From the Principal’s Office
With our Links to Learning® program, parents consistently receive information about what their child is learning at Chesterbrook Academy through posted Lesson Plans, Activity Descriptors, and Monthly Take Home folders. Did you know that you can also receive e-mail alerts, reminders about up-coming events, and Links2Home emails directly from your child’s teacher? Stay in touch with what is going on in your child’s classroom and in the school as a whole. Simply download the Links2Home App from Google Play or the App Store and you will receive our monthly newsletter on-line as well as reminders, updates, pictures, and alerts. You may also keep in contact with us by e-mail to voice questions and concerns. We will always try to answer your questions as promptly and as fully as possible by e-mail, or we will schedule a time for you to come in and speak with us at your convenience. Our school calendar, menus, and program information are always available on our website: http://hickory.chesterbrookacademy.com
Lynette Stoker, Principal lynette.stoker@nlcinc.com
Shari Hale, Asst. Principal shari.hale@nlcinc.com
Nikki Crowell, 2nd Asst. Principal nikki.crowell@nlcinc.com
Calendar of Events
November
November 3, 2019 Daylight Savings Time Ends “Fall Back”
November 5, 2019 Election Day
November 11, 2019 Veterans’ Day Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED Professional Development Day
November 16, 2019 OPEN HOUSE Prospective Parents & Students WELCOME
November 28, 2019 Thanksgiving Day Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED
November 29, 2019 Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED
For Parents and Teachers
Thanksgiving
The year has turned its circle.
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain.
So open wide the doorway-
Thanksgiving comes again!
Old Rhyme
Let us all take a few moments from our busy schedules to actually stop and think of all of the things for which we should be thankful. We here at Chesterbrook Academy are thankful for all of the healthy, happy children who are entrusted to our care each day. We are thankful for the wonderful families that we serve and for the opportunity to build relationships with them. We are thankful for our co-workers, many of whom we see more than our own families. But most of all, we are thankful for the privilege of being able to serve you and your family for yet another year!
Discipline, or guidance, varies from family to family and from child care program to child care program. Children benefit when approaches are similar. Both at home and in child care, children are more likely to respond positively to guidance when they are treated with respect, empathy, and patience. Life offers everyone many challenging moments. People who feel loved and valued are better able to cope. By the time children reach the preschool years, they have developed many of the skills needed to support friendship. They are learning to share, to take turns, and to solve some of their own problems. The guidance and support they received as very young children helped them learn how to control their behaviors and emotions. Preschoolers usually want to please the adults in their lives. Their behavior often conforms to adult expectations. When guidance is consistent, children can follow the rules and contribute to family life.
Reminders!
All payments are due on Friday preceding each week. A $25.00 late payment fee is assessed after 12 noon Monday, no exceptions!
To avoid a late fee, make your payment online through the Parent Portal, pay over the phone with credit/debit card, or consider signing up for Electronic Funds Transfer as a back-up. With EFT, if for some reason you forget to make a payment before 12 noon Monday (i.e. your child was out sick, you went out-of-town, etc..) your payment would be made electronically late Monday evening and you would not be charged a late fee.
Entry into our building is pass-code protected. To ensure that only authorized people gain entrance, please refrain from allowing individuals to follow you into the building UNLESS you recognize them as another enrolled child’s parent or grandparent. HINT: Encourage grandparents or other authorized pickups to enter your pass-code into their cell phone for easy access when they forget.
For you convenience, Chesterbrook Academy accepts VISA, MasterCard,
and Discover. A 2% processing fee is charged per transaction.
We would like to remind you that the Chesterbrook Academy group of schools is on Facebook. We invite you to “like” our page at www.facebook.com/ChesterbrookAcademy where we’ll be providing our fans with regular educational tips for children and the opportunity to network with fellow parents. We would love to have your participation in the Facebook forum and encourage you to continue to check our school website for local updates specific to our own school. We look forward to having you as part of our Facebook community!
From the Education Department
Sensory play is a wonderful opportunity for children to explore textures, sights and scents of the fall season. Multi-sensory experiences help children retain information better, build new skills, and develop a lifelong love of learning. Below are three activities that you can try with your child this month. 1. Explore[.....]
Read More »
Extending Thanks Beyond Thanksgiving
Good habits start young and with the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, now is the perfect opportunity to teach your child what it means to be thankful and grateful for what they have. Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a researcher at the University of California-Davis, found that people who are grateful report higher levels of positive emotions, general life satisfaction, and optimism and these individuals have lower levels of depression and stress. Furthermore, people who were rated higher in thankfulness and gratefulness were found to be less susceptible to depression, disappointment, regret, and frustration (Emmons & McCullough, 2004). With such strong and pronounced findings, it seems all the more imperative to carry this over to our children.
