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March News

A Message From the Principal:

Let’s leave this winter behind and SPRING forward into March! Are you ready for what we have in store for your children this month? The teachers at Chesterbrook Academy Faifax are soooo ready! It’s been a rough end of the winter and we want to thank you for your patience with the recent closings the snow caused. We hope to be enjoying some spring weather soon!

Links to Learning: The children will be having lots of fun during the month of March learning about Dr. Suess, Nursey Rhymes, Eric Carle and Fairy Tales

Spring Break Camp- Spinging into Action
We will be having so much fun the week of Spring Break! Please see our flyer for SCHOOL AGED and PRESCHOOL to participate in our spirit week! Spring Break week is 3/30/15-04/03/15.

2015-2016 Pre School Registrations
Discounted priority enrollment for current families who attend programs will end March 21st. Last year, I am proud to say we had a 95% re-enrollment rate! If you are new to Chesterbrook and have questions about next school year or Before and After care options for school agers, please reach out to Ms. Sydney.

March Dates:

  • 03.03.15   Read Across America Last Mystery Reader & Sundae Monday with a PRE-K2   teacher, Ms. Lauren and Ms. Sydney will be turned into a HUMAN ICE CREAM SUNDAE!
  • 03.04.15   Lifetouch Picture Day- Infant, Infant2, Toddlers,   Beginners , Siblings & Class
  • 03.05.15   Lifetouch Picture Day- Intermediates, Pre-K, Pre-  K2, Siblings & Class
  • 03.08.15  Daylight Savings Time: Spring Forward!
  • 3.17.15  Saint Patrick’s Day
  • 03.20.15  First Day of SPRING
  • 03.21.15  Summer Camp Open House Sat. 10-1pm
  • 03.21.15  Last Day for Early Bird Registration Discount
  • 03.28.15  LTL Progress Reports Distributed
  • 03.30.15 – 04.03.15   Spring Break Camp – Spirit Week
  • 04.05.15  Easter Sunday

Picture Day:
Lifetouch will be here on Wednesday, March 4th and Thursday, March 5th to take our Spring Pictures. Every child will be included in Picture Day, you do not need to sign up.

  • On Wednesday, March 4th, our Toddler classroom will turn into a picture studio. Toddler students will meet in the Infant 2 classroom for their morning activities. Wednesday pictures will be held for Infants, Infant2, Toddlers, Beginners, Teachers and Classrooms.
  • On Thursday, March 5th, our Pre-K classroom will turn into a picture studio and all Pre-K students will meet in the Pre-K2 classroom for their morning activities. Thursday Pictures will be held for Intermediates, Pre-K, Pre-K2, Teachers and Classrooms.
  • Siblings pictures can be scheduled either day. Parents should let the teachers know in advance. In addition, if your child is not scheduled on one of these days, we welcome you to join us for the pictures on your child’s class schedule or whichever day works best.

Spring Break Camp
Spring Break Camp is all about sharing our experiences and creating lasting memories with friends. Our campers will develop new skills while participating in exciting Camp activities. Our Spring Break Camp offers top-notch instruction, leadership development and fun. Spring Break camp provides your child with character development, valuable life skills, new friends, and new interests.

ATTENTION:  Door Code Change
We want to make our families aware that we changed our door code on Monday, February 23rd, 2015. We change our door code annually and want to remind everyone that the door code is only for our parents or authorized regular pick-ups. This code is not intended to be given out to emergency contacts or other people who are not picking up your child regularly. We ask for your attention to this matter for the safety of all our children and families who attend. Please let Ms. Sydney know if you have any questions or concerns.

ACH and Tuition Payments:
A friendly reminder that tuition payment is due by Monday mornings of each week and is considered late close of business Monday evening. A $25 dollar late fee will be applied if payment is late. Is writing checks a drag? Sign-up for our Automatic Payment (ACH) today! Forms are available at the front desk!   Please let us know if you have questions on this.

Illness Policy Review
We ask parents to keep children home if they or their children have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit /37.8 degrees Celsius or more), diarrhea and/or vomiting.  All children will be required to stay at home until they are symptom free for at least 24 hours.  This should be determined without the use of fever- or pain-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).

Also, children must be seen by a doctor if they have any eye discharge or unknown rash and will only be allowed to return with a doctor’s note.

The best prevention that we have to keep our children healthy begins at home. If your child is not well, or you feel something may be wrong always call your doctor right away. And remember, when you do visit the doctors, please bring us a signed note with the date to return and the diagnosis. In addition, please call in to the school when your child is going to absent, we really appreciate the call so that we are able to inform other families of any exposure to illnesses.

Parent Referral Program
If there’s one thing parents love to do, it’s talk about their children’s successes. When friends ask you about your child’s experiences at Chesterbrook Academy, what type of success stories do you share? Do you mention the personal and educational discoveries 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 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. For every new child you refer who enrolls at our school for three months, you’ll receive a Certificate for one FREE week of tuition for your child*.

It’s our way of saying thanks for doing what comes naturally – singing the praises of your child and sharing your experiences with the Chesterbrook Academy difference.


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

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