A Message From the Principal:
Congratulations to Merryhill School, Laguna! Winner of Best of Elk Grove 2014, Best Preschool and Best Child Care.
March has arrived and it’s so wonderful to know that Spring is right around the corner! Soon signs of Spring will be all around us at Merryhill as the trees begin to blossom and the warmer weather approaches. The children will begin to notice the signs of Spring as they search the skies for rainbows and use their imaginations to find pictures in puffy clouds.
“What’s that you say? We are reading Dr. Suess books, and we are starting today!” Throughout the month of March the children will rediscover the many books of Dr. Suess and celebrate the joy of reading by honoring Dr. Suess’s birthday!
Priority Registration ends on March 20th. Be sure to register early to reserve your child’s spot for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year. Our school is currently full and we anticipate full enrollment again next year. Register now!
Our biggest celebration of the year is coming in April. It’s the Week of the Young Child! We will be kicking off this very special week with a Playday on Saturday, April 11th , so mark your calendar now. It’s a great way to spend the day with family and all your Merryhill friends. More information regarding this special week will be coming your way soon!
Don’t forget to “Spring Forward”, as we once again change our clocks on Sunday, March 8th. It is so nice to have those longer days again!
Have a wonderful Spring!
Lisa Norris – Principal
In March
- 3/6 Dr. Seuss’ Birthday – We are celebrating all month long!
- 3/8 Daylight Savings – “Spring Forward”!
- 3/17 St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations
- 3/20 Spring Begins
- 3/20 Priority Registration Ends
- 3/21 Open House – Inquiring Families Only
- 3/30-4/3 Spring Fling Week – Easter Activities!
- 4/3 Egg Hunts!
- 4/11 Week of the Young Child – Playday 10:30 am to 1 pm SAVE THE DATE!
Reminders
Priority Registration
Priority Registration for our upcoming 2015-2016 school year has begun and will end on Friday, March 20th. It will be important for you to register early to reserve your child’s spot for next year. By registering early, you will save $50 off the returning registration fee of $140. Registration will be $90 during the Priority Registration period. After that time, the returning registration fee will be $140.
Merryhill is your investment in your child’s future, so register early and save your child’s spot!
Read Across America with Dr. Seuss!
Every year children across America celebrate the joy of reading by honoring Dr. Seuss’ birthday. During the month of March, our Merryhill children will rediscover the many books of Dr. Seuss with fun and learning activities. If you have Dr. Seuss books that you would like to bring in to share with your child’s class, we would love to have them on loan.
St. Patrick’s Day
Once again, we will be “wearin’ the green” on Tuesday, March 17th for our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. This year our classes will be constructing Leprechaun traps in hopes of catching the Leprechaun that will lead them to the pot of gold! Our teachers may need a little help with supplies for their trap, so look for sign ups! And don’t forget to wear GREEN!
Week of the Young Child
Mark your calendar for this very special upcoming week. We will kick off the week on Saturday, April 11th with our annual Playday. This will be an event that you won’t want to miss and everyone is invited to attend, so save the date!
You will receive your Week of the Young Child Information Packets during the week of March 23rd. There will be a lot of very important information in these packets. Please make sure you read everything very carefully so your child won’t miss out.
All of the children will be making t-shirts for the Week of the Young Child. Please make sure that you bring a WHITE t-shirt for your child on or before Friday, March 27th!
Our classes will also have sign ups for our Raffle Baskets beginning the week of March 23rd. Help your child’s class by signing up to make a donation to their class raffle basket!
Spring Fling Week
March 30th – April 3rd
Traditionally, the week before Easter is our Spring Fling Week. Our classes will be involved with spring activities, and will then culminate with our traditional Egg Hunt on Friday, April 3rd.
If you are able to help our teachers with the Egg Hunts, it would be greatly appreciated. Please sign up with your child’s teacher.
Open House
If you have friends that would like their child to be a part of learning and playing at Merryhill, please invite them to our Open House on Saturday, March 21st from 10 am to 1 pm. We will give them a tour of our school, show them our outstanding Links to Learning curriculum, and tell them how they can register for our upcoming 2015-2016 school year. Our spaces are limited, so tell them to hurry in. And remember, if your friend enrolls at our school you could earn free tuition for yourself as a thank you for recommending our school.
Scholastic Book Fair
It’s time for our Spring Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair will run from April 6th-10th. As usual, our teachers will pick out their favorites and will place them on their wish list for you to purchase for their classroom. These books will be a wonderful addition to our classroom libraries.