We all know and perhaps participate in the age-old tradition of having everyone name what they are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. While this is a great tradition, celebrating what we have and what we are grateful for does not have to be bound to one calendar day out of the year. There are multitudes of ways that we can instill thankfulness in our children every day:
- Ask your child daily to tell you 3 things that were good about their day.
- Write thank you notes and help your child adopt the practice as well. Sending thank you notes and gifts to teachers, coaches, and family members models daily appreciation for your child.
- Model giving compliments for your child. Say something nice to someone and later discuss with your child why you said this and how good it made you feel to say something kind to someone else.
- Talk with your child about the things in your life that you personally are thankful for and be sure to extend your discussion beyond monetary and physical possessions. Ask your child to tell you what he is thankful for also and help him see things beyond the tangible.
- Participate as a family in charitable causes and explain why you are doing this to your child. For example, if you donate canned goods at your religious facility or to a local food pantry, explain to your child that you are thankful that you have such good food to eat each day and that you want to be sure that everyone has the same thing. Allow your child to be an active participant in the process.
Thankfulness is a trait that we can all strive to improve in and the positive effects it carries are tremendous. Teaching children to be thankful and grateful is not only self-rewarding, but it is a skill that will last a lifetime.
Reprinted from Chesterbrook Academy Newsletter, November 2009
School Spotlight
Chesterbrook Academy teachers are caring, dedicated and well-trained
Our teachers are enthusiastic about developing lifelong learners. They genuinely care about children and have the sensitivity and knowledge to understand a child’s individual developmental needs and learning styles. They take the time to help each child discover, in his or her own way, a fascinating world of play and learning.
We help our teachers keep current in the latest teaching techniques by sponsoring professional development days and using internal and external trainers and consultants.. Each staff member is required by the state of North Carolina to take ten or more hours of training each year. Chesterbrook Academy closes its doors twice each year for Professional Development Days. We chose Veteran’s Day and President’s Day as our training days because public schools, banks, and government offices are closed on those days as well, therefore our closing would negatively affect fewer families. On November 11th this year, every staff member will be attending training provided by our Education Department and its trainers.
We appreciate your support as we empower our teachers to better meet the needs of your children.
Articles that appear from Grandma Says are focused on general parenting practices and philosophy
and are not as age-specific as articles that appear in Growing Child.
If You Can’t Say Something Nice…
No matter where your opinions fall on the political spectrum, most of us are agreed that recently we have witnessed extraordinary instances of behavior in adults that would have been enough to get your sent straight to time-out in the typical preschool.
We could start with the name-calling and go straight downhill from there. Assuming the adults involved are not about to change their life-habits, I think our only hope is to concentrate on what we can do to instill behaviors of kindness in the children we are raising now.
Becoming a kind person is definitely a key to the path towards happiness. For one thing, the habit of kindness extends to ourselves; it is hard to be happy if you’re being unkind to yourself.
Establishing clear guidelines for behaviors that demonstrate being a caring community member is a far more certain predictor of future success than are the good grades that seem so important to so many parents.
So how do we nurture the attributes of kindness and caring in our children?
First and foremost, parents must walk the walk. You know as well as I do that children learn more by example than by any other way. Your kids love you and want to be like you. They need to see that you are a kind person.
They need to see you address others respectfully, whether family, friends, or strangers, and no matter how your patience is tried.
There is no way that you can teach kindness when you are making angry gestures at someone, yelling at the representative on the phone, or treating servers rudely. The best side effect of walking the kindness walk for your kids is that you will yourself become a happier, nicer person as well, carrying far less stress in your daily encounters.
And then, talk the talk. When you are talking with teachers in your children’s presence, don’t ask only about school work, but inquire whether your kids are good community members. Not only does this demonstrate your value system to the teacher, but it also impresses the children about the importance of kindness to their family.
Who knows what the ripple effect of this would be, as the teacher reflects on how the classroom supports developing pro-social skills.
Make it part of your family dialogue to discuss individuals’ actions and their motivations. As children consider cause and effect, they come to understand the effects of caring and kindness in their interactions with others, as well as on their positive sense of self. A child who sees herself as kind will modify her behaviors accordingly.
Expand your circle of concern. As parents model community service, children become aware that their caring community can expand. Gently, parents help children move out of their comfort zone and learn empathy, understanding that others may have vastly different experiences and needs.
Appreciate and pay attention to instances of kindness both small and large demonstrated by your kids, whether within your household or beyond. Such attention acts as positive reinforcement, strengthening pro-social tendencies. When we pay attention to acts of kindness, we are likely to see them increase.
