The teachers and I would like to extend a very warm welcome (and welcome back!) to all of our families! We are very excited to be kicking off a new school year in our center! By now you have all received your
welcome packet, which includes your enrollment paperwork and important documents related to our center,
such as our family handbook and school calendar. You will receive even more information in the upcoming
weeks, including information from your child’s teachers about your son or daughter’s classroom and daily
routines. Soon you will also receive a staff information packet so you can learn more about the wonderful
team of people who care for your children each day. To meet these people in person and to learn more
about our center, please plan to join us on October 6, 2015 for our Fall Open House. We invite you to stop by
anytime between 5:00 and 7:00 that evening to participate in a school-wide scavenger hunt that will give you
the opportunity to explore our facility, to meet the staff across the center, and to learn more about your
child's daily activities. At Open House, you will also have the chance to sign up for Family Conferences, which
will be held in late October. We hope to see you there!
I invite you to visit our center anytime—we have an open door policy. You are welcome to observe
your child in his classroom through our observation windows or you can head into your child’s classroom for
a visit. We will be sending out information about volunteer opportunities in our monthly newsletters and we
also have regular family events which you can attend. If you ever have questions, concerns, or positive feedback to share about our center, please feel free to stop by my office, call (238-4434) or email
([email protected].) I look forward to working with you and your children throughout this
school year!
Early Learning/Parent Pages
2
Calendar and United Way Info
6
Family Appreciation, Volunteer
Opportunities, Fundraiser Information
3
Menus & Health Information
7, 8, 9
Giraffe Giggler and Lion Cub Ledger
4
Billing, Staffing, Staff Recognition
Elephant Express and Zippy Zebra News
5
10
The Early Learning Standards are a guideline in Pennsylvania for
what preschools should cover at each age of development, from
infants through prekindergarten age. These are building blocks
for the learning standards used in elementary school through
high school in our state. The Early Learning Standards include
standards for Approaches to Learning, Creative Arts, Science,
Social Studies, Math, Literacy, Physical Health, Personal Social
Skills, and Creative Arts. Some standards are ongoing, while others we target through our themes each month. Here are the
standards we’ll be emphasizing in September:
•
The Giraffes will be exploring their environments and connecting with their teachers (Approaches to Learning.) The
older giraffes will also be working on matching/sorting
shapes (math.)
•
Goals for the Lion Cubs will include attending to tasks, participating in activities for longer periods of time and improving independence (Approaches to Learning.) The Lion Cubs
will also be focusing on number play (Math) and identifying
colors (Creative Arts.)
•
Elephants will be exploring new materials and activities and
will be building independence in new routines (Approaches
to Learning.) The teachers will also spend time on foundational skills related to numbers (math), letters/letter sounds
(literacy) and body parts (physical health.) Music and movement activities (Creative Arts) will be used to put fun into
the daily learning and routines as well.
•
The Zebras will be learning how to be safe and how to follow rules in the classroom (Physical Health/Social Studies.)
They will also get a chance to show what they know related
to numbers and shapes (math) as well as letters/prereading and writing skills (literacy.)
Welcome back to returning families and a BIG
Easter Seals welcome to our new families. Home
Connections is a monthly piece of the newsletter
where I attempt to draw connections to the greater
community and our Easter Seals community. I may
point out fun things that are happening in our community, upcoming events or just fun things to do
with your children at home. I also try to draw connections within our community. Many of you know
that I wear many hats. I am a mom, teacher, and
parent of four children ranging in age from 14-19,
one with special needs. I began to share some of my
parenting stories at the end of the last year. I will
pick those up in a month or two, but for now let’s
talk about the month of September.
-September is filled with the start of school. Talking
to your children about the changes to come with
excitement is a wonderful way to get started.
-September is filled with local football games middle school, high school and, of course, Penn State.
-September 13th from 1:00-3:00 is our Bike a Thon.
You can find out more about this event in the newsletter or ask your child’s teacher! It should be lots of
fun for the whole family!
-September 23rd is the first day of fall! Oh boy do I
love fall! There are so many fun fall crafts to do like
leaf rubbings, leaf pressing and making leaf animals.
It is also the best time to get out and hike, walk,
run, or bike.
Enjoy the beautiful weather and treasure every
second with your children. Every minute that you
take to slow down and listen, laugh or hold your
child will change not only their life, but yours. So,
welcome to school, to fall and to a few moments
this month that might just feel about perfect!
classroom
letter
teacher
name
friend
body
rules
hands
learn
feet
schedule
mouth
Peace,
routine
giraffe
Carolyn
number
lion cub
shape
elephant
color
zebra
•
Thank you to all of the families who came out to our
carnival! We had a great time!
