Rebecca Karr

Greetings, All!

Each year, I say the same thing: How did this year pass so quickly?? I try to savor each child’s growth over the months that we’re together. Then I turn around  and the Fours are like teenagers, the Threes are full of expectation and wonder, and the Two/Threes look toward the next year with skills only imagined. What powerful things have happened to these children!!  It all goes so fast!! And it’s all good!

Last Friday evening, we celebrated our community together for the first time in several years!  The Auction was a perfect evening, thanks to the planning, creativity, time and care put into this benefit for Tuition Assistance by a committee of parents on a mission!  Everything was perfect: the venue, the food, the items up for bid, the music, not to mention the fascinators…… and, of course, the quilts! Thank you, one and all, for creating such a perfect evening! 

We will soon have a tally for the Tuition Assistance Fund. I will let you know!

This month of May has it’s many calendar dates to note:

• Monday, May 9th, What’s Next? Meeting, 7pm on Zoom. Please RSVP (if you haven’t already done so) and I will send out a Zoom. This meeting is for families with children in their last year at our school. We will discuss the process of finding the next school for your child. The attached pamphlet offers background information to set the stage. In June or July, you and I will meet individually to talk about your family’s thoughts, your child, and possible matches with the schools. You will need to apply to independent schools before we open in the fall, so we need to do some work before the summer.
• Wednesday, May 11th: Chat with Jean, 10am. Please RSVP and I will send a Zoom.
• Friday, May 13th: Staff Development Day.  School is closed to kids.
• Monday, May 30th: Memorial Day. School is closed to kids.
• Skipping ahead to June, we will close the school year with our Watermelon Party on Friday, June 10th in the morning. Our goal is to have each age-level sing together with Richard in the Big Room and have Watermelon together. (Graduation is just too grown-up for us!!) Stay tuned for details and any necessary adjustments.

On June 20th, Diana and Rebecca will open our Summer Program with 4 weeks of fun in the sun, sprinklers and the garden! This is always sheer delight mostly on the roof!!

Now that the days are longer and warmer, chances are you and your kids will be spending more time outside. 

Life in the city challenges us to find interesting, open-ended places for exploration and creativity. Life in the country obviously offers more accessible ones.

Attached please find 2 articles about Outdoor Play. I hope they inspire you to make the best out of that window sill, terrace, backyard, trip to the park, walk in the woods. Nature is all around us. It feeds us all in very basic ways! If you come up with some magic, please share it with us!

Have fun!

Warmly,

Jean

Outdoor Play – Article 1

Outdoor Play – Article 2

Good Evening!The days are getting longer and a bit warmer. It looks like a wedding on my block with the trees covered with tiny white flowers. Seems like Spring is almost here! 

April is Poetry Month! A good time to get out your favorite verses and nursery rhymes to read them to each other. Send me your favorite poem and I will share it with everyone. We especially welcome your own verse and those of your kids……yet another way to connect at a distance! As an aside, rhyming (although poems do not always rhyme!) with kids enhances their reading readiness skills. Hmmm!

We have a busy month ahead. Please mark your calendars!

• Tomorrow, April 7th is PHOTO DAY. Check emails from Shazia for details.
• Friday, April 15th: School is closed for Passover and Good Friday.
• Monday, April 18th: School is closed for Easter Monday.
• Wednesday, April 27th: Parent/Teacher Conferences held on Zoom. School is closed for children. Sign-up schedules will be sent out by the teachers on Thursday, April 14th
•  Friday, April 29th: 40th Anniversary Live Auction, 7pm at Serra (rooftop at Eataly. I cannot wait to see you all! Covid protocol to follow.
• Monday, May 10th: What’s Next? Meeting, 7pm on Zoom for families applying to ongoing schools in September 2022 for the 2023-2024 school year.

The What’s Next? Meeting is the first of several meetings for those planning to apply to ongoing independent and/or public Kindergarten in the Fall of 2022. All families are welcome.  Please RSVP and I will send a Zoom. It will be a discussion about the process of finding a school that’s the right fit for your child. Bring all your questions.

This is an anxious time fraught with too many opinions and ideas on the subject from too many people, known and unknown! I will do my best to support you and keep your feet on the ground. We will send out an overview before the meeting to get you started.In June and July, I will meet with your family individually to come up with your list of schools to explore. You will need to apply to them in September before school opens.

