Broadway Children’s School Monthly Newsletter December 2023
2023 Important Dates
Dec 2 — Open House at School for Prospective Families, 10:30am-12:30pm
Dec 23 — Jan 7 Winter Break, No School
Jan 8 — School resumes for MWF programs, No ExCare, 12:00 Pick-Up (Staff Meeting)
Jan 9 — School resumes for TTH programs; Extended Care available until 3:30
Jan 15 — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, No School
TBA— Board of Trustees Meeting, 7:30pm via Zoom. All are welcome, please join us!
TBA — Lunar New Year Parade at school
February 19 & 20 — Presidents Day Holidays, No School
Thank You, Thank You! Sending out special thanks and appreciation to Broadway’s Board of Trustees—Board Chair Robert Smith, Board Members Francis Adanza, Alex Bornoff, Caryn Carty, Vinci Chen, David Fleck, and Akaash Gupta. Thank you for all you do, and have done, to support and advocate for our school and to keep things moving behind the scenes. We’re so grateful for your generous hearts and for your time, energy, and expertise!
Thank you to our Parent Involvement Committee Chair, Anny Carson, to Daniel O’Neil, who has been spearheading yard clean ups, and to our Room Parents and all classroom volunteers, for your many invaluable contributions to Broadway. I tend to repeat myself that it takes a village…but it truly does require many hands and hearts to make Broadway the wondrous place it is.
Whether creating and supporting fundraising campaigns, crafting vital communications to our community, organizing parent education events, making the best cranberry relish ever (seriously!), attending picnics, marshaling the walk-a-thoners, keeping the yard tidy, or building a new outdoor playhouse—together you all make our school fun, special, safe, and joyful—the very best place for children, parents, and teachers to grow and learn!
More on our Board of Trustees: There are current openings on our Board of Trustees. We invite you to submit your bio to current Board Chair, Rob Smith, robsmith_rs@hotmail.com.
The Board needs volunteers for the Programs Committee, the Marketing and Technology Committee, the Development Committee, and others. Meetings are typically bimonthly, in the evenings, via Zoom. The next one is coming up in January—we’ll announce a date soon. This is a casual, supportive, fun group of parents; everyone has something to give and all voices are valued and appreciated. We’re all learning together, all experience levels welcome! Please contact Diana to ask questions.
Broadway’s 2022-2023 Annual Fund: you will have received via email an eloquent appeal from Board Member David Fleck, asking for your financial support for our school as we work to recover from the effects of the pandemic. A hard copy will be on its way to you soon as well. Please consider a gift to Broadway this year. Every donation is so very appreciated!
You Can Help!
- No one can spread the word about Broadway better than you, our current families. Share flyers, talk to family and friends, etc., and let them know how much you value your family’s experience at our school. Share, too, that we have current openings in our classrooms, for 2, 3, or 5 days a week. Our next Open House is tomorrow—Dec 2 at 10:30!
- Write a positive review for Broadway on Google or Yelp. Families searching for a preschool will be interested in knowing the same sorts of things about BCSO that you were wondering when you were looking. What made Broadway “click” for you? Put it in a review!
- Food Drive: Keep an eye out for information in the coming weeks for our food drive through Alameda County Community Food Bank, accfb.org. This is another Broadway tradition we are excited to see revived as we continue to bring back more pre-pandemic activities. Children often enjoy choosing items at the store for donation and placing their contributions in the barrel; this can provide a simple way to introduce conversations about gratitude.
Your Child’s Enrollment for Next Year: Applications for Fall 2024 at BCSO
If you would like your child to continue at BCSO for the 2024-2025 school year, please turn in an application by January 15, 2024. There is no application fee for returning students. If you are a parent of a child you would like to enroll in PACT for the 2024-2025 school year, please turn in an application by January 15, 2024 as well.
If you will not be returning to Broadway, please let Diana know as soon as possible. This information is critical to calculating our available openings. Thank you.
Rainbow Room Parents: Independent or Parochial School Applications: If you will be applying to independent or parochial schools for Kindergarten in Fall 2024, email your child’s teachers as soon as you can with the links to the Teacher Recommendation Forms. The links are provided by the schools you’re applying to. Teachers complete the forms before Winter Break and need time to give each child’s form thought and care. It’s okay if you haven’t decided yet on all your schools—send the online application links for any you have chosen. We will send copies to any schools you add to your list later on.
Holidays: Hot on the heels of Halloween and Thanksgiving, the winter holiday season has arrived. This can be a hectic time of year when it is challenging to make room for simple pleasures. A heartfelt reminder from the teachers: what we hear most from your children is how much they like to be with YOU. There’s no gift they’d rather have than more time with you, whether it is sitting quietly together reading a special storybook, building a pillow fort, or taking a walk to look at the night sky. The simple things create some of the most lasting and treasured memories and feelings.
In the Classrooms: This month, we are talking with the children about some of the changes and activities that happen during the winter season, from weather and animal behavior to how our families may celebrate at this time of year. The jingle bells will be out, along with paper chains, menorahs, and storybooks. Watching the squirrels in the yard and scuffing through the leaves continues to fascinate, too. As always, we continue our play and discussions with the children around the topics of kindness, listening, taking turns, and using words to express our feelings and ideas.
Best wishes,
Jennifer McManus