1 (Issue #3, Volume 11)
September 2008
The GLEAMNS Herald
HEAD START PROGRAM ~ PO Box 1326 ~ GREENWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA ~ 29648
(864) 223-8434
www.gleamnshrc.org
The Director’s Corner...
Elaine F. Kennedy
Welcome
Welcome to Head Start’s
2008-09 school year.
I’m pleased to say our school
opening was very successful, and
all children are adjusting well to their new center
or classroom. I am confident the coming year
will be filled with rich and rewarding experiences
for you and your family.
During parent orientation, a parent handbook
was provided. In this handbook, you will find our
program policies and activity calendar. Please
refer to your calendar for important events and
closings. If you did not receive your handbook,
contact your child’s Case Worker, and one will
be provided to you.
Parents, we value your input and want you to be
involved in your child’s education and in our
program. Let us know if there is anything we can
do to assist you and your family during the school
year.
Again, welcome.
Head Start in Partnership with Edgefield
County School District
The Edgefield County School District is one of the
thirty-one recipients across the nation (and the
only district in South Carolina) to receive a 2008
Early Reading First Grant. This award is part of the
President’s “Good Start, Grow Smart” Early
Childhood Initiative and authorized by No Child
Left Behind, which will help build early childhood
education centers of excellence. These centers
can serve as examples of effective early learning
practices throughout the nation.
Lena Baker, Even Start Coordinator for Edgefield
School District, wrote the grant in partnership with
GLEAMNS Head Start and the Edgefield County
First Steps Program. The name of the grant is
PEACH (Partnership for Educational Achievement
in Centers and Homes).
The grant will focus on instruction for preschool
children who do not demonstrate readiness for
first grade. Instruction will take place forty six
weeks of each year.
The Building Language for Literacy curriculum will
be used, and focus will be placed on oral
language,
phonological
awareness,
print
awareness, and alphabet knowledge.
We are very excited about our partnership with
Edgefield School District, and we look forward to
the positive benefits this partnership will yield for
Head Start children and families.
South Carolina Bridges to Early Learning
Grant
I am pleased to announce GLEAMNS Head Start
is one of the participating programs in the
Bridges to Early Learning Grant. We are excited
about being a part of this project, which is being
funded through a grant with the US Department
of Education.
Recent research suggests early oral language,
vocabulary, and other pre-literacy skills are
important for children’s later reading skills. The
goal of the Bridges project is to provide 4-K
teachers with the most recent information on
children’s language and literacy development
and help teachers implement practices that
have been shown in previous research to
promote children’s school success.
Centers were randomly selected, and those
Head Start centers participating are: Benedict
Head Start, Platt Springs Head Start, and Pineview
Head Start.
The Benedict and Platt Springs Head Start centers
will receive specialized training in early literacy
and the curriculum set with books and classroom
materials. The curriculum to be used is the Owl
(Opening the World of Learning). This curriculum
offers teachers detailed guidance for a wide
range of activities and classroom situations, such
as:
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Reading and discussing books.
Helping children acquire phonological
awareness and knowledge of letters and
number concepts.
Talking with children about social
situations and feelings.
Eliciting children’s many observations
and discoveries.
Teachers at Platt Springs will also receive a
literacy coach who will visit the classrooms on a
regular basis to provide support.
The Pineview Center is in the control group and
will not receive any classroom material, training,
or coaching.
Community Volunteers Needed for the
Policy Council
We are now recruiting community
volunteers who have experience
working with low-income families to
serve on our Policy Council. The
Policy Council is the governing
board for Head Start and is
composed of parents and community persons
who participate in making decisions for the
program.
Meetings are held once a month at 10:00 a.m. at
the Rikard Head Start Center in Prosperity, South
Carolina. If you would like to serve on this
governing board and help bring about a head
start for children and families, send your resume
or letter of interest to:
Elaine Kennedy
GLEAMNS Human Resources Commission
Post Office Box 1326
Greenwood, South Carolina 29648
September 2008
you with fresh ideas to strengthen your skills in
working with our children and their parents.
During the next eight months, all employees will
have the incredible task of motivating children
and parents in meeting their goals. It is truly a
challenge and a big job. However, this is what
we do as dedicated and caring employees.
Don’t let our children and families down.
Always remember children’s safety is our first and
primary concern. Therefore, do not forget our
policy of counting and recounting children
whenever they are transitioned from one area to
another. We don’t want to leave any child
unsupervised.
Let’s reach our Head Start goals and appreciate
the opportunity we are given each year to touch
the lives of children and families. In the words of
Benjamin Mays, “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in
not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in
having no goal to reach.”
Policy Council Members Recognized for
Their Services
We would like to thank all our Policy Council
members for their support during our last school
year. The suggestions that were provided helped
us to improve our services to children, families,
and employees.
The following Policy Council members were
recognized during our meeting held September
23.
Regenia Crosby (Lexington representative)
3 years of services
April Jackson (Rikard representative)
1 year of service
Please respond by October 17.
Job Vacancies
A Bright New School Year
Employees…
We are now actively recruiting substitutes,
teacher assistants, teachers, and custodians for
our 2008-09 school year. Qualifications for these
positions are listed below:
A BIG thank you is extended to all employees for
your efforts in helping us to have a well-organized
school opening. We are off to a wonderful start.
Teachers must have three years of child care
experience and a BS or AA degree or certificate
in early childhood education or a related field.
The new school year gives us another opportunity
to make a positive difference in the lives of
children and families. I am confident the training
sessions provided in July and August provided
Substitutes and Teacher Assistants are required to
have one year of child care experience and a
high school diploma or GED.
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September 2008
Custodians must be able to perform cleaning
tasks and operate various types of cleaning
equipment to care for and maintain assigned
buildings and related facilities.
High School
Diploma or equivalent skills required.
exercise to the children. We hope the children
will find the new songs and dances fun and will
take home important information to their families
as well. Here’s to a great year.
For additional information on job opportunities,
visit our website at www.gleamnshrc.org.
Health Wise
Parent
Needed
Volunteers
Parent volunteers are an integral part of the
Head Start program and to the educational
process.
Volunteering gives parents the
opportunity to contribute to their child’s
education and work with the center to provide
the highest-quality education for their children.
Our program provides many opportunities for
your involvement. Parents can provide clerical
assistance by typing or answering the phone,
help in the classroom by reading stories or
teaching a lesson, evaluate the center by
inspecting classrooms or playgrounds. If you are
interested in volunteering, contact your Center
Coordinator. We welcome all our parents and
want to support your role as the primary teacher
for your children.
Good Nutrition Begins Now
Carol Savage, Registered Dietitian
Welcome Head Start students and parents to the
2008-09 school year. Many of you may believe
summer is always too short, but we are excited to
begin working with the children this year.
I would like to remind everyone about some
nutrition basics for this year. We will provide the
children with healthy, well balanced meals and
snacks each school day. Your child may not like
every food served, but it is our hope he or she will
learn to try new foods and even find some new
favorites. We will provide substitute foods only
when we have a written statement from the
doctor telling us what the child should or should
not have to eat or drink.
Head Start is not allowed to accept any food
from parents or staff. If you wish to contribute
something special, non food items, or better yet
your time, would be greatly appreciated.
The classroom staff has been introduced to a
new method of promoting healthy eating and
Mary Williams, Health Liaison
Parents, we thank you for allowing us to serve
your child in our Head Start/EHS Program. To
make sure your child is well and in good health,
we ask for your continued support and
cooperation to help us to meet our federal
mandates for medical and dental services by:

