Dear Parents,
I am not going to say anything trite about how I can’t believe the school year is almost over……by now I have learned how strange the passing of time actually is.
I have learned that the days can seem long but the years are short.
So…… it is May….and I want to use this column to thank some very deserving people.
Our school had a VERY successful year and that is because of the hard work and dedication of all the wonderful people at TCNS!!
I am extremely grateful for the support and guidance of the Parent Advisory Board.
We are blessed to have such an outstanding, hard-working group of people dedicated to the success of Trinity.
I am inspired and overwhelmed by your commitment! I am especially grateful to Board Chair, Christine Quinn. Her dedication to Trinity and beautiful spirit made her a pleasure to work with.
A huge thank you to our devoted teachers and assistants for creating an environment in which children feel loved and can flourish. Your devotion to our school is tremendous. It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with each of you. Thank you for all that you do.
Thank you to Pastor Brett Todd.
Pastor Brett is a huge supporter of TCNS and completely committed to the success of the school! Thank you for your wise counsel!
Thank you also to the church staff and especially our custodian, Louis Rice, who can fix almost anything in the world! You rescue us many times!!
Together you make the school a place where children can grow in confidence and feel secure.
Thank you to the parents for your tremendous support and kindness!
Your children reflect the goodness and generosity in each of you.
Thank you for making our staff always feel appreciated.
Last, but never least, I need to thank the precious children who have opened their hearts to us and, in turn, will forever own a special piece of our hearts.
As I said in my very first newsletter of the year…. they leave their handprints on our hearts.
I hope you enjoy the summer months!
Make time to create happy memories!
I’ll be here and available most of the summer to answer any questions you may have.
If you are leaving Trinity I wish you love and happiness wherever you go.
If you are returning for camp or school I hope you know that I will be thrilled to see you!!
Stay Well & Be Happy!
Love, Sue
The CHAIR’s Corner
By Christine Quinn
We done good!
It’s been fun.
Thanks So Long, Farwell!!!!!
“Well, the cicada sounds are gone and now as I sit and type this note I
hear silence… a new season is here (and the kids are sleeping, YES!).
This quiet sound makes me realize fall has arrived!”
Wait. Say it ain’t so. It feels like yesterday that I wrote the above for my first TCNS newsletter “Chair’s Column”.
And, now, the trees burst green color, the birds chirp, the kids are
starting to wear sunscreen, and the end of the school year looms before
us as I write my last column!
The words “time flies when your having fun,” come to mind.
I don’t like change. But I know that every “coin has 2 sides”. And,
when it comes to change, I usually experience the ying and yang of it. I
know it (change) brings good things and variety can be the spice of
life. And, when things become too routine – life gets boring (and, I
probably dislike boredom more than change).
However, as I am steps away from something ending and change hovers on
the horizon, a big part of me wants to turn toddler and throw myself on
the ground in a full out tantrum!
So, as I near the end my term as TCNS Parent Advisory Board chair (no
you won’t see me at school in “tantrum”), you will see me feeling bitter
and sweet.
Bitter – because I will miss working along side the amazing
Sue and group of parents who serve on the board.
And, sweet – because I
loved getting productive things done (especially as a parent when life
with kids means never finishing a sentence or completing any task). And,
this year – we did get a lot of good things done (more on that later).
And, sweet because we started so much this year and a great Parent Advisory Board awaits the 2012-2013 school year to carry on!
Back in that first “Chair’s Column” I wrote: “Someone asked me the
other day what my ‘goals’ were for the year as Parent Board Chair. It’s
my hope that this year, I can help TCNS continue its great efforts in
keeping us all connected – and the community at large connected to us so
we can recruit more families and raise needed funds for our school.
And, of course as I’ve said before --have fun along the way!”
Those were my goals. And, we get an A+ for accomplishment.
This year
we put in place the “Grocery Dollars”, Escript program and “extra”
fundraising events (Homemade Pizza and shopping night) so that the
school can continue to grow and increase “easy” money.
And, we started to use more social media such as
Facebook and our TCNS
blog, and Website to keep in touch with families and recruit more.
As with most things new, there are kinks to work out – but these mediums
are working! TCNS enrollment is in great shape! And, as a TCNS family
member, we stay very informed about what’s happening with our school
and our kids in the classroom!
