December 9, 2021
Masters of Pine Art
This week in Outdoor Ed was all about trees! After reading a book called
Pick a Pine Tree and painting colorful salt dough tree ornaments inside, Tr. Jaime led the Owls class outdoors to paint evergreen trees using… evergreeen trees! They repurposed a fallen branch, removing the pine needles and using them as paintbrushes to create their masterpiece forest!
Coming Up
 
  • Dec 6-Dec 17 – Goshen Giving to benefit Devereux (see details below)
  • Dec 16-17 – Enrollment Intent Letters due
  • Dec 20-Jan 3 – SCHOOL CLOSED for winter break
  • January 3 – School resumes for all students

For the latest full calendar, please click here.
From the Head of School
Dear Goshen Families,
 
Hello and Happy Holidays! We are having so much fun at school, singing songs, dancing, enjoying special snacks, making gifts for loved ones and creating beautiful art. We are also having fun playing both inside and out! Bears Mom and Admin volunteer Lisa Cannon spent the morning taking photos, and they are too wonderful not to share! Here are a few highlights from around school this week.
 
See you soon!

In Friendship,
Mimi
From the Admissions Office
 
Enrollment intent letters were distributed in students’ backpacks on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Please fill out the form and return by placing it in your child’s folder by Thursday, December 16th or Friday, December 17th. After hours submissions may be made in the dropbox near the front door of the admin building. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mimi.
Sick Policy Reminder
It’s December, which means cold and flu season is here! Please help us in our ongoing efforts to protect the health of our students, staff and families by keeping your child home if he or she is not feeling well. Please note the following:
 
  • If you are keeping your child home due to illness, please notify the office at (610) 696-8869. If you reach our voice mail, please leave a detailed message including your child’s symptoms and your daytime phone number.
 
  • Depending on your child’s symptoms and possible exposure, the school may require a PCR or antigen test to rule out Covid-19. To determine when your child can return, the school will follow Chester County Health Department’s recommendations for responding to Covid-19 in schools. 
 
  • In the event of other illnesses, your child may return to school if he is fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of medication, shows improvement in symptoms, does not have a fresh cold or virus, and is generally comfortable being at school while wearing a mask.
 
To review our complete Health and Safety procedures, please visit our website.
 
We would like to take a moment to thank parents for their cooperation and understanding around our sick policy this year, which often requires us to rule out Covid-19. We appreciate your patience!

Holiday Singalongs
 
The children have been busy practicing their holiday songs and are looking forward to sharing them with you through the magic of video! Singalongs will be filmed and posted on our Vimeo channel on or about December 20. While not the live performance of pre-Covid years, we think you and your families will enjoy seeing your little ones perform a few holiday favorites!
 
Optimistically looking forward to a return to live concerts in the spring, under sunny skies and warm spring temperatures!
Goshen Giving

Goshen Friends School is once again collecting winter gear for residents of Devereux’s Kanner Learning Center in West Chester. We are inviting Goshen families and friends to join us in collecting new adult sized hats, gloves and mittens for men and women. You can send your donations into school by car line or backpack beginning Monday, December 6. Goshen staff will deliver the items to Devereux Christmas week.
 
Goshen has supported Devereux through various programs over the years. After taking 2020 off, we are glad to be able to once again support the Devereux community, which provides high-quality residential and special education services to more than 300 children and adolescents ages 6 to 21 with mental disabilities. Many of these residents have no families and rely on the generosity of the community to help make the holidays special. 
From the GPC

Hello Goshen Parents!

Thank you to those who jumped on Monday’s monthly GPC zoom call. If you missed it, no worries, catch up on the minutes here.

These last few weeks have been Huge Fun-Filled fundraising times for us! Here are the highlights:

  • Our Highland Orchards total was a whopping $600…Wow! That’s definitely a yummy one we will keep on our schedule every year now!

  • Thank you to all who went to shop and play at MonkeyFish Toys last week. We raised $165 there! And thanks for popping on over to enjoy an awesome meal from Brothers’s Pizza. We raised $100 on that delicious day as well!

  • The Scrips physical gift cards sale just wrapped up in time for the holidays at $238. Just a little reminder that with the Scrips RaiseRight app you can download Egift cards at any point. We have brought in $130 just the last few months of school that way!
 
  • Lastly, B & B Christmas Trees is still ongoing thru the holidays. Hop on over there for trees, wreaths and garlands, oh my!

I know this just sounds like a lot of numbers. But the massive point is that we do all of this for the school. I will give all the details on that in our final message of 2021 next week. Thank you all so, so much for supporting our school thru these super cool fundraisers! Each and every one of you is Beyond Amazing. You fill my hearts with the generosity and kindness you have brought not only now during the holidays, but all school year long!

Lots of Love and Big Hugs,
Marne Repetto
GPC Clerk
 
The GPC has lots of great fundraisers all year long! Check out details below! 

Year Round Fundraisers for the Goshen Parent Community
Your everyday purchases can raise money for Goshen Friends School! Follow these instructions to help us maximize our fundraising potential.
We earn 0.5% on eligible purchases!

Step 1: In a web browser (NOT the app)
• Go to smile.amazon.com
• Go to Your Account > Amazon Smile
• Click Change Charity > search “Goshen Friends School”

Step 2: In your Amazon app (optional)
• Click Settings (the icon with 3 lines)
• Click Gifting & Charity > Amazon Smile
• Click the “Turn on Amazon Smile” button
• (App notifications must be enabled) You’re all set!
We earn 10 cents (or more) on eligible products! 

• Download the app "Box Tops for Education"
• Sign up and use "Find a School" to search for Goshen Friends School
• Use the "Scan" feature on all grocery receipts (within 2 weeks of purchase)
• Explore the app to learn more about eligible products and bonus offers
We earn 20% on purchases of these customizable, durable labels for your kids' stuff (excludes gift cards)!

• At Checkout, make sure "How did you hear about us?" says "Fundraiser or Referral > Goshen Friends GPC"
We earn a percentage of all gift card purchases -- some retailers give us more than 10%!

Visit shopwithscrip.com or download the app "RaiseRight Fundraising"
• Click "Join a Program" and use our enrollment code: FD1989B419396
• Pay by linking a bank account ($0.15 per transaction) or use a credit card (2.6% fee)
• Many retailers offer free shipping -- only in the RaiseRight app -- or get free shipping with our twice-yearly schoolwide order
• Read our GPC Scrip flyer for more information
Summer Camp
 
No, your eyes don’t deceive you! The summer camp team is already busy making plans for GFS Summer Camp 2022! We are offering seven weeks of summer fun in June and July, and hope to see your little one there!
 
Registration will open for Goshen families only before winter break. Our summer camp is very popular and fills up really fast, so take advantage of this early opportunity to enroll your child before we open registration for the greater community in January. Be on the lookout before winter break for more details!

Extended Care

Now that your little one is happily ensconced in a preschool routine, why not extend her day with a little Lunch Bunch and fun after school? Your child can socialize with children from other classes, enjoy pizza on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and make special crafts on Mondays and Thursdays – all while you get a little extra time on your end!
 
Sign up for late afternoon care on Mondays and Thursdays in December, and your child gets to create a special holiday craft!
 
 
As always, we appreciate as much advance notice as possible!
 
Thank you!
School Directory
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