Come learn more about our many camp offerings at our Camp Open House on Sunday, February 12, 2012 from 1:00 – 2:30pm at 317 New Canaan Road (Route 106) in the Silvermine area of Wilton.

Friends Nursery School Early Childhood Vacation Camps run during the school vacation weeks in February and April. These camps are for children 3 – 5 years old, and will feature hands-on activities for learning and creating, songs, stories and generous amounts of free play time, both indoors and out, all led by our warm and wonderful nursery school staff.

CFS Summer Camp is for children entering kindergarten through 8th grade, and will run June 25 – August 3, 2012. CFS Summer Camp highlights community-building games, arts and crafts, outdoor activities, and weekly theme projects (2012 themes are: Building, Water, Theater, Trees & Plants, Fibers & Air.) Field trips to theme-related venues and swimming trips are included. CFS Summer Camp enjoys the natural environment of our rustic 15 acre White Barn Campus (Westport/Norwalk town line) and includes field, trail, pond and garden activities that inspire creativity, stewardship, and play. Enroll for the full season, or weekly.

Friends Nursery School Summer Camp is for 3 – 5 year old children during June & July, 2012, on our lovely, wooded Wilton campus. Counselors are experienced early childhood educators, and children enjoy engaging age appropriate activities, many of which are outside.

Connecticut Friends School combines outstanding academics, arts and outdoor leadership programs with all the best a Friends education has to offer. Learn more about Connecticut Friends School for children 18 months – 13 years old at our Admissions Open House on Friday, March 2, 2012, from 1:00 – 3:00pm, and at www.CTFriendsSchool.org. CFS students engage in serious work in a joyous atmosphere, and hail from Wilton, Norwalk, Westport, New Canaan, Darien, Stamford, Ridgefield, Redding, Weston, Easton, Fairfield and other local communities in Fairfield and Westchester counties.

For more information, please contact Beth Skudder at 203 762 9860 and info@CTFriendsSchool.org, and visit www.CTFriendsSchool.org or www.FriendsNurserySchool.org.

Friends Nursery School will be hosting our annual Family Fun Day & Open House on Saturday, November 12th, from 9:00am to 12pm. Families are invited to share in a morning of FREE creative and educational activities geared toward children ages 2 – 7 years old, in celebration of peace, nature and community.

Activities will include:

• Children’s Yoga with Patti Riccio Patti is a certified yoga teacher with a specialty in children’s yoga.

• Drumming with Dads, 11:00 – 11:30 Led by several of our dedicated, musical fathers, the children will have the opportunity to make their own music together in a drum circle.

• Arts & Crafts, Face Painting and healthful, organic snacks on-going throughout the morning.

Founded in 1957, the Helen Gander Friends Nursery School serves children ages two through five years old. Located in the Friends Meeting House in Wilton, a home-like setting, teachers aim to creatively engage and educate young children in the Friends tradition, applying the Quaker principles of community, equality, integrity, peace and simplicity to teaching and learning.

Maureen Jackson, Nursery School Director highlights the educational goals and philosophy of the school: “We hold a deep concern for the whole child at our school. We place a strong emphasis on play-based, child-centered learning with a focus on the arts — where a process of exploration is the means to an end, and the product is secondary.”

Two new classes for young children will start in January, 2012. Registering as soon as possible is suggested as enrollment is limited. Registration for 2012 – 2013 has begun as well.

• The Mommy and Me class is for children ages 15 – 24 months old, and their caregivers (daddies, aunties, grannies or nannies are welcome!) These enriching classes engage young children in a delightful hour of exploration, learning and community building.

• The Prelude to Preschool is a drop off class for children ages 2 -3 years old, and is both a unique opportunity for younger children to adjust to preschool, as well as excellent preparation for entering preschool in the fall. This class features stories, art, science explorations, and music and movement experiences to nurture your child’s social, emotional and cognitive growth. Both classes will be taught by HGFNS Director, Maureen Jackson.

Recently, it was announced that the Helen Gander Friends Nursery School, one of Wilton’s longest running preschools, is merging with the Connecticut Friends School, also located on the Wilton Meeting property.

The Helen Gander Friends Nursery School is located at 317 New Canaan Road/Route 106 in the Silvermine area of Wilton, near the New Canaan and Norwalk borders. Current families are from Wilton and many other nearby towns including Norwalk, Darien, Ridgefield and South Salem. For more information, contact: Maureen Jackson at 203-761-7933, helengander@optonline.net and visit www.FriendsNurserySchool.org.