And, last but not least – I can speak for myself -- I had fun!
So many
events, I can’t name them all – TCNS “Night at the Oscars”, classroom
holidays parties, the pizza party, Friendraiser, parades and multiple
times per week getting my shot happiness at drop off.
Now, it’s time to once again say THANK YOU!
Thank you to every Board member and all the wonderful teachers, and TCNS
families for letting me serve as your Parent Advisory Board Chair. I
am honored and so glad I said YES to Sue on this one (we’ll how do you
say no to Sue…?).
So, I won’t say goodbye (I don’t like goodbyes either).
I like to say “see you later!”
And, before I sign off I leave you with one more recipe -- this one I
learned about at the wonderful Dinner for 8 cooking party (one of the
many great TCNS benefit parties).
It’s a simple – but a very yummy
salad.
Simple Salad:
In large bowl place garlic cloves (from entire garlic) with salt
sprinkled on top (Celtic Sea Salt is a great salt),
Add 3 parts Extra
Virgin Olive Oil to 2 parts Balsamic Vinegar (flavored is good).
Add 1/2 to 1 lemon juice from a lemon. Crush the garlic and other ingredients and add a favorite fresh herb (parsley, basil….).
Mix the dressing all over the bowl.
On top of the crushed garlic dressing add fresh mixed organic greens (not pre washed).
Mix the greens with the garlic/oil dressing.
Sprinkle more of the fresh herb on top.
This salad is so yummy with just the dressing that it doesn’t need any toppings, just the mixed greens!
Bon Appetite!
Christine Quinn
Mark Your Calendars
Trip to Wagner Farm for Valerie Dashiell’s Class –
May 15
Old Board New Board Meeting– May 16
End of the year Celebration- May 20
Magic Show & Pizza Party
You must RSVP for the Pizza and send $20.
Questions?
Parent Tot Picnic / Last day – May 21
Last Day of Lunch Bunch – May 25
Memorial Day Parade & No School – May 28
RTG Picnic – May 29
4pm Picnic – May 29
3am & 3 pm Picnics – May 30
4pm Last Class – May 31
Parents are invited at 2:30 for a Very Special Moment
4am Picnic – May 31
4am Last Class – June 1
Parents are invited at 11:00 for a Very Special Moment
Morning KE Graduation – May 31
Afternoon KE Graduation- May 31
Last day of school- June 1
First Day Prelude to Summer- June 4
Board Luncheon- June 6
First Day Camp Amigos- June 18
Parent & Tot
Betsy Segal, Kathy Stein & Kathy Zawacki
For the past month we have been exploring all things spring and having a ball.
We painted paper plate flowers to welcome spring!
We made bunny eggs and hopped around the room!
The kids used eyedroppers and colored water to create flowers from a coffee filter. They really took their time with the droppers and were fascinated watching the colors fuse.
The kids tried out dot art! They got to stamp dots all over a flower or butterfly. They loved this project! I think they loved the stamping noise, loud banging!
We have noticed lots of playing in the kitchen.
The kids continue to gravitate toward each other and tend to move in groups doing things.
The water table is always a popular meeting spot and the children are enjoying getting their hands wet.
The children are interacting more and more with one another and to Miss Kathy, Miss Z and me.
They enjoy others coming over and sharing in their play.
Jack and Will love using the tool kit to fix items in the room.
Mollie always makes a stop by the puzzles, she is a wiz!
Grace, Violet G. and Isabelle are always first to hit the art table. They love to create!
Violet S. and Henry McKenzie love the blocks and cars.
Henry Milne likes to play with the play dough.
Colin and Sol can usually be found by the water table and paint easel. They both move from one group of kids to the next, very social!
Sofia loves the kitchen and cash register.
During circle time, we have been singing about rain and love to “Jump in the Puddles” and get “wet”. Miss Wendy has been so impressed with the children! They are so attentive and love playing with the rhyme sticks!
We had a musical guest this week, Mr. Singer!
He is coming to the Wilmette Theater on May 26 at noon with his band, the Sharp Cookies!
