Often when alum families reflect on their time at Spruce they refer to the Spruce Magic. What is the Spruce Magic really? And why does it seem especially sweet after your years here are done?

Preschool years are magical years! These are the years when your child loves you unconditionally, learns to express their thoughts through language, delights in stories and imaginative play, and makes their first beloved friends. Never again will everything be so new, so dynamic and so charmed! Preschoolers begin to develop a sense of themselves, while simultaneously identifying with others and feeling a part of something larger: a family, a class, a school, a community. It truly is a time of becoming. Magic elicits a sense of wonder, and what is more wondrous than watching a child blossom?

Teaching preschool is also a study in wonder, creativity and delight. While older grades have specific benchmarks to reach, development during the preschool years is a fluid and continuous journey.

Children proceed along a predictable path at a somewhat unpredictable rate, and as educators, our job is to meet them where they are and support them as they proceed along their own unique path. Our teachers value and honor each child’s individuality while nurturing the group as a whole. They are skilled magicians indeed!

Spruce families befriend and support one another. Travelling this road together is a powerful experience, and one that will make you laugh for years to come! Friendships and memories formed now will sustain you throughout your parenting journey. These years are a charmed time not just for children but for parents as well, and the bonds that are formed at the beginning of the road will see you along your way.

Truly an appreciation of this time and place, coupled with a sense of gratitude and joy for the opportunity to share this experience with one another, makes the magic happen. Every day with children is a gift, but perhaps none more so than those days spent in preschool. Parents, teachers, and especially children, are the conjurers of the Spruce Magic. Thank you for sharing this magical time with us.

Spruce Street Nursery School Newsletter

The Spruce Magic!

Fall 2015Volume 27

“Like all magnificent things, it’s very simple.”- Natalie Babbit

Welcome Back! After a summer of endless sunshine,

swim lessons at the YMCA and splashy days at the frog pond, finally it’s beginning to feel like fall. Today the rain is pouring down and the school is full and warm. The Acorns are making sweetly scented cinnamon playdoh and the Maples are painting their city of boxes. The Willows are creating their own self-portraits with buttons and yarn, and the Oaks are acting out scenarios with their community helper puppets. The rhythm of the school year is well underway, and the blending of the familiar and the new enlivens and reassures us all.

We once again boarded the bus and headed to the orchard to pick apples. It was a warm, breezy day and the apples were literally low hanging fruit! The children loved riding on the hay wagon, running between the rows of trees, and sampling the sweet cider. Apples and smiles were abundant, and the children likely slept well that night! The fall is busy and fun, full of traditions and new experiences.

The Potluck has passed, the coffees have been consumed, the first birthday has been navigated. Meet the Schools Night is right around the corner, and the teachers are busily reviewing photos for the upcoming curriculum nights. It’s another Spruce Street fall, and it’s a delight to share it with the children and families of our little school!

Yours always,

Christie

Heard on Spruce StreetThis fall, the Maples have been studying

one of our favorite places . . . Boston, of course! The Maples constructed and designed their own homes out of cardboard boxes, and have made numerous landmarks for their very own Maple-designed city map. To top off the unit, the Maples will travel to the Top of the Prudential Tower for a bird’s eye view of our hometown.

In this edition of Roots, we turned to the Maples and inquired, what is your favorite spot in Boston? Here are their responses:

O Breaker: “Playing soccer in the park.”

O Brin: “Titus Sparrow Park.”

O Carson: “The family beach.”

O Charlie A: “The Arboretum on the Orange Line.”

O Charlie W: “The hotel pool!”

O Eliza: “Picking flowers in the Boston Common.”

O Eloise: “The Science Museum.”

O Grayson: “The construction zone in my building.”

O Hiroki: “The Train Station.”

O Lucy: “The Boston Common.”

O Landon: “The Public Garden.”

O Maya: “Clarendon Street Playground.”

O Reagan: “The Science Museum.”

O Sebastian: “The Children’s Museum.”

Welcome to Spruce, Ashley!We are so excited to welcome Ashley

Burton to the Acorn Room! After receiving a degree in Child Development and Family Relations from the University of Maine, Ashley taught Pre-K at The Greenwhich Country Day School in Connecticut.

Ashley moved to South Boston over the summer and lives right around the corner from her Acorn co-teacher, Sydney Hopkins! Welcome to Spruce Street, Ashley!

Teaching in the “Heart of Asia”Willow teacher Al Hogan had the

summer of a lifetime when she was chosen to represent the Cambridge Ellis School in a teaching exchange program in Taiwan at the St. James’ School and Language Institute. Teaching in the second-grade, kindergarten, pre-k, and p r e s c h o o l classrooms, it was Al’s job to teach her students lessons that encouraged, chal lenged, and supported their educational growth and to expose them to the English language.

“I was able to learn about the Taiwanese culture and the educational practices and curriculum that St. James School and The Language Institute implement in the classrooms. It was so inspiring for me to bring what I love about teaching to a variety of age groups in different classrooms.”

