DECEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER!
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Fri., Dec. 1 – TUITION IS DUE.
Tues., Dec. 5 ̶ JAM for Preschoolers. 3:15-4:00 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 6 – Room Parent/Parent Volunteer Group meeting at 9:15 a.m. in room 201.
Wed., Dec. 6 ̶ See’s Candy Delivery.
Mon., Dec. 11 – Holiday Show in the Sanctuary. More info to come in Dec.
Fri., Dec. 15 – In Class Parties.
Mon., Dec. 18 – Tues., Jan. 2 – SCHOOL CLOSED for Winter Break.
Wed., Jan. 3 – REGULAR SCHOOL SCHEDULE RESUMES.
Wed., Jan. 10 – Room Parent/Parent Volunteer Group meeting at 9:15 a.m. in room 201.
Mon., Jan. 15 ̶ SCHOOL CLOSED for Martin Luther King, Jr. birthday.
Tues., Jan. 16 ̶ JAM for Preschoolers. 3:15-4:00 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 24 – SNOW DAY.
Tues., Jan. 30 ̶ JAM for Preschoolers. 3:15-4:00 p.m.
Fri., Feb. 2 – Parent/Teacher Conferences for E.P.C.C. Preschool and Kindergarten. Afterschool care for Encino
Charter Elementary students is a regular day.
Thurs., Feb. 15 ̶ McDonald’s Fundraiser.
Mon., Feb. 19 – SCHOOL CLOSED for Presidents’ Day.
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
CONGRATULATIONS: GREG LEBLEBJIAN OUR EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH-
Greg has been the office Administrator at our church for the last three years. We consider ourselves fortunate to have Greg’s dedicated, friendly, and hardworking presence among us. He goes above and beyond extending his help at the school whenever and wherever it’s required. Greg’s kindness towards both the church and the school is immensely valued and appreciated. Greg is married and finds joy in various activities such as watching basketball games, shopping at Costco, celebrating Christmas and collecting flash lights and wallets. His preferred dining spots include Katsuya and Chick-Fil-A. as for desserts, he likes chocolate cake, homemade chocolate chip cookies and kit kat candy bars.
Thank you, Greg for your unwavering dedication and hard work. 😊
FROM THE DIRECTORS:
DECEMBER TUITION: Is due in full no later than December 7th. Any tuition received after the 7th will accrue a $25.00 late fee.
FRIENDS OUTSIDE: A very special thank you to all who donated gift cards to “Friends Outside.” Your generous spirit helped make the holidays special for so many children.
PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION: On Wed., Nov. 1st priority registration began for our Fantastic Preschool and Kindergarten programs for Fall 2024 school year. Registration will be open only to families currently enrolled in our preschool program and will be on a first come first served basis. Kindergarten we will have Only 24 spaces available for the upcoming school year. You can email or call the school to make an appointment to check out our fabulous Kindergarten program.
HOLIDAY SHOW: On the morning of December 11th, the children will be performing their holiday show. J The children can come dressed in their holiday best, with a change of clothes for after their performance. Each classroom will perform several songs for your holiday enjoyment. A SPECIAL NOTE: There is No food or drinks allowed in the sanctuary. The order of appearance will be:
Room 101 - 9:15 – 9:30
Room 102 - 9:30 – 9:45
Room 103 - 9:45 – 10:00
Room 104 -10:00 – 10:15
Room 105 -10:15 – 10:30
Room 106 -10:30 – 10:45
Room 203 -10:45 – 11:00
The first 2 rows are reserved for 2 representatives from each child’s family to sit while their child is performing. E.g., your camera people. Then they will be moving out of those seats while the next class is entering. Please move as quickly as possible. This will take cooperation from everybody and thank you in advance.
WINTER BREAK: E.P.C.C. will be CLOSED from Monday, December 18, 2023 through Tuesday, January 2, 2024 Preschool and Kindergarten will resume on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.
Encino Charter Elementary School resumes on Monday, January 8, 2024. We ARE open for full day care for Encino Charter Elementary School children Wednesday, January 3 –Friday, January 5, 2024, the cost is $70.00 per day. We hope your holidays are magical!
SNACK REMINDER: HEALTHY SNACKS AND LUNCHES: Please remember that children are required to bring their own ready to eat lunch, 2 snacks and water bottle. Please keep snacks healthy. Fruits, veggies, cereal bars, string cheese and crackers are always popular choices. Remember to send utensils with your child’s lunch if he/she needs them. Teachers cannot leave the classroom to get spoons and forks for the children. Additionally, be sure that all snacks and lunches are sent to school” ready to serve.”
