Wonder Watch

Next Monday, April 8, 2024 the United States will experience a total solar eclipse. Fenton will experience about 97% of the total eclipse between 3:05 and 3:15 PM. This is extremely exciting! To put in perspective, there will not be another solar eclipse in the US until 2044. Michigan will not experience this much totality again until 2099. This is truly a once in a lifetime experience.

For our students who will be in attendance during the eclipse, we have purchased solar eclipse glasses for each student and staff to wear so they can look up to see this scientific occurrence. A permission slip is being sent home today. Students who are not participating will be in our World of Wonder gym engaging in gross motor play. Below is information on the eclipse provided by NASA and NSTA. If you are looking to purchase glasses for yourself or your family you can check with your local library, Longway Planetarium in Flint, Walmart, or Amazon. Looking directly into a solar eclipse for any amount of time can be damaging to the human eye.

• Eye Safety During a Total Solar Eclipse
• Solar Eclipse Guides and Handouts
• Live NASA Broadcast of 2024 Total Solar Eclipse on YouTube

Please contact the WoW office if you have any questions of concerns.

The month of April is dedicated to raising awareness and preventing child abuse and neglect. Prevent Child Abuse America believes in creating a world where every child grows up happy, healthy and prepared to succeed. World of Wonder does our part by sharing information and participating in the Pinwheel for Prevention. Over the next week you will notice blue pinwheels being displayed on our school lawn.

Next week we will be celebrating the National Association for the Education of Young Children's Week of the Young Child! The purpose of the Week of the Young Child® is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

NAEYC first established the Week of the Young Child® in 1971, recognizing that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) lay the foundation for children's success in school and later life. The Week of the Young Child® is a time to plan how we—as citizens of a community, of a state, and of a nation—will better meet the needs of all young children and their families.

Each day has a special theme and each classroom will be doing activities centered around the theme:

• Music Monday
• Tasty Tuesday
  
• Work Together Wednesday
• Artsy Thursday
• Family Friday

Students entering Young 5's or Kindergarten in the Fall need a Hearing & Vision and Dental screening. World of Wonder has set-up Hearing & Vision screening to happen during school hours on Tuesday April 9th and Wednesday May 1st through the Genesee County Health Department.

We also have Mott Children's on site Wednesday May 1st for Dental screenings. More information will come from your child's teacher for the Dental screening.

Both screenings will also be available at the Kindergarten Round Up on April 25th.

The next step for students entering Young 5's or Kindergarten next year is to attend Kindergarten Round Up on Thursday April 25th! Please sign up for one of the designated times.

If you have not already contacted the office about enrollment for next school year. Please do as soon as possible! We are opening enrollment to the community this week and don't want any of our current families to not get their first choice or a spot for next year.

In her 2023 State of the State address, Governor Whitmer announced a bold goal—by 2027, all Michigan four-year-olds can attend a free, high-quality preK program—regardless of where they live, their race/ethnicity, or how much their family earns. We call this goal “PreK for All.”.

At the 2024 State of the State address, Governor Whitmer highlighted the importance of preK and committed to continuing to expand access to free preK for four-year-olds across Michigan. This website has the latest information for how your child can participate – and how you can help us make this a goal reality for our youngest Michiganders.

We will keep our World of Wonder families updated as more information comes out. We are encouraging ALL families with children that will turn four by December 1st that would be interested in free childcare to complete the below application to prepare if PreK for All does pass. You can also learn more about PreK for All through the link below.

We had a little setback in our roll out for starting enrollment for Summer. We are still working on the school year enrollments for current families. Our goal is to start summer enrollment next week! Thank you for patience.

We had great parent-teacher conferences back in early March! It is always wonderful to have time to connect with families and discuss student progress. A huge thank you to everyone who donated towards providing meals for the teachers. They were able to enjoy dinner both nights AND snacks during the day. Thank you again for your generosity!

Parents at WoW (PAW) will be meeting Wednesday April 24th from 9-10:15 AM in the WoW Library.

This meeting is a little different as it will serve as our yearly advisory where we seek program feedback from our families. Breakfast will be provided!

• April 8th to 12th: Week of the Young Child
• April 25th: Kindergarten Round Up
• April 27th: Superhero Training Camp Community Event
• April 29th: No School for Teacher Professional Development

As a school district we will be celebrating neurodiversity with an autism acceptance spirit week later this month! Our Special Services team has put together daily theme days that highlight different aspects of neurodiversity. We are so fortunate to partner with high school special services students to help run our Community Share program, volunteer in our classrooms, and overall contribute to our school. We are taking this time to celebrate them and everyone who identifies as neurodiverse.

We are inviting you to join us for a morning of family fun! This is a community event - please share with anyone that may be interested. The cost is $10 per family - scholarships are available. Please contact the WoW Office. We are also looking for volunteers to help set-up on Friday. More information to come!

Available this summer for children going into Young 5's or Kindergarten in the Fall. These take place on days WoW is closed for cleaning and professional development.

Parents are asked to notify WoW if their child is absent for any reason. If a child develops a contagious disease (ex: pink eye, RSV, strep throat, ringworm, chicken pox), parents of all children exposed to the disease will be notified via written notice and email. A child who has had an illness should not return to school until released by the physician and is able to participate in the program as usual.

A child showing symptoms of illness while at WoW will be isolated until he or she can be taken home. Fevers are general indicators of illness. A child with a 99.4 degree Fahrenheit temperature under the arm is expected to go home. Parents or their designees are expected to pick up the child within one hour of the time they are contacted. If the child is sent home ill, a physician’s note authorizing the child’s return to group care may be requested, depending on circumstances. Children are also expected to be fever free for 24 hours, without fever reducing medication, before returning back to WoW. This measure is necessary in order to comply with state law and curtail the spread of infection. World of Wonder reserves the right to refuse care due to illness and from suspicious rashes.

Join PAW (Parents at WoW): This is our version of a PTO. A way to meet other parents and to help advise and support our program. We would love to have representatives from every classroom.

Help Support WoW's Community Share Room: Donate new or gently used clothing or household goods. Families can also come shop for FREE stuff!

Save Boxtops for Education and donate to WoW. Please see visual below. Our school is listed as "The World of Wonder"

Stay connected! Like our World of Wonder Facebook page and join our PAW facebook group.

Email: mcobleigh@fentonschools.org
Website: https://www.fentonschools.org/o/escwowec
Location: 404 West Ellen Street, Fenton, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-8349
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WoWFAPS