We hope that you take this opportunity to purchase these high quality books for your children at this time. Thanks for your support!
Save the Dates!
Book Fair: April 6th – 10th
Week of the Young Child Playday: Saturday, April 11th, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
Week of the Young Child: April 11th – 17th
Weekly Communication
Please make sure that you are checking your email everyday! We often send out reminders about special events and each Monday you will receive a “This Week At Merryhill” email. This will give you a quick glance at the week!
Links to Learning
For information regarding your child’s class and the activities that are going on in our school, please check out the class newsletters that are posted on your child’s classroom door. And don’t forget to check our the lesson plans! These are your links to our school!
Parent Ambassador Program
If there is one thing that parents love to do, it’s talk about their children’s successes. When friends ask you about your child’s experience at Merryhill, what type of success stories do you share? Do you mention the personal and educational discoveries that your child is making thanks to our advanced curriculum? Do you talk about the new levels of self and social confidence your child has gained thanks to our encouraging atmosphere?
Whatever the glowing reports you deliver about how your child is growing with his or her education, we couldn’t be more appreciative. In fact, we’d like to show you just how thankful we are for your endorsements. Now when you tell other parents about our school, you can become a Merryhill School Parent Ambassador!
For every new child you refer who enrolls at our school you can receive up to a full free week of tuition (based on attendance of new student) after 3 months of attendance.
Links to Learning End of the Month Folder
Remember to pick up your Links to Learning folders on the last school day of each month. You will find the Links to Learning skills from the month, a snapshot at what is ahead, and samples of your child’s work included in each folder.
Merryhill Elementary School
For information regarding Merryhill Elementary School, please call:
Calvine Rd – 916-689-7236
News From Our Education Department
Developing Confident Future Readers
March is National Reading Month, so it is a great time to reinforce how important it is to expose children to books from an early age. We engage all of our students in language and literacy activities every day throughout the school year.
Research has shown that reading aloud to children has a profound influence on their speech development and listening skills. Reading allows children to experience the wondrous world depicted in books, and thrive on the interaction with adults.
Below are age appropriate activities that we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about reading, as well as recommended books to read with your child at home.
INFANTS – Linking sensory and reading experiences
In the classroom: We introduce language and literacy beginning with our infants, by consistently speaking, reading and singing to them. Teachers choose interactive books with bright colors, different textures and pop-up designs to help stimulate infants’ growing sensory awareness.
Books to read at home: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings by Matthew Van Fleet and Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont
TODDLERS – Rhyme and repetition
In the classroom: Toddlers enjoy hearing the same books read over and over again, because they are able join in as the stories become more familiar. Teachers read books with rhyme and repetition, such as Goodnight Moon, and vary their voice each time they tell the story. The change in tone gives children a chance to hear different sounds, and encourages them to practice making the sounds themselves.
Books to read at home: All Fall Down by Helen Oxenbury, Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
BEGINNERS – Engaging the imagination
In the classroom: Around age two, children begin to develop a love for the world of imagination. It’s important to engage children’s imaginations and encourage them to participate in shared reading experiences. A picture walk motivates children to rely on pictorial clues to decipher the story’s plot and make predictions. Before reading the story, the teacher and student flip through the book, and the child is encouraged to make predictions about the characters and plot. The teacher then reads the book aloud with the student. When finished, the child is asked to relate his predictions to the actual outcome of the story. For example, “Now that you know what happened, why was the elephant wearing a tutu?” or “What would you have done if you were the elephant?”
Books to read at home: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Corduroy by Don Freeman or Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
INTERMEDIATES – Exploring the wider world
In the classroom: As our Intermediates are introduced to the Citizens of the World component of our curriculum, they read about different places, cultures and traditions in books. Books help children understand and enjoy learning about the diversity of human experience. During circle time for example, we may read a story about children living in another country, in a different type of house and wearing different types of clothes. Afterward, the teacher connects the story back to what the children know by asking, “What does your house look like?” and “Who lives in your house with you?”
Books to read at home: Abuela by Arthur Dorros, So Much by Trish Cooke and On Mother’s Lap by Ann Scott
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 – Nonfiction Adventures
In the classroom: Children are naturally fascinated by the lives of real people and the world around them. Our teachers cultivate this fascination by exposing students to nonfiction books. For example, the class may read both a fiction and nonfiction book about animals. Afterward, they are encouraged to compare and contrast the two books and discuss what was accurate in the fiction book.
