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Letter from the Director
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Dear Redeemer Community,
In watching this pasts week's coverage of the unrest in our city, I was most struck by a statement made by U.S. Senator, Barbara Mikulski, when she remarked that Monday's early violence was caused by just a few hundred students while the other 85,000 public city school students did not participate and went home. Let's add to this number all the other students in our independent schools, parochial schools, and public schools in the surrounding counties, and we can be grateful for the hundreds of thousands of youth in our midst who strive to do the right thing and as we like to say at Redeemer, "make good choices". Our prayers are with those students who did participate in the unrest, and It is our hope that Monday's events will never be repeated. Our children are our future, and we all know in our ever-changing world, getting them there takes a village.
This thought has inspired me to dedicate this electronic newsletter to our teachers, those who devote their lives to helping children develop a strong moral compass. Alongside their parents, our teachers work diligently to instill in our children a compassion for others and a sensitivity towards our diverse culture; confidence in themselves and resilience through adversity. Our teachers inspire and motivate. They tie shoes and make boo boos better. They help stretch imaginations and shape problem solvers. They nurture and they care. They are teachers. They are heroes. Thank you to our Redeemer teachers, Mrs. Poe and Mother P for all that you do for our students. We are so lucky to have you!
Best regards,
Mary
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Classroom Updates:
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Hanna 2s:
We are nearing the end of the school year, and the children have changed so much since the beginning of the year. It is fun to watch them, listen to them, and talk with them. Healthy growth and development occurs within loving relationships: ones in which children can explore, learn, and grow, all in a safe and caring environment. This is such a wonderful age and time to enjoy. As we move into May, we will focus on the color yellow, the diamond shape, flowers and bugs.
Longaker 2s:
We've had a great past 2 weeks! The girls are enjoying playing cooperatively now, cooking together, building towers and cities, and playing fun games on the playground. Mother's Day is right around the corner and the girls have been busy working on a beautiful gift with that in mind. We'll be planting nasturtiums next week to explore how seeds grow into beautiful flowers. They're also busy creating gigantic Red Ripe Strawberries, based on Don Wood's THE LITTLE MOUSE, THE RED RIPE STRAWBERRY AND THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR. This book happens to be the all time favorite book of the entire class, since the beginning of the year!
Hooper 3s:
The children were so excited this morning as they entered the classroom to find that their caterpillars did indeed turn into butterflies...Magic!! Today we completed our Community Helpers Unit as Postal Workers. Each child decorated and "signed" one postcard for a classmate and then we "mailed" them! Keep your eyes peeled for a colorful postcard to arrive in the mail for your little one! We are working on a Mothers Day treat and then next week we will begin our month long Ocean Unit! The "Under the Sea" Counting Book will take all of May to complete. The children will create several ocean creatures as well as learn a few fun facts about them. Next week, the children will share their newly completed Nursery Rhyme Books with the kindergartners before bringing them home. We hope you will enjoy these special handmade books that your children worked on all year long...remember the importance of rhyming for reading readiness. Our 3 Day 3's class breakfast picnic is scheduled for June 3rd (rain date June 4th) at Emma and Cole Cummings home. Food assignments will be forthcoming as everyone contributes. This is always a fun and delicious way to end a fabulous school year as well as celebrating our Summer Birthday Children! Happy Mothers Day to all of our WONDERFUL Moms!!
Libby 3s:
The 5 Day 3s have enjoyed the April showers and are ready for May flowers. We are finishing up our units on community helpers and springs flowers. Last week we had an exciting visit from the Fire Department! We are also nearing the completion of our Nursery Rhymes book. In May we are looking forward to the warm weather and working on our final counting book about the Ocean. The 5' Day 3's have also acquired a love of group discussions. Every day we have been picking a topic to have a conversation about. The children are loving being able to share there own ideas and insights. Happy May!
There is a lot of "growing and changing" in the Faint 4s. We are watching tadpoles for legs, our caterpillars have changed to chrysalides, and our marigolds and beans have sprouted! We will be working on Mother's Day surprises as well as the letter Z next week.
Loeb 4s:
The Loeb Fours are so excited! The weather is wonderful, we are nearing the end of our alphabet book, and our chrysalises are firmly attached to their netting. We made caterpillars and painted butterflies to celebrate growth and change. Sound familiar?
It is a challenging time of year, with the balmy temperatures, to keep them engaged. However, we have the solution! Our Building Project! Your creative children are going to build a city and invite you to view it on May 22nd! Wonderful!!! And best of all for our Moms, we will be busy making things to show you how important you are to your children.
Kindergarten:
The kindergarteners are enjoying their study of the coral reef. We have completed our "fish" books and will finish our touchy feely sea books this week. We are excited to share these books with the three and four year olds classes.In math the students are developing fluency with addition and subtraction to 10. All of our dice and domino games provide repetition and practice.In language arts we continue to work on our emergent reading strategies. We have also been discussing the beginning, middle and end of stories. We continue to work on "the magic e." We are so impressed with how far the kindergarteners have come!!
The Pre-first boys are enjoying our unit on the 50 states and the symbols of America. Next week, we will focus in on our own great state of Maryland. Our postcard challenge is off to a great start! We are hoping to get postcards from all 50 states...wish us luck!! The boys have been learning all about how to write a story with main characters, setting and plot. They will be writing a story of their own in the coming weeks and I can't wait to see their finished products. In math, we are learning how to tell time on an analog clock, counting on and sequencing. Enjoy this beautiful weather with your boys!!!
