Storyteller, March 2011
Observations
The Exhibit as a Provocation for Community
“Participating makes it possible to build up the sense of belonging to a group that generates and feeds feelings of solidarity, willingness towards others and responsibility. Children are central to participation, actively constructing their own learning and producing original points of view, entering into dialogue with the points of view of other children and adults. If schools are capable of (fully taking up) the value and practice of participation, then these can translate into a culture of childhood and citizenship inside schools themselves and also in the social fabric.”
“Wonder of Learning–Hundred Languages of Children” exhibit, 2010
Dear Families and Friends,
On Thursday, Feb. 25th, PPS parents joined our staff in an inspiring visit to the “Wonder of Learning” exhibit currently in Santa Monica until the end of April. Many in our group walked from the preschool over to 2nd St. and California, enjoying a beautiful late winter’s afternoon— and each other’s company— while the children stayed at school and played under the care of other members of our staff. (We would all like to thank Karen, Vivian, Fatima, Nicole and Hadassah for generously remaining at the preschool to provide childcare.)
According to the exhibit description at the entrance to the site: “The Wonder of Learning-Hundred Languages of Children is a continuously updated traveling exhibition that, translated into various languages, has been telling the story of the Reggio educational experience worldwide to thousands of visitors for over 25 years. During this time, Reggio infant-toddler centers and preschools, together with elementary schools, have continued to enrich their journey and explore more deeply with further research. This has created a desire for a new exhibition that can continue the story of today’s children and teachers and today’s education and accompany the original exhibit, The Hundred Languages of Children.
The newest North American version of the exhibit, “The Wonder of Learning – Hundred Languages of Children,” is composed of multimedia/multi-sensory sections. Each section can be experienced separately, but the sections are interconnected by ideas.
Ideas running through all sections of the exhibit include:
- Celebrating intelligence in children and adults
- Celebrating the Hundred Languages with which each child (each human being) is gifted
- The importance played by poetic languages in safeguarding a more complete approach to knowing
- Processes of observation and documentation as a base for interpreting that are vital for designing educational work (progettazione)
- Learning considered both as a subjective process within a group and as group learning
- How cultural and expressive tension and participation produce and hold together effort, joy and pleasure in learning.”
It was my pleasure to observe parents and teachers experiencing the exhibit together. Sharing impressions and reflections, we spent about an hour watching video clips, listening to audio selections, viewing photos and drawings, reading eloquent narratives and delighting in the charming and insightful words of Italian children. Still thinking about our experience, a few of us met at the preschool the following morning for further reflection.
While the exhibit has many purposes and its creators hold many intentions for this traveling history of families and educators in Reggio Emilia, one of the most significant intentions is expressed in the words shared at the beginning of this newsletter: participation builds a culture of solidarity and citizenship inside schools and in the community—for both children and for families. I am grateful to each of you for your willingness to embrace the value of participation.
We encourage you to visit the exhibit again—or for the first time—while it is here in Santa Monica. Whether we come away with a deeper understanding of the significance of process in children’s literacy development or a renewed appreciation for the multiple intelligences within each individual, the experience truly scaffolds our ability to share a vision for our school and for our community.
Warm wishes,
Nancy
Click on the links below or scroll down for this month’s topics:
- Outreach Committee
- Green Committee
- Ages & Stages Questionnaire—3
- Admission Agreements for 2010-2011
- Summer at Palisades Preschool
- Laurie Montgomery
- More Wonder of Learning Events
- PJ Night
- Afternoons with Teachers
- New After-School Small Groups
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Welcome, Sylvia!
- PPS Teachers Continue their Education
- Preschool Mission Statement
Outreach Committee
PPS Outreach Committee members have now met several times since the beginning of the school year to decide upon ways to become involved in the community beyond our preschool site. We would like to share our ideas and planned possibilities for the enrichment of our sense of place.
