Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Winter News Letter 2015



January, 2015 Newsletter
                                                              
EDEP at MLES
1610 Owensville Road, Charlottesville, VA 22901
Meriwether Lewis Elementary School, (434)971-1648

Dear EDEP Families,
It is a brand new year and I am incredibly excited to be spending it with the Extended Day Enrichment Program at Meriwether Lewis Elementary School!
2014 seemed to have come and gone in a flash, and while we lost a few amazing EDEP employees to new careers, 2015 is shaping up to be a great year!
We have a brand new staff with fresh ideas, amazing talents, and outstanding experience working with young students. Please feel free to introduce yourself at pick-up!
 The program has also added new gadgets, like a doorbell and telephone, to increase both safety and convenience. And, our daily enrichment themes like STEMondays, Tell Me a Tale Tuesday, Around the World Wednesday, Open Studio Thursday, and Club Friday are continuing to keep students actively engaged.
I hope you and your family are as happy as I am for a fantastic 2015 in EDEP!
Warm regards,
Brenning Greenfield
Site Facilitator


More Important News

2014 in Review
First, I want to thank all the EDEP families for all the support as the MLES program transitioned with an entirely new staff. We have settled in and are ready to keep having fun while learning in EDEP!
The students were able to work on a variety of projects this year, like sculpture, music and art, engineering, as well as student led science exploration.

One of the students’ favorite projects was constructing ginger bread houses, and we couldn't have
done it without all the family donations. Thank you so much to everyone who donated supplies!

Safety & Convenience
We have added a doorbell and telephone to the program for added safety and convenience. The doorbell is located to the right of back doors (by the cafeteria). A telephone for EDEP is now located in the cafeteria, allowing for two-way communication. Please call at any time in case of emergency or a change in pick-up. (434)971-1648

Looking Forward
We have a lot of fun things to look forward to in 2015. Our teachers will be offering a variety of clubs on Fridays, including: Art, Cooking, Building/Engineering, and Sports/Dance. We will also be covering fun and intriguing unit plans! Some of our up-coming themes are the Super Bowl, Black History Month, Chinese New Year, and weather, as well as student generated ideas!

Reminders
-       We are currently in Cycle 5 (Jan. 5th – Feb. 3rd)
-       Cycle 6 begins Feb. 4th
-       Ensure that children attending our program have days in their accounts, staying consistent with our posted policy and Parent Handbook policy of “ALL EDEP SERVICES MUST BE PRE-PAID.”
-       You can make your payments online at www.K12albemarle.org/edep
-       Students should be wearing weather appropriate clothing (coat, hat, gloves, and close-toed shoes).
-       Please send a note or email if your child’s schedule changes or if you would like to change your child’s permanent schedule.



New Teachers
Lisa Jevack
Lisa Jevack moved to the Charlottesville area from Cleveland, OH in January of 2014.  While in Cleveland, Mrs. Jevack worked as an early-childhood health educator in a dental outreach program at Case Western Reserve University.  Prior to that, she taught art in the Cleveland public school district.
For fun, Mrs. Jevack enjoys going to galleries and art museums, hearing live music and spending time with her family—skiing in the winter, sailing in the summer, road-tripping to experience the beautiful surroundings of her new state of Virginia.  She also enjoys cheering on her daughters at their swim meets and field hockey games.  And if she is really lucky, she will find some time to get into the studio, get her hands into some clay and work on her ceramic sculptures.
Mrs. Jevack holds and B.S. in Design from the University of Cincinnati and a M.A. in Art Education/Fine Arts from Case Western Reserve University.  She lives in Crozet with her husband and two daughters, who are in 8th grade and 4th grade.
Lisa Cushing
Lisa Cushing is new to the Charlottesville area!  Originally from Upstate NY, Cushing has lived in Vancouver, WA for a few years & then Fredericksburg, VA before settling in Charlottesville!  Her and her husband bought their first home in September & they love Charlottesville!  While she was in college she worked for the YMCA as an after school teacher during the school year & in the summer was a Camp Counselor.  Mrs. Cushing received her Associates Degree in Business Administration & after college, went into the business world for some years but missed working with children.  So, she is back as one of the EDEP teachers & overjoyed to be with them every day & to see those smiling faces!
Patty Clark
Patty Clark has lived in and around Crozet since she was 2 years old.  Currently, Mrs. Clark lives in Crozet, near the Claudius Crozet Park with her husband, Buck and daughters, Virginia (13) and Lora (12).  Mrs. Clark’s family loves to go tent camping in West Virginia, at Lake Moomaw or on the Eastern shore.  She loves the mountains and the sea!  Mrs. Clark also enjoys swimming, which was good growing up across from the pool.  She loves to go fishing in lakes, rivers, the Chesapeake Bay or the Ocean.  In the summer, Mrs. Clark enjoys going to the beach with family and friends, and looking for sharks’ teeth, shells and building in the sand.  When it snows, Mrs. Clark likes to go snow tubing at Mint Springs Park, while also trout fishing!  Actually, you can catch Mrs. Clark there with family and friends most of the time, cooking out and fishing for trout.  She also enjoys peaceful nights with family watching a movie or a TV show, while crocheting or knitting.
Mrs. Clark is a Teaching Assistant in Kindergarten at Brownsville Elementary and has worked with the same amazing teacher for the last 6 years. She has also enjoyed getting to know and working with the wonderful EDEP staff at Meriwether Elementary in the afternoons/evenings, with such an awesome group of children (they melt her heart)!