From the Principal’s Office: 

With the weather changing and turning into fall this month it is going to be “Spook-tacular” Month.  We are finally seeing the changing of the seasons,  leaves changing color, cooler mornings, and the nights getting shorter,  with that in mind please make sure your child has at least 3 changes of clothes in their cubbies that are weather appropriate.

We will kick off the month with visit from our local fire department as the children learn about Fire & Safety.  We are also excited to have Shirley Parenteau, a local children’s author coming to visit and will be reading to the children.  This year we will celebrate our Fall festival through out the week of October 24- 31st.  Our annual Trick or Table and costume parade will be held October 31st, this is an opportunity for the children to wear their costumes and we will provide their trick or treat bags.  If you would like to volunteer to pass out stickers/treats please let us know. More information will be provided as the dates gets closer..

Every year the principal’s all over the Unites states  come together for our annual Principal’s Conference.  I will be out of the office from October 24th to October 28th for training and recognition.  If you need anything or have any questions while I am gone you can email me and I will answer as soon as I can  or feel free to contact my assistant Ms. Robin.

Have a great month!

Nieva Gatbonton

Principal

OCTOBER EVENTS:

Fire Prevention Day                             9th

Cooking Class Begins                            9th

Columbus Day                                      10th

Kids Can Food Drive Begins              10th

Storybook Visitor                                13th

Fire Department Visit                        14th

Pajama Day                                           21st

Picasso’s Birthday                                 25th

Pumpkin/Fall Celebration                24th-28th

All School Bake Sale                              26th

Parent Reports Available                    28th

National Candy Corn Day                    30th

Trick or Table                                        31st

Class Parties                                           31st

KIDS CAN FOOD DRIVE:

We are excited to announce for the 10 year we are participating in the annual KIDS CAN FOOD DRIVE.  The food drive will begin October 10th and go through November 11th.  The boxes to drop off your donations will be in the front lobby.  Please help us reach our goal of 500 cans this year.

PUMPKIN/FALL CELEBRATION:

The week of October 24th-28th we will be doing different activities daily to celebrate the holiday.  Monday we will be having Pumpkin Exploration and also the Great Pumpkin Drop.  Tuesday each class will be making a scarecrow and displaying them in the lobby to be judged by our wonderful parents.  The winning class/scarecrow will receive a pizza party.  Wednesday, We will be having a “Spook-tacluar” music concert from our own Music Matt and his music class. Thursday, the children will be creating some wonderful fall art that we will be displaying in the windows of the rooms for all to see.  We will end the week with a Puppet Show.

TRICK OR TABLE: 

Mark your calendars for October 31st.  We will be having our annual trick or table, this is a fun activity that the children get the opportunity to go trick or treating with their classmates.  We need parent volunteers to decorate a tri-fold board and pass out healthy or fun treats to all the children in our school.  Boards can be decorated with either harvest or Halloween theme. Please be creative because teachers will judge the boards and the winner will receive a special surprise from us.

FALL RAFFLE BASKETS:

We are excited to announce we are bringing back our fall raffle baskets.  On each class door is a sign up sheet for you to bring in a donated item, for each item you bring you will receive a free raffle ticket.  The baskets will be on display starting October 21st at which time you will be able to buy tickets for the raffle.  The raffle it’s self will be done on October 31st at 1:00 pm.

BOO GRAMS:

We are selling boo grams.  This is an opportunity for you to purchase a treat to be delivered to your child on October 28th.  Please look for the flyer to order in your child’s sign in/out book next week.  We will begin orders October 10th through the 21st.

OCTOBER COOKING CLASS:

Back by popular demand ! We will be holding another cooking class on October 10th through the 14th.  Ms. Michaela will be cooking up some Halloween treats with the children.  Space is very limited!  Please look for the flyer in your child’s sign in/out!

A few friendly reminders …….

Health & Safety First:

