RPDS ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER

e-RPDS May 2019 - final edition

Letter from the Director

Dear Redeemer Community,

Watching our students at our End of Year Picnic was heartwarming. Popsicles, a little music, and friends on the playground brought great joy and grins that spread from ear to ear. The next morning, I chatted with a few parents during car line about how easily delighted our students are, a trait to admire and one I wish none of us would ever lose. Our little ones know that the small things are the greatest gifts and should never be taken for granted. It sounds a bit like a year in preschool where our days are, for the most part, uncomplicated and full of joy. Be sure to watch our end of the year slideshow which, in a small way, captures this.

This time of year is always bittersweet. We say hello to summer and new beginnings and good-bye to another school year, students and families who are moving on, and unfortunately sometimes, a dear teacher whose presence has been so important to us. It is with a sad heart that we say good-bye (though we hope just temporarily!) to Kara Vahedi who is leaving to spend more time with her new baby, Clementine. Kara has touched the lives of not just her students and families, but her colleagues as well. We have been fortunate to have her at Redeemer and hope to welcome her back again soon!

We will miss you all over the next few months, but I hope summer is filled with appreciation for the little things; things like popsicles, sunshine, family BBQs, slow summer walks and sleeping in just a little. As our students have taught us, those are the moments to cherish the most!

Happy Summer!

Best regards,

Mary

Classroom Updates:

Mrs. Barta's Pre-first:

Thank you to everyone who came to the "world famous" publishing party. It was a wonderful way to share all of the hard work the students have been doing over the months. It was such a joy to watch the children's writing, illustrations and story-telling come to life and develop throughout this year...what amazing progress and accomplishments! Our postcard challenge has been a huge hit and success. We are hoping to collect postcards from all 50 states by the last day of school...we are so close and just need 4 more states! Thank you to the parents for supporting us and helping us reach our goal. Thank you so very much for sharing your children with me this year. It has been a tremendous year of growth socially, emotionally, intellectually and physically. I am so proud of each and every one of the children for their hard work, determination, dedication and enthusiasm. They have made great strides individually and as a class. I wish them all the best at their new schools next year and hope they come back to visit. Please help them to always remember the Redeemer Rules...Be Kind, Be Safe and Have Fun! Enjoy your summer!

Mrs. Smith's & Mrs. Vandenberg's Kindergartens:

Dear parents, we are so grateful for all of the support that you have given us and your children throughout the year. We are so thankful for the many ways that you have helped your child have a successful year by: getting them to school on time and being prompt in afternoon carpool, being there for every class party and field trip, reading to your child every night, and for volunteering your time in our library. Thank you for the privilege of allowing us to teach your child each day and see the amazing growth that has transpired throughout the year. Each one of you should be very proud parents!

Mrs. Arrup & Mrs. Baker's Pre-k:

It is hard to believe we are wrapping up the year! We have zoomed through our alphabet and are spending our last few weeks reviewing our letters, sounds and numbers. During circle time we are exposing the boys and girls to word families and they are so excited to finally put the sounds together to read the words. Everyone has come so far since September academically, socially and emotionally. I am sure you have heard about the caterpillars which arrived in our room. As we watch them change, we are also discussing how the boys and girls have changed from the beginning of the year. It has been both an honor and privilege to work with your children. We wish you a fun, relaxing summer. Enjoy every minute with your little ones!

Mrs. Loeb & Mrs. Vahedi's Pre-k:

It's almost over... We have finished our Alphabet Books, our Author study of Eric Carle, our caterpillars have hardened their chrysalis' and we are focusing on putting it all together. We have been playing bingo games with letters, figuring out word families on the white board, made zucchini bread, and sent our plants home to our Moms. The weather has been lovely and we have enjoyed the rain garden. Thank you to all our wonderful parents! You have been supportive and engaged and we have really appreciated all your hard work! Thank you for sharing your little ones with us! Please enjoy the summer. Let them chase fireflies, get dirty, have picnics, and go to the zoo. Your children are 4 and 5 years old. This time will be gone before you know it, and you WILL miss it. There is an innocence, a capacity for wonder, and a belief in magic that will never be there again. There is also a "comical' honesty to them now. Listen. They are funny, wise, and joyful. Enjoy this time with them. We will miss them. Eileen and Kara

Mrs. Schroeder & Miss Ball's 3s:

Hard to believe it is the end of the year! The 5 day 3s are loving the spring time! We are finishing up the year by working on our ocean counting unit. This is always a favorite for the kids. They have learned lots of cool facts so hope they are sharing them at home with you. We have been working hard on this book. We can't wait to share with you! We have been practicing our songs for the end of the year performance, enjoying the spring weather in the playground and finishing up the nursery rhymes. We continue to work on patterns, rhyming and counting. We have had a fun year! Thank you for sharing your little ones with us. Have a great summer !

