A Note from The Director January 2015
Dear Interfaith Families,
Welcome Back! I hope that your holidays were happy ones, and that you enjoyed a restful, relaxing break. May the year 2015 be filled with good health and many blessings for all of you. Here at ICDC, we are happy to open our doors and welcome your children back, as we have many fun and innovative educational experiences in store for them. Later on this month, we look forward to meeting with you during our annual Parent-Teacher Conferences. These Conferences are a wonderful opportunity for us to join together on behalf of your child. I always say, “no one knows a child better than his or her parent.” Likewise, your child’s teachers are in the unique position to give you a window into classroom life – to let you know how and what your child is doing, whom he plays with, and what his favorite activities are. Additionally, they will provide you with an overall assessment of his development – socially, emotionally, cognitively, and physically. This is the perfect opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have, and together you can set some goals for the time that lies ahead. I believe in the enormous potential of each and every child, and when parents and teachers join together, there is no end to what can be accomplished. Our children have many gifts that are just beginning to unfold during these early years. Thank you for sharing your children with us. It is a gift to be allowed to be a part of their lives . . . and yours! Warmly, Julie Oudin
IMPORTANT DATES Please see page 2 for the many important dates this month.
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Health & Safety Healthy Eating Parents are role models for their children and need to practice healthy eating themselves. Create an environment at meal time which is calm, with no distraction such as television. Eat meals as a family and allow children to help prepare meals. Remember that children will need much smaller portions. Serve healthy meals and snacks at certain times and praise children when new foods are tried. Never force a child to eat. Also, never use food as a punishment, bribe, or reward. Obesity in children has been on the rise, and leaves them at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breathing problems, and low self-esteem. Supersizing is too easy to do. Over the years, portion size has increased and most of us are unaware. For example, think about bagels: over the span of 20 years bagels have gone from a 3” diameter to now a 6” diameter, from 120 calories to over 350 calories! One way to handle the issue of portion control is to divide a plate into three sections. Use the top section for protein, the next section for starch and the lower section (the largest) for vegetables. Do not overlap the sections. Some people have gone to using smaller salad or dessert plates rather than full sized dinner plates for meals. I hope this helps you to serve more balanced meals and avoid any future health problems. For additional information, please consult the Children’s Health Network at http://kidshealth.org Georganna Redifer, R.N.
January 2014
Important Dates
Thurs. & Fri.
Spirit Days – wear your ICDC T-shirt
January 2
All-Day Programs Resume
January 5
Partial Day Preschool, School Day, and MDO Programs Resume
January 10
Dad’s Day
January 19-23
All Day Program Parent-Teacher Conferences
January 19
No School for P-17 due to Parent/Teacher Conferences
January 20-21
No Partial Day Preschool, School Day, and MDO Classes due to Parent/Teacher Conferences- Please See Class Newsletter for Exact Scheduling
February 3
In-House Registration for All Programs
March 6
Annual Silent Auction and Family Night
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Curriculum Corner
Science Lab
Roar!!! Look out! The dinosaurs are invading the Science Lab! Our little scientists will have fun learning about dinosaurs this month. They will also use their scientific skills to predict, estimate, and measure. In addition, your child will have fun watching a volcano erupt. Be sure to ask your little scientist about their experience in the lab this month. Here are some fun books about dinosaurs that you can read with your child: Dinosaur Roar! by Paul and Henrietta Strickland My Big Dinosaur Book by Roger Priddy Oh My, Oh My, Oh Dinosaur by Sandra Boynton How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends? by Jane Yolen Digging Up Dinosaurs by Aliki
Literacy News: Thanks to a generous grant from The Lego Store, eleven of our teachers will be attending the Early Literacy Summit sponsored by Rice University’s School Literacy and Culture Project on Saturday, January 17, 2015. This workshop brings together teachers from all over to learn about the latest trends in education to promote young children’s literacy development. Our own Director, Julie Oudin, will be one of the presenters this year. Teachers will return to their classrooms with new ideas to make learning even more fun!
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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. It was a dark and stormy night deep in the heart of Chicago, IL – a 7lb bundle of joy was born to immigrant parents on Saturday, August 14, 1939; she was named Sunday. Through the years which included a toddler stint in St. Vincent’s Orphanage, Sunday evolved into the present day Elly Buron. I was raised with my sister Caroline in a foster family; we lived in South Shore, within walking distance of Lake Michigan. I attended St. Philip Neri Grammar School and St. Thomas Aquinas High School. The latter required the wearing of drab, green uniforms. On mandatory occasions, a green beanie was worn on the head. Such attire scarred me for life and is the single cause of my flair for flashy suits and wide-brimmed hats. At 17, graduating High School, I survived the drama of reconnecting with siblings after a fifteen-year separation. Two years after graduation I married my senior prom date, Joseph Buron. Then we really fell in love and had five children. Daughter, Tamera, accelerated classes and was at Northern Illinois University at age 15, giving us the challenge of having four in attendance at different universities; all finding their way home on the same weekends to power-eat and do laundry. At present, they live in New Jersey, Illinois, Arizona and Texas with their spouses. I entered Northern Illinois University in my daughter’s footsteps (reverse legacy) pursuing two avenues of study – English and Philosophy. To commemorate achievements, a paving stone carved ‘Mother – Daughter’ with names and dates of graduation rests in a courtyard at NIU; a nice touch reminiscent of immortality since, I’m sure, the stone will be around for hundreds of years well-grounded in academia. Education is alive among the Burons. The new generation, eight grandchildren, possess a love for learning. Even our pets instinctively desire to learn; they were home-schooled and the classroom at one time held six canines, four felines and six birds of many colors.
