Ms. Marie’s September 2018 Newsletter

                             

September 3, 2018

By Marie Bloch

 

Ms. Marie, Ms. Jessica, & Ms. Toni’s Monthly News

 

Dear Preschool Families:

 

We began our school year meeting new friends and learning about our classroom activities, routines and expectations.  In addition, our pre-academics focused on our names, the letters of the alphabet, the colors red & orange, the numbers 0 & 1, the triangle & circle shape.  We practiced pre-writing with Mat Man and looking at straight and curved lines and walked the alphabet.

 

We met Twiggle the Turtle and some of his friends from the PATHS social emotional curriculum. (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies). When Twiggle comes to class, it’s Twiggle time.  Ask your child about what he or she learns from Twiggle.  This week Twiggle and his friends helped students learn about their feelings and making friends.  Twiggle specifically talked about feeling Happy and Sad and what friends do together.

 

Every day, Twiggle picks one child (randomly selected) to be the Superstar of the day.  The Superstar will be the circle helper.  In addition, the Superstar will be receiving compliments from their teacher and classmates.  We will be sending home a flyer in your child’s backpack telling you that your child was the Superstar for the day. The back of this form will include the complements your child received at school, and space for you to add a family compliment. Compliments are one of the ways the PATHS Curriculum promotes prosocial behavior.

 

In addition to the PATHS curriculum for developing the social emotional skills of self-regulation and impulse control, your children are learning and practicing school-wide behavior expectations.  SPARK!’s framework for defining and promoting behavior expectations is:

S.T.A.R. which stands for…

 

S = Stay SAFE

T = Use TEAMWORK

A = ACT responsibly

R = RESPECT self and others

 

When your child comes home with a Starpower sticker, ask them to tell you how they earned it.  This will help your child feel proud of their accomplishments and promote memory and language use skills.  

 

NOTE: Both classes are working to earn enough Starpower stickers to gain a school-wide reward!  Please encourage your children to demonstrate star behavior so all the children can enjoy this fun activity.

 

September is now here and we are ready to delve into our first STEM unit of Reduce/Reuse/Recycle.  We will be working on the following this month:

letters: L, F, E, H, T, I, U, and C. We will also continue to work on our colors, shapes, and counting from 1-10.

 

STEM Profile for the Month: Responsible

 

I take care of doing my part.

I make good choices

I can be trusted to do what is right.

 

Volunteering:

 

Please consider helping your student’s classroom.  There are opportunities to help in the classroom with students in small groups, copying, scholastic book orders, etc.  We are also in need of a volunteer to help one day in the office copying and laminating.  These supports are a great help to staff in providing the high-quality learning environment fostered at Spark!

 

• The next Parent/volunteer training will be held Friday, Sept 21, 9:00 – 10:30 am- in the cafeteria.  This is required for any volunteers in the preschool setting.  

 

Attendance:

 

Thank you for your commitment toward ensuring that your children come to school every day and on time!  Regular, timely attendance positively impacts on your child’s interactions with other children, as well as their progress in developing physical, social/emotional and academic skills.

 

Homework: 

 

Homework logs for reading will be sent home in your child’s Thursday’s folder this week.  Please help your child complete the reading log.  In addition, handwriting reinforcement pages will be included in your Thursday folder starting this week.  It is a fun and effective way to reinforce learning for your children.  Handwriting homework is related to the letters studied during the week. Children can earn small prizes at school for their homework efforts.

 

Reminders:

 

Please check your child’s Thursday folder that comes home in their backpack. Anything on the right side of the folder needs to be reviewed by you, signed if requested to do so, and returned the following Monday to SPARK! in your child’s backpack.  Please remember to sign any paperwork that requires a signature. To those of you who have already completed your paperwork, we send a big “Thank you!”  If you still have things to sign and/or return, please send them with your child on Tuesday. 

Important Dates:

• Monday, Sept 3:  No preschool and no childcare — Labor Day, National Holiday
• Tues, Sept 4 – Oct 5:  STEM unit #1 Reduce/Reuse/Recycle
• Tues, Sept 4: Love and Logic Parenting classes RSVPs due to office or teacher 
• Wed, Sept 5:  Late Start for K-12 students, but NOT for preschool 
• Thurs, Sept 6, 6:00 – 7:30 pm – Parenting with Love and Logic, facilitated by The Family Whisperer, Cheryl Hamilton 
• Tues, Thurs, and Friday, Sept 11, 13, and 14:  Healthy Learning Paths 30 minute lessons with each class — “Let’s Dream” — the importance of sleep
• Thurs – Friday, Sept 13 – 14:  Pajama Day!  Students wear PJs to school, and parents donate $1.00 to PTO.  The $1.00 will be collected in class. 
• Thurs, Sept 13 — 6:00 – 7:30 pm – General PTO meeting.  From 6:00 – 6:45 pm, the Healthy Learning Paths staff will present about the importance of sleep, along with strategies for families.  Babysitting is provided for free. 
• Saturday, Sept 15 – at 10 am – Miner’s Day parade — our school will have a float.  Look for a flyer in Thursday/Friday folders soon and more on this website too.
• Tues, Thurs, and Friday, Sept 18, 20, and 21:  Healthy Learning Paths 30 minute lessons with each class — “Wonderful Water” — the importance of staying hydrated
• Thurs, Sept 20, 6:00 – 7:30 pm – Parenting with Love and Logic, facilitated by The Family Whisperer, Cheryl Hamilton 
• Friday, Sept 21 – Oct 5:  PTO “Believe” Fundraiser
• Friday, Sept 21, 9:00 – 10:30 am- Parent/Volunteer training in the cafeteria.  This is required for any volunteers in the preschool setting.  
• Monday – Tuesday, Sept 24 – 25 – Hearing and Vision screening for all preschoolers who haven’t already received a screening, as an early pre-intervention for these important learning components.
• Tuesday, Sept 25, 4:00 – 8:00 pm – McDonald’s Spirit Night, sponsored by the PTO
• Tuesday – Wednesday, Sept 25 – 26: Individual Picture Day – parents will receive a flyer with information and pricing in Thursday / Friday folders.  Payment is due by 9/25 or 9/26. 

Messages from the Office:

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 due to concerns about their child, please contact Ms. Marie. 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, please contact our health clerk in the front office.  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. 

Thank you for all you do to help your child get off to a great start.  We look forward to more learning and excitement as the year continues!

Please contact Ms. Marie if you have any questions or concerns ([email protected].)