Festival de Otoño y Más
HOLA NYC October 2015 Newsletter
Important dates to remember
October 3rd, 2015- NYC Bilingual Education Fair
October 12th, 2015- Columbus Day (HOLA NYC CLOSED)
October 16th, 2015- Parents' Night Out
October 17th, 2015- Super Sábado at El Museo del Barrio
October 21st, 2015- Los Expertos Paseo - AMNH - Spiders Alive Exhibit
October 30th, 2015- Festival de Otoño/Fall Festival
November 3rd, 2015- Election Day (HOLA NYC CLOSED)
NOTE FROM THE CLASSROOM
The classroom has been divided into two groups: Los Aprendices y Los Expertos. Below you will find your child's group and their teachers' names. Our morning Montessori work period and small group workshops combine both groups to allow for multi-age peer interaction, role-modeling, and community building. The groups are then split for extracurricular activities, lunch and outdoor time, and for occasional fieldtrips off-site. Please feel free to reach out to your child's teacher(s) with any questions or concerns in regards to their daily routine.
LOS APRENDICES
Guía Silvia, Guía Jimmy & Guía Blanca
Estudiantes:
Annecy
Ciela
Leo
Luca
Lucía
Manuela
Marea
Naftali
What a joy it has been to get to know each one of our new aprendices! Throughout the month of September, the children have demonstrated each of their special interests and deep curiosity with the classroom lessons. In just three weeks, they have begun to internalize their classroom routine.
In October, we will continue to establish the daily routine. We will focus on putting work away in the correct space when we are finished so that it is ready for the next person. We will also practice primary and secondary colors through games and songs. Parents can assist in this process by encouraging children to perform some responsibilities in the home. These responsibilities can include: allowing children to feed themselves, clean up their space after meals, put dirty clothes in the hamper and dress themselves.
Los aprendices have been receiving lessons from los expertos and enjoy being part of our morning circletime. Each day, los aprendices practice sitting in a group, taking turns and sharing in front of the class. We are so pleased to see that our friends of all ages encourage each other throughout the day.
Guía Silvia Vallejo - guia.silvia@holanyc.org
Guía Jimmy Cruz - guia.jimmy@holanyc.org
Guía Blanca - guia.blanca@holanyc.org
LOS EXPERTOS
Guía Stormy & Guía Alejandro
Estudiantes:
Archer
Danielle
Desi
Carlo
Ezra
Gabi
Jacob
Lexy
Mikito
Oriana
Owen
Rafaela
Reagan
Renness
Shakked
The first month of school was spent evaluating the needs, interests and Spanish of our expert amiguitos. We will continue to build on the vocabulary that has exploded in our group and are so excited to hear our friends speaking more and more Spanish! Our exploration of the human body and the differences and similarities that we all have has sparked some great discussions. We will continue to guide the children in using their words to express themselves as well as grace and courtesy when interacting with their friends and teachers.
October’s theme of spiders will bring some interesting lessons into the classroom. Guía Alejandro’s science area will be filled with magnets for the children to explore as we explore the habits and characteristics of these eight-legged creatures.
Because our group has internalized the daily routine so well, we feel they are ready to spend time exploring at the park. Beginning October 5th, the expertos will be taking trips to Riverside park from 10:30am-12:00pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, to expand on the month’s theme and to make observations about the changes happening around us. We will continue these weekly trips until we are no longer able to venture out for long periods of time in the cold weather.
Lastly, on Wednesday, October 21st, los expertos will be taking a trip to the American Museum of Natural History’s Spiders Alive exhibit. More information will be shared as we approach the date. Chaperones are welcome and encouraged for all school trips. Please e-mail guia.stormy@holanyc.org if you would like to come along!
Guía Stormy Vallejo - guia.stormy@holanyc.org
Guía Alejandro Aiello - guia.alejandro@holanyc.org
Vocabulario del Mes
This month we will be focusing on the following vocabulary:
la araña – spider
la telaraña – spider web
atraer- to attract
adherir - to stick to
suspendido – suspended
las patas – legs (of an animal)
la calabaza - pumpkin
la semilla - seed
la hoja - leaf
el otoño – Autumn/Fall
la estación – season
el maíz - corn
Note from the Director
We are proud to see our partnerships with independent artists and arts-based organizations increase every year. This year we were officially invited to join the New Victory Theater as educational partners. This means we will be able to take the children to various productions and we will also benefit from workshops in our classroom. Teatro SEA is also bringing a puppeteering workshop to our classroom next month. Marisa Morán Jahn, will also bring her bibliobandido to us.
