Winter Blues

Old Father Winter has been cruel to us this year. When we found out Phil the groundhog saw his shadow, we never expected "six more weeks of winter" to mean over three feet of snow, school cancellations, leaking roofs, icy roads, power outages, broken pipes, stuck vehicles, and un-walkable sidewalks. What a challenge this has been! We, however, are thankful for our health and well-being. We worried that the children would find coming back to school a little unsettling after having missed over a week of school. However, their return has been smooth and exciting! Their few days back greeted them with Valentine's Day Parties, birthday celebrations and pajama days. The Big Room and Mrs. Callaway's classes learned about the letter "P" (hence "pajama day"). The children enjoyed playing with pink play-doh and making pancakes and popcorn. Although too treacherous for the children to play outside, the weather conditions didn't stop the teachers from bringing the snow into the classrooms and letting the children have some winter fun. Looking forward to Spring, we remember the old saying, we must take things "one day at a time..."

Welcome to our blog

Dear SPCNS Community,

It is very exciting to be writing on this new blog. It will enable us to share important information about our school, the latest happennings and upcoming events. This will be the place to go to for the latest news. We hope you enjoy visiting this site. In the meantime, if you have topics of interest that you would like to see featured here, please send us a note and let us know. Please visit often and enjoy!

Sara Berg
SPCNS Assistant to the Director

Director’s Corner

When I give prospective families their tour of Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School, I always mention that one of the school’s greatest assets is our fabulous teaching staff. By now, I trust that you all have experienced the expertise of a minimum of two of the teachers here, and many of you have had your children in a number of classrooms with a variety of teachers. I hope that you agree with me that they are all of a superlative quality.

The care and education of young children is complex and demanding. At SPCNS, we strive to provide your children with the best possible environment for learning and growth. We hold the belief that teachers are the most important contributors to quality experiences for children.

When considering possible topics for our first newsletter of the 2009-2010 school year, we thought about what it might feel like to be new to the school and be relatively unfamiliar with the adults who would be nurturing and teaching your children. It seemed like it might be helpful if we were to briefly introduce every one of us to you. Of course, the dossiers which follow only begin to describe them. We trust that their commitment, their competencies, and their caring will be evident to you every day.

The teachers have been asked to use the following questions as guides for their dossiers.

1. Where were you born and raised?
2. Tell us about your family and where you live:
3. What is your educational background?
4. How many years have you taught at SPCNS?
5. What is the most rewarding thing for you about working with children?
6. Tell us something most people might not know about you.
7. What is your favorite children’s book and why?
8. What makes you like/love/enjoy working at SPCNS?
9. What is your philosophy of working with preschool age children?
10. What else would you like our families to know about you?
    
    Read more in the SPCNS November 2009 Newsletter

Parking with bad weather

It has been brought to our attention that with the bad weather, we’ve had many more parents/nannies entering and parking along the circular drive to the school.

We know and understand that it is not pleasant to deal with the snow and the cold conditions, however, it is extremely important that you do not enter the church’s circular driveway, as this is to be reserved for Church staff.

Please make sure to pass on this information to your nannies or anyone else in charge of your children.

Thanks for your understading.

The SPCNS Staff

The SPCNS Helps the East End Cooperative Ministries

We want to take this time to thank all of our families for their generosity in helping out the East End Cooperative Ministries for our Christmas Drive.

Through this drive, we collected seven large and heavy bags of children's books. On Thursday, I had the priviledge of personally offering some books to a very grateful grandmother who was expecting a new grandson in a few days. I wished that you could have seen her smile! Many families visited the E.E.C.M. food pantry this week; and I was so proud to offer them great literature to enjoy. I also wished that you could have heard and seen the coordinatro of the Meals on Wheels program giggle with excitement when I handed her a bag full of cards. She shook the bag and said, "They are going to LOVE these cards!:

Thank yo also for the toiletries which I sorted and tallied with amazing results...
Bottles of hand lotion/body wash (90), Shampoo (58), hand sanitizers (19), deodorants (40), Boxes of Bandaids (5), tubes of antibiotic ointments (2), bars of soaps (76), packages of dental floss (9), combs (16), brushes (2), tubes of Chap Stick (28), sunscreen (1), shower cap (1), sewing kit (1), tubes of petroleum jelly (2), body powder (4), tissue packs (49), reading glasses (6), shaving cream (11), razors (4), toweletts (6), laundry detergent packets (7), packages of !-tips (2), 4 complete travel kits in cloth pouches, 24 toothbrushes, 25 toothbrushes with toothpaste, 46 tubes of toothpaste and a pair of men's gloves.