Lunch Bunch:
Lunch Bunch is gearing up for many fun projects in May. We have been painting and using water color markers, making pictures of the earth and do not touch signs for our gardens at Redeemer. In the next few weeks we will be continuing to paint using spray paint, watercolor and rollers. we will also make puzzles and collage along with many other activities. Thank you for sending your children to Lunch Bunch, we are very excited to see them in the afternoons throughout the end of the year!
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Office Notes
Save the Date
We will be hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Happy Hour for all of our wonderful parents who work so hard to support our school. The festivities will be from 6:00-8:00 on Wednesday, May 27 at RPDS. More details to come.
Enrollment Update:
We have a few remaining spots in some of our classes for next year. If you know of anyone interested in visiting and touring the school, please have them contact the office.
UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS:
Thursday, May 14 5:30
End of Year Family Picnic - RPDS Playground
Friday, May 22
9:15 K/P1 Publishing Party - Parish Hall
11:00 4s/Pre-K City Project - Hale Auditorium
11:45 All school dismissal - no afternoon programs
Monday, May 25- No school- Memorial Day
Wednesday, May 27- Volunteer Appreciation Happy Hour 6-8 pm at RPDS
Wednesday,June 3- 11:45 All School Dismissal
Thursday, June 4- 11:45 All School Dismissal
Friday, June 5- 9:15 End of Year Program
*Summer break begins after program
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Program Highlights:
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Our Redeemer Teachers
One Hundred Years from now
It will not matter
what kind of car I drove,
What kind of house I lived in,
how much money was in my bank account
nor what my clothes looked like.
But the world may be a better place because
I was important in the life of a child.
Excerpt from
"Within My Power" by Forest Witcraft
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Fire Department Visits Redeemer On Friday, April 24 a ladder truck and firefighters from the Baltimore City Fire Department visited our 3s, Pre-K, Kindergarten and Pre-first classes. Their visit was planned to coincide with the 3s unit on Community Helpers.
Super Scientific Circus The Kindergarten and Pre-first classes, along with their teachers and science teacher, Wendy Craig, were treated to a fantastic show at Goucher College. |
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In preschool we recognize the privilege, responsibility and joy of educating our youngest students. Alongside their parents, we work diligently at building the foundation for their ongoing and lifelong learning. Be sure to click on the link below found in every issue to see our wonderful students in action. Enjoy!
CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR NEWEST VIDEO
"A Tribute to our Teachers"
Please visit our website
Interested in learning more about our Kindergarten
Please visit:
to learn more about
The Church of the Redeemer
RPDS WEEKLY VALUE:
There is no time for tattling!
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Community News
Trike Ride for Charity
We raised $3,933 for Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology. Congratulations and thank you to our students, families, friends and faculty for supporting this event and raising more money than ever before!
A Message from Mother P.
Anna Noon+ (Associate at St. David's), Stewart Lucas+ (Rector at Nativity/Cedarcroft) and I arrived at York and Northern Parkway around 3:30pm this past Tuesday. A crowd of 80 or so people in all stood dispersed in solidarity at all four corners of the intersection.
Two Caucasian women, college students from Loyola, held a spray-painted sheet between them. A bearded Caucasian male hoisted a sign above his head that proclaimed, "ONE BALT". Across Northern on an adjacent corner, several folks gripped a big yellow banner with green print that said, "York Road Leadership Partnership Team".
Councilman Bill Henry of District 4 stood behind the banner bearers in a white buttoned-down shirt and blue tie. A grin spread across his face. Bill had heard rumors and reports that trouble was being planned along York Road, to take place around mid-afternoon, so he had decided to quickly organize a peaceful demonstration as an alternative neighborhood activity.
I surveyed the scene and the bright blue sunny day, clutching my prayer book. I hadn't known what to expect or what might be needed, but the energy and mood felt calm. An unspoken spirit of determination, love for and ownership of our community bound us all together, no trouble or troublemakers in sight. Car after car after car honked their support. Our motley crew cheered and waved in response.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thanks be to God!
A few feet away, I spotted an African-American boy squatting by himself, intently coloring a peace sign on the sidewalk with chalk.
Squatting down beside him, I stretched out my hand.
"Hey there, I'm Cristina, what's your name?"
He looked up from his creation, took my hand, and smiled a beautiful smile, "I'm Michael."
"Michael, how old are you?"
"Eight."
"Wow, it's great you're out here, Michael. I think you have a lot of courage." Pause. "What made you come out?"
Continuing to color, he said, "I want our police officers to stop killing black men."
Nodding my head in silent support, I stood back up and left him to his task.
Thank you for your continued prayers for our city of Baltimore!
Open Forum and Discussion
Church of the Redeemer and St. Michael's & All Angels are holding an open forum and discussion about the recent incidents in Baltimore.
Sunday, May 3
2:00-3:30
St. Michael's & All Angels
2013 St. Paul Street
Click this link to learn more.
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Contact Us
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Redeemer Parish Day School
5603 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21210
410-435-9510
Mary Knott, Director mknott@redeemeronline.com
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