From The Principals Office
Dear Parent and/or Guardian,
Hard to believe we are already one month into our school year. I have enjoyed watching your children come and learn new procedures and routines here at Conrad Early Learning Center. The teachers have been working hard to show them morning circle time, morning announcements, how to play and share, and exploring the school and playgrounds. Each month the classrooms switch playgrounds. Your child may come home with some new stories about going to the new “park”.
We had an amazing turnout for our first PTO meeting in August! Please remember, you can help any time and don’t have to be present at meetings to help our school. Please check out our PTO page on our website.
We are also kicking off our first unit of study with our Creative Curriculum. The first unit will be focused on "Trees". Each unit runs for approximately 6 weeks, so be on the lookout for fun art, activities, and ideas coming home. Each week, there will be a different focus question and students will dive into learning all about that focus area. They will have the opportunity to walk around here at school, looking for different types of trees and leaves. There will even be a school-wide event for eating different fruits from trees! Be on the lookout for more information! Please talk to your child and encourage them to tell you what they are learning about here, and make those connections at home too! Remember, asking questions to build language is such an important skill for our little learners.
We have a busy month coming up. Please see below for our month at a glance.
Here at Conrad, we all believe in each and every student. Please, reach out if you have any questions in regards to the upcoming events!
In Service of All,
Laura Browning
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ALWAYS have your ID. If there is a sub for your child's teacher, they will be asking for this to compare to the student's approved pick-up adults. All approved adults must be 18 years or older, per DHS guidelines. We will also scan all visitor ID's for any events.***
- If you do not already, please follow our Facebook page to see updates and activities around our school.
- On the first of each month, the students switch playgrounds! While the weather is ever changing, there may be indoor recess. If you do not see your child's class outside at pick-up, you will sign them out at their drop-off doors. Please remember to send coats and cold weather items for your child in case we are outside and it is chilly!
Siblings or children not enrolled as a student at Conrad:
- Siblings and other children are NOT allowed to visit the classrooms during regular school day sessions due to licensing regulations, ratios, potential health concerns, and disruptions to the classroom environment. Please note that this includes the following situations: birthday celebrations, holiday events during the school day, volunteer activities, etc. Additionally, this is relevant for unenrolled children of all ages - including infants and children in strollers/carriers.
- Siblings are welcome to attend outdoor events during the school day (field day, etc.), as well as after-school events such as Family Nights.
To ensure safety of all students, staff, and families:
- No dogs allowed on school property during pick up/drop off times.
- Remember to use the crosswalks and keep your child close to you in the parking lots.
Exciting News! The city of Fountain has put in a cross walk on Jimmy Camp Road by Conrad! The lights will flash when someone pushes the button so please watch for students crossing the street.
Reminder, we visit the library on Wednesday's. Students have an opportunity to listen to stories, as well as check out library books for the week! If you would like to be a Wednesday library volunteer, please visit our website under the PTO tab. You can sign up for any amount of time; it does not need to be an entire day commitment. Books are due back on the following Tuesday.
Please see the flyers below for all upcoming events at Conrad!
Here at Conrad, we all believe in each and every student. Please, reach out if you have any questions in regards to the upcoming events!
From The Office of Nurse Lisa
As the colder months are quickly approaching we are moving into the cold and flu season. Here are some ways to help protect your little ones during this time:
Washing hands with soap and water regularly. This is one of the best ways to stop the spread of germs.
Give your child’s immunity system a boost! Make sure they sleep between 8-12 hours at night, are eating a diet full of fruits and veggies and get at least one hour of physical activity each day.
Avoid other sick individuals as much as possible. Also be sure your kiddo is home for 48 hours after a fever, diarrhea or vomiting to keep their classmates safe!
If you have any questions please reach out to me, Nurse Lisa!
Pack The Pantry: This month we will collect PASTA to be donated to the FFC8 food pantry to help feed children and families in our school district with food insecurities. Please bring boxes & bags of pasta to the front office. If you would like more information or to receive donations for your family please contact Nurse Lisa!
