Dear Pre-K Students and Families,
Hello from Germantown! I hope that you are enjoying your summer. Here at Greene Street Friends School, teachers are getting ready and excited to start a wonderful year of learning with you.
I am eager to meet you and share all of our fun Pre-K traditions! In September and throughout the year, we spend our days getting to know each other, the classroom and school community, exploring our world and playing together.
So much of what we do each day in Pre-K depends on you. Your interests, questions, ideas, experiences and family life are the basis for many of our studies. In fact, one of our big studies is called “Me Museums.” You teach us about you. We get to know what you like to do, who is in your family, where you go to have fun and what food you like to eat the best. You can bring in special things from home (like photographs, toys, books, and more) to share and talk about. We each take turns leading the circle and learn a lot about each other.
Greene Street Friends School is a Quaker school and being kind to one another is a key feature. In Pre-K, making friends and learning how to be a community together is our big work. We are always on the lookout for acts of kindness in our classrooms. This makes our learning space safe and happy. In February, we have a special kindness party to celebrate all of our kind acts and spread kindness throughout the classroom, school and neighborhood community. You’ll learn how to take care of the Germantown Fridge and make your own sandwiches to keep it full!
We have a great time learning together. You will take turns doing things like leading the line to go to special classes or adding numbers to our calendar to keep track of our days. You will get to hear great stories, have “free play time” and “work choice time” every day. You will have time to explore the shelves for games, toys, puzzles, books, building materials, and art supplies. If you like to pretend, there is a whole area of the classroom for you to use! Every day at circle time we play games, listen, learn and do group activities together. We also go outside to play and explore our Tree Lab.
We have “special classes” each week with teachers you will get to know. Classes include Spanish, Life Skills, Music, Art, Movement, and Library. We also do special activities related to our studies. This year we hope to take field trips to Awbury Arboretum, Smith Playground and visit our local library.
Some other fun traditions include “Grandparents/ Mentors Day,” “Fifty Party,” “Kindness Celebration” and “Beach Party.” We also practice stewardship by taking care of our own Greene Street Friends School Little Library! We’ll find lots of ways to keep the library full of books to share with our Germantown community!
Parents and Caregivers, I look forward to talking with you soon and working together with you over the next year. If you have any questions before September please don’t hesitate to email me. We will meet formally just before school starts in our scheduled Get Acquainted Conferences. Until then, here’s some logistical information to start you on your Pre-K adventure.
What to send in with your child at the start of school:
PLEASE NOTE: Your child is welcome to bring in one stuffy for quiet time but all other toys should stay at home. Please do not send in any toys from home with your child. We do not play with toys from home at school.We have a wonderful selection of toys in the classroom.
Have a safe and happy end of summer! I look forward to meeting you soon!
Moira Schwartz
mschwartz@greenestreetfriends.org