CLOTHING: As the weather becomes cooler, please be sure to have adequate changes of clothing in your child’s cubby or backpack. If your child borrows extra clothes from the school, please wash and return those items as soon as possible so we can keep our supply well stocked.
LABEL EVERYTHING: Be sure to label all sweatshirts, jackets, sweaters, backpacks, share toys or any item your child brings to school. Labeled items have a far greater chance of being returned to you.
In an effort to keep children and teachers healthy please keep your child home if he/she is sick. If your child vomits, has diarrhea, runs a fever, is lethargic or is simply not him/herself, we will send your child home immediately. Children must be symptom free for 48 hours before they can return to school. In addition, if you have given your child Motrin or Tylenol in the morning to reduce fever or ease pain, he/she may NOT come to school on that day. While we understand that a “green” runny nose and cough are not necessarily indicators of infectious disease, we will require a doctor’s note if there is any question about your child’s health. Remember that when we send a child home, we are using our best judgment in determining whether or not your child should remain at school. This has been a particularly tough cold and flu season, especially for young children. Please respect this policy as well as the families and staff at EPCC by adhering to it. Parents in this horrible flu and cold season, please refer to the illness policies at the end of this newsletter and when to keep your child home. This policy is enforced in order to keep a healthy, happy school. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
CONFERENCES: Parent/Teacher conferences will be held on Friday, February 2, 2024 from approximately 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SCHOOL IS CLOSED! You may have your conference either in person or virtual. Sign-up sheets are going to be posted outside your child’s classroom in middle of January. Parent/teacher conferences are so important this is your chance to hear about your child’s progress in school as well as bring up any concerns you may have. Kindergarten readiness will be discussed as well as placement for the upcoming school year. Your prompt arrival at your conference is vital. If you are late you will have to reschedule at the teachers’ convenience. PLEASE DO NOT BRING CHILDREN TO YOUR CONFERENCE, AS THIS IS YOUR TIME WITH THE TEACHERS.
SCRAP PAPER: Our Preschoolers are in need of scrap paper to draw on and to make paper airplanes. If you work in an office that needs to get rid of paper…we would love to have it.
WORSHIP: For those of you that are looking for a church home or a place to visit, Sunday services are at 10:00 a.m. There is childcare available for children 3 and younger, and church school for children
3 ½ -11. Come and see what’s happening on Sundays at our church.
THANK YOU: To all who participated in: Our Tupperware, McDonald’s, Scholastic Book Fair, Friends Outside, and See’s Candies, Fundraisers. Also, to all those who donated snacks and helped set up and clean up our Thanksgiving Feast. The children had a great time. Feeding 100 children has never been so easy! Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year! Cathleen & Anie
TEACHER TALK:
ROOM 101: This month we are going to be so busy preparing for the winter holidays. Hanukkah and Christmas are just around the corner! We have lots to do and lots to talk about – holiday wishes and what the holidays mean to us. We will also be introducing Elfie, our guardian elf. He keeps an eye on us for Santa and sometimes he even plays tricks on us. Room 101 has been busy preparing our singers for the holiday show. We hope you can join us in the Sanctuary on Monday, Dec. 11th at 9:15 a.m. We hope to see all of you there. A special thank you to all who made our feast so much fun. Have a blessed holiday season and a wonderful new year! Mrs. Geni & Ms. Jazmin
ROOM 102: We are as busy as Santa’s elves decorating our room, making special gifts and rehearsing like mad for our holiday show. You won’t want to miss the spectacular show on Monday the 11th. This month we will be busy working on fun Holiday artwork and activities. We will be sending home a Christmas tree to be decorated at home by the whole family. Please be sure to return your family Christmas tree, as this is for our bulletin board. Thank you to all who donated goodies to our Thanksgiving Feast, and thank you to all the parents for their support in our classroom. Have a very joyous Holiday season and a Happy peaceful New Year! Mrs. Asma & Miss Ana
ROOM 103: The happiest time of year is here! We have been practicing our songs for the holiday show daily. You won’t want to miss this. Friday, December 15th, 103 will be having a pajama day! Children are welcome to wear their favorite pajamas. We will also be making pancakes for our morning snack and will post a sign-up list for our pancake party. Does your family share any special holiday traditions? If you would like to share them with the class, we would love to hear about them. We continue with our new words of the week. Listen for tradition, jubilant, and anticipate. Don’t forget our holiday show on Monday, December 11th is in the Sanctuary at 9:45 a.m. You won’t want to miss this spectacular show! We hope your holidays are filled with joy. Mrs. Jennifer, Miss Hayden