Our NYSAIS Review is wrapping up as we speak. It has been a busy few days of meetings about Board work, finances, classroom programs, plans for our future. Many of our Board members were here for the first time in years to meet with the Committee. I think it went very well. Everyone seems pleased! I will let you know when the report arrives! It feels good to step out of the everyday routine, look closely at the school from every aspect of its operation and feel enormous pride and gratitude. Thank you!

Especially for families applying to ongoing schools, please refer to the link on the website (and HERE) for ongoing information about Open Houses information sessions. reminders for both public and independent schools. Check in the Parent Portal. Have a lovely day!

We wish you holidays full of family, food, friendships and fun. To those observing traditions this month, we wish you joy and hope for a more peaceful world.

Let the sun shine!

xoxo ,

Jean

Greetings!

Sorry to be a few days late! This seems to be inspection season. Yesterday, we had our Inspection from the Department of Health which issues our Permit to operate. We passed with flying colors! 

Next will be the NYSAIS Five Year Review on April 5th and 6th. I expect that we will retain our accreditation.

Masks:The following statement was issued by the Mayor’s office and NYCDOH a while ago:  Because only children ages 5 and older can get vaccinated against COVID-19 at this time, masks will continue to be required for children and staff in child care settings for children ages 4 and younger. The Bureau of Child Care will provide updated guidance after a decision is made regarding the mask requirement for older children in child care settings. Therefore, children and staff here at school will be required to continue wearing masks, until guided otherwise.

Summer Program:Information and sign-up forms for Summer Program will be sent out tomorrow by Rebecca. The Program will run for 4 weeks from June 20th through July 15th. Hope you’ll join the fun in the sun!

Thanks to all who participated in the Coat Drive. Tomorrow’s the last day, so check your closets tonight! You have been most generous, as always.
Monday evening, March 7th, Tovah Klein, Director of the Barnard Toddler Center, will be on Zoom speaking on Love and Limits from 8pm to 9pm. I have attached a flyer with the link. Tovah is one of the brilliant minds of the day who know, understand and love toddlers. She is beyond wise, if that’s possible! Don’t miss her!

Spring Break is on the horizon. School will be closed from Monday, March 14th, reopening on Monday, March 28th. Have many fun adventures!!On April 7th, the week following our return, we will have Photo Day. Info to follow.

We will have a Chat With Jean on Thursday, March 10th at 10am. Please RSVP and I’ll send a Zoom invitation.

I cannot close without acknowledging the devastating situation in Ukraine. The humanitarian situation, among much more, cries for help. The following links come to me from a former caregiver of children here at CDS years ago. She is now a Doctor of Infectious Diseases here in NYC. Her recommendations are as follows:https://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ua/donate/-my-donation    or    https://razomforukraine.org/donate/ Hopefully, the civilized world can bring this situation to a sane resolution soon.(Reminder to be mindful of images on the news and small minds. Better to watch the news after kid bedtime.)

Warmly and with hope,

Jean

Greetings!I hope you and your bundles enjoyed the snow over the weekend. The first snow of winter is still magic for me!

Happy Lunar New Year to all families celebrating! A beautiful dragon just marched through the Big Room. It’s the Year of the Tiger, a symbol of bravery, wisdom and strength.

Admissions and Ex-missions seasons are simultaneously wrapping up. Our letters went out to prospective families last week, and this Thursday letters will go out to families applying to independent schools for Kindergarten. Soon NYC will take a collective breath and we can relax again knowing where the kids will be in school next fall!!
This time of year is often rich with signs of imagination. Kids have adjusted to school,teachers know their kids, there is a sense of safety that took time to develop. This is a fertile time for continued experiments and adventures. Watch for the fun!
Thanks for sending in the Re-enrollment forms. Contracts will be sent out  based on the schedule you noted on the form. You should have your contract by February 11th with a return date of Friday, February 25th.

Our Auction planners are busy preparing for a Spring event to the Benefit Tuition Assistance Fund. We are hoping to have an in-person evening of food, fun, and festivities. Committees are forming. If you’d like to join the planning fun, please let Shazia know and watch for bulletins from Committee chairs.

Summer Program plans are underway. Barring any changes necessary because of Covid, we will have a Program running from June 20th through July 29th from 9am till 1pm. Details and sign-up information will be available by March 1st.Valentine’s Day is coming up on February 14th. Your teachers will describe to you the way Valentine’s will be handled in your child’s pod. If you choose to send in Valentines, please be sure to include all children in the class. Thanks! 

