Fall 2025 Biscuits Bulletin

FALL 2025

BISCUIT'S BULLETIN SAINT ANNE'S DAY SCHOOL COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

FROM THE DIRECTOR In This Issue POPSICLE PARTY & WELCOME VISITS FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL

PARENT NIGHT

FALL FEST

MARGARITAS & MAMACITAS EMBEDDED SUPPORTS

HALLOWEEN

ANNUAL FUND

COMMUNITY FEATURES

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dear Saint Anne’s Day School Families and Friends, Welcome to the 2025 Fall Edition of Biscuit’s Bulletin! Each year, we publish our first edition right before Thanksgiving break so that you can enjoy it with family and friends.

In this edition of Biscuit’s Bulletin, we share the excitement and joy of the new school year through beautiful photos from some of our very special events, including the New Family POPsicle Party, Parent Night, and, of course, Fall Fest. You also get a glimpse of some of the inspired experiences our educators have facilitated for children and each other, with a classroom feature on owl pellet dissection and a peek at peer-led professional development in the Studio. Finally, you learn how the school is utilizing documentation of children’s growth and development to inform classroom practices, provide embedded supports, and partner with parents.

In honor of the 70th anniversary of Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church, we interviewed the Day School’s Engram Family, whose grandfather was the founding rector of the parish.

While we currently have Hayes with us in the Birdhouse, the family shares memories of their time over the years with all three of their children at the Day School.

Finally, as we enter the Thanksgiving season, we want to express our deepest gratitude for the many ways you support the Day School. We are kicking off the 2025-26 Annual Fund campaign this month and introducing the Joy Abounds! Capital Campaign - the first since the Outdoor Classroom was built nearly 15 years ago! In the annual fund letter, you will see how your generous donations help make the community accessible through tuition assistance, allow us to bring in specialists to support children’s development, and enrich our educators through relevant investigations and training.

Thank you for everything you do to make the Day School a magical place. Everyone at Saint Anne’s Day School and Enrichment Programs sends their warmest wishes to you and your family for the holiday season. Be well and take care.

Most sincerely,

Rhonda Mitchell Director

Behind the Bulletin Emily Brown Teaching Practices Specialist Editor, Classroom & Community Correspondent Contributors Rhonda Mitchell, Erised Quintas, Caroline Engram, Allison East, Megan Bartlett

To subscribe to Biscuit's Bulletin, or if you have photos, stories, or memories of Saint Anne's to share, e-mail: alumni@saintannesdayschool.com.

POPSICLE PARTY & WELCOME VISITS In August, the Day School hosted the Newcomer POPsicle Party to welcome the new children and families to Saint Anne’s! Families gathered on the playground to enjoy cool treats and to meet and build connections within our community. During Welcome Visits, children and parents were invited to explore their classrooms, and it was a joyous way to get everyone excited about the 2025-2026 school year.

POPsicle Party

Welcome Visits

FIRST DAYS OF SCHOOL Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year at Saint Anne’s! The Day School had two beautiful first days, filled with sweet moments of joyful laughter, curious exploration, and connection. The educators and staff collaborated with the children to build comfort at school, foster community within their classroom, and cultivate relationships with one another.

PARENT NIGHT September brought Saint Anne’s annual Parent Night. Families gathered to hear from Church, Day School, and POPs leadership about the heart behind our work. Parents were then invited to step into their children’s world to explore their classroom environments and engage in meaningful conversations with educators. The evening ended with a party on the piazza, where we celebrated the strength of the connection between home and school. Thank you to all who joined us!

FAMILY FALL FEST The Fall Fest is one of our most beloved events for the children, families, and entire community! This year, we had beautiful fall weather and a wonderful turnout. Joy and laughter echoed through all of our exciting activities -- bouncy houses, face painting, pony rides, pumpkin decorating, carnival games, sweet treats, and train rides! Thank you to families, friends, educators, sponsors, and committee members for continuing to make Fall Fest a favorite for all!

FAMILY FALL FEST

MARGARITAS AND MAMACITAS In November, the moms of the Day School community came together to enjoy an evening of margaritas, delicious food, and each other’s company. It was a special opportunity to meet other moms, share what’s ahead, discover ways to get involved, and make lasting friendships! Thank you to our POPs committee teams for hosting such a memorable event.

FAMILY FEATURE: ENGRAM FAMILY Get to know the Engram Family as Caroline describes their special connection with Saint Anne's.

Describe your family and their time at the day school.

As a family, we have loved every minute we have had at Saint Anne's. Our oldest, Jack (7), started here at Parents’ Morning Out before joining the Treehouse 2s. We still have a group text with all of the moms I met that year, as we managed toddlers during COVID times. Our daughter, Eliza (5), came to Saint Anne's for the toddler class and absolutely thrived during her time here. Finally, Hayes, currently 2, is in the Birdhouse room (which used to be the Treehouse), and that overlap is something the boys in our house love to talk about!