Mrs. Hooper & Mrs. Grieve's 3s:

Thank you to our wonderful Redeemer Parents....Teacher Appreciation week was full of fabulous treats and surprises! The flowers filled our room with fragrance and color ALL week, the yummy lunch and abundant array of "Friday cookies" were all delicious!!! Thank you all.....we feel very appreciated and are most grateful. This week, the children completed their Ocean Counting Book. The boys and girls are enthralled with the many fun facts they have learned about dolphins , sea turtles, scallops, crabs, seahorses and sharks. They have even enjoyed the "smartboard" each day as we've watched baby sea turtles hatching, starfish eating , scallops and sharks swimming and dolphins jumping! As well, we have read many stories about these underwater friends. It is such fun to watch the children's faces " light up" as they create , watch, listen and learn about so many sea creatures! These books will be coming home next week for everyone to enjoy.... Be sure to ask your children what they know!? What a FABULOUS year we have had with your precious children....so many wonderful days full of laughter and learning. It has been a pleasure watching each of them "blossom" both socially and academically. They truly are the TERRIFIC THREES! Have fun chatting, cutting, coloring, rhyming and reading with your children this summer. As you know, you will always be your child's greatest teacher! Thank you for all of your support this year.
We are sad to bid " farewell" to Nancy, Jack and William; you shall be missed and we wish you all the best!
Have a wonderful Summer and we look forward to seeing everyone back at Redeemer soon!

Mrs. Astley & Mrs. Knott's 2s:

Its hard to imagine that the school year is coming to an end and we will saying "have a great summer" here soon! The month of May has been a busy one. First and for most, thank you all so much for a wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week! Its truly and honor and a blessing to work at RPDS! We have spent time talking about Mother's Day, the color yellow and all things Summer this month! I hope that you have enjoyed seeing the surfers on our cubbies, the sand buckets, shells, sun catchers, sunglasses and mermaids. We are looking forward to celebrating our Summer Birthday friends the Tuesday after Memorial Day and our End of Year Party the following week. We have been working on a special song to sing at the June Jamboree on the 4th and the 2s can't wait to perform for you all. Its been an amazing journey to watch all of your children grow and learn this year. I hope that you all have a wonderful and enjoyable summer!

Mrs. Wyatt & Mrs. Zuidema's 2s:

It seems like yesterday that your children walked into our classroom as quiet, shy, and often teary two year olds. All too soon, we will be saying goodbye to the same children who have blossomed into independent, confident, and much taller three year olds. We spent this year learning about colors, shapes, patterns, and various themes from apples to summer fun. We painted, colored, glued, and stamped our hands, a lot. We sang songs about the alphabet, dancing Christmas trees, melting snowmen, and what the brown bear sees. We built sand castles, played Paw Patrol, rode scooters and bikes, and worked on pumping our legs on the swings. Without a doubt, the best thing we did this year was make good friends. We hope the summer brings you many fabulous adventures, and we look forward to lots of hugs in September as our old friends make their way to their new classrooms down the hall. Thank you for a fabulous year and for sharing your beautiful children with us.

Lunch Bunch:

We have had a fabulous year in Lunch Bunch! We spent our time painting, dancing, gluing, hiding and seeking, creating, sculpting, beading, and just having fun. We learned to work together in the games we played, and we had the chance to make friends with other children who were not in our morning classes. We shared the happiness in our lives on What's Good Wednesday, which was usually something as simple as the treat in our lunchbox or the special person who was picking us up from school. As the children learned to conquer the monkey bars, they encouraged the teachers to also give it a try. It's a lot harder than it looks! It has been a pleasure to spend our afternoons with your children, and we wish you a summer filled with fun and adventure.

Mrs. Blair's Art:

It has been a whirl of color in the art room! Pre-First has led the charge working in pairs to plan, gather materials and create a unique piece of art from a simple box. Using paint, clay, oil pastel, marker, items from nature, Sea glass, and shells , they produced everything from movie theaters and squirrel habitats to butterfly sanctuaries and princess castles! Our Kindergarten artists have discovered the floral paintings of Georgia O'Keefe while learning about perspective and recreating their own version of her work through their oil pastel "Poppies." Pre-K became enthusiastically absorbed in the process of painting and "glittering" 2 huge branches with every color of the rainbow! They also learned about the art technique of "plein air" painting and created beautiful renditions of the dogwood tree on the playground. Our threes practiced spin art and loved seeing the colors they chose mix and swirl onto their paper. They added everything from glitter to sea shells to create one of kind pieces of process art.
It has been a wonderful year of pure expression through improvisation, imagination and invention. Art is a creative journey where the outcome is not as critical as the process...it's all about the experience! Enjoy this summer with your amazing artists and CREATE!

