MGA News March/April 2014 President’s Message I can't believe that it has been one year already since the current Board was elected. So much has happened over the past 12 months: a complete changeover of front office staff (including a new Director), lots of new teachers, and, of course, the 5-year NAEYC reaccreditation process. 2014 MGA Closures Teacher Professional Development Day Friday, April 11 I want to thank every single Board member for stepping up when the situations became challenging. These dedicated people acting on our parents’ behalf were able to see a vision of the future through all the tribulations. I am proud to have been elected by them as the President and I thank them all for their support. Memorial Day Monday, May 26 Independence Day Friday, July 4 I also want to give a HUGE thanks to all of the parents who have supported our Board and Joan through all of the changes this past year. I have spoken to many of you about your concerns and tried to convey that our actions were in the best interest of the children and the longevity of the center. Thank you for hanging in there! Teacher In-Service Day Looking ahead, we will have the 2014-15 Board of Directors election on Wednesday, March 26 at our Parent Meeting. This is your opportunity to come out and visit your classroom, visit with teachers and staff, and get a good download of information from the Board. Following those activities, we will hold the election. If you are interested in serving on the MGA Board of Directors, please see Joan or Cathy for an application. Applications must be submitted by Monday, March 24 by 4:00pm. Thanksgiving Holiday I hope to see you all on March 26. If you have any questions or need more information on anything, please see Joan or myself. Friday, August 29 Labor Day Monday, September 1 November 27-28 Christmas Holiday December 24-25 ******************** Yelp Us! Share how much you and your children enjoy the Merry Go Around by writing a review on Yelp! Respectfully, Kevin http://www.yelp.com/biz/themerry-go-around-san-diego Page 1 of 5 MGA News March/April 2014 Director’s Message Thank you to all the parents who have donated to the Parent Participation Program. The teachers are very excited to receive the much-needed items for their classrooms! Special kudos go to Ms. Tina, Mr. Joe, Ms. Zulfia, Ms. Cathy, and Ms. Merlisa for working past 10:00pm several nights to help complete the required 5-year NAEYC Accreditation criteria. Congratulations to all the teachers for completing their Classroom Portfolios on time! We will receive the results of the NAEYC site visit in a few months. Please join me in welcoming Ms. Mindy, our new Infant Teacher. She has a Bachelor's in Child Development (a NAEYC requirement) and experience with infants. We are so excited to have such a calm, sweet, and loving teacher join our team! Check out her bio in this newsletter. Upcoming Events  Monday, March 17 – The Leprechauns Visit at nap time!  Wednesday, March 26 – Annual Parent Meeting & Board Elections at 6:00pm  Tuesday, April 15 – Visit from the Easter Bunny & Easter Egg Hunt at 10:30am Board Elections Consider joining our great Board of Directors! Our Board Members are so supportive and instrumental in helping attain our Center’s goals. If you would like to become a MGA Board Member, please pick up an application from the front office and return it with your bio to Joan or Cathy. Applications are due Monday, March 24 by 4:00pm. Elections will be held on Wednesday, March 26 at the Parent Meeting. Open Teaching Spots We are looking for two more teachers with a BA or BS in Child Development. If you know a great candidate who meets this criteria – and who loves children! – please have them give me a call at (858) 536-1008 or send email to [email protected]. As always, I welcome meetings, emails, and phone calls from our parents. Together, we will continue to make MGA a great school! Warm Regards, Joan Page 2 of 5 MGA News March/April 2014 Teacher Spotlight: Ms. Mindy This month we introduce one of our new Little Bunnies teachers, Ms. Mindy! Why did you become a teacher? I love working with children and learning more about them. I want to impact the lives of children and provide the best quality of education as possible. Who was your favorite teacher growing up? My 3rd grade teacher. She had great teaching techniques and she approached each student with patience and love. What was your favorite school subject? Physical education, because I like to stay active and truly enjoy the outdoors. If you weren’t a teacher, what would you want to be? A Registered Nurse because I would be providing care for people. If you could have a super power, what would it be? The ability to empower people’s lives by creating an environment that supports success as well as providing a learning environment. Other fun things about Ms. Mindy Favorite color: Pink Favorite animal: Lions! Favorite flower: Tulips Favorite smell: Lavender Favorite food: Italian Favorite treat: Candy Favorite coffee drink: Iced Caramel Macchiato, upside down Favorite places to eat: Olive Garden Favorite store to shop at: Macy’s & Kohl’s For fun, I like to: be in the outdoors, go on hikes, and be surrounded by loved ones Like the Merry Go Around on Facebook Are you on Facebook (who isn’t?)