MIDDLETOWN NEWSLETTER

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2009
Direct from the Director
~Eva~

Happy New Year!!!  I hope everyone had a festive and enjoyable Holiday Season.  The holidays flew right by and now we are not only welcoming a new month but a new year.  A special “thank you” to everyone who thought about us over the holidays, your gifts were thoughtful and very much appreciated.

As you all know, the New Year is bringing some changes to our staff.  Although we were sad to say goodbye to some, we are happy to give advancement opportunities to others.  Ms. Syrmo will be taking over as head teacher in our 3 yr old classroom, as well as becoming our staff supervisor.  Although Sharon and I are available everyday, if for any reason you don’t catch us and you have any questions, Ms. Syrmo will be available.  Ms. Chrissy has also gotten a promotion to head teacher.  She will be taking over Ms. Syrmo’s toddler class.  We are all very excited about the changes and know that your children will benefit from them.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to speak to me anytime.

January brings along progress report time.  The teachers really focus on teaching your children the important skills needed to begin their educational journey.  Whether they are in our infant class or our preschool class they are learning and reaching so many important milestones.  You will receive a report card for your child showing the developmental areas that they have been working on during their time in school.  The teachers will also share with you your child’s strengths and areas that they are continuing to work on.  Report cards will be passed out on January 19th and conferences are scheduled for January 22nd.  If you would like to meet with your child’s teacher, please sign up for a conference.  You can also schedule a telephone conference for that day between 12:00-1:30pm.

Tuition Discount
As you all read on the sign posted on the front doors, we will be offering a 5% discount off of your monthly tuition from January thru June 2009.  We are all facing difficult economic times and hopefully this will make things easier for a lot of our families.  The discount only applies if you pay your tuition by check.  This has to be done consistently from January thru June.  Tuition Express can be taken from a checking or savings account, not from credit card.  We have also raised our sibling discount to 15% for this time frame.  Please stop by the office to find out your new tuition amount.

Winter Weather Alert…
In the event of inclement weather please call the school before heading out to find out our opening status.  You can also check the website at www.primetimeschools.com for up to date information.  We will do our best to remain open and on time.  However in the event of treacherous weather we may have to delay opening or close for the day. 

PLEASE EMAIL YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO YOUR DIRECTOR SO SHE CAN MAINTAIN A CURRENT LIST FOR QUICK GROUP COMMUNICATION.
    THANKS

Reminders:
• Prime Time is closed on January 1st - Happy New Year!!!
• Tax season is here!  Our tax ID# is 13-3626720.  If you need an end of the year statement please let the office know.
• Medicals need to be updated annually.  This means that the physical exam date needs to be current.  If your child gets immunizations anytime throughout the year, please bring in a copy so that it can be attached to their medical.
• Tuition is due in a timely manner.  Monthly tuition is due by the 5th of each month.  Weekly tuition is due every Monday and if you pay your tuition 2x per month it is due on the 1st & 15th.  As you can see we try to offer a few different payment schedules to make it easier on everyone.  However, we ask that in return tuition is paid on time. 
• If you would like your child to have pizza on Fridays, please include the $2.00 weekly fee in your tuition payment.

Sneak-a-Peaks. . .
Snugglies
The snugglies class is full of changes.  If you don’t visit for a day or two you may see a child crawling who wasn’t the day before or standing or maybe even taking a few steps.  It’s amazing to see how fast our babies are growing.  We spend so much time interacting with the kids on the floor.  We love to give them different learning opportunities.  Whether it’s rolling a ball or playing peek-a-boo they are constantly being stimulated.

Kitties
By: Ms. Beth
The Kitties and I had a great time making Santa hats.  We painted them with sparkly red paint and put cotton balls on them.  The kids love to do art projects.  We get on our smocks and get down to business.  They love to see their masterpieces displayed in the classroom.

Puppies
By: Ms. Syrmo
The Puppies loved making all of our Holiday projects.  We decorated our classroom with all of the projects and it looked so festive.  They also enjoyed learning and singing holiday songs.  One of their favorite things to do was putting their very own Christmas ornament on the Christmas tree.  They chose just the right spot and put it on.

Angels
By Ms. Jamie
The Angels loved doing the many fun and creative Holiday projects we had planned in December.  Their favorite part was helping decorate our Christmas tree.  Their eyes lit up when we plugged in the tree and they saw all the beautiful lights.  The children also enjoyed making a special gift for Mom and Dad.  They loved putting their hands in the paint to make their hand print.

Dinos
By: Ms. Jaime
The Dinos learned all about freezing and melting.  They thought it was so awesome that we could put paint in the freezer and then take it out and do frozen paint art.  They definitely were interested in figuring out why the paint was melting the longer it was out of the freezer.  This hands on activity helped them get a better understanding of how things freeze and how they melt.

Pre-K 1
By: Ms. Faith
Pre-K has explosively dived into the wonderful season of “winter” wonderland.  We’ve been exploring winter through many fun projects, learning about winter animals and singing songs.  We’ve also been learning about “the colors of us”, displaying pictures throughout the classroom; to help them see how wonderfully different, silly and fun we are.  Take a “sneak peak” into our classroom to see what’s new.  We have a sign up sheet posted on our door so that upon arrival each child will be challenged to write their name.  This will help with letter recognition and further develop their hand writing skills.  Tune in next time for more Pre-K Adventures.

Pre-K 2
By: Ms. Sharon
November and December were great months for many different reasons.  One reason was the Pre-K and I were blessed with some new friends in our class.  Adriana, Andre and Kevin have joined our classroom.  We love making new friends; everyone always makes them feel welcome.  It did not take much time at all for them to fit right in.  Another reason was talking about the holidays.  It’s hard to think of those two months without remembering the holidays.  Time spent with family and friends is always a nice thing.  For the Pre-K, they enjoyed a lot of the holiday activities such as art projects, special feasts and baking cookies.