Skrapbook
May, 2013
The View From My Window…
I never thought I’d be writing this sentence: The view from my window shows men
climbing in trees. On Arbor Day, the arborists from Heartwood Tree Company made a visit to
Meeting House. They donned their gear and demonstrated climbing the trees, trimming the dead
branches, and let the children try on the helmets and climb the ropes. Brent and Mark were
amazing as they talked with the children and showed what an arborist does. (You could almost
see the wheels turning in the kiddos’ heads: “Wait. You mean I could grow up and get a job
where I climb trees for a living?!!”). As part of our continuing desire to be mindful of nature, we
also asked the arborists for natural materials to use on our playground and in the classrooms.
You’ll notice logs and stumps on the playground for building, climbing and creative play. There
are interesting strips of tree bark in the sensory table to explore.
The long, rough spring has affected local nurseries, so our 2 new trees are not yet ready
to plant. Brent and Mark will be back this month to plant them and we’ll include the children in
this activity. (Heartwood Tree Company is responsible for the beautiful landscaping in our Tree
House Yard!)
“He who plants a tree, plants hope.” ~ Lucy Larcom
Board of Directors Election Time…
Ballots for our 2013-2014 Board of Directors election were put in your mail tubes.
Ballots must be submitted by Wednesday, May 8th. Please show your support of our 4
candidates by submitting your ballot. Submit your ballot to the ballot box on the library shelf
outside of the Office. It is an uncontested election so you can vote for any or all of the
candidates.
Thank you to: Julie Cushman, Julie Krbec, Jay Payton and Carrie Rancourt for putting
their names in nomination!
Thank you to Heidi Lubenow and Jenny Kuehn for accepting appointed Board positions
starting in the 2013-2014 school year.
It’s going to be a great year!!
“A single leaf working alone provides no shade.”
Our Silent Auction has ended and it was a HUGE success. We raised over $16,000!! This event
would not be possible without the support of many, many people. Collectively we achieved an
amazing goal. Please indulge me as I say a very, big, THANK YOU to these folks:
 Kylie Cagle and Tonya Prosser for heading our fundraising for the second year in a row.
You have been nothing short of inspiring in all your efforts.
 Our Auction Committee who visited local businesses and gathered over $20,000 in items
for our auction: Amanda Halek, Molly Dermody, Jenny Kuehn, Heidi Lubenow, Tera
Disch, Becky Denzin, Tim Kuhn, Jolynn Roorda, Kim Sloan and Tonya Prosser.
 Our Board of Directors who helped to make our auction a success: Kylie Cagle, Carrie
Bower, Becky Denzin, Katie Petykowski, Tonya Prosser, Dusty Dean, Tim Kuhn, Liz
Preston, Cyndi Ramey and Sarah Tueting and Tera Disch.
 Our Teachers: Kari Arciszewski, Tera Disch, Teresa Fox, Jane Gardner, Connie
Johnson, Michelle Leinbach, Jennifer Libert, Courtney Masbruch, Shanna McDonald,
and Cherie Schmiedicke.
 Our Event helpers: Jenny Kuehn, Liz Preston, Cyndi Ramey, Carrie & Phil Bower,
Dusty Dean, Katie & Chris Petykowski, Kim Sloan, Amanda & Martin Halek, Amy
Pigott, Heidi Lubenow, Tera Disch, Tim & Laurie Kuhn, Molly Dermody, Kylie Cagle,
Tonya Prosser, and Winn Eckert.
 Winn Eckert, Administrative Assistant, who brought the use of Excel spreadsheets to a
new height!
 Blackhawk Country Club for donating the space to our event. The attention to detail and
their assistance in setting up was amazing.
 Cherie Schmiedicke for her beautiful singing and Tim Mueller, MHNS dad, for his
wonderful piano playing.
 Mike Thorson, MHNS dad, for his awesome auctioneer skills. He was both auctioneer
and floor show!!
 Amy and Mark Pigott and Bob’s Copy Shop for donating all of the printed material for
our fundraising this year.
 Justin May for the lovely guitar music during the “after event”.
 Kevin Dill and Amanda Rehrauer for their photography during the auction.
 Brocach for donating beer to the auction event to be enjoyed by our attendees.
 All of our vendors who donated. Their names will be added to our website in the
upcoming weeks. Please take a look and be sure to thank them when you frequent their
businesses!
 And, of course, thank you to YOU, our wonderful Meeting House Families for your
amazing support.
We Raised the Dough, Now Where Will It Go?!
Some years we have “big ticket items” in mind when we do our fundraising (our Tree
House Yard renovation last year, for example). Some years, it’s many, many smaller items that
are needed. This is one of those years! Our wish list is long and we are so pleased that our event
will allow us to achieve so many of our goals. Here is a partial list of where our fundraising
dollars will be spent:
 Tuition Scholarships for families
 Continuing Education support for our teachers (credit courses for those who are
required to have them for their teaching licenses, and topic-specific trainings that
support the teacher’s Professional Development Plans).
 New technology: a new Staff computer, iPads, cameras for teachers who wish to
use them for documenting the children’s development (to be used in the
Portfolios).
 Additional “small” equipment for our playgrounds which supports our nature
exploration for children.
 New rugs in several classrooms (in a nursery school, rugs can be considered a
“consumable” expense!)
 Additional blocks for building
 Parenting books for our Parent Lending Library
 Development of a few new SPARC bags and replacement of worn items in
current bags
So, you see, our list varies in scope and expense! No item is more important than another, and
with our successful fundraising, I believe all of the items are achievable!
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Thank You and Applause To…
The following families for taking care of the school’s laundry needs during the month of
April: Sloan, St. John, McAleese/Wheeler, Bower.
Katie Ravich for doing “double duty” as Parent Helper for Masami Yoshida’s maternity
leave.
Katie Petykowski and Liz Preston for leading the Special Events committee in planning a
VERY successful Special Person Night!
What a Day for a Daydream…
Some adults think that a child’s mind and body should be continually busy. They believe
that only when kids are doing something are they learning. But a tendency to overschedule can
actually be counterproductive to the learning process. It doesn’t allow a child time to be
inventive or reflective. Just as young children need time for creative play, they also need time to
daydream.
Daydreaming is a magical experience—anything can happen and all things are possible.
The relaxed state that occurs during a daydream allows the brain to filter out distractions of the
moment and to go into a creative surge of imagination and reality. Like the blending of paints,
the hows, whys, and what-ifs of the daydream swirl together, forming a palette of colorful ideas.
Many a great idea begins as a daydream. Orville Wright dreamed of flying. Martin
Luther King dreamed of freedom. Steve Jobs dreamed of technology. Each held on to a dream,
continued to question, and worked to make it come true.
We can help children find ways to explore their daydreams by giving them the tools to do
so. The first and most important tool is TIME. Give them the time to ponder, wonder, dream,
and imagine. Give them materials with which they can experiment. Allow them the luxury to
try, and possibly fail at their attempts. Provide opportunities to try again. Listen to their
questions and together work to find answers. Above all, we must value their questions and
believe in the possibilities!
We Still Need Parent Helpers for Next Year!!
We are still looking for AFTERNOON parent helpers for next year. Helpers receive a
$75 per month tuition reduction for working 1 day per week while your child is at school.
Helpers prepare our snacks and wash the snack dishes and art supplies. It is a really fun way to
see what is happening at school (think: “fly on the wall”!). If interested please stop by the
Office. WE NEED YOU!!!