gives to us. As you

celebrate Valentines Day

this year remember to

share with your children

the gift God’s love.

Remind them that there

is no greater love then

God’s love for us.

February is the time of

year that we learn about

love. We take this

opportunity to share

with our children that

God loves them and that

they are all special to

Him. The Bible tells us in

1 John 4:16, “God is

love, and he who abides

in love abides in God,

and God in him.” We

share with our children

that God loves

unconditionally. That his

love can not be earned

or lost. He loves us as a

parent loves their child,

because we are in fact

His children. There is

nothing we can do that

will separate us from

God’s love. God’s love is

a gift that he freely

During the month of

February we are learning

about God’s love. We are

trying to instill in our

children the truth that God

loves each one of us

unconditionally and without

limits. We will be having

“Love One Another” parties

on February 12 and 13.

Children will be exchanging

valentines. We ask that you

have your child sign the

back of the card and leave

the envelope blank. This

way they can pass out

their own valentines even

if they can’t read their

friends names. Be sure to

check your child’s

classroom for party

sign-ups and any special

instructions.

Happy Valentines Day

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Summer/Fall

Registration

2

Box Tops 2

Kindergarten 2

Scholastic

Book Orders

3

Chapel

Offering

Project

3

Year-End Tax 3

Public or

Private?

4

FEBRUARY

NEWSLETTER

NO

SCHOOL

Monday,

February 9

and

February 16

Presidents

Days

First Baptist Preschool

and Kindergarten 200 N. Second Avenue

Covina, CA 91723

(626) 332-5875

firstbaptistschool.org February 2015

Love One Another Parties

Dear friends since

God so loved us, we

also ought to love

one another. No one

has ever seen God,

but if we love one

another, God lives in

us and His love is

made complete in

us.”

1 John 4:11-12

P A G E 2

PSF

Script

Orders

Great way to

support our school

and have gift

cards for gifts and

everyday

necessities. Order

forms will soon be

in the School

Office.

Script orders will

be due mid

February

It’s Not To Early To Start Thinking About Kindergarten

Registration for Summer and Fall 2015

We have received many questions since returning to school about when we will be registering

for next year and for the summer program. Registration for the upcoming programs will be

held on Monday, March 23rd (for returning families) and Wednesday, March 25th

(for new families).

REMEMBER all children must register for the new program, even if they are attending

currently. Be sure to register early as spaces are limited.

New tuition fees and calendar are being worked on and will be published by March 15th. If

fees are available before then we will get them out to you.

REMEMBER:

Children must be the age of the program they are entering before September 1st.

activities that are no

longer offered in the

public schools. We are

able to offer these

additional programs due

to small class size and

our extended hours.

Amazing Athletes

provides a physical

education period each

week at no charge to our

parents and of course

they participate in our

Motor Development

Program. If you are

It is not too early to start

planning where your

Pre-K’s will be going to

Kindergarten in the fall.

First Baptist School offers

an amazing Kindergarten

Program that meets and

exceeds all State standards

and regulations. Our class

size is small which assures

individual attention and

supervision. Our

Kindergarten Program

offers art, music and many

additional extra curricular

considering First Baptist or

still are not sure where to

send your little one, I would

like to invite you to visit our

program and see first hand

the learning that takes place

each and every day. You

can also ask Miss Natalie

any questions you might

have. You are welcome to

visit at any time…..

We are also planning a

Kindergarten Day for

Parents and Children in the

Spring. Watch for upcoming

dates….

on the counter, drop them in

and twice a year we redeem

them for cash. Let your

children help you spot them in

the grocery store and cut them

out. It is a fun way to include

them and it helps the school

purchase many extra special

supplies and equipment. We

will be sending in another

batch of Box Tops the first of

March. Keep saving them for

us as we begin to collect them

for our next shipment .

Thank you for your help!

Thank you for your

help!

Each year we save “Box Tops

For Education” and turn them

in for cash to purchase special

items or equipment that is not

in our regular budget. Many

items in the grocery store have

Box Tops on them. Cut out the

Box Tops (little pink labels) and

bring them to the School

Office. We have a Box Top can

S O N B E A M N E W S L E T T E R

Pink

Days

February

12 & 13

Wear PINK

to school

Scholastic Book Orders

P A G E 3 2 0 0 N . S E C O N D A V E N U E

Each month our school offers

Scholastic Books you can order

for your child. We have found

that online ordering works really

well. You can order the books

you want online from the

brochures we send home and

then they are mailed to the

school and Jennifer will distribute

them as soon as they arrive. Our

school has an account and it is

already set up. You place your

order and we get points that we

can use to purchase books for

our classroom and school

libraries. Here is what you do….

