The air is getting nippy; Fall is here! Classes are talking about the leaves changing colors, squirrels and their hunt for acorns, and pumpkins! How do pumpkins grow? How do pumpkins become Jack-O-Lanterns? Are all pumpkins the same shape? Some classes will carve pumpkins, some may paint them, and all classes will have orange paint at the easel!
Halloween We ask that students not wear their costumes to school for Halloween and instead bring a picture of themselves in costume. Experience has shown us that costumes in school can be difficult on the stairs and in the bathroom. The days leading up to Halloween include themed artwork, books, and music.
Picture Days – October 18th and 19th Bill Marvin from Positive Image Photography in New Providence will be taking individual and class pictures Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th outside on our patio, weather permitting. Mrs. Machin’s 2.5 class and Mrs. Ripps’ 4’s class will have their pictures taken Tuesday October 18th. Mrs. Bocian’s 3’s class and Mrs. Diaz’s 4’s will have their pictures taken Wednesday October 19th. Mr. Bill, as he is known to us, has a wonderful sense of play and captures smiles from the students resulting in priceless pictures year after year. He will send out a link after the pictures are taken to log on and view the pictures and order directly.
Flu Vaccine Doctors are recommending the flu vaccination in October as flu activity in our area usually begins in October. The State of New Jersey mandates that all children enrolled in preschool receive a flu vaccine by December 31st. Please submit documentation of the vaccination once administered.
Colds and COVID A friendly reminder that the common cold and COVID share symptoms. If your child is experiencing any symptoms such as cough, fever, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea, you may consider obtaining a COVID test.
Universal Child Health Record Our licensing agency, The State of NJ Dept. of Children and Families, requires us to have on file a UCHR for each child upon admission. The grace period is running out! If you have not already, please submit your child’s UCHR as soon as possible.
Change of Clothes With the changing season comes the colder weather! The clothes you brought in September for your child to change into (if needed) may not be warm enough now! Please bring in pants and long sleeve shirts to replace those t-shirts and shorts. We play outside as often as possible – we want your child to be comfortable!
Conferences We hold our conferences in January. This gives our teachers time to get to know and observe your child, and your child time to acclimate to his/her new classroom! If you have any questions or concerns about your child at this time, please contact your child’s teacher.
Westminster Swag! Keep an eye out for an email about our annual Tee Shirt, Sweatshirt and Car Magnet fundraiser! Locally-owned Tee Bag has provided us for years with WNS–logo apparel and magnets. We’re excited to offer you the opportunity to show your school spirit!
Job Opportunity We have the perfect job for someone looking to return to work on a very limited basis! We are looking for a kind, patient, positive person to work with us one morning a week (Wednesday or Thursday) 8:45 am – 11:45pm with opportunities to sub at other times. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact the office for more information.
Change of Clothes With the changing season comes the colder weather! The clothes you brought in September for your child to change into if needed may not be warm enough now! Please bring in pants and long sleeve shirts to replace those t-shirts and shorts. We play outside as often as possible – we want your child to be comfortable!
Conferences Our conferences are in January to give the teachers plenty of time to get to know and observe your child, and to give your child plenty of time to acclimate to his/her new classroom! If you have any questions or concerns about your child at this time, please contact your child’s teacher.
Westminster Swag! Keep an eye out for an email about our annual Tee Shirt, Sweatshirt and Car Magnet fundraiser! Locally-owned Tee Bag has provided us for years with WNS–logo apparel and magnets. We’re excited to offer you the opportunity once again to show your school spirit!
Looking Ahead
Monday October 10th – School Closed for Indigenous People’s/Columbus Day
Tuesday October 18th – School Photos, Mrs. Machin’s and Mrs. Ripps’ classes
Wednesday October 19th – School Photos, Mrs. Bocian’s and Mrs. Diaz’s classes
Thursday November 10th – School Closed, Teacher Convention
Friday November 11th – School Closed, Teacher Convention
The year is off to a great start! We’ve barely been in session two full weeks and students are already walking in confident and secure with a smile in the morning! Thank your for helping them transition so easily!
Back to School Night Thank you to so many of you who were able to attend our first back to school night in two years (and my first as Director)! It was nice to welcome you to our school community, introduce staff and give you the opportunity to see the latest art work and hear about a typical day here.
