SM Early Childhood Education Center

Carla Heintz, Principal, Early Childhood Education Center

Tracy Smarr-Dolezal, Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator

I have been so happy to be back in session after our extended winter break!! It is so wonderful to see the children once again and marvel at the growth they continue to make. My greatest joy is arrival and watching them run into the building with excitement, ready for the day! February has a few important dates to make note of, first and foremost are our parent/teachers conferences on the 6 and 7. We will be having Valentine's parties on February 13th and we invite you all to participate!! Please see below for more information on both of these events. Finally, there will be no school on February 17 and 18 due to president's day and professional development for staff.

February 3-6- Superbowl Spirit Week- see below for details!

February 6- Conferences 4:30-7:30

February 7- Conferences 8:00-3:30

February 13- Valentine's Day Parties 10:25 and 2:40

February 17- No School- President's Day

February 18- No School- Professional Development for Staff

With the exception of Fridays, our school follows the district calendar. You can access it here for additional information.

We will be having conferences on Thursday, Februrary 6 from 4:30-7:30 and on Friday, February 7 from 8:00-3:30. Teachers should have already reached out to you to schedule a time for you to meet with the to hear all of the amazing things your child is doing and learn what next steps for them might be. If by chance you have not heard from them, please reach out and work with them to schedule a conference. Conferences can be done in person or via WebEx, whichever makes the most sense for you and your family. I look forward to seeing you all here!!

SMECEC will celebrate Valentine's day with our students on February 13. The AM session party will be from 10:25-10:55, and the PM session party is planned for 2:40-3:10. We invite parents to come and see their child at school and participate with us. We do ask that siblings above the age of 1 not attend, due to limited space. These parties provide a special time for you to see your child with their school family and network with other parents in the classroom! I hope you all can join us for the fun!

With the start of a new semester, all families are encouraged to review and update their emergency contact information in the Skyward Student Information System. Parents/guardians should contact the school office if there are any changes or updates. It is a best practice to have more than one contact listed in the event of an emergency outside of the parents/guardians. We always contact parents/guardians first, but additional contacts are helpful.

We are embarking on a partnership with Caring for Kids next semester. Caring for Kids is a backbone organization that helps schools and community partners connect to create sustainable relationships. These relations add value and support to students, staff and families at our school by offering a variety of resources we may not have access to on a regular basis. That support may come in the form of volunteer hours, or donations to enhance the work we do daily and positively impact our school. If you or a family member has a connection to a company or non-profit organization who might be interested in partnering with our school , you can get more information here and sign up to join our kick off on Thursday, February 27 from 8:30-10:00 here

Students at Shawnee Mission Early Childhood Education Center do not need to enroll for the upcoming school year, regardless of if your child is moving to Kindergarten, staying at SMECEC or recieving services in another building for PreK. We will roll your enrollment over for the upcoming year and transfer it to the appropriate school if needed. The one exception to this, are those peers who are wanting to move to a district PreK for the year, you will need to complete the PreK online enrollment. Everyone will need to complete online verification once again in August. If you have questions, please reach out, our office is glad to help you navigate this.

As we approach the height of winter, please know that we follow the district guidelines for outdoor recess. We go out as long as the temperature is above 15, the wind chill is above 0, and there is no snow falling. Please make sure to dress your child appropriately for the outdoor weather, sending hats, coats and mittens. If you have a child recovering from an illness and you would like for them to attend school, but remain inside for recess, please keep them home one more day until they are well enough to be outside.

As the winter months approach, it is especially important for our community members to be aware of inclement weather procedures and how to receive an alert if plans for building closures are announced.

Procedures

If conditions make it necessary for SMSD to close schools, the district will implement one of four plans: A, B, C or D

Click here to view the plans.

Inclement Weather Announcements

If plan A, B, C or D is announced, this information will be shared broadly.

Staff and families can receive direct emails, texts, and voice messages.

Families can sign up to receive alerts in the manner that works best for them.

Click here for details on how to sign up for alerts.

