Pucker Up, Buttercup

VALENTINE'S DAY AT SUNFLOWER

For Valentine's Day this year, all the classes/ages at Sunflower will be exchanging Valentines.

On Friday, please have your child bring 25 valentines to the school; they don't need to be addressed to fellow classmates - leave the "To" part blank - but DO have your child practice writing his/her name on the cards. The "From" is the important thing here.

Also bring a decorated box or bag for your child to collect his or her Valentines. A basic shoebox with a hole for the cards will do. Try to avoid searching for "Valentines Box" on Pinterest like I just did, because it will send you down a construction paper-covered rabbit hole, and leave you wondering what parent in this universe has time to convert a shoebox into a puppy.





If you want to bring cards that have pencils, erasers, stickers or other non-edible treats attached, that's fine, but please leave the candy at home.

Thanks!

-Brooke

February Menus

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Merry Mayhem

So... the Holiday party. That was a doozy, wasn't it?

I mean, I hadn't experienced crowd density like that since the last time I saw the Rolling Stones. Crikey.

Rest assured we're busy thinking up ways to accommodate this size of crowd - 4 times bigger than last year's, FYI - more comfortably (maybe split the event over two nights with younger kids going the first night, and bigger kids the second...singing upstairs, Santa downstairs...filming the kids as they perform at school and then sending everyone a link to the video so we can all stay home with spiked egg nog and watch the show in our jammies...etc). If you have a brilliant idea we might not have considered, please let us know. 

The kids seemed to have a great time getting their gifts from Santa. If you didn't manage to grab your own picture, I put the ones I took over the on the school's SmugMug page - you can always click the camera icon on the right side of this blog to reach it. You should be able to drag n' drop 'em, or click n' save, or link to 'em on facebook, whatever. Let me know if you run into any tech issues there.

I especially loved that Ciaran brought an illustrated list of everything he wanted from Santa, just in case he didn't get enough face time with the guy. That's brilliant, kid, and I wish I'd thought of it myself.

I think when the event started to wrap up, and we all regained a little personal space, this is how we all felt:

Thanks to everyone who came out to hear the kids sing and see them spend time with Santa; you're helping to build a sense of community at the school, and we appreciate it.

Speaking of appreciation, thanks to the volunteers who came early to set up chairs and decorate and assemble the buffet.

I hope you all have lovely holidays with your families. Santa's been too busy to do much shopping for our house, I'm afraid, so he's considering filling the kids' stockings with toys they haven't played with in a while, along with a note from the elves that reads, "Santa thought these things deserved a second look." We'll see how that flies.

Ho ho ho.

Brooke

December Newsletter

(as scanned from the hard copy available at each sign-in table). 

Teacher Gifts

I've had a few people ask about Christmas gifts for teachers. For me, at least, it's always been a little confusing because there are so many great people who interact with my kids on an average school day. Sure, they have primary teachers, but you don't want to discount the other teachers who take over in the afternoons...but that's like five people and now I'm overwhelmed and broke and blah blah blah I give up. 

So this year, I turned to Katie for an affordable but meaningful suggestion, and here's what she came up with for the parents who might be considering giving a gift to a teacher this year (keep in mind this is totally optional, and just meant as a helpful tip) - 

After school on Dec 20th - the last day of school before the Winter Break - the teachers are going to be having a staff party. If parents would like, they can contribute something for the party: chocolates, a bottle of wine, a cheese tray, a second bottle of wine, etc. That way, your one contribution could be shared and enjoyed by many teachers. You can bring anything you'd like to contribute to the school on the 20th. Also, teachers always appreciate a nice note from their students, so encourage your little ones to draw/write/paint a card for their favorite teachers. 

Of course, you can also do whatever else strikes your fancy, or nothing at all. In case it's helpful to anyone, here's a current list of the teachers:

POLLEN

Michelle

Whitney

Judy
Courtney

Emel

Reggie

SEEDS

Cassidy

Kari
Ashley

Yael

Riley

Faith

SPROUTS

Teacher: Anna

Helper: Mariah

Teacher: Jenn

Helper: Madison

SUNFLOWERS

Teacher: Sam

Teacher: Indima

Katie, Hanna, Jena, Kaci, Lillian

Teacher: Reina

Ione, Julie, Jena, Kaci, Zarha, Lillian

ELEMENTARY

Alison

Cheryl

Kacie

Lillian

Manda

Feel free to use the comments section below if you want to get together with other people on a larger item, or you want to be sure no one else is bringing an armadillo-shaped red velvet cake... it's always so awkward when there are two of those. 

