March Newletter

                    I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13


Dear Parents,
God has so richly blessed our program with many wonderful children, parents, families, teachers and Gloria Dei members. Thank you for sharing your time, talents, comments, concerns and continuous encouragement. Thank you for inviting us into your lives so we may walk towards the Kingdom together. Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to participate in the Early Childhood Ministries. We appreciate the fact that the ECM families work so well with the faculty members to offer the children the best possible school experience available.

There are many very important items in this letter, please take a few moments and read it in its entirety!
• NATIONAL LUTHERAN SCHOOLS WEEK is celebrated 8-12 March. We are planning some fun days to celebrate the many blessings we receive as a Lutheran School. We also use this time for a service event to help the children understand that we are called to serve others. This year we will be collecting items to send to our Military Troops abroad. Our goal is to fill the many baskets placed throughout the program hallways and deliver them to those that protect us each day. There is a list of suggested items on the baskets if you need any suggestions.

? Monday, 8 March, is SWITCHAROO DAY. Wear it backwards, inside out or upside down!!
? Tuesday, 9 March, is WILD & ZANY DAY. Wear your craziest hairdo, your wildest socks; the only limit is your own imagination.
? Wednesday, 10 March is SILLY ACCESSORY DAY. Wear those funky shades, all of your Mardi Gras beads, that new feather 
    boa, your silly hat …… you get the idea.
? Thursday, 11 March, is SUPPORT YOUR TEAM DAY. Whether it’s a NFL, NBA, College, School, or Community team, go all the
    way (can you guess my team colors?)!!
? Friday, 12 March, is PAJAMA DAY. Come comfy and enjoy a relaxing morning with your teacher.

• All orders for the Original Art Works Fundraiser are due Tuesday, 9 March. Order forms and monies need to be turned in to the classroom teacher. Examples of items that may be purchased with your child (ren)’s artwork are displayed in the ECM hallway. This an excellent opportunity to gather some items for Mother’s and Grandmother’s Day or do some early shopping for birthdays, special days or Christmas.

• Keep saving those Box Tops and printer cartridges and bring them into the ECM Office.

• Parent Chapel is Thursday and Friday, 11-12 March. You are invited to attend with your child in the Chapel at 9:30 AM for a special Chapel lesson on the Fruit of the Spirit: Self Control.

• There will not be preschool during the week of 15-19 March, for Spring Break. Childcare will be available only for those students following the full time calendar. Please sign up for care outside of your child’s classroom and indicate which days your child will need care. We would like to allow our faculty members some time off and still maintain our child to faculty ratios. If your child is on the sign up and you will require care, please stop by the ECM Office.

As a reminder, the Early Childhood Ministries closes at 5:30 PM. Starting at 5:35 PM, a one dollar ($1) per minute late
fee will be assessed to those picking their child (ren) up after hours. The ECM has been very flexible during the various construction phases of the Nasa Parkway, but no longer feels this is an impact to the time of pick-up. Like you, the faculty has put in many long hours and is anxious to be their families, have an anticipated dinner time with their loved ones or have extra curricular activities that they are attending or carpooling to. Because it is our policy not to allow a teacher to stay alone with a child, the impact is to more than a single teacher. This also cost the program in unnecessary overtime. Please be conscientious of the schedule of all individuals during pick up time and allow adequate time for arrival and to visit with the faculty prior to the program closing.

I pray that God continues to bless our partnership with you in the awesome task of helping your children become all that they are able to through God’s graces.

In His Name,
Kathie Walker
Director of Early Childhood Ministries