Julie McGahan, Principal jmcgahan@oceansideschools.org

 

Dear Families,

If this school year has begun for you as it has for me, you are already a believer in the 'magic' that is rumored to exist here at School #6.  In 4 short months, the children have found comfort and confidence as they enter the building each day.  They have spent their days laughing, learning, growing, exploring, trying, practicing, creating and so much more.  As parents, you have partnered with your classroom teacher to strengthen the home-school connection on a regular basis and also for special events including Pre-K Orientation, Kindergarten and Pre-K Back to School Nights, Kindergarten Parent-Teacher Conferences, PTA meetings and the PTA sponsored Movie Night and Fall Festival.  I thank you in advance for your continued partnership as we set our priorities, make plans, and implement them, ensuring a well-rounded school experience for all of our young children.  

 

In addition to the ABC's and 123's of school, we integrate Social Emotional Literacy into everything we do here at School #6 and we will continue to bring the elements of our SEL program to you at home.  Already we are observing our students using the Mood Meter as a vehicle to discuss their emotions with one another.  Just recently, one student was heard saying to his buddy on the bus, "I am in the yellow today.  Are you?"  We believe that giving children the language to discuss their feelings will help them to be aware of their feelings and, ultimately, to regulate their feelings.  The ultimate goal is for students to be comfortable with the entire range of feelings they will experience in life and to learn ways to cope and make good choices in response to those feelings.  Keep using the Mood Meter at home, not only to reinforce the emotional skills, but also to bring emotional balance to the time your family spends together.  Our first Kinder-Kids for the Community Project was "Making Change for Change in the Community" and together we supported the Oceanside Community Service "Thanksgiving Fundraiser".  Thank you for your generosity in assisting Oceanside families in need and for helping to teach our children the value of giving.  At a time when we are reminded to give thanks, I would like to thank all of you for all of the wonderful things the PTA does for our school including the Pumpkin Patch, Fall Festival, Movie Night, and various Cultural Arts programs. 

 

As parents, there are so many ways to help prepare your child for success in school.  Try the following fun-filled suggestions:

·        Read, Read, Read to your child every day.  Read in any language you feel comfortable.  Read books, street signs, menus. "read the pictures" of books that have no words.  When reading books with words, point to the words to help your child see them.  Celebrate wonderful reading, whether your child is reading or has memorized the book.  Buy books as presents for your child and have your child pick her favorite book as part of a gift she will give her friend.     

·        Talk to your child.  When appropriate, use rich vocabulary and complex sentence structures.  While your child may not be ready to use 'grown-up' language, they are all ready to hear and learn from it.  

·        Listen to your child.  Ask questions about the day and don't let him tell you he did "nothing".  Use your teacher’s newsletter to elicit something specific, then do it again the next day and the day after that.  Keep insisting that your child share part of their day with you until it becomes a habit.    

·        Play with words.  Play language games, such as rhyming, ‘sounds like’, and guessing games.  Tell silly stories.  Sing songs and substitute some words with fake or erroneous words ("twinkle twinkle little car"). 

·        Play with numbers.  When counting, skip a number to trigger a fun response (i.e., “We are leaving the park in 5 seconds – 5,4,3,2,9” will surely get your child’s attention and perhaps his compliance, too!).  Play games and sing songs/chant with numbers (i.e., before grandma visits, reinforce counting by twos and teach him “2,4,6,8 who do we appreciate, Grandma, Grandma, Yeah Grandma”). 

·        Tell your child stories about you when you were a child.  Help your child understand emotions by telling stories of a time when you were proud, scared, alone, etc.  If you find it difficult to have a “feeling” conversation with your child, use literature or a t.v. show as a platform for the conversation.  You can ask your child why he/she thinks a certain character acted mean in the beginning of the story/show and help your child to understand that, for example, the character was mean because he was lonely/scared but when he made friends, he became nice. 

·        Have play dates with other children and try to find a balance of structured time and unstructured time to allow your child to develop the social skills needed for both types of activities (i.e., you may structure a craft or a baseball game for an hour and then let them play in the play room for an hour while you supervise/observe). 

·        Take your child places and help to build knowledge of the world. Visit the public library together.     

·        Give your child a job (clean up toys, bring in the newspaper, brush the dog).  Young children enjoy having responsibility and then being thanked for their contribution.  You may want to ask your child what household job they would enjoy having as their own. 

·        Always reward effort.  Research has consistently revealed work ethic, ambition and perseverance as the qualities most correlated with success in life.  We can help our children develop these characteristics by positively reinforcing them.  Rather than saying, “you are so smart” when he/she does something well, tell your child, “you are such a hard worker” or “I love the way you keep trying” or “all that hard work and practice paid off”. 

All of these things will help prepare your child linguistically, academically, socially and emotionally for a successful kindergarten year and beyond. 

 

Our School Improvement Team has begun planning for the year with a dedicated focus on our parking lot safety.  We welcome your feedback and suggestions as we commit ourselves to this most important priority.  On behalf of all of our little people, moms, dads, babies in strollers and staff, I thank you for doing the little things, which are sometimes inconvenient, but contribute greatly to the overall safety in our parking lot:

·        Never park illegally.  It obstructs the vision of moving vehicles and causes traffic for other vehicles trying to pass.  This is particularly important in the Castleton lot and on the road coming off of Foxhurst.   

·        Always follow the arrows in the parking lots:  Maintaining a flow of traffic in one consistent direction is the only way that we can successfully move 500+ vehicles through our parking lots.  It only takes one car traveling in the wrong direction to impede the flow. 

·        Never move cones or block mini buses in front of the school.  The location of our cones and buses are strategically placed for safety reasons.    

·        Plan ahead in inclement weather.  This may mean coming a few minutes earlier to secure a parking spot or whatever it takes given your personal situation.  It is important that everyone do what is necessary to avoid compromising our routines and the safety of the children, even when inconvenienced by weather conditions.    

 

On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome to this wonderful school community.  It has been my greatest pleasure getting to know you and your children.  Together, we are sure to continue to bring magic to your child this year.  I thank you for your continued support and partnership. 

 

Julie McGahan 

     

 

Julie McGahan

Principal Kindergarten and PreK Center

Oceanside School District

516-594-2345