Here's to a Great Start to our School Year!
Welcome to (or Back to) Early Childhood! This has been the BEST start of the school year yet! Thank you all for working through all of the new school year things with us!
A few reminders...
- Please continue to provide ID when picking up your child. (We may have subs that will need to verify your identity)
- No parking in the bus lanes, we want all of our children and their families to be safe! Thank you for doing this already!
- AM Classes are 8:00-11:00
- PM Classes are 12:00-3:15
- The Extended Day students are picked up by the K-1 Playground exit at 2:50- 3:00
- Payments for our Little Indians and Extended Day programs are due on the 1st. Late fees are assessed on the 15th.
I'll also take a moment to introduce myself. I am Brooke Uchtman, and I am excited to be entering my fifth year with the Jackson R-2 School District as the Director at East Elementary Early Childhood Center. This is my 18th year in education. Previously, I have worked for the Pattonville School District where I taught kindergarten for eight years and third grade for one year. I also taught Early Childhood majors and supervised student teachers at Southeast Missouri State University for four years . My husband, Matt, and I have been married for 15 years. We have three children Madison (14), Avery (12) and Griffin (4). You may get to meet Griffin as he is attending in Early Childhood with your children as well!
This year we will focus on taking our professional learning community to the next level. We have worked as a team to revisit and recreate our mission, vision and our collective commitments. They state:
Mission Statement: We strive to ensure a safe, inclusive environment that promotes growth and learning for all students and staff through collaboration and research-based practices.
Vision Statement: In order to achieve our mission we will commit to the following...
- Work together with mutual respect to foster a positive environment
- Provide a safe inclusive environment by prioritizing developmentally appropriate practice for all learners
- Use data-based decision making to promote growth for all students through monitoring on a frequent basis
Collective Commitments
Interactions with others:
We will assume positive intentions and have mutual respect as we work together as a cohesive team.
Collaboration:
We will be respectful by having active participation, graciously taking feedback, and following norms while using the four corollary questions to guide our collaborative work.
Instruction:
We will use developmentally appropriate research based practices.
We will use intentional planning to provide purposeful, engaging learning environments.
Data:
We will consistently reflect on data to drive instruction for ALL learners.
Core Beliefs:
We will maintain high expectations for ALL learners.
Our next goal this school year will be to work on our commitments and goals. Our teachers will continue to work in collaborative teams to plan, teach/assess, study the results, and then act. Four questions will guide our work to ensure high levels of learning for all:
- What do we want students to know and be able to do?
- How will we know if they have learned it?
- How will we respond when some students do not learn?
- How will we extend the learning for students who are already proficient?
These questions have never been so important as they are this year. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email or call. Here's to a great year!
Counselor Corner
Hello! My name is ‘Ms. Jill’ Hadler and I am the School Counselor at the Early Childhood Center. I am looking forward to working with you and your child(ren) this year! This is my twenty-seventh year in education and my twenty-first year as a school counselor. Prior to coming to the Early Childhood center, I was a school counselor for 13 years at Orchard Drive Elementary in the Jackson R-2 school district. In the evenings, I also work as a parent educator in the Jackson R-2 Parents as Teachers program. I love working with children and families!
My husband, Tom, and I live in Jackson and have one daughter, Claire, who recently graduated from college and will be moving to Hawaii! I enjoy baking, walking my dog, and working in my flower garden.
I am so excited to be working in the Early Childhood Center. I look forward to meeting all of you and being a resource for your family!
What does the Early Childhood School Counselor do?
The primary goal of the school counseling program is to assist in the promotion of student success through academic, personal/social development, and career development.
In order to achieve this goal, I will be in the classroom during center time as a center activity. During that time, the focus will be learning about emotions (managing and expressing our emotions), working cooperatively with others, developing friendship skills (how to initiate play, playing fairly, and resolving conflicts with others), ways to be a successful learner (listening skills, following rules, managing daily routines), and basic career awareness.
In addition to counseling centers, I will meet with small groups and individual students. You will probably also find me on the playground and visiting classrooms as often as possible.
How can the School Counselor help my child and/or my family?
*Parent Workshops (variety of topics throughout the year)
*Connect families with resources
*Provide home/school connections
*I would love to be a resource for your family!