Engram Family Hewitt, Caroline, (Jack), (Eliza), Hayes

Hewitt and I have been involved from the beginning, finding that especially during Covid, making friends with your kids’ friends leads to a beautiful village and community.

I have helped plan Parent Night and the Party on the Piazza, Family Fall Fest, and Margaritas and Mamacitas, along with countless holiday parties in all classrooms.

Talk about your special connection with Saint Anne’s Church.

It's a small world, as Hewitt's grandfather was actually the founding rector of Saint Anne's parish many years ago, and it is special to have that deep familial connection to a place that has become home to our kids (and to us). We have loved the many parents and families we have met, and find it is easy to make friends with other families looking for what we have found here - a loving environment that nurtures creativity and curiosity in big ways for the smallest among us. The light is different inside Saint Anne's - partially because of the windows and natural light and glass loose parts strung from the ceiling, but also because of the warmth and glow, and joy of the children and staff can't be overlooked. It's important to hold onto that magic when you find it.

Jack Day School Graduation 2023

Eliza Nesting Room 2024-25

Hayes Birdhouse Room 2025-26

DOCUMENTATION OF CHILDREN’S GROWTH The Day School continually strives to expand and grow in its practices and Three Pillars (Elevated Image of the Child, The Environment as the Third Teacher, and Documentation and Collaboration). As part of this growth, we now offer four complimentary screeners for your child, based on their age. The results from these screeners are only used internally and help us expand our practices, guide educators’ planning, and collaborate with families.

Ages and Stages Questionnaire Emily Brown, Teaching Practices Specialist The ASQ-3 is a screening tool used for children from birth to 6 years old. It provides a quick snapshot of growth in five key developmental areas: Communication, Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Problem Solving, and Personal-Social skills.

The ASQ-3 offers our educators valuable insight into developmental progress. By looking at trends across the classroom, educators can identify common areas to grow and intentionally weave related developmental skills into the children’s daily investigations. This ensures that our learning environment supports both individual growth and the collective development of the group.

Imagine Learning Allison East, Teaching Practices Specialist and Literacy Support For the past few years, Saint Anne’s has used EarlyBird (now known as Imagine Learning), an early learning assessment that is given to our PreK and TK children 3 times a year. Played on an iPad, this game-based assessment evaluates key components of pre-reading & reading, which allows educators to track a child's progress, identify areas of support, and create both individualized and whole group instructions. Imagine Learning assesses the following areas: phonemic awareness, sound/symbol correspondence, oral language comprehension, and naming speed.

Speech Screener

OT Screener

SAGE Speech & Learning Associates

Capable Kids, LLC

The Day School welcomes SAGE Speech & Learning Associates to complete speech screeners. A certified Speech and Language Pathologist (SLP) meets individually with each participating child to observe and engage in early speech skills. During these brief, child-friendly sessions, the SLP watches and listens for age-appropriate articulation and speech sounds, receptive and expressive language abilities, and the child’s comfort with social conversation. These screeners offer a valuable early look at how children communicate and can serve as an important tool in identifying potential speech, language, developmental, and other communication needs.

Our occupational therapist, Megan Bartlett from Capable Kids, LLC, has been busy getting to know the children and joining in the classroom fun! She began the year with OT screenings for many students, exploring some of the developmental building blocks of lifelong learning—fine motor, gross motor, and sensory-motor skills. Alongside her colleagues, Ms. Rebecca and Ms. Celeste, she met with students individually for about 20 minutes to observe and assess these foundational abilities. If you have questions about the screening process or would like your child to participate, please feel free to reach out to Ms. Megan.

EMBEDDED SUPPORTS At the Day School, we honor the image of the child by seeing each learner as a whole, capable, and curious individual. One way we live out this philosophy is through the intentional embedding of supports within our learning environments.

Movement with Ms. Megan Megan Bartlett, Occupational Therapist Each week, Ms. Megan brings movement, creativity, and joy into the classrooms through a multisensory approach to early handwriting skills. Lessons combine big body movements—like hopping, jumping jacks, and cross crawls—with fine motor fun such as tongs, squirt bottles, and tiny chalk pieces for writing. Students also enjoy lacing, weaving, and other hands-on projects that strengthen coordination and control.

Your teachers will share photos of our “OT Activity of the Week,” highlighting the skill focus. We’re already seeing wonderful growth in strength, coordination, and confidence—and lots of smiles along the way!

Books & Breathwork and Mindful Moments Jennifer Nestor-Cardwell, Art Therapist Ms. Jenn is a licensed art therapist (ATR) and a licensed professional counselor (LPC). This year, she is offering two programs that she created for us at Saint Anne’s. For the older children, the Books & Breathwork framework is designed to complement the social-emotional learning in the classrooms and to introduce breathwork as a way of self-care and selfregulation. Our younger children experience Mindful Moments, with experiences designed to introduce soothing sensory moments with art materials. All of our children love and benefit from these enrichments.

