The Brickton Weekly, December 19, 2014

Happy Holidays From Brickton

All of us at Brickton Montessori School wish you and your family a wonderful winter break and a Happy New Year!   The school will be closed starting Monday, December 22^nd through Monday, January 5^th, which is a teacher in-service day.  School resumes on Tuesday, January 6^th.  See you in the new year.

Thank You Corner

Thank you to Maria Parillo (Vince's mom in 104) for donating colored copy paper and to Steve Pollizze (Jacob's dad room 105) for donating scrap paper.

Breakfast With Santa Photos

Thank you to Joe Somers for taking pictures with Santa at our annual Breakfast With Santa.  Enjoy this slide show of your cuties with Santa.

Mix-It-Up Day

On Wednesday, we continued a time honored tradition here at Brickton with another Mix-It-Up Day.  The Kindergarten through Middle School students took part in three sets of activities: singing and movement, relay races and a scavenger hunt, and cooking and crafting.  Enjoy the photos from this special day!

Winter Extracurricular Registration

Our new extracurricular session will feature two new sessions…Kindergym for Boys and Children’s House Sports Club, along with tried and true favorites of Chess, Book Club, Elementary Sports Club and Kinderdance.  Follow this link for registration.

Lost and Found

Missing a glove, hat or favorite sweatshirt? We have cleared out the lost and found drawers and put everything right by the front door to make it easy to spot that missing item. 

Brickton Reads

Vacation is a great time to read with kids.  Even if your time is limited, a few extra minutes of reading can make an important difference.  Gift books, trips to the library, family time:  all are part of the fun.  Try some or all of the following:

Look for other reading and writing gifts:  comic books, graphic novels, magazines, special note cards.  This is a great time to find something connected to your child’s interests, like sports or crafts.

Holiday travel: Make travel a reading adventure.  Look for maps, tourist books and posters!  Prepare for the trip, pass the time, and collect for a scrapbook.

Listen to audiobooks:  Rent all kinds of audios from the Library:  Playaways, Playaway Views, books on CDs.  Tumblebooks are among the many new offerings.  Check them out then check them out!

Writing ideas:  Write letters and thank you notes.  Show your child how to write thank-you notes in clever ways.

Make lists:  Ask your child to help write shopping lists, activity ideas and movie schedules.  Listmaking is good writing practice , great for supporting executive function skills and a big help to adults!

If you incorporate some of the above, you may find it enriches your family life and even create a new routine for the new year!

Upcoming Events

Winter Break – School Closed, Monday, December 22^nd – Monday, January 5^th

School Resumes, Tuesday, January 6^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, January 9^th

Open House, Sunday, January 11^th, 10:00am

Board Meeting, Thursday, January 15^th, 7:00pm

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 16^th

Club Day, Monday, January 19^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, January 23^rd

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 30^th

In School Celebration – Room 107, Friday, January 30^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 13^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, February 13^th

School Closed – Inservice Day, Monday, February 16^th

Board Meeting, Thursday, February 19^th, 7:00 – 9:00pm

AIMS Conference, Friday, February 20^th – Saturday, February 21^st

In School Celebration – Room 103, Friday, February 27^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 27^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, February 27^th

The Brickton Weekly, December 12, 2014

Welcome Beth Norman

We are pleased to announce Beth Norman will be joining Brickton as our Director or Advancement on Monday, December 15^th.  Beth will be focusing her many talents on admissions, marketing and fundraising.  She has served as a Children’s House Directress at Highland Park Montessori School and most recently as the Practicum and Communications Coordinator for Seton Montessori Institute.  She is a faculty member of Seton’s Early Childhood Teacher Education as well as Administrator courses with a focus on aesthetics, creative expression and language curriculum.  Having completed her BFA in Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she worked as a graphic designer and art director for several Chicago companies, eventually moving into consulting work.  It was the birth of her three children that guided her pathway to Montessori education.  Beth holds credentials from the American Montessori Society (AMS) for both the Early Childhood and Administrator programs.

