Free workshop at The Ellis School

EARLY LEARNING AND SOCIAL READINESS

Wednesday, April 23, 2014
8:30 to 10:00 a.m. 
This event is free. Registration required

For young children, play is serious business. Play is the foundation for early literacy, math, and inquiry-based science. It is  also a complex form of communication through which young learners come to understand the world. In this informative workshop at The Ellis School, Dr. Roberta Schomburg, Director of Graduate Studies in Early Childhood Education at Carlow University, will explain the cognitive value of play and will show parents and educators how to unlock  creativity, spontaneity, and a love of learning in every child.  Learn how encouraging playfulness is the key to 21st century skills of innovation, creativity, collaboration, and communication.

By attending this free workshop you will:

• Discover which literacy and math skills are best taught through play.
• Explore how play encourages the development of language, math and problem-solving skills.
• Cultivate a love of learning by replacing rote and tedious activities with creative play.
• Understand how play encourages risk taking, grit, and resilience in children.

ABOUT DR. ROBERTA SCHOMBURG

Dr. Schomburg is Professor of Education at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, where her titles also include Director of Graduate Studies in Early Childhood Education. She is also a Fellow of the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. You may read her complete biography here.

ABOUT THE ELLIS SCHOOL

The Power of Play breakfast workshop is hosted by The Ellis School, the region’s only independent school for girls age 3 to grade 12. Our mission is to prepare, empower and inspire each and every girl through an excellent education in an all-girls environment.

EVENT DETAILS

• Sign in from 8 to 8:15 a.m. followed by this engaging discussion and Q&A from 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.
• Breakfast is included.
• The event is free but registration is required.
• Act 48 credits available.

Friday Night Potluck Fundraiser!

The Board of Trustees of the  

Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School

Invites you to a

Friday Night Potluck Fundraiser!  

When:     Friday, March 7 

Time:      5:30-7:30 pm   

Where:   in the Parish Hall 

Cost:      Family Fun Ticket $20   

             (Includes admission for entire family, beverages, 

             dessert, children's activities and TWO tickets to

             our  annual basket raffle.)

            Individual Ticket $10

                (Includes all the fun, beverages, dessert and

                ONE raffle ticket.)

     This year's activities will include a magician and a basket raffle.

                                

Bring your family's favorite dish to share!

Please provide a Potluck dish to serve 8 or more people using the guidelines below.

Bring an Entree - If your last name begins with A-H

Bring an Appetizer - If your last name begins with I-P

Bring a Salad - If your last name begins with Q-Z

             

To purchase tickets, please complete the reservation form below and return it to your child's teacher by

Friday, February 28th.  

____________________________________________________________________________________

Friday Night Potluck Reservation Form

Family Name ________________________  Number of Adults ______  Number of Children ______

Amount Enclosed $___________ (make checks payable to SPCNS)

• Funds raised from this special night will benefit our Scholarship Fund.
• Additional tickets for the basket raffle will be available for sale the night of the Potluck.

See you there!

SPCNS Picture Day

 John Kitchen, from "i, Simon Photography" will be returning this year to offer his beautiful, fun pictures of the children.  Please look over the schedule provided below to find out when your child's class will be having its pictures taken.  Please note that while we cannot change the date in which your child's class picture is scheduled, your child can still get an individual photograph taken on any of the days listed below.  If you know that your child will not be present on his/her designated picture day, please let Mrs. Lang know so that she can make arrangements for an alternate date.

 

Monday February 24, 2014

Mrs. Christman's Two-Year-Olds

Mrs. Jones's Four-Year-Olds

Mrs. Callaway's Four-Year-Olds

Tuesday February 25, 2014

Mrs. Christman's Two-Year-Olds

Mrs. Hall's Three-Year-Olds

Mrs. Buchanan's Three-Year-Olds

 Wednesday February 26, 2014

      Mrs. Kozy's and Mrs. Vallejo's Four-Year-Olds

      Mrs. Gianakas's Three-Year-Olds

 * Feel free to dress up for this special day *

Free Vision Screenings

Volunteers from the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh will be providing free vision screenings for our two-, three-, and four-year-old classes.

