December 11th Friday Newsflash

Friday Newsflash
December 11, 2009

Good Afternoon CHA Community!

The Children’s Hour Academy information for the week:

1. 12/12/09 Christmas Pageant: Looking forward to seeing you at our annual Christmas Pageant and Potluck Luncheon on December 12th at Athey Creek Middle School (2900 SW Borland Road, West Linn, OR 97068). Children need to arrive at 10:30 as we will start performing at 11 am sharp. Our potluck luncheon will follow at noon with comfortable CHA camaraderie! Please do not forget our NO NUTS policy for the potluck dishes and children should be dressed in their Christmas Finery. Please see attached flyer for additional information.

2. Christmas Baskets: Do a bit of pre-auction shopping and check out the attached listings of all the wonderful Silent Auction Baskets! Bidding will be in $5 increments and check or cash at the event is appreciated. Again, a heart -felt thank you to everyone for the fabulous items!!

3. Pageant Cancellation due to Inclement Weather Notification: If the Pageant needs to be cancelled, all local news stations will have a posting as a school cancellation notice. In addition, the answering machines at both campuses will have cancellation information. (503-534-1818 or 503-635-2139) Let’s pray for a slight warming trend!

4. CHAF News: Foundation President Amanda Wendt wants to let everyone know that the CHA Foundation will have a charitable contribution box at the Pageant. All tax-deductible donations are sincerely appreciated and she will have receipts on hand! The Foundation funds scholarships for families in need as well as provides equipment to enhance students’ learning environment.

5. New Staff Members: We would like to officially welcome Heidy Balazsy McInnis to our Jean Road Campus. Heidy comes highly recommended, is RIE trained and is partnering beautifully with Yelena in the Infant Room. In addition, Taylor Keller has successfully completed her probationary training period at the Jean Road Campus and is now a welcomed addition as a Teacher Aide Floater. Finally, Melissa Grothe has returned to CHA from college to help during the winter break as a Substitute Teacher at the Meridian Campus. Please say a warm hello to our newest members of the CHA Community!

6. Testimonials for Church Connections: Susan Stober met with local churches regarding the school and congregation member benefits this past week. Many Children Pastors requested testimonials from their congregation members to enhance the CHA promotion. We would appreciate if families would let Susan know what church you attend and if you would be willing to give a testimonial on CHA’s behalf. If a church member signs up based on your recommendation, you will receive the $250 referral fee. Many Blessings!

7. Campus Security: To maintain a nurturing AND safe environment for our children, please DO NOT allow access to our facilities to anyone without a code. As many are ingrained with politeness to open a door for a newcomer, please then escort them to a staff member (Michelle, Patty, Pat, Briana or Susan) so they can be of service. If you see someone you don’t know in a lobby, ask if you can be of help. If it turns out to be another CHA member, you’ve made a new connection! We want to keep all our little ones safe!

8. CHA Merchant Program: We are starting a CHA Merchant Program and are looking for interested businesses to participate. The program would allow businesses to advertise to our CHA community through posters, community boards, our blog and website in exchange for a school donation/sponsorship or discount on services for our CHA families. Please contact Susan Stober for more information.

9. Used Laptop Needed: We would like to make the Meridian Campus Computer Lab more user friendly for kids and teachers. If anyone has an old laptop they would like to donate (for a tax deduction!), we would like to set up a station in the lab to project on the wall so typing and other computer skills can be taught to the entire class at one time. In addition, if all students could please have individual headphones labeled in Ziploc bags, the lab would be better utilized. (The headphones can be the under $5 ones from Radio Shack.) Thanks for helping our kids become more technologically savvy!

10. No Uniforms: From 12/11-12/30, students ARE NOT required to wear uniform as we have “non-curriculum days.”

11. Classroom Christmas Parties will be on 12/23 from 3-5pm. Please ask your classroom teacher for specifics.

12. School Closures: Both Campuses will be closed on 12/24, 12/25, 12/31, and 1/1 due to the holidays.

Can’t wait to see you at the pageant and luncheon tomorrow!

Warm Regards,


Susan Stober

Staff/Marketing Director, Meridian Campus
The Children’s Hour Academy