Classroom update:
What a great week we had in preschool! We decorated with glitter, learned how to play in the different centers, and used paint to discover a secret message written in crayon (our names). We also met Twiggle the Turtle and Henrietta Hedgehog who will be teaching us about feelings and friends. Students also began learning the motions for our Zoophonics animal letters.
Looking forward to next week, we’re ready for more adventure. We will be exploring colors in several of our centers. Twiggle and Henrietta will reveal that everyone has feelings – even grown-ups! Friends will also start helping with more jobs in the classroom this week. Each day a new friend will have a turn to be the PATHS Kid of the Day. This person receives compliments from teachers and friends and gets to be our line leader for the day. Names are selected in rotation so everyone will have a turn soon but for some the waiting can be hard. Remind your child his or her turn will come soon. We will continue working on recognizing our names and begin practicing writing them.
Nuts and Bolts:
Please return any remaining paperwork from orientation this week.
I sent home Scholastic Book Order forms on Thursday. I hope you get a chance to look through them. One of the best ways to help your child learn is through reading with them. You can order books with the flyers or online as described in the attached letter.
Please remember to take your tuition payments to the front office, not leaving them in Thursdayfolders.
We cannot have plastic bags in students’ backpacks.
Important Dates:
Tuesday, August 29, 5-9 pm: Spark Discovery Preschool Fundraiser at Georgia Boys BBQ
Monday, September 4: Labor Day – No School
Wednesday, September 6: Regular class – Preschool does not participate in Late Start Day activities.
From the Office and Beyond:
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/commu
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 discuss this with the School Special Education Facilitator. 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.
Fun With Learning: Ideas to do at home
As we are practicing the alphabet, have your child sing the alphabet song or practice with Zoophonics Signals.
Talk to your child about the colors you see in favorite toys. Is one object more blue than another? Which do they like best?
Write the first letter of your child’s name on a piece of paper. Encourage them to trace the letter and describe it (curvy versus straight, etc.). Challenge them to find another of those letters at the store or on a cereal box.
Most of all, have fun!
Thank you for sharing your children with us.