BISCUITS WITH BISCUIT PARENT CHAT POPs hosted a parent chat featuring Peyten Williams of Bowbend Consulting to discuss technology use with preschool-age children. Parents walked away with many useful resources to establish healthy boundaries and great ideas for filling time otherwise filled with technology.

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS The Halloween season is such a cheerful one for our children! We love to see how each child embraces their individuality and imagination in the form of a costume. Our classrooms of children two and older participated in the annual parade around the center island, and our toddler classrooms started a new tradition with a parade in the outdoor classroom. The school was certainly filled with smiles, laughter, and fun!

HALLOWEEN CELEBRATIONS Following the parades, each classroom hosted a celebration! Themed snacks, spooky sensory exploration, monster games, and opportunities to create brought even more excitement to the day. Children touched “eyeballs,” designed their own Frankenstein, and even wrapped each other up as toilet paper mummies! Thanks to our parents and families for organizing the class parties and joining in the fun.

CLASSROOM FEATURE: SUNRIVER Join the SunRiver Room as they take on the role of a scientist to dissect and investigate Owl Pellets.

Owl Pellet Investigations

Our study began by asking the children, “What is a scientist?” Each had a response that represented a scientist in their mind: “they do experiments,” “they make things,” and “they build stuff.” As a group, we agreed that scientists ask questions, investigate, and learn. We then introduced the idea that we were going to be scientists and that we’d be studying Owl Pellets. The conversation led to things that the children already knew about owls, such as: they are nocturnal, they can see in the dark, they have talons, and they are a kind of bird. Then, we read about owl pellets.

After reading a bit about owl pellets and discovering they are NOT poop, but more like a cat’s fur ball, we had a short conversation about what we might find inside the pellets. This was interesting, as much of what the children thought owls ate was fruit. Would we find fruit on the pellets? Seeds? We decided to allow the pellets to teach us and not try and correct the children’s thinking. We introduced the word, investigating, and spoke about taking our time and moving slowly as we worked, just like scientists. After our discussions, the children made their way to their “laboratories.”

The children used their tweezers to aid in finding bones. They were fascinated to discover that they could actually identify the type of bone using their own bone chart. Seeing all the smiles and hearing the laughter and excited comments throughout the room was inspiring. After much investigation and experimentation, the children discovered new knowledge about owls…

“They eat animals!”

“They eat small animals.”

“They don’t like the bones and the fur.”

“I found a million (bones)!”

This child’s excitement and pride in the moment gave us pause. This is why days like this one are special.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & NEW STAFF Discover how educators participate in peer-led workshops and training sessions with local experts. Let's also extend a warm welcome to the new educators joining the Day School this year!

Our talented studio educators, Grace and Alyssa, have been busy inspiring our teaching community through a series of regularly occurring, hands-on workshops designed to deepen our connection to Reggio Emilia practices. Each session invites classroom educators to explore materials and concepts —such as clay and glazing, loose parts, and the magic of light and shadow—while experiencing the same sense of curiosity and discovery we hope to spark in our children.

These interactive workshops offer more than just techniques; they create space for collaboration, reflection, and creative brainstorming. Educators experiment with materials, share ideas, and consider how these rich studio practices can be woven into their own classroom environments.

Clay Workshop Led by Grace Mantle, Studio Educator

Day School and Afterschool Educators spent the afternoon with Dianna Briggs Morse of Peachtree Creative Counseling discussing strategies for building emotional intelligence through mindfulness, feelings wheels, and co-regulation.

Parent Book Recommendations Good Inside by Becky Kennedy - helps reframe behavior and gives tangible ideas of how to respond How to Talk so Kids Will Listen by Joanna Faber and Julie Kingcommunication strategies and strategies for handling big behaviors

Tristan McDaniel Mr. Tristan graduated from Georgia State and has 5 years of experience in childcare. He brings creativity and intentional presence to the Garden Room. His artistic touch is seen throughout the environment, and his warm and steady presence brings a sense of comfort. He loves reading, writing, and coffee!

Zenny Haile Ms. Zenny has worked with children in a Reggio-inspired environment for 18 years. She brings warmth, connection, and comfort to the Butterfly children. She’s often found on the children’s level, engaging in play, conversations, and snuggles of safety and reassurance. She loves dark chocolate, reading, and puzzles!

Justina Howard Ms. Howard has a CDA and over 30 years of experience with young toddlers. She brings energy, structure, and joy to the Butterfly classroom. Her cheerful songs capture the children’s attention, and her consistent and predictable routines offer a safe and supportive space. She loves mint chocolate, reading, and traveling!

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3098 Saint Anne's Lane NW Atlanta, GA 30327

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Saint Anne's Day School 3098 St. Anne's Ln NW Atlanta, GA 30327 404-237-7024 alumni@saintannesdayschool.com www.saintannesdayschool.com