• Upon arrival and during pick-up time, please make sure that you sign your child in and out in the sign-in/out binder located in the front office. All information must be completed on each line and be clearly legible. You must write a phone number each day where we can reach you immediately should there be a need for it.
• Should you require an alternate person to pick-up your child, please give a written letter to the office, stating the name of the person who is authorized to pick up. Please inform the person picking up the child that they must provide a valid form of identification with photo. A staff will ask for I.D. to properly identify this person as someone who is authorized to pick-up your child.
• It is very important that you make contact with the teacher on duty when arriving or picking-up your child. This will help you better understand how your child’s day went and allow you time to ask any questions and/or voice any concerns you may have.
• Please make sure to carefully review our Sick and Medication policies. Our goal is to maintain a healthy environment for all our children and staff. We are asking you to abide by our sick policy as we will continue to enforce those policies with every enrolled student. Although their symptoms may not abide by the sick child policy, the school administration will determine when a child needs to go home according to their well being. On occasion, symptoms may be outside the parameter of our Sick Child Policy, at that time the school administration will contact you if we feel your child needs parental care.
• With the exception of our infant population, children at Merryhill Preschool will be involved in physical fitness activities, both indoors and outdoors, as an important part of the curriculum. If a parent believes that his/her child is not well enough to participate, s/he will probably be more comfortable at home in more familiar surroundings. The school is not equipped to accommodate the needs of a sick child. Additionally, to prevent widespread flu in the school, we recommend that your child stay home from school if experiencing flu or cold symptoms.
• During the summer months we will try to maintain our playground schedule when weather permits. We ask that parents put sunscreen on the children before they come to school. We also ask that you maintain a bottle of sunscreen in your child’s classroom and teachers will reapply as needed.
• Please make sure all doors close securely behind you when you leave a room or the building. Please refrain from exiting through the Emergency Exit Door to the parking lot. (We do not want the children to think it is okay to use this door.)
  Please do not give out your door code to anyone other than the primary people on your pick up list.
  Please do not allow “piggy backing” at the front door. If there is someone behind or in front of you that does not know the code, please ring the door bell, which is located above the key pad.

Parking Lot Safety

Please remember not to leave any valuables in your car (including your children) when entering our building or any other location. With the slump in the economy, thieves are getting BOLD! They are taking part in a practice  refer as “Smash and Grab”. They target mostly women’s cars who leave without a purse in hand who have left their purses, lap tops, etc. sitting in plain view in their locked vehicles! The “locked vehicle” does not stop them as they come prepared with a special glass breaking tool! They break your window, grab what they want and speed away!

Please do not leave anything of value or that resembles a purse or bag in plain view in your car, for any amount of time! This includes your children!

Rules for Vehicles While On School Grounds: 

Because the safety of our children is of paramount concern to us, we require all parents to adhere to the following rules of the road while on campus:

1. There is a 5 miles per hour speed limit at all times while on school property.
2. Park in designated parking spaces only.
3. While on school grounds, pedestrians always have the right of way.
4. Vehicle ignitions MUST be turned off, and the keys removed, while parked on school grounds.
5. Children may NOT be left unattended in a vehicle at any time or for any reason.
6. Violations of these rules may result in a warning. If a violation is serious, or if violations continue, school personnel are authorized to take a tag number for a report to the local police.

Thank you for partnering with us to keep all of our children safe.

Tuition Policy Reminder:

• Tuition is due no later than Friday prior to the week of attendance. Tuition is considered delinquent at 12:00 PM on Monday. A $25 late fee charge will be assessed at that time and should be included in your payment. Tuition is continuous throughout the year. There are no deductions in tuition for absences, illness, or the holidays that are observed throughout the year. Each child is entitled to one week of vacation credit for each school year after attending school for six months. Requests for vacation credit must be presented in writing to the office at least two weeks in advance.
• A charge of $1 per minute will be assessed for children picked-up after 12:30 PM for half-day students, and 6:00 PM for full-day students.
• Sign up for our Automatic Payment Program and avoid late fee charges! 

Additional Reminders:

• Please make sure that your child has a crib-sized fitted sheet to cover his/her mat, a blanket, and at least two spare set of clothing in his/her cubby. On Fridays, you must take blankets and sheets home to be laundered and return them on Mondays. Please check your child’s cubby everyday for soiled clothing or other items that may need to be taken home. Please also make sure all items are clearly marked with your child’s name (clothing, sheets, blankets, sweaters and jackets, towels and bathing suits, etc.).
• We ask that your child wear appropriate shoes to School in order to protect them for potential injuries. Flip Flops are not permitted at school.
• Merryhill provides a hot lunch as well as a morning and afternoon snack. We do not provide breakfast, but we’ll be happy to assist your child with breakfast brought from home until 8:45 AM. If you would like your child to eat breakfast at school, he/she must arrive by 8:30 AM.
• Merryhill School is a NUT FREE environment, we ask that you not bring any food items into the school that contain nut products.
• In order to keep you informed of everything happening at Merryhill, please check the Merryhill Links to Learning Parent Board and students’ files located in each classroom, our monthly newsletter, and our website. In an effort to establish prompt communication with parents please make sure to provide us with an e-mail address for up-to-date e-notifications.

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