RPDS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

e-RPDS 10/27/2017

Letter from the Director

Dear Redeemer Community,

Throughout history the typical American family has been defined, redefined, defined, and redefined again. The Munsters, the Brady Bunch, the Simpsons, and NBC's Modern Family have taught us that the common thread found in all families is that each one is truly unique. There is no one definition that can truly capture "family".

The Redeemer family is no different. It's impossible to put into words the spirit of the Redeemer family, but last weekend's Fall Family Festival was a snapshot of what it looks like. We had infants and grandparents, teachers and students, new friends and old, siblings and parents, teenage volunteers, cousins, aunts, uncles, neighbors and a few unfamiliar faces enjoying time together - and all were welcome as part of the Redeemer family. On a truly glorious Saturday morning I was reminded yet again how fortunate I am to be part of the this great family.

We would like to extend a very special thank you to Erin Cummings and Corleigh McDermond, our Fall Festival Co-chairs; Emily Pfeifer and Jen Rakes, our Parent Council Co-chairs; and their many, many volunteers for their amazing work in bringing us all together.

We are blessed!

Best regards,

Mary Knott

P.S. Please be sure to watch our NEW student video found under the Quicklinks section of this newsletter.

Classroom Updates:

Art:

Redeemer artists are encouraged to enjoy the process of making art over the final product or outcome. The art room is a place where there are no "mistakes" or "wrong ways" to create....just creative opportunities! This Fall we have become "Art Explorers" investigating line, color, and texture. Using our magnifying glasses we noticed the changing colors of Fall leaves and the thin lines running through them. We loved the smooth and bumpy textures of our gourds and pumpkins and noticed that they too have lines when we painted and drew them. Please stop by anytime to see what our curious artists have been up to in the Art Room!

Chapel:

Wednesday morning Chapel at 11am is a joyful, joyful time! We sing, pray, bring and bless food for our hungry neighbors, enact sacred stories, celebrate birthdays and give thanks for God's love. We'd love to have you join us! Mother P.

Gym:

We have had a great start to the year in gym class! This beautiful fall weather has allowed us to enjoy most classes outside in the fresh air. The children have been enjoying cooperative activities like parachute play, bounce passing balls to partners, and non-elimination musical chairs, as well as simple tag games. We have been working on taking turns, following directions, and working together.

Library:

Library is a very special time at Redeemer for lots of reasons, but primarily because it our program is run by parent volunteers. Our pre-k, kindergarten and pre-first classes enjoy their weekly visits to library, and our 3s classes look forward to starting in January. Listening to stories and selecting their own books are always favorites for our students.

Music:

In the 3s music class we are having a spooky time with Halloween songs about ghosts and goblins and black bats flying through the night. The Pre K learned a skit song about pumpkins and a scary black cat. In the K/Pre first we learned about minor keys and how to enhance a song with instruments.With the holiday season coming soon you will hopefully be

hearing wonderful sounds of Thanksgiving and Christmas! Happy listening!

Science:

I couldn't be more thrilled to be teaching our young scientists in Redeemer's new STEM Discovery room! The children are all enjoying this interactive space from the Lego, magnetic, and activity walls to the weekly STEM Challenges and more. Please stop by to visit if you haven't had a chance to check it out!

Fall means harvest time in our garden! To date we have picked 19 pumpkins with just a few left to be gathered in time for Halloween. We have had a bounty of cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and herbs. Last month the Pre-first and Kindergarten classes planted a bed of radish and lettuce seeds, and this week we picked the first of the radishes to enjoy as a snack in class.

Spanish:

Hola! The kindergarten and pre-first students are having fun with Spanish! The kindergarten students are learning basic conversation, numbers, colors and singing a lot of songs!. They are becoming familiar with the new sounds and learning pronunciation. It may take them months and lots of repetition before they to start using the words with confidence. Click here for list of the words they have learned. In Pre-first, we are building on what they learned last year and adding new words; the Spanish alphabet and calendar words. On Monday, we will all learn about the Mexican holiday: Dia de los Muertos!

