Day Nursery Thankful Thursday

Thank you to the sponsors of the Day Nursery Auxiliary Diamond Jubilee celebrating 75 years of supporting the youngest children of Indianapolis.

The Auxiliary’s Diamond Jubilee fashion show and luncheon will take place on Friday, October 4th at the Ritz Charles in Carmel. Fashions will be provided by Secret Ingredient and Day Furs. Highlighting the anniversary event will be fashions from years past. Dotty Reehling and Sandy McCuen are event co-chairs. For ticket information, please click here or contact Sarah Ferguson at (317) 636-9197, extension 240 for more information.

Day Nursery Indianapolis Thankful Thursday

Thanks to all the families and friends who have signed up for a free Home Energy Assessment through Energizing Indiana so far.  For each home assessment completed before December 31, 2012, Energizing Indiana will donate $50 to those who designate Day Nursery Association. For more information, please contact Sarah Ferguson,  sarahf@daynursery.org or (317) 636-9197, extension 240.

And we are grateful for the Day Nursery Auxiliary’s support and leadership in generating more than $500 new items for infant and toddlers at their December meeting held at Hollyhock Hill last Friday, December 7.  Here are a few pictures from that meeting.

Thankful Thursday: Day Nursery Auxiliary

Thank you to the Day Nursery Auxiliary and the sponsors of their 24^th Annual Luncheon and Style Show–Appnuity, Digestive Health Center, Hylant Group, Key Bank, Ogletree Deakins, and U.S. Foods. Together, they raised more than $22,500 to help support Day Nursery Association. Special thanks to our event co-chairs, B.J. Maley and Shirley Romine and our fashion vendors The Secret Ingredient and Blue Eyes and Bare Feet. Here are some pictures from the October 5, 2012 event.

Day Nursery Indianapolis Flashback Friday

This picture from the April 12, 1964 edition of the Indianapolis Star features 6 year old Day Nursery student Toni Stahl on the jungle gym at our old Lockerbie Branch (that’s what we used to call our “centers”).  The picture was part of a larger article about an effort by the Day Nursery Auxiliary to raise money for playground equipment at a new center opening that month at 3522 N. Central.  That center, now called our Ruth A. Lilly Center, is still going strong and is currently undergoing a playground renovation.   Today, a large group of volunteers from Eli Lilly and Company is  helping to turn the playground into a beautiful natural outdoor classroom.

Day Nursery Board Members Day of Caring

Members of the Day Nursery Association and Day Nursery Auxiliary boards gathered early Saturday morning to help build garden boxes on the preschool playground of our Ruth A. Lilly Center, 3522 N. Central Avenue.  Both the preschool and infant toddler playgrounds are undergoing a major transformation to turn them into a certified Nature Explore Outdoor Classroom.

Pictured here is one of 4 garden boxes that the volunteers built.  A second group of volunteers will construct the toddler garden boxes soon.  Children will have the opportunity to plant seeds in the winter and nurture them in indoor greenhouse environments, transplanting them to the boxes every spring.  A project approach to learning is used in these science lessons in that the classroom groups research and decide what they want to grow,  how to take care of the plants, and ultimately how to prepare the food when they harvest it.

One focal point of the preschool playground consists of 5 x 5 foot decking platforms that are at different heights and framed by round wooded trunk-like posts. Once this play area is built, children will be able to add fabric and other items to create, build and play using imagination and team building skills with other kids.  The different levels create rooms/spaces that are available simultaneously for constant play.  The toddler playground has another platform deck, built to scale for younger children. The project is being facilitated by Daryn Fair, President of Fall Creek Land Design.

Day Nursery Auxiliary Style Show this Friday

We hope to see you this Friday, October 7 at the Oak Hill Mansion in Carmel for the Day Nursery Auxiliary’s annual Luncheon and Style Show fundraiser. A limited number of tickets are still available. If you need more information, check out the Auxiliary’s website.

In Memorium: Betsy Scheuring

May 2007 Day Nursery Auxiliary Annual Meeting Meridian Hills Country Club

Katherine L. “Betsy” Scheuring passed away on April 19, 2011. Betsy was a life member of the Day Nursery Auxiliary and was our most senior member. Betsy joined the Auxiliary in 1938. 
She was born in Indianapolis on June 29, 1918 to William D. and Mary K. Hamerstadt. She was a graduate of Shortridge High School and attended the Semple School in New York, where she studied dance under Michael Fokine, one of the greatest Russian expatriates of that time, from the communist regime. She opened a dance studio, “Les Petites Artistes de Ballet”, in her home where she taught children and adults for over 30 years, finally retiring in 1985.
Betsy was a long-time patron of the fine arts in Indianapolis with particular emphasis on ballet. She had been an avid supporter of Ballet Internationale and The Butler Ballet, and was a long-time associate and friend of faculty and students alike. During dance related trips abroad, Betsy became interested in Russian art, and over a period spanning more than thirty years, she amassed a significant collection of Russian icons which she gifted to Purdue University in 2005.
She and her late husband Paul had been long time members of the Columbia Club and Atheneum Turners and Trinity Episcopal Church. She also was a life member of the Indianapolis Day Nursery.
In addition to her late husband, Betsy was preceded in death by her brothers Bill and John Hamerstadt, and her sister Mary Jane Demarest. Survivors include a daughter Margo Scheuring, sons Paul (Melody) and John (Jeanne) Scheuring, several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Indianapolis Humane Society, 7929 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268, or to the donor’s favorite charity.
Calling will be held at Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Center-Broad Ripple on Monday, April 25, 2011 from 4:00 to 8:00 PM with services 11:30 AM Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 33rd and Meridian St., Indianapolis. Private interment will be at Crown Hill Cemetery.
The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Marquette Manor and St. Vincent’s Hospice, for their care and compassion during Betsy’s final days.