•
Thanks to all of the families who came in for transition
meetings. We appreciated the chance to meet with
you to talk about your child’s move to the next classroom.
•
Thank you to the Joliet (Zebra) and Himes (Zebra)
families for donations of pull-ups.
•
Thanks to Monica Himes (Zebra) for helping out with
our bike-a-thon event by organizing a visit from the
PSU Bike Patrol.
•
Thank you to Cristen Russell and Jaimie Wright for organizing our bake/craft sale and thanks to all of the
families who have signed up so far to donate items!
The Giraffes would like donations of soft tissues,
hand soap, and fridge magnets. They would also
love for family members to come in to eat lunch
with the little ones or rock little ones to sleep.
•
Thank you to all of the families who have turned in
their enrollment paperwork so far—a gold start to the
Lombardi family (Zebra) for being the first to turn in
everything! :)
The Lion Cubs are seeking donations of playdough,
M&Ms, and children’s music CDs. They’d also like
to invite families to come in to eat lunch with their
child.
•
Thanks to the Lombardi (Zebra) and Keim (Zebra) families for the donation of spare clothes.
The Elephants are asking for window clings, sensory items, new class plants, and tissues. They’d
also love for families to take Popsicle home for
weekend visits.
•
The Zebras need new school supplies and materials for Zippy (critter care, food, treats. They also
invite families to take Zippy home on weekends.
•
•
•
•
On September 13, we will hold our first Bike-A-Thon event in the field beside our center. Come out with your
bike, wagon, stroller, wheelchair—anything with wheels! We’ll have a half hour push, pedal, pull-a-thon
around the bike path. Before and after the ride, we’ll have many family friendly events going on, such as a
visit from the PSU Bike Patrol, a bike/wagon/etc. decorating booth, a craft and bake sale, games and more!
Sponsorship forms are available in the office so you can help raise money for our center. All proceeds stay in
our center and benefit our classrooms!
•
On September 15 and 16, Emily Fritts of Fritts Fotos, will be taking our fall school pictures. Emily will take photos of all of the children on those days and then will allow you to view proofs and place orders. Emily takes
wonderful pictures and we are grateful that she has volunteered to take photos for us again this school year!
•
We collect Campbell’s Soup labels all year long! Send in your labels in your child’s backpack or drop them off in
the collection bin near our front office. We can turn in labels for gifts cards and materials for our center.
•
Look for information regarding our Giant A+ rewards program soon! Each year we raise a few hundred dollars
for our center through our participation in this program.
•
Scholastic Book orders are a great way to buy new books for your family AND to help us earn free books for
our school. Miss Kayla is our Scholastic Book order coordinator—look for book orders and more info to come
home soon!
The Giraffe Giggler
Welcome to September and the start of school! I’m excited to get to know your children and to help them grow over the course of the year! Our theme for the month is
“Back to Basics.” The older children in our classroom will be going over colors and
shapes, learning to match shapes and work with puzzles. The younger ones will be exploring their environment and grasping objects of various shapes and sizes. We would
like to take this first month to establish a bond with your child by giving them individualized attention, by responding to their needs, and by engaging them with positive
facial expressions and sounds. We will also be getting into a routine with nap times
and meal times based on your child’s individual schedule. We are all looking forward to
spending time with your little one! It’s going to be a great year! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to stop in the classroom or you can email me at
[email protected].
Lion Cub Ledger
Welcome to the start of a new school year! Miss Kristi and I (Miss Krystal) are very excited to be kicking off the school year with so many new faces in
our classroom! We will be jumping right into our theme for the month: “Back to
the Basics.” We will be focusing primarily on activities that are based around colors, shapes and counting. This will help us get a better feel for where each child
is at and what we may need to focus on in the upcoming months. In addition to
this we will be spending some time getting to know the classroom, rules of the
classroom and how we treat one another in the classroom.
I know that this can be an exciting yet stressful month as we are all getting
back into the swing of a normal routine. If you have any questions or concerns
about your child or anything regarding how things run in the Lion Cub room,
please feel free to contact Miss Krystal or Miss Kristi. We can’t wait to start
exploring and learning with your child!
Miss Krystal E-mail: [email protected]
Miss Kristi E-mail: [email protected]
Elephant Express
Welcome to the Elephant Room. We are so excited for our new school
year to start. We will be talking about Back to Basics during our first month
together. We will be orienting the children to their new surroundings. We will
give words and labels to the different areas of the classroom. We will talk
about our schedule, which is very consistent. Children of this age need stability and predictability. Next we will cover some basics in literature, movement,
shapes, colors and letter names. This is an exciting month of new beginnings.
