From the Director’s Desk…

Dear Parents and Families, It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! As we rush to shop, decorate, and bake, it is important to try and maintain our children’s schedules as much as possible, to minimize their stress. All of the excitement can be very overwhelming for children: company in town, lots of shopping, anticipation, etc. Sometimes we can lose sight of the true meaning of this holiday. We would like to thank our volunteers for the wonderful Thanksgiving Feast! Whether you coordinated, cooked, or helped out on the day of the event, we truly appreciate your kindness. Everything was wonderful and delicious! It is the involve-ment of all of our wonderful parents that truly sets our program apart from so many other ECCs. It was wonderful to see so many families here for our “Breakfast with St. Nick”. This is such a fun community building event where families have the oppor-tunity to connect with each other and enjoy a fun Christmas tradition. The baskets that the classes made were beautiful and a wonderful addition to this event. Fami-lies seemed to enjoy the opportunity to start their Christmas shopping! If you are still looking for that perfect weekend get-away for the two of you– We have a 2 Night 3 Day stay at Innisbrook with a round of golf for 2 for half price! Please call the office if interested. A big thank you to our local business donors, Chris Ennest, Aaron Melling, and all of our families that secured donations.

The Breakfast with St. Nick and our Jack Hartmann Concert in February will be the major fundraisers for the ECC this year. We are hoping through these events, coupled with Amazon Smile Donations, we will meet our $8,000 fundraising goal. Please see the attached form for how to sign up through Amazon Smile and the Amazon Smile App. It is very easy to switch your regular Amazon account to a Smile account. Participating in Amazon Smile is a great way for the ECC to receive donations without any added expense to our families. Mark your calendars for our PALS meeting on January 16th. We will have a nutritionist, Jen Galligan, here to share information regarding nutrition during the early childhood years. The entire staff of St. Luke Early Childhood Center wishes you and your family a relaxing family-filled Christmas. May the Blessings of this Holy Season fill you with the love of our Savior. Kathie Mitchell

Dates to Remember J Dec. 19th- 2’s and 3’s

Christmas Program

J Dec. 20th- Pre-K Christmas Program

J Dec. 21st– Jan 4th- Closed for Christmas Break

J January 7th- Welcome Back!

J January 8-9- Class Pictures

J Jan. 16th- PALS Meeting

J Jan 23rd- Registration begins for 2019/2020

J Jan. 28th-Feb. 1st. Catholic Schools Week

Jack Hartmann Concert

February 7th!

SAVE the DATE!

The mission of St. Luke Early Childhood Center is to provide the foundation for a lifelong love of learning by nurturing the whole child through exploration and creativity in a Catholic spirit.

Inside this Issue ¨ PALS Letter ¨ PALS meeting information. ¨ Amazon Smile information ¨ Miss Heather’s Health Blog ¨ Fun Christmas Facts ¨ Breakfast with St. Nick Pictures ¨ Christmas Program Schedule ¨ Religion Corner ¨ Adopt-A-Class Information ¨ December Birthdays

St. Luke Early Childhood Center “Little Saint’s Herald”

CELEBRATING Over 30 YEARS!!

Volume 32, Issue 4 www.StLukeECC.com 727-787-2914 December 2018

Busch Gardens Coral Reef Resort Empire Auto Tint Innisbrook Villa Bellini

Ray’s Baseball Tampa Bay Lightning Yankee Candle Miss Laura Dance Buccaneers

Toronto Blue Jays 13 Fishing Sweeping Fringe Basket Snow’s Shack Jupiter Donuts and Brew

FUNDRAISING GOAL

This is a great way to help us reach our fundraising

goal without any additional expense!

Volume 32, Issue 4 Little Saint’s Herald December 2018

Letter from the Board .....

