Sixty Degrees? December? That's not Polar Bear Weather!

Even if the weather doesn't feel like December (especially for a Polar Bear), we still have lots of great December activities going on!

All week, I have heard the delightful singing voices of my preschool friends practicing for their upcoming Holiday Celebration Program. Wow, do they sound good! The event is scheduled for Wednesday, December 16th, and I can't wait to see it!  My morning friends will perform at 9:30 AM and my afternoon friends will perform at 1:30 PM.  The entertainment is expected to take about an hour, but if you come early you can browse the Book Fair that our PTA is hosting! I've already checked out the selection, and there a so many great books ... books that I know little bears would love to get as gifts!

Speaking of books, check out this photo of me and one of my favorite readers! Our friend from upstairs, Mr. Steve Mazzi, is the school district's Director of Human Resources.  He likes to visit our classrooms and read stories to us.  He is an awesome reader, and I try to listen to him read every chance I get!

That reminds me: I have had so many of my administrator friends from upstairs comment on how impressed they are by our students in the parking lot.  They say that our students are holding hands with adults and staying away from the moving cars. When our students make safe choices it makes it much easier for us to share our parking lot - so thank you! Polar Bears love seeing students be safe!

My administrator friends have also mentioned that they appreciate the quiet voices our students use when they are in the lobby outside of our center.  Whenever our Director, Mrs. Kile, hears these complements, it really makes her smile!  I know she is very proud of our students!

Before I close, I want to thank everyone who has contributed to our food drive.  The base of our giving tree is so packed with donations that we have used the tooth paste to decorate the tree! However, we can always make room for more! I hope you will consider bringing a canned item to our Holiday Program.  By working together, I know our contributions really help our community.  

Remember that we have our regular four days of school next week, but then we start our winter break.  The preschool will be closed from December 21st to January 4th, and students don't come back until January 6th ... that's 2016!

I hope you enjoy the rest of 2015! Keep your fingers crossed that Ohio will start to see some snow for your favorite polar bear!

Sincerely,

The Polar Bear  

It's the End of November Already!

From the length of my mustache, I'm sure you can tell that we are at the end of No-Shave-November! Although I think I look quite dapper with my 'stache, I am also eager to shave ... this thing is starting to itch!

At this time of year, I always like to reflect on all of the reasons I have to be thankful.  Just this morning, I was talking with our Director, Mrs. Kile. She and I both have our ELC friends, families, and staff (along with our own families) at the top of our lists!  We are so appreciative of the support we get from the families of our preschool friends, the warm greetings we get from the boys and girls at our school each morning, and how our teachers and specialists work so hard to keep our center positive, safe, and fun for our students!

I have also heard many compliments from our administrator friends upstairs who keep complimenting how safe our students have been in the parking lot!  They have mentioned that they see our boys and girls holding hands with an adult as they walk to and from their cars.  They have also mentioned how much they appreciate our students using their quiet voices as they enter our center!  (The boys and girls at my center are awesome!)

We have begun our Holiday Drive, and I want to mention that I am thankful to be part of such a caring community!   As you can see, we have started collecting non-perishable food and personal items that will be donated to W.A.R.M. and distributed to families right here in Westerville.  If you would like to contribute, items can be dropped off under the Giving Tree near the front desk in our center.

If your family needs support, but you aren't sure where to start, feel free to reach out to Mrs. Kile. She is really good at connecting families with people who can help. You can always stop by to see her, but if you want to be sure she is available, it is a good idea to call the front desk to make sure she is in.  (614-797-7450)

Remember, we only have two days of school this week. On Wednesday and Thursday my preschool friends will be with their own families celebrating Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!
The Polar Bear


P.S. Many of you have heard about our Holiday Program .... it is quite popular!  More details will be coming, but in case you want to hold the date, I will mention the date is set for Wednesday, December 16th.

Here Comes November!

In addition to not shaving in honor of No-Shave-November, I am one bear who is in for a busy month!

• November 2:  Pizza! Pizza! Fundraiser Pick-up
• If you ordered Pizza kits as part of our fundraiser, they are schedule for delivery to our center on Monday!  Our PTA has arranged for volunteers to have everything organized and ready for pick-up from 11:15 AM to 12:45 or 3:15 to 5:30 PM.  Remember, they are frozen so they will need to be picked up on Monday!

• November 3: No School for Pre-School! (or for our k-12 friends, either!)
• Our teachers will be busy expanding their professional knowledge that day.  

• November 11: Picture Re-take day!
• The photographers will be back at the ELC! If you missed our first date, this one's for you!

• November 25-27: No School for Thanksgiving Holiday Break!
• As you can imagine, this is a favorite holiday for us Polar Bears who have immigrated to the United States!

.... so starting Monday, you can expect to see my mustache and beard get longer and longer as I help raise awareness of cancer!  

Looking forward to the Pumpkin Parade tomorrow!

Sincerely, 
The Polar Bear

I am such a LUCKY Bear! THANK YOU!

