Hello Families!!
We are off to a great start of the school year! The children are getting accustomed to the schedule and routines, and seem to be enjoying Wrap Around. Hopefully you are hearing good things at home! We are excited to get to know all the children and their families. In September we are discussing community helpers throughout the first two weeks. What is a community helper? How do they help our community? We have discussed Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Doctors and Veterinarians. We have also gone over Mail Carriers, Construction Workers, Farmers, Grocery Store Clerks, Chefs and Bakers. Most importantly we have spent lots of time on the community within the school such as Teachers and Paraprofessionals. This is always a fun unit to incorporate stem activities. The next two weeks of September we will learn all about the season of Fall. This will include the changing of the leaves and weather. What is harvested during this time of year? The children are learning about the primary colors of red, blue and yellow this month. We are discussing the letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee and Ff. Strong focus will be spent on how to write the letters and the sound of the letters. They are learning about Circles, Triangles, Squares and Rectangles.
Some Important Information:
· Spark is a “nut aware” school and the Wrap Around does have some children with allergies to nuts. We ask that you do not bring items that contain nuts in their lunch. An alternative can be sun butter or soy butter.
· We do not get the second option for hot lunch at spark.
· If your child is needing hot lunch please fill out a lunch calendar circling the days you would like them to have hot lunch and return it to the Wrap Around program. If it is the morning before please let Ms. Amy or Ms. Tanya know at drop off before 8:30 am. If your child does not come to Wrap Around in the mornings and will be with us at lunch please let Wrap Around know ahead of time.
· Please provide extra clothes in your child’s backpack for accidents that may happen during the day. As the weather changes keep that in mind as well.
· Please write your child’s name on the items that are coming to school. (Extra clothes, Lunch box, water bottle etc.)
· We ask that children do not bring toys from home.
· For Am Preschool children please try to have your child here before 8:10 am. We transition to lining up for preschool by 8:20 am where their teacher will come pick them up. It will help with transition in the morning.
· At drop off and pick up always remember to sign your child in and out of the program on the computer with your signature. Wrap Around A is door #3.
We did get new cubbies! It is very exciting for the children and teachers! Please keep the space in mind when sending nap items to school. A small blanket that will fit in their cubby would be preferred. We provide blue sheets to each child and we wash them weekly. Please keep those here in the classroom. It is one less thing for you to worry about. J
Thank you for allowing us to have your child in our program. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me or Alicia.
720-652-7909 Wrap Around A
720-597-5673 Wrap Around cell
720-652-7908 Alicia’s Direct Line
A little bit about our staff in the wrap around
Alicia Hall is the Community Schools Site Manager here at Spark! Discovery Preschool. She has worked in the education field for that last 10 years and has extensive experience in the special education field. She was born and raised in Nevada, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband, and then moved to Firestone in 2015 with her 3 kids and 2 dogs. Her family loves living in Colorado. Her family is her hobby and her life pretty much revolves around them. For fun her family likes to play football, and are Buffalo Bills Fans.
Nickie Drieth is the Director here at Spark Discovery Preschool. She started at Spark Discovery Preschool in the wraparound program two years ago and previously worked in community schools at another SVVSD school. She has experience previously in early childhood outside of the school district. She is taking classes through Front Range Community College online to further her education and knowledge, and she is director qualified through the State of Colorado. Nickie is a Colorado native and was raised in Mead, Colorado. She likes to spend time with her daughter, three cats, a dog, and horses. She enjoys anything outdoors, sewing, and most of all time with family. Teaching is a true passion for her, and she enjoys watching the children learn and grow.
Amy Yanez has worked with the wraparound program at Spark! since January, 2016. Children are her passion, and she has been working with them for well over 10 years. She grew up in the tri-town area and attended Frederick High School. She continued her education at Front Range Community College, taking courses in Early Child Education. When she is not teaching she loves spending time with her three children hanging out at the lake, camping, and going to the movies.
Linda Kierkide has worked in the childcare field for 23 years, with children ranging from 6 weeks to 13 years old, including summer camp programming for ten years. She enjoys working with children of all ages, and loves to be a part of their growth and learning.
Alice Woody is a graduate of Sierra College, and she has an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Development. After living in California until 2016, Alice moved to Colorado with her family. She began working at Spark! in 2017. She has many years of experience in preschool and childcare — private and those in public schools. Alice sees her work as an effort to put safety, happiness, love, and hope into the lives of the children she meets. She feels blessed to work with young children.
Haley Finleon is a part-time Special Education Paraeducator at Spark! Discovery Preschool. Haley loves to make one-on-one connections with students and help them grow in all facets. Haley has worked with children, daily, for three years, but worked with children throughout college and high school. In her previous work, Haley worked for a nonprofit organization (The Matthews House) that provides resources and support for at-risk youth and their families. Haley graduated with honors from Colorado State University. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Health and Exercise Science. She played softball for the Rams in the four years she was there. Her senior year she was designated as a National Strength and Conditioning Association All-American. Haley is a homegrown girl. She grew up in Erie, Colorado, and attended Erie High School. In her free time, Haley enjoys spending time with her family and pups, playing sports, lifting, backpacking, hiking, and drawing/painting.