Miss B's Music:

We have been very busy preparing for our final performance of the year, the June Jamboree! Get ready for lively music and dancing! Our students are excellent performers.

Mrs. Craig's Gym:

This week we celebrated the end of the year with a field day for all of the gym classes. The students rotated through sack races, an obstacle course, a sponge of bucket relay, as well as an art station with Mrs. Blair. We finished up with the limbo!
I can't believe how everyone has grown this year with their skills and in their sportsmanship! Have a happy, healthy, active summer

Mrs. Craig's Science:

Pre-K- We have made our way through the alphabet, wrapping up with Y shaped boomerangs and LEGO Ziplines! This week we enjoyed exploring wind and water with sailboats we built ourselves and powered by blowing on them with straws.

Kindergarten- Last week we explored what it would be like to be a butterfly! We spread cheese puff "pollen" among flowers, then drank "nectar" through our straw proboscis. We talked about the symmetry of patterns on their wings and made balancing butterflies. This week was all about birds- trying to forage for food with different style of bird beaks, making a flapping bird toy, playing a matching game, and a visit with two of my parakeets!

Pre-first- We have been making discoveries with our microscopes. Looking through the tabletop microscopes was a little challenging, but our scientists showed great patience! We all especially enjoyed using our digital microscope that projects onto our classroom smart board. It was super easy to use and it was amazing to see the tiny fibers and details of the sequins in our clothing and much more! We were able to print out our favorite images.

It's been a wonderful year with this amazing group of Redeemer scientists! Have a wonderful summer and make sure to spend lots of time exploring out in nature!

Mrs. Smith's Values:

Here are 5 values all the teachers together have been working on all year:

Honesty - Help kids find a way to tell the truth.

Justice - Insist that kids make amends for their actions.
Determination - Encourage them to take on a challenge.
Consideration - Teach them to think about others feelings.
Kindness - Be generous with acts of kindness.
Enjoy your summer

Senora Poe's Spanish:

Hola! Our time in clase de español is nearing the end. We will celebrate on Monday, June 3rd with a Fiesta! And the children know that a fiesta means piñata! They have been patiently waiting all year. The kindergarten students have been working on a color and counting book and will take home on the last day of school. Pre-first's Spanish journey at Redeemer has come to an end but they will always have their tie dye pillow cases to remember their colors. A diós

Mrs. Knott's World Cultures:

After visits to eight countries, we are packing our passports and returning home! We have read literature, played games, created crafts, celebrated holidays, cooked and sampled cuisine on our travels. Oh what a trip it has been!

Office Updates

Employment Opportunity

Redeemer Parish Day School is currently interviewing for a part time position in the 2s. If you or anyone you know is interested in learning more, please have them contact Mary Knott at [email protected] or 410-435-9510.

Reminders

Stock the Pantry! We look forward to stocking the CARES Govans Food Pantry. Contributions will be accepted May 28, 29 and 30. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Upcoming Calendar Dates

Friday, May 24: All School Early Dismissal @ 11:45

Monday, May 27: No School - Memorial Day

Wednesday, June 5: All School Early Dismissal @ 11:45

Thursday, June 6: 9:15 am - June Jamboree! Summer Break begins after the program.

Program Highlights:

Pre-first and Kindergarten Publishing Party

After a year of learning about the writing process, our budding authors showcased their hard work. The Publishing Party is such a testament to our strong program. Congratulations to the the Kindergarten, Pre-first and their teachers!

One, Two, Who's at the zoo?

Our 2s classes and their parents and teachers were visited by the Maryland Zoo and some of their favorite creatures. It was such fun to see these animals up close and in action.

Little Lacrosse Academy

Our PE classes were treated to an engaging lacrosse session. They worked on some simple skills, tried out the lacrosse stick, and most of all, had fun. Please click on the following link to learn more about their programs.

http://readytolax.com/

Pre-k Travels to Irvine Nature Center

After an exciting bus trip, our pre-k explorers arrived at Irvine Nature Center to explore their trails and many features. Our little scientist used their very own senses to see, touch, taste, smell and hear everything around them.

Kindergarten and Pre-first at the

Maryland Zoo

The kindergarten and pre-first classes spend a beautiful day at the Maryland Zoo. The loved the bus ride, many animals and time with each other!

Pedal for Pediatrics @ Redeemer

We had another successful year raising money for Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology. We were excited to present Hopkins with more than $7,600. Thank you to everyone who helped support this important cause!

Goldfish Swim School

In preparation for summer, we were fortunate to once again have Goldfish Swim School visit our students to talk about water and swim safety. Please visit their website to learn more about their programs: https://www.goldfishswimschool.com/

End of Year Picnic

Fortunate with amazing weather, our end of the year picnic was a wonderful gathering of our community and great fun for our students, who looked forward to it all week!

In This Issue

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!