Helping the homeless: Sonja Seitamo has led our efforts to learn more about channels for assisting the homeless in our community. After investigating a possible relationship with the organization, Imagine LA, the committee concluded that our community might like to organize a collection of household items, clothing, and toys for homeless families sponsored by groups affiliated with Imagine LA. Additionally, Sonja and other committee members are planning to tour a local facility supported by another organization that works with homeless families—Upward Bound. We will update you in the coming weeks about ways for you to become involved.
Concurrently, teachers in the Dandelion and Sunflower rooms are collaborating to find appropriate books/items, experiences and questions that might provoke the 4 year old children’s consideration of homelessness. As competent thinkers and caring people, the children will have some interesting ideas…
Heal the Bay:
Mary Ann Hereford has been exploring opportunities for our families to join the efforts of the organization, Heal the Bay. She has organized a private Beach Clean-up Day for us on the morning of Saturday, March 27th. We will provide more information later in the month. We are also in the process of scheduling a related interactive presentation at the preschool for the children prior to the Clean-up.
Many thanks to Sonja, Mary Ann, Shana Grein, Tanya Folsom and Melissa Stone!
Green Committee
Children in the Cherry Blossom room have new cloth napkins to replace paper napkins! Thank you, Zoe Shobaki and Briana Lombard, for creating 5 sets of individual cotton napkins for each child in the CB room. The children will use the napkins at school and we will launder them at the end of each week. Our plan is to provide napkins for the children in all classes.
Nancy Marcus has arranged for our families to purchase individual water bottles at a very reasonable price. The bottles will have our preschool logo and will come in both adult and children’s sizes. The sale will begin later this month!
We are also considering the sale of cloth grocery bags with our school logo. More info coming. We want to thank Sherry Martini for representing our school at a meeting held by the Santa Monica Department of Transportation at the Ken Edwards Center last month. The city would like for all local businesses that employ 10 or more people to offer employees information on car-pooling.
Green Committee member, Mioko Chang, shared an interesting cultural perspective regarding reusing and recycling. Growing up in Japan, Mioko explained that children bring their own cloth napkins and handkerchiefs to school each day, not only to use when eating, but also to dry their hands after hand-washing. Mioko spoke about how many Japanese people don’t even think about “going green”—it is already a part of their way of life.
Ages & Stages Questionnaire—3
On Wednesday, March 10th, Dr. Richard Cohen will join Nancy and Cherry Blossom parents and teachers in the Library at 9:00 a.m. in a conversation about developmental screening. Our preschool is participating in a First 5 LA- sponsored implementation of the use of the ASQ-3 at selected Santa Monica preschools. The ASQ-3 is a user-friendly assessment tool that is administered by parents at home and by teachers at school. Using the ASQ-3, all children are screened. This year we are asking the CB families to participate. We plan to then hold special parent/teacher conferences on Monday, March 22nd during which we will talk together about our observations.
Parents of children in other PPS classrooms are also welcome to participate. In the coming 2010-11 school year, we plan to ask all families to administer the screening during the Fall.
This assessment will augment our current use of the Desired Results Developmental Profile and the individual authentic Portfolio assessment.
Admission Agreements for 2010-2011
Admissions Agreements for all returning and new families were mailed at the end of February. Please read the Agreement carefully and return the signed documents to Karen with the $500 registration fee by March 15th, 2010. As we have families who are currently wait-listed for Fall, we will appreciate your prompt return of Agreements and fees. Thank you.
The last month of tuition for the 2010-2011 preschool year will be due June 1st. (That payment applies only to June, 2011.) The first month of tuition will be due in September, before the start of school on September 15th, 2011.
Summer at Palisades Preschool
Our summer programs will include Camp for children moving to the Sunflower and Dandelion rooms in Sept. and Transition Classes for new children and families. Summer programs will begin on Tuesday, June 29th and run through Friday, July 23rd. Applications for summer programs will be available in April, after the Spring Break. The preschool will be closed from July 26th through the end of August. Teachers return to school in early September.
