SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!!!!



I can't wait to start feeling the temperature change and the flowers blooming. This week we reviewed some of our preschool skills. We practiced snipping, cutting, writing our names, counting, quantifying,



matching, number and letter identification! Phew! We were busy but did a great job with these skills. We had a great time making our Spring baskets, using glue, yarn and a balloon. Be sure to ask your child about it and what part the balloon played to create the baskets!

Our Tricky Tray basket is coming along nicely. I will collecting donations until Tuesday, March 26th. After that, the basket will be wrapped and delivered to the PTA. Mrs. Sturm, Mrs. Brands and I purchased a wooden toy chest, as our donation, for our classroom basket. We will use the toy chest as our "basket". It's going to look great! We could still use a few more items to fill up the toy chest. Some ideas would be videos, floor puzzles, board games and books! Thank you again for your generosity and I hope I get to see you all there!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!! Lucky the Leprechaun was indeed here at OCS! We know this because he made a mess of our room! As expected, Lucky left behind gold coins and shamrocks. He can't help but be messy because he is always running! He did leave us a sweet note and a little treat, to apologize for his mess. This week we worked hard on patterns, learned about Ireland and enjoyed making our Fruit Loop rainbows! We even practiced writing our number words on shamrocks! Overall, it was a great week and the sweetest part of it all was seeing everyone's faces, as they walked in the room, to find Lucky's mess! Have a great weekend! Mrs. Gilberti

Well, well, well...March has certainly come in like a lion and I'm hoping it will go out like a lamb! I'm looking forward to planting my flowers. This week we discussed how the temperature is changing, the leaves on our trees are growing in, baby animals are being born and how our winter chill is beginning to warm up. We have started to chart the weather to see how the weather changes from the beginning of the month to the end of the month. We had a great time exploring the lion and the lamb through our crafts. We also had fun exploring all the different colors we begin to see in Spring. The children practiced their snipping skills creating rainbows out of colored snipped paper. I really enjoy having them on our classroom windows. They bring a smile to my face.

Thank you so much for the Tricky Tray donations. We will be collecting donations through the month of March! Remember, if you do not have time to shop for a donation and would like to donate money, I can shop for you. Let's make this basket great! I heard that this weekend will be beautiful, so please get out and enjoy!

Mrs. Gilberti

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!!! For years, we have all been delighted by the wonderful writings of Dr. Seuss. We spent all week enjoying some of his most recognized writings. We had so much fun this week with our crafts. The giggles that were heard coming from our room, while we painted each others feet, were like sunshine on a cloudy day. The children were paired up and each got to paint a friends foot and use their own foot as a stamper. This was such a great activity after reading, "The Foot Book." Now of course, we couldn't celebrate Dr. Seuess' birthday without making our own version of the very famous, red and white patterned hat, as seen on that naughty but fun cat! We also had fun practicing our rhyming words. We got a little silly generating a list of words that rhyme and did a fantastic job practicing clapping the syllables in our names! We turned oursleves into green eggs and voted which was our favorite Dr. Seuss book. My first guess would have been "The Cat in the Hat" would win but "Green Eggs and Ham" won the most votes.

Overall, this has been a fun packed week. We got to finally enjoy some time outside and look forward to sunny days on the playground. Thank you to those who have donated to our Tricky Tray basket. We will continue to be collecting for our basket next week.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Gilberti

Hello Preschool families. We had fantastic week learning about dental hygiene. We learned that the Dentist is actually our friend and helps us to fight off cavities. The children enjoyed using their art dotters to write the letter D and did a great job generating words that begin with the letter D. We had wonderful conversations about how, when and why we should take care of our teeth. We also had fun sorting pictures of foods that are healthy for us and those that are not so healthy for us. We got to paste these pictures on a healthy tooth and on a cavity filled tooth. It was a great way to assess what the children had learned and a great way for them to practice classifying and sorting. We also practice sequencing by telling a story of Fred who was brushing his teeth and then having them retell the story by coloring in and cutting out the pictures of Fred. They then had to paste the picture in order, as they remembered the story, onto a separate piece of paper. I have to say that everyone did a great job with this! Next week, we will be exploring the fun Dr. Seuss!!!!!!

This week, I sent home a letter about the PTA sponsored Tricky Tray. I have volunteered to coordinate the classroom basket. Our theme is Preschool Days. If you cannot shop for a donation and would rather I do it, I do not mind. Remember, any amount will help. No donation is too little. Also, the tricky tray tickets are on sale now! Please get your tickets because the event always sells out! It will be held on April 13, 2013. I also want to thank everyone who sent in donations for Pennies for Patients. It is very much appreciated and the kids loved being able to help out!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Gilberti

It's good to have everyone back. I am writing this note a few days early to make sure everyone gets some very important information. As we know, last week and this week, the children and I have been working on Valentines Day activities. We have been focusing on the letters R and V and really practicing our lower case letters. With the cancellation of school on Friday and

the 2 hour delay yesterday, I wanted to reach out to everyone and remind our preschool families that this coming Friday is a half day. All students a.m. and p.m. will attend our morning session. Also, this week is Valentine's Day. The children are welcomed and encouraged to bring in Valentine's Day cards but please remember that our school policy will not allow for candy to be distributed with the cards. Also, the Tricky Tray is near!!!!!! If you are not familiar with the Tricky Tray, it is a fundraising night, sponsored by the PTA. Many baskets and prizes are raffled off while enjoying a delicious meal. A dinner buffet is served and is followed by coffee, tea and dessert. It's a great night out for all. Tickets go on sale now but be sure to pre-order because it sells out quickly! Now to the fun part! Every classroom gathers donations to be part of the class basket. I will be sending out a letter with your child, with information about our classroom baskets. My last bit of information is actually a gentle reminder about Kindergarten registration. Please have all the updated official immunization records, original birth certificate, 2 proof of residency documents and a recent picture of your child ready for registration day. Registration will be held March 6th and 7th. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me or the main office.

Mrs. Gilberti

Goodbye January and hello February! I know some people are hoping that Punxsutawney Phil does not see his shadow tomorrow but I'm waiting for Staten Island Chuck's prediction! Yes, yes, I admit it. I may be a little bias being I'm from NY but he hasn't let me down yet! Bring us Spring Chuck! Today in class, we are learning about groundhogs and groundhog day. The rest of the week, we spoke about night and day and learned about owls and the letter O.

This is a gentil reminder that the K-Kids Valentine Sweet Rose Sale is still going and all orders must be placed by February 6. The roses will be delivered on February 14. Also, the OCS community will be participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Penny for Patients campaign. It will run for 3 weeks and all donations collected will help fund both cancer research and provide services to patients fighting cancer. All donations are appreciatiated!

Have a great weekend.

Mrs. Gilberti