I doubt there are many bears who get dessert with their lunch!  Well, during conferences last week our PTA treated the teachers, staff and everyone's favorite Polar Bear to a delicious lunch .... and boy was it appreciated! Although I love conferences, our teachers work really long days, and it is much easier to stay focused with a full tummy!

So, THANK YOU to everyone who supports our PTA and those who coordinated the event!!

In addition to the PTA lunch, it was also a treat to see so many parents in our center for conferences! On Wednesday and Thursday, I got to see lots and lots of parents in our center meeting with teachers. Based on the conversations that I could overhear, it sounds like our teachers has some really amazing things to report to our parents!

Not all bears are lucky enough to be affiliated with a program that has such supportive parents -

Thank you!

Sincerely,
The Polar Bear


P.S. My teacher friends mentioned that you are welcome to contact them if you didn't make it to conferences but would like to find a time to get together.  :-)

P.S.S. Did I mention that I enjoyed the lunch?

I have my costume ready for Thursday! Do you?

Our Pumpkin Walk is scheduled for this Thursday, October 29th at the Early Learning Center!  As you can see, even while I blog, I have my super girl costume on,  and I'm ready to go!  

On Thursday, students should come to school already wearing their costumes so that we can begin our parade on time. Our Pumpkin Walk starts with us parading through the district offices upstairs.   Believe it or not, our administrator friends enjoy dressing up for this event as much as we do - in fact, the technology department might enjoy it even more!

After we parade through the offices upstairs, we head next door so our friends at The Village of Westerville can see us all dressed up!  Our preschool friends always receive a warm reception from the residents next door.

I gotta go!  Mrs. Kile doesn't have her costume picked out yet, so I need to go help her.

Sincerely,
The Polar Bear 
Super Bear

We are lucky to live in such a caring community!

Not all Polar Bears get to live in a community as connected and caring as Westerville! We have so many great organizations, I doubt I could even name them all!

Especially as the holidays approach, two of my personal favorite organizations are Westerville Area Resource Ministry (Also known as W.A.R.M) and Westerville Caring and Sharing. They both do so much to support our Westerville Families!

Westerville Area Resource Ministry
WARM's mission is to provide compassionate, short-term assistance, educational services, employment services and spiritual support in order to encourage individuals to achieve a God-reliant, self-sufficient life while restoring dignity and hope.

WARM's services and programs include:
FEED – Client Choice Food Pantry
WORK Initiative – Jobs Assistance Program
HOPE Program – For Senior and Disabled Clients
Kids Lunch Club – Free Summer Lunch Program
HELP – Transient Assistance Program
Benefit Bank – Online Filing Software Available

In order to become a client at WARM, you must live within the Westerville City School District, and if you are enrolled in our preschool program, that is where you live! To secure your first appointment for Pantry Services, you can call Hands On of Central Ohio 614.341.2282. If you have any further questions, you can call the WARM office at 614.899.0196.

There are also lots of ways to volunteer at WARM. Did you know our Preschool Director, Mrs. Kile, volunteers each year to help WARM organize their annual Food Truck Festival in September? If you would like to receive information about ways to support WARM you can contact Taylor Owens, Volunteer Services Assistant at taylor@warmwesterville.org, 614.899.0196 x211. More information about this great organization can be found at http://www.warmwesterville.org.

Look at all of the Cereal that my friends at the ELC collected for WARM this week!

Westerville Caring and Sharing
Westerville Caring and Sharing (WC&S) assists students and families that are qualified by the free or reduced lunch program through The Westerville City Schools District (approximately 4,100 students) through two main projects. They have a Back to School Project and Christmas Project.

Would your family benefit from assistance this holiday season? Westerville Caring and Sharing representatives will be at the Westerville Library on Oct 23 and Nov 5 from 5:00 - 6:30 PM taking registrations for students/families who might need assistance this holiday season. Packets need to be returned to WC&S by November 13.

General WC&S information
             (http://www.westervillecaringandsharing.com/)

Holiday Packet Information

( http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a2cff35e4beda53b99a3a1f6e&id=81b82e88a8)

Enjoy the COLD weather!

Sincerely,
The Polar Bear

It's Conference Time!

Westerville Schools values communication and collaboration among our families and staff!  To support this, we intentionally schedule days into the calendar specifically for this purpose on October 21st and 22nd. Because of this, our elementary, middle, and our preschool students do not attend school on Thursday or Friday of that week.

Parent Teacher Conferences are a great opportunity for two-way communication! As a parent, this gives you a chance to learn about your child's progress, both academically and socially.  It also gives teachers the opportunity to learn more about what your child is like at home. Teachers can help their students more when parents provide insight into their strengths, needs, interests, and dreams!

Parent-teacher conferences will be held on the evening of Wednesday, October 21st, and again on October 22nd, during the day and into the evening.

If you have not done so already, please contact your child's teacher to schedule a specific time to meet. This can be done through email, a phone call, or even a note in your child's blue folder. If you are not able to join us on one of our scheduled conference days, meeting with you is still important to us, and we are happy to find another time that works.

So, remember: there is no preschool on October 22, but we hope to see you here for conferences!

Sincerely,
The Polar Bear