News & Views: September 25
Important Dates:
September 28: No school, Yom Kippur
Monday, October 12: No school, ColumbusDay / Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Thursday, October 15, 7:00 pm: Twos Curriculum Night
Wednesday, October 28: No school, Staff Development Day
Wednesday, October 28, 7:00 pm: Threes & Fours Curriculum Night
School News & Announcements
September 1st Tuition Payments are due: If you haven’t made your September 1st tuition payment, please submit a check to Stacy asap. The next tuition payments will be due on October 1st. All tuition is payable by check to Cobble Hill Playschool.
What to do if your child has symptoms of illness: As the weather begins to turn, the noses begin to run:) Please note that this year, if your child has any symptoms of illness, including a runny nose, we ask that you contact your pediatrician and report symptoms to determine (1) whether or not a visit is warranted, (2) whether or not a Covid test is warranted, and (3) whether or not attendance at school is OK. If you ever have any questions about what to do in the event of symptoms or illness, please feel free to get in touch.
Thank you! To all parents for your diligence in completing our daily health screenings prior to coming to school. It’s incredibly helpful, and we appreciate the extra time you take to complete them.
Did you know? You can use the daily health screening to report your child’s absence from school. Simply answer “no” to the last question about whether or not your child is coming to school and explain in the field that asks if there is anything else we need to know about your child. We will follow up by phone or email.
The Department of Health (our licensing agency) requires all students in preschool programs to be immunized against the flu. The vaccine must be administered between July 1st and December 31st. Please make your appointments now. Proof of immunization can be submitted by email (stacy@cobblehillplayschool.com) or fax (718-243-0445).
Notes From Our Classroom Teachers
Play is really the context for all of children’s learning, and it takes many forms, which change and grow and children change and grow. Here, Sarah (our Behavior Specialist) shares some information about how play develops over time:
Play looks different at different stages of a child's development, and each stage serves a purpose as children move toward more sophisticated play. Often younger children (before age 2 to about 2.5) engage in either solitary play or onlooker play. During solitary play children are alone and focused on their activity. If there are other children nearby they appear uninterested in or unaware of what they are doing. Onlooker play is when children watch other children play, and appear interested, but do not join in any play themselves. The next stage of play development is called parallel play, something we often begin to see in 2s classrooms. This stage is when children play next to each other, each playing in their own way, but they are aware of each other, and spend some time observing each other. This could be seen as a combination of solitary play and onlooker play. Then after lots of experience playing on their own, as well as observing other kids playing, children get a sense of the social environment, and advance to the next stage, associative play. Associative play is when the children involved are playing with the same materials (e.g. blocks, babies, playground equipment) but each child has their own goal in mind. We usually begin to see this in 3s classrooms. During this stage children learn a lot about social interactions and about what it takes to play with others. And the final stage is called cooperative play. This often appears in 4s classrooms and sometimes not until Kindergarten and beyond. True cooperative play is when children play together socially to reach a shared goal. During cooperative play you will hear a lot of negotiating, as children decide roles, make rules, share materials, and solve problems.
Community Engagement
All parents should have received an email from Cara, our Parent Jobs Coordinator, detailing your parent job assignment. Parent Jobs help our school maintain robust programming in and out of the classroom, while also remaining one of the most affordable schools in the neighborhood, thanks to the commitment and generosity of our parents who volunteer their time and talent on behalf of our school. Our children also see parents and teachers working together and sharing ideas, which helps them learn and understand the value of community, cooperation, and kindness. If you have any questions about your parent job assignment, please feel free to reach out to your committee chair or to Cara (parentjobs@cobblehillplayschool.com).
Events Around Town
This section contains information about events of interest in the neighborhood, relevant news articles, and information about public and private schools in our area.
Preschool registration season has begun! If you have any friends or family looking for a great preschool for next year, please send them our way. We are hosting four virtual tours throughout the month of October. Dates are available on our website. Email Stacy (stacy@cobblehillplayschool.com) for more information or to reserve a space.