ROOM 104: We can’t believe it’s already December. We have so much to do this Holiday season. This month we will be singing our holiday songs, learning about the stories of Christmas and Hanukkah and enjoying the spirit of the season. Don’t forget our holiday show on December 11th at 10:00 a.m. YOU won’t want to miss this spectacular show! In December, we will be busy working on fun holiday artwork and activities. A special thank you, to all who donated goodies to our Thanksgiving Feast. Have a Very Joyous Holiday Season and a Happy, Peaceful New Year! Mrs. Silva & Mrs. Shahla
ROOM 105: The holiday season is upon us and the joy and anticipation can be seen in everybody’s eyes. Busy, busy, busy… that’s our motto but we are still remembering to have lots of fun together and to share the love of this magical season. Our holiday show is on December 11th in the Sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. Thank you, to all our wonderful room parents and to all the families for contributing to our yummy Thanksgiving Feast. We want to wish you and your families a very joyous and safe holiday season and a healthy 2023. Mrs. Wall, Mrs. Sossi
ROOM 106: The holiday season is here! Yay! This month we will be working on lots of fun holiday projects. Please remember our holiday show is on Monday December 11th. We are learning our songs at rug time and we hope you hear your children singing our songs at home. Please take a moment to welcome Emilia Buffington and Cameron Hood and their families to our classroom!!! Our holiday party will take place in our room on Friday, December 15th. We will post a sign-up sheet with requests for the party. As the weather gets colder, please check your child’s cubby for extra clothes. Remember to sign-up for Holiday party snack! Thank you once again for trusting us with your most precious treasures, your children; they are just as precious to us. Enjoy the season! Peace, Love and Joy Always. Mrs. Karine & Miss Paula
PEEKING OVER THE FENCE WITH MRS. GAEL: Our line up of planned outside activities is always a little wiggly. We have to be flexible depending upon the weather. If we have tissue collage and the Santa Ana winds pick up, we may switch to something like play-dough that won’t blow off the table, or we may use the winds to our advantage for fun with streamers, bubbles or a quick dry for painting! Many of the crafts that come home from the yard are “Kit Crafty”. However, there are always paper, markers, crayons and often paint for “Free Art” that is available to let the children develop their own personal imagination and fine motor skills, so if your child comes home with a paper with 2 pounds of muddy color paint, know that the “process” was more important than the product!
AFTER NAP: We cannot believe how fast November went. We had so much fun in the afternoon especially around Thanksgiving and so now we welcome December. We are looking forward to a busy December. There will be arts and crafts to celebrate Christmas, and Hanukkah, and we will be singing cheerful songs. The children will be making Christmas trees, Santas, Menorahs, Stockings, Candy Canes, and Mittens. December is a cold month, make sure your child has warm extra clothes during this chilly weather and please label your child’s jackets and sweaters. Please remember to gather up all of your children’s items out of their tubs daily. Have a very Happy Holidays and see you in 2024.
Miss Vianey, Miss Emma, Miss Ana, Mrs. Narine and Miss Katie
KINDERGARTEN: We are beginning to READ! It is so exciting! A world of opportunity is now opening up to us. We are busy working on special projects for the holidays, and boy are we having fun! We have enjoyed studying science, most recently about our Country and about Thanksgiving. We also love to cook and are getting quite skilled at cracking eggs and measuring ingredients…and even sometimes trying new foods! (Our taste buds change constantly, you know!)! We hope you enjoyed our Thanksgiving Feast! Thank you to everyone for contributing your assigned foods to share. The children love this event and look forward to it every year! We hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday with your family. We have finished Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, James and The Giant Peach and are just about done with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Don’t forget our Holiday Program on Monday, December 11th in the morning, in the Sanctuary. We will be singing a few beautiful songs that you will not want to miss! Our fieldtrip this month is to see The Nutcracker Ballet at the Thousand Oaks Civics Art Center. It is on Thursday, December 14th. Please arrive at 8:00AM and we need to LEAVE AT 8:15AM and return by 1:00. Seating is on a first come-first served basis so we need to arrive early to get good seats. This show is sold out and we have limited tickets available. Our trip to the Chumash Indian Museum was a big success. Also, thank you for contributing to our “Friends Outside” holiday project. Our Holiday Party will be on our last day of school before vacation, December 15th! It will be a pajama party with donuts and hot chocolate. And finally, thank you to all of our families, who bought us books from our wish list at our book fair. If we have forgotten to thank anyone, please forgive us as we have such wonderful parents! We couldn’t do what we do without all of you! Happy Holidays! 😊
Mrs. Lori, Ms. Danielle & Ms. Kim