A Note from The Director April 2014
Dear Interfaith Families, Happy Spring! The weather has been phenomenal and we've certainly been enjoying it at the school. I hope you've had a chance to see the results of the resurfacing of our large playground with synthetic turf. It’s been wonderful and enjoyed by all. We are so excited about our fantastic Scholastic Book Fair, occurring throughout April 9-11. Thank you in advance to our Book Fair Coordinators, Lesley Work and Rachel Polsky, and all the dedicated workers who will help make this event a success. We’re looking forward to obtaining additions for our library with the points earned, as well as expanding our classroom book selections. I’m proud that our Interfaith families place such a high priority on literacy. This wonderful event coincides with our fun Mom & Me Get Together. Classroom invitations should be coming shortly. Our annual food drive, which supports Interfaith of The Woodlands’ Food Pantry, is scheduled for April 21-May 8 this year. It’s a great way to teach our children that we can make a difference in our community and can bring joy to many that are in need. Please place collected items in the box outside your child’s classroom. Thank you for letting us be part of your child’s development. I also wanted to inform you that I will be retiring in May after twenty-six wonderful years at the school. My own three adult children attended Interfaith many years ago, so it has always been dear to my heart, and a priority to maintain the high standards of our school. I have treasured the time I have been here and hope my tenure has enabled our facility to remain among the best in providing a quality child development experience. I've enjoyed watching the school grow with the additions of the library, science lab, and most recently the Nature Classroom. I am certain the wonderful staff and incoming administration will continue our creative growth. Many blessings to you and your family! Warmest regards, Bobbie Hrycushko, Director
IMPORTANT DATES Please see page 4 for the many important dates this month.
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Health & Safety Seeing all the holiday candy in the stores at this time of the year reminds me of an article I read recently about synthetic food dyes used in our colored foods, specifically candy. The article highlighted a couple of studies that showed a link between synthetic food dyes and hyperactivity, inattentiveness, and impulsivity in children. As an alternative to the sweet candy that children love to eat, you might consider some of these options to encourage a more healthy diet: • • • •
Fresh fruits such as bananas, grapes, apples, or oranges Fresh vegetables such as carrots, snap peas, broccoli, or squash Dried foods such as figs, raisins, or dates Homemade trail mix
If you do choose to give your children candy as a treat, remember that you should choose smaller treats. You could also consider buying natural versions of candies such as jelly beans or chocolate. Good nutrition at an early age helps to create a healthy lifestyle.
G. Redifer, R.N. School Nurse A Special Thank You Our sincere gratitude to Richard Patzig (The Stripe Company) and Bobbie Patzig (P19 Teacher) for their volunteering to restripe our parking lot cross walk, and adding arrows to the front parking lot to indicate our ONE WAY car flow. Thank you for your efforts in making our parking lot safer for our Interfaith family.
Car Line Reminders For the safety of our students at ICDC, please remember these car line guidelines: • Cell phone use is prohibited during car line. • Please have your child’s car tag displayed in order to keep our car line running smoothly. If you need another car tag, please request one from the front office. • Please remain in your car while dropping off and picking up your child. If you need to assist your child, please pull forward out of the car line so that we can continue to dismiss other children. For more information regarding our car line procedures and guidelines, please refer to your 2013-2014 Parent Handbook (pages 20-21). We greatly appreciate your cooperation with our car line guidelines.
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Curriculum Corner Library Spring, farm, outside; these are the themes for April story time! A few of the books we will read will be:
Otis Loves to Play by Loren Long (for our younger kiddos) Otis by Loren Long (for the older kiddos) Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle I Went Walking by Sue Williams (a flannel board story) Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin Pete the Cat Old McDonald’s Farm by James Dean Of course we will sing along with the Pete the Cat book and we will sing “Five Clean and Dirty Pigs” with flannel board characters.
Science Lab
This month in the Science Lab, we will continue to focus on Earth, Space, and Environmental Science topics. We will learn about the water cycle and why it rains, and we will also examine different types of soil found in our area. Here are some great books to read with your child this month: Little Cloud by Eric Carle Raindrop, Plop! By Wendy Cheyette Lewison We Love Dirt by Tony Johnston Earth Day, Birthday! by Maureen Wright The Earth and I by Frank Asch Remember-Earth Day is April 22nd. Talk with your child about ways that you can help make our planet a better place to live.
