Chicago Ave S | Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 |