We welcome you to the Elephant room and are excited for all of the growth,
development and learning that will happen this year. We are ready for the fun
and learning to begin!
Zippy Zebra News
I want to extend a big welcome to all of our Zebra families! We are so excited to
be gearing up for what is going to be another great year of Pre-K! I (Miss Kayla) want to
take a second to introduce our long term substitute Lead Teacher, Miss Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn
has been around the center for a few years, so many of you may have seen her around
and know her already. The great news is that your children are all very familiar with Miss
Kaitlyn and have known her for a long time! Feel free to pop in and say hi and welcome
Kaitlyn to the Zebra Room! We are both eager to have our new class together next week
and begin our adventure together!
We will be jumping right in to our theme, Back to the Basics! As a class, we will
spend some time getting to know each other, both teachers, staff and students alike! We
will be spending the following 3 weeks reviewing shapes, colors, numbers and letters. This
will give us teachers an opportunity to get an idea of where we are as a class and individuals and what are some things we need to be working on in the months to come.
If you have any questions as the new school year begins, please don't hesitate to
pop on in, give us a call or shoot us an e-mail! Let the adventures begin!!!
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
Thursday
2
Friday
3
NON IU WEEK
6
7
Saturday
4
5
CLOSED
8
9
10
11
12
15
16
17
18
19
School Photos
School Photos
24
25
26
CLOSED
13
14
Bike-A-Thon
1:00-3:00
20
21
22
23
27
28
29
30
Did you know that Easter Seals is a United Way agency? This means we receive funding
from the Centre County United Way each spring. The United Way also helps our center in other
ways throughout the year. October 1, 2015 is the annual United Way Day of Caring. On this day,
members from the community volunteer at United Way agencies. We will have a volunteer crew
at our center that morning doing a variety of fall spruce up tasks around our facility, including
yard work, painting, and general facility cleaning. We will be asking families to donate items, including food, drinks, and paper products, to use on this day as we provide lunch for our hardworking volunteers. Be on the lookout for more info in the next few weeks about this day and
how you can help!
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1 pancake
1 fruit bar
1 slice jelly toast
4
1/2 c peaches
1/2 c pineapple
1/2 c banana
CLOSED
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
1
2
3
7
1 strawberry muffin
1/2 oatmeal
1.5 oz French toast
sticks
CLOSED
1/2 c mango
1/2 c banana
6
1/2 c yogurt
5
12
1/2 c strawberries
1/2 c strawberries
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
8
9
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
11
10
13
1 scrambled egg
1 fruit bar
1 pancake
1/2 c cantaloupe
1/2 c pineapple
1/2 c peaches
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
1/2 c multigrain cheerios
1 blueberry muffin
19
1/2 banana
1/2 c watermelon
14
20
15
1 strawberry muffin
1 slice jelly toast
1/2 c mango
1/2 c banana
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
16
1.5 oz French toast
sticks
18
17
1/2 c yogurt
1 fruit bar
1/2 c strawberries
1/2 c pineapple
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
24
25
26
1/2 c strawberries
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
21
22
Whole Milk
23
27
1/2 oatmeal
1 scrambled egg
1/2 c banana
1/2 c cantaloupe
Whole Milk
Whole Milk
28
29
1/2 c multigrain cheerios
1/2 c watermelon
Whole Milk
30
Sunday
Monday
6
13
20
27
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1/2 c graham crackers
1/2 c cheez its
1/2 c rice cakes
4
1/2 blueberries
1/2 c strawberries
1/2 c blueberries
CLOSED
Water
Whole Milk
Water
1
2
3
7
1/2 c Ritz cracker
1 snack fruit bar
1/4 cheese quesadilla
1 string cheese stick
CLOSED
1/2 c pears
1/2 c peaches
1/2 peaches
1/2 c banana
Water
Water
Water
Water
8
9
10
11
1/2 c goldfish
1/2 c cheez its
1/2 c graham crackers
