Dear St. Matthew Early Childhood Parents,

We had a very successful first month of school. We are beyond blessed that you entrusted your child in our care. The staff is very excited to partner with you and your family on this educational journey.

Reminders:

* If your child has signs of illness (fever, diarrhea, etc. ), refrain from bringing them to school until symptoms have subsided.

*Your child needs to be symptom and medication free for 24 hours before returning to school.

*Please pull up past the fire lane, if you are dropping your child off/picking up.

*If you have not done so yet, please bring in your $25 party fund.

*Please make sure you are labeling all belongings.

*Please remember to sign in and out each morning/afternoon.

Upcoming Dates:

October 4th- St. Matthew Early Childhood Center Fall Family Outing- Meet us for a snack before the adventures begin.

October 8th- Fire Drill & Visit with the Fire Fighters/Fire Truck (If your child is not enrolled on Tuesdays and wants to join, please drop off at 9:15 am and pick up at 10 am).

October 14th- No School- Columbus Day

October 17th- Picture Day

October 18th- No School- Teacher Professional Development

October 26th- St. Matthew Church and Early Childhood Center Fall Fest

October 31st- Halloween Parade and Party (more information to come)

For our first semester mission project, we will be partnering with Hearts for Jesus.

Please see the attached page which provides information and resources about Hearts for Jesus! https://www.nidlcms.org/hearts-for-jesus/

Families may participate by taking an envelope from the front lobby and placing your offering in the brown chapel box. Your child can place their envelopes on Wednesdays for Chapel Service, or on any of his/her regular school days.

St. Matthew Lutheran Church & Early Childhood Center partners with the C.O.O.L. Food pantry in Waukegan. If you would like to donate a nonperishable food item, please place it in the basket in the school lobby.

Food Item of the Month- Peanut Butter or Non- Perishable Food Item

https://coolministries.org/our-ministries/food-pantry-information/

When you go to bed at night, what do you do? Maybe you read a book or listen to music. Your children may listen to a story, sing a song, or snuggle with a stuffed animal.

The night can be scary for anyone, but little comforts like these can help children—and anyone—feel better. We know that no matter what, we can pray to our loving God, and He promises to watch over us through the night.

Going to sleep can be hard for some. Things can get too loud, too cold, or too frightening to get a good night’s rest. This can be the case for your own child(ren).

How can you help? When you pray for a peaceful night, pray for others, that they can be refreshed too.

CHARACTER COUNTS! focuses on building students’ character, social-emotional, and academic skills, while shaping a positive school culture.

During September, we focused on responsibility. The students focused on being responsible in the classroom, classroom jobs and being responsible with friends.

During the month of September, the children at St. Matthew learned about rules and safety. The children participated in a variety of get to know you activities and built a classroom and school community!

Each classroom began their first project. Preschool 4, explored the Ocean. Preschool 3, investigated the theme All About Me & Welcome to Preschool.

In Jesus Time/ Chapel, the children learned about: How God Creates & Gives Life, The Fall of Sin and the Flood. The children also discovered how to bless someone and pray for someone in need.

During September, the Preschool 3 classroom discovered Emotions! For some, this was their first school experience, this can bring on some new feelings. The children participated in a variety of hands-on activities revolved around emotions to help them navigate the new school year.

This year the afternoons at St. Matthew Early Childhood Center will be offering high interest, hands-on enrichments. These are fun, challenging, and unique opportunities dedicated to learning and fun! If your child is a full-time student, this will be a part of their daily schedule. If your child is not full-time, please let us know if you would like to add a full day to their schedule.

Enrichments will change after Winter Break.

Weekend Services:

Saturday Casual Classic Service- 4:00pm

Sunday Classic Service- 8:00 am

Sunday Contemporary Service- 10:45am

*All services offer communion

St. Matthew Lutheran Church & Early Childhood offers Sunday School.

If you are interested click here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf4maqxUWlI9HHSKZdz-WVFDqIR6nJfHX9VS-Rdi7e9N7oPJw/viewform

In case of severe weather or emergency school closure due to an issue with the building we will communicate via Bloomz, email and make every effect to contact you by phone. Please also visit the following website for school closure information.

https://www.emergencyclosingcenter.com/.

During the month of October, we will be discussing fire safety at school. Below is a fire safety scavenger hunt to discuss at home.

With Fall here and the brisk weather upon us, please take a moment to change out your preschooler's extra clothing from summer to fall items. Please make sure to label all items.