Invitation from our Math and Reading Specialists

Happy fall, everyone! What a beautiful day.  I loved watching your sweet children climb aboard their buses for the field trip to the apple orchard today.  What a perfect day to head up to Charlottesville and enjoy this crisp fall weather!

I wanted to pass along an invitation from our reading and math specialists. 

On Thursday, October 3rd, from 7 - 8 pm, Frances Coleman and Anne Gray Siebert will host a program in the Lower School cafeteria (Burke Hall) for all new parents.  Hopefully you have heard about this event.  I encourage new parents to attend if you can! 

Frances is our Lower School math specialist, and Anne Gray is one of our Lower School reading specialists.  The purpose of this parent program is to give you an overview of the math and language arts curriculum in our Lower School, with specific emphasis on the role Collegiate's math and reading specialists play in our student's lives.  Frances and Anne Gray will speak to some specifics of what to expect in Kindergarten.  They will also answer any questions! 

I hope this is helpful.  Please feel free to email Frances at fcoleman@collegiate-va.org or Anne Gray at asiebert@collegiate-va.org if you have any questions.

Enjoy the rest of this wonderful week!

Anne Bruce

A Welcome from the Parents' Association

Welcome Class of 2026!  Does it seem hard to believe that your child is in Kindergarten?  I know this is an exciting time for you and your child.

You and your child have such wonderful things in store in the coming year.  Not only is Collegiate going to be a great environment in which your child can grow and learn for the years to come, but you will find that it will also be a great place for you.  As a Collegiate parent, you are automatically a member of the Parents' Association, and we are thrilled to have you on board!  We have an amazing group of parents who really make our school community special.  I encourage you to meet as many other parents as you can.  They will be a source of support for you as your child progresses through school. 

There are many ways that you can get involved at Collegiate.  There are many opportunities to help in and outside of your child’s classroom, and I encourage you to do so. Volunteering is a great way to get connected to the Collegiate community.  Please refer to the Volunteer Opportunities link on the Collegiate website under "Parents" (Click here to access the link directly).  This site lists many ways to get involved on different levels, so please take a look.  You also will been informed of classroom volunteer opportunities by your teacher and room parent.  

I enjoyed seeing many of you at the kindergarten welcome reception in August, and look forward to getting to know you in the months to come.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact me at kmhidell@gmail.com. 

I looking forward to meeting you soon.

Kristin Hidell 
Parent's Association Lower School Coordinator

Happy Fall from Liane Pace

Happy Early Fall!

I hope this blog entry finds you all well and enjoying your second week of school!  I want to thank those of you who were able to join us over the summer for the playground playdate and Mom's Night Out!  It was wonderful to have the opportunity to get to know one another and let our children become buddies!  Since we had such a fantastic turnout, we will have additional get-togethers as the school year progresses.

So, we are off to a GREAT start ~  I saw many, many smiling faces walking through Luck Hall (might I add in a very neat line :)) the other day!  What fun it is to be in Kindergarten!!

I would like to pass along some helpful tips for fun Collegiate fall events! 

    ▪    Home football games and other athletic events ~ Come cheer on the Cougars!  A fun way to build the Cougar spirit in your little one!  Please view the Collegiate website here for the full Collegiate sports schedule as well as information on how to volunteer to work the football concession stand if you are interested.  I have two football fans in my house, so we will be sure to make a lot of games.  Hope to see you there!

    ▪    September 13 ~ Convocation! An exciting event that your children will love and remember always!!  School-wide (K-12) fun participation!  Your children are allowed to wear Collegiate t-shirts and jeans. 

    ▪    September 26 ~ Cougar Pause! Celebrate the beginning of the school year with the whole family on the Lower School Lawn!  DJ, games, and dinner - always a good time!  Rain or shine.  Please sign up here if you are interested in attending. 

    ▪    October 25 ~ Pep Rally!  Yes, similar to what you may remember having when you were younger, but increase the participation and excitement by 100%!!!!  Lots and lots and lots of green and gold!!  This is a moment to take pictures before school!  I am giving you the scoop - sometimes Kindergarten parents are not aware of how much green and gold to dress their little ones in - answer is - there is never enough on this day!!  Have fun with it!  Also, Collegiate t-shirts and jeans are allowed.
   
    ▪    October 30 ~  Kindergarten and First Grade Halloween Parade!  As a suggestion, after normal scheduled drop off, find a place to park or return quickly after grabbing a cup of coffee, because around 8:30 your little Kindergartner will parade through the entire school with their class to show off their fun Halloween costumes!  They will make their way from the kindergarten building, past the library and then across the football field on their way to the Upper School to fill their bathtub with their "Tons of Coins! "  You will receive more information regarding the coins and the parade from your classroom teacher.  Another fun photo opportunity!  :)      

    ▪    Also, after September is over and schedules become routine, you are allowed to come and have lunch with your child.  They LOVE to have you, a grandparent or a special friend come eat lunch with them!  And it's a great way for you to get to know some of their pals. 

As you can see there are many different and fun ways for your child to start to feel more and more like a part of the Collegiate family- we hope you do too!  It is a wonderful place to be a part of.  Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Take care and hope to see you soon! 

Liane Pace

Hi everyone, and welcome to week #2!  I hope you enjoyed the long weekend.

It was SO wonderful to watch all of your sweet children navigate their first week at Collegiate!  I am so glad they are here.  They already look like old pros! 

We are very fortunate to have some wonderful "new" teachers at Collegiate this year, and one of these teachers is Christine Hoffman, our kindergarten music teacher!  She joins Beth Tracy in our Lower School music department.  I wanted to pass along a message from Christine. See below.  

Here's to a wonderful second week!!

Anne Bruce

Hello Kindergartners and Parents,

 

 

My name is Christine Hoffman, and I am so excited to be a new Lower School Music teacher!

Before coming to Collegiate, I taught K - 5 music for 10 years in Hanover County at Beaverdam Elementary School.  Before that, I taught music and English in elementary and middle schools in Tomioka-shi, Japan. 

This year I will be teaching primarily Kindergarten and 1st Grade music.  In my music room, we will explore the world through music!  We will learn folk songs and dances from around the globe as we learn about other cultures.  If you or someone you know has knowledge about a certain culture and would like to come in and talk with the kids (or perhaps even share a song or dance), please let me know!

I believe in four stages of music learning, taken from the Orff Schulwerk approach to music education:  imitation, exploration, improvisation, and composition.  We will use our voices, bodies, unpitched percussion instruments (such as drums, triangles, maracas, wood blocks, guiros, tambourines, etc.) and pitched barred instruments (such as xylophones, glockenspiels, and metallophones) to move through these four stages.  I believe in creating a comfortable and respectful environment in my classroom that allows for mistakes and promotes creativity.

Again, I am really excited to be here at Collegiate, and I look forward to meeting you all soon!  Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.  I have enjoyed the time that I’ve spent with your children in our first week together, and I know this is going to be a great year!


Christine Hoffman
christine_hoffman@collegiate-va.org