Laurie Montgomery
Our toddler Explorations Teacher and part-time Studio Teacher, Laurie, is expecting a baby quite soon—as you may have already noticed! Toddler classes end on March 8th and will not resume until Fall. Laurie’s last day for this school year will be Wednesday, March 31st. She will take an extended maternity and child care leave, returning to our program in the Fall to continue teaching the toddler program. Laurie is an exceptional teacher and friend and we will miss her presence during the spring and summer. Her son, Miller, will join us in the Rosemary room in Sept., so we will have Laurie and her husband, Oliver, as parents in our program this fall!
More Wonder of Learning Events
The next events surrounding the W of L exhibit begin on Thursday evening, March 4th until Sat. afternoon, March 6th. Teacher Fatima Martinez, in the Sunflower room, and Nancy will attend this next series of presentations, tours and discussions. Para Los Ninos, an organization dedicated to the education of inner city children, is sponsoring this set of events in Santa Monica and at schools located in downtown Los Angeles. Mayor Villaraigosa is an opening speaker, along with Mary Hartzell from First Pres. and educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy and from Columbia. Fatima, a native Spanish speaker with a BA in Spanish, and Nancy, who holds a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies, have taught in public bilingual programs during their careers as teachers.
PJ Night
On Friday, March 26th, children are invited to return to the preschool from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in their pajamas. . .for pizza, games and stories. Parents are invited to have a night out! We do not charge for this event, but appreciate donations which go to our Financial Aid fund.
Afternoons with Teachers
Sunflower Teachers host an afternoon of dialogue on Thursday, March 11th from 1:45 to 2:30 p.m. Dandelion Teachers invite parents to join them on Thursday, March 18th. These are excellent opportunities to look at recent examples of documentation and to share observations and insights. Please attend.
New After-School Small Groups
New After-School Small Groups New classes begin mid-March. We are planning to offer Cooking on Mondays, Clay on Tuesdays and Ballet on Thursdays. A Drum class is a possibility on Wednesdays. Please see Karen for more information. (Woodworking now takes place on Mondays and Fridays during the regular school mornings.)
California Pizza Kitchen Fundraiser
Please save the date! –Friday, March 12th will be our second of three Palisades Preschool Days at CPK this school year. Enjoy lunch after the 12:30 dismissal or dinner in the evening. Flyers will be available the week of March 8th. With the presentation of the flyer, our preschool receives a percentage of each transaction on March 12th. Join the fun!
Welcome, Sylvia!
College student, Sylvia Maximo, is completing her field work requirement with us this semester in the Sunflower room. Mentor teacher, Soraya Pursoltani, her teaching partner, Fatima Martinez, and the Sunflower children and parents have all given Sylvia a warm welcome. Sylvia holds a BA in Liberal Studies from Cal State Northridge and is finishing her studies at Pierce Community College for her Child Development Permit.
PPS Teachers Continue their Education
In addition to the many hours of time and reflection our teachers give to their work at Palisades Preschool, many of them are also attending classes in the afternoons and evenings to further their education in the fields of child development and early childhood education. Nicole is now working on her BA at National University, going to class 4 nights each week. Nathalie is completing requirements for her Child Development Permit at Santa Monica College; Valeria is completing more early childhood units at Pierce College; Anne and Hadassah are also taking ece classes this semester. Many of our teachers hold AA degrees and BA degrees in child development and other subjects and have returned to school to deepen their early childhood education backgrounds. Take a look at the Teacher Bios in the preschool hallway for more interesting information about our beloved teaching staff.
Preschool Mission Statement
Our mission is to serve our community by offering a preschool experience for children and families that celebrates diversity, creativity and kindness. These values are embedded within a rich child-centered curriculum that provides individuals and groups with opportunities to investigate, explore and express themselves through meaningful play.