After thirty years of living in St. Charles, IL on the beautiful Fox River, after many travels as near as the next state and as far away as Australia, and after a host of achievements in arenas that include marketing, business consulting, writing, music, art, I packed up the dog, three cats, bird, memories, and with Joe, moved to The Woodlands, TX in 2007. I credit The Chicago Province Jesuits for the greatest spiritual and intellectual influence during these years. In 2010, I began a new enrichment experience at Interfaith Child Development Center, conveniently located 119 seconds from my home. The short distance helps when one must punch a clock, also a new experience. At Interfaith the children teach me with their gifts of joy and love. My co-workers teach me with their unwavering optimism and good humor. Life is, after all, a journey of learning – learning the value of faith, hope, love; and the greatest of these, of course, is love. Respectively submitted, Eleanor Marie Buron
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ICDC Parent’s Club From The President
Welcome back and Happy New Year!! First things first - Thank you!! Our teachers and staff members really enjoyed the Holiday Brunch held on December 11th! Thank you to all who provided a delicious dish or volunteered to lend a helping hand at this event! Also, a big thank you to Julia Warren for chairing this special event! Details for our next spirit event to come soon… Our Pei Wei spirit night earned $113.00 and our Peek Kids shopping event earned $505.00 for our school!! That is so wonderful! We truly appreciate all of you who participated in these fundraising spirit events! And a special thank you to Lesley Work and Gina Lee for organizing these events for us! SAVE THE DATES… Please join us for our annual Silent Auction and Family Night – Under the Sea - Friday, March 6th at the school. All auction items are donated from each class and the community. If you or someone you know would like to donate something, purchase an ad in the event program or volunteer to help at the event, please contact our auction chair Mary-Kathryn D’Agostino at mkdagostino@sbcglobal.net. We are requesting all donations by January 16th to ensure inclusion in the event program. Our next parent’s club and silent auction meeting will take place on January 13th at 1 pm. If you would like to be involved in helping with upcoming events or our silent auction, please come! As always, thank you for supporting our school! Shannon de la Paz ICDC Parent's Club – President skdelapaz@gmail.com
MARK YOUR CALENDAR & SUPPORT YOUR SCHOOL!! ICDC “UNDER THE SEA” SILENT AUCTION & FAMILY NIGHT FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2015 **DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH FRIDAY, JANUARY 16TH** Forms for donation & ad space are available at the front office or by e-mailing Mary-Kathryn D’Agostino at mkdagostino@sbcglobal.net
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Other Notes In-house Registration for All Programs Beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 3, we will be accepting applications for the 2015 – 2016 school year as well as for our summer program. Enrollment forms will come home through your child’s classroom. Please bring the registration form filled out, along with your enrollment fee. Classroom admittances are filled very quickly by current students and their siblings, so it is important to register early. Spots are filled on a first come, first served basis. February 16, 2015 begins our Legacy Registration for those families whose children have attended ICDC in the past. Public Registration begins on Saturday, February 21 at 8:00 a.m.
Thank you to our Fabulous Parent’s Club On behalf of the entire ICDC Staff, we wish to thank the Parent’s Club for the delicious holiday brunch that was provided for us on Thursday, December 11th. Many parents helped staff, serve and contribute to this event, which was enjoyed by all. Teachers felt pampered and treated luxuriously, and it was a lovely way to show appreciation for all they do for the children. Thank you to each and every one of you who helped make this a great success!
New Musical Structures on Outdoor Nature Classroom Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Eagle Scout, Erik Young, ICDC now has three new musical instruments/structures on our Outdoor Nature Classroom. Erik first met with us over 6 months ago, with a desire to build something that the children could use and enjoy, which would bring more music into their lives. These instruments will allow hands-on learning and exploration of musical pitch and rhythm, and will provide a great deal of fun. We are hoping that Erik can come back out to ICDC sometime in the spring for a dedication ceremony with our children.
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Other Notes Parking Lot/Car Line Safety Update As you know student safety is of great importance to us at Interfaith Child Development Center. We would like to remind you of a few policies as well as inform you of a couple of new procedures. Please take a minute to carefully read the following policies and procedures: • The four parking spots closest to our building will be coned off from 11:30 – 12:15 and 2:30 – 3:15 daily. We have witnessed too many close calls when parents are trying to pull out of these spots during our car line times. • Please remember that if you choose to park in one of the front parking spots in the morning, you will need to wait until the car(s) in front of you have pulled forward before you leave your parking spot if car line is in progress. • Cell phone use is prohibited in our parking lot. This includes our car line. For your child’s safety and the safety of other children, please do not talk or text on your cell phone when dropping off or picking up your child. • All curbs painted red are Fire Lanes. You may not park in our Fire Lanes.
• When entering our parking lot through the Falconwing Park drive, please stop at the stop sign before proceeding into our parking lot. • Remember that you should be driving 10 mph or less through our parking lot. Should you have any questions or concerns regarding parking lot or car line safety, please feel free to contact Lisa or Julie in the front office. Thank you for your help in keeping all of our children safe.
Following the break the enrichment programs will be resuming on the following dates
ICDC Newsletter
Program
Resumes on:
D is for Discovery Science
January 26 and January 28
Music by Mary:
January 6
Boni’s Dance:
January 7
Playball
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