Values:

At Redeemer we feel the children need to "live" such values as honesty, respect, responsibility, compassion, self discipline and kindness. Values is a fundamental part of school life that is integrated into all the curriculum areas. This week we all became RESPONSIBLE and FAIR kids. Hope these values are filtering into your homes. The book i am using for inspiration this year is Learning About Virtues by Juliette Garesche Dages.

World Cultures:

Our pre-first and kindergarten travels began with passport applications and airline boarding passes.While we waited for those passports (It can take a while!) we learned more about our own country and the origin and meaning behind our flag. Since then we have been enjoying time in Japan where we have learned more about the geography, Japanese writing, and origami. Our travels will also include sampling the cuisine and Japanese literature. Oh the places we will go!

Re-enrollment

Re-enrollment forms for current students for the 2018-2019 school year were mailed home on October 20. In order to reserve a place for your child in our program, we must receive the form by December 1. If we do not have the form by December 1, we cannot guarantee your child a spot. Please note that no money is due at this time. Click here for the Re-enrollment form. If you have questions, please contact the school office.

Leftover Halloween Candy

If you are looking to eliminate extra Halloween candy, Judi Smith is looking for individually wrapped pieces and bags of candy for sorting and graphing in her math classes. Please be reminded that it must be NUT-FREE. Please send to school on Wednesday in a ziplock bag and marked for Judi Smith.

Boots for Baltimore

We are excited to report that as of today, we have raised enough money to buy 18 pairs of boots and are a little more than halfway to our goal of 30. We will continue to accept donations through November 1. Be sure to look for our tracking chart, created by some of our pre-k students, to keep an eye on our progress. All children should plan to wear their boots on November 1 where we will celebrate our efforts in chapel.

Boxtop Update:

In just the first two months of school we are 46% of the way to our goal of $250. Everyone is doing a wonderful job, especially our children, who are amazing BoxTops collectors! Keep clipping and hopefully we will surpass our goal!

UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS:

Tuesday, October 31 9:15 am - Halloween Parade! ALL SCHOOL dismissal 11:45 am.

Wednesday, November 1:

Boots for Baltimore Chapel Service - to celebrate our efforts all children should wear boots to school this day.

Thursday, November 2: 9 am Kindergarten Sneak Peek (for Pre-K parents)

Friday, November 3: NO SCHOOL - Professional Day

Friday, November 10: Parent Conferences for 5 Day 3s, Pre-k, K, P1- School not in session. The 3 Day 2s and 3 Day 3s will be in school with no early am drop-off and lunch bunch.

Tuesday, November 22: 9:15 am- Thanksgiving Service- break begins after service- no afternoon programs.

Program Highlights:

Baby Chicks

The STEM Discovery room has been even more lively than usual this week as we have been hosting some very special visitors from the Quiver Farm Chick Hatching Project. The eggs and incubator arrived last Wednesday, the kindergarteners and prefirst students diligently played mother hen turning the eggs, and by Tuesday morning the chicks were piping their way out of the eggs! The room is abuzz with sweet peeps and cheeps!

Visit to Rogers Farm

Our pre-first and kindergarten students had a fun-filled afternoon at Rodgers Farm and Corn Maze. The took a hay ride, saw some great animals, brought home pumpkins, rode a big yellow school bus, but most of all, had fun with friends. Thank you to our teachers and parent chaperones for providing such a great field trip!

PDS Garden

T he PDS garden is yet another wonderful feature of our playground and life at Redeemer. We have been enjoying our wild and overgrown pumpkin patch and are beginning to harvest our fall plantings. We have learned a lot from watching the lettuces, tomatoes, herbs and pumpkins grow, not to mention, the overripe vegetables and how they begin to change. Check out the cucumber above!

Fall Festival

We loved seeing so many of our families and friends at our annual Fall Family Festival. Our students enjoyed the pony rides, petting zoo, games, crafts and lots of highly decorated cupcakes! Thank you to everyone for supporting this wonderful annual tradition!

In This Issue

Director's Letter

Classroom Updates

Office Notes

Community News

Student Slideshow

In preschool we recognize the privilege, responsibility and joy of educating our youngest students. Alongside their parents, we work diligently at building the foundation for their ongoing and lifelong learning. Be sure to click on the link below found in every issue to see our wonderful students in action. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR NEW STUDENT VIDEO"FALL FUN AT REDEEMER"

Please visit our website