These fun, age appropriate screenings will test for color discrimination, muscle balance, and visual acuity in order to identify possible vision deficiencies that may require further treatment.

Many childhood vision deficiencies can be successfully treated if found before the age of seven.

We strongly encourage you to sign up your child to participate in these important vision screenings.

DATES:       Monday March 3
               Tuesday March 4

Please print and submit your completed application form to your child's teacher no later than the morning of the scheduled screenings.

Speech, Language & Hearing Screening

As one of our special programs, we provide our families with an opportunity to have their child screened by the Easter Seals for Speech, Language and Hearing.  We offer this program to children in the Three- and Four-year-old classes (including the Big Room).

This year the screening will take place on November 4, 5 and 6 2013.

The Easter Seals offers this program at a nominal fee of $20.  If for any reason your family is not able to afford this fee but you are still interested in having your child screened, please contact Mrs. Lang for options.

If you would like to have your child participate in this optional screening, please print and complete the form provided below and return to your child's teacher ASAP with a check made out to Easter Seals.

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Dear Families of Shadyside Presbyterian Church Nursery School

Navigating the Kindergarten options in the City of Pittsburgh can be quite confusing! Here is a list of some of the more popular school options in the area. Hopefully you will find it to be a good starting point for your search (please note that this document only addresses elementary school options).

The JCC of Pittsburgh normally hosts a Kindergarten Information Night which is visited by many of the schools listed below. Contact Kelly Gable-LaBelle (412-521-8011 x209 or klabelle@jccpgh.org) for information on when that takes place.

Pittsburgh Public Schools

There are several different school options available through the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS).

· 

         Neighborhood Schools: Every residence in the City of Pittsburgh feeds into a certain school. You can find out what school that is by visiting the PPS Street Directory (http://discoverpps.org/) or calling the Parent Hotline (412-622-7920). (It should be noted that if you are not happy with the Neighborhood School option, there are several schools in the area that sometimes have a few spaces open under “Open Enrollment.” The Parent Hotline should have more information on this process and whether you might qualify. It should be noted that even if you think you feed into a certain school, you should check the Street Directory as this list has changes every school year.

·        Magnet Schools: PPS has several magnet school options available; each one specializes in either a language (ex: Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese) or a specialty (ex: Arts & Humanities). Families can apply to up to three magnet schools and admittance is conducted using a lottery system. There is usually a Magnet Information School Fair in the fall, where you can visit with staff from the different schools. More information on the Magnet Schools is available here (http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/magnet).  Some of the more popular options include Dilworth (Arts & Humanities), Liberty (Spanish), Linden (German/Mandarin Chinese) and Pittsburgh Montessori.

·        Charter Schools: There are several charter school options within the PPS district. These schools operate a little differently, in that they are chartered by the PPS, but they EACH conduct their own application process/lottery (please note that these schools are also tuition-free).

o   Manchester Academic Charter School (http://www.macsk8.org/)

o   Northside Urban Pathways Charter School (http://www.upcs.net/up/home.html)

o   Propel Northside Charter School (http://www.propelschools.org/school_northside.php)

o   The Environmental Charter School at Frick Park (certainly the most popular!) (http://www.environmentalcharterschool.org/)

o   Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh (http://ulgpcs.org/)

Another informative resource about the City’s public school options is available through A+ Schools, who publish a report each year regarding various statistics, including school test scores. You can visit their website here (http://www.aplusschools.org/). 

Parochial Schools

Some of the more popular religious schools in the area include:

·        Pittsburgh Urban Christian School (http://www.pucs.org/)

·        Sacred Heart (http://www.sacredheartpgh.org/)

·        St. Bede (http://www.saintbedeschool.com/)

·        The Campus School of Carlow University (http://campusschool.carlow.edu/)

Many of these schools have waiting lists, so it is important to submit your child’s application in a timely fashion.