NEED TO CONTACT THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR?
Email: jhadler@jr2mail.org
Phone: (573) 243-4323
News from the Nurse
Welcome Back! Nurse Angie and Nurse Tosha are so happy to see everyone back at school! We hope everyone had a GREAT summer! There are a lot of things we need to cover in our first newsletter this year. Here it goes!
If your child is sick PLEASE KEEP THEM HOME. This is the number one way to stop the spread of germs. If the germs don’t come to school they can’t be shared. If your child has fever, vomiting, and/or diarrhea they need to be home for 24 hours symptom free without medication before returning to school. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call us!
COVID: If your child would test positive by home test or through a dr’s office/clinic we ask that they stay home 5 days from when their symptoms started. (Day one is the first day of their symptoms). They can return to school on their day 6 if they have been 24 hours free of vomiting/diarrhea/fever (*without using medication for 24 hours to reduce fever). Also, their symptoms should be improving and no new symptoms developing when they return to school (loss of taste/smell can still be present). Please notify Nurse Angie @aboss@jr2mail.org or Nurse Tosha @tborgfield@jr2mail.org if your child would test positive. Please note: if your child tested positive by a home covid test and they have already missed 7 days of school they would need a dr.’s note. Here is the link to our Attendance policy.
FLU Shot Clinic (through the Cape County Health Department) will be October 16th. Preschool parents must be present with their child for the flu shot to be given. This will be at the East elementary building. The permission form will be sent out to those that request a form (beginning of Oct.).
Dental Screenings will be on September 27th. Only those who return the permission form with a “yes for varnish” will get varnish. (Everyone will be screened.)
Let’s have a great year!!! We appreciate all of your help keeping our school safe and healthy!
Nurse Angie and Nurse Tosha
PTO Team Information
PTO MEETING TIME!
I am so excited that we have already had interest in joining our PTO! We have just formed an Early Childhood PTO Team for the 2023-2024 school year, and we are excited to meet for our first time in our department in our Pond on Tuesday, September 12th at 5:30 in our Early Childhood Pond. We are working on providing child care as well. I'll send out a reminder this week and to let you know if this is an option too!
Our PTO Fundraisers for the Year
- APEX Fun Fun is coming soon! September 25th-October 6th (more information coming very soon)
- World's Best Chocolate Bar Sales-November 6th-17th
- Spring Fundraiser TBD
Full Day Kid's Club
Hello JR2 Parents, Our Full Day Kids’ Club Program will be offering childcare for ALL preschool-6th grade students on certain days that the district is off of school. This is hosted at South Elementary 7:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m. All students must bring a sack lunch and a water bottle. We provide an afternoon and morning snack. No walk-ins allowed. You must enroll and pay for your child to attend Full Day Kids’ Club by the deadlines set for each date. The cost is $30 per day, (any additional children are $25 each). ALL enrollment and payments are due before 4:30 p.m on the designated due date. To enroll, please click (or paste in your browser) the link below https://sites.google.com/jacksonindians.us/kidsclub/full-day-kids-club The upcoming Full Day Kids’ Club date offered: October 2, 2023 DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY tuition is September 22, 2023 For any questions, please email the Kids’ Club Assistant Elizabeth Greenlee at egreenlee@jr2mail.org or call the Kids Club Office 573-243-9576 FUTURE FULL DAY KIDS’ CLUB DATES AND DEADLINES: October 30 & 31: DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for this date is October 20, 2023 November 20, 21, & 22 : DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for this date is November 10, 2023 December 22, 26, 27, 28, 29, & January 2: DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for ALL of the full days during winter break is December 8 February 16: DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for this date is February 2, 2024 March 15: DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for this date is March 1, 2024 April 1-5, 2024: DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for ALL of the full days during spring break is March 22, 2024 April 26 : DEADLINE TO ENROLL AND PAY for this date is April 12, 2024 Thank you for trusting us with our children! Mandee Hite
East Early Childhood Center
Email: buchtman@jr2mail.org
Website: https://jacksonees.ss12.sharpschool.com/early_childhood
Location: 455 North Lacey Street, Jackson, MO, USA
Phone: 573-243-5347