Program Newsletter

Dear Early Childhood Families,

First of all, I'd like to welcome you to the 2024-2025 school year! I hope that your summer was fun and you had the chance to engage in experiences that created some great memories!

One truth remains constant: relationships are at the heart of everything we do. The bonds we build with one another, and most importantly with our students, shape their experiences, their growth, and their future. Every moment of connection, every shared smile, every conversation, and being there for them every day help our children navigate the world. These relationships provide them with the confidence to explore, the courage to take risks, and the security to come back to a place of safety and understanding. As educators, we are committed to partnering with you, fostering a nurturing environment where these relationships can thrive, both at home and in the classroom.

Together, we create a community where our children feel valued, supported, and inspired to become the best versions of themselves. I encourage you to partner with your child’s teacher and ask any questions that you may have and/or share any concerns. Together, we can have a tremendous impact on your child’s growth and success!

I also invite you to get involved with our program. This can be achieved in many ways, such as volunteering in your child’s classroom, joining our Families Partnering in Education (Family PIE) council or many other ways! Throughout the year, you'll see various opportunities to attend events at your child's center and program-wide events as well and/or volunteer in your child's classroom.

It is important that we keep your contact information up-to-date! If you have a change in your phone number, address, please update this as soon as possible. In the event of an emergency or illness, it is important that we have the most current information to reach you.

Children and Families Empowered for a Lifetime of Learning. Our vision statement for the Early Childhood Program reflects what we believe in. We see each year as a new opportunity to partner with you to help your child succeed and grow through the home and school partnership. Together, we can set the foundation for years of success in school! We’re so glad to that you and your child are a part of our early childhood community.

Sincerely,

Lamb Caro

Director of Early Childhood

We are so very excited to welcome your students into our classrooms! In this section of our program newsletter you can find some simple ways to engage in learning at home with your child, program events, etc. We encourage each of you to connect with your child's teacher to explore ways that you might support the classroom through volunteering either at the school or at home.

We will begin our school year learning how to "do school" by engaging in our Creative Curriculum study entitled "Beginning of the Year". As you prepare for the new school year, it is important to keep your home routines, including bedtime as consistent as possible. In addition, you can discuss with your child if it is a "school day or a home day" so that they know what to expect each week. Make sure to reassure them that while you are going to leave them at school to learn, you will also always be back to pick them up at the end of the school day. Preschool is a big change for many little ones and these simple things can set them up for success. If you are excited about this new adventure, then they will be too! Finally, talk about what they are learning at school. These few minutes each day will have such an impact on their learning and set them up for school success! We look forward to partnering with each of you to make this an amazing learning experience for your child!

Best,

Amy Gerhard

Assistant Administrator

Welcome to preschool! We are so happy to have you all in our classrooms! We are excited to see old friends and meet new friends. We will be learning all about our feelings and much more through our social emotional curriculum Second Step. In our first few weeks of school we will learn about how to feel welcome at school, how to listen, and how to focus our attention. We use puppets in our classroom to learn these lessons. Look for home links so you can ask your students about what they learned at school. We can't wait to see you!

Welcome Back to School from the EC Health Office!

As a reminder, school buses and cars are back in full force on the neighborhood streets and around Schools at this time of year. This greatly increases the chances of accidents with small children running into the school building or running through the parking lot to meet their families. It is very important to teach your children how to be safe when crossing the street, or walking through the parking lot at school.

• Please stay off of cell phones when driving through school zones.

• Do not allow children to cross streets alone. Teach your child to ask an adult for help before crossing the street or parking area.

• Do not allow children to run or dart across the street or parking area.

• Use sidewalks as much as possible.

• Teach children to be careful at crosswalks. Even if the flashing sign says “walk”, look both ways for cars turning or not obeying before crossing the street.

• Teach children to treat driveways like intersections. Stop at the edge, and then look right and left for cars pulling out. Teach them to look for back-up lights on a car which means they are moving.

• Children getting off the bus must always cross in front of the bus, look left and right for oncoming cars and make sure the bus driver sees you before you cross. The bus driver will signal that it is safe to cross.

• Parents crossing the street with children must use the crosswalk. It teaches children to do the same and it is much safer. There is often a crossing guard or flashing light that will signal the driver to stop and look for pedestrians. Running across the middle of a street is never safe.

Here’s to a safe school year!

Christiana Shorten – Early Childhood Health Coordinator

Families, we are very excited to partner with you to create a positive learning experience for you and your child! You are your child's first and most important teacher. We want to work together to get to know you and your family, and to share information about our program and classrooms. In this section I will share information about community or program events, parenting tips, community resources, and other information regarding family engagement. If you are a Head Start parent interested in serving on our parent committee, Family PIE, please reach out to me or your Family Engagement Specialist. This group meets once a month at Stansberry, typically the first Tuesday of the month from 5:00 - 6:30 pm. We provide dinner and free childcare. Welcome to Thompson Integrated Early Childhood!

Julie Lindsay

Family & Community Partnership Coordinator - julie.lindsay@tsd.org