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May 2015 Newsletter
7600 Hanover Parkway, Ste 100
Greenbelt MD 20770
Flora L. Gee, M. Ed., Director
www.greenbeltchildrenscenter.com
Dear Parents,
There are many wonderful changes that this month brings: beautiful
flowers, warm sunny days, soft spring rains, and a variety of insects and
wildlife that children can observe. During the next few weeks, the
children will be busy with units on insects, spiders, and animals. The
culmination of the April units on things that grow was to observe the
flowers and plants growing in the garden areas and some rooms will be measuring plants for growth
in May. By the end of the summer program, the children will be quite wonderful horticulture experts!
Additionally, Room 3 will be doing investigations of water for their PEEP unit in May.
Thank you!
Thank you for helping to make our Week of the Young Child celebration so
special for all of the children last month!! They had such a great week! Keep
those love notes coming in your child’s lunch! Thank you to the
parents/grandparents who came to participate in our Family Fun Day and
Potluck. We had record numbers attending in each classroom! It made the
day so special to have parents or grandparents here! Let’s plan to do it again
next year!
Thank you to Ms Mary Edwards, Room 2 Teacher, for analyzing the data and creating the report for
the annual NAEYC Parent Survey results that you will find attached to this newsletter. We so
appreciate family participation and cooperation with our accreditation requirements each year. She
also analyzed the Teaching Staff Survey results and reported them at our last staff meeting. We will
use the survey results in our program improvement planning process.
Teacher Appreciation Week!
May 4 - 8
Parents, every year we count on you to show your kindness and
generosity for the teachers and staff at GCC during Teacher
Appreciation Week! The dates for this are Monday, May 4th through
Friday, May 8th. We invite parents to contribute in any way possible,
for the staff this week. You can participate at any time during the
week with flowers, breakfast, balloons, gift certificates, cash
bonuses, thank you cards, thoughtful letters of appreciation, a
certificate for a future lunch, plants, etc.!! Let’s help to make the teachers feel that we appreciate all
that they do for the children. In fact, sprinkle kindnesses on them the whole month. It doesn’t have to
be on only one day! Thank you for all your efforts! If there are parents who would like to cover
naptime during the Teacher Appreciation Lunch on Friday, May 8th, please contact Mrs. Gee,
Director, or Ms. Johnson, Assistant Director.
7600 Hanover Parkway, Ste 100
Greenbelt MD 20770
Flora L. Gee, M. Ed., Director
www.greenbeltchildrenscenter.com
SUMMER PROGRAM IS COMING!
Your child’s summer schedule and activity fees should be received
in the office by May 15, 2015. Some weeks are close to being filled!
All special events have been confirmed. We look forward to the
Family Night Potluck dinner that has been scheduled for Thursday,
July 9th at 5 pm! So, get out those favorite family recipes! We
suggest that families prepare a dish that is special to their family cultural background, while keeping
safety in mind (no nuts or seafood). The entertainment for that evening will be by McKinney Music,
who will delight us with educational musical entertainment and audience participation! Join us for as
much fun as you can this summer! We enjoy having parents here at GCC! Please remember to post
the GCC summer calendar on your refrigerator at home so you can keep up with all the special
enrichment activities scheduled for your child!
Children will enjoy going to the pool as part of the program on each Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday. Remember to send your child dressed in swimsuit with clothes to change into on those
days, along with pool shoes & towels! The children have been watching the pool be readied for the
season and they can hardly wait for summer to begin!
Families who were income eligible in the public pre-k program will continue to receive the support
from the grant subsidy for your child through all of the summer program.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
It is that time of year to check your child's extra clothes box to take out the
big bulky sweaters, etc. and replace your child's supplies with seasonally
appropriate clothing, from socks on up!! Remember to label all belongings
with your child’s name! If your picture of your child or family needs to be retaped to the extra clothes box, please ask a staff member to help.
Please remember our policy about packing nutritious lunches. Your
cooperation is greatly appreciated. Remember to pack two servings of fruit
and or vegetables in every lunch every day. Fruit roll-ups and fruit snacks
are candy, not fruit, and have no nutritional value. Teaching young children about healthy eating
gives them a valuable life skill. Healthy eating habits developed in early childhood can last a lifetime.
Announcements…
Field trips!
Rooms 1 & 3 are scheduled for three field trips in May and June.
Here is what is planned:
 Friday, May 29- Port Discovery in Baltimore. The bus departs
early at 8:30 am and returns about 1 pm
 Friday, June 5- B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore. The bus
departs at 9 am and returns about 1 pm.
