Susan Says...

I hope that everyone is enjoying the summer of 2006! We may look like we are “winding down” and recovering from our end of the year celebration (formerly known as graduation), but actually we are quite busy getting ready for the new “school year.”

Ms. Christina has done an excellent job coordinating our summer program. Your children have been enjoying some special visitors and great, fun activities. Swimming has started up and our first field trip is next week. We look forward to your input about what you like or would like to change about our summer program. Someone already made a suggestion to add the ice cream truck to our activity fee, so we don’t have to worry about that $1.50 every Friday. When you get your questionnaire, please take the time to give it some thought and give us feedback.

Kingsbridge Parent Association News

Thank you to Amy Ostergren for all of the hard work she has done for The Goddard School as president of the association. Her years leading the group resulted in very successful fundraisers, holiday concerts and Fall Fests. We will miss her and her family.

Trish Monet will be assuming the role of president when the Parent Association starts up again in September. You will be receiving more information about the group and everyone is invited to the first meeting immediately following “Back to School Night” on Thursday, September 14th..

From the Directors' Chair

Summer is half way over and it’s time to start thinking about September. As we prepare for the start of the 2006-2007 school year, I would like to tell you about a new resource we will be adding to our curriculum. It is the “Goddard Guide to Getting Along.” This innovative program fosters acquisition of four essential skills: Friendship, Compassion, Cooperation and Kindness. The program incorporates a variety of activities that inspire thoughtful discussion; provide practice on an individual and group level; and include class-wide, school-side, and community-wide opportunities for skill building at an age appropriate level, even as young as 18 months.

Seal Pups

As we welcome summer we also welcome our new babies Connor Agaman, Gavin Boughton and Ian McCauley! The warm summer weather will mean walks in the buggy, feeling the soft grass outside and splashing in the water table. We said a sad good-bye to Miss Bridget in June. We wished Nicholas, Samantha, Hannah, Charlotte, Nathan and Madison good luck in the Tiny Turtle room!

Tiny Turtles

The Turtles are very excited that summer is here! We will be learning sign language and be introduced to some Spanish words! Some of our summer themes will be sandy beaches, space adventures, gardens and trains. We will be learning to sing “Ms. Suzy’s Turtle,” “Who’s Here Today?” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.” Our “Splash Days” have become one of our favorite activities. We love getting wet!

Smiling Starfish

Our summer themes have been really fun. We played “Ring Around the Beach Blanket” during our “Island Hopping” week. Fishing in the water table was hard work but we caught lots of colorful fish. We learned to sing “Beach Towel Boogie” and “To the Beach.” We are looking forward to “Digging in the Dirt” and “An Arctic Expedition”.

Jumping Jellyfish

Summer is here! We said good-bye to some friends and hello to Natalia, Andrew, Matthew, Mason, Reagan, Emily and Mira. We will spend the summer exploring some exciting themes. We will go island hopping, explore the Amazon, go on an Arctic adventure and go camping. We are teaching our new friends our “Hello Song” and everyone will be learning “Ten Little Snakes” and “Frosty the Snowman.” We will also work on our self-help skills, such as washing and drying our own hands and sitting ourselves in a chair.

Marvelous Manatees

The Manatees had fun learning about the circus in June. Our favorite song to sing was “I Go Walking to the Circus.” We are looking forward to learning about space in July and camping in August. The summer theme songs we will be learning are “Going to the Moon,” “A Camping We Will Go” and “Planting Seeds.” Congratulations to Justin for going on the potty!

Dynamic Dolphins

The Dolphins are looking forward to getting Summer Camp started with some exciting activities! Using a box turned into Big Ben, we are beginning to understand time and recognize the numbers. We will pretend to travel to the islands in a cardboard boat and take off for the moon in our spaceship! We are learning to recognize our birthdates by singing “The Birthday Song.” Music from around the world is exciting. We will experience music from the islands, “hip hop” from the cities and of course Mr. Ray’s “Kalien the Alien” from space. We are looking forward to our first school bus ride when we go on the trip to the RVCC Planetarium!

Outstanding Otters

We welcomed many campers to the Otter Room for camp and are looking forward to our summer themes. We will be learning about different cities, tropical islands, and outer space. We are looking forward to our trips to the RVCC Planetarium and the 4-H Fair! Acting out a play with Kids’ Costumed Capers was exciting and making music with the Morris Museum got us up and moving to the beat. We are learning some new songs including “We Like to Come to Camp” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Wonderous Whales

Our Whales are having a wonderful time meeting new friends and hanging out with familiar ones! We are working on our conflict resolution skills and doing our helper jobs in the classroom. Island Hopping week was a perfect time to practice our salsa dance moves. “Out of this World,” “Digging in the Dirt” and “Amazing Amazon” are some other fun weekly themes we will learn about. The Whales have really enjoyed listening to “High School Musical” and dancing to the music. The summer has brought many fun activities and we plan to enjoy every minute of it!

Super Stingrays

The Stingrays are having a great time meeting new friends and stretching out in the annex. Our favorite things to do are playing dodgeball, “the game” and jump rope. In our dramatic play area we’ve created “The Blue Lobster” restaurant and “The Pirate Place” diner. We have so many cool activities and projects planned. Check out our growing photo wall and sunflowers!

Crafty Corner - “Crater Creations”

Materials: plaster of paris, water, different sized rocks, aluminum pie tin

Directions: Mix the plaster of paris and water according to the directions on the box. Spoon the plaster in to an aluminum pie tin. Drop rocks from different heights in to the plaster. Wait a few minutes for the plaster to begin to dry. Remove the rocks and leave the plaster to dry over night. You have created your own moon surface!

Ingredients: white chocolate, M&Ms, small pretzels, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, corn flakes, milk chocolate chips

Directions: Melt the white chocolate discs in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir. Continue microwaving and stirring the chocolate for 30 seconds until completely melted. Add in the M&Ms, pretzels, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, corn flakes and chocolate chips. Spoon tablespoons of the mixture onto waxed paper. Refrigerate until completely hardened (approximately 30 minutes.) Peel off and enjoy.