Welcome to Summer Fun!

We have a lot of exciting and fun activities planned for your children.  I want to remind all parents that Thursday and Friday are our messy dirty water days. We will have water tables out, as well as water in the small sandbox by Room 3.  Please remember to bring an extra set of clothes, sox and shoes those days.  Please do NOT send your children in their best shoes or clothing those days.  If you have younger children, please always pack an extra set of clothing from shirts, shorts, underwear, sox and shoes.  You may put them in zip lock bag and write their name on the bag.  Make sure you check their bags daily for soiled clothing.  If your child is not potty trained, please provide diapers daily, and we will provide the wipes.  Please also remember to put sunscreen on your child daily.  We have extra in the office if you forget.  Due to possible allergies we are unaware of, we are not permitted to apply sunscreen to your child.

On July 7, 2009 and July 8, 2009 Whatever Little Pony will be here to take the children’s pictures on a real pony.  They take everyone’s picture and then before the summer program is over, you have the opportunity to buy the pictures.  There is no obligation to purchase the pictures, however, if you do purchase them, a portion of the money is returned to the preschool.

I would like to take this opportunity to explain our billing process if you drop-off early or pick-up after 12:00 p.m.  We bill per quarter hour.  If you drop-off at 8:00 until 8:55, we charge $1.35 per quarter hour.  If you pick-up after 12:05 p.m., again, we charge $1.35 per quarter hour.  We will have your total due at the end of Summer Fun.  Please also remember that extended care pick-up is at 2:00 p.m. The late fee starts at 2:01 p.m. and is $2.00 per minute. Since we bill off of your sign-in sheet, please make sure the time you write down is accurate and legible.  We have 120 different handwriting times to read at the end of the month!  Also, California Department of Social Services requires each child to be signed in and out every day they are in attendance at the preschool.  Please make sure you or your designated drop-off or pick-up person is signing in and out.  Also, please make sure if you send someone to pick-up your child that they are on the pick-up list.  Let them know they need to bring identification and show it in the office before we will release them.  Thank you!

We do all of our communication via email and notes home.  Please make sure the office has your correct email address.  Communication between the parents, the teachers, and the office staff is what makes the preschool work for everyone.  We are always here to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Korin and I are available to help you in anyway we can to make your transition smooth.  Please feel free to call us or stop by anytime.

We hope all of the new parents and returning parents have a great summer and welcome to Northminster Preschool’s Summer Fun!

Shelli Harder, Director

Vacation Bible School registration for the summer of 2009 is now open.

Forms should be filled out and turned into the church office at your earliest opportunity — our program fills up fast!!!

Every child must have a completed registration form and release form turned into the church office.  Scholarships are available; please let us know if there is a need.  The Youth Volunteer Application Form and Release Form must be filled out and returned to the church office.

You may download registration and release forms for your children below.

• Registration Form
• Release Form
• Youth Volunteer Application

Enrollment is limited,  so please register early to avoid being placed on the wait-list or missing out!!

This summer Northminster is planning a romp through the swamp with our Bayou themed Crocodile Dock, and you’re invited!  We hope you’ll join us for this year’s Vacation Bible School.

Each day children will take part in a fun, Bible learning experience that they can see, hear, touch, and even taste!   Bible point crafts, team-building games, lively Bible songs, video visits from Chadder Chipmunk, and Bible drama adventures are just a few of the fun activities that children will enjoy.

July 27th to July 31st 9 AM to noon

Pre-registration- starts on Sunday April 26th AFTER the worship service.

FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED…..AND IT FILLS UP FAST!!!!

• $40 for first child in family, $30 for each additional child
• Potty trained 3 year olds to 5th graders are welcome

Enrollment is limited to 140 children (34 total Preschool age), so please register early to avoid being placed on the wait-list or missing out.  Every child must have a completed registration form and release form turned into the church office.  Scholarships are available; please let us know if there is a need.

Older students (entering 6th grade and above) are invited to apply to be VBS volunteer helpers.  Limited volunteer spaces are available.  Not all applications will be approved. 

Registration and release forms will be posted to this site following pre-registration on the 26th.  Please print out the forms you need, fill out, and return to the church office.

If you would like to see what happened last year, go to our Photo Gallery.