Scholastic Books This month’s scholastic book flyers have already been sent home. The deadline for orders this month is Friday September 30th. We love the scholastic book program. It not only offers a great variety of books for our students at a reasonable price for our parents, it offers bonus awards to Westminster. We use these to add books to our school library and get supplies for the school! Be sure to use code (DXTCN) when placing your order online.
COVID-19 and Illness Westminster ‘s COVID-19 policy (dated September 2022) was emailed to parents with hard copies handed out at back to school night. Let me know if you need a copy. If your child will be absent, please call or email to let us know the reason for absence. Do not hesitate to call me at (908)464-4880 if you have any questions. The Union County Office of Health Management gave us free COVID tests! I am distributing these this week. Please be sure to take one at the door!
Sad News We are so sorry to announce that Jennifer Hayes is moving away at the end of this month. Mrs. Hayes (as the students know her) joined us last year as a helper in the hall and immediately fit right in – it’s hard for me to believe it’s only been a year! She has proved to be invaluable, especially working with Mrs. Machin and her 2 1⁄2
class for the first few days. Her patience, kindness, ability to think quickly on her feet and positive attitude will be greatly missed! I know you join me in wishing her all the best with her family’s move!
This Means... We are looking for a kind, patient, positive person with the ability to think quickly on their feet to work with us one morning a week (Wednesday or Thursday) 8:45 am – 11:45pm with opportunities to sub at other times. This is the perfect job for someone with a heart for kids looking to dip a toe back in the workforce. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact the office.
Looking Ahead
Monday September 26th - School Closed for Rosh Hashanah
Tuesday October 5th – School Closed for Yom Kippur
Monday October 10th – School Closed for Indigenous People’s/Columbus Day Tuesday October 18th – School
Photos, classes to be announced
Wednesday October 19th – School Photos, classes to be announced
Music Week! Thank you Mr. Hall and Mrs. Newman for playing for us Music Week! Mrs. Newman showed and played her flute – and even improvised “Let It Go” for our students on the spot!! Mr. Hall played guitar and sang fun songs and demonstrated the didgeridoo! Students also got to see the inside of our grand piano with the little hammers hitting the strings! Earlier in the week students sang our “I have a little turtle” octave song, and marched to songs on the violin with the instruments they made in class!
Field Day! Our 3 and 4 year olds had such a great time at field day Monday! We were so lucky to have the fire truck visit us with Firefighter Jim! He had to leave a little bit early when a call came in – he was needed in town! We had hoops, bean bag toss, lots of bubbles, “painting”, hop balls, scooters, and “tents” in the shape of a school bus and house, and we even read Mrs. Wishy Washy and washed the animals in the turtle pool in sudsy water! It was a beautiful morning and we were able to end the morning with popsicles on the front lawn.
Father’s Day We are not able to celebrate with our Fathers in school, but our students worked hard on a special gift which they will bring home this week. From all of us here – HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!
Culture of Care – The Pajama Program!
Thank you for your generous donations of pajamas and books! The representative for the NJ Chapter of the Pajama Program made a point of telling me “because of your drive, many children in Union County will feel comforted and loved when they go to bed at night”. Our drive continues to the end of this week, and then I will deliver our donations to a NJ Chapter Community Partner.
Parent Packets Parent Packets have gone out for next year. Please see Lucia if you did not receive one. Included in the packet is a calendar for next year and a few forms to be completed and signed. Please return these by June 17th.
Important Dates
June 9 – Last day for Tuesday and Thursday classes
June 10– Last day of nursery school, school ends at 11:30
Dates for 2022-2023 School year
June 17th – return parent packet forms
August 15th – 2nd tuition payment due
September 6th – Meet and Greet in the afternoon (your teacher will let you know the time)
September 7th – First day 2022-2023 school year!
THANK YOU!! Most importantly, thank you. Thank you for entrusting your children to us this year. Thank you for being supportive in a year filled with so much uncertainty and change. We made it!! We wish the best of luck to those of you moving on next year!
For those of you returning next year, we are all really looking forward to welcoming you all into our school and seeing your smiling faces!!
Have a great Summer!
Lucia Hassen, Eileen Vass, Terry Machin, Sue Bocian, Nancy Ripps, Jaime Andrews, Donna Marsh, Megan Diaz, Ruth Gombas, Jen Hayes, and Marilyn Klein