Garrity Webpage

September Preschool News




Welcome to preschool at Carondelet Catholic School! We are very excited to begin a new school year with all of you.  We have lots of fun things planned.

September Learning Theme
My Classroom, My Friends, Myself and My Family This month we will focus on becoming familiar with the classroom and our friends. Through discussion of the physical me, the feeling me, and the thinking me we will begin to learn about how we are alike and different, and the many ways we can express our feelings.  We will be looking at how friends come in all forms, how friends share, and how friends have fun together. We will also discuss ways to treat each other with equal respect and consideration to help build positive self-identity.

September Dates
Home Visits
August 31-September 1

First Day of Preschool
September 8

Upcoming in October
No School
October 20-22

Halloween Party
October 29






Housekeeping

Masks As stated in Carondelet’s Covid-19 Preparedness Plan, children will be required to wear a face mask at school. Please send your child with two masks each day. They will come home each night for laundering.

Water Bottle Please send your child with a reusable water bottle filled with water each day. The bottle will go home each night for cleaning. They will use this at snack, lunch, and when they need a drink. Please be sure it is a bottle your child can use and operate on their own. They can be refilled at school when they run out of water.

Extra Set of Clothes Please send your child with an extra set of clothes that will remain in their locker bin. If it is used, it will be sent home for laundering. Please return the next day.

Arrival When arriving each day your child will hang his or her back pack and outdoor clothing in their locker. Their back pack is where you will find a folder containing fabulous pieces of artwork and preschool notes. Please check and empty the bag every day.

To help encourage good hygiene and prevent the spread of germs, the children will wash their hands before starting their day, and multiple times during the day.  This will help in reducing illnesses. After washing, the children will sign in at the sign in table. We will begin with first names. Progression to last names and lowercase letters will be determined (based on individual assessments) as we get further into the year.

Daily Schedule   Our daily schedule is posted in the classroom and will be emailed to you. The schedule may be modified based on the learning needs of the children.

Mailbox   Forms, notes, supplies, etc. that need to get to us can be placed in my mailbox which is located in the classroom. If you are sending information via your child’s bag, please remind them to put it in the mailbox. We will check the bags the first couple of weeks and will work with the children on making this one of their responsibilities.

Lunch If you are sending lunch from home for your child, we strongly recommend using a bento style lunch box. To keep everyone healthy, we will be limiting teacher contact with the children’s food, and we will not be allowing the children to help each other open their food. We do not have refrigeration for lunches.

Each meal must provide one-third of the child’s daily nutritional needs as specified by the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, in Code of Federal Regulations, title 7, section 226.20.

 *Lunch must contain:
(i) Fluid milk as a beverage (this is provided through school);
(ii)(A) Lean meat, poultry or fish; alternate protein products; or cheese; or an egg; or cooked dry beans or peas; or peanut butter; or any combination of these foods. These foods must be served in a main dish, or in a main dish and one other menu item, to meet this requirement. Cooked dry beans or dry peas may be used as the meat alternate or as part of the vegetable/fruit component but not as both food components in the same meal; (B) Nuts and seeds and their butters listed in program guidance are nutritionally comparable to meat or other meat alternates based on available nutritional data. Acorns, chestnuts, and coconuts shall not be used as meat alternates due to their low protein content. Nut or seed meals or flours may be used as an ingredient in a bread/ bread alternate, but shall not be used as a meat alternate except as defined in this part under Appendix A: Alternate Foods for Meals, and in program guidance materials. As noted in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, nuts or seeds may be used to meet no more than one-half of the meat/meat alternate requirements. Therefore, nuts or seeds must be combined with another meat/meat alternate to fulfill the requirement; (C) Yogurt may be used to meet all or part of the meat/meat alternate requirement. Yogurt served may be either plain or flavored, unsweetened or sweetened. Noncommercial and/or non-standardized yogurt products, such as frozen yogurt, homemade yogurt, yogurt flavored products, yogurt bars, yogurt covered fruit and/or nuts or similar products shall not be credited. Four ounces (weight) or 1⁄2 cup (volume) of yogurt fulfills the equivalent of one ounce of the meat/meat alternate requirement in the meal pattern.
(iii) Two or more vegetables or fruits, or a combination of both. Full-strength vegetable or fruit juice may be counted to meet not more than one-half of this requirement;
(iv) Whole-grain or enriched bread; or cornbread, biscuits, rolls, muffins, etc., made with whole-grain or enriched meal or flour; or whole-grain or enriched pasta or noodle products such as macaroni, or cereal grains such as rice, bulgur, or corn grits; or any combination of these foods.

