Trike-A-Thon to benefit St. Jude’s Hospital -Friday, May 14th
Friday, May 14th The Trike-A-Thon for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is a program where children can have fun while being exposed to good bike safety habits. It includes story telling and coloring periods for each of five days, followed by a special day when children put into practice the safety tips learned as they ride laps around the parking lot.
Additionally, they will be raising funds to help fight childhood cancer.

The program works as follows:
1. Parents give permission for their child to participate and obtain sponsors. Permission form is attached (rip the perforated edges of the sponsor sheet) and needs to be returned to your child’s teacher by May 10th.
2. Children ask relatives, friends and neighbors to sponsor this activity. Sponsors can donate $.25, $.50 or more per lap or pledge a specified amount (i.e. $5, $10) for the child to participate.
2. The week of May 10th is our designated time to read and color while teaching a bike safety point.
3. Each day, the coloring sheet with a summary of the story will be sent home with each child to discuss with his parents. Parents should review the coloring sheet and safety point to reinforce the rule of the day.
4. On Friday, May 14th, parents bring their child’s riding toy and helmet (first and last name need to be on each article) to school for an outdoor exercise and practical application of the safety points. The students will be riding around the parking lot. No cars will be allowed in the designated area.
5. Collect money from sponsors after the ride.
6. Return collections and sponsor sheet to your child’s teacher by Wednesday, May 28th.
7. There are incentives for participating! Participants raising $35 receive a St. Jude T-shirt, participants raising $75 receive a St. Jude backpack and St. Jude T-shirt and participants raising $100 or more receive a Bikewell Bear plush toy or Pedals the Bunny plush toy, St. Jude backpack and St. Jude T-shirt. They promise all prizes will be here by June 18th (last day of school).
Danny Thomas founded St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The hospital is a biomedical research hospital dedicated to finding cures for the catastrophic diseases of childhood. All patients are treated regardless of their ability to pay. The funds raised by the trike-a-thon will help support the hospital’s work. The staff at Bright Beginnings thanks you in advance for your participation. This event is fun!!!
We have raised $25,000 over the past 8 years.

Cash For Gold Coming May 17&18 to Bright Beginnings!!!
Bring your gold and leave with cash!

Child’s Night Out - movie night
When: Friday, May 21st
Time: 6PM-9PM

Mark Your Calendars
Pre K and Kindergarten Graduation
Tuesday, June 15th 5-6PM
St. Mary’s Church-Conestoga Trail, Sparta Rehearsal at the Church—June 14th 11-1PM
Rehearsal at the School—June 7-11 everyday (time
to be determined)
Sharp Images will be taking Graduation Pictures of our students on Friday, May 21st at Bright Beginnings . Please don’t miss it!
Field Day—June 2nd
Last Day of School—June 18th

Summer Camp Sign-ups
Hurry and sign up for a session of our summer camp!
Academics and fun activities all summer long! Pick up a brochure at our welcome table. Miss Kelli, Miss Kim and Miss Debbie are the counselors.

News from Raellen Kesselman and the Parent Committee
Our Spring Buy One Get One Free Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! We sold $1524.45 worth of books! We hope everyone got some wonderful new books to read! Many thanks to our wonderful volunteers: Mary Burke, Mary Fitzgerald, Dina Marin, Sonel Patel, Dorris Proctor and Michelle Salazar. As always, I am grateful for your help!

The first week of May is Teacher Appreciation Week. Please take a moment to thank your child’s teachers for all the love, caring and education they give so abundantly! Thanks to all who have volunteered their time, cooking skills and finances toward our 2nd Annual Teacher Appreciation celebration. We had volunteers from almost 30 families.
We’ll have the new sound system, including a wireless microphone, in time for field day. Please watch for the sign ups to help with field day—our theme Is Heroes and it promises to be an exciting day!

Thanks to all who participated in the Rhythm of Peace Festival whether it was through purchasing saplings, volunteering, attending the festival or spreading the word.
Your efforts were greatly appreciated. Hands on the World Global received $3000 from the event. We would like to extend a special thank you to the Penguin Kindergarten class for constructing and designing the peace pole. Also, we were blessed to have Pastor Kelly, Pastor Augustine and Rachael Paulson talk to our students. Parents and students are welcome to put their handprint on a mural (in the gym) that will be taken back to Haiti to show the orphans they
have our support!

Exciting New Programs for the Fall at Bright Beginnings!
We are thrilled about all the new programs and methodologies Bright Beginnings will be starting in the Fall.

First, the Spalding Method for Teaching Speech, Spelling, Reading and Writing will be taught in all pre kindergarten (4-5 year olds), kindergarten and first grade classrooms. This proven research method is known to improve student performance in the key literacy areas.

Next, Miss Kim will be a certified children’s yoga instructor by the end of this school year. She received a scholarship to attend this certification program.
Kim has graciously offered to train all Bright Beginnings staff on the yoga movements so they could bring the techniques directly into the classroom.
Thank you and congratulations to Miss Kim.

Our full day kindergarten and first grade classes will be taught using the newest, most innovative and proven researched programs in science, social studies, math and language arts. Parent booklets are available for more information.

Last, Bright Beginnings will be offering a 3 half-day kindergarten enrichment programs including FREE bus transportation from the Sparta Alpine School directly to our door. The children in this class will also benefit from the teachings of the Spalding Method as well as our outstanding curriculum.

 

Please let your friends know about all the wonderful learning opportunities available at Bright Beginnings. Remember, our teachers are never too busy to ensure the healthy growth and optimal development of EVERY student.

