Ms. Piper’s Class Newsletter 8-28-18
Hello, preschool families! We hope this message finds you well. This is the classroom update for the month of August.
What We’re Learning
We are starting our year with learning what preschool is all about! Classroom rules and routines, how to be a friend, an introduction to all of our materials have been the focus so far. We also learned all about Mat Man, a song that teaches children how to draw a person. Check out our work on the bulletin board outside our classroom! Next week we will introduce our first STEM Unit: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This unit will last through October 5.
Our PATHS Social Emotional Curriculum has focused on the four basic feelings: Happy, sad, mad, and scared. We teach these using puppets, with everyone’s favorite being Twiggle the Turtle. We have been working on identifying what these emotions look and feel like, and that ALL feelings are okay.
Thursday Folders
Our first Thursday folders went home in backpacks last week. Please be sure to check these every weekend, as they contain important information and paperwork. Be sure to sign any necessary papers and return the folder the following Monday. We only get one folder per child, so try not to lose it!
Family Photos
Thank you to everyone who has sent a family photo for our wall! If you have not, please send one (either printed or by email) if you can, so we can put it up for your child to look at and tell us about!
Miner’s Day Parade
The Miner’s Day Parade is coming up on Saturday, September 15 at 10 am. Spark participates in this every year, and this year we are in need of a family with a trailer. Our family that has helped us with this the last few years has moved on to elementary school. Please let us know if you can help!
Parent Volunteers
Please consider volunteering in our classroom or in the office! Volunteers must attend volunteer training offered by the school before starting to volunteer in preschool, due to licensing rules and regulations.
· Monday, August 13, from 4:00 – 5:30 pm -completed
· Friday, September 21 from 9 am – 10:30 am
· Monday, October 22 from 4 – 5:30 pm
· Friday, January 18th from 9 am – 10:30 am
· Tuesday, February 19 from 4:00 – 5:30 pm
· Friday, March 15 from 1:00 – 2:30 pm
Important Spark! Info
Community Resources: We have information to connect families with local agencies regarding mental health, child nutrition, physical fitness, food bank, child find, medical and dental resources, in several locations:
1) In a notebook in the front office,
2) In our parent flyer stand at the front entrance
3) On our school website at http://sdpk.svvsd.org/
4) The black table at the front of the school also has activity packets for parents to take in English and Spanish (when possible)
Use of Interpreters for Families Speaking a language other than English
Spark! Discovery Preschool takes reasonable steps to ensure families with limited English proficiency have meaningful access and an equal opportunity to participate in their child’s education, activities, and programs. Our district uses district-approved language translation services for translation of written communications, such as newsletters, Individual Education Plans, and so on.
Interpreters at Spark! Discovery Preschool will provide support for parents who may need this. An interpreter is available daily in our school’s front office. Additional interpreters are available for:
● Ice Cream Social
● Child Development parent classes (when requested)
● Parenting classes (when requested)
● Special Education meetings
● Child-Find Meetings
● Parent-Teacher Conferences
Referral Processes: If families would like to make a referral to a specialist, please let us know and we will connect you with our Child Find Office. We host a Child Find satellite office at Spark! Discovery Preschool, to handle questions or concerns about child development, behavior, or mental health. If you have questions about your child’s health, you should call our health clerk. She will answer your questions or forward you to a SVVSD nurse.
Child Find at Spark! Discovery Preschool: For children ages birth to five (who are not attending a district preschool already), developmental screenings and evaluations are provided by a District Child Find Assessment Team at Spark! Discovery Preschool (555 8th St., Frederick). This Child Find Assessment Team may be comprised of School Psychologists, Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, a School Nurse, and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers. Autism and Culturally/Linguistically Diverse Specialists consult as needed.
Other Plans for Academic or Behavioral Assistance: A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a systemic, continuous improvement framework in which data-based problem-solving and decision making is practiced across all levels of the educational system for supporting students. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports helps our school to organize resources through alignment of academic standards and behavioral expectations, implemented with fidelity and sustained over time, in order to accelerate the performance of every student to achieve.
Ms. Piper, Ms. Jen, and Ms. JJ