Ms. Samantha – 1 yr Ms. LaSharne – 6 yrs Ms. Bledsoe

This month we would like to say thank you to the following teachers for their dedication to our program:

This month we would like to welcome a few new students to our program. Lots of new babies will begin as our Sharks leave for kindergarten. Hudson Adler, Amudha Ramadass, Owen Bryant, Rhodes Thigpen, and Colin McCallister are all joining us. William Wickham is a new two year old in the Seahorse class, Harper Pickup is a new Sea Turtle and Josslyn Zuck is a new Shark. We look forward to getting to know all of our new families!

Last month, we finished phase 2 of our fencing project for the Seahorse and Sea Turtle playground. We added taller iron fencing to the left of the entry gate. We are still accepting donations in order to complete our project. We would like to add taller fencing to the right side of the playground and a gate with a lock for the entrance. Please consider donating.

Our Summer Campers are currently collecting toiletry donations for the Battered Women’s Shelter. This is their community outreach project of the summer. Please consider bringing in a few of the following items: toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc. Collection boxes are located by the office and in each wing. What a great idea to get your children involved in helping others! Donations will be accepted until 8/12/13.

As we begin a new school year, a new year for our Room Parent Committee also begins. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, September 10^th at 4:30. Jenny Higbee has kindly volunteered to be our Head Room Parent again this year and will lead our meetings. I have a couple of volunteers already signed up, but need many more. Jennifer Williams will represent the Sharks class and Nan and Tim Deily will represent the Crabs. If you are interested in representing your child’s classroom, please let Jenny or me know. Her email address is jenny.higbee@gmail.com.

On July 22^nd, Ms. JoJo had knee replacement surgery and is recovering well. Her plan is to be on medical leave until sometime in September. If you would like to send her a card, please drop it off in the office and I will mail it along with other cards that the children make. She loves to get mail!

During this busy month of transitions, please keep in mind that not all children adjust to change the same way. Some children really look forward to moving up to the next classroom. Other children are not so thrilled at leaving behind their teachers and comfortable classroom. Children react in different ways by showing excitement, anxiety, asking lots of questions, crying, etc. We support each child in a way that individually works for them. As a parent, please keep us updated on what your child may say to you at home about their move up and let us know if you have any questions. 99% of the time, the anxiety and crying stop in a couple of weeks. Encouragement and support are ways you can help. As adults, we sometimes feel like crying too when we have to make a big change at work or at home. Keep that in mind as your toddler or preschooler transitions.

This month we said a sad farewell to Ms. Logan as she starts her new life as a graduate student. We have a couple more Sea Turtle teacher interviews this week and had some successful ones last week as well. Gonna be a tough choice! We say good bye also to Ms. Brandy who resumes her first grade teaching position with CMS and to Ms. Brianna as she goes off to college at Emory in Atlanta. We enjoyed them both again this summer.

We would like to say a big congrats to Ms. Belinda. Belinda got married in St. Thomas this week and is enjoying her trip with new hubby Arthur. She has sent messages to check on her toddler friends. She will be back at work on Monday 8/12.