As with everything, this is a process of teaching over time, not just something we can pencil in on the calendar for next Monday. But think of the impact if every parent concentrated on teaching kindness.
©Growing Child 2018. Please feel free to forward this article to a friend, or make copies and distribute. Grandma Says is a feature of Growing Child and we encourage you to send your comments to: GrandmaSays@GrowingChild.com
Chesterbrook Academy November Monthly Newsletter
From the Principal’s Office
With our Links to Learning® program, parents consistently receive information about what their child is learning at Chesterbrook Academy through posted Lesson Plans, Activity Descriptors, and Monthly Take Home folders. Did you know that you can also receive e-mail alerts, reminders about up-coming events, and Links2Home emails directly from your child’s teacher? Stay in touch with what is going on in your child’s classroom and in the school as a whole. Simply download the Links2Home App from Google Play or the App Store and you will receive our monthly newsletter on-line as well as reminders, updates, pictures, and alerts. You may also keep in contact with us by e-mail to voice questions and concerns. We will always try to answer your questions as promptly and as fully as possible by e-mail, or we will schedule a time for you to come in and speak with us at your convenience. Our school calendar, menus, and program information are always available on our website: http://hickory.chesterbrookacademy.com
Lynette Stoker, Principal lynette.stoker@nlcinc.com
Shari Hale, Asst. Principal shari.hale@nlcinc.com
Nikki Crowell, 2nd Asst. Principal nikki.crowell@nlcinc.com
Calendar of Events
November
November 3, 2019 Daylight Savings Time Ends “Fall Back”
November 5, 2019 Election Day
November 11, 2019 Veterans’ Day Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED Professional Development Day
November 16, 2019 OPEN HOUSE Prospective Parents & Students WELCOME
November 28, 2019 Thanksgiving Day Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED
November 29, 2019 Chesterbrook Academy CLOSED
For Parents and Teachers
Thanksgiving
The year has turned its circle.
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain.
So open wide the doorway-
Thanksgiving comes again!
Old Rhyme
Let us all take a few moments from our busy schedules to actually stop and think of all of the things for which we should be thankful. We here at Chesterbrook Academy are thankful for all of the healthy, happy children who are entrusted to our care each day. We are thankful for the wonderful families that we serve and for the opportunity to build relationships with them. We are thankful for our co-workers, many of whom we see more than our own families. But most of all, we are thankful for the privilege of being able to serve you and your family for yet another year!
Discipline, or guidance, varies from family to family and from child care program to child care program. Children benefit when approaches are similar. Both at home and in child care, children are more likely to respond positively to guidance when they are treated with respect, empathy, and patience. Life offers everyone many challenging moments. People who feel loved and valued are better able to cope. By the time children reach the preschool years, they have developed many of the skills needed to support friendship. They are learning to share, to take turns, and to solve some of their own problems. The guidance and support they received as very young children helped them learn how to control their behaviors and emotions. Preschoolers usually want to please the adults in their lives. Their behavior often conforms to adult expectations. When guidance is consistent, children can follow the rules and contribute to family life.
Reminders!
All payments are due on Friday preceding each week. A $25.00 late payment fee is assessed after 12 noon Monday, no exceptions!
To avoid a late fee, make your payment online through the Parent Portal, pay over the phone with credit/debit card, or consider signing up for Electronic Funds Transfer as a back-up. With EFT, if for some reason you forget to make a payment before 12 noon Monday (i.e. your child was out sick, you went out-of-town, etc..) your payment would be made electronically late Monday evening and you would not be charged a late fee.
Entry into our building is pass-code protected. To ensure that only authorized people gain entrance, please refrain from allowing individuals to follow you into the building UNLESS you recognize them as another enrolled child’s parent or grandparent. HINT: Encourage grandparents or other authorized pickups to enter your pass-code into their cell phone for easy access when they forget.
For you convenience, Chesterbrook Academy accepts VISA, MasterCard,
and Discover. A 2% processing fee is charged per transaction.
We would like to remind you that the Chesterbrook Academy group of schools is on Facebook. We invite you to “like” our page at www.facebook.com/ChesterbrookAcademy where we’ll be providing our fans with regular educational tips for children and the opportunity to network with fellow parents. We would love to have your participation in the Facebook forum and encourage you to continue to check our school website for local updates specific to our own school. We look forward to having you as part of our Facebook community!