Go to address below and enter

our school personalized user

name and password.

www.scholastic.com/parent

ordering

Class Activation Code: GLBM7

There are different flyers to

choose from; Honeybee, Seesaw,

Firefly, and Let’s Learn-Science

and Math.

ALL orders will close on

February 17 at 4:00 pm. If

you have any problems

ordering see Jennifer.

she will be happy to print you

up one. Many parents also need

the school’s Tax ID Number, it is

always on your monthly tuition

invoice. If you don’t have it just

It won’t be long before it will be

tax time and if you need a year-

end tuition statement for your

tax preparer, just come by the

office and let Jennifer know and

year will go towards helping with

this project to help build a play-

ground. Be sure to send your extra

pennies, nickels and other change

with your little ones to put in our

Chapel Offering on Thursdays and

Fridays. Thank you for helping us

support this worthy cause.

Those of you that were with us

for the Christmas Program got a

preview of what our Chapel

Offering for the year will be.

Tara Hernandez is a former

student of First Baptist. Tara

has started a project to raise

funds for a playground for the

children in a small village in

Ethiopia. Tara was in Ethiopia

building houses for Habitat for

Humanity and fell in love with

the children there. She was

struck by the lack of play areas

for children and the horrible

conditions that they had to play

in. All of our Chapel Offering for

the remainder of the school

Chapel Offering Project

Year End Tax Statement

RED Days

September

11th and 12th

Wear RED to

School...

ask and we will be

happy to give it to

you.

SPIRIT

DAYS

February

19 & 20

Wear your

Sonbeam

T-Shirt to

school

PSF Dinner

Fundraiser

February

18th

Chili’s

Glendora

Flyers

coming

Tara with Ethiopian child

Tara’s first day at First Baptist

Don’t Forget Your

Chapel Offering !

Invites you and your family to join us for worship

Sundays in November

9:00 Classic and Modern Service

11:00 Modern Service

Children’s Programs and Nursery Care provided at all services.

Parents with children turning five years of age between September 2015 and December 2, 2015 have a choice about

where their children will be placed for the fall. Since the State of California has changed the starting date for

Kindergarten it has caused parents to think about where to place their children for that extra year. First Baptist

School has been offering for several years, a Transitional Kindergarten class that was designed especially for these

children with fall birthdays that are no longer eligible for kindergarten. The public schools are now offering a

Transitional Kindergarten program in many districts and each one of them are a little different in what they offer.

Both our program and the school districts are striving to get their children ready for Kindergarten. But both

approach this differently. Here are some of the differences that you might not be aware of and could make a differ-

ence in your decision as to where you ultimately decide your child will attend.

The biggest difference in our T-K program and the public school programs comes from the agency that oversees the

regulations for the programs. Public school T-K programs are under the Department of Education. Therefore, their

regulations will mirror elementary policies. Our program is under regulations for the Department of Social Services,

which sets the regulations for our preschool program and are designed for younger children. Here are some of the

noticeable differences:

Classroom Ratios: Our T-K 1 teacher to 12 (max) children

Public T-K 1 teacher to 23 plus children

Teacher Education Our T-K Specialized Units in Early Education

Public T-K K-5th grade multi-subject teaching

credential

First Baptist School continues to use a play based approach to learning that helps children acquire cognitive skills in

literacy, letter and number concepts, size, sequence, patterns, colors, and other academic skills along with working

on social and emotional competencies. Our outdoor playtime is considered part of our curriculum and a valuable

part of our students day. Our Motor Development Program provides practice and evaluation of those important

motor skills that academics build on. Children at our school do pay tuition to attend while the public T-K is provided

at no cost. Care for our students is available from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm for working parents. The Public school T-K

programs offer some after school care depending on the location of the program. The public school T-K programs are

not always offered at the campus in your neighborhood, it depends on the school district. Most important of all our

program is provided in a Christian atmosphere and your children and family are bathed in prayer and ministered to

by a staff of Christian women.

We strongly believe that our students are well prepared for Kindergarten. We believe that low ratios and an

expertise in Early Childhood Education provide children with an excellent educational experience. We are very proud

of our program and have worked hard to make it exceed state standards in many areas.

We know that you know your child best and not every program fits every child. We encourage you to consider all of

your options and to visit our T-K Program and the one at the public school that your child might attend. If you have

any questions please feel free to contact me and we can discuss your options.

Nancy Hughes

Public or Private?