Marylhurst Early Childhood Center

Archive for the ‘General News’ Category

MECC will offer Before and After Care starting this Fall!  Care will be provided by an MECC teacher in a regular classroom, with space for 10 children, ages 3 – 6.

Before Care:  8 to 9 AM

After Care:  12 to 5 PM

Please see the Extended Care page for details and sign-up form.

We are very excited to announce a new Parenting Discussion Group, starting in October, 2010.

On the first and second Monday morning of each month (October through May), Ann Brown will be leading parenting discussions for all MECC parents. The group will meet from 9:30 to 11:30 and it will be an opportunity for you to come with your parenting questions, share your joys and challenges, and be part of a supportive community of parents who know that this job – raising kids – is far more enjoyable and successful when we band together!

The group is open to all MECC parents, and Teacher Kim will provide childcare during the group.

Tuition for the two sessions each month is $50.00, which includes childcare.  Registration forms will be in the orientation packet that you will receive the first week of school.

Classes for the Fall 2010 school year will begin the week of Sept. 7th.  The start-up schedule will vary according to each class.  Towards the end of August, each Teacher will send out specific information related to their class schedule for September.

During the first week there will be one or two short get-to-know-you hours, and the second week will be a part-time schedule with gradually increasing group sizes.  The full normal class schedule will begin the third week.  This is to allow the children to feel comfortable in their new setting, with new classmates and teachers, and for the teachers to make an individual connection with each child and family. 

• Sept 7-10  Small Group Visits / Orientation
• September 13-17  Half Class / Short Days
• September 20  Full Schedule – All Classes Attend

The Kindergarten class will be receiving a summer reading list during the first part of July and a summer homework packet will be sent out in August.

Thanks to all the dedicated parents who came to build, dig, and plant on Saturday!  The Garden is looking wonderful with new mulch, beautiful borders, stone art, and new plants. And the playground Village is on its way with concrete removed, new raised beds, blueberry plants, and more.

We will keep you updated as things progress on this project that so many families have supported with dollars and time.

In the final Art Enrichment session for the year, teacher Dana Weir invites children to get behind the camera lens and learn about photography.  Classes for ages 3 -4, and 4 – 6.  See class details and sign up now!

Next session begins May 6th.

We have made almost $3,000 this year through all you wonderful people buying Scrip!  We were hoping to hit $10,000!  It is only April, so let’s keep going.  Samantha is in the hallway selling scrip every Monday and your order is back in the office by Thursday the same week. 

We also have the most popular scrip cards on hand in the office to purchase anytime.  If you need Safeway or Fred Meyer just ask Linda and you can buy your card right there!

Thank you so much for your support.

Keep the kids busy this summer – the MECC Summer Camp schedule is now available!  Check out the wide variety of exciting and educational experiences for ages 3 – 8.  Most camps are either 3 or 4 days, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. 

• Field trips
• Overnight camp-out
• Build a city
• Build and use a cobb oven
• Geocaching with a GPS

And many more – great for preschoolers and their older siblings too.

Bid on and purchase leftover auction items and late donations, on display in the Ballet Room this week. Your purchases will be available for payment and pick up in the office on Monday, April 12.

Monday, April 5 at 9:00am to Friday, April 9 12:30pm.

It’s not too late to participate in our most important fundraiser of the year!

We are very excited to announce that many of our new Netbook computers are in our teachers’ possession, and up and running. We have wireless access throughout the building, and all staff members now have a school email address.  Teachers are using the computers for taking notes in class (those great kid-stories), parent communications, creating newsletters, and much more.

The Netbook computers are gifts from a generous, anonymous donation to our school that we told you about in January. We have such an amazing community.

Just a reminder – April 1st marks the beginning of a new session of enrichment classes. Our Thursday classes will explore the theme of self-portraits. We will look at our own reflections and draw the shapes of the body. Color is a language we can use to describe the emotional self – we will paint in the tradition of the abstract expressionists. Shadow and light can reveal the 2-D image of the self in simple and delightful ways; we will create shadow selves that can be traced and transformed into portraits.

The Friday workshop will involve a lot of movement! Titled “The Artful Body,” this class will have the opportunity to see the body as a work of art in-progress. Dance, yoga, even the act of breathing can make us more aware of the creative potential of the body. We will also work on a “Body Book,” a kind of journal that will include drawings and ideas about the art and science of the body.

Time moves along at a rapid rate. After the April session, there will be just one more session of enrichment classes. Look for Thursday photography classes and Friday outdoor art installation workshops!

Thank goodness for spring and for new growth.

Dana Weir

Board nominations represent a great opportunity to get involved with MECC. Board nomination forms will be placed in your cubbies the week after spring break. Board nominations are open to the entire MECC community – we welcome any person to apply or to nominate an individual in the MECC community or the community at large to serve on our board. More information will be included in the nomination forms, but in the meantime, I encourage all of you to begin thinking of serving on the MECC board, or nominating someone else to be on the board. Serving on the MECC board is a gift to our community and a great way to serve our wonderful school.

Update (June 4):  Positions remaining open are Fundraising, Marketing, and Advisor.

–Amy Stoeber,   MECC Board President

Thank you to all who participated in our Parent Survey! 

We will share the results of this survey in our school newsletter in the late spring. We value your feedback and hope to use this information to make Marylhurst Early Childhood Center even stronger.

Last month I proudly announced the anonymous donation of 21 Netbook Computers!  Our board president, Amy Stoeber, has added the job of getting this up and running, Read the rest of this entry »

We are pleased to announce that child care is available to you for your conference time.  Parent volunteers will be in the school gym from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday of parent conference week.  Read the rest of this entry »

We are asking everyone who parks in the parking lot to please have your cars out of the lot by 9:30 am.  It is a safety precaution for the classes that begin their days in the play yard.  Read the rest of this entry »

Our kindergarten class began their school year studying the layers of the earth and also the layers of their community in Oregon City.   Their in-depth study and research produced a beautiful model of Oregon City, Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you to everyone who registered for next year. Enrollment is now open to all new families! Tell your friends, neighbors, and play groups to come and visit our wonderful school.