Bulldog Buddies Bulletin

Thank you for a great start to the school year! Visiting our preschool classrooms is my favorite part of the day! It brings me such joy to see our preschoolers in school. The smiles on their faces as they arrive each day is priceless! They have been learning about new routines, their classmates, the people that work in their school, recognizing their name in print, the early learning standards and the different interest areas in the classroom. Check out the gallery below to find out why each interest area is so important! I encourage you to ask your child about these when they come home from school.

Throughout our communication, you will hear me reference our "study" often. A study is a specific topic of focus that is designed to engage preschoolers in hands-on, meaningful experiences that promote social-emotional, cognitive and physical development. Each study incorporates literacy, math, science, social studies, student wellbeing, approaches to play & learning, creative arts and physical education through a play-based approach to learning. The studies for the 2024-2025 school year include Building Your Classroom Community, All About Me, Trees, Roads, Wheels, Clothes, Exercise, Pets, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Insects. For each study, you will receive a read-alike web with books that can be found at our local Crown Point Library that are related to the study as well as extension activities that continue the learning at home.

Thank you for attending open house, reaching out with questions and for everything everyone has done to ensure the start of this school year was a successful one! Please continue to stay connected with us, participate in our family engagement activities, take a few minutes to read through the communication we share with you and reach out with any questions or concerns. Let's work together to make this school year one of the best yet!

Sincerely,

Kristy Elsey

Every classroom has a daily schedule that includes whole group times, small group time, choice time, snack time, outside time, and story time. While the order of these events varies across our classrooms, the components of the daily schedule remain the same. Every day children get to “sign in” when they arrive at school. They also have a chance to “check in”. Children move their names from “home” to “school” to show that they are here. Descriptions of the additional components of our daily schedule are below.

• Whole group (often called circle time): Large group time provides children a sense of belonging to a group. Group time allows children to practice communication skills by answering the question of the day, singing songs, talking about the weather, and having a discussion about the current study topic. Teachers also use whole group time to teach language skills like identifying sounds in words, rhyming, and alphabet knowledge.
• Small group: Small group experiences are designed to meet instructional goals. Teachers can introduce new concepts and materials, teach specific skills, encourage conversations and extend children’s thinking by asking questions. Teachers also use this time to observe and document what children know and can do.
• Choice time: During choice time, children can choose which interest areas they would like to play in. Teachers observe, ask questions and extend children’s play to support their learning. Children might play a game together or work through real life scenarios in the dramatic play area. Children are most motivated to learn new concepts and skills when they are engaged and playing with materials that they enjoy.
• Outside time: Outdoor play is essential for children’s health and well-being. During this time, children are working on social skills, developing gross motor skills, practicing language skills, as well as learning about nature. Children can search for bugs, see trees changing, and observe changes in the weather.
• Snack time: Children and adults enjoy a snack together and engage in conversation. This is a great opportunity for children to practice communication skills as well as self-help skills.
• Story time: A new story can be introduced or a familiar story may be reread to children. Teachers ask questions and involve children as they read.

We’ve begun building our classroom community together during these first few weeks at school. We’ve been working on so many important skills:

• learning names of our teachers and friends
• following our daily schedule
• learning and remembering our classroom rules
• using toys and materials appropriately in the different interest areas in our classroom
• participating in a group
• recognizing the first letters of our names

During the month of September we will be doing an “All About Me” study. During this month we will be working to answer a different focus question each week:

• What makes me important and unique?
• What feelings do I have and why?
• What makes my family important and unique?
• How can I learn using my senses?

You will continue to receive updates via ParentSquare from your child’s teacher that will include additional information about classroom activities and learning goals each week. Also, look for the family activities sheet and read-alike web to come home during the study!

September 18th is an eLearning Day for all Bulldog Buddies classes. There are no in-person classes on this day. At home learning activities with directions will be sent home prior to the eLearning Day. For a chance to be featured in our social media publications, send your favorite elearning day photos to Kristy Elsey on ParentSquare by 3:30pm on 9/18/24. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Bulldog Buddies is excited to announce our first family engagement activity for the 2024-2025 school year! We will be having a Nature Exploration at Lemon Lake as we begin our Trees Study. Activities will include a story time, scavenger hunt and stations to create a sun catcher and bird feeder! When you're all finished, you can also check out the brand new playground.