SAVE THE DATESaturday, October 24thAdmissions Open House

November 11thVeterans Day - No Classes

November 17thBirthday Celebration

Friday, November 20th (afternoon)November 23rd and 24th (no school)

Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 25th - 27thThanksgiving Holiday

Saturday, December 5thHoliday Party

December21st - January 1stHoliday Break

Thank You Spruce Families!With the generosity of last year’s families,

alumni families, grandparents, friends and staff, the 2014-15 Annual Fund raised more than $145,000 to support the great work of the school! We are thrilled to report almost 80% of current families and 23% of alumni families participated in this important effort. We are also grateful for the time, service and in-kind donations families provided last year. We look forward to the launch of the 2015-16 Annual Fund with even stronger participation from the amazing Spruce community! Thank you for your past and future support!

Spend the Day at Extended Day!Extended Day is off to a fantastic start

this year! After studying nature in September, the upcoming themes for Extended Day will be building and construction. Given that we have so many busy little builders here at Spruce, we know that these units will be a huge hit!

This fall, our Sprucers will make blueprints, design a chalk city, build towers with the ever-popular magnatiles, and will also make their very own construction vests.

Extended Day is a wonderful opportunity for children to explore and play with friends from the different classrooms at Spruce and it’s a great place to a host a playdate!

Caroline Grace MacGillivray ‘01 graduated from The Winsor School this past June. She is now attending Amherst College after enjoying a summer of rest and relaxation! Best of luck to you in college, Caroline!

The Callaghan (Delaney ‘06 & Griffin ‘07) Lewis, (Ava ‘09, Tessa, ‘11, & Andersen ‘13)

and McWeeny (Gage, Anna, J a c k ) c l a n s enjoyed some Spruce alum togetherness

at their annual Little Compton reunion this summer!

Tuck Gilbane ‘11, Will Laughlin ‘09, Chandler Gilbane ‘09 and Hadley Laughlin ‘11 helped celebrate the wedding of the Gilbane’s nanny of eight years, Alyssa Avanzino. Alyssa married Albin Alphin on Sept. 12, 2015 in Narragansett, RI on a beautiful sunny day. All three Gilbane kids were in the wedding and the Laughlin family was there to cheer them on and take the most fabulous photos (like only Brooke can do!) We were all channeling Spruce, which is basically where it all started!

Spruce alums Gavin Zug ‘11 and Garrett Zug ‘14 enjoyed a fun summer day with Beau ‘11 and Max Bridgen (Oak). Gavin is in 3rd grade at the Park School where he sees many of his Spruce buddies. Garrett is now in Class III at Apple Orchard.

This past spring, former Sprucers Nola Dickie & Tess van Ogtrop ‘12 were teammates for the Weston Wildcats lacrosse team with their moms Kate & Wink as their coaches! Below is a picture of Tess vO, Nola and Kearney ‘14 Dickie after a game with Wellesley.

Chloe Janes ‘04 s a Sophomore at Brookline High School and especially enjoys the Crew team and drama. Whitney ‘06 is in the 8th grade of BB&N and loves soccer and track and field. If your child was ever beaten in a foot race with Whitney, they should find comfort in the fact she has one of the fastest times for her age in the country in the 55 meter dash. Samantha ‘09 is in the 6th grade at BB&N. She loves art, soccer and can’t wait to be old enough to start her internship at Chanel. Tommy ‘09 is in the 4th grade at Heath School and he loves video games and baseball. His biggest concern is whether his family will still cheer him on if he gets drafted by the Yankees.

Alumni teacher Sara Becker writes with exciting news! “I’m living in Dover, MA with my husband Adam, our dog, and now baby Eleanor Ruth! She was born on 9/11/15 and weighed in at a whopping 6 lbs. 11 oz. She is positively wonderful and we love getting to know her!” Congratulations to Sara and Adam!

Jimmy Fund 2015! On a beautiful fall day, Spruce alums came out in droves to support The Elizabeth Silverman Thriving in Survivorship Fund. Pictured above are teammates Henry ‘07 and Charlotte ‘09 Goodman, Elizabeth Morey ‘13, Grace Santoro, Ava ‘09, Tessa ‘11, and Andersen ‘13 Lewis! Way to go Spruce Alums, you make us all so proud!

Spruce friendships are forever! Pictured here is Maxie Stressenger ‘05 and Kate Wilson ‘05. Friends since the Acorn class, Maxie is a sophmore at Tabor and Kate is boarding as a freshman at Brooks School!

Former Spruce parent Lori Silvia writes with big news about the family. “We are getting

settled here in Dubuque, and Ian ‘14 is loving his new school. It is hard to believe that he is a first grader! We miss you and think of Spruce

each time Finlay wears his SSNS cap!”

Connor Lau ‘02 graduated from Swampscott this past spring where he was very involved with the robotics and sailing teams. After a summer travelling through the Grand Canyon and hiking the Rim-to-Rim Trail, Connor is now a fresh-man at UMass Lowell studying mechanical engineering. Thanks Spruce for getting Con-nor off to such a great start!

Send your Alumni updates to admin@sprucestreet.org

Alumni Family Tree

Apple Pickingat Smolak Farm

Spruce Street Nursery School 5 Avery Place Boston, MA 02111 617-482-5252

FAMILY POT LUCK 2015

Fall Memories