Welcome to the Preschool CUBS at the Early Childhood Center    

 We are very excited to begin our second year in our new Early Childhood Center. The center currently houses our Preschool CUBS (Children United By Special Abilities) , as well as Atkinson School Kindergarten programs.  Our Preschool CUBS program is currently filled for the 2010-11 school year, however we maintain a very active waiting list. Our CUBS program runs on a typical school year calendar.  Please explore our website for more specific information on our program.  Thank you for visiting our website and our Program.

2012-2013  News:

Important Information for 2012/13 School Year

Times:

AM Session:           8:45 - 11:15

PM Session:          12:15 - 2:45

Tuition:

4 Days/2.5 Hours p/day:     $320.00 per month

4 Days/6.0 Hours p/day:     $640.00 per month

Enrollment Information for 2013-14 School Year:

We are currently working on accepting children off of our waiting list for the 2013-14 school year. We will be in touch with parents as we move down our list.  Thank you for your patience!

Important Dates for ECC:

News:

April 22, 2013

Dear Parents -

First, let me say that I hope all of you and your family/friends are safe after such a tragic week.  I know many of you were impacted by either being at the marathon, having family members at the marathon, nursing those who were so badly hurt, etc. I am not sure there is one person that was not impacted by this tragic series of events. However, it is important to note, that as you have heard so much this week, we are STRONG! North Andover is a strong community and I know from growing up in this wonderful community, we will all be there for each other.  Finally, I'm sure Dr. Hutchinson, our School Superintendent, will not mind me quoting his closing statement to the community:  "We are committed to supporting all students continually and we will revise our response as needed to best assist students and staff. As evidenced in Boston, the power of community cannot be minimized and our combined efforts can RAISE hope and healing to new heights."  

Our focus will be on your children this week, so here are your tidbits for the week:

• Welcome:  OK, are you ready for this – we have 4 new children starting in our program this week – how exciting!!  Welcome to Grayson (Miss Kim), Jacob (Miss Jill R./AM), Solomon (Miss Laurie/PM), and Aanya (Miss Lauren) - we welcome all of these children and their families to our program!  We are sure you will have a wonderful experience at the ECC!
• Last Day of School:  Many have asked what the last day of school will be for the children at the ECC. The last day of school for the children will be Tuesday, June 25th (full day of school for the children). As in the past, this allows us time to screen all of the new children who will be attending our program in the fall of 2013.
• Important Dates:  I have posted important dates on the website that you will want to check in on periodically. I will keep the website updated as new dates come up or anything changes. Please check in on our website at:  http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/preschool/ - in addition, I have posted a few new photos – enjoy!
• Kindergarten Registration:  If you have a child moving on to kindergarten and you have not gone into the parent portal online to update your information, please do so as soon as possible. Be sure to go into the health and demographic tabs, scroll all the way down and update all information.  In addition, you will need to call your neighborhood school and set up a screening appointment.
• NAPAC News:  Nominations for officers are underway! If you would like to join our friendly, hardworking board, then submit an application! Applications are due May 1, and our May membership meeting (see below) will feature a Q&A with the candidates. For more information, e-mail NorthAndoverPAC@gmail.com.    Join us for our next social event and meet other special parents! NAPAC will provide some light appetizers; you provide the camaraderie! April 26, 7PM, Culpepper’s Brew Pub (located above the Willows Racquet Club).North Andover Center for the Performing Arts will provide babysitting for $10 per child (for more information or to reserve a spot, e-mail Meghan@cpadance.com). Please RSVP with number of people to NorthAndoverPAC@gmail.com by Monday, April 22 so we know how many tables to reserve.   Save the date! Our next membership meeting is Wednesday, May 8 at 7pm in the NAHS Cafe. This is also our Meet the Candidates night for those running for an open position on the board.   On Friday, May 17 at 4pm, bring your children to Drummond Playground for our Ice Cream Social! RSVP (with # of kids) to NorthAndoverPAC@gmail.com for  your free ticket. Siblings welcome!        What is better than the Summer Olympics every four years? The Special Olympics every year! Mark your calendars for this  year’s fun: Wednesday, May 22. Come help NAPAC support our athletes by volunteering for an hour at our table or donating a baked good that we can sell. More information and sign-up instructions to follow.     For many valuable resources go to: http://www.northandoverpublicschools.com/napac/napac_recreational_programs.cfm.
• Pick Up/Drop Off Reminder:  Please remember that you should NOT park in front of the fire hydrant to either pick up or drop off your children. If you are going to walk your child up to the entrance, you need to park in a parking space. It is illegal to park in front of fire hydrants – I will be following up with this during this week and will ask you to use a parking space if you are front of the hydrants.  Thank you!
• Cooties:  I bet you thought I would forget – lol – well, honestly, it is still early so I am not sure what cooties were creeping around last week, but if anything major, you know I'll let you know!

Well, I think that is it for now.  We are happy to see the kids back today – their smiling little faces make everyone feel better!  Have a good week friends!