Additional Resources:

The main page of the district website

Facebook

X (Twitter)

Instagram

Local radio and television stations

24-hour information line at (913) 993-7380

No announcement will be made when schools are to remain open.

Self Regulation, or the ability to understand what is happening and manage emotions, is difficult for many young children. It becomes even harder for those with limited communication skills that prevent them from understanding our explanations or limit them from being able to tell us their needs. So ways you can support your child include the following:

1. Teach them a calm down strategy such as taking a deep breath, asking for a hug, or choosing a new activity such as looking at a book.

2. Keep a consistent routine so changes are kept at a minimum, break down difficult tasks into smaller steps.

3. Utilizing non verbal ways to communicate, pictures and objects that can show the steps to a task, the daily schedule or even one small step in what is happening next can be very helpful.

4. Provide positive reinforcement through specific feedback. (i.e. you are being so calm, I saw you take a deep breath, you looked at your schedule

5. Provide space and time children need to process. If they are having a meltdown, that is not the time to begin to ask them to process next steps or calm down strategies, just be with them, on their level and let them know you are there. While sitting quietly with you, you can begin to use those strategies you taught them such as deep breathing, and eventually they will begin to breath with you.

6. Most importantly, take care of you, give yourself the breaks you need, and participate in activities that fill your bucket regularly so you have to capacity to be present with your child and co-regulate with them.

It’s hard to believe it's a new year; welcome to 2025 friends! Looking forward to all the fun and growth that’s ahead. As always, please don’t hesitate to visit call or email (913-993-2627 michellevandoren@smsd.org)

Helpful Links

Many would love a day off. An actual day of no work, no shuttling tiny humans all around town and no long to-do list. But right now, that’s just not possible. Here is a list of helpful Self-Care options Self-Care Options, when you are too busy for self-care.

Looking for topics to help you become a better/more confident caregiver? Hear from experts in their field to help you fill your toolbox. SOAR Care Givers 411, meets via Zoom monthly, is FREE and open to all parents and caregivers of individuals with special needs or disabilities of any age. The next meeting will be

The Johnson County Museum hosts Sensory Friendly Mondays on the first Monday of each month 9am – noon. This is a comfortable, low-sensory environment designed specifically for children with sensory processing differences and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and their families. Visitors of all abilities and museum experience are welcomed.

This winter please keep the Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) in mind. This is a program in which individuals may get assistance with paying heating bills. The Kansas Department for Children and Families will be at Project Home (located at New City Church 7230 Quivira Shawnee, KS 66216) January 9th 9AM - 11AM to assist folks filling out the LIEAP applications. Please reachout to me if you would like to get scheduled (913-993-2627 michellevandoren@smsd.org.

SMAC PTA Clothing Exchange schedule for January - May 2025 is available and is a good place to obtain free gently used clothing and shoes for those within the Shawnee Mission School District boundaries.

Social Emotional Tips for Families of Toddlers 5 one-page posters with strategies to use during daily routines

Center on the and Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Is a great family resource that provides parent manuals supporting social emotional learning.

A Parent’s Guide to Evidence-Based Practice And Autism discusses the complexity of diagnostic evaluations for children on the autism spectrum, identifies and describes effective treatments, and outlines the importance of professional judgment and using data to guide treatment decisions.

Play in early childhood is an effective way of supporting responsive relationships, strengthening core life skills and reducing sources of stress. This quick video explores The Role of Play in Any Setting, how play can foster children’s resilience to hardship and the complex interactions involved when children play.

Parents we are running low on treats. All time favorites include Kirkland Cookies from Costco, Variety Chip Packs, Popcorners, and full size candy bars. Anything you can provide would be greatly appreciated!! Every Tuesday I like to treat the staff to a special snack between sessions. This is a much anticipated activity, and much appreciated event! I would love your help to keep it stocked throughout the year. If you would like to help in this way, please drop your donations off in the office or hand them to me at car line!

