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Dear Parents,
I agreed to the $15 one color
fee, but didn't realize that a lot of the art needed to be redrawn. So
for future I'll take a look at what you got and then give you a quote
from there. Normally the $15 dollar a color will apply, just special
occasions when the art is detailed and needs to be recreated there will
be a small increase in fee, but we will always talk about that before
the art get started.
Lunch Aid Needed
We are in desperate need of a lunch aid Monday, Wednesday and Friday to
help supervise 2 lunch periods. The approximate time is from
11:00 am
to
12:30 pm
. If you are interested, please stop by Mrs. Bobadilla’s Desk.
Where Did All Those Cars Come From?????
While not technically
grammatically correct (“From where have all those cars come?” would
be much better), we know that our parking lot is full, full, full this
year. Besides the golf academy, who have been wonderful neighbors, the
Church has begun a food distribution to needy families on Thursdays
between
7am
and
1pm
. This is a fine community service program, and yet we know it impacts
the parking in general during those times.
We are grateful for your patience each day. We know that it takes effort
and time to get our students safely into the building. We have an
officer here to help with traffic on a frequent basis, and we continue
to research ways that we might help alleviate some of the congestion in
the future. Thank-you also to the interested parents who have posted
carpool interest cards on the bulletin board inside the front hall. We
invite any other interested parents to participate as well.
Reading the paper each day, we know that traffic is congested throughout
the valley…as our commuters on the 101 each day well know! Highways,
roads and parking lots are extremely busy places.
While we know that the traffic can be a ‘hassle’ at times, and that
we have limited control over the outside, we thank all of our parents
who know that it’s what goes on inside the building, inside the minds
and hearts of your precious children that makes the difference. It’s
why we are here.
We are grateful each day for the opportunity to serve your families.
October - Respect
Dear Parents,
As we continue to build on our theme of the Six Pillars of Good
Character, this month we will think about respect. A respectful person
lives by the Golden Rule, accepts others who are different, lives
peacefully, and shows courtesy to others.
The key ideas for respect are:
• Golden Rule: Treat others they way you want to be treated. Be polite
and courteous. Respect the freedom of others. Respect the property of
others – take care of things you are allowed to use and remember to
ask permission to use someone’s property.
• Tolerance and Acceptance: Respect others who are different from you.
Listen to the point of view of others and try to understand. Remember
not to judge people by their appearances.
• Nonviolence: Solve disagreements peacefully, without violence. Deal
with angry feelings peacefully.
• Courtesy: Use good manners. Be polite and courteous to everyone. Be
thoughtful of other people’s feelings and do not hurt others by
embarrassing them or insulting them.
I am so proud of the New Vistas’ students! Parents at this school are
so careful to teach and expect fine manners from their children. My
teaching friends from
Colorado
who come to visit always are impressed with the kindness and thoughtful
behavior of our students.
This month, our activity is being sent home with children in their
homeroom classes.
Preschool though kindergarten will read a fable about gentleness and
write the answers to 2 questions. (Parents can read the story to the
student if they are pre-reading. Pre-writers can discuss the answers and
the parent can write them, or they can draw pictures illustrating the
answer on the back of the paper.)
Students in grades 1-6 will complete a paper to identify respectful
people and think about the ways they show respect.
All students completing the page and handing it in to Mrs. McFadyen will
be pleasantly surprised! : )
Happy October and thank-you for the importance you place on respect in
your homes.
You will be proud to know it shows at school too!
What All Children Want Their
Parents To Know
This is the title of a poem
written by Diana Loomis and her daughter Julia Godoy. It has since been
turned into a book about positive parenting, of which Dr. Bernie Siegal
has said, “Full of wisdom and an excellent resource.” The twelve
keys are turned into chapters in the book. Thank-you to Mr. and Mrs.
Delgado, Danielle’s parents, for sharing the book with us. The poem
gives us a lot to think about. (It is published by HJ Kramer.)
Dear Parent or Guardian,
The way you live your life
Will be my greatest influence.
When you neglect your own needs
You teach me low self-esteem.
When you care for your well-being,
You teach me about self-love.
When you break your word,
You teach me inconsistency.
When you act on your word,
You teach me to follow through.
So please take good care of yourself
And be a good role model in my life.
When you live what you teach,
I will grow up to do the same.