We look forward to seeing you at Crocodile Dock!

Northminster invites parents to have a day free for shopping on Saturday, December 13, from 1:00-5:00pm!

The YoungLife Group at Northminster Presbyterian Church invite you to bring your children to join us this Saturday to enjoy a safe and fun afternoon enjoying a Christmas craft, games, a snack and a movie while you take the afternoon off to prepare to the season.

Parent’s shopping day is open to diaperless children from the ages of 3-11.  The fee for participating is $15 for one child and $25 for a family of two or more children and goes to supporting the youth in our community who want to go to camp.  All families are invited to join us in the Sanctuary afterward for a Holiday and Christmas Carol Sing Along!

Please enjoy a “Parent’s Night Out” this Friday, November 7th, from 6-10pm!  The YoungLife Group at Northminster invite you to bring your children to our church this Friday to enjoy a safe and fun evening of dinner, music, a movie, crafts, and a story, games and a snack while the adults in the family enjoy some free time out on their own.  Parent’s night out is open to diaperless children from the ages of 3-11.  The fee for participating is $15 for one child and $25 for a family of two or more children and goes to supporting the youth in our community who want to go to camp.

Please call the office at 858 490-3995 to reserve your spot!

What an amazing week this has been here at Northminster!  All year long I’d been hearing about how great Vacation Bible School is each summer.  And now I’ve finally experienced it for myself!  I’ve worked with VBS at several churches in the past and I can honestly say that this has been one of my best VBS experiences ever!

There are two things that made this VBS week so great for me—the kids and the volunteers.

It was so wonderful to have this campus overrun with little kids for a whole week!  I was thinking about why it’s so great to be surrounded by little kids, and I think it’s because kids remind us about what’s really important.  When they’re asked what they’re thankful for, they don’t say things like, “My new car” or “My big screen HDTV.”  Instead, kids will say things like, “Playing with my mom and dad,” “Hugging my grandma and grandpa,” and “Playing with my friends.”

What I’m finding is that kids haven’t been around long enough to let our world distort their priorities.  Yes, we taught the kids about Jesus this week—but they taught us a whole lot about what’s really important in life!

The volunteers also made it a terrific week for me!  It was so exciting to arrive on Monday morning and see so many people wearing their green Power Lab t-shirts!  I couldn’t believe how many people—of all ages—were there and were excited to love on these kids for the whole week!

So I want to say thank you to all of the volunteers who worked so hard this week.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  God has done some amazing things through each one of you in the lives of these little ones.  Because of you, Jesus words came true this week:  “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

Congratulations and Thanks to Northminster Preschool for re-painting the preschool! This is truly a blessing for both the preschool and the church. It provides a more beautiful campus and play area for the children and teachers of the preschool. It also improves the appearance of our church and, well, even the value of our property! So, again–THANK YOU!

Pastor Markus Watson

Between services last Sunday, the families and friends of Northminster got together in celebration of our Grand Re-opening of our Nursery Shower Party! It proved to be a great opportunity to enjoy fellowship, cake and punch as we received new toys, bedding and baby items that were gifted to our nursery in honor of all of the youngest congregants at Northminster.

Our new nursery is being set up just outside of our Sanctuary, so new mothers and dads can be most comfortable in knowing that their babies are safe and well cared for during service. Thank you all for helping us celebrate with your loving contributions.

Just a reminder that this Sunday, March 9th, we will be having one combined church service at 9:30 a.m., where we will be joined by the preschool families in honor of the beautiful new lawn that has been installed in our preschool playground area.

Our 9:30 service will be followed by a brief dedication of our new playground turf and a delicious pancake brunch! Please join us for this special occasion.

… and remember to turn your clocks ahead one hour this coming Saturday night or you may arrive at church a bit late…

Northminster now has a full suite of on-line web based church calendars. There are now three on-line calendars to be found in the Navigation links on the left side of any web page on this site.

The Church Calendar is the place to go for anything you want to know about what is going on in the life of the church. This calendar is in addition to the Young Life and WyldLife Calendars which have been on-line for some time now.

These calendars are the place to go for anything you would like to know about what’s happening, or when it’s happening, in the life of the church, now and in the future.