Marylou Connors
Director/Early Childhood Center
115 Phillips Brooks Rd.
North Andover, MA  01845
978-794-1577
Connorsm@northandover.k12.ma.us


 

RAISE

Our Social-Emotional Learning Expectations Civic and character education is vitally important to the development of well-rounded students. Our Building Respectful Community (BRC) initiative highlights the values associated with RAISE through which…

• North Andover students will demonstrate respect. They will think about others before speaking or taking any action. They will appreciate the contributions of others, while showing respect for themselves, other people, personal and/or community property and the environment.
• North Andover students will demonstrate achievement. They will exercise their best effort and judgment in all activities in which they participate and will set goals that promote positive academic, social, and personal development.
• North Andover students will demonstrate inclusion. They have a responsibility to break down barriers by inviting new people into teams, circles of friends, and experiences as they work to be a unified, collaborative community.
• North Andover students will demonstrate service. They believe the growth and improvement of a relationship and community depends on the willingness of others to contribute support to the greater good.
• North Andover students will demonstrate empathy. They will be aware of and consider another person’s situation, feelings or motives before speaking or taking action.

I know these are big words for our little preschoolers.  So, our teaching staff have met (and will continue to do so) and each paired up to take one of the words. The staff will use a preschool book and spend about two months expanding upon their particular word, totally adapting it to preschool. We will also do a RAISE cheer (it will be so loud, you'll hear it at your home) and other fun activities pertaining to our "word". When you walk into our building, you will see our RAISE project. With each story, we will add a character to our RAISE entry way, along with art projects from the class responsible for the particular "letter/word" we are focusing on.  When our preschoolers leave the Early Childhood Center, they will at least know the word RAISE and hopefully know more about the meaning of it. Kindergarten will then pick up from there and take the children further in their knowledge.  We will keep you posted all along the way of things you can do at home to expand upon this, as well as vocabulary the children are being taught. It will be an exciting journey!
 

· N         Notes that continue to be important!:

·  

·   P Phone Extensions:  We are very happy to report that our phone extensions and voice mail are working - so, you can get your teachers phone extensions off of our website if you want to leave a message for them personally.  However, if you are calling your child in sick please call Chris directly at extension 55020.  Thanks!   Please be sure if your child is out to call us or otherwise we will give you a quick call in the morning. We like to be sure we know if there are several children out with the same little preschool "cooties" we can have BarbaraAnn track them. If there is something brewing in the preschool, we can give everyone a heads up.  Thanks so much!

·         Thanks so much for your continued support!!!

Marylou Connors

Early Childhood Center Director

978-794-1577    x55021

connorsm@northandover.k12.ma.us

A Little Bit of 'Dis and a Little Bit of 'Dat (A few questions you may have along the way):

What does your child need on the first day of school?: 

Your child will need the following on the first day of school: Complete change of clothing clearly marked with name; bag of diapers if needed; package of baby wipes (it's amazing how handy these come in!); small backpack (but big enough for art projects); daily healthy snack including a drink.

What do you do if your child requires medication at school?: 

Please be sure you contact our nurse, BarbaraAnn Donovan, so the appropriate forms can be completed. With proper forms completed, we are able to medicate children at school.

What is the procedure for pick up/drop off?:

We will be outside on the first day of school and will help direct traffic. It will help if you have your child's carseat on the passenger side of the car. We will come to your car to take your child. We will give you a teacher name tag on the first day. Please put this name tag on your dashboard for pick up and drop off.

What time does school start?:

Children should be here at school no later than 8:45 and 12:15 p.m. It is important to be on time so the children begin their day with their peers and on schedule. It truly does benefit them greatly. School ends at 11:15 and 2:45 p.m. Again, we do ask that you be on time for pick up.

How do teachers communicate with families?:

Each teacher will write a newsletter specific to their classroom. I will also send a weekly e-mail to all parents.  Each Monday, I will send my weekly e-mail with any important information and updates. Attached to this e-mail will be your teacher's weekly newsletter. It is important to read this newsletter, as teachers' will inform parents of the week's happenings.  I will also write a quarterly program newsletter.

When is tuition due, where does it get sent and who do I make check out to?:

Tuition is due by the first Friday of each new month. Tuition is $320.00 per month. Our wonderful secretary, Chris Rodden, will send out all of the information you need regarding tuition, including her contact information and the plans for payment available. If you feel you would qualify for tuition assistance, you can let either Chris or myself know and we will send out the paperwork.

Are there any openings in the Preschool CUBS program at this time and if not, do you fill open slots during the year?: 

Our tuition based slots are currently filled for the 2012-2013 school year.  We do maintain a waiting list and use it throughout the year as we get openings.

Where can an application be obtained?:

You can download an application right from our website or you can call the preschool and have one directly mailed to you at your request.

Do siblings automatically get into the preschool?:

No, siblings should get on the waiting list as soon as possible.

Is there a cost to get on the waiting list?:

There is no cost to placing an application on the waiting list