spring summer 2015 newsletter - collier child care...

NCEF Early Childhood Dev Ctr Spring/Summer 2015

A message from our Director It’s amazing to see how quickly this year has passed and how much our children have learned thus far. Thank you to so many parents and staff who attended our Big Impressions By Little Artists fundraiser at The von Liebig Art Center and for participating in the auction this past month. We had high bidders, and they bid often to support our school with our beautiful art projects. All of you made this event a huge success!

Our VPK children will be leaving us soon. However, we have never felt more confident about them leaving us prepared and ready to take on Kindergarten. Throughout our program, we focus on the development of the young child from birth to kindergarten entrance. With the professional and loving support of their teachers they make our school goals easier to attain. For this and all the wonderful experiences that are weaved into the fabric of your children, we salute our educators on the Week of Teacher Appreciation coming up from May 4th- 8th, 2015.

It always brings me great joy to get warm hugs and high five’s when I visit the classrooms each day. It is truly an awesome opportunity to come to work and share my day with each and every one of our little people. I hope that they inspire you just as much with their unique questions and thought provoking ways.

Florida SouthWestern State College, Naples FL �1

TODAY’S NEWS Kathy Hostetler | Mabel F. Ramirez | Jacqueline Chavez

Mabel F. Ramirez, M.A. Ed. Center Director / Director of Program Administration


Increase in rates effective August 17th, 2015

Please be aware that, effective August 17th, there will be an increase in the cost of your child’s tuition. A letter was sent earlier this week to all parents. Our tuition rates have not increased in the last two years, while our operating costs have continued to rise. These rates remain competitive with other high-quality, early education programs in the area.

For those families staying with us throughout the summer your rates will remain the same until August 13th which is the last day of our school year. The table below reflects our new weekly tuition rate as of August 17th.

As always, I am happy to assist you with any questions you may have about our updated tuition rates.

Please note as a reminder, our annual $100 registration fee will be deducted on July 1st, from your credit card on file. Please make arrangements to provide payment in a timely manner to guarantee your child’s placement for the next school year.


School Business Office by Jacqueline Chavez

Tuition payments are due by 12noon every Monday. Please refer to your Fee Agreement. It is your responsibility to maintain the most current payment information on record. Late fees for declined cards will be accrued if payment is not processed by the end of the business day on Tuesday.

All children in the VPK Classrooms must arrive by 9:15 a.m. every morning and should not be picked up before 12 noon to get the most of the instructional hours and compliance with the VPK guidelines.

If your child is sick and requiring medication, please remember the first two doses must be given at home prior to returning to school. Your doctor will need to complete the “As Needed Medication Form”, which can be found at the end of your Parent Handbook, in order to have medicine administered by the teacher. A log is maintained for verification purposes. The Medical Exclusion Policy has been developed to protect your child as well as those in his/her classroom. We understand that life can get difficult and work responsibilities get in the way; however, your family health and wellness must come first.

When in doubt, please refer to the Parent & Guardian Handbook or call us and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Infant room $225.00

Toddler One’s $215.00

Toddler Two’s $200.00

Pre K 3’s and 4’s (not in VPK Program) $195.00

Pre K 4 (VPK program ) w/ Wrap around $125.00


Upcoming Events and Holiday Schedule

We are trying our best to follow the Collier County Public School for scheduling purposes to enable our families to enjoy much needed time off with their families. Please mark your calendar: First day of school will be August 17th. If you are planning to be out during the summer please give us your vacation schedules as soon as possible to plan lunch accordingly and avoid food waste.

Important Dates Event

May 4th -8th Teacher Appreciation Week

Friday, May 8th Mother’s Day Tea at 3:30p

Monday, May 25th Holiday - Memorial Day - School is closed

Wednesday, May 28th Last Day of for Preschoolers - Early Release for all Pre K Students (3’s and 4’s) at 4pm

Wednesday, May 28th “Moving On” Celebration at 5:30 p.m.

Monday, June 1st First Day of Summer Camp

From June 1-12th Unannounced Accreditation Visit is expected

Friday, June 19th Father’s Day Breakfast at the Piazza

From May 18th - August 7 Transitions Begin

Friday, July 3rd Holiday - Independence Day - School is Closed

Thursday, August 6th Last Day Camp for all VPK students going to Kindergarten

Friday, August 7th School is closed - Maintenance & Professional Development

Thursday, August 13th Last day of the school year - Early Release -12:30 p.m. - Back to School Maintenance and Repair

Friday, August 14th School is closed - Teacher Planning and School Maintenance

Friday, August 14th School Open House for New Students - 2-4pm

Monday, August 17th Welcome - First day of the New School Year



From the Atelier, by Kathy Hostetler, BFA.

The 2014-2015 school year has been a busy one for our little artists! In preparation for the “Big Impressions by Little Artists” event our students worked hard on their individual art projects. We started by studying, talking about and creating very unique self-portraits inspired by Swiss Artist Paul Klee.