1/2 c watermelon
1/2 c strawberries
1/2 blueberries
Water
Whole Milk
Water
14
15
16
1 snack fruit bar
1/2 c Ritz cracker
1/4 cheese quesadilla
1 string cheese stick
1/2 c rice cakes
1/2 c peaches
1/2 c pears
1/2 peaches
1/2 c banana
1/2 c blueberries
Water
Water
Water
Water
Water
21
22
23
24
25
1 string cheese stick
1/2 c animal crackers
1/2 c goldfish
1/2 c banana
1/2 c oranges
1/2 c watermelon
Water
Water
Water
28
29
30
1/2 c animal crackers 1 /2 c multigrain cheerios
1/2 c oranges
1/2 c oranges
Water
Water
17
18
5
12
19
26
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
9
1/2 c. scrambled eggs
10
2 pancakes w/syrup
11
1 granola bar
1/2 c. banana
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. strawberries
1/2 c. oranges
1% milk
1% milk
1% milk
1% milk
14
1/2 c. cereal
15
3 French toast sticks
17
1 bagel w/jelly
1/2 c. apples
1% milk
1% milk
1% milk
1% milk
18
1 waffle
1/2 c. applesauce
1% milk
19
1/2 c. peaches
16
1/2 c. yogurt w/
granola
1/2 c. blueberries
21
1/2 c. scrambled eggs
22
3 mini donuts
1/2 c. oranges
1% milk
25
1/2 c. cereal
26
29
1/2 c. yogurt w/granola
30
3 French toast sticks
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. mandarin oranges
1/2 c. bananas
1% milk
1% milk
1% milk
Tuesday
Wednesday
20
27
Thursday
8
9
CLOSED
1/2 c. graham crackers
1% milk
Saturday
4
1 hardboiled egg
1 cheese stick
1/2 c. mandarin oranges
1/2 c. peaches
1/2 c. apples
11
water
water
14
15
17
18
1/2 c. animal crackers
1/2 c. trail mix
16
1/2 c. pretzels
1/2 cheese quesadilla
1/2 c. popcorn
1/2 c. applesauce
1 cutie fruit
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. strawberries
1 juice box
water
water
24
1/2 c. yogurt
1/2 c. strawberries
water
25
1/2 c. cheez-it
1 cutie fruit
water
water
water
water
21
1 cheese stick
22
1 bagel pizza
23
1/2 c. pita chips
1/2 c. apples
1/2 c. bananas
1/2 c. raisins
water
water
water
28
1/2 c. tortilla chips w/
salsa
29
1 crescent dog
30
1/2 c. goldfish crackers
1/2 c. peaches
1/2 c. oranges
water
water
1/2 c. pineapple
water
5
CLOSED
10
1 crescent dog
water
12
1/2 c. blueberries
Friday
2
3
1 granola bar
1/2 c. trail mix
1/2 c. apples 1/2. mandarin oranges
water
water
7
1/2. carrots w/ ranch
1/2 c. peaches
23
24
2 pancakes w/syrup 1 English muffin w/jelly
1/2 c. apples
1/2 c. strawberries
1% milk
1% milk
28
1 cereal bar
1
1/2 c. popcorn
1/2 c. bananas
water
13
5
8
1 slice toast w/jelly
7
Monday
6
4
CLOSED
1% milk
Sunday
Saturday
3
1/2 c. cereal
1/2 c. apples
1% milk
1/2 c. bananas
27
Friday
2
1 waffle
1/2 c. peaches
1% milk
CLOSED
20
Thursday
1
1/2 c. yogurt w/granola
1/2c. Banana
1% milk
6
13
Wednesday
12
water
19
26
Sunday
Monday
6
Tuesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
1.5 oz Pasta Alfredo
1/2 c. Green Beans
1/2 c. Pineapple
1% milk
2
1.5 oz Chicken Primavera with Rice
1/2 c. Fruit Salad
1% milk
3
1.5 oz Beefaroni
1/2 c. Sweet Corn
1/2 c. Pears
1% milk
8
1.5 oz Sloppy Joes
(Turkey)
1/2 c. Sweet Corn
1/2 c. Peaches
1% milk
9
1.5 oz Scalloped Potatoes & Ham
1/2 c. Green Beans
1/2 c. Pineapple Pieces
1% mlk
10
1.5 oz Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry
1/2 c. Fruit Salad
1% milk
11
1 slice cheese pizza
1/2 c. mixed veggies
1/2 c. mandarin oranges
1% milk
12
14
15
1 Hot Dog
1.5 oz Chicken & Waf1/2 c. Sweet Corn
fles
1/2 c. Fruit Salad 1/2 c. Mixed Vegetables
1/2 c. oranges
1% milk
1% milk
16
1.5 oz Pasta w/Meat
Sauce
1/2 c. Green Beans
1/2 c. Pears
1% milk
17
1.5 oz Pierogies
1/2 c. Cooked Carrots
1/2 c. Pineapple Pieces
1% milk
18
1 slice cheese pizza
1/2 c. green beans
1/2 c. apples
1% milk
19
24
1.5 oz Cheese Ravioli
1/2 c. Sweet Peas
1/2 c. Fruit Salad
1% milk
25
1 slice cheese pizza
1/2 c. corn
1/2 c. pears
1% milk
26
7
CLOSED
13
Wednesday
20
21
1.5 oz Red Beans &
Rice
1/2 c. Tomatoes &
Corn
1/2 c. Apple Sauce
1% milk
22
1.5 oz Cheesy Pizza
Muffins
1/2 c. Cooked Carrots
1.5 oz Pineapple Pieces
1% milk
23
1.5 oz Chicken Pot Pie
1/2 c. Peaches
1% milk
27
28
1.5 oz Beefy Potato
Casserole
1/2 c. Fresh Fruit
1% milk
29
1.5 oz Baked Ziti
1/2 c. Sweet Corn
1/2 c. Apple Sauce
1% milk
30
1.5 oz Chicken Fries
1/2 c. Cooked Carrots
1/2 c. pears
4
5
CLOSED
Back to School Health and Safety Tips
