The school year has taken off and the children are all settled in.  The teachers are very excited about their classes.  The following announcements will help prepare us for the holidays.

Curriculum:  Sharon and Jamy’s class will study the Native Americans.  Colin and Emilia’s class will study the body and Ali and Ashley’s class will study the rain forest.

Swine Flu:  We have not had any reports of swine flu with our students however many kids are staying home with colds.  The public schools have reported that several students have the swine flu so we are making a plan for the possibility here at HCM.  Please have your child wash their hands as soon as they enter the classrooms.  If the teacher is busy and your child needs assistance, please escort them into the bathroom and help them wash their hands thoroughly.  For the older children, when dropping off your child, remind them to go into the bathroom and wash their hands.  When picking up your child at school, you can again remind them to wash their hands before going home.  When they come home, that would be a good time for them to wash hands again. We are paying close attention to covering coughs, washing hands, sanitizing surfaces and calling parents if we suspect their child is sick.  Please have a back up plan for someone to pick up your sick child right away.  Create a plan with family and friends for long term sickness if you need to work, a possible sick care cooperative.  If anyone would like to post a sign-up sheet for this type of situation, we are happy to post names for contacts if the need arises.  REMIND YOUR CHILD TO COVER THEIR COUGH AND TO COUGH INTO THEIR SLEEVE OR TISSUE and have them wash their hands after they cough or sneeze.  The swine flu virus is airborne. We are sending home information about the swine flu with this newsletter.

Horseback riding:  With the colder weather it will not always be possible to take the children riding.  We want to be careful not to allow the children to get chilled during this flu season.  We feel that going outside and getting fresh air is important but riding doesn’t allow kids to move around and their hands and bodies can get quite cold.  We will have other activities to replace horse back riding when we are unable to go due to the weather.
Dates to remember:  Oct. 30th-Friday, we will have our annual Halloween party.  Children can come dressed in costume.  Please sign up to bring in a treat for your child’s class party.  We will have a parade at 9:30am.  If it is raining out, the parade will be in each of the classrooms.  If the weather permits, we will have a “Grand Parade” on the sport court in front of the tan school house by the riding arena.  If your child doesn’t normally attend on Friday, they are welcome to join us from 9:30-11am.  Parents are welcome.  At 9:30 we will have the costume parade followed by games, treats and hopefully outdoor fun.

Veteran’s Day:  We will be closed on Wed. Nov. 11th
Halfday Early dismissal:  Nov. 18th for public school children only
Thanksgiving Holiday:  HCM will be closed Nov. 26-27th
Christmas in the Country:  Dec. 4-6th The kids will perform holiday music on Friday for their parents.  We will be practicing the month of Nov.

Please remember to dress your children warmly for the colder weather.  Please mark all of their clothing with their names inside.  Hats, gloves, boots, warm coats and water proof jackets are all items to consider each day.  Help us locate your children’s items by marking them with a name.

The holidays are upon us.  Let us help you in anyway that we can to make them less stressful.  Our advise is don’t overdue, it is so easy to say yes and get caught up in the excitement, but too much planning can really tax your family.  Keep your expectations at a sane level OK?  We love all of you and appreciate such great families to work and live with.

Love, Janice and Staff