From the Education Department
Fall Sensory Fun
Read More »
Extending Thanks Beyond Thanksgiving
Good habits start young and with the Thanksgiving holiday quickly approaching, now is the perfect opportunity to teach your child what it means to be thankful and grateful for what they have. Dr. Robert A. Emmons, a researcher at the University of California-Davis, found that people who are grateful report higher levels of positive emotions, general life satisfaction, and optimism and these individuals have lower levels of depression and stress. Furthermore, people who were rated higher in thankfulness and gratefulness were found to be less susceptible to depression, disappointment, regret, and frustration (Emmons & McCullough, 2004). With such strong and pronounced findings, it seems all the more imperative to carry this over to our children.
We all know and perhaps participate in the age-old tradition of having everyone name what they are thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. While this is a great tradition, celebrating what we have and what we are grateful for does not have to be bound to one calendar day out of the year. There are multitudes of ways that we can instill thankfulness in our children every day:
Thankfulness is a trait that we can all strive to improve in and the positive effects it carries are tremendous. Teaching children to be thankful and grateful is not only self-rewarding, but it is a skill that will last a lifetime.
Reprinted from Chesterbrook Academy Newsletter, November 2009
School Spotlight
Chesterbrook Academy teachers are caring, dedicated and well-trained
Our teachers are enthusiastic about developing lifelong learners. They genuinely care about children and have the sensitivity and knowledge to understand a child’s individual developmental needs and learning styles. They take the time to help each child discover, in his or her own way, a fascinating world of play and learning.
We help our teachers keep current in the latest teaching techniques by sponsoring professional development days and using internal and external trainers and consultants.. Each staff member is required by the state of North Carolina to take ten or more hours of training each year. Chesterbrook Academy closes its doors twice each year for Professional Development Days. We chose Veteran’s Day and President’s Day as our training days because public schools, banks, and government offices are closed on those days as well, therefore our closing would negatively affect fewer families. On November 11th this year, every staff member will be attending training provided by our Education Department and its trainers.
We appreciate your support as we empower our teachers to better meet the needs of your children.
Articles that appear from Grandma Says are focused on general parenting practices and philosophy
and are not as age-specific as articles that appear in Growing Child.
If You Can’t Say Something Nice…
No matter where your opinions fall on the political spectrum, most of us are agreed that recently we have witnessed extraordinary instances of behavior in adults that would have been enough to get your sent straight to time-out in the typical preschool.
We could start with the name-calling and go straight downhill from there. Assuming the adults involved are not about to change their life-habits, I think our only hope is to concentrate on what we can do to instill behaviors of kindness in the children we are raising now.
Becoming a kind person is definitely a key to the path towards happiness. For one thing, the habit of kindness extends to ourselves; it is hard to be happy if you’re being unkind to yourself.
Establishing clear guidelines for behaviors that demonstrate being a caring community member is a far more certain predictor of future success than are the good grades that seem so important to so many parents.
So how do we nurture the attributes of kindness and caring in our children?
First and foremost, parents must walk the walk. You know as well as I do that children learn more by example than by any other way. Your kids love you and want to be like you. They need to see that you are a kind person.
They need to see you address others respectfully, whether family, friends, or strangers, and no matter how your patience is tried.
There is no way that you can teach kindness when you are making angry gestures at someone, yelling at the representative on the phone, or treating servers rudely. The best side effect of walking the kindness walk for your kids is that you will yourself become a happier, nicer person as well, carrying far less stress in your daily encounters.
And then, talk the talk. When you are talking with teachers in your children’s presence, don’t ask only about school work, but inquire whether your kids are good community members. Not only does this demonstrate your value system to the teacher, but it also impresses the children about the importance of kindness to their family.
Who knows what the ripple effect of this would be, as the teacher reflects on how the classroom supports developing pro-social skills.
Make it part of your family dialogue to discuss individuals’ actions and their motivations. As children consider cause and effect, they come to understand the effects of caring and kindness in their interactions with others, as well as on their positive sense of self. A child who sees herself as kind will modify her behaviors accordingly.
Expand your circle of concern. As parents model community service, children become aware that their caring community can expand. Gently, parents help children move out of their comfort zone and learn empathy, understanding that others may have vastly different experiences and needs.
Appreciate and pay attention to instances of kindness both small and large demonstrated by your kids, whether within your household or beyond. Such attention acts as positive reinforcement, strengthening pro-social tendencies. When we pay attention to acts of kindness, we are likely to see them increase.
As with everything, this is a process of teaching over time, not just something we can pencil in on the calendar for next Monday. But think of the impact if every parent concentrated on teaching kindness.
©Growing Child 2018. Please feel free to forward this article to a friend, or make copies and distribute. Grandma Says is a feature of Growing Child and we encourage you to send your comments to: GrandmaSays@GrowingChild.com