PAT President's Message

Hello CPP Parents,

Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. The PAT has been busy with several projects.

- Our budget for the 2012-2013 school year was approved by the Church Session, and in record time!

- Thank you to everyone who brought donations for Hopefest! We collected three full car loads of clothes, books, and baby gear for a very worthy cause.

- The Fall Raffle was a great success. We made $3,600 and surpassed our goal. Thank you to everyone who bought tickets. Your support of our school is so important and allows our kids to have the best experience possible here. The money we raise goes directly towards the yearly operating budget and is an essential revenue source.

- Dad’s Pizza Night was a great success and was very well attended. It was so much fun to see all the kids with their Dads. They were all so proud to show off their classrooms. A big thanks to all the teachers and staff who take time out of their busy schedules each year to make this evening event so special.

- Our annual Book Fair is coming November 29th through December 2nd. That same week is also our Grandparents (or Special Friends) Days on December 1st and 2nd! We will have pizza parties and classroom visits for Grandparents and Special Friends in the 3s, 4s and Pre-K classrooms. *Keep an eye out for a separate email from the PAT with more details to come.*

Remember to take time this month to thank the staff and teachers here at Covenant. We are all lucky to have such a wonderful environment here for our children to learn and grow!

Jenny Carman

Take Action!

***Events are listed in order by date, not by importance(!), please read through the whole list and mark your calendars!!***


GIVING TREES

In the spirit of the season, the PAT will be posting “Giving Trees” on the teachers’ doors.  The trees have “leaves” on them with items that the teachers would like for their classrooms.  If you are interested in making a donation, just remove the leaf and take it with you.  Bring your item directly to the classroom and say “thank you” to your child’s teacher!  

THANKSGIVING FEASTS

The threes, fours and pre-k classrooms will have special Thanksgiving Feasts.  On Thursday, Nov. 17, the Pandas, Elephants and Giraffes will still have their pizza with some additional menu items keeping in spirit of the season.  On Friday, Nov. 18, Bears, Tigers and Lions will go all out and celebrate their own Thanksgiving with a complete feast.  Because of this event, the fours and pre-k classes ONLY will move their pizza day to Thursday, Nov. 17.  Please know that our Wednesday/Friday Child’s Day Out students will still eat their pizza on that Friday as usual.

ADVENT EVENT: Journey to Bethlehem

“Journey to Bethlehem” is an Advent experience designed for children to participate with their parents and grandparents. It’s a chance to spend some quality time together before being plunged into the whirlwind that surrounds the holiday season. Rather than being hustled and bustled from store to store, you can enjoy learning a trade from a shopkeeper and work on projects for as much or as little time as you want. In addition there will be a farmers’ market filled with produce to sample, a stable with a wide range of small animals to pet, and folk music.

Advent Event is November 30th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Eaton Hall. Join us as we begin the season of Advent by leaving the modern world behind and prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of a very special baby! 

For more information, contact Stacey Grooms at sgrooms@covenant.org or 334-3005.


BOOK FAIR
The Scholastic Book Fair is November 28th – December 2nd on the third floor next to Ms. Barb’s Music room. 


The Book Fair will be open at the beginning and end of the school day, as well as Wednesday evening from 4:30 – 6:00pm. A portion of all sales goes towards donating books to the school library. AND it’s a great opportunity for Christmas shopping and coincides with...


GRANDPARENTS' DAYS
We are so excited to announce Covenant Preschool's first "Grandparents or Special Friend’s Day"! On Thursday, December 1st (3's classes) and Friday, Dec. 2nd (4's and Pre-K classes), Covenant Preschool would like to thank and honor some of the special adults in your child's life by welcoming them to the school and sharing a Christmas lunch.

This will be a chance for your child to choose someone important to them (a grandparent, aunt or uncle, a favorite babysitter or a neighbor would be perfect!) and invite them to school to see their classroom, meet their friends and share a pizza lunch.

