A Note from The Director May 2016
Dear ICDC Families, We are quickly approaching the end of another school year here at Interfaith Child Development Center. It has truly been a pleasure watching your children learn and grow this year. I want to express my gratitude to each one of you for partnering with us to ensure that your child receives the best early childhood education possible. We could not do this