News & Views: September 4

 Important Dates:

  • September 10, 7:00 pm: New Parent Orientation via Zoom (ZOOM LINK HERE)

  • September 14: First day of school / First day of phase in for Twos

  • September 28: No school, Yom Kippur

School News & Announcements

This section contains school-wide news applicable to each family.

  • Required paperwork: As part of opening during Covid, the Department of Health, our licensing agency, requires that we create and publish a Covid-19 Safety Plan Addendum to our parent handbook.  This mandatory document can be found here, in our Parent Portal (password: together), and will be posted at school for review.  Please note that we will continue to communicate our regular and Covid-specific policies and procedures with you via News & Views, our Plan for Opening, and at our upcoming Parent Orientation. 

    • ** PARENTS MUST SIGN: ** At the end of the addendum, please click the link to digitally sign three important documents:

      • Receipt of the addendum

      • Attestation for daily health screenings

      • CHP Community Agreement

    • PLEASE NOTE: No child will be allowed to start school unless their parents/guardians have digitally signed the three documents listed above.

  • Twos Parents: You should have received an email today from Aileen detailing your stoop visit for the week of September 14th - the first week of phase in!  You are invited and encouraged to bring your child’s favorite book for a read-aloud with the teachers as part of your visit.

    • Week of September 14th: Twos stoop / playground visits

    • Week of September 21st: Twos attend school 9:30 am - 11:00 am on their regularly scheduled days.

  • Arrival and pick-up times: For morning and full day students, we are using a staggered arrival and dismissal schedule.  

    • Children in the Twos and Fours Programs (Aileen and Kelsey’s groups) should plan to arrive at 8:45 am, and will be dismissed between 11:30 and 11:45 am. 

    • Children in the Threes Program (Sarah and Lizzie’s groups) should plan to arrive at 9:00 am and will be dismissed between 11:45 am and 12:00 pm.

    • Children who arrive in the afternoon OR stay all day will be dismissed together at 3:30 pm.

  • CHP Family Directory is here and includes the names and email addresses for all of the families in our program.  Our teachers reached out this week with group assignments.  If you did not receive notice of your child’s group, please email Kristin at kristin@cobblehillplayschool.com.  If there are any updates to your contact information, please let us know! 

  • The first day of school, September 14th, is right around the corner, and we couldn’t be more excited!  Please visit our Parent Portal (password: together) for important information about starting school:

    • What to bring to school & what to wear for school:  This list provides the essentials for starting school.  Please ensure all items brought or worn to school are labeled with your child’s name.

    • Tips for Separation & Starting School:  While the beginning of school is an exciting time, it can also be an anxious one - for children and for parents.  We’ve attached some tips for separation as well as for starting school that provide concrete steps for setting up your child (and you!) for success.  

Notes From Our Classroom Teachers

This section includes weekly updates from our classroom teachers and arts specialists.

  • Teachers love labels!  Please help us help your children by labeling *all* items of clothing, lunchboxes, water bottles, shoes, and outwear your child brings to school.  Sharpies work well.  If you prefer sticky labels, Mabels Labels is a great resource for durable, machine-washable labels.  Shop here and select Support A Fundraiser:  Cobble Hill Playschool to send a portion of every purchase back to our school.

  • Please do not send your child to school with toys from home.  Particularly this year, we are trying to limit back-and-forth items in the classroom for health and safety reasons.  Also, it can be difficult for us to keep track of toys brought from home as our focus is always on the children; we don’t want school to become a place where toys are lost.  We have plenty of engaging materials at school!  

Community Engagement

This section contains information about our school community, including information from our volunteer parent Board of Directors.

  • Mask on / Mask off Project:  Part of our work ensuring comfort with a return to school and wearing masks is our Mask On / Mask Off Project.  If you have not already, please submit two photos of your child: one wearing a mask and one without a mask.  You can upload photos here or email them to Kristin at kristin@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.

  • As many of you know, Subdistrict 3 within District 15 is reviewing school zoning and elementary school admissions protocols.  The research team managing this process is looking for parent feedback:

    • Over the past few months, the PAR Team has been talking with community members, having one-on-one conversations with parents connected with these schools, building knowledge as a PAR team about context and policy – and from those experiences, they have developed a survey. If you are zoned for these schools, or if you have a child who currently attends one of these schools, please take the survey to make your voice heard.

Cobble Hill Playschool