Private Schools

There are a number of private school options available in the city. These include:

·        Falk School (http://www.falkschool.pitt.edu/ ) (laboratory school of the University of Pittsburgh)

·        Fox Chapel Country Day (http://www.foxchapelcountryday.com/)

·        Kentucky Avenue School (http://kentuckyavenueschool.org/)

·        Shadyside Academy (http://www.shadysideacademy.org/)

·        St. Edmunds Academy (http://www.stedmunds.net/)

·        The Ellis School (Girls Only) (http://www.theellisschool.org/)

·        Winchester-Thurston (http://www.winchesterthurston.org/)
      Waldorf School of Pittsburgh (http://waldorfpittsburgh.org/)

Do you have any additions/corrections to this list? If so, please email Sara Berg at sberg@shadysideschool.org.

SPCNS Ice Cream Social

Please join us for our annual 

Back to School Ice Cream Social

Saturday September 7, 2013

3:00 to 4:30 pm.

Under the tent in the 

Grassy Park (rain or shine)

Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with other families who will be part of your child's class!

5121 Westminster Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15232

Vision Screenings for three-, four-, and five-year-old classes

Volunteers from the Blind and Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh will be providing free vision screenings for our three-, four-, and five-year-old classes.

These fun, age appropriate screenings will test for color discrimination, muscle balance, and visual acuity in order to identify possible vision deficiencies that may require further treatment.

Many childhood vision deficiencies can be successfully treated if found before the age of seven.

We strongly encourage you to sign up your child to participate in these important vision screenings.

DATES:  Thursday March 7
                Friday March 8

Please submit your completed application form to your child's teacher no later than the morning of the scheduled screenings.

You’re Invited!

You're Invited to a

Friday Night Potluck!

 

    Friday, March 8

5:30-7:30 pm in the Parish Hall

    Bring your family's favorite dish to share!

Family Fun Ticket $20

Individual Ticket $10

 
A Family Fun Ticket includes admission for your whole family, beverages, dessert, special children's activities and two raffle tickets to our annual auction.
Individual tickets also include all the fun, beverages, dessert and one raffle ticket.

 
To purchase tickets, please complete the reservation form below and return it to your child's teacher by
Friday, March 1st.

 
Please provide a Potluck dish to serve 8 or more people using the guidelines below.
Bring an Entree - If your last name begins with A-H
Bring an Appetizer - If your last name begins with I-P
Bring a Salad - If your last name begins with Q-Z

 
This year's activities will include magician and family entertainer Howard Mincone.

Raffles include:        

• Gift certificate for a one night stay at "Mansions on the Fifth"
• Gift basket by Coffee Tree Roasters
• Trader Joe's Gift Bag
• Amazing Yoga gift certificate
• And many more…

                        Friday Night Potluck Reservation Form

 

 
Family Name ________________________________ Number of Adults _______ Number of Children ______
Amount Enclosed $___________ (make checks payable to SPCNS)

 
Funds raised from this special night will benefit our Scholarship Fund.
Additional tickets for the basket raffle will be available for sale the night of the Potluck.
See you there!

Picture Day Schedule

SPCNS Picture Day

 

Monday February 25, 2013
    Mrs. Christman's Two-Year-Olds    
    Mrs. Jones Four-Year-Olds
    Mrs. Callaway's Four-Year-Olds

Tuesday February 26, 2013
    Mrs. Christman's Two-Year-Olds    
    Mrs. Hall's Three-Year-Olds
    Mrs. Gianakas' Three-Year-Olds

Wednesday February 27, 2013
    Mrs. Crossett's and Mrs. Vallejo's Big Room
    Mrs. Kozy's Three-Year-Olds


* Please Dress your children appropriately *