Immediately providing a current physical
and dental exam for your child.
(The
physical exam assessment must include a:
hearing and vision screening, blood pressure,
lead screening results, as well as the
hemoglobin or hematocrit results.)

Keeping your child’s immunization certificate
up-to-date.
(Remember to call and
schedule your child’s immunization update
at least two or three weeks prior to their 4th
birthday.)

Scheduling an appointment and taking your
child to receive the medical and/or dental
follow-up recommended by your child’s
provider.

Immediately enrolling and keeping your child
in the State’s Medicaid program, if eligible.

Responding immediately to your Case
Worker’s requests for medical and dental
documentation for your child’s record and
requests
to
schedule
and
keep
appointments for your child.
Again, a sincere thanks to all our parents, staff,
volunteers, and community partners for your
support and for all you are going to do in helping
us to have a successful and rewarding school
year. Please feel free to contact me should you
have questions. HAPPY HEAD START!!
Ideas to Help Your Child Succeed
Janet Sibert, Transition Liaison
Welcome!
We appreciate your selecting
GLEAMNS Head Start to enhance your child’s
social and educational development.
The beginning of the preschool year is always a
time of both excitement and anxiety for children
and parents.
Parents are their child’s best
teacher, and your involvement sets the stage for
a lifelong enjoyment of learning. We provide
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September 2008
many fun opportunities for children to learn
through play.
How does play encourage development? As
children develop basic intellectual and motor
skills, the nature of play gradually changes to
promote language that expresses needs and
wants. Play that is creative, spontaneous, and
self-directed is critical to entering a social
educational environment.
According to
research, many aspects of young children’s lives
influence their preparation for formal school
learning. The following are characteristics of
young children who tend to be successful in their
early school experience.
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Able to follow daily routines
Able to dress independently
Able to listen and follow directions
Able to cooperate and get along with other
young children
Through play, children explore their home, school
and
community
around
them,
imagine
alternatives, solve problems individually and with
others, learn how to express their feelings, and
learn how to be creative.
From infancy to preschool, play is an essential
part of learning.
Able to respond to care-givers
Center Slogans
One of our goals is to increase public awareness of our Head Start centers and bring about an atmosphere
of togetherness at the center-level. In doing so, we asked all centers to develop a slogan and identify a
mascot that will set their center above other preschool programs. I’m pleased to announce the following
centers’ slogan with their mascot. You will be seeing each center’s slogan on the correspondence sent out
from the center-level.
Pineview Head Start
Panthers
Rikard Head Start
Kangaroos
“Prowling the Path of
Excellence”
“Jumping Into Learning”
Greenwood Head Start
Honeybees
Edgefield Head Start
Eagles
“Where Young Minds Start Stinging
Here”
Blythewood Head Start
Eagles
“Soaring Above and Beyond”
“Getting It Done with Passion and
Integrity”
Platt Springs Head Start
Sunflowers
“Planting the Seeds of Learning”
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September 2008
Fairfield Head Start
Eagles
Pontiac Head Start
Parrots
“Building Minds Create Lasting
Ideas”
“Taking PRIDE in Educating
Young Minds”