Lunches brought from home will be checked for the above guidelines. If the lunch has not met the requirements, a note will be sent home indicating what is missing. After three notes home, parents will be required to purchase school lunch.

Snacks   On your child’s snack day please bring a morning snack and an afternoon snack. Please supply the same snack (same color, flavor, size, etc.) to share with all of the children. All snacks need to be commercially prepared, in an unopened package that includes the ingredient list. If the snack you send requires spoons, forks, bowls or plates, please send them with the snack. We have a small fridge in the classroom so we are able to keep refrigerated snack items cold. Snack must contain at least two of the following four components: a protein, a vegetable or fruit, and/or a whole grain or enriched bread. Please try to avoid products that contain nuts or high sugar content. If your child has food allergies, please provide us with a supply of snacks that we can give them when needed, as we do not know in advance what each child will bring to share. If you have a conflict with your scheduled day, please switch with someone and let us know of any changes. Your child’s snack day will also be their sharing day. Snack schedules will be emailed to you.

Sharing   Sharing is a great way to improve verbal skills and develop confidence when speaking in front of a group. Rather than sharing an object, the children will teach us how to do something. It is easiest to break down their lesson into three steps. For example, to ride a bike you first have to get on the bike, second you have to pedal the bike, and third you have to stop the bike by breaking. We will have the first sharing opportunity so that the kids can see how to do it and ask any questions they may have. Sharing schedules will be will be emailed to you.

Learning Theme We will be exploring a variety of learning themes this year. The amount of time spent on each theme and the specific themes covered will vary based on the children’s needs and wishes. Various assessment methods will be used to plan and modify the curriculum. Each theme will incorporate opportunities for learning things such as letters, numbers, colors, shapes, problem solving, critical thinking, and the world around us. Each theme will also incorporate content, concepts, and activities that foster social, emotional, physical, language, and cognitive development. At the beginning of each theme, we will discuss what we already know and what we want to know. When we complete a theme, we will review what we have learned.

Lesson Plans Each day we will be reading and working on projects based on the learning theme and/or the letter of the week. Some of the projects we work on will be executed over multiple days. Lesson plans may be modified based on the learning needs of the children.

Newsletters/Snack and Sharing Schedules These will be emailed to you each month, and posted on the preschool web page at www.carondelet-mpls.org.

Believe and Read   Throughout the year we will be looking at each of the letters of the alphabet. Through songs, riddles and finger plays that feature a particular letter we will strengthen recognition and pre-reading skills. We will begin in November with letter A, introducing a new letter in sequential order, each week.

Birthdays Each child’s birthday will be celebrated at afternoon snack either on their half birthday (if they have a summer birthday) or their actual birthday. If there is more than one child with the same birthday, we will celebrate on a day other than the actual birthday. If your child’s birthday lands on a day that we have an all-school assembly or group projects scheduled with another class, we will celebrate as close to the day as possible. The day of your child’s birthday celebration will be noted by a “B” following their name on the snack schedule. On this day, it is not necessary to bring a healthy afternoon snack. Sweets are fine if you choose to do so. Please bring a healthy morning snack.

Prayer Service and Mass The preschool children attend prayer services and masses at the lower campus only. We do not attend the upper campus services and masses. During these unprecedented times, prayer service and mass will look different. We are in the process of working out those details.

Classroom Expectations The first couple of weeks we will discuss with the children and create classroom guidelines and expectations that will help make our learning environment a positive one.

Communication If at any time you need to speak with either one of us, please let us know. The best way to reach us is via email at  nthies@carondelet-mpls.org or agarrity@carondelet-mpls.org.

We are very excited to be working with you and your children, and anticipate an exciting year. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. Please print and save this newsletter. It has a lot of housekeeping information you can refer to throughout the year.