Dear GCS Families,
Have you heard? To the children’s delight, the Whizzy Dizzys have finally arrived! They have been on back order for many months, and thanks to a group of dedicated staff members and families, they were installed during our volunteer Fall Fix-Up Day earlier this month. And what is a Whizzy Dizzy you might ask? It is essentially a spinner that the children can’t keep away from. They climb aboard, often with a friend, and must recruit their core muscles and arm strength, as well as build their endurance to spin. It isn’t easy and takes coordination, a shift in weight, and the ability to process cause and effect to put themselves into a spinning motion. The act of spinning enhances children’s sensory input and stimulation, develops kinesthetic awareness, requires one to engage in decision making, and results in experimentation with the laws of speed and force. And all of this occurs while your child is laughing and negotiating with their friends. Who knew all of that was possible with a Whizzy Dizzy? Especially during these tumultuous times, we strive each day to promote healthy outdoor activities whenever possible.
So many other wonderful playground tasks were also accomplished during this Fall Fix-Up day. Among them were repairing and creating space for our new mud kitchen, reinstalling our Peace Pole, replenishing and fluffing the safety mulch around the climbing structures, and preparing our gardens for the winter months. We are still awaiting some additional fencing that has also been back ordered due to supply and demand from the pandemic and have plans for additional storage on the horizon, as well construction of our greenhouse in the spring. Thank you to last year’s Annual Fund for making all of this possible.
We are so grateful to Kelly Lopez, Building and Grounds coordinator on the Board of Directors, and her amazing family for leading us in this productive and very fun day. As they say, Many Hands Make Light Work, and we couldn’t have done it without so many generous individuals. Please see our post on the school website for photos and thank yous to all the participants: Thank you!
Giving Tuesday
Across the world today, people are participating in Giving Tuesday, by sharing acts of kindness and giving their support to their favorite nonprofits. Did you know that many employers offer matching funds for employee donations? Please use the simple tool on our GCS website donation page to find out if YOUR place of work might match contributions to GCS! Donate Here.
Staff Training
We are looking forward to a Curriculum and Training Day this Thursday, December 2nd, as we welcome a special guest speaker, Jeanine Fitzgerald, to enhance this year’s theme of Reach for the Stars: Goal Setting. We also have plans for staff team building and children’s assessment work. We appreciate the disruption in your schedules, as we know that it takes coordination within your family to allow us this valuable time together.
Holiday Gifts & Happenings
If you are anything like me, you still have a lot of holiday shopping to do. There is no better way than shopping from your home with script gift cards. How else can you get delivery right to your door and support fundraising efforts to GCS too, without spending an extra penny? A select group of merchants offer a percentage of their proceeds in exchange for the sale of their gift cards. Orders placed by this Friday, December 3rd, will be delivered to the school within a week with free shipping. Please visit our website for link info or to print off the order form and deliver to GCS with payment: Order Scrip Cards. If you have some decorating to do, and would like some outdoor socializing as well, check out this Sunday’s GCS Wreath-Making Workshop for details. #GCSWinterWorkshops
Partnership
Thank you for your continued partnership in monitoring the health of your child and family members each day. Our COVID-19 & GCS policy can guide you, as well as the Family Login page on our website. Be sure you understand our GCS Travel protocols, as well. Given that many will be home for the holidays with family, we ask GCS families and staff to remain diligent in staying safe.
Congratulations!
Congratulations to the Sulprizio family on the birth of their son, Owen (brother, Logan, is in the TTh Yellow Room).
Thank You!
A special thank you to all of our Fall Fix-Up volunteers for their time & efforts on our playground a couple of weeks ago: David Bushery, Matt Costa, Alex Cote, Pat Crouse, Laura Cummings, Melissa Dewing, Aaron Doherty, Bert Foster, Bill Gavazzi, Nick & Krista Giangregorio, Angela Gibney, Susan Gurleo, Sarah Hall, Laura Hankin, Don, Diane & Sam Landry, Molly Laurano, Terri Martin, Jon Monahan, Michael Neff, Deb Penney, Rachel Potvin, Ellen Sanchez, Justin Smith, Lisa Stafford, Mike Sutherland, Caitlin & Virgil Vaillancourt, Liz Welch, and Bart Yeager.
We’d also like to thank the following families for their donations to the school this month: The Bradley Family for craft supplies, Bellorado family for games and curriculum materials, the Doyle family for donuts for the Staff, and to the Mauch family for children’s books.
Until next time,
Linda Kosinski, GCS Director
