Unity Preschool News

Dear Preschool Families,

This month we have the opportunity to teach our children about loving our neighbors and sharing with them. Unity Presbyterian Church is currently collecting non-perishable food items for the Fort Mill Care Center to provide a Thanksgiving meal for Fort Mill families, who find themselves in need of food. We would love the children to bring some items to Preschool during October. We will help the children place the items in our church display when we have Chapel later this month.

The items specifically requested by the Care Center for Thanksgiving meals include the following: stuffing mix, boxed potatoes, fried onions, canned tomatoes (not sauce), applesauce, canned yams, evaporated milk, flavored grits, cooking oil, toilet paper, paper towels, and aluminum foil. If you are overdue in cleaning out your pantry - other items (as long as not expired and not opened) are welcome too. Please send your items through October 22. Preschool staff will accept them during the car line.

Thanks in advance for your participation and for sharing with others the wondrous gifts that God has given us.

Blessings,

Ms. Linda

Director - Unity Preschool

P.S. Please remember that we follow the Fort Mill School District calendar for our days off so we will not have school next week (October 5-8 and Monday, October 12)!

P.S. Thank you for taking time to enjoy the family picnics with us this week. We were blessed with such beautiful weather.

Black Day: Wear BLACK on Thursday, October 22.

Our next Spirit Day is Wednesday, October 29. We will celebrate Halloween in our classrooms. Your child's teacher will send party requests through SeeSaw later this month. Children are welcome to wear Halloween-themed shirts, but please do not send them in costumes. The novelty wears off quickly and we do not want to misplace costume pieces.

Our November Spirit Day will be Thursday, November 19. We will have a Thanksgiving Feast prepared by some special friends of the preschool. A sign-up for items will be sent in the November newsletter.

Once again, Unity Preschool Staff created an entry in the Town of Fort Mill Scarecrow Crawl. Our enthusiastic and creative Coordinating Team of Ms. Meghan, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Laura with the help of Staff and your children created the adorable "Unity Crayon Box". You will find your child's handprints in his/her class color on the large sheet of paper. We would appreciate a People's Choice vote from you by "LIKING” Unity Preschool's scarecrow (#24) on the Town of Fort Mill’s Facebook Album beginning October 7. We won the People's Choice award last year! The scarecrows will be on display through November 1 so take your family for a walk by Unity Presbyterian Church and through Downtown Fort Mill to enjoy them.

Ms. Jennifer is in her second year as our Older Twos Lead Teacher after working as our Older Twos Assistant with Ms. Danielle. Ms. Jennifer’s journey has taken her from Buffalo, New York, to Ohio, Illinois, and Florida, where she worked as an educator and coach. She and her family made their way to the Carolinas almost seven years ago. They have three children, including one who is a Unity Preschool graduate. Ms. Jennifer and her family worship at Unity Presbyterian Church. A few of Ms. Jennifer's favorites:

Food: ice cream (chocolate peanut butter and cookies n' cream)

Music: classical and oldies (50's) (Ms. Jennifer plays the cello!)

Books: historical fiction

Activities: playing sports, reading, baking and traveling to new places

Ms. Meghan is in her second year as our Older Twos Assistant. She grew up in Lincolnton, NC and attended Gardner-Webb University. She and her husband moved to Fort Mill 11 years ago. They have two children, Dorothy (10) and Jack (6), who are both Unity Preschool graduates and current students at Riverview Elementary. The Hoyle family are members at First Baptist Fort Mill. A few of Ms. Meghan's favorites:

Food: mexican or seafood

Music: a little mix of everything from Fleetwood Mac to Show Tunes, Lainey Wilson to Lauren Daigle.
Books: favorite children’s book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom; favorite adult book, Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
Activities: gardening, sourdough, antiquing/thrifting, taking vacations with family

Below are some pictures from our first visit last week with Ms. Jane, our Storyteller. We are blessed to have Ms. Jane visit us once a month to share her fantastic stories with us. Ms. Jane was a former Preschool Director in New Jersey. She moved to Fort Mill to be closer to her two daughters and grandchildren. She LOVES to read (for herself and to young children), travel, and work in her garden.

Ms. Jane also visits our Four's class once a month to share a science lesson with the students. They studied leaves in September and are studying apples in October. She has lessons planned on measurement, trees, magnets, seeds/plants, insects, and birds for the remainder of the year. Ms. Jane will also be doing a lesson on pumpkins with our Three's classes later this month. We are so grateful that Ms. Jane shares her wonderful stories and wealth of knowledge with our students.

Thank you so very much for your generous Scholastic Book Orders. We earned maximum rewards this month. Orders were sent home today. On behalf of our budding readers, we THANK YOU!

We used our Book Fairy donations to purchase "Click Clack Goodnight" for our Older Twos Students, "How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodbye" for our Threes Students, and "The Dot" for our Fours students. These were sent home last month and we will be sending our October Halloween selections at the end of this month.

Our next school order will be sent home before Thanksgiving so that you can purchase Christmas gifts. You are, however, welcome to order any time of the year on the Scholastic website. If you use our Class Code (GXCK8) I will be notified and can finalize the order and have it sent to school.

All preschool families are invited to Unity's Fall Family Fun Night on Friday, October 16th from 5:30-7:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. This event is for all ages and includes crafts, games, food, and activities for everyone. Costumes are optional. This free event is sponsored by Unity's Children’s Ministry Team (not Unity Preschool - but our preschool families are invited). No registration is required.

The rule of thumb that we like to use is "If another child had similar symptoms, would you want your child playing with them?" If you find you are wiping your child's nose often and/or you are reminding them to cough in their sleeve all day long, please keep them home. Your child will enjoy the extra loving time and it will help prevent spread in the classroom. If your child has a persistent cough or runny nose due to allergies or a rash from an allergic reaction, please let us know that they are not contagious.

Please remember that if your child has a temperature above 99 degrees, they should not return to school until they have been fever-free WITHOUT medication for 24 hours. If your child vomits, they should not return to school until 24 hours have passed since the last time they vomited. Missing a day or two of preschool will not set them back on their educational journey as we strive to keep our classrooms healthy for all. We welcome questions if you are not sure what to do.

*Tuition: Our next tuition withdrawal date will be Tuesday, November 3rd.

*Folder Reminder: Please remember to empty your child's folder at least every week!

*Label Clothes/Backpacks/Water Bottles: Please remember to label all items that you send to school so that we can make sure they go home with the correct child.

Left Side of Handprint Paper and Behind the Sign

Ms Kellie, Ms. Linda, Ms. Kristen, Ms. Maureen (sitting at the desk), Ms. Jennifer, and Ms. Danielle

Right Side of Crayon Box

Ms. Laura, Ms. Alison, Ms. Becca, Ms. Sarah, and Ms. Meghan

Email: preschoolatunity@gmail.com
Website: https://www.preschoolatunity.com/
Location: 303 Tom Hall Street, Fort Mill, SC, USA
Phone: 803-396-8454