Deer Park Ivy League E.L.

A
Family Newsletter December 2014
Issue 4

December 2014 Happy Holidays!

November flew by and December is upon us! We want to thank all of you who participated in
our Food Drive we were able to donate over 450 food items to Pronto Family Services which
operates a food pantry in Bay Shore. Our current charitable endeavor, Winter Wishes, is gpoing
very well, too! We have raised $250 and have been able to purchase a gift for each child we
adopted. Thank you for your generosity and help in making the holidays special for children
who are less fortunate. This month, our own little friends will be learning all about the
holidays we celebrate at this time of year, as well as the season of Winter. We will see lots of
snowflakes, snowpeople, polar bears and penguins! The children will also be learning about
making gingerbread. We will have a very special visitor on December 19th who will bring
candy canes and visit the children! Please ensure you have provided a valid email address and
that your Spam filters allow emails from updates@tadpoles.com so you can receive updates
and special announcements from Ivy League. With inclement weather season here, we will be
utilizing our emergency alert system via Tadpoles to announce any weather-related closings.

Upcoming Events
5th

Dec
Winter Wishes donation ends
Dec 19th Santa Visit
Dec 24th Ivy League Closed at 3PM
Dec 25th Ivy League Closed
Dec 31st Ivy League Closed at 3PM
Pictures are here! All
pictures must be
purchased by Friday,
December 12th. If you
do not pay for pictures
by then, they will be
sent back to Lifetouch.
We can accept cash or
check for the pictures.

Spotlight on Kwanzaa!
There is no way to understand and
appreciate the meaning and message of
Kwanzaa without understanding and
appreciating its profound and pervasive
concern with values. In fact. Kwanzaa's
reason for existence, its length of seven
days, its core focus and its foundation
are all rooted in its concern with values.
Kwanzaa inherits this value concern and
focus from Kawaida, the African
philosophical framework in which it
was created. The seven principles are
Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (selfdetermination), Ujima (responsibility),
Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia
(purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and
Imani (faith).
Learn more at
http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/
NguzoSaba.shtml

Deer Park Ivy League December 2014

Star Student of the Month

Brown Bears A

Laila Southard

Laila is very involved in our

class! She loves to play with
her friends and her
vocabulary is expanding
every day. She is always
saying new words. She always
helps both her friends and
teachers with tasks in the
classroom!
Ms. Maggie and Ms. Yuris

Our December Teacher of the Month is

Ms. Samantha Juravich. Ms. Sam is
our jack-of-all-trades she helps out
with whatever we need! She is always
willing to assist with all of our special
projects and events. Sam also steps
into the role of teacher whenever we
have an absence in any classroom. Ms.
Sam is also our Gym teacher, where
she builds fun obstacle courses for the
children, teaches them sports like golf
and basketball and has them do Yoga
poses. Ms. Sam often assists our
Management team with student files,
maintenance and repair issues and
general office duties. She is a great
asset to our team and an important
part of Ivy League!

Health Corner
We have recently made some
exciting and healthy changes to
our school menu. We have
added long grain brown rice as
a grain selection, as well as
hummus and low-fat string
cheese as snacks. You will also
see delicious new entrees like
Turkey meatballs and cheese
ravioli. We hope these updated
menu items will be a big hit
with our students! Pick up a
copy of our updated menu at
the front desk.

Deer Park Ivy League December 2014

December Student Birthdays

Julia C.
Sophie B.
Alex A.
Makayla C.
Dominick I.
Christine L.
Gabriella M.
Xavier G.
Antonia D.

Brown Bears A
Brown Bears B
Preschool 2
Preschool 2
Preschool 2
Preschool 2
Preschool 2
Harvard Pre K
School Age

December 5th
December 20th
December 20th
December 16th
December 19th
December 31st
December 7th
December 22nd
December 28th

December Staff Birthdays

Ms. Shamsa
Ms. Fe

Infant B
Preschool 2

December 5th
December 22nd

Congratulations to the Kramer family for

winning our Thanksgiving Trivia
contest! They won a $50 tuition credit!