Mother Teresa said,
"In life, we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

If I did my math correctly, that is 539 small acts of kindnesses and at least 100 shared books and 45 handmade cards that will give somenone a smile..., giving with great love!

Your children made my Christmas so special today with theri beautiful singing. Thank you for sharing them with us at Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School.

Blessing,
Trish Callaway
Mary Lang, Sara Berg, and all the staff at SPCNS

Gifts and Donations

Gifts
Click here if you would like to make a monetary gift directly to SPCNS.

Donations
Below is a list of special requests that would benefit the children of the school:

• Many children's books were destroyed when the school office flooded last year.  The school is in need of many children's books known to be of high-quality and useful in an educational setting.

Volunteers
Contact Mary Lang (director@spcns.org) if you would like to volunteer in the classroom or provide some other service.

Contact

Mail
Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School
5121 Westminster Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Phone
412) 681-6311

Email
director@spcns.org (Mary Lang)

Parent's Corner

Letters
The following represent public letters from parents we have permission to share.

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Admisions

Tuition and Fees

Age Group	Class Meets 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.	Tuition 2009-2010 Includes milk and supplies.
2	Tue/Thu	$1,596
2	Mon/Wed	$1,596
3	Tue/Thu	$1,596
3	Mon/Wed/Fri	$2,194
4	Mon/Wed/Fri	$2,194
4-5	Mon-Fri	$3,254

Sprecial Programs

Program	Age Group	Meets	Price
Lunch Bunch	3-4	12-1:00 p.m.	$175
Wonderful Wednesday*	4-5	Wed	$515

*must be admitted into program

Tuition is billed twice per school year and must be paid in advance for each semester. If a child has been accepted to SPCNS and found to be unready for preschool, tuition will be refunded. If a child must be withdrawn for another reason during the school year, parents will be charged for half a semester or a whole semester depending on the date of withdrawal. An application must be sent each school year with a $25 application fee. Upon acceptance a non-refundable $100 deposit is required to reserve a student’s space for the following school year. Parents do not need to reapply or to send an additional application fee for the second semester. SPCNS will provide a copy of its bylaws to any parent who requests a copy.

Application
Click here to download the Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School application.

Our Programs

Classes
There are classes for 2, 3, 4, and 5-year-olds, which meet from 9 a.m. until 12 noon 2, 3, or 5 days each week.

3, 4 and 5-year-old children must be toilet-trained before entering school.

Teachers: Each class has a qualified teacher and assistant, providing a student/teacher ratio of 1 teacher for approximately 7 children. The teacher/student ratio in the 2-year-old classes is 1/4. Our teachers are required to have a college degree with a strong background in early childhood development, and are certified in infant and child CPR. Our school is accredited by NAEYC.

Activities
Children develop motor, perceptual, and cognitive skills during creative play through hands-on experience. Creative play also provides time to nurture social skills such as sharing, and an opportunity for children to make their own decisions in selecting activities.

Daily music and creative movement activities develop children’s sense of rhythm, music, and self-control. In addition, each class meets weekly with the specially trained creative movement and music teachers.

Curriculum
Each class has a carefully designed developmentally appropriate curriculum, hands-on materials, and toys to enhance social, emotional, and cognitive development. Each day the children learn responsibility during clean-up time as they put away toys and art materials.

Snack-time offers the children a chance to relax and renew spent energy. It is also a time to enhance language development and math readiness as children and teachers talk about the day. Our snacks are mostly non-sweet, healthful foods.

Playground and outdoor play is part of the daily schedule. The playground and indoor large motor play areas provide the time and space for the children to master large motor skills and channel their energies.

Field trips are scheduled throughout the year to develop children’s awareness of the world around them.

Faith
The Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School, as a ministry of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church, provides children with a pattern for Christian living and exploration of the wonders of God.

Optional Programs
In addition to the regular program, Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School offers programming designed to enhance the school experience for both the children and their parents.

Wonderful Wednesdays
This program is designed for children who will be attending kindergarten the following year. It stresses cognitive enrichment and school readiness skills. Wonderful Wednesdays are held from noon to 2:30 p.m. and are available to children who will attend Kindergarten the following year (note: not all children who are 4 by September 1 will go to Kindergarten the following year.) Enrollment is limited. Cost is $515 annually.

Lunch Bunch
Children may lunch with their friends in a supervised setting from noon to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. The availability of this program is based on student interest. Cost is $170 per day (annually).