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Hello to all my LH&H families;

I hope you are all enjoying the wonderful (if changeable!) spring weather. As they say about Central illinois, if you don't like the current weather, stick around for a half hour and it will change! It's with this spring season that I wanted to remind you of some housekeeping items. It's good for us to re-focus on some of the fundamentals that make our LH&H community work so well.
     SPRING CLOTHES: The children love to get outside after a long winter.
          * Please remember to bring a new change of clothes appropriate for the season for your child's                  cubbie.
          * Also just a reminder, please don't send your child to school in clothing that you don't want to                 get dirty. Our teachers try to keep the children clean; however, during the good weather they will                be playing outside and it is more important that the teachers watch our for the safety of the kids                    and not worry about upsetting parents when clothes get dirty. We will have sidewalk chalk days                   and wet ground issues to deal with at times.
          * Also be sure to bring in sunscreen for the season and sign the permission slips for usage.
          * As stated in our policy manual please be sure to dress your children in clothing appropriate for play,               art, etc..... Also, I know flip flops are easy to dress your children in however they are neither                     practical nor safe for outdoor play. There are fewer injuries when the kids wear sandals with                      closed toes and back straps that are more conducive to outside play.

     ENROLLMENT PACKETS & PRICE INCREASES: In the past our enrollment updates and price         increases were in January, but as most people noticed, we chose to forgo these increases and move to        an academic year system. As such, the increases for everyone will go into effect on August 1, 2009.      For those of you who were on the January increase schedule this will seem like a larger increase than             usual, but it represents the first increase for you in over a year and a half (instead of an increase in                 January 2009, yours will come 7 months later, August 2009). There will also be new enrollment               information needed by August; therefore new packets will be sent home soon that will need to be               returned by July 31st to ensure no re-enrollment fees are charged to your accounts.

     PICK-UP/DROP-OFF REMINDERS: Please remember to pick your children up by 5:45 pm to give            the teachers time to clean their rooms and leave for home on time. Late fees will be strickly enforced            due to abuse of this policy.
          * Also please be courteous and remember not to use the handicapped parking unless you are                      handicapped. We do have parents and grandparents who need those spots and I really do not                       want to be the parking enforcement.
          * Also, unless you have three or more children, please do not use the circle drive or drive                      up. If there are parking spaces available in the lot, please use them first.
          * When parking along the building please park with the passenger door closest to the building                so we are all facing the same direction.
          * And most importantly, please watch out for children running in the parking lot. The children                 are excited by the great weather and are spontaneous in their actions. Parents please hold on to                  your children going out the doors ---it takes everyone being cautious to keep our children                  and families safe.

OK, on to the fun stuff!

I hope everyone is ready for the Scholastic Book Fair. Don't forget about the pie-in-the-face contest to raise money for the Center for Women in Transition. Also, as always, the flower fund raiser money goes to outdoor toys and equipment for summer. We are always in need of new outdoor toys when the season rolls around.

Please let me know if your child get pictures done at Kendra Pence Photography or Illini Studio so I can maybe get pictures to put on our walls here at the center. As we refresh these areas, the pictures in the front entrance are able to be purchased at cost if you are interested. Otherwise I would be happy to keep them on the walls.

Our enrollment for Fall Kindergarten is going well; I believe we will be having two kindergarten classes. We are so excited at the growth that our center has had. Our current class of 9 kindergarteners has done so well this year. It's so important to give our children a good head start in their schooling. We meet children where they are and encourage them to go beyond their chronological level of learning; however it is only encouraged, not insisted upon. We will be scheduling an open house for our summer camp and kindergarten programs soon for the public, so keep your eyes open.

Remember these dates:
May 6th - Mother's Day Tea (Tigers, Pandas & Zebras)
May 7th - Mother's Day Tea (Kangas, Cheetahs & Hippos)
May 8th - Mother's Day Tea (Bears, Turtles & Kindergarten)

May 15th - Kindergarten zoo trip
May 21st & 22nd - Preschool, Kindergarten Conferences

May 25th - CLOSED Memorial Day

May 28th - Hippos Graduation 6:30 pm
May 29th - Zebras Graduation 6:30 pm

May 29th - FUN DAY - Last day of Kindergarten
June 4th - Summer Camp begins

As always, we welcome your feedback. We love being a part of your child's lives and appreciate the work you do to help make the LH&H community so special.

In His Name,

Ms.Terri