Oakcrest Preschool
September Newsletter 2022
Preschool is only a few days away, hooray! We can’t wait to see all of our new and returning families next week. We hope you and your children are as excited as we are to start a fun year at Oakcrest Preschool!
At Oakcrest we promote learning through play and we feel very strongly about creating a safe and caring environment for the children. Our goal is to provide an experience at preschool where children can gain confidence and grow both socially and emotionally. We value open communication and appreciate you sharing your comments, questions and concerns with us.
A little separation anxiety is not uncommon or unexpected for children starting, or returning to, preschool. To help your child handle their uncertainty and nervousness, we recommend keeping a positive attitude, giving a little reassurance, and trying your best not to linger too long at the preschool before giving a brief goodbye at the morning drop off. Before long your child will likely settle right into his or her new routine.
Please don’t hesitate to call during class time if you want to check on how your child is doing. There’s nothing worse than fretting the morning away only to find out everything smoothed out minutes after you left.
On your child’s first day of preschool, or during the Preschool Open House on September 1st please bring the following items:
- A full set of spare clothes in a Ziploc bag with your child’s name on it,
- a pair of indoor shoes (please ensure they have a non-slip sole)
- all of your child’s registration information and a filled out emergency card (if you have not filed them out before)
- 2 photos of your child (one for their file and a small one for their emergency card),
- a letter of comfort from you to your child that we can put into our earthquake kit,
Important Dates to Remember:
For the first week of preschool we will have only half the class come each day. This means that your child will attend just one day of class in the first week of preschool (two days if they are registered for five days a week). Please find your child’s first day in the “welcome to preschool” letters that they have received in the mail. Please contact us if your child has not received their letter in the mail.
To help all the children get settled into their new routines, the first two weeks of preschool will be shortened.
From September 6th to 9th class time will be from 9:00am – 11:00am
From September 12th to 16th class time will be from 9:00am – 11:30am
From September 19thon, class will run from 9:00am – 12:00pm.
* Please note that pick up will be at the playground unless the weather prevents us from going outside.
Friday, September 30th
Please also note that the Preschool will be closed for the National Day in recognition of Truth and Reconciliation.
Our themes for September:
Getting to know you, Friendship, & Safety First
- We will also have a special “Teddy Bear Picnic Day”
September 22nd, and 23rd when all the children can bring a favourite stuffed animal or doll to preschool.
September Birthdays:
Virtual Parent Meeting –Thursday, September 15th from 7- 7:40pm
– Zoom link to be provided soon. The meeting is not mandatory, but is an opportunity for us to get to know all of you and to share thoughts about the preschool year ahead. We welcome your input on how you would like to see the program operate!
Health and Safety Protocols:
Our preschool has a Covid-19 Safety protocol in place. Some of the main points be aware of include:
- We intend on spending more time outside whenever feasible.
- We will continue to maintain increased facility and toy sanitization.
- The children will continue to wash hands before and after eating, playing outside, using the bathroom, and when they arrive at the preschool in the morning, along with other instances such as wiping their noses or covering a cough.
- All children will be asked to bring their own snacks and water bottle until it is deemed safe for us to return to having shared snack in the classroom.
- At this time, we will not be allowing additional adults in the classroom, therefore drop off and pick up will occur outside.
- Parents and guardians are asked to kindly maintain physical distancing while waiting to drop off or pick up children from preschool.
- Should a child or a staff member become ill at all, they should not attend preschool.
- If a child or staff member becomes ill while at preschool, arrangements will need to be made for them to be picked up, or return home as soon as possible.
Hopefully this gives you a general idea of the health and safety protocols that we are putting in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. We have a more detailed document posted in the preschool and available within our child care center policies and procedures handbook. Please feel free to ask questions at any time.
Snack:
Previously Oakcrest Preschool had a shared snack for which a snack calendar was distributed indicating when it was your turn to bring snacks for the whole class. However, due to covid-19 safety protocols we ask that all families send their child with their own snack and water bottle each day. Please ensure your child’s snack containers are well labelled and we ask that you avoid sending high sugar treats and drinks, or other unhealthy snacks. Please do not send snacks that contain peanuts or tree nuts to preschool if it can be avoided.
Monthly Newsletter
Please make note of meetings, special days and field trips when reading the monthly newsletter. We try to include all important preschool information in our newsletter so that you can refer back to it throughout the month. You can also find our newsletters on the Oakcrest Preschool and Doncaster-Oakcrest Child Care website.
Registration Information
For safety reasons, it is very important that we have up to date registration information for all of the children on file at the preschool so please do remember to bring or update all required registration documents (if you have not already done so) on or before your child’s first day of class.
Allergies
If your child has any allergies, health concerns, or special diet requirements please provide written instruction for the teachers describing the allergy, health concern or diet requirements, and what steps to take should your child need assistance or experience a reaction at preschool.
Outdoor Wear
Please remember to send rain boots and rain jackets (rain pants are great too if you have them) on wet days, and warm jackets and gloves on cold days. We like to spend some time outside everyday and it is much more enjoyable for all the children if they have the gear to keep them warm and dry out there.
Arrival and Departure
Please make sure that the teachers know when your child arrives at preschool and when he or she is picked up. Please do not leave the preschool or playground with your child without signing out, saying goodbye and letting a teacher know that you are leaving. Thank you!
We are looking forward to seeing you soon and to having a great preschool year!
Sincerely,
Joanna and Shannon