Thank you for choosing Bright Beginnings for your child’s education!

News from the Parent Committee
Thank you all for sending in your loose change: we raised over $75 for the people in Haiti. It’s really wonderful to see the community- and world-mindedness of our young students!
Our Kidstuff fundraiser was a great success! We’re still collecting books, but have made a great deal of money toward the purchase of a sound system for the school.
Thanks to all who participated! A very special thank you to Jill Gazzillo for organizing this wonderful fundraiser!
This year’s recital was fantastic! Congratulations to all the students & thanks so much to all the teachers for their hard work.
In honor of this year’s recital theme, Bright Beginnings Families donated nearly $100 to www.SavetheWhales.org. We would like to thank everyone for all your help during the recital.
The Save the Whales foundation appreciates your generous contributions to their cause. Thank you for teaching your child to care about endangered marine life. It is truly inspirational.

Please watch for volunteer opportunities coming up this spring!

Parent/Teacher Conferences are being scheduled for the month of March. Sign up sheets are located outside your child’s class.

New classes for the fall:
Kindergarten enrichment program – Ages 5 to 6
First Grade – Ages 6 to 7

Full Day Summer Enrichment Program!

Read about the Fundraiser for Pass It Along and Hands on the World Global
Sussex Countywide Community Event to Create Conscious Awareness about the environment and peace.

The Penguin Kingergarten class is collecting old cell phones. Soldiers oversees will receive a FREE 60 minute phone card for every phone that is recycled. The drop box is located outside the Penguin class.

Registration for 2010-11

Download the Registration form for the upcoming year...

In order to help us determine the number of openings we can anticipate for the 2010-2011 school year, please complete and return the registration application as soon as possible.

To help families during times of global economic crisis, all tuition costs will remain the same for the 2010-2011 school year. In addition, for a limited time registration fees will be waived for siblings of enrolled families (Deadline January 31st). Also, continuing students will not be required to pay the $75 registration fee if enrollment occurs before January 31st. Any continuing student enrolling after this deadline will be required to pay a $75 registration fee to secure his place and this fee will be deducted from September 2009 tuition.

This application can be used for younger brothers and sisters whom you wish to enroll for next year. If you need additional forms, please let us know. We wish to remind you that we offer a 10% reduction in the tuition fee for a 2nd or 3rd child from a family. A completed registration packet must be returned as well.

Starting September 2010, Bright Beginnings is thrilled to announce we will be opening a first grade classroom. The kindergarten and first grade classrooms will be upstairs and the preschool and pre-kindergarten programs will be located on the main floor. There must be a minimum of 6 students enrolled in this class for its success. If you are interested in this class, please return your registration form as soon as possible.

We appreciate your continued trust and support. Hurry and register your child to reserve their spot. Forms are in your child’s folder. Starting January 15th, registration will be open to the community.

General Reminders for the School Year …
1. Your child should have a complete change of clothing in his cubby with his/her name on it—pants, shirts, underwear and socks (diapers and wipes for children who aren’t potty trained).

2. Children need a smock with his/her name on it

3. Sign in and out everyday using pin numbers (get from your child’s teacher and see instructions on the back). If somebody other than you is picking up your child, we must have a written note containing the person’s name and address. A staff member will check ID’s before your child is released. ** A child will not be released without a letter and the letter must include the address of the person picking up your child.

4. Lunch boxes should go in your child’s cubby including healthy snacks and lunches. Please remember we are a nut free school (all types of nuts ). See the orientation letter regarding this.

5. Tuition is due by the 1st of each month from September to June. Please submit the Tuition Express forms as soon as possible. Since processing takes a couple of weeks, please put September tuition in the box outside of the Director’s office. Tuition Express payments will start in October.

6. Children should come to school in play clothes since we often do messy activities.

7. Update all immunization records. All new students should hand in all forms. They should be in the Director’s office by September 30th.

8. Fill out student cards as soon as possible so we have updated records on file, including a photo of your child.

9. Passwords to utilize the internet cameras have been given out (child’s teacher). There will be a $5/month charge for this service. If you don’t want this service, please let the Director know so you won’t be automatically billed.

10. Back to School night is Tuesday September 16th, from 6PM to 7PM.
The Dolphin and Seahorse class will meet on September 18th instead due to personal circumstances. (Dolphin 5:30-6:15PM and Seahorse 6:45-7:30PM). This evening offers an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and learn about our curriculum and philosophy. While orientation was a special day for the children, Back to School night is only for the adults . We hope to see you here.

11. We follow the Sparta School District schedule for snow closing or delayed openings. When you hear Sparta is closed, that pertains to Bright Beginnings. Listen to 102.3 FM or log onto www.sparta.org for school closing information. Delayed opening means Bright Beginnings opens at 10AM.

12. If your child is absent from school, please call so we don’t worry. If you know in advance, let your child’s teacher and the Director know.

13. If your child would like to stay for lunch (12-12:30PM), there will be a $5/day charge due at pick up time

14. Remember, the Director is out of the building on Mondays and Wednesdays. If you need assistance on these days, please see Miss Kelli, Assistant Director, or any teacher.


--------------------------------------------------

Reminder - Signing In and Out
Please sign in and out everyday using the four digit code (pin number) assigned.  We need this for attendance records.  Thank you!

Tuition Express Is Available
This system offers you the convenience of automatic tuition payments.  Fill out your forms quickly in order to be enrolled in this program.  We would like everybody to be on this system by November.