Please note that Shazia will be away from February 3rd until February 11th for family reasons. She will be available via email. We wish her a safe trip.
Please note the following dates:

• Presidents Days: Monday and Tuesday, February 21st and 22nd. School closed.
• Chats With Jean: Thursday, February 17th at 10am and Monday, February 28th, at 10am. All are welcome! RSVP and I will send a link.

And what will the Groundhog say?

Warmly,Jean

Happy New Year!I hope your holidays were warm, cozy and satisfying, regardless of the unwelcome visit by Omicron! I trust anyone affected is on the way to recovery and being able to join us again on 32nd Street! 

Thank you for joining the Community Meeting last week. The last thing I wanted to have happen was a delay in opening school on the 4th. But as a result of the collaborative work done to assess and tweak our protocol, I feel that we’re as ready as we can be to continue together safely. Thanks for your support, ideas, and patience as we did our due diligence! 

In the school world of NYC, January seems to be wrap-up time for school enrollment in both preschools and ongoing schools.

• Downtown preschools will be sending out letters at the end of January with responses due a month later. This is new and it is unknown how helpful this new plan will be. Seems like a lot of time for decision-making!
• Kindergarten letters will be sent out from Independent Schools on February 3rd with responses due on February 10th.
• Please check the DOE website if you will be attending one of the amazing Public schools in District 2.
• Those of you who will be returning in the fall, a Re-enrollment Form along with the Tuition Schedule will be sent out later this week once the Board of Trustees approves the work of the Finance Committee. See Debbie for information about Tuition Assistance. 
• I will be sending more guidance as time draws near these dates.

Calendar Notes:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be celebrated on Monday, January 17th. School will be closed.
• Chats With Jean are back! Please join me on Zoom at 10am on Friday, January 21st and/or on Wednesday, January 26th. Please RSVP and I will send a Zoom.

I trust you and your bundles enjoyed the first snow! It is one of the magical touches of Nature. A walk, hot chocolate and 2 of my favorite books round out the picture: A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Katie and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton, and a snowball in the freezer!

Please take good care, stay in touch and we’ll see you very soon!

Affectionately,

Jean

Hello again!

This Newsletter has been delivered in stages! After all the details were shared with you last week, I was left with my thoughts for this month.
We have been together for about 3 months and I am aware of some of the friendships that are emerging in our community. Your families are somehow finding each other and ways to be together. The children are also finding that they are attracted to one child one day, and another the next. How is that managed?

We are all right on schedule. Out of the Winter Fair (see info below) , I am sure special friendships will emerge. On the roof playground the same is inevitable. Among our staff, long-standing relationships are treasured and new ones bring fresh camaraderie.In the face of the pandemic, connection thrives. Please read on in the attachment below.

Reminder that we return from Break on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

We wish you a joyous holiday rich with family, adventure, peace, and renewed hope.

With affection and appreciation,

Jean

• Winter Fair: Please be sure to read all emails about the festivities happening next Saturday, December 11th at Madison Square Park and Chelsea Day School! Event Chairs Jillian Cohen and Suhasini Sareen are doing an inspired job of creating a fun day for our families that will include a trip into the school, pod by pod!! Volunteers are still needed, so check out the sign-up sheets for a small shift. As our Lisa says, “If everyone does something small, something big happens!” Something big is about to happen!! Thank you one and all!

• Celebration of Light: Each year before Winter Break, we celebrate the light in our community. If we could be in the school, each age group and their parents would gather in the Big Room, sing songs, eat cookies baked by the kids, and thank the teachers. Reality being what it is, we are unable to come together physically. Thank goodness for ZOOM! The last day of school before the break will be Thursday, December 16th. Friday morning, the 17th at 10am, we will gather together on ZOOM. The children will sing songs led by Richard, we will light a candle for each of the many holidays celebrated in our community, and we will wish each other a Happy Holiday. We light candles for Eid, Divali, Hanukkah, St. Lucia’s Day, Christmas,Boxing Day,  Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, and Nowruz. If there is a holiday in your culture that is missing, please let me know and we will add a candle! (I will be lighting them from my home!)

THOUGHTS ON FRIENDSHIP