12-14-2010 Pre-K Singing for the Seniors of St. Mark's UMC- XYZ Club

December 2010 Frosty Fun!

As the winter air rolled in, we have already began to have some frosty fun, with the performance of "Frosty" by the Express Children's Theatre on December 2nd. The children had a blast as the cast sang both familiar as well as new songs. The highlight of the show was when Frosty the Snowman came down from the stage to walk amongst the children. The focus of the story was to introduce holiday celebrations amongst different cultures and religions. The children learned how three friends celebrated their own unique traditions and found similarities in Christmas, Chanukah & Kwanzaa. Here are some photos from the performance:

TRUNK OR TREAT/Halloween Festivities 2010

I must say that our very first "Trunk-or-Treat" turned out to be a huge success! The children, staff & parents all seemed to have a blast and we have decided that it should become an annual event at the CDC! So parents, start planning now on how you will decorate your car (I didn't realize what a huge event this is at some places, until I saw a full blown castle built around someone's car at my church this weekend... I'm not going to lie, it got me really excited at the thought of taking our little CDC event to the next level for next year)... Maybe we can have a door prize/competition for the best "dressed" vehicle. I think we can agree that the Weaver's would have taken the prize this year, with the giant, inflatable cat. You all were already on the right track this year, as we had GREAT parent participation and the parents, as well as the trunks, were very impressive! We also noticed that having this morning event was a great outlet for the children to get all of their Halloween party/costume excitement out early in the day because they took great naps and every classroom seemed to be eerily calm during class parties at the end of the day (Which has NEVER happened, in the history of the CDC). So, overall, we vote that this event is a keeper for sure! Here are some photos from our awesome day at the CDC (Parents, please feel free to email or bring in a cd of any photos that you took from Thursday. We would love to see them all).

Some of the staff kids- worn out at the end of a very fun day!

Fire Engine #9 Comes to the Rescue!

After two years of missing out on fire engine visits, we were sooooo thrilled to meet the great guys from Station #9 (on Hogan near Houston Ave). They were suppose to send a truck on Monday from our nearest station (#15), who called and rescheduled for today... and then they called this morning and said they would not be able to come... So they called Station #9 for us and they were in our parking lot within 5 minutes from receiving the call. We were greeted by Captain Kimble as well as Charles (Driver), Jeremy (EMT) & Jared (Paramedic). They were a very friendly, funny, kind group of firemen and they really took time to spend with the children, showing them the engine, equipment, fire suit, etc. Some of the children were able to sit in the driver seat, climb through the back seat, and try on the helmet as well. I think all of them really enjoyed hearing the siren and horn and seeing the flashing lights too! I will be emailing Captain Kimble some photos, as well as making the guys a framed photo with the kids' fingerprints to thank them for coming out today! Way to go, Engine #9!

October News

So far, October has been a month to remember here at the CDC! The silent auction and dinner was AMAZING, thanks to Nichole Watts and our crew of sweet, devoted volunteers! We could not have done it without you all! The final numbers are not in yet, but we are estimating that we raised around $5,000 for the school! Thank you all for your participation and contributions towards this cause! We already plan to use some of the proceeds towards staff development training as well as future building improvements (small and large). Here are some photos from our lovely "Night in the Garden", though I must say that the pictures cannot do it justice... it was stunning! I am so thankful that Nichole's vision was able to come to fruition:


This was a night to truly celebrate all things growing...

from the Earth to our children!

Our 2010-2011 school year has started off beautifully! We have so many new lovely faces as well as some dear friends who are still here with us. We are anticipating a fun-filled school year, as many plans are already in the mix. We had our annual Parent Social on Thursday, August 26th, where Ms. Kelly highlighted all main events that are planned for the year, as well as answered any questions from new parents. Nichole Watts, Auction Chairperson, touched on her plans for the auction this year and addressed the need for parent volunteers. The auction theme this year is "A Night in the Garden" and will take place in the church fellowship hall on October 16th from

6-9 pm. If you are interested in helping in any way, please notify us in the office and, if able, attend the auction meeting at 9:15 am this Tuesday, September 7th in the church parlor. The auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year and has enabled us to make huge changes to the CDC over the years. Proceeds from past auctions are being put into action as we speak! We are going to be the proud owners of a 50' x 20' shade structure that will cover the majority of the playground and will allow for extended hours of sun protection and fun for the children. Stay tuned as we plan to send out an Evite for everyone to come play under our new shade soon! Check out these great photos of all CDC happenings from our first few days back at school:

Installation of our playground shade structure is under way!

Photos from our Parent Social

Younger Toddlers heading to the playground

Older Toddlers body painting

2-3 Class hard at work

The 3-4 Class having a parade and nature walk

Pre-K on their hunt to find circles

Pre-K went back in time to join the gold rush!!!

A Note from Ms. Claire (Pre-K teacher):

Hi,

Did you hear about the gold rush??? If not, it was exciting! We put the big map of the U.S. on the floor and used a dry erase marker to draw the the westward trail that was used in 1849. We talked about how difficult the journey was for everyone, including the animals. We talked about how tired they were and how some people had to throw out all of their belongings because they were too heavy. The kids then picked two special items from the classroom to be put into a garbage bag. Some picked larger items that wouldn't fit so they just carried them. We started at the front gate of the CDC and took turns carrying it to "California" (the sandbox). Some of us actually fell down from exhaustion. Once we got to California we found our gold and celebrated!

Check out the photos below:

WE FOUND GOLD!!!

WHAT A RUSH!!!