W I N T E R
2 0 1 5
St. Mary’s Preschool
December 2015
Happy Birthday
Edwin Wang on December 3rd
Afonso Costa on January 14th
Charlotte Stephens on January 20th
Welcome … …
DECEMBER 2015
Michelle Yoshida
JANUARY 2016
Charlotte Lares
Isla Lares
December 2015
Monday, 12/7/2015
Thursday, 12/17/2015
Free Dress Day
Christmas Performance at 10:30am
Minimum Day
(pick up before 12:00pm)
12/18 to 12/31 Christmas Breaks, NO SCHOOL
Friday,
1/1/2016
New Year’s Holiday, NO SCHOOL
Monday, 1/4/2016
Preschool Resume
Monday, 1/11/2016
Free Dress Day
Saturday, 1/16/2016
Open House for New Enrollment of
2016-2017
SAVE THE DATE: 12/17/2015
Reminder:
All of the
preschoolers need
to come to the
school at 8:30am
on Thursday
12/17/2015.
Parents come back
around 10:15am.
Invitation:
Place:
St. Mary’s
Preschool’s
families and friends
are invited to come
around 10:15am.
Preschool’s
playground
*** Parents stay
beyond Iron Gate
or watch from 3rd
or 4th floor’s
hallway.
ST. MARY’S BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL
DECEMBER 2015
Maria Montessori… …
“Education is a natural process carried out by the
child and is not acquired by listening to words but by
experiences in the environment.”
Reminder… …
Winter: cold season for children
1. Eat well, sleep well, and drink lots of water
2. Dress well to keep body warm
3. Exercise more (walking, jumping etc.)
4. Personal habits:
Cover mouth with elbow when sneezing or
coughing, use tissue to wipe running nose, wash
hands constantly
Dress Code For Christmas Program
Girls: white shirt with school’s skirt, red sweater
Boys: white shirt with grey pants, blue sweater
Make sure your child wear warm layer inside. Now
Jacket or coat allow during performance.
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ST. MARY’S BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL
DECEMBER 2015
Updates on Parent Handbook and Policies
Effective from January 1st, 2016
ADMISSIONS
Admissions are determined based upon
availability of space and staffing to meet the
needs of every child. An applicant’s age and sex
will also be considered in order to balance the
interactions in the classroom. Siblings of students
are given priority on registration. Remaining
vacancies are filled from the pool of applications.
tuition is now divided into ten equal
installments. Any refunds due to illness, vacation
or absence from school cannot be made anymore.
If you need to withdraw your child, refunds are
considered only if a 30-day advanced written
notice is given to school. NO refunds or other
adjustments (pro-rates) of the contract will be
given after January 1st, 2016.
Program Schedule CHANGES
Changes on Summer Program Enrollment
Changing Schedule request in the middle of each
semester is accepted only if a two week advanced
written notice is given. And all changes are not
assumable but treated as case by case.
Tuition for the summer program will be charged
additional to regular program. St. Mary’s
Preschool reserves the right to cancel any
program if enrollment does not meet minimum
requirements. Parents will be notified should the
changes or termination of Summer Program
occurs.
TUITION
Tuition is calculated based on the academic
school year from September to June. The total
3
ST. MARY’S BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL
DECEMBER 2015
Bilingualism in the Early Years:
What the Science Says
Bilingualism has become increasingly common in many parts of the world, and
the U.S. is no exception. In California, by 2035, experts predict that over 50% of
kindergarteners will have grown up speaking a non-English language. As more of our
children grow up bilingual and multilingual, it is important to understand what
scientific research has discovered about bilingualism in the early years.
1.) Are bilingual children confused?
This is one of the most common concerns that parents have
about raising children in bilingual environments! However,
research shows that even bilingual infants are able to tell their
two languages apart. Instead of being confused, they are
especially sensitive to sounds and mouth movements which
help them distinguish the difference between two languages.
But what if bilingual children mix words from two
languages in the same sentence? This is called code mixing,
and it is a normal part of bilingual development. If a
bilingual child cannot find the appropriate word in one language,
he/she may borrow the word from the other language. In other
words, code mixing is just a sign of bilingual children’s ingenuity
and resourcefulness!