Address: 6322 W 133rd Avenue, Crown Point, IN 46307

Mark Your Calendars:

Friday, October 4th, 9:30 - 11:00am - Timothy Ball & MacArthur AM & PM classes

Monday, October 7th, 9:30 - 11:00am - Lake Street, Jerry Ross, Winfield & Eisenhower AM & PM classes

Parents must transport and accompany their child on this field trip. Families will be meeting at Shelter 4, located on the right side of the main road, closest to the lake. Parking and restrooms are located directly across from Shelter 4. Extension activities that can be done at home will be provided to all families.

A RSVP will be coming through ParentSquare prior to the event but we wanted you to be able to plan ahead. If you have questions, please call the Bulldog Buddies office at (219) 663-4330. We hope to see you at Lemon Lake!

• Worksheets are abstract. Young children are concrete thinkers and need more concrete and meaningful fine motor experiences like playing with playdoh, making marks on paper, building with blocks, and counting and sorting manipulatives.
  
  
• Blank paper and writing utensils are more appropriate than worksheets for preschoolers as they are just beginning to learn how to form letters and often do not have enough control to trace lines. When children are exposed to tracing or writing letters on lined paper too early, they may become easily frustrated or experience negative feelings about writing. Scribbling and making marks are appropriate developmental steps towards writing.
  
  

• Worksheets encourage children to complete a task rather than to understand a concept. A worksheet doesn’t teach a concept, but measures what a child can already do.
  
  

• Worksheets only have one correct answer and they do not encourage higher level thinking skills. When children interact with real objects, they can use trial and error to test ideas and expand understanding.
  
  

• Worksheets do not provide meaningful experiences for young children. When skills are focused on in isolation, children learn superficial skills without a deeper understanding of how those skills can be applied in real life situations.

Preschool is the time for children to learn how to interact with peers and teachers, to problem solve, to develop language and writing skills through playful experiences, to use inquiry skills to investigate, to express themselves creatively, and to nurture curiosity to develop a deep love of learning.

Monthly tuition fees are loaded on the 15th of the previous month and due by the 1st of every month. Please check your child's PowerSchool account for balances due. Payment can be made online or at the school office. Failure to pay by the 10th of the current month will result in your child not being able to attend preschool until the balance is paid in full. The first preschool tuition payment will be due by September 1st. We ask that you pay the supply fee during the month of August.

Supply Fee - $65 yearly fee for all students in preschool

Monthly Tuition - $180/3 days per week, $300/5 days per week

The Free & Reduced Application can be found here: https://www.cps.k12.in.us/district-departments/food-services. If you have any questions, please contact the preschool office at (219) 663-4330.

September 18th - eLearning Day, no preschool classes

October 14th-18th - Fall Break, no preschool classes

October 24th - Parent/teacher Conferences, eLearning Day (no preschool classes)

November 5th - eLearning Day, no preschool classes

November 27-29th - Thanksgiving Break, no preschool classes

December 24-January 2nd - Winter Break, no preschool classes

January 7th - Classes resume

CPCSC offers a Birth to School Program for children 0-5 years old that reside within the Crown Point Community School Corporation boundaries. We offer a Little Learners series that includes a baby class (0-12 months), toddler class (13-24 months) and little learners class (25-36 months). Imaginarium classes are for children ages 0-5. If your child is already attending Bulldog Buddies, you can also be a part of the Birth to School program. All Birth to School classes and events are free. For additional information, please check out our website at www.cps.k12.in.us/bts. If you have specific questions, please contact our Birth to School Coordinator, Jamie Kalk at jkalk@cps.k12.in.us.

Kristy Elsey, Assistant Director of Elementary Education

Email: kelsey01@cps.k12.in.us

Charissa Leestma, Preschool Specialist

Email: cleestma@cps.k12.in.us

Christine Johnsen, Preschool Treasurer

Email: cjohnsen@cps.k12.in.us

Website: https://preschool.cps.k12.in.us/

Location: 720 Summit Street, Crown Point, IN, USA

Phone: 219-663-4330