La Abeja Noticiera
Bringing you the buzz on our escuelita
Dear Friends and Familias,
Warm holiday greetings from Las Semillitas!
This year we have much to be thankful for at our escuelita: our special group of teachers and students, our families who dedicate their time and love to our school, and a beautiful new home for our preschool.
And we are grateful to you, our community of alumni, friends, and families, who provide ongoing support for our school.
Juntos Podemos / Together We Can has been the motto that has sustained our school since our early days. And as we have grown and branched out, this continues to hold true. As we look to the future and the long-term sustainability of our school, we ask that you consider a holiday donation to our school, in honor of this special community that we are building together.
We've made it easy with a convenient PayPal link here.
As our thank you for your generosity, we would like to offer the following gifts with your donation:
- $25 Donation, or any other amount: Our deep gratitude, any contribution helps!
- $50 Donation: A 5 x 7" print of our class photo or the special Semillita on your list
- $100+ Donation: A framed photo of the special Semillita on your list or our class photo
This year marked some big changes for our school. We moved to a new location, we expanded from 12 to 15 students, and we completed the hard work on our playground project (goodbye dirt, hello wood chips!). We also worked hard to celebrate these accomplishments and our commitment to the vision and values of our school.
In this spirit, we want to share a glimpse of the activities we've enjoyed together this year in the inaugural edition of LA ABEJA NOTICIERA. This is the first installment of what we hope will become a quarterly newsletter, and we're trying out an online version for easier, "greener" sharing among friends and families, near and far.
We wish you all a happy holiday season, with much love from our families to yours,
LAS SEMILLITAS PRESCHOOL
:::::: DICIEMBRE 2012 ::::::
EL RINCÓN DE LA MAESTRA
por Ada Rosas
Durante el mes de noviembre los chicos aprendieron sobre el hábitat de las arañas y los murciélagos. Aprendimos que las arañas son arácnidos y los murciélagos encuentran su comida por medio de ondas de sonidos.
El Día de los Muertos fue nuestro evento cultural en noviembre. Los chicos trabajaron unidos para levantar un altar, el cual fue dedicado a todos los niños y jóvenes que se fueron a una mejor vida. Después tuvimos una celebración donde todas las familias nos reunimos y honramos a nuestros queridos muertos.
Estar preparados para una emergencia fue nuestro último tema del mes, con el cual los chicos participaron en pruebas de evacuaciones y aprendieron dónde y cómo protegerse en caso de emergencia.
Las Semillitas es un lugar donde los chicos tienen la oportunidad de estar expuestos a temas culturales, sociales, y educativos.
During the month of November our kids learned about the habitat of spiders and bats. We learned that spiders are arachnids and bats find their food by sound waves.
Day of the Dead was November's cultural event. The children worked together to create an altar, which we dedicated to all of the children and young people who have passed on to a better life. This was followed by a celebration in which all of our families joined together to honor our loved ones who have passed.
Emergency preparation was the final topic of the month, and the children participated in emergency evacuation tests and learned how to protect themselves in case of emergency.
Las Semillitas is a place where children are exposed to cultural, social, and educational activities.
LA KERMÉS DEL DÍA DE MUERTOS
por Zaidee Garcia-Stavely
Fue una gran oportunidad para ver de nuevo a muchos ex alumnos y sus familias, y también a nuestros abuelitos, tíos, y hermanos y hermanas. Todos estos amigos y familiares se reunieron para crear un hermoso altar comunitario en honor a nuestros seres queridos que han fallecido. La Kermés fue un evento muy conmovedor, lleno de amor y de la fuerza de vida que es Las Semillitas. Nos enorgulleció a todos ser parte de esta comunidad y escuela. ¡¡Queremos verlos a todos el próximo año!!
This November, the Las Semillitas families decided to share the new school site with our wider community. With the help of some hay and pumpkins, we transformed our yard into a fall fiesta and organized a Kermés del Día de los Muertos. Maestra Ada looked mighty fine as a beautiful calavera, full of energy. The kids enjoyed face-painting, making sugar skulls and paper flowers, and listening to music in Spanish by Mariela Herrera and our very own Mateo Nube. The petting zoo was a big hit and a few of the animals liked our new play yard so much that they are here to stay. We are now sharing our space with a new guinea pig and two pollitos.
The Kermés was a great chance to see alumni and their families, as well as our own abuelitos, tíos, and brothers and sisters. All these friends and family gathered to create a beautiful community altar in honor of our loved ones who have passed. It was a moving event, full of love and the life-force of Las Semillitas. It made us all proud to be a part of this amazing school community. We look forward to seeing you all next year!
DIWALI, FESTIVAL DE LAS LUCES
por Reena Valvani-Mooney
El invierno siempre trae consigo muchas festividades. En Las Semillitas, aprovechamos la temporada para celebrar con los niños la diversidad de nuestra comunidad. Cada año, los padres comparten sus celebraciones con los niños. Este año, los niños celebraron Kwanzaa, Janucá, las posadas como se celebran en México, y Diwali. La mamá de Narayan, Reena, compartió esta fiesta de la India con los niños.
Diwali, el festival de las luces, es la celebración del año nuevo. La gente limpia sus casas y decora el piso con bellos diseños hechos con polvo de arroz de distintos colores para darle la bienvenida a Lakshmí, la diosa hindú de la prosperidad. Los caminos y los tejados se cubren con miles de luces de bengala y velas para iluminarle el camino. Los niños ponen mechas en platitos de arcilla llenos de aceite de semilla de mostaza.
The winter season is one that embodies Las Semillitas' spirit of celebrating the diversity of our community. Every year, parents share their own holiday celebrations with the children. This year, our children celebrated Kwanzaa, Hannukah, the Christmas posada tradition as celebrated in Mexico, and Diwali. Narayan's mom Reena shared this holiday from India with the children.
It was my honor and joy to celebrate Diwali with the beautiful children of Las Semillitas, and I feel very grateful to be a part of a school community that not only creates space to honor the many winter traditions and celebrations around the world, but also ensures that our children are celebrated for the diverse backgrounds from which they come. We were able to begin making our own candleholders to light the way for goddess Lakshmi, see how our names are written in hindi, have a super fun bhangra dance party, and so much more!
JUNTOS PODEMOS
We've made it easy with a convenient PayPal link here.
We wish you a happy holiday season, and look forward to seeing you in the new year!
Las Semillitas Preschool
Email: info@lassemillitas.org
Website: lassemillitas.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lassemillitas