Our students were encouraged to draw what they saw when they looked in a mirror. They finished off with adding blocks of color using tissue paper and water. These self-portraits or “Selfies” made their first debut at the Collier County Sheriff’s Office Community Gallery last fall and went on to be our main pieces at the “Big Impressions by Little Artists” Fundraising Event.

One of our big focuses this year was trying to bring in local, as well as internationally known artists to our program. We had the honor of working with Ginny Mueller who is a talented clay artist from the Marco Island Center for the Arts, as well as Marton Varo, who is a world renowned sculptor who created the beautiful relief of the Ave Maria Church in Ave Maria, Florida in our very own Collier County. Ginny worked on a magnificent clay bird bath with the students. She showed them how to use clay and how to create shapes and embellishments using molds.

Marton met with some of our students and showed them how he creates works of art from beautiful pieces of marble using only a few tools. Our students were also able to see one of his finished pieces, “18 Cubes”, that he donated as a signature auction art piece for us to have a successful art program next year.

Our students continued their study of clay by creating pinch pots and bowls made from imprints of their hands. They were able to see how clay was able to be molded into a shape. When it dried, they were able to paint it. Natural Imprints were also made by students pressing shells, leaves and rocks onto rolled and flattened pieces of clay.



Amongst the many enjoyable art projects, was a still life study of flowers, and the results were uniquely different from each student’s perspective. There were also many different types of painting using items such as cardboard, tennis balls, feathers and of course our hands. The students were able to see how each different tool left a different type of mark.

Students also had the opportunity to try out pointillism, which is a technique of neo-impressionist painting using tiny dots of various pure colors. They experimented using q-tips and dipping them into watercolor. This allowed for a great fine motor activity and a lot of concentration.

And finally, one of our biggest 3 dimensional projects of the year was our cave! This very life-like cave started with the study of symbols and recognizing that letters and numbers are also symbols. The students created their very own cave paintings, as a form of communication and helped put together the cave which was made out of cardboard boxes, brown butcher paper and a lot of tape. The students had the opportunity to walk through the cave and see all of the cave paintings that they created. They were also able to paint on the cave walls as well. The cave became a very social hang out for our students and it became their favorite “go through” section of the Piazza when coming to school and leaving for the day. The cave even had its own family of bats that were made by Stella Menard and her mom at home, followed by Stella’s inquiries about which animals lived in a cave.

We will continue providing many different art experiences and will continue encouraging the process of your child’s creativity. Please remember that “Art is about the process and not about the product”.



A message from your Parent Committee

The Parent Committee’s last meeting of the year will take place on Wednesday, May 13th, from 5-6 p.m. As an alternative you can call into the meeting by dialing a Toll Free Teleconference Bridge at: 1- 605- 477- 2100 then dial code: 169531#

“ Get involved and make a difference in your community!

School Improvements Underway

We are happy to report that the Sun Shade System has been put to great use now that our spring is feeling more like Summer. We wish to thank the League Club for their generous grant award. We are seeking volunteers to help beautify our gardens just in time for our accreditation visit in June. There is always repotting, trimming and refilling of the sandbox needed. Stop by and plan with your classroom teacher for a more meaningful experience for your child. This year, The League Club awarded us the funding to help purchase a Smart Board for Classroom 3A. The board has arrived and is being installed on Tuesday, May 5th from 12n-4pm. Teachers will have to attend training on the use of the new technology from 4-6 p.m.

Over the summer the classroom floors will be polished and made shiny and new for the start of school year. In addition, the classrooms will have paint touch up and updated carpets and furnishings. We are all looking forward to our new fresh start for 2015-2016 school year.

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

Transition - Students in VPKA and VPKB have begun their transition to Kindergarten. We are offering two parent transition meetings on April 21st and 28th. During these meetings we will review the expectations of kindergarten families, the registration process, steps our center is taking to assist in the transition process, and details about our “Moving On” celebration.



In the classrooms, we are talking about who is moving on and reading books about kindergarten. We are also serving lunches cafeteria style a few times a week so children learn how to hold their food and walk to the tables.

We have a field trip to Calusa Park Elementary School scheduled for May 1st where children will receive a tour of the school, spend time in a kindergarten classroom, and have lunch and recess time with the kindergarten students.

Gulianna independently wrote 3+=3, trying to write 3+3= Ms Rebecca helped her to correct the equation. Together they then determined the answer to the problem. Ms. Rebecca encouraged Gulianna to draw out the problem, which she did, and then found her tanswer. Gulianna recalled doing math problems a few days before with Ms. Ana and used those skills to formulate her own math sentence.

Family Advise:

The


Newsworthy Tidbits:

We are honored to announce that once again the Naples Alliance for Children has recognized our teacher, Rebecca McKellar as a Distinguished Teacher of the Year for 2015 during the annual Apple Blossom Awards Celebration on April 20th. Ms. Rebecca received high marks during their site visit and was regarded as a passionate educator making a difference in the lives of children. Please extend your warm wishes for yet another excellent educator on staff.

spring summer 2015 newsletter - collier child care...

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