Hearing and Vision Screening
On October 11th, 12th and 13th,
there will be hearing and vision screening for all New Vistas
preschoolers (4 year olds), kindergartners, 1st, 2nd and 6th grade
students as well as all new students in grades 1st - 6th.
Bashas’ “Thanks a Million
for Friends & Neighbors” Program
Parents who shop at Bashas’
Super Markets can participate in their “Thanks A Million” program
for schools. When you check out, give the cashier this New Vistas group
number: 29136 along with your Bashas’ Thank You card. You only have to
enter the code number once and the link remains for the duration of the
program. If you don’t have a Thank You card, you can apply for one
immediately and have the group number linked the first time you use it.
We encourage you to spread the school’s group number to as many
supporters (family members, friends and neighbors) as possible. By the
end of the program, if our school has earned a minimum of $2500 in total
sales (which equals a $25 Bashas’ donation), we will receive a check
from Bashas’ for 1% of the total dollars attributed to our group
identification number - from $25 up to $2500 in Bashas’ donations.
This is Bashas’ way of saying “Thanks A Million” to shoppers and
the causes they care about - especially schools. The program runs from
September 1, 2006
through
March 31, 2007
.
New Playground Equipment
A generous “Thank You” to
Tara Jenkins and her Mom and Dad for the donation of the wonderful
playground unit located on the east playground area.
All
Pro
School
Pictures
All Pro School Photographers
will be at school on Tuesday, October 3rd and Wednesday, October 4th to
take individual pictures of our New Vistas’ students. The pictures
taken at this time will also be the pictures used for our New Vistas
Yearbook. Retakes for the individual pictures are scheduled for
Wednesday, November 8th. Parents will soon be receiving a flyer with
specific picture date
info
rmation. Every student in attendance on Picture Day will have their
pictures taken. The proofs will then be sent home with your child two or
three weeks after picture day. At that time, pricing
info
rmation will be included and parents may choose to purchase them at that
time. Our school group class pictures will be taken in the spring.
Before Care
If occasionally, because of an emergency you need to have your child
attend our Before Care Program, please (if possible) call us the day
before so that we can let the Before Care Teacher know to expect an
extra student the following day. We limit the size of each Before Care
Class to 20. The cost of bringing your child to Before Care as a last
minute option is $7 per morning. This fee is to be paid on the day you
use this service and is payable by cash or check.
Reminder . . .
This is a reminder to those
families who have not yet paid the $75 activity/supply fee for first
semester. This is due now. (The activity and supply fee is for students
in kindergarten - 6th grades.) You may pay this now or include it in
your November tuition payment. (Reminder: Unless you registered
your child after school began, the balance of November’s tuition is
due by November 15th. Parents paid the first half of November’s
tuition during the summer.) Second semester’s activity/supply fee is
due in January. This activity and supply fee is used to help the
classroom teachers offset expenses as they buy supplies for their
students and classrooms. It is also used to help pay for special
activities and guest presentations here at school.
Extended Care Fee
If your child is enrolled in our
Before Care Program every morning from
7:45
to
9 AM
and we have not received your September payment for this program, please
include that payment with your October Before Care payment. The cost for
this Before Care is $75 per month. The After Care Adventure Club fee is
paid directly to the YMCA.
CHILDREN & TV VIOLENCE
The
American
Academy
of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry has made the following
info
rmation available as a public service to assist parents and families in
their most important roles in an article titled CHILDREN AND TV
VIOLENCE. The article states: “American children watch an average of
three to four hours of television daily. Television can be a powerful
influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior.
Unfortunately, much of today’s television programming is violent.
Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and
teenagers have found that children may:
• Become “immune” to the horror of violence.
• Gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems.
• Imitate the violence they observe on television
• Identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers
Extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater
aggressiveness. Sometimes, watching a single violent program can
increase aggressiveness. Children who view shows in which violence is
very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to
imitate what they see. The impact of TV violence may be immediately
evident in the child’s behavior or may surface years later, and young
people can even be affected when the family atmosphere shows no tendency
toward violence. This does not mean that violence on television is the
only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but it is a significant
contributor. Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in
the following ways:
• Pay attention to the programs their children are watching. Watch
some with them.
• Set limits on the amount of time they spend with the television.
• Point out that although the actor has not actually been hurt or
killed, such violence in real life results in pain or death.
• Refuse to let the children see shows known to be violent, and change
the channel or turn off the TV set when something offensive comes on,
with an explanation of what is wrong with the program.