Books to read at home: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (fiction) and Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies (non-fiction)
By experiencing a literacy-rich environment, both at school and at home, we instill a love of reading and provide the foundation for our students to become successful, confident readers in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education
March News
A Message From the Principal:
Congratulations to Merryhill School, Laguna! Winner of Best of Elk Grove 2014, Best Preschool and Best Child Care.
March has arrived and it’s so wonderful to know that Spring is right around the corner! Soon signs of Spring will be all around us at Merryhill as the trees begin to blossom and the warmer weather approaches. The children will begin to notice the signs of Spring as they search the skies for rainbows and use their imaginations to find pictures in puffy clouds.
“What’s that you say? We are reading Dr. Suess books, and we are starting today!” Throughout the month of March the children will rediscover the many books of Dr. Suess and celebrate the joy of reading by honoring Dr. Suess’s birthday!
Priority Registration ends on March 20th. Be sure to register early to reserve your child’s spot for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year. Our school is currently full and we anticipate full enrollment again next year. Register now!
Our biggest celebration of the year is coming in April. It’s the Week of the Young Child! We will be kicking off this very special week with a Playday on Saturday, April 11th , so mark your calendar now. It’s a great way to spend the day with family and all your Merryhill friends. More information regarding this special week will be coming your way soon!
Don’t forget to “Spring Forward”, as we once again change our clocks on Sunday, March 8th. It is so nice to have those longer days again!
Have a wonderful Spring!
Lisa Norris – Principal
In March
Reminders
Priority Registration
Priority Registration for our upcoming 2015-2016 school year has begun and will end on Friday, March 20th. It will be important for you to register early to reserve your child’s spot for next year. By registering early, you will save $50 off the returning registration fee of $140. Registration will be $90 during the Priority Registration period. After that time, the returning registration fee will be $140.
Merryhill is your investment in your child’s future, so register early and save your child’s spot!
Read Across America with Dr. Seuss!
Every year children across America celebrate the joy of reading by honoring Dr. Seuss’ birthday. During the month of March, our Merryhill children will rediscover the many books of Dr. Seuss with fun and learning activities. If you have Dr. Seuss books that you would like to bring in to share with your child’s class, we would love to have them on loan.
St. Patrick’s Day
Once again, we will be “wearin’ the green” on Tuesday, March 17th for our St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. This year our classes will be constructing Leprechaun traps in hopes of catching the Leprechaun that will lead them to the pot of gold! Our teachers may need a little help with supplies for their trap, so look for sign ups! And don’t forget to wear GREEN!
Week of the Young Child
Mark your calendar for this very special upcoming week. We will kick off the week on Saturday, April 11th with our annual Playday. This will be an event that you won’t want to miss and everyone is invited to attend, so save the date!
You will receive your Week of the Young Child Information Packets during the week of March 23rd. There will be a lot of very important information in these packets. Please make sure you read everything very carefully so your child won’t miss out.
All of the children will be making t-shirts for the Week of the Young Child. Please make sure that you bring a WHITE t-shirt for your child on or before Friday, March 27th!
Our classes will also have sign ups for our Raffle Baskets beginning the week of March 23rd. Help your child’s class by signing up to make a donation to their class raffle basket!
Spring Fling Week
March 30th – April 3rd
Traditionally, the week before Easter is our Spring Fling Week. Our classes will be involved with spring activities, and will then culminate with our traditional Egg Hunt on Friday, April 3rd.
If you are able to help our teachers with the Egg Hunts, it would be greatly appreciated. Please sign up with your child’s teacher.
Open House
If you have friends that would like their child to be a part of learning and playing at Merryhill, please invite them to our Open House on Saturday, March 21st from 10 am to 1 pm. We will give them a tour of our school, show them our outstanding Links to Learning curriculum, and tell them how they can register for our upcoming 2015-2016 school year. Our spaces are limited, so tell them to hurry in. And remember, if your friend enrolls at our school you could earn free tuition for yourself as a thank you for recommending our school.
Scholastic Book Fair
It’s time for our Spring Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair will run from April 6th-10th. As usual, our teachers will pick out their favorites and will place them on their wish list for you to purchase for their classroom. These books will be a wonderful addition to our classroom libraries.
We hope that you take this opportunity to purchase these high quality books for your children at this time. Thanks for your support!
Save the Dates!
Book Fair: April 6th – 10th
Week of the Young Child Playday: Saturday, April 11th, 10:30 am – 1:00 pm
Week of the Young Child: April 11th – 17th
Weekly Communication
Please make sure that you are checking your email everyday! We often send out reminders about special events and each Monday you will receive a “This Week At Merryhill” email. This will give you a quick glance at the week!