Miss Kathy, Miss Z and I feel so lucky to have been a part of the children’s first experience at Trinity and have so enjoyed watching them develop and expand their world. They are all such amazing kids. We have really gotten to see their personalities emerge and to share in their humor and their play.
We have observed relationships blossom this year among all of our children. If you can, try to have some play dates with their new friends over the summer. Doing so will make starting school in the fall that much easier!
--Miss Betsy, Miss Kathy and Miss Z
Ready-TWO-Grow
Betsy Segal & Kathy Stein
Spring has sprung in Ready Two Grow!
We have been discussing the weather and how April showers bring May flowers, and how spring is a time of new growth.
We used dot art and created colorful kites.
We sprouted blooming flowers by using markers on flower-shaped paper, then sprayed them with water and watched the colors fuse together.
With all the rain we have been having, the kids love singing “Jump In the Puddles” and “splashing” in the water!
We read the story the “Very Hungry Caterpillar” then made our own out of egg cartons using paint, googley eyes and pipe cleaners. Our caterpillars come to life with color.
We painted “eggs” for Easter, using colored glue on paper and then dusted them with glitter. Everyone loves a project with glitter! We made bunny ears and did the “Bunny Hockey Pokey”!
The kids have learned a new game of creating a train! All the chairs are lined up one behind the other, the kids grab their snack (always important to have when traveling) and away they went on the train to far away places for an amazing adventure! It is great to be three!
We all feel very fortunate to have been a part of the children’s first experience at Trinity and have so enjoyed watching your children develop and expand their world. They are all such amazing kids.
We have been able to see their personalities emerge and absolutely adore sharing in their humor and play.
We have observed relationships blossom this year among all of our children.
If you are able, please do try to arrange some play dates with your child’s new friends over the summer. Doing so will make starting school in the fall that much easier!
Have a great summer!
Miss Betsy and Miss Byrd and Miss Laurie
The TERRIFIC THREE’s
Byrd Rhyne, Sue Gaertner, Luanne Hampton, & Laurie James
We are all thrilled with how much your kids have grown this year.
Our mission statement proclaims that we will do whatever we need to do to make certain YOUR child grows in body, mind and spirit.
What does this actually mean?
We make certain that each day we challenge their thinking and nurture their natural curiosity.
We try to present topics that are interesting to them, and present lessons that are filled with fascinating pieces of information.
However, we also make certain our units culminate with a whimsical adventure.
Together we learned about apples and autumn, penguins and polar bears, nutrition and dinosaurs and MORE!
And…. together we celebrated holidays, visited the North Pole and South Pole, went to a magical restaurant, and went on a dinosaur dig and MORE!
Together we danced and sang and painted and created and exercised and played and played and played!!
We learned responsibility and how to read letters and names from the helper chart.
We learned counting skills by counting our friends each day.
But in truth… the children have learned so much more….
Your children each became a treasured member of our little community.
Within this community they learned how to make friends and how to be a friend.
They learned skills to resolve conflicts.
They learned to share, care for, and respect each other.
They learned self help skills, self advocacy skills, and even self control.
I am not suggesting they have completely mastered any of these skills.
Life is a journey and their journeys are just beginning, yet we believe the foundation we have laid in our little loving community is solid.
During May we will learn about plants firsthand as we try to grow corn and grass and germinate a lima bean.
We will also follow the transformation of 5 live caterpillars!
We will talk about the end of the school year and prepare them for their next step by playing in the 4’s classroom and inviting the 4 year old teachers to join us at rug time.
We hope to spend lots of time outside enjoying the spring weather.
We will laugh and play and say goodbye to your kids with hugs and smiles….. even though by this time of year we like to think of them as our kids!
Have a wonderful summer!!! Enjoy the ride!
With Love’
Byrd, Luanne, Laurie, & Sue
The FABULOUS FOUR’s
Happy Baird, Ginny Lezama & Luanne Hampton
We hope you loved our “Specials” day as much as we did.
It was fun watching the children with Mrs. Dashiell in music and movement and the perfect touch was having you dance with your child in the hoedown. There were some great moves! Weren’t the story dramatizations with Mrs. Gaertner and Ms. Byrd creative and exciting?
Muchas gracias to Senorita Kari for enhancing our program with Espanol and fun games and songs.
