Pumpkin Patch Early Childhood

Hello Patch Families,

Pumpkin Patch Staff is excited to start the 2024-25 school year and is currently preparing. Please mark the Pumpkin Patch Open House in your calendar - it will be on August 22 from 3-5 p.m. This is a great opportunity to meet your child’s teachers, build relationships, see the classroom and ask any questions you may have. Also note, Kearsley Community Schools will be hosting a Family Movie Night at Kearsley High School’s Football Stadium on August 22, starting at 7 p.m.

Pumpkin Patch (at Buffey Elementary) will have some changes this school year. Kearsley’s Young 5’s Program will move to Buffey, bringing 3 classrooms with up to 45 students. Young 5’s was previously housed at Weston. Pumpkin Patch will continue to have care for infants, mobile infants, toddlers and preschool programs, including GSRP. Kearsley continues to collaborate with (GCCARD) Head Start and will house four rooms for the programs. One GISD Early Childhood Special Services room will continue to operate at Patch.

Another change that will occur will see Mrs. Janis Akers close out her career at Kearsley after over 40 years. She will be retiring at the end of September. I, Douglas Hibbs, will be taking over for Mrs. Akers as the new Principal / Director. I have been in Kearsley for over 15 years, as both a teacher and administrator. Previously, I have held principal roles at both Weston and Armstrong Middle School. I hold a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Arts along with an Early Childhood Endorsement. I look forward to working with your child(ren)!

Pumpkin Patch will continue to offer great programs and services for our families!

Pumpkin Patch is open 5:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. for daycare and latchkey programs. Our GSRP Preschool and Young 5's daily time will be from 8:20 a.m. until 3:10 p.m.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

In education,

Douglas Hibbs, Principal

dhibbs@kearsleyschools.org

Janis Akers, Director

jakers@kearsleyschools.org.

If enrolling in GSRP, Head Start, Early on or any program supported by Genesee ISD, parents must start the process on the Michigan Early Childhood Connect website: https://version3.miecc.org/CaregiverPortal/25

Click on "Services for My Child" and follow the prompts.

Parents may also call 810-591-KIDS to get the process started or to get questions answered. As always, we are here to help with the process, 810-591-3585.

Please help us by keeping our students safe - drive slow, be observant, park in designated areas and hold your child's hand when walking in the parking lot. Thank you!

Arrival

In the morning you will see at least 6 buses in the front parking lot, towards the west side of the building. Please do not park by these buses unless you are in a designated spot or move past them when students are unloading. If you are dropping your student off in a personal vehicle, please park, walk your child into the building and sign them in.

Dismissal

This is similar to arrival you are just picking your loved ones up. Park in a designated spot, come into the building and sign your child out. If your child will ride a bus after school, we will transport them home or to a specified location. Due to the age of our students, an adult must be visible/present at the stop your child gets off at.

Note: Each group of students (program or grade level) will have identified color pumpkins. Bring those with you when picking your child up so we know what program and room numbers your child belong with. This also helps us identify that you have a reason for being at this building and helps everyone feel safe.

We proudly serve our family by taking care of infants. We have an infant room and a mobile infant room. Our staff has years of experience in caring four our Youngest Hornets! Miss Tina Lovik leads our infant room. Miss Tina Cramer and Miss Morgan Brode lead our mobile infants.

Toddlers

We have two toddler rooms. Miss Olivia leads one while Miss Beckie leads the other. Miss Lesa leads our Child Development Room. These rooms are full of singing, the arts, dramatic play and offer the students structured learning.

GSRP - Great Start Readiness Preschool

GSRP Preschool is funded by the State of Michigan. We hope to have 6 GSRP classrooms this year at the Patch. These rooms use Creative Curriculum, TS GOLD (Smart Teach) and CLASS to offer support in learning. Our lead teachers include: Miss Shannon, Miss Hannah, Miss Megan, Miss Andrea, Miss Kayla and Miss Rachel.

Young 5's

In the past, Young 5's has been housed at Weston. This year, the Patch warmly welcomes three classrooms of Young 5's Students. These rooms will be led by Mrs. Howell, Mrs. Nerreter and Mrs. Mickus.

Latchkey

After school ends, we bus students from our elementary buildings, K-5, and have after school care. Our preschool and Young 5 students will already be here if this service is needed for them.

Collaboration

We house 4 classrooms for GCCARD Head Start. While these are not conducted by Kearsley, we work together and allow them to use our facility. We also collaborate with the Genesee ISD and house one room with the Early Childhood Special Services.

We are proud to offer highly regarded programs with highly qualified staff. Many teachers hold Bachelor Degrees in Education while others hold Child Development Associates. Pumpkin Patch Staff work closely with the State of Michigan, the Genesee ISD, Early On and the NAEYC. While offering these programs, we try to be cognizant of our families and keep respectable pricing - see below.

Please call Miss Jaime in the office if you have any questions or would like to see if we have openings or want to be put on a waiting list.

Jamie Ulman: 810-591-3504

https://myridek12.tylerapp.com/login

Please teach your child about safe bus riding rules:

1. Listen to the driver

2. Quiet and calm voices

3. Sit Down - bottom to bottom and back to back (of the seat)

4. Be kind to others

Ultimately it helps your child be kind to others and keeps the learning environment safe!

1. Be respectful:

Be kind to others. Treat others like you would like to be treated. Be safe.

2. Be responsible:

Do your work and listen to adults. Be a hero and help solve problems.

3. Be ready:

Be ready to learn. Have your supplies and use them for work. Be on time and attend school daily.

Go Hornets!

4235 Crosby Road, Flint, MI 48506

PH: 810-591-3585

Fax: 810-591-9924

Douglas Hibbs, Early Childhood Principal

Jaime Ulman, Administrative Assistant