Links to Learning
For information regarding your child’s class and the activities that are going on in our school, please check out the class newsletters that are posted on your child’s classroom door. And don’t forget to check our the lesson plans! These are your links to our school!
Parent Ambassador Program
If there is one thing that parents love to do, it’s talk about their children’s successes. When friends ask you about your child’s experience at Merryhill, what type of success stories do you share? Do you mention the personal and educational discoveries that your child is making thanks to our advanced curriculum? Do you talk about the new levels of self and social confidence your child has gained thanks to our encouraging atmosphere?
Whatever the glowing reports you deliver about how your child is growing with his or her education, we couldn’t be more appreciative. In fact, we’d like to show you just how thankful we are for your endorsements. Now when you tell other parents about our school, you can become a Merryhill School Parent Ambassador!
For every new child you refer who enrolls at our school you can receive up to a full free week of tuition (based on attendance of new student) after 3 months of attendance.
Links to Learning End of the Month Folder
Remember to pick up your Links to Learning folders on the last school day of each month. You will find the Links to Learning skills from the month, a snapshot at what is ahead, and samples of your child’s work included in each folder.
Merryhill Elementary School
For information regarding Merryhill Elementary School, please call:
Calvine Rd – 916-689-7236
News From Our Education Department
Developing Confident Future Readers
Research has shown that reading aloud to children has a profound influence on their speech development and listening skills. Reading allows children to experience the wondrous world depicted in books, and thrive on the interaction with adults.
Below are age appropriate activities that we implement in our classrooms to get children excited about reading, as well as recommended books to read with your child at home.
INFANTS – Linking sensory and reading experiences
In the classroom: We introduce language and literacy beginning with our infants, by consistently speaking, reading and singing to them. Teachers choose interactive books with bright colors, different textures and pop-up designs to help stimulate infants’ growing sensory awareness.
Books to read at home: Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt, Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings by Matthew Van Fleet and Baby Danced the Polka by Karen Beaumont
TODDLERS – Rhyme and repetition
In the classroom: Toddlers enjoy hearing the same books read over and over again, because they are able join in as the stories become more familiar. Teachers read books with rhyme and repetition, such as Goodnight Moon, and vary their voice each time they tell the story. The change in tone gives children a chance to hear different sounds, and encourages them to practice making the sounds themselves.
Books to read at home: All Fall Down by Helen Oxenbury, Where is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
BEGINNERS – Engaging the imagination
In the classroom: Around age two, children begin to develop a love for the world of imagination. It’s important to engage children’s imaginations and encourage them to participate in shared reading experiences. A picture walk motivates children to rely on pictorial clues to decipher the story’s plot and make predictions. Before reading the story, the teacher and student flip through the book, and the child is encouraged to make predictions about the characters and plot. The teacher then reads the book aloud with the student. When finished, the child is asked to relate his predictions to the actual outcome of the story. For example, “Now that you know what happened, why was the elephant wearing a tutu?” or “What would you have done if you were the elephant?”
Books to read at home: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff, Corduroy by Don Freeman or Bark, George by Jules Feiffer
INTERMEDIATES – Exploring the wider world
In the classroom: As our Intermediates are introduced to the Citizens of the World component of our curriculum, they read about different places, cultures and traditions in books. Books help children understand and enjoy learning about the diversity of human experience. During circle time for example, we may read a story about children living in another country, in a different type of house and wearing different types of clothes. Afterward, the teacher connects the story back to what the children know by asking, “What does your house look like?” and “Who lives in your house with you?”
Books to read at home: Abuela by Arthur Dorros, So Much by Trish Cooke and On Mother’s Lap by Ann Scott
PRE-K/PRE-K 2 – Nonfiction Adventures
In the classroom: Children are naturally fascinated by the lives of real people and the world around them. Our teachers cultivate this fascination by exposing students to nonfiction books. For example, the class may read both a fiction and nonfiction book about animals. Afterward, they are encouraged to compare and contrast the two books and discuss what was accurate in the fiction book.
Books to read at home: Stellaluna by Janell Cannon (fiction) and Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies (non-fiction)
By experiencing a literacy-rich environment, both at school and at home, we instill a love of reading and provide the foundation for our students to become successful, confident readers in elementary school and beyond.
– Lauren Starnes, PhD- Director of Early Childhood Education