Didn’t you think our art gallery looked beautiful?
The children will create their own portfolios for transporting their pictures home.
The artists are proud of their work, and who knows, you may be witnessing world renowned works of art before they become famous!
Our world travels started in Russia, and we read, heard, illustrated and acted out Prokofiev’s arrangement of “Peter and the Wolf”. It’s fun to discover and identify the various instruments that represent the characters in the story. We’ll be visiting other countries, as well.
Then I reckon we’ll be havin’ a heap o fun with our little whipper snappers on Western Day. We sometimes have to remind those little varmints to mind their p’s and q’s so we don’t have to hog tie any of ‘em!
We’ll have a magic day this month also. No experience or fancy magic kits required!
The kids and many of the parents loved our Barber/Beauty Shop day, and a big thank you to Deanna Goldman for helping in the AM class, and for providing feathers for the girls in both classes.
Thank you to Emma’s mom and Jaxon’s mom for coming in to read for birthdays.
Our Legacy Tile Board helpers were Teri B., Felicity S., Sue P., and Leonore L. Thank you.
The rest of the month of May, we’ll reminisce about fun events, songs and friends made at school this year. We hope it will serve as a buffer for the struggle we have saying goodbye to the fabulous children and families.
It tugs at our heartstrings when we know the last of a family is moving through.
We’ll all sing “So long, farewell…” but we’ll hope it’s only “ ‘til we meet again”.
Thanks to all of you for contributing to a successful year for your child and their teachers.
We’ll add one more story that touched our hearts.
Keenan and Ben were playing with Legos, and Keenan was overheard telling Ben very matter of factly,
“Ben, if I die before you and you feel sad and miss me, don’t worry. I’ll still be in your heart.”
What a wonderful message to pass along at any age.
This is not goodbye – it’s , well, let’s say, “ ‘til we meet again”!
KINDERGARTEN Enrichment
Valerie Dashiell, Joyce Ladin, & Byrd Rhyne
From the Desk of Mrs. Dashiell
Happy Mother’s Day to our wonderful moms: Sara, Lindsey, Amy, Meghan, Shoshanna, Christine, Leighanna, Peggy, Robin, Colleen, and Ellen! The children reflect your love and nurturing.
We are excited about our trip to Wagner Farm on May 15th!
Thank you, Meghan, for emailing all the information about our fun day.
The children have loved reading “Charlotte’s Web” and are learning a lot of new vocabulary. I asked them to raise their hand when they do not understand a word, and one day Molly raised her hand and asked, “What does ‘hullabaloo’ mean?” And they all cried out: “It means crazy!” Wilbur’s adventures are funny and crazy, indeed!
Please join us for a class picnic on May 31st.
Bring a picnic lunch and a blanket. We will provide a special dessert, ice cream, lemonade, a special program, and the children's’ “Memory Portfolios.”
Your children possess the greatest gift in life: the love of learning and love and caring for others. These are our fun predictions for your graduates on how they will make our world a better and brighter place:
Shafer – scientist or judge?
Collin – U.S. foreign diplomat or Director of CARE?
Jamie – environmentalist or philosophy professor?
Molly – CEO of her own company or a teacher/principal?
Atticus – engineer or medical researcher?
William – CEO of tv/internet production company
or chess champion?
Jill – writer/producer or world eco-resort owner?
Ben – historian/author or lawyer?
Noah – sports announcer or owner of sports radio station?
Kevin – pediatrician or U.N. Director?
Teddy – CEO of a green energy company or a mathematician?
Thank you for the fabulous year.
We have loved every moment.
Your children are very special to us, and we will miss all of you!
Please come back and visit.
Love, Mrs. Dashiell & Mrs. Ladin
From the Desk of Ms. Byrd
You know you are reaching the end of the alphabet when the topics get harder to find!
V week was greet as we started out with a discussion of volcanoes! Do you know the difference between magma and lava? Your kindergartner does! We even make our own volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar!
We also learned about Venus the second planet from the sun! It’s Earth’s twin sister!
We were lucky to have a radiologist, Dr. Ian Fisher, come in for “X” week to show us some x-rays and take a look at what a doctor looks for and how healthy bone looks.