April is a very special month at ICDC because we celebrate the “National Early Childhood Week of the Young Child.” Children touch our lives every day; they will contribute great and important things to the future of our world. We want to celebrate that every child is special!!! The week will be filled with creative face painting, bubbles, special cooking projects and more! Please see your child’s teachers to find out how you can make their celebration even more special.
Mom & Me Get Together We are looking forward to our Mom & Me Get Together on Wednesday, April 9 through Friday, April 11. Your child’s teacher will inform you of the date and time for your child’s class. ICDC Newsletter
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People of ICDC Each month our Parent’s Club will be highlighting one of our staff in their newsletter. This is a great way for you to learn more about our wonderful teachers and staff. Hello! My name is Lisa Whittle and I am the new Assistant Director of Interfaith Child Development Center. I have 15 years of teaching experience, and have taught at both the elementary and preschool levels. I earned my teaching degree from Texas A&M University (Whoop!), and I also have a Masters in Educational Management from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. My husband, David, and I have been married for 15 years, and we have 2 boys, Zachary (10) and Mason (7). We stay busy with our boys’ activities (Tae Kwon Do and Scouting), but our family also enjoys camping, riding bikes, and going to Sam Rayburn Lake each summer. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and playing handbells at my church. I am so excited to be a part of the ICDC family! I look forward to getting to know you and your children in the upcoming months.
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Annual Food Drive Our annual food drive is April 21-May 8. It supports Interfaith of The Woodlands’ Food Pantry. Please collect items in the box outside your child’s classroom. Needs include: canned vegetables, canned fruit, protein such as peanut butter, tuna, canned meats, chili, spaghettios, macaroni & cheese, milk (powdered, condensed, or evaporated), and all sizes diapers. Your family can make a difference!
A big heart felt thank you to all the parents who volunteered for Rodeo Week! Our cowgirls and cowboys had such a great time!!!
March 2014
Important Dates
Thurs. & Fri.
Spirit Days – wear your ICDC T-shirt
April 9-11
Mom & Me Visits
April 9-11
Scholastic Book Fair at ICDC
April 10
Spirit Day @ Chili’s
April 18
Spring Holiday- Center Closed
April 21-25
Week of the Young Child
April 21-May 8
Annual Food Drive
April 29- May 3
International Week
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ICDC Parent’s Club From The President
THANK YOU to everyone for participating in our MIXED BAGS DESIGNS FUNdraiser! These bags are so cute and just perfect for the spring/summer! Orders will be in soon and we will let you know once they arrive!
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Our Scholastic Book Fair – FIESTA themed - will be held April 9 – 11th! Please sign up to help with this event or come and browse the great selection of books! Our teachers will have wish boxes filled with their favorite books for purchase for their classroom and to give you great ideas for your children! Sign-up information will be posted soon!
SAVE THE DATE… Our next Spirit Day will be held on Thursday, April 10th at Chili’s! Please show your school spirit and support our school by dining at Chili’s, they will donate 10% of proceeds from ICDC family purchases to our school!
ICDC PARENT'S CLUB: If you have interest in participating in the ICDC Parent's Club Board or Chairing an Event for the 2014-2015 school year please e-mail me to let me know. We are looking for motivated volunteers who want to get involved. ICDC needs you! Our next meeting dates are April 22nd and May 20th at 1:30 at the school if you would like to learn more.
BASKETS – If you happen to have any baskets around the house or perhaps aren’t using your basket received from the auction, please drop them by the front office! We could really use them! We are already working on collecting baskets for next year’s auction! Thank you so much! As always, thank you for your continued support! Please email or call me with any questions, anytime… Thank you, Shannon K. de la Paz skdelapaz@gmail.com 713/851.1411 ICDC Parent’s Club- President
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Please join us for a Retirement Celebration honoring
Bobbie Hrycushko for Her 26 years of Dedication and Service to our Children Wednesday, April 30 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM Interfaith Child Development Center 5630 Rush Haven Drive The Woodlands, Texas 77381
Hosted by Interfaith of the Woodlands Board of Directors
ICDC Parents’ Club and ICDC Newsletter The Interfaith Family
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