Hello Families, Our PALS Board would like to take this opportu-nity to thank all of the volunteers for their help with the Thanksgiving Feast. We had a tremendous outpouring of volunteers and we really appreciate everyone donat-ing their time and favorite Thanksgiving dishes for our incredible teachers to enjoy!! Everyone had a wonder-ful time and the children looked great in their Thanks-giving costumes. We are so grateful to all our families for coming and having breakfast while visiting with St. Nick! The children all had a wonderful time doing crafts with their teachers, shopping at the book fair, and eating with their friends. We appreciate everyone for helping to make our si-lent auction a great success! A special thanks to all the local businesses that contributed such fabulous items. Thank you to all our school parents! The class bas-kets were so beautiful and overflowing with incredible goodies thanks to all the items that you donated! A huge, huge thanks to our room parents for collecting everything and putting them all together! They did a truly amazing job!! Our next PALS meeting will be on January 16th. Hope to see you all there. Wishing all our wonderful families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New! Enjoy making beautiful memories with your loved ones! Your PALS Board

Heather’s Health Blog

For school please substitute Wow, Almond, or Sun Butter.

Jesus is better than Santa

Santa lives at the North Pole; Jesus is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh; Jesus rides on the wind and walks on water.

Santa comes but once a year; Jesus is an ever present help.

Santa comes down your chimney; Jesus stands at your door and knocks.

Santa makes you stand in line to see him; Jesus is as close as the mention of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap; Jesus lets your rest in His arms.

Santa asks, “Little boy, little girl, what is your name?” Jesus knew our names before we did.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly; Jesus has a heart full of love.

Santa offers “Ho, ho, ho”; Jesus offers health, help, and hope.

Santa says “You better not cry”; Jesus says, “Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.”

Santa’s little helpers make toys; Jesus makes new lives, mends hearts, repairs broken homes.

Santa may make you chuckle; Jesus gives you joy.

Santa puts gifts under your tree; Jesus became our gift and died on the tree.

There’s really no comparison. Jesus is the reason for the season.

Volume 32, Issue 4 Little Saint’s Herald December 2018

NO SCHOOL Please mark your calendars! Our Center will be closed from Friday, December 21st through Fri-day, January 4th for Christmas Break. We will reopen on Monday, January 7th. ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 20TH THERE WILL BE NO LUNCH BUNCH OR ABC CLUB ALL CLASSES WILL END AT NOON.

CHRISTMAS PROGRAMS SCHEDULE

Happy Birthday!!

Ellery Jacobsen (12/10) Anna Katsionova (12/13)

Adrianna Albritton (12/28)Amanda Caicedo (12/28)

“Jesus” (12/25)

TEACHERS

DAY DATE TIME/PLACE

2’s Class

Wednesday 12/19 11:00/Church

ALL 3’s Classes Wednesday 12/19 11:00/Church

ALL PreK Classes

Thursday 12/20 11:00/Church

Fun Christmas Facts It is believed that decorating Christmas trees

originated in 16th century Germany, when Christians would bring decorated trees into their homes.

Christmas trees were first decorated with foods such as apples, nuts and dates.

In 1836 Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

Oklahoma became the last state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1907.

In June of 1870 Christmas became a federal holiday in the US.

Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895.

If you received all the gifts from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” you would have 364 presents.

Do you know why we say the Twelve Days of Christmas? It is believed that it took the 3 kings 12 days to find baby Jesus.

The song Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont in 1857. It was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh” and was made for Thanksgiving.

Did you know that tinsel was once made of real silver! It was invented in Germany in 1610.

The tallest Christmas tree ever displayed was in Seattle Washington in 1950. The Christmas tree was 221 feet tall!

It is said that candy canes were invented by a candy maker in Indiana. He wanted to use them to spread the name Jesus around the world.