 Friday, June12- Transition Field Trip to Greenbelt Elementary
7600 Hanover Parkway, Ste 100
Greenbelt MD 20770
Flora L. Gee, M. Ed., Director
www.greenbeltchildrenscenter.com
School and picnic at Schrom Hills Park. The bus departs at 9:15 am and returns at 1 pm.
Children will visit kindergarten and first grade classrooms as they prepare for transitions for
future school years. Please sign the permission slip to allow for your child to attend the trips. All
Room 1 parent chaperones must show proof of their PGCPS commercial background check
before being allowed to chaperone. Be sure to get this done in advance, so that you may
attend the trip. The phone number to call to arrange for this is 301-952-6772. Please join us!
We hope that parents will chaperone and join in the fun. The children and staff fees are covered by
the grant funding but parents will need to pay admission at the door ($9.50 for Port Discovery/ B&O
Railroad is $12.00).
Workshops!
Two Wolf Trap Family Involvement Workshops are planned for this month:
 Tuesday, May 5- 5:30 -7 pm, Journey to Africa: Sharing Family Experience by, Kofi Dennis,
Teaching Artist
 Tuesday, May 19- 5:30-7 pm, Artsplay Family Sing by Valerie Bayne Carroll, Teaching Artist.
Please sign up in your child’s classroom so we know how much free pizza to order! We will eat
pizza 5:30- 6 pm in Room 1 then got to the Terrace Room for both of these Wolf Trap events.
 The children will have a Wolf Trap Audience Experience and view a Wolf Trap performance,
Billy’s Bridge, in the Terrace Room at 10 am on Tuesday, June 2nd!
Recital!
Our first Piano Recital will be held on Tuesday, May 12 at 5:30 pm in Room 1 for
children who have been taking lessons at GCC! Refreshments will be served.
End of Year Celebration! Friday, June 19
The End of the School Year Celebration, which includes receiving certificates, will
have something new for 2015! A special Music Recital with Mr. Javon involving
each classroom presenting to parents with song and dance that they have
been learning! The recital will be in the Terrace Room of this building. We will
have a sign-up sheet for donations for the party which will be held in each
classroom. The date is Friday, June 19
a party lunch in the classrooms at noon..
at 11 am in the Terrace Room and
Reminder: Last Day of School Date Change
Remember we have had a calendar change. The snow days have extended the school year and our
last day is Thursday, June 25 and GCC will be closed for the Teacher In-service day now Friday, June
26th.
Summer program starts on Monday, June 29th!
7600 Hanover Parkway, Ste 100
Greenbelt MD 20770
Flora L. Gee, M. Ed., Director
www.greenbeltchildrenscenter.com
Reminders:
•


ALL CHILDREN should WEAR SAFE SHOES WHILE ON THE PLAYGROUND! Sandals, jellies or dress
shoes are simply not safe for outdoor play. You may keep an extra pair of playground shoes
(sneakers) in your child’s cubby. Boots and old clothes are great for working in the garden!
TICK SEASON HAS ARRIVED! Please check your child daily for ticks and consult your physician
for information about tick bites and removal of ticks.
Never leave your baby in your car while you run in to drop off your child!
ALWAYS use car seats, buckle up and place children in the back seat of your car.

The Center will be closed on Monday, May 25th, for Memorial Day.
•
Take 15 For The Family…
Building a Lifetime of Learning is a statewide initiative launched by the Maryland State Department of
Education. It encourages Maryland families to dedicate at least 15 minutes each day to doing
everyday activities, like eating dinner together, and turn those moments into learning opportunities.
Other examples of Take 15 for the Family activities may include visiting the library together, preparing
a meal, listening to music, talking about homework, having a conversation about daily events or
grocery shopping with your child. Specifically, turn off the TV for at least 15 minutes each day for
some quality parent-child conversation!
The goals of the program are to build awareness among parents that involvement in their children’s
education is critical, and to provide resources that make this involvement easy and fun. Take 15 for
the family every day!
WE DEDICATE MAY 10th
TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL MOMMIES!
(...or to anyone that fulfills
that role for a child!)
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!
WE DEDICATE JUNE 21st
TO ALL OUR SPECIAL DADS!!!
(...Or to anyone that fulfills that role for a
child!!)
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!
7600 Hanover Parkway, Ste 100
Greenbelt MD 20770
Flora L. Gee, M. Ed., Director
www.greenbeltchildrenscenter.com
Congratulations to Greenbelt
Children’s Center for 25 Years of
Early Childhood Excellence! We
celebrate our anniversary this month!