SUMMER 2010

Greetings from the sun and the fun of Summer Under the Red Roof at Frederick Country Day!  We are half way through our thematic summer program, gearing up for Pioneer Week, Jungle Week, and  Under the Big Top.  Even with our camps full for each session, we have been able offer daily water play, dramatic plays, yoga, bike day, and a complimentary Friday lunch.  Both the children and staff are having fun with this change of pace scheduling.  After August 6^th, FCD closes for 2 weeks: one week of maintenance: cleaning, polishing floors, painting as needed.  Then on August 16^th our teachers return for a week of In-Service, part of which is to reassemble each environment and have it ready for you for Open House Friday, August 20^th.  The energy and enthusiasm are contagious as we all look forward to the first day of the 2010 -2011 school year on Monday, August 23^rd.

Over the summer, the Md. Dept. of Education has mandated that a parent must initial the sign-in/out roster either upon arrival or dismissal.  We have had success with introducing this change during our summer program, and we are discussing this implementation for the fall since many parents use the carpool drop-off.

Each family will be receiving a welcome letter in early August, detailing everything you need to know prior to the first day of attendance.  Please look over this information carefully and do not hesitate to call should you have any questions.  A yearlong calendar will also be included in this packet.  I have tried to be as detailed as possible regarding all events, parent workshops, professional days, special lunches, etc. so that you can plan accordingly.

During the summer we have continued to reach out to the wider community.  We thank our families for the generous donations to the Ft. Detrick Food Bank and to the St. Jude Trike-a-thon, collecting $179. 14!  We look forward to continuing our monthly connections to the community as world citizens.

“ORTON – GILLINGHAM” LANGUAGE SKILLS CONCEPTS TO BE INTRODUCED THIS FALL

I was very fortunately blessed to complete an intensive Orton-Gillingham course this summer.  Orton-Gillingham is a multi-sensory approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling.  It meshes beautifully with Montessori and I will be sharing some of the basics of phonological awareness, including activities and games, with staff during our in-service week.  For our Primary classrooms we have purchased a new reading program which is in line with this approach. We are very excited to be able to have the same materials for all three classrooms!  This company, Waseca, is the same company that developed the beautiful Biomes materials we introduced this past year.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!     Ms. Louise, Director