2.) Does bilingualism
make children smarter?
Some laboratory studies suggest that bilinguals
may show certain social and cognitive
advantages over their monolingual peers.
However, it is not yet known exactly how or
why these advantages might exist, and it is not
clear how these differences play out in
children’s everyday lives.
Although we must be careful not to
overplay the “bilingual advantage,” it is important to note that
simply being bilingual is an advantage in and of itself! For many children, speaking
multiple languages allows them to speak with their extended family, and maintain a connection to
their family culture and history. In addition, being bilingual makes it possible for children to
Source: Byers-Heinlein, K., & Lew-Williams, C. (2013). Bilingualism in the early years: What the science says.
Learning Landscapes, 7(1), 95-112.
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ST. MARY’S BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL
DECEMBER 2015
Bilingualism in the Early Years:
What the Science Says (continued)
3.) Is it best for each person to speak
only one language to a bilingual child?
Believe it or not, the “one-person-one-language” strategy was first recommended over 100 years
ago! Research since then has not supported this theory: there is no evidence that having children
hear only one language from each person necessarily leads to successful learning of both languages.
So, what strategies can help promote early bilingual development? Studies have shown that
children learn languages through listening to and interacting with different speakers. They tend to
learn best through social interaction—not through television or media.
How much language children hear also has a significant impact on their language development. If
a child hears and uses one language more, they will learn that language more quickly. The best way
to promote a child’s ability in two languages is to provide plenty of exposure to both languages.
Hearing and using a second language only when a grandparent visits on the weekend, or with a
part-time nanny, is unlikely to lead to balanced bilingual abilities.
Unfortunately, even providing perfectly balanced exposure to both languages early on does not
necessarily guarantee that a child will be bilingual for life. As children grow up, they become more
likely to use the language spoken in the community where they live, also known as the majority
language. For this reason, raising children in truly bilingual communities is one way to make it
more likely that they will maintain their bilingualism.
4.) Should parents avoid
mixing languages together?
Code mixing—mixing languages in the same
sentence or conversation—is a normal part of
being bilingual and interacting with other
bilingual people. Some recent research has
shown that even 20-month-old bilingual children
are able to understand and process code-mixed
sentences. Also, in some communities, code
mixing is an important part of belonging in the
bilingual community. In order for children to
learn the correct patterns and rules for code
mixing, they must hear and practice them!
5
ST. MARY’S BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL
DECEMBER 2015
Bilingualism in the Early Years:
What the Science Says (continued)
5.) Is earlier better?
You may have heard of a “critical period” for
language acquisition: this is the idea that people
cannot learn a new language after a certain time.
As it turns out, there is no definitive evidence proving that this critical period really exists,
and even if it does, specialists disagree about when this critical period is actually over.
Still, all researchers agree on one thing: earlier IS better! Although there may not actually
be a single age after which language learning is impossible, the fact remains that language
learning abilities do get worse over time for most people.
Many parents choose to hire bilingual nannies or send their children to bilingual
preschools, which can help increase their children’s exposure to another language. However,
it is essential to keep providing opportunities to practice both languages as the child grows
older, because children will naturally begin to prefer the language of the mainstream culture.
In the end, children learn languages best in rich language environments where they have
lots of rich, diverse, and engaging opportunities to learn about the sounds, phrases, and
sentences that make up the language. As with most things, practice makes perfect, and the
younger they are, the more practice they’re likely to get!
6.) Are bilingual children more likely to have
language difficulties, delays, or disorders?
Bilingual children are not more likely than monolingual children
to experience language difficulties, delays, or disorders!
Interestingly enough, this is a fairly common misconception in
popular culture and even among parents and pediatricians.
Although bilingual children typically know fewer words in
each of their languages than monolingual children do, in fact their
“conceptual vocabulary” (across both languages) is effectively the same
number of words as monolingual children!
Just as some monolingual children have language delays or disorders, some bilingual children will
have language delays or disorders. The tricky thing is to be able to tell whether a bilingual child
really has an issue, or if it’s just a part of his/her normal development. If parents are worried about
their bilingual child’s language development, they should consult with a speech-language pathologist
with expertise in bilingualism, as early intervention is always best!