From Conrad's Speech Therapists, Jess & Marina:
Happy September! Here are some ideas of activities you can do with your child to promote speech and language development.
Jessica Meyer M.S. CCC-SLP Marina Kelly M.S.CCC-SLP
From Conrad's Physical Therapist, Simon
Physical activity is important both for your child’s physical growth as well as their mental growth. It can help regulate their emotions.
Ideas to continue improving your child's motor skills:
Play Tag at the park - Great for improving heart health and encourages social engagement
Hopscotch - Allow them to create their own game with chalk
Play catch with large squishy balls - Improves hand eye coordination
From Conrad's Psychologist, Deanna
"Six Ways to Respond to Your Kids’ Big Feelings
As parents, one of our greatest motivations is to protect our children from pain and suffering—in essence, from negative emotions. Nonetheless, despite our best efforts, our children will be disappointed, feel fear and pain, and have tremendous loss and grief. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Experiencing emotions is at the heart of what it means to be alive, and emotions can provide us with information about ourselves and our environment. While we cannot strive to protect our children from difficult emotions, there are strategies we can use so that these emotions provide opportunities to learn and to feel connected to others.
The extent to which our children’s experiences of negative emotions could be potentially beneficial depends on their ability to self-regulate. In young children, parents play a vital role in this equation. Children’s prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain that controls emotions and functions like the CEO, is highly immature. Imagine what would happen if a child were the CEO of a Fortune 500 company (think Richie Rich). Disaster! As the parent, you have the privilege of getting to be that CEO until your child is ready to take over the charge (which happens gradually over time, with the transition often not completing until late adolescence or early adulthood). Psychologists call this phenomenon coregulation, which is when parents step into the role of helping to regulate children’s emotional experiences.
While this may all sound daunting, understanding the way emotions work is like knowing the tune to a song. You may not know you know it until you hear the song start to play, and then all of a sudden, it comes rushing back to you and you’re humming along. In this article, we aim to make the notes of the song clear, demystifying the way we can respond to children’s feelings to help them thrive.
Click here to read more about ways to help our children regulate their big feelings."
🌟Staff Spotlight🌟 Teacher 🌟
Get to know our staff at Conrad!
Misty Spalding
Where were you born?
Fond du Lac, WI
What is your roll at Conrad?
Early Childhood Special Educator
What is your favorite part of working at preschool?
The A-Ha moments
Do you have any Pets?
All rescues, Jyn, a boxer mix, Fluffy, a Shepard mix, cat Bambi, and new kitten, Wicket
Do you have any hobbies?
Knitting, because I think about my grandma who taught me. Puzzles, because I enjoy solving problems and reading to keep learning.
What is your favorite type of food?
Pasta and any local restaurant
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
Back to Europe to travel around more
What is a quote that inspires you?
"Today is a gift."
Is there anything else you want to share about yourself?
I have been married since 2005. I have identical twins born at 29 weeks gestation and another child! As a family we enjoy the outdoors and Special Olympics.
🌟Staff Spotlight🌟Paraprofessional🌟
What is your name?
Krista Burton
Where were you born?
Colorado Springs, CO
What is your roll at Conrad?
Paraprofessional
What is your favorite part of working at preschool?
Working with the littles.
Do you have any Pets?
Yes, I have a 4 year old Australian Shepard lab mix named Koda!
Do you have any Hobbies?
I enjoy hiking, camping and spending time with my girls!
If you had to enter a talent show what would be your act?
Being Silly
What is your favorite type of food?
Burgers and fries
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go and why?
Italy because it would be a great experience
What is a quote that inspires you?
"Keep moving forward."
Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?
I have worked with children for 12 years. Interesting facts: I’m a great cook. I have a college graduate. I’ve raised my youngest completely on my own!
Sign up to help in our school library!
Click on the picture to sign up 👉
Parents may sign up to help out on Wednesdays in Conrad's school Library.
- We need one volunteer per week
- Help kids check in & check-out library books
- Clean and reshelve library books
- Wednesdays during the AM or PM session
Reminder: children may NOT accompany the volunteer.
Please review the available slots click on the button to sign up.
Thank you!