? Be sure to “like” the Merry Go Around page to stay up-to-date on all the latest happenings in our Center. Feel free to share parenting articles and information, and connect with other MGA families! You can find us at www.facebook.com/FAAMerryGoAround Page 3 of 5 MGA News March/April 2014 Classroom Updates All of our classrooms would like to thank those who donated items for Parent Participation last month! The donations will go to great use and will keep tuition at a low rate. The teachers and children would also like to thank you for helping make their Valentine’s Day celebrations super special – everyone had a “lovely” time! The Little Bunnies are very excited to have Ms. Mindy in our classroom. She joined our team in February and we love her! Several Little Bunnies are quickly becoming more mobile and more interactive with the various activity centers. We can’t wait to see how much they grow and develop this spring! The Little Giraffes teachers would like to remind parents to periodically check their child’s cubby to ensure he/she has weather appropriate-clothing. Don’t forget to take blankets home on Fridays, too! And be sure to look at our classroom calendar for upcoming events. The Little Giraffes continue to work on self-help skills. To help reinforce these skills, your support at home is greatly appreciated. We are looking forward to lots of learning this month and a lot of fun! Spring is on its way and the Little Lions class has fun activities to look forward to. With sunny days ahead, we will be expanding our lessons outdoors and planting flowers, experimenting with water colors and white carnation flowers, and completing fun obstacle courses. The Little Bears are working on potty training, self-help skills, and dress up (putting shoes and socks on, putting pants and shirts on, etc.). We look forward to celebrating Earth Day by planting flower seeds! It has been exciting times in the Panda Bear classroom. Last month we learned all about how our bodies move and function. Some of our art projects included making x-rays, skeletons, and sensory art. The children also took part in several scientific investigations. We studied how bones work by making “hands” out of gloves and pipe cleaners, and we did blind taste and smell tests to see how our senses work. The Panda Bears also did plenty of learning through movement. The children loved participating in our morning yoga routine that taught them about balance and flexibility. We were sad to see February go! Not to fear though, the month of March brings a new theme and lots of new fun! We will be learning all about transportation, where we’ll be studying everything from cars, planes, trains, boats, and more. The Monkeys had a blast this past month learning about space. We talked about the planets and how they orbit, and we walked around like astronauts! Our art projects included paper bowl earths, shaving cream suns, space chalk drawings, astronaut writing, and much more. The children also chose their favorite planet, which then was turned into a classroom graph. We hope you all have a wonderful March because you know your little Monkeys will.  Page 4 of 5 MGA News March/April 2014 Classroom Wish Lists Donations for our classrooms are greatly appreciated! Please consider purchasing one of the items below for your class. The children and teachers thank you! Little Bunnies: Hand soap pump, hand soap refills, tissues, bubble juice, Clorox disinfecting wipes, Gift Cards: Target and Wal-Mart Little Giraffes: Finger paint, glitter glue, tissues, plastic bottles, play food, costumes, Gift Cards: Target and Michaels Little Lions: Play dough tools, white construction paper, contact paper, Gift Cards: Target, Michaels, and Wal-Mart Little Bears: Bubble juice, contact paper, jumbo washable markers, jumbo crayons and colored pencils, sidewalk chalk, Dixie 5oz. cups, Clorox disinfecting wipes, packaging tape, Gift Cards: Target, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, and Home Depot Pandas: Anything transportation-themed, scented markers, books (new and used), Gift Cards: Target, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, and Lakeshore Monkeys: Outdoor plants, Mr. Sketch scented markers, dinosaur books, dinosaur-themed games/activities, Gift Cards: Wal-Mart, Target, Dollar Tree, Lakeshore, and Home Depot Page 5 of 5