We also talked about growth plates in a child, where the bone is still growing. Finn also brought in an x-ray of his dog’s belly with 13 puppies in it!! So cool! Thanks to Dr. Fisher!
W week had two topics that had the kids really talking! We started with whales and created a class book, non-fiction, about them! Did you know an elephant could fit on the tongue of a blue whale! They’re huge!
Then our next W topic was werewolves! For this we created a class book of a fictional werewolf!
We are having “Yummy” day for Y week! Everyone is bringing samples of an unusual food they think is yummy! Should be interesting! I hope they like my yummy choice – dried seaweed! My daughter and I love it!
Thank you for trusting me with your beautiful children this year! They are smart, inquisitive and funny kids! We laugh every day!
Byrd Rhyne
Kids Say the Darndest Things!!!
Judy and her family were at the Skokie Sculpture Park. She had her brother were climbing on when Judy D. stopped and exclaimed,
“Look! It looks like a polymer!”
Judy then explained to her shocked Mother that she had learned about polymers that day in science! And yes!! It looked exactly like a polymer!
While talking about dinosaurs, Ms. Byrd asked the class where meat eating dinosaurs got their meat. She asked if they got if from the grocery store. She then said, “No….. Then where do you think they got it?”
Hannah D. answered,
“At the drive through?”
Johnny B. was excited that his Mom was going to have a baby. When asked if he wanted a boy or a girl, Johnny answered,
“We don’t care….. as long as it’s healthy.”
The teachers were talking about an upcoming Mothers Day project. Neil S. overheard the conversation, and with a sense of urgency said,
"What!! When is Mothers Day? I have my own money and I want to get my Mom that robot that vacuums!! She works very hard!”
The class was getting ready for their trip to the “Trinity Restaurant”. I explained that they will all get their own money. There are 4 items on the menu and each one cost $1.00. If they want to get everything on the menu, how many dollars will they need? Quinn H. quickly responded $4.00. I said, “Wow! You figured out that math problem! Way to go!” Quinn said,
“Thank you.” Then… in a little bit he asked…. “Miss Sue…. What’s a math problem?”
Addie G. was walking around with a huge smile. She wasn’t really doing anything… just walking and smiling, so her teacher asked her what was going on. She replied…
"I decided I’m in love with Jake!”
Stella S. was absent from school, so when she returned I asked her why she missed school.
“A quesadilla made me sick! My Mom and I stopped for a quesadilla and there must have been a lot of sickies in there!!”
Leighton G. was cuddled on my lap listening to a storybook about animals that baked a cake for a friend’s birthday. There was a cow, goat, horse and donkey – all hoofed animals, and in the illustrations they all walked upright. So, it made perfect sense when Leighton commented,
“They are all wearing woman’s shoes!”
Emma F. was playing with her friends at the water table and was overheard saying,
"It’s a good thing I had a nap yesterday. I’m going to Zoe’s today and Jakes, tomorrow.”
Armaan replied,
“Oh my goodness gracious!! You’ve got a busy schedule!”
A RTG child asked for a Kleenex. Another child said,
“Oh I use a Kleenex sometimes… and sometimes I just pick it and eat it!”
Mrs. Hampton was wearing a light blue shirt with her light blue pants. Christopher J. asked her why she was wearing her pajamas to school?
We were in the bike room and Stella S. rode over on one of the trikes and asked if the bikes had training wheels. Her teachers said, “No.” Stella’s face lit up as she peddled off on the trike yelling to all her friends,
“Guys!!! Guys!!! We are riding bikes without training wheels!!”
Sam L. asked why we changed the Feeding Dog toy for the Feeding Monkey toy. Ms. Laurie explained that it’s nice to change the toys. She asked Sam what it would be like if there were only a few toys at school and everyday they played with the same toy. Sam replied,
“That would be exasperating!”
Jenna C. was in a complimentary mood and she likes to practice her Spanish. She said,
"Mrs. Gaertner, your shirt is bonita.”
Well… that started a rush of compliments……. I heard, “I like your earrings!”…. “I like your shirt!”…. I like your pants!”
However, Quinn H. may be the true charmer of the group. He yelled out,
“I like your body!”
