November 2024

Dear Families,

As the school year kicks off, we know this time can feel a bit hectic for everyone. We hope you can carve out some moments for peace and relaxation before the holiday season begins! It's essential for your children to see you prioritize self-care, as this helps them learn to take care of themselves as they grow.

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to all of you. We recognize the sacrifices you make every day for your children, and we appreciate everything you do. You are doing an amazing job raising loving, kind, and resilient individuals who will make a positive impact in the world. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your child's early years—it truly brings us joy.

This month is particularly special as we celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Our teachers have planned a variety of engaging and educational activities to honor Native Americans and the early settlers. Throughout the month and during chapel, we’ll also discuss gratitude and its significance.

One of our favorite events is the Thanksgiving Feasts. These feasts are designed with our young learners in mind. While traditional Thanksgiving dishes like turkey and mashed potatoes may not excite everyone, we’ve tailored the menu to include kid-friendly and healthy options that our students will enjoy. The heart of Thanksgiving is about family and sharing a meal together, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. Students will bring an item to share with their classmates, and we’ll gather in Fellowship Hall to enjoy our meal together. This event offers a wonderful opportunity for learning, and our staff loves hearing what students are grateful for.

A big thank you to those who participated in our Butter Braid/Coffee/Cookie Dough fundraiser. This annual event is crucial for getting our year off to a great start. The final day to submit orders is November 8th, so if you haven’t had a chance to join in yet, there’s still time!

For M/W, M/W/F, and M-F classes, please use this link to participate:
Fundraiser Link 1

For T/Th, T/Th/F, and M-TH classes, please use this link:
Fundraiser Link 2

Wishing you and your families a Thanksgiving filled with blessings,

Kelly Amadeo, Director

Greetings, Little School Families!
We hope you had a spooktacular Halloween together. Can you believe Thanksgiving month is upon us?

As we venture into this new month, we will sing “Loaves and Fishes” for our feeding of the 5,000 chapel theme. We are also excited to continue preparing for our Christmas programs. Keep your ears open for the sweet voices of our Little Schoolers as they sing beloved classics like, "Jingle Bells," for our 3’s and, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer,” for our 4’s.

However, in the middle of the month, we will take a brief pause from our Christmas rehearsals to celebrate the tradition of Thanksgiving. We will sing charming songs like, "Mr. Turkey and Mr. Duck," and, "Thanks to Our Father," for our little ones to enjoy.

On behalf of our music team, we want to express our deep gratitude for the privilege of having your children in our lives. May this Thanksgiving season fill your hearts and homes with an abundance of love, good health, peace, and joy.

Love and blessings,
Ms Laura
Ms Sheri
Ms Jana

Every year, Little School and St. Luke's Children's Ministry team up with Highlands UMC to assemble food baskets for those in need. This year, we’re collecting pasta and green beans. Additionally, we’re contributing King Soopers gift cards so families can buy turkeys. The gift cards can be in amounts of $10 or $20. Please give any donated items to your child's teacher and let them know it's for the Thanksgiving Food Drive. The final day to donate is November 17th.

Thank you for your generosity in helping local families have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

November 4th and 5th: Free Vision Screenings

November 6th and 7th: Chapel for all, and Obstacle Course for 2.5s and 3s

November 12th: NO School-Parent Teacher Conferences (childcare available upstairs in the church for your 20 minute conference time only-only available for 8:00am-1:30pm conference times)

November 14th and 15th: Obstacle Course for 4s and 5s.

November 14th and 15th EXPLORERS INFORMATIONAL MEETING 9:30 IN THE SANCTUARY (CHILDREN WHO TURN 5 BETWEEN APRIL 1ST AND OCTOBER 1ST)

November 18th and November 19th: KINDERGARTEN TRANSITION MEETING 9:30AM SANCTUARY

November 20th and 21st: Thanksgiving Feasts and Multicultural Celebrations

November 25th-November 29th: No School-Happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Program Details

December 11th:

9:15am Performance Classes: Katie Maldonado(MWF), Julie, Tiffany(MWF), Katie Matthews, Katie Devlin(MWF), Jessica

12:15pm Performance Classes: Jenn Noonan, Laura McGee, Dawn/Mary Jane, Jennifer Smith, Kristi

December 12th:

9:15am Performance Classes: Katie Maldonado(TTh), Missy, Tiffany(TTH), Amy, Kathy, Katie Devlin(TTH),

12:15pm Performance Classes: Deon, Sandi, Colleen, Mrs. Overman, Mrs. Wolfe

Please switch out your child's extra clothes in their backpacks. In the event of an accident or messy activity, you do not want your child in shorts and short sleeves in the middle of winter! Brrrrr

Explorers is our oldest preschool program, and is for students who turn five between April 1st and October 1st. This program is designed to give children an extra year of preschool who may be on the younger side for kindergarten. Many of our Explorers parents pick the program so their child is not the youngest to drive, going into college at the age of 17(!), the shortest one in the class, or maybe they just want to offer them an extra year of developing academic and social skills in our smaller class sizes. Come learn more about this program on November 14th and 15th at 9:30am in the sanctuary. The Explorers teachers will be there to answer any questions you may have.

Sundays 9:30am and 11:00am: St. Luke's UMC welcomes you to worship with us on Sundays!

We offer Sunday school for children ages 2-years-old through 18-years-old each week at 9:30am services.

2nd Saturday of Every Month: Parents’ Morning Out! 9:00am-12:00pm. We encourage parents to enjoy a breakfast date, a morning hike, or even time alone to run errands, and let us entertain your children. The cost is $30.00 per family. RSVP to sam@stlukeshr.com for Saturday, November 9th or Saturday, December 14th.

December 1st at 5:30pm: St. Luke's annual Tree Lighting and an Impromptu Christmas Pageant. All children are welcome to join in the pageant! Children who want to participate in the pageant will choose their costume and present an impromptu musical presentation of the Christmas Story. This special evening service for families concludes with the lighting of our tree! Afterwards, join us in Fellowship Hall to enjoy cookies and cider!