Dear Northminster Parents and Friends:

It is unimaginable that Christmas is close upon us already! Wasn’t it just yesterday that your children started school with us laughing and shedding a few tears? We have made so many new friends since September and have had an amazing amount of fun!

It is so easy for me to reflect on the past 3 months and realize what a wonderful and blessed preschool we have here at Northminster. We have amazing teachers, the most considerate and giving parents, and beautiful children at this preschool. I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all that you do both big and small to make this preschool the best in San Diego. It really takes the efforts of many to make Northminster a unique and premiere school. I am thankful to all of you for your contributions to that effort.

During the holidays, we try to help out a local organization here in Clairemont called CCSA. They give food, clothing and gifts to the needy in our community. We will be holding a NEW toy drive from now until December 18^th. We will also collect canned and boxed food for them until that date. Either drop them by the office or in the classroom. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

A reminder that the preschool will be closed from December 24^th – January 4^th. We will re-open on Monday, January 7^th, 2008 at 8:00 a.m. Also, there will be no lunch bunch or extended care on Friday, December 21, 2007. Please make sure your child is picked up by 12:00 p.m.

The preschool also participates in Cars4Causes. If you have an old car that you would like to donate, contact them and they will come and pick-up the car and Northminster Preschool will receive a check. Just mention our name when you call.

On behalf of the Northminster Preschool staff, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2008. Please, if you are traveling, make it a safe trip. We look forward to seeing everyone in 2008!

May God bless all of you this season and throughout the new year.

Shelli Harder,
Preschool Director

It is amazing what green grass can do to make a playground look finished! Even if it is artificial grass. The children are out on the new grass playing soccer and rolling around as children should be.

We are so grateful to all of the parents who donated money and the fund raising efforts of the Parent Group to make this project possible! What a wonderful community effort.

Thank you everyone!

Shelli Harder,
Preschool Director

This is a month for giving thanks and we would like to thank ALL of the carnival committee volunteers, the parent volunteers, the parent contributors, the parent group members, the silent auction participants and the raffle participants for an AMAZING carnival this year! Wow! We could not have done it without each and every one of you and we are so grateful for all of you and your tireless efforts to pull off another successful preschool carnival. Thank you to all of the parents who came to the carnival and brought your children. You also made it a success by participating! we recognize that all contributions on all levels make this preschool successful.

You will be noticing high school children around the preschool this month. We have participated in the Regional Occupational Program provided by Clairemont High School and University City High School for many years. The purpose of this program is to provide unpaid internship training experiences in the community. These students receive formal vocational related classroom instruction before they are placed in training stations, such as Northminster Preschool to further their learning experiences that commensurate with their skills. They are under the supervision of a Regional Occupational Program teacher who is an employee of the San Diego Unified School District. All of these students are supervised by the teachers in our classrooms and wear name tags to identify them as part of the ROP program. Parents, please feel free to ask your teacher about the students assigned to your child’s classroom. If you have any other questions or concerns, please stop by the office.

We will be collecting food for our annual food drive with donations going to CCSA here in Clairemont. There will be boxes outside each classroom for canned goods, pasta, stuffing mix for those in our community who are in need. Thank you for your donations. We are so blessed here at Northminster Preschool it is nice to be able to reach out to those families in need in our backyard.

We are very appreciative of all the parents and children here at Northminster Preschool and feel very blessed to be able to be a part of your lives for the short time you are with us.

If you ever have any questions, concerns or feedback, our door is always open!

Our “Wild Wild West” Carnival is Saturday, November 3, 2007 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. This is Northminster Preschool’s biggest fund raiser of the year.

There will be games, silent auction, raffle drawing, bake sale, youth group hot dog sale, and church sponsored craft sale.

All are welcome.

Open House will be October 25, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The children will show off their classroom activities for their parents, who will manage to fold themselves for a while into those tiny chairs.

This event has been canceled due to the fires in San Diego and the ongoing recovery effort. A new date and time will be announced soon.

Things are humming in the Preschool Department: the children are happy in their routines, eager for stories, songs and all that outside play equipment. Rooms reflect the Autumn season, with pumpkins, colorful leaves and of course some Halloween decorations. Teachers use the season to implement learning of letters and numbers.

The preschool held a “Get Acquainted Potluck” on the evening of Thursday, September 27 at Congdon Hall. There were 120 adults and 75 children in attendance. Shelli and the preschool staff would like to thank Linda Qua, Diane White, Michele Mitchell, Chelsea Cartlidge and the 14 youths who helped out with the 75 children on the preschool grounds. We could not have done it without all of you! THANK YOU!!!

Meet Keri McColm, lead teacher in Room A. Keri specializes in two year olds. She joined our staff in 1977 and has continued here since. That equals 30 years at Northminster! Keri and Jim’s children, Matthew (22) and Rebecca (18), are graduates of Northminster Preschool, of course. Keri helps parents through the “Potty Training Blues” time, and is the first positive bridge between home and school.

Drop in some day and sit awhile, too. The chairs may be low, but your spirit will soar!