Volume 32, Issue 4 Little Saint’s Herald December 2018

“Every good and perfect gift is from God. It comes

down from the Father. (James 1:17)

December 6th is the Feast of St. Nicholas! Based on tradition, the children put a shoe out in the hall-way in anticipation that St. Nick would stop by and leave them a surprise! Christmastime is such a special time within our church and our families. The children are so excited about getting ready for the holiday: spending time with family and friends, and of course receiving gifts. It is important to remind them of the true meaning of Christmas – the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas season begins with Advent. Advent is a time of preparation that is filled with anticipation and hope. It is a period of time which invites us all to prepare patiently and quietly for the coming of Jesus Christ. During the month we talk about pre-paring for and looking forward to the celebration of Jesus. This month our two year olds will be talking about and expressing their love for Jesus, their families, and the true meaning of Christmas. Their classroom will be filled with singing and laughter as they pre-pare for the upcoming holiday. Our three year olds will talk about Advent. They will get ready for Christmas by making decorations to use at home to remind them that Christmas is coming. They will pray to God and ask Him to help them be kind to others each day. Through-out the month they will talk about the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Pre-K classes will be reading about the birth of Jesus and will visit the church. They are also begin-ning to learn the “Hail Mary”. Merry Christmas!

First family to mention this star to the ECC office wins tickets for a family of 4 to the Jack Hartmann Concert on February 7th!

Breakfast with

St. Nick

Dear ECC Parents,

St. Luke ECC is continuing its Adopt-a-class program this year! The Adopt-a-Class program partners individuals, families, business, industry, civic and church organizations with our school in both a financial and social function. Here’s how it works: An individual or group sponsors a class, or a project by giving a tax-deductible donation of $150.00 per scholarship to St. Luke Early Childhood Center. Please note families may combine resources as well. This is a great way to directly support your child’s learning environment.

In recent years, through this funding we have purchased iPods, speakers and iPads for our classrooms; this year our teacher’s have classroom-specific ideas in mind, like new seating for their libraries, specific manipulatives and specialty curriculum materials. If you are interested in donating, simply complete the included form and send it in to the school office.

Additionally we are again encouraging Adopt-a-Class for our Kids Morning Out program, science program and library. Our KMO program not only serves our littlest angels, it is also available in the summer and during Easter camp for all of our stu-dents. Please share one of the enclosed sponsorship forms with someone you believe would be interested in sponsoring a class or project at St. Luke ECC. Please note that this type of donation is eligible for matching gift monies through many of our sponsors’ places of employment. Our goal is to have a quick turnaround so we can include these updates and projects during this school year. If we can pro-vide any further information about this worthwhile program, please contact Stephanie or Kathie in the office at (727) 787-2914.

Thank you for your generosity. Your partner in education and faith,

Kathleen Mitchell Director St. Luke Early Childhood Center NAME OF SPONSOR: __________________________________________________________ CONTACT PERSON & PHONE#: _________________________________________________ ADDRESS: ___________________________________________________________________ What is your affiliation with the school? _____________________________________________________

CHOICE OF PROJECT OR CLASS

_____ Science Program _____ School library _____ Miss Christine and Miss Maggie– 2’s _____ Miss Rickey and Miss Susan– 3’s _____ Miss Claudia and Miss Heather – 3’s _____ Miss Diane and Miss Susan – Pre-K _____ Mr. Ray and Miss Judy –Pre-K _____ KMO- Miss Marybeth and Miss Kerry _____ ABC Club– Miss Bailey

Thank you for your donation of $150.00 per sponsorship. As a nonprofit organization, contributions to St. Luke Early Childhood Center are tax deductible. PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: St. Luke Early Childhood Center (Adopt-a-Class). MAIL TO: St. Luke Early Childhood Center Attention: Adopt-a-class Program 2757 Alderman Road, P.H., FL 34684

St. Luke Early Childhood Center 2757 Alderman Road • Palm Harbor, Florida 34684

(727) 787-2914 • Fax: (727) 786-8648 StLukeECC.com – stlecc@gmail.com

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS The “Little Saint’s Herald”, our monthly newsletter , is distributed to 150 fami-lies every month. You can place an ad several different ways: • Business Card Ad = $25/month or $50/3 months or $155/year

• Half Page Ad = $35/month or $70/3 months or $225/year We need to have your ad by the 15th of the month prior to the month pub-lished. Your advertising helps defray the cost of printing the “Little Saint’s Herald.” Thank you to those businesses that continually support our efforts!