Pizza, drinks, and holiday desserts will be provided by the preschool. *And please don't worry if your child doesn't have a friend able to come that day -- we'll make sure the event is fun for all!*

The school book fair will also be open before and after the event if Grandparents or Special Friends would like to stop by.

Please send any questions to Emily Taylor (ETaylor@covenant.org).

FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE MEETING

Spring Home Covenant is Coming! Please join Roxi Tsakas and this great committee on Tuesday, December 6th at 9:15am in FEB 104 as they continue the planning process! Your connections and expertise are so crucial to the success and continued growth of this event. Please join us or contact Roxi if you'd like to help. CovenantPAT@gmail.com


CHRISTMAS CHAPEL

We hope to see you at our Christmas Chapel and Reception on Thursday, December 15 at 9:30 am in the Sanctuary.  All friends and families of preschoolers are encouraged to attend to watch our three, four and five year-olds sing Christmas songs and hear the story of the birth of Jesus. Following the service, the children will return to their classrooms for the day while parents enjoy wonderful refreshments provided by our parent volunteers!

BOOK SPRING PROJECT

CPP is partnering with the Lamplighter’s Bible Study program to support a program called Book Spring!

We’ll be collecting pre-reading and early reading books in a box in front of room 200 on Wednesdays.  Book Spring is for children who are seen in the Seton clinics and are “prescribed” reading by the doctors. It  gets the children up to speed with their reading and involves parents in their children’s education.  They constantly need book donations.  It’s a great way to recycle books our children have outgrown.  

Hazel Nichols is in charge of this ministry, if you or would like more information. hazelrn@earthlink.net

Director's Message

Dear Parents,

I am so happy to welcome the fall season to Covenant Presbyterian Preschool – it is my favorite time of year for sure!  I love that the weather finally turns fall-like and maybe a little bit cooler!  There is definitely an excitement in the air and that is largely due to the coming for the holidays – and Thanksgiving in particular.  What a wonderful time of year it is and how special it is to share these times with our preschoolers and teach them about giving thanks.  November brings us closer to our families and reminds us to be thankful for all the gifts we have received from God!

I am thankful for having such professional, creative and motivated teachers here at Covenant.  It is truly remarkable to watch them with your children and observe how they interact with them both when learning and at play.  They are loving, patient, funny and firm all at the same time! The gifts our teachers share with our school each and every day are an inspiration to me.

I am also thankful for our room parents, Parent Advisory team and co-oping parents.  You all are doing a fabulous job in the classrooms and I know your children are happy to have you there.  Your involvement demonstrates to them that you value their day and what is important in their lives.  I cannot express how this preschool just wouldn’t be the same without our parents.  The willingness to cooperate and pitch in whenever needed is apparent every day!  Your participation in their school program now is a great habit to start as it becomes the key to a child’s success in the public school system.

And, I am of course EVER so thankful for the CPP children – they are a joy!  Every day brings a new event and a new experience and being able to share in that is the best part of my job!  These children love coming to school and I am thankful that God has made a place here for them.

Lastly, I am thankful for our “behind-the-scenes” helpers – Jesse Reyes, Rosa Robles and Al Ortega (custodial staff) and Chef Mark Toussaint who make sure we are clean and fed!  Please take a moment to say “thank you” to these folks if you see them.

I am looking forward to the continued cooler weather and to spending more time with my family.  Remember, the preschool will be closed Nov. 21-25 for Thanksgiving.  Enjoy your time with your loved ones and have a safe and peaceful holiday!

With many blessings,

Christy O. Milam

Bible Study!

Click on the image below to see what your kiddos are studying in chapel this month!

Jesus coming to earth as a baby is such an important message... he sacrificed himself as Lord to come here and live as one of us! Showing us how to be perfect in His image. Allow those little sponge brains to absorb that Christmas isn't about gifts... it's about Jesus!

And let's not forget Thanksgiving! Such an important season for teaching that we have MUCH to be thankful for. And to whom much is given, much is required. It's a season for giving and being thankful that we can!