-Brooke

HOLIDAY CONCERT INFO

Sunflower typically hosts a holiday concert before the winter break, and this year is no exception. Here's all the info on the event:

1) The concert will be held on Thursday December 19th at 6pm at the Seeds Building. For those who attended previous years' holiday events held at the Elementary school, you know they were cramped affairs without enough seating for all the parents and family members who wanted to attend. The new Seeds building has an actual stage and plenty of room to accommodate all the Sunflower families.

2) EVERYONE is invited and encouraged to attend (Pollen, Seeds and Sprouts - this means you), though only the Sunflowers and Elementary students will be performing.

3) After the kids sing their holiday songs, everyone's favorite fat man in a red suit will "Ho Ho Ho!" his way onstage to surprise the kids with presents.

4) For your child to receive a present from Santa, you must bring a small, wrapped gift in advance to the school to be opened by your child during the event. The gifts will go into Santa's bag, so nothing fragile or valuable, please. Make sure your gift is clearly labeled with your child's name. Katie/Correy will collect these gifts and have them ready for Santa to distribute.

5) Every child will have a chance to talk with Santa and have his/her picture taken.

6) Because the event is occurring during dinnertime, there will be a mac n' cheese (and salad) buffet downstairs, with lots of varieties to sample (gluten-free option provided).

7) "But guys, this event has always been during the school day before - what gives?" Well, in previous years, the event was held on the morning of the last day of school. Parents were required to attend, and school was dismissed for the day after Santa's visit, because it was too difficult to maintain an orderly learning environment after Santa had been by. This required many parents to miss a day of work. By moving the event to the evening, school will be open all day as usual on Friday the 20th.

8) We're looking for a few volunteers to help set up chairs for the audience and do some minimal decorating before the event, and additional helpers to pick up gift wrap, etc after the event. If you're able to help, please let us know. 

Also let me know if I'm leaving any info out that you would find helpful, and I'll add it!

-Brooke

Illness Exclusion Policy

Ugh at the weather today. 

With cold/flu season approaching, I thought it would be helpful to post the school's official Illness Exclusion Policy so everyone will know "how sick is too sick" to bring your special snowflake to school: 

____________________________________

The decision to exclude or dismiss a child from child care will be based on the child’s signs and symptoms and/or the diagnosis of a health care professional as outlined below:

a.  The illness prevents the child from participating comfortably in the routine activities of the school

b. The illness results in greater care need than the childcare staff can provide without compromising the health and safety of the other children

c. Signs or symptoms of possible severe illness such as lethargy, uncontrolled coughing, persistent crying, difficulty breathing, wheezing complaints of severe pain. 

d. The child has any of the following signs or symptoms of contagious illness:

1) Fever accompanied by behavior changes, oral temperature of 101 degrees or axillary temperature of over 100 degrees or greater.

2) Vomiting: 2 or more episodes in the previous 24 hour period.

3) Diarrhea: increased number of stool, watery stools, stools with mucous or blood and/or stools that cannot be contained by a diaper or clothing and are different or more frequent than the child’s regular pattern.

4) Bacterial infections listed until treated for 24 hours with antibiotics and the child feels well enough to participate.

a. Conjunctivitis

b. Strep throat

c. Impetigo

d. Skin infections or draining burns

5) Lice or scabies until after treatment and no nits present

6) Generalized rash with fever or behavior changes or jaundiced skin color until medical evaluation determine that symptoms do not indicate communicable disease

7) Chicken pox until 6 days after onset of rash or until all sores have dried.

e. Readmission to child care: after an absence, the family needs to share pertinent information with the child care staff regarding the illness.  A release from the health care provider is required after a serious illness or diagnosis of a communicable disease.