HOLA NYC will be participating in the NYC Bilingual Education Fair on October 3rd, 2015. Please let us know if you are interested in attending, we have eight complimentary tickets to give out. http://bilingualfair.org
It is remarkable to see the ways bilingual education is being prioritized by families in NYC. Just as an example, there are now six private schools offering dual language tracks in Spanish in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Last year, there were only three. In similar ways, public schools are constantly improving the dual language programs that exist. This is our moment!
We hope to see many of you at the parent social. It is always lovely to have time to get to know each other as grown ups! We have such a vibrant and diverse group of children that we can´t wait to see their parents interacting.
The outdoor area still needs some final touches but we are very happy with the new materials we purchased for the patio. The children love the blocks and the sensory garden. It has been lots of fun to see them engage and create.
Last but not least, the guías are planning our Festival de Otoño, bringing together Halloween, el día de los muertos and HOLA NYC´s signature piñatas. Please join us if you can!
Muchas gracias por su apoyo,
María Herminia
SPANISH PLAYDATE
Children who attend our Spanish Playdate or whom stay for afternoon care will be going to Riverside park every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon as weather allows. The children will leave for the park at 3:00pm and return at 4:30pm. Please text or email the school if you plan to pick up your child early on either day.
Yovelsi Ortuño brings energy to our afternoon program. We are so happy that she was able to continue through the school year with us.
Festival de Otoño
FAMILY FUN & GAMES
On Friday, October 30th, we will celebrate HOLA NYC's second annual Festival de Otoño with a morning full of games, costumes and family fun. The children will have choices of stations where they will participate in art projects, games, cooking projects, pumpkin carving and more. Parent volunteers are a huge part of the day’s success. There will be a sign-up sheet posted in the classroom with various jobs and activities for the day. If there are any parents that cannot be present but would like to participate, please email Stormy for more information.
HOLA NYC challenges each family to enter a pumpkin into the HOLA NYC Pumpkin Decorating Contest. We want to see your most creative, original and daring pumpkin creations! Every pumpkin entered will win a special prize after being evaluated by our special pumpkin judge.
All children and parents are invited to wear a costume. There may be a prize for the best parent costume. After the morning celebration, the entire school will march in a mini-parade down Broadway to show off our festive attire. Please feel free to invite grandparents, aunties, uncles, etc. to celebrate with us!
**Please note that costumes with masks or weapons are not permitted.**
HOLA NYC Parents´Night Out
What? You are cordially invited to our parents´night out
Where? Bar location in Harlem to be announced
When? Friday, October 16th at 6:30 PM
Why? Because HOLA NYC is not just about the kids.
Please contact Stav Gilutz, Shakked´s mom, if you would like to help her to plan the gathering stav.gilutz@gmail.com
Arts workshops led by Marisa Morán Jahn
It is very exciting for us to see parents bring their skills to the classroom. ¡Muchísimas gracias, Marisa!
Super Sábado Day of the Dead celebration at El Museo del Barrio
On Saturday, October 17th, El Museo del Barrio will host a fun-filled Día de los Muertos celebration. The event begins at noon and there is no cost to families. We hope to see you there!
APPROPRIATE OUTERWEAR
"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing." -Ranulph Fiennes, a wise Scandinavian
HOLA NYC students and teachers will continue to go outdoors through the change of seasons and into the winter. For this reason, it is imperative that your child is dressed for the weather. Fresh air revitalizes the brain and body and lowers the risk of illness! Please check your child's extra clothes supply for weather appropriate clothing as well.
If the temperature is between 32-40 degrees, we will shorten the length of time we spend outside. If the outside temperature is below 32 degrees, we will enjoy our gross motor activities in the chapel adjacent to our classroom. Wind chill factor will be taken into account when determining outside time.
Some resources for parents
- We came across this new website, Language Zen, it looks really fun!
- PIM PAU has two really lovely videos that you may enjoy watching with your children:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U_5OBxK_O0
- Larry and his friends is now available in Spanish. It is a lovely book for NYC kids!
HOLA NYC
Email: info@holanyc.org
Website: holanyc.org
Location: 263 West 86th Street, New York, NY, United States
Phone: 347-619-3655