• Disapprove of the violent episodes in front of the children,
stressing the belief that such behavior is not the best way to resolve a
problem.
• To offset peer pressure among friends and classmates, contact other
parents and agree to enforce similar rules about the length of time and
type of program the children may watch.
The amount of time children watch TV, regardless of content, should be
moderated, because it keeps children from other more beneficial
activities such as reading and playing with friends.
BOX TOPS REMINDER
If you are collecting the “Box
Tops for Education” labels, please turn those in by October 15th.
Nancy Machain, our “Box Top” coordinator, will need to send the fall
mailing in at that time in order for New Vistas to receive that credit.
Thank You!
Birthday Party Invitation
Policy
A reminder once again to parents
regarding the distribution of birthday party invitations at school. It
is New Vistas’ policy that when invitations are going to be given out
at school, everyone in the class must receive one. The invitations are
to be given to the teacher to staple to papers. If not everyone in the
class is invited, then invitations must be mailed. This is a very
sensitive issue for those children who see parents or classmates handing
out invitations to others and not to them. We would appreciate your
cooperation and understanding in regards to this birthday party
invitation policy. Thanks!
Halloween
October is a beautiful month,
but it can be a frightening one for some children if there is an
overemphasis on the “scary” parts of Halloween. We encourage you to
play down this holiday and put it in perspective. It is a great example
of a “commercial” holiday. Because of our beliefs and philosophy
concerning this holiday, we WILL NOT be having Halloween parties in our
classrooms or wearing Halloween costumes to school. (Some classrooms may
be having “Fall” celebrations.) Please be sure that the lessons your
children are learning during this time are ones that will make them feel
good about themselves and the world. We can not encourage you enough to
delete the violence that your children see on television and in the
movies. Children are becoming desensitized to violence. The
Arizona
Republic
just recently published an article about the astonishing increase in
graphic violence aired now during prime time T.V. hours. The values of
love, caring, honesty, and compassion are taught day by day at home and
at school in children’s lives.
Parent/Teacher/Student
Conferences
Parent conferences will be held
the last week in October. Teachers in kindergarten - 6th grades will be
scheduling as many conferences as possible before and after school
during this week. Preschool teachers will be scheduling conferences
throughout the entire month. There will be NO SCHOOL for only Mrs.
Crowder’s, Mrs. McSweeney’s and Mrs. Stephens’ 2 Day Preschool
Students on Thursday, October 26th and NO SCHOOL for all other classes
on Friday, October 27th because of Teacher Work Days. More detailed
info
rmation will be sent home in the next week or so regarding conferences.
We encourage parents to allow their children to sit in on the
conferences. This is especially important for students in the older
classes.
New Vistas Monthly Newsletter on Web Site
Just a reminder that our monthly
all school “New Vistas News” is posted on our web site at New Vistas
Academy.com. If you lose your copy of the newsletter or, for whatever
reason did not receive one, please check the web site. If you have more
than one child at New Vistas, our “New Vistas News” will be sent
home with your oldest student.
Emergency Immunization Forms - Important Notice
We still have some students for
whom we have not received emergency forms. The State Health Department
requires that these forms be turned into our office within 15 days of
the beginning of school. Those of you who missed that deadline may have
already received a reminder notice or phone call to remind you that they
are due immediately. Your child’s continued attendance at New Vistas
is dependent on our having this form on file. It is vitally important
not only because it has immunization records, but also because it lists
emergency contact numbers in case we cannot make direct contact with
parents. (If your cell phone and/or home phone numbers have changed,
please give those new numbers to us as soon as possible.) When we send
in our school’s immunization records to the State Health Department in
early November, they will
info
rm us of any deficiencies in students’ immunizations. We will then
contact parents and you will be given a time frame in which to get your
child immunized.
10 Signs Your Child Might Have Vision Problems
The Vision Council of America
has these tips for parents who think their child might have vision
problems:
• Squinting, closing or covering one eye • Rubbing eyes repeatedly.
• Holding a book close to the face.
• Losing his or her place while reading.
• Headaches, nausea or dizziness.
• Excessive clumsiness.
• Tilting head to one side.
• Frequent daydreaming.
• Using a finger as a place mark while reading.
• Performing below potential.
If you see many of these signs in your child, you may want to have their
eyes checked.
Service Projects
Again this year, every class and
every student at New Vistas will be involved in some way in a community
service project designed to provide our students with the opportunity to
help others.