Day Nursery in the news

Thanks to the recent Day Nursery Auxiliary fashion show, a donation to The Children’s Museum and today’s statewide rollout of the Paths to Quality child care rating system signage at child care centers, Day Nursery has had a few great opportunities to share our story in the news recently.  As you might have read here earlier, last Wednesday I was on Fox59 with our Style Show commentator (and Day Nursery graduate) Danielle Smith and models from The Helen Wells Agency promoting our fashion show. 

While we were live on Fox 59, children from the Day Nursery Northwest Center were heading to The Children’s Museum for a field trip compliments of PNC.  The financial institution was announcing a three-year donation to the museum to improve the popular  Playscapes area and wanted to make sure they had a full house of preschoolers to celebrate the announcement.  Although there was not a picture of our children in the story which appeared on Indystar.com, three of the four children pictured in the print version of the newspaper (see at left) were identified as Day Nursery students.

Yesterday, Day Nursery Executive Director Carolyn Dederer was interviewed by WRTV6 (ABC) reporter Myrt Price at our Indiana State Government Center because Day Nursery centers are participating the new voluntary statewide quality rating system, Paths to Quality.

If you missed the news story, you can watch it here.

This morning, the staff of Child Care Answers, the community outreach arm of Day Nursery, hosted one of 11 simultaneous press conferences across our state to announce the latest rollout of Indiana’s statewide child care quality rating system Paths to QUALITY.  Fox 59 covered the press conference so look for the story on their news tonight.   Day Nursery is very excited that six of our seven child care centers have been named Paths to Quality Level 4 (the highest level!) centers.  Our seventh center, the Day Nursery located on 3522 N. Central is a Level 3 and we anticipate it moving up to Level 4 when the center achieves national accreditation through NAEYC.  We are excited about this statewide push for quality child care and look forward to attracting more students because of our high ratings.

Day Nursery Clarian Center Directors Jesse McCloud (left) and Rene Withers show off their new Paths to Quality Level 4 banner.

(L to R) Marsha Thompson, IACCRRA; Mindy Bennett, Child Care Answers and Melanie Brizzi, Indiana Bureau of Child Care

Mindy Bennett Child Care Answers was interviewed by Fox 59

Douglas S. Hairston of the City of Indianapolis Front Porch Alliance is interviewed by the Paths to Quality video crew for future promotional materials.

Day Nursery Auxiliary Style Show Success

Day Nursery Auxiliary Co-Presidents Joan Lyday (left) and Spencer Scott (right) present a $10,000 check to Day Nursery Executive Director Carolyn Dederer to support the agency's tuition assistance scholarship program.

(left to right) Style Show co-chair Kathy Laesch; show commentator Danielle Smith of Fresh Fettle and show co-chair Marianne Stout

Behind the scenes at Fox 59 this morning

Anyone who knows me well knows that “fashion” is not my middle name.  So what was I doing at Fox59 at 8:45 am prepping to go on the morning news? Luckily, I was hanging out with some very fashionable people including our style show producer, owner of Fresh Fettle (and Day Nursery alum) Danielle Smith; Todd and Ashley from DLLowry Hairspa and Boutique and Leona and Glenna, two fabulous models from The Helen Wells Agency.  

Todd and Ashley from DL Lowry Hairspa prepare Leona (left) and Glenna (right), models from the Helen Wells Agency, for our fashion segment.

Right before we went on the air, I caught Danielle snapping a picture of the models wearing fashions from The Secret Ingredient, Mary and Martha's Exceedingly Chic Boutique and Day Furs.

We were all getting ready for a morning news segment to promote the Day Nursery Auxiliary Luncheon and Style Show coming up this Friday at Oak Hill Mansion Here’s a look behind the scenes in the green room and in the studio before this morning’s segment with Fox59’s Angela Ganote.  I apologize for some of the pictures being a bit blurry but I didn’t want to use my flash in the newsroom.

During the hair and makeup time, Danielle gathered info on this fall's hot looks from the experts at DL Lowry. Here's the scoop: matte lipstick is back!