We are looking for items such as:

• Full Size Candy Bars
• Individual Snack Bags of Chips- Baked and Regular
• Individual Snack Bags of Popcorn
• Single servings or individual bags of Cookies- Kirkland Chocolate Chip is a favorite!
• Granola Bars
• Individual bags of snack crackers (pretzels, ritz bitz with cheese, etc)
• Any other kind of individually wrapped snack you think staff might like!

We have a new Facebook page for our school. Please use the QR code to like and follow us.

You can also follow us on X- Shawnee Mission Early Childhood Education Center @theSMECEC

Want to know if your child's bus is running on time?? To keep on top of what is happening with your child's bus, I would highly recommend you sign up for TextCaster. Once signed up, you will receive text messages regarding the buses if they are running late or have another problem arise. Click the box by the bus number(s) your child rides under early childhood to be sure you have all of the most up to the minute information. You can sign up here

Our school along with the district are working to improve attendance for all students. I encourage you all to do all you can to get your child to school on time (and we will continue to work with the buses for the same) and to have them here each day we are in session. As a reminder our school times are 8:10-10:55 and 12:25-3:10. We do open the doors 5 minutes before school starts to get students in their classrooms before the official start of the day. Tardies do add up to absences, 10 tardies equals a full day absence. If your child is not feeling well, please keep them home and if they are going to be absent due to illness or other reasons, please call our attendance line 913-993-2688. If your child is a bus rider, please call D.S. as well at 913-384-1190 to let them know your child will not be riding.

Food service offers breakfast and lunch for our students

Prices will be as follows:

Elementary Breakfast: $1.55

Reduced $0.30

Elementary Lunch: $2.85

Reduced: $0.40

Families can complete a child nutrition meal benefit application to see if they qualify for free for reduced meal prices after July 1, 2024. The information and link will be on the Food Service web page after July 1 and families are encouraged to apply as soon as it is available so that any benefits the family may receive are processed prior to the start of the 2024-25 school year.

Breakfast

Breakfast is available each school day. The breakfast menu includes an entrée, grain, fruit and milk. Students are served all items to receive a full breakfast; including the required ½ cup of fruit.

Lunch

Lunch includes an entrée, grain, fruit, vegetable and milk. Students are served all of these five components on their lunch tray, including the required ½ cup fruit and/or vegetable.

Food Services has updated the School Meal Information flyer for parents. It is available on the main page of the Food Service web page and linked here for you convenience.

The “pig” symbol on the menu means that the item contains pork.

Menus, nutritional and allergy information are available online at https://www.schoolcafe.com/SHAWNEEMISSION

Special Diet

If you have an allergy or specific dietary concerns, contact your school nurse for a medical form to be filled out by your doctor.

Food service information is available on the district’s web site at www.smsd.org/about/departments/food-service or you can call the Food Service office at 913-993-9710.

SMSD offers an early childhood developmental screening which includes the areas of vision, hearing, problem-solving, personal-social development, gross/fine motor skills, and speech/language skills. The purpose of the screening is to identify children who may have substantial developmental delays and who may be eligible for special education services. SMSD’s Early Childhood Screening (ECS) is appropriate for children ages 2 years 9 months to 5 years old who reside within the Shawnee Mission School District boundaries.

How often are screenings offered?

Screenings for 2024-2025 occur monthly on a Friday morning and are by appointment only. Parent or other legal guardian must complete a request for screening and submit the required documents before an appointment is offered.

How do I request a screening for my child?

More information about the ECS program can be found on the district’s Early Childhood Special Education home page under Early Childhood Screening.

We have new social media sites this year! Please feel free to follow us and like us!!

X: @theSMECEC

Facebook: Shawnee Mission Early Childhood Education Center

Or search for #EarlyEDSMSD to see what's happening district wide in PreK!

Email: carlaheintz@smsd.org
Website: earlychildcenter.smsd.org
Location: 6701 West 83 Street, Overland Park, KS, 6USA
Phone: (913)993-2600
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Shawnee-Mission-Early-Childhood-Education-Center-101802735143826
Twitter: @theSMECEC