Dear TECEC families,
Our annual Halloween parade will take place on Tuesday, October 29th. The parade will take place around the outside perimeter of our school beginning at 11:00 AM & 2:30 PM. To view the parade and preserve this memorable event on camera, we recommend you line the parade route around the perimeter of the building. Visitors will not be able to enter the building after the parade. If you would like to take your child home after the parade, the teachers will meet you by their outside classroom door. They will have a sheet for you to sign if your child is leaving with you.
If the weather does not cooperate, the parade will take place on Wednesday, October 30th. If we experience inclement weather on October 30th, the parade will be held inside for the children. I am sorry, adults will not be able to view the parade indoors if we have inclement weather.
As a reminder, our dress code prohibits any clothing or items (e.g. scary masks, swords, guns) that portray violence. We want to make this an enjoyable experience for all our children and your adherence to this request is most appreciated. If you prefer your child not take part in the activities, please inform his or her teacher and an alternate activity will be planned.
The PTO is seeking your support for our "Trunk or Treat" event on Saturday, October 26th. We would love to have parents volunteer to decorate their cars for this festive occasion at TECEC. For more details, please see the information below. Thank you for helping make this event a success!
Respectfully,
Principal
Halloween is coming! If you and your family celebrate this holiday, it can be a lot of fun but can also be very stressful for little friends. It is a day where there is a lot of stimulation! Sometimes days of stimulation if you attend a Trunk or Treat event or other Halloween parties. We dress differently, interact with novel adults, have to wait your turn, and there is a change in schedule/routines. All of these and more can result in behavior challenges/changes.
Here are a few ways to support your children and prepare them for a less stressful and more enjoyable Halloween experience!
Choose a costume that your child finds comfortable. Sometimes less is more especially if textures are challenging for your child. Same for wigs and face paint! You can always make a costume with familiar everyday clothing!
Practice wearing the costume a few minutes a day leading up to Halloween or trunk or treats etc…
Explain that others will be wearing costumes too and some may be funny, scary, etc.. but they are just pretend.
Pretend play is an excellent way to help your child practice and process this event! First, model what you want your child to do.
-Walk up to the door
-Say, “trick or treat”
-Say, “thank you!”
-Walk back
Provide an opportunity for your child to take breaks during trick or treating or a party/trunk or treat events.
Diwali, which is also referred to as the festival of lights, is the most important holiday of the year and is primarily celebrated in India. It will take place beginning on October 31st and lasts for five days. The holiday period of Diwali symbolizes the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. The festival is marked by lighting oil lamps, decorating homes with colorful rangoli, exchanging gifts and sweets, and setting off fireworks. Each day of the festival has its own significance, with rituals and traditions varying by region. More information about Diwali from National Geographic Kids can be read here.
TECEC's inclement weather and adjusted schedules can be viewed: here.
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, November 6 for our Head Start Parent Policy Committee meeting at 8:30AM. The meeting will be held in person at TECEC beginning at 8:30 AM. For those who would like to join virtually, please click meet.google.com/idi-sypb-cyz.
Please join us on Wednesday, November 6, 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 this Thursday, November 14th at 7:00 PM at Brewport in Bridgeport.
EVERY THURSDAY IS SPIRIT WEAR DAY!
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/