Thank You Corner

Thanks to all of our helpers, from bakers to Santa’s elves and everything in between, that made Breakfast with Santa such a fun-filled event. Many thanks also to our caroling chaperones Emiliya Borisova (Kalina – Room 105) and Heinz Wieland (Kaylee Ann – Room 105), which ensured a smooth field trip. And finally, thanks to all who have generously contributed to the Salvation Army Food/Toiletries Drive.  Pick up will be on Tuesday morning so there's still time to add a few more items! 

Caroling Trip

Our elementary students put on a lovely caroling performance at the O’Hare Plaza and for Red Mane (our neighbors that host the students for Trick or Treating).  They performed three times to the delight of everyone in attendance.  Thanks to Heinz Wieland for sharing these photos!

Gift Cards For The Holidays

Next Monday, December 15^this the last day to order Manna cards before the holidays!  Take the pressure off your holiday planning and give gift cards! We have a large selection available in denominations from $5 to $100. The order forms are bright pink and in a bin outside Dotty's door. Complete your order form and attach a check (or call Dotty with your credit card information) and drop the order at the front desk or at Dotty's office.  All manna gift card orders support the Middle School fundraising efforts with a portion of the funds raised applied back to your tuition!  If you miss this order, Dotty also has a stock of popular gift cards on hand so check with her anytime!

Breakfast With Santa Pictures

We hope you had a wonderful time at Saturday’s Breakfast with Santa.  If you have photos to share of the event, you can email them to John Huber at john.huber@brickton.org or bring the memory card to school and John will upload the photos to the school Flickr account.  We will send out a link with access to the photos with Santa in the next few days.

Brickton Reads

Vacation is a great time to read with kids.  Even if your time is limited, a few extra minutes reading can make an important difference.  Gift books, trips to the library, family time:  all are part of the fun.  You might want to try some of the following:

Being together: Schedule time to read and talk about the books.  If you have more time, read a longer chapter book or novel out loud.  You will enjoy the time together and some good stories.

Tell stories: Use your holiday time to tell stories from your youth or ask relatives to share their stories.  Storytelling helps children become better readers. Family stories are an important part of your child’s heritage.

At the Library:  Take your children to your library and encourage them to browse for new items on the shelves.

Learn about new traditions:  Look for books or internet articles about holidays you celebrate and special traditions.  Our school has students who celebrate Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, Three Kings Day, the Winter Solstice, and many other traditions.

The gift of reading: Give books of all kinds as new, used, and ones handed down all make good gifts!  There are many used book stores, including a Brickton favorite - Open Books. 

Upcoming Events

Manna Orders Due, Monday, December 15^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, December 19^th

Winter Break – School Closed, Monday, December 22^nd – Monday, January 5^th

School Resumes, Tuesday, January 6^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, January 9^th

Open House, Sunday, January 11^th, 10:00am

Board Meeting, Thursday, January 15^th, 7:00pm

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 16^th

Club Day, Monday, January 19^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, January 23^rd

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 30^th

In School Celebration – Room 107, Friday, January 30^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 13^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, February 13^th

School Closed – Inservice Day, Monday, February 16^th

Board Meeting, Thursday, February 19^th, 7:00 – 9:00pm

AIMS Conference, Friday, February 20^th – Saturday, February 21^st

In School Celebration – Room 103, Friday, February 27^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 27^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, February 27^th

The Brickton Weekly, December 5, 2014

Breakfast with Santa – This Saturday

 Join us for our annual Breakfast with Santa, for a delicious continental breakfast, photos with Santa, and caroling and craft activities for the children! The Breakfast with Santa celebration features a Bake Sale Table. Volunteers are needed to support this event – from assisting at the craft table to creating delectable homemade treats for the bake sale. Sign-up sheets are located on the hallway bulletin board. Please contact Kelly McDermott with any questions.