We were talking about things to do or get for our parents to make them happy. Quinn B. wanted to get flowers for her Mom, and beer for her Dad!!
The 4 year old class was immersed in their art unit, so Mrs. Baird decided to bring in an oil painting that she made in a class. She showed the painting to the class and asked them who they thought the artist was. When she told the class that SHE was the artist, Kate T. said,
"I thought it was going to be Van Gogh!! When Mrs. Baird said it was her I freaked out!”
Birthday Books
The Trinity Church Nursery School
Library has GROWN this year - just like our children!
Thank you to everyone who has made a donation. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Each book is a treasure and will bring years of enjoyment!
Reach Out and Read
Help us as we help Bernie’s Books put books in the hands of underprivileged youth. We are collecting gently used books for the month of May!! Bins are in each classroom!
A HUGE thank you to
Kerry Appleberry and Mr. Singer of the Sharp Cookies
(aka Aunt Kerry and Uncle Neil to our own Connor Martin)!!
They got Connor and his classmates singing and stomping and jumping to their FUN brand of music!
The entire Sharp Cookies band will be performing at the Wilmette Theater on May 26 at 10:00.
I know you will love the show as much as your kids will!
Parent Child Meditation Recap
Our instructor, Katie Kolbe, did a wonderful job of presenting an abstract concept to our kids. She began by explaining that everyone has a quiet place that is always inside them. She then presented strategies on how to get to that quiet place.
Take a deep breath. This is the fastest and easiest way. You can try it anywhere, anytime, …. but a
good way to practice it is lying down on your back and holding a stuffed a animal.
Ring a bell or a gong and close your eyes and listen until it is completely silent. Katie used a Tibetan gong (what a cool sound!!) and we all were very still until there was no trace of the sound.
Close your eyes and take one entire minute to eat a single potato chip
4. Close your eyes and concentrate on a scent.
When you are doing only 1 thing (smelling, tasting, hearing) you may forget your worries!!
Other pearls of wisdom that came form this workshop:
Scents can trigger memories especially peppermint. A study showed that peppermint was piped into a classroom while kids were learning, and again while they were taking a test. The group that had the peppermint to stimulate memory scored better on the test.
If your child is having a bad day, spray some “letting go” spray over them. (The letting go spray can be anything!) The suggestion is very powerful!
In conclusion, try to help your child find their bridge from their angry/sad/ frustrated place to their quiet/happy place. Practice getting there. You may not see a difference immediately, but each time you practice, you are making a deposit in their “meditation bank.” It will pay off!
Congratulations to ...
the Gerster family on the arrival of their Baby Girl Harper!!
Don’t Miss the Amazing TByrdz !!
The Vibe
Highland Park
Saturday May 18th
8:30 PM
Family Yoga Day
Where: Trinity UMC
When: Saturday, June 16, 10am-12pm
Cost: suggested donation $25/family
Led by Trinity Member Ryan Rivard
Refreshments served by Trinity UMC &
St. John’s Lutheran Mission Team
Namaste!
Contact: cath@trinitywilmette.org
May 20th is the End of the Year Celebration!!
Magic Show at 5:00 Pizza at 6:00!
Let's get together and celebrate another
fantastically fun year at TCNS!!
Dennis DeBondt will perform his hilarious
brand of magical feats for everyone
to enjoy!
Join Trinity Marchers in the Memorial Day Parade!
Decorate your bikes & wagons and join us in the Memorial Day Parade!
We will meet at St. Joe’s on Ridge and Lake no later than 10:15.
The parade steps off at 10:30!
Wilmette Ecumenical VBS
Make a Splash!
Living Water for All God’s Children
July 16 - 19, 2012
Open to All Family Members, Relatives and Friends
Make a Splash!
Optional dinner at 6:00 p.m.
All ages invited to participate
Hosted: Trinity United Methodist Church
1024 Lake Ave., Wilmette, IL 60091
Sessions: 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Participating churches include:
First Presbyterian Church
St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church
St. John’s Lutheran Church
Trinity United Methodist Church
Cost is $15 per child
Optional meals are $3 for children and $5 for adults.
Please let us know ahead of time if you’re coming for meals.
** Mission focus is clean water for the world **
