TECEC TIMES
Where the journey begins......January 8, 2025
Dear TECEC families,
With terms like polar vortex, extreme wind chill, and frostbite making headlines, it’s safe to say that winter has officially arrived. Although Monday’s snowfall wasn’t a major storm for us here in Connecticut, the light coating of snow brought plenty of excitement to the children (and the team) at TECEC as we enjoyed seeing our roads and grounds blanketed in white. While the storm was small by any measure, the cold temperatures combined with wind chill dropping below 30°F will keep us from using the playground this week. Thankfully, the creative team at TECEC has a fantastic contingency plan in place. We’ve transformed our motor room into an engaging space for activities like obstacle courses, where children can develop large motor skills through fun and interactive lessons. Be sure to ask your children about the exciting activities they’ve experienced in the motor room this week and the other fun moments they’ve had throughout their day in the classroom. Their stories are sure to bring a smile to your face!
On behalf of the TECEC team, I want to express our sincere gratitude for keeping your children home when ill. We understand the challenges of adjusting schedules and deeply appreciate your efforts to prioritize the health and well-being of our community. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s health as it relates to school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Nurse Dana at 203-452-4425 or me at 203-452-4422.
Kind regards,
Principal
For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day we would like to come together as a TECEC community and talk about ways to spread peace. Our classrooms will be reading The Peace Book which can be viewed here.
We will be sending home a hand print for you and your child to cut out, decorate and write a way that they can spread peace. If you would like to trace the hand on construction paper that would be wonderful. Feel free to make this as simple and/or elaborate as you wish! We will display the hands in a peace sign on the window in the foyer for all to enjoy. Please return the completed hand by Thursday, January 9th.
We hope that everyone had an exciting and restful break! The speech department had a great holiday and we had lots of fun with our families.
This month our theme will be SNOW! We will introduce winter vocabulary and spend plenty of time talking about winter activities. We are hopeful that we get some snow to go with our theme!
At home you can support your child’s language development by reviewing winter vocabulary such as things we wear in the winter (hats, boots, scarves, coats, mittens, gloves, snow pants), things we do in the winter (sledding, shoveling, skiing, ice skating, making snowmen, making snow angels, snowball fights) and of course how we warm up when we come in from playing in the snow (hot chocolate, sitting by the fire).
Don’t forget to send pictures of snow activities to school so the children can share the fun they had in the snow. Having pictures helps children recall details and promotes more language!
Happy New Year!
Jess S, Gail, Jess T, Stacee, Jess K
Winter weather is here! Please take a moment to review TECEC's inclement weather guidelines and adjusted schedules here to stay prepared for potential snow or any other disruptions to the school day.
Outlined below is our abbreviated program schedule in the event of a delayed opening or early dismissal due to inclement weather or other emergencies. This may change depending on the circumstances of the day.
90 MINUTE DELAYED OPENING
• AM Preschool 10:00 AM entrance (Special Education/PIP Classes/Half Day Head Start)
• Full Day Head Start-10:00 AM entrance
• Full Day Students/SRP-10:00 AM entrance
TWO HOUR DELAYED OPENING
• No AM Preschool (Special Education/PIP Classes/Half Day Head Start)
• Full Day Students/SRP-10:30 AM entrance
• Full Day Head Start-10:30 AM entrance
TWO & HALF HOUR DELAYED OPENING
• No AM Preschool (Special Education/PIP Classes/Half Day Head Start)
• Full Day Head Start – 11:00 AM entrance
• Full Day Students/SRP- 11:00 AM entrance
EARLY DISMISSAL
• AM Preschool (Special Education/PIP Classes) 8:30 – 11:00 AM
• PM Preschool (Special Education/PIP Classes) No Session
• Specialized Resource Program 8:30 – 11:00 AM
• All Head Start classrooms 8:20 – 11:00 AM
We will begin registering students for the Class of 2038 on Wednesday, January 8. If you are looking to register your child for the 2025-2026 school year, please click here for all the information you need.
Children Turning 5 ON or BEFORE September 1st of the 2025-2026 School Year
If your child is turning 5 and born on or before September 1st, 2020, please visit the Trumbull Public Schools District registration webpage at https://www.trumbullps.org for instructions to complete registration and upload forms online when the registration window opens on January 8th, 2025. If you are unable to upload all of your documents, please contact our Registration Coordinator for assistance by email registration@trumbullps.org.
Children Turning 5 AFTER September 1st, 2025 and BEFORE January 1st, 2026
If your child is turning 5 between September 1st, 2025 and January 1st, 2026, you are eligible to submit a written request and assessment for your child to enter kindergarten. Please click on the blue button below to complete the short request and assessment so that the principal and certified staff can review your input and approve placement for your child to enter kindergarten. All requests will be reviewed by the school principal and a certified educator. Once reviewed, you will be sent an approval notification to register your child. Please note, the registration window for the 2025-2026 school year opens on January 8th, 2025. For children in this category, a written request and assessment must be completed and then pre-approved by the principal of your child's school to register. Click on the blue square below.
Please click on the blue button below to submit a written request and complete the CDC Milestones Assessment for kindergarten registration consideration.
Please be reminded our budget season is in full-swing. Please take every opportunity to educate yourself on the needs of our district. Remember, once the Board of Education approves our budget, it will move to the First Selectman, Board of Finance, and Town Council. Contacting the Board of Finance and Town Council members to approve our budget is vital for all of our schools to ensure we are providing the highest level of education for our students. The proposed budget can be viewed here.
Tuesday, January 7 at 7:00PM
Thursday, January 9 at 7:00PM
Tuesday, January 14 at 7:00PM (if needed)
Every Thursday is spirit wear day! Since many of our children do not attend school on Fridays, we thought it would be fun to have “TECEC Thursday” each week where everyone is encouraged to wear school spirit wear. If you don't have any TECEC spirit wear, feel free to wear our school color which is blue. You can also purchase spirit wear here: https://tecec.ptboard.com/
Our arrival and dismissal procedures were developed to keep the children, you and our team safe. Please review the following guidelines that your adherence is critical to assure everyone arrives and leaves TECEC safely. One particular highlight is that vehicles must only enter the TECEC driveway by taking a right from Middlebrooks Ave. into the parking lot from 8:20-3:30. Attempting to access Middlebrooks Ave. via Church Hill Road and trying to take a left into TECEC creates an unsafe traffic pattern and should be avoided. Our arrival and dismissal procedures can be found here.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us.
One of the hallmarks of our program is parent and community involvement. Your child’s teacher will be reaching out to you with the best ways to engage with their education. We also encourage you to take the time to fill out the TPS volunteer form for the 2024-2025 school year. For most individuals, you will only need to complete part one (Tier one). This will permit you to volunteer in the school while in the presence of a staff member. Part two (Tier two) is for those who will be working with children not in the presence of a school employee. Since every volunteer will be in the presence of a TECEC staff member, there will not be a need to complete that section, unless you plan on volunteering in another school. This form has to be completed annually as mandated by the state guidelines for school volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering, the form can be found here and dropped off at TECEC so it can be processed. All submitted forms need to have an original signature, therefore a form with an e-signature will not be accepted.
Please join us on Wednesday, January 8, for our next PTO meeting. The meeting will be held in person at TECEC beginning at 7:00 PM. For those who would like to join virtually, the link is: PTO Meeting
The TECEC Father's Club is recruiting new members. Please note that you can join as a mom, aunt, uncle, grandparent or any family member that would like to support the children, teachers and each other. Their next meeting will take place Thursday, February 6 at 7:00 PM at Elicit Brewing in Fairfield, CT .