• Mrs. Esposito’s, Mrs. McSweeney’s and Mrs. Smith’s Preschool/PreK
Classes will be collecting coats, sweaters, sweatshirts and blankets for
“Sharing Hands of Arizona”. These items need to be clean and
“gently used” for both adults and children and will be given to
those who are in need of these warm items as the winter months approach.
The teachers will collect the items from October 1st -November 20th.
• Mrs. Crowder’s, Mrs. Stephens and Mrs. Purdef’s Preschool/PreK
Classes and Mrs. Beckman’s/Mrs. Howard’s Afternoon Kindergarten
Combo Class will be conducting a backpack and school supply drive to
support the Arizona Council for Casa, Inc. (ACCI). The goal of ACCI is
to meet the special needs of foster children within the courts’ care.
These children are in the system due to no fault of their own and may
have been abused, neglected or abandoned. • Mrs. Grismore’s and Mrs.
McLean’s All Day Kindergarten classes will be collecting for Heifer
Project International. The idea behind Heifer Project is to give
struggling families around the world the means to be self reliant
through gifts of food and income producing farm animals - such as cows,
goats, sheep, llamas, chicks, ducks rabbits, water buffalo, as well as
bees and trees that increase crop production and help to protect the
environment.
• Mrs. Rogers’ Morning K Class service project will involve
collecting new 20 inch teddy bears for the “Center Against Family
Violence.” When police are involved in situations of family physical
or mental abuse involving children, these bears are given to the child
to comfort them.
• Mrs. Bland and Mrs. Shipley’s 1st Grade Class has chosen the
Caitlin Robb Foundation for its community service project. The
foundation was established in memory of a two year old
Tempe
,
Arizona
toddler who lost her courageous battle against neuroblastoma, the most
common extracranial solid-tumor pediatric cancer. In Caitlin’s memory,
the class will launch “Fuzzy Slippers”. Each student in the class is
asked to donate one pair of new slippers for children ages 1 - 12 during
the first week in November. The students will then make get well cards
to accompany cozy slippers that will be delivered to the Pediatric
Cancer Ward at
St. Joseph
’s Hospital. Our goal is to not only warm the children’s feet, but
their hearts. A small gift is often the one filled with the most love
and thoughtfulness.
• Mrs. Holly’s and Mrs. Andrews’ 1st Grade Classes, and Mrs.
Pollack’s 2nd graders will all be collecting cases of water and sports
drinks for the Mesa Fire Department as their first community service
project of the year. Mrs. Holly’s oldest son is a volunteer with Mesa
Fire’s Connectors program and they service victims during fires, car
accidents, motor assists etc. They like to have water or Gatorade to
offer these people as well as to the policemen and firefighters
themselves.
• Mrs. Bernardi’s 1st/2nd Combo Class, Mrs. Devine’s/Mrs.
Randall’s 3rd grade and Ms. Roberts 4th grade will be assisting the
“Every Tooth Counts” program. This program is a children’s dental
health program sponsored by
Chandler
Regional
Hospital
. The program aims to halt the progress of current dental cavities and
prevent new ones from forming in children. Often, the poorest families
are unable to purchase toothbrushes and toothpaste due to limited
income. The classes will be helping out by donating children’s
toothbrushes and toothpaste. The goal for the class is to collect 100
children’s toothbrushes for this amazing program.
• Mrs. Cunningham’s 2nd graders will be participating in “Chore
for Charity” which is a project that encourages students to earn extra
money by doing chores around the house. The money will then be used to
purchase items for the children at “My Sister’s Place” - a home
for abused women.
• Mrs. Fawcett’s and Mrs. Trepanier’s 5th Grade will be collecting
tennis shoes, socks, “gently used” clothing and school supplies for
the Thomas J. Pappas School for homeless children.
• The 5th/6th Combo class under Mrs. Trepanier’s guidance will be
writing and illustrating children’s picture books which they will read
to New Vistas preschool classes and then donate to the Pappas School for
homeless children.
This Month’s Country
During the month of October,
students in all of our classes will be studying the culture, geography,
history and language of
Spain
.
SCHOOL
HOLIDAY
There will be NO SCHOOL on
Monday and Tuesday October 9th and 10th in observance of Columbus Day
and Fall Break.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR NEXT MONTH
NO SCHOOL on Friday, November 10th in honor of Veterans’ Day. NO
SCHOOL Wednesday, Thursday and Friday November 22nd, 23rd and 24th
because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
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