Since 1957, the Helen Gander Friends Nursery School (HGFNS) has offered a play-based, child-centered preschool program where children blossom under the care and guidance of nurturing, experienced teachers. HGFNS fosters a sense of security in each individual child by providing a predictable, daily routine using carefully selected materials. “Our unique approach to learning fosters the kind of confidence and social skills it takes to become lifelong learners and responsible citizens of the world,” says Maureen Jackson, HGFNS Director since 1995. And it is exactly this insightful understanding of the development of young children that blends so perfectly with the Connecticut Friends School vision. “At CFS, we want our students to be successful – happy, well adjusted, passionate, inquisitive, capable, intelligent, able to think and question, and able to excel in our society and world,” says Mark Dansereau, CFS Co-Head and middle school teacher. Both schools bring to life the Friends tradition of peaceful and nurturing environments that inspire and engage children to become confident, creative and critical thinkers.

The newly consolidated schools announce new classes for young children, to start in January, 2012. Enrollment is limited, and calling 203 761 7933 now to register is encouraged. Registrations for the 2012 – 2013 school year are now being accepted as well. Visit www.HelenGanderFriendsNurserySchool.org for more information. The Mommy and Me class, which starts in January, is for children ages 15 – 24 months old, and their caregivers (daddies, aunties, grannies or nannies are welcome!) These enriching classes engage young children in a delightful hour of exploration, learning and community building under the guidance of experienced early childhood educator and nursery school director, Maureen Jackson. The Prelude to Preschool is a drop off class for children ages 2 -3 years old, and is both a unique opportunity for younger children to adjust to preschool, as well as excellent preparation for entering preschool in the fall. This class features stories, art, science explorations, and music and movement experiences to nurture your child’s social, emotional and cognitive growth. This class also starts in January, 2012 and will be taught by HGFNS Director, Maureen Jackson.

Please join HGFNS Family Fun Day on Saturday, November 12, 2011, 9:00am – 12:00pm. Family activities, including drumming with daddy sessions, yoga for kids, arts and crafts, organic treats and an opportunity to learn more about the preschool, will all be available for families and the public.

The Maples (K & Gr 1) are once again participating in this annual collection with the Wilton Congregational Church, their 47th Annual Coat & Blanket Drive.

PLEASE LOOK IN YOUR CLOSETS FOR NEW OR GENTLY USED CLEAN COATS, JACKETS, AND BLANKETS TO BENEFIT “COMMUNITY CLOSET” IN BRIDGEPORT CT

Send these items to the Maples Room by Thursday, Nov 3.

November 4, 2011, 1:00 – 3:00

SERIOUS WORK IN A JOYOUS ATMOSPHERE

experiential learning * small, co-ed classes

Connecticut Friends School combines outstanding academics, arts and outdoor leadership programs with the best of a Friends education, emphasizing the values of simplicity, peaceful problem-solving, and mutual respect.

Call/email to rsvp

CFS is on Route 106 in the Silvermine area of Wilton.

www.CTFriendsSchool.org

203 762 9860

info@CTFriendsSchool.org

In recognition of the International Day of Peace, students, teachers, and parents of CFS students shared a ceremony of peace around the new Woven House structure. Members of the school community constructed the frame of the building, assembled the jute twine warp for the walls, and illustrated fabric pennants with images and phrases about peace that were the first weft materials woven into the walls. Students also gathered and prepared natural items from around property to furnish the house, including measuring and sawing a log bench, and flooring materials. Students provided musical accompaniment for community singing, and a moment of silence was observed. The youngest students at the school provided pita bread for all. Earlier in the day, they had made the bread and baked it on an outdoor oven with their teachers and a parent from their class. They also made peace doves that they could fly around the attendees, spreading the feelings of peace for all, and hand-signed a song sung by all.

The ceremony included this quote by Gerard Vanderhaar: “The story of the human race is characterized by efforts to get along much more than by violent disputes, although it’s the latter that make the history books. Violence is actually exceptional. The human race has survived because of cooperation, not aggression.”

Chelsea Danburg, CFS Fiber Arts Teacher and Rhode Island School of Design graduate, who also wrote the successful grant proposal for the project, developed the Woven House project. The 8 ft x 8 ft house structure was designed with her father, architect Louis Mackall, and built by him in his shop, Breakfast Woodworks of Guilford, CT.

CFS has been awarded two grants by the Friends Council on Education for the Woven House project. This hands-on endeavor will play a significant role in classroom learning about the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship. The Woven House will be a catalyst for conversation with the students regarding how sharing world resources contributes to peace. This collaborative undertaking will “weave” together a multitude of disciplines at CFS, including math, humanities, fiber arts, carpentry and outdoor education. CFS students will assemble the posts and roof, and weave the walls for the Woven House. The creation of the Woven House will be on-going this entire school year, and is an opportunity for meditative artistry and cooperation.