Saturday, December 6^th, 2014, from 10:00 am – 12:30 pm

Hanging Gardens Banquet Hall

8301 W. Belmont, River Grove, IL
Book Fair Raffle Winners
Congratulations to Katarina (Room 107) and Agnes (Room 101) for winning the Scholastic Book Fair Raffle.  They will receive a $25 gift certificate for next weeks book fair.

Volunteer Corner
Many thanks to Meg Ricard (mother of Sean - Room 107 and Ella - Room 104) for putting together an exciting raffle basket containing child friendly organization products, a travel coloring pad, snow markers, candy, 50% off Simply Organized by Meg services and a ticket to The Big Leap. Tickets are 1 for $10 and 3 for $25! Purchase tickets at Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 6^th or now in the main office.  The winning ticket will be pulled at Breakfast with Santa.

Scholastic Book Fair

Our Scholastic Book Fair is coming up next week: Monday, December 8^th – Thursday, December 11^th.  In preparation for this Book Fair, we are asking for volunteers to help set up TOMORROW, Saturday, December 6th, immediately following Breakfast With Santa.  It is not a huge job but requires as much help as possible.  With enough help, the work is over in about 45 minutes.  This is such a successful fund raiser for our Upper Elementary students, and it all begins with setting up an inviting display up of books.  If you would like to volunteer, please email Katie Rose in the 9-12 classroom.

Salvation Army Food Drive

Brickton is collecting food to donate to the Salvation Army.  Thanks to those who have already donated food in the collection bins located in the front entryway.  We are collecting non-perishable food and toiletries until December 16^th.

Gift Cards For The Holidays

Take the pressure off your holiday planning and give gift cards! We have a large selection available in denominations from $5 to $100. The order forms are bright pink and in a bin outside Dotty's door. Complete your order form and attach a check  (or call Dotty with your credit card information) and drop the order  off at the front desk or at Dotty's office. The order dates before the holidays are December 8th and December 15th.  All manna gift card orders support the Middle School fundraising efforts with a portion of the funds raised applied back to your tuition!

Parent Outreach Night

Wolcott School and Bernard Zell AnsheEmet Day School are co-sponsoring a program on December 9^th featuring speaker Jennifer Senior, best-selling author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood.   In this talk, Senior will tackle the question: What are the effects of children on their parents? She isolates and analyzes the many ways in which children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half-century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear.This event is free to the public. 

CONTACT:  Nancy Seiler, Director of Outreach and Community Programs,Wolcott School, nseiler@wolcottschool.org. Tuesday, December 9, 2014, All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood,7:00 PM, Bernard Zell AnsheEmet Day School, 3751 N. Broadway, Chicago

Upcoming Events

Pizza Lunch, Friday, December 5^th

Manna Orders Due, Monday, December 8^th

Breakfast With Santa, Saturday, December 6^th 10:00am – 12:30pm

Scholastic Book Fair, Monday, December 8^th – Thursday, December 11^th

Manna Orders Due, Monday, December 15^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, December 19^th

Winter Break – School Closed, Monday, December 22^nd – Monday, January 5^th

School Resumes, Tuesday, January 6^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, January 9^th

Open House, Sunday, January 11^th, 10:00am

Board Meeting, Thursday, January 15^th, 7:00pm

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 16^th

Club Day, Monday, January 19^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, January 23^rd

Manna Orders Due, Friday, January 30^th

In School Celebration – Room 107, Friday, January 30^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 13^th

Hot Dog Lunch, Friday, February 13^th

School Closed – Inservice Day, Monday, February 16^th

Board Meeting, Thursday, February 19^th, 7:00 – 9:00pm

AIMS Conference, Friday, February 20^th – Saturday, February 21^st

In School Celebration – Room 103, Friday, February 27^th, 8:30am

Manna Orders Due, Friday, February 27^th

Pizza Lunch, Friday, February 27^th