•
For many, summer meant staying up late to savor the season. But as summer comes to an end , it’s important to
get your child back to a regular bedtime routine. Try to establish a “calm down” period about a half hour before
bedtime—turn off the TV and other electronics, snuggle and read a book, and start winding down after the long
day. A good night’s sleep helps your child’s brain and body recharge before the next busy day at school.
•
When school starts back up, so does cold and flu season. Remind children to wash hands often and teach them to
use their “cough corners” to help prevent the spread of germs. Please review our health policy; to keep other children from getting ill, we ask that you do not send sick children to school.
•
Staying hydrated helps keep a child healthy. Please send in a sippy cup/water bottle for older children so they can
have drinks throughout the day.
•
Help your child be safe at drop off and pick up times at school. Children should not run ahead of adults in the parking lot and children must be supervised AT ALL TIMES in the building, so when bringing your child or picking your
child up, make sure to keep your child at your side until you are at the classroom/car.
•
Thanks to all of the teachers for the time and effort that
was put into making the classrooms look amazing for the
new school year!
•
Thanks to everyone who helped out in the Giraffe Room
while we search for a new assistant! It was very appreciated!
•
Kudos to Miss Norma for attending a paraeducator training in August.
•
Thanks to Miss Sam for staying late to cover additional
time in the Giraffe Room!! Thank you for your willingness to give your time and to put your giraffes first!
•
Thanks to all of the staff for committing to strengthening
our team!
•
Thanks to Miss Kaitlyn, Miss Cheryl and Miss Kristi for
starting sign language classes this fall.
♦
All enrollment paperwork is due on September 11. Our regulations require that we get all forms updated yearly. Health assessment forms however aren’t due until September 30.
♦
Payment is due at the beginning of each week. We appreciate
timely payment for your child’s tuition—we rely on these funds to
purchase groceries and materials and to pay for other program
costs. If your account is not paid in a timely manner or your balance runs too high, we will have to suspend care for your child.
You can pay via check, credit card, or automatic withdrawal.
Credit card/auto payment forms are available in the front office—if
you’ve already been using this system, please complete a new
form for the new year to ensure we have your most recent info on
file and to reflect the updated rates.
♦
Miss Diane ([email protected]) will be handling
all billing while Miss Jess is out. You can see her or email her re:
credit card payments, automatic withdrawals, or anything else
regarding your billing.
♦
Vacation days are renewed at the start of the new school year.
You receive “vacation days” or so many non-pay days each year for
your child—you get the number of days your child is contracted
for, so if your child attends 4 days/week, you get 4 “vacation” days
each year. Vacation slips are available in the front office.
♦
Please don’t forget to sign your child in and out each day on our
Procare system. I know it can be glitchy at times, but when it’s
working it is very helpful for us to track attendance and billing.
We would like to welcome Miss Amylynne to the Elephant Room! She will be joining the Elephant team as a new assistant teacher starting on September 3. Miss Amylynne is a recent graduate of Slippery Rock University and she holds
teaching certification in Special Education and Early Childhood Education. We are excited to have Miss Amylynne join
our staff!
We also have 2 interns with us this semester. Mackenzie joins us from Lock Haven University and Josie is a student at
Penn State. They will be in the Elephant and Zebra Rooms this fall.
The following staff will be out during the month of September:
♦
September 14: Miss Sam (Giraffe)
♦
September 16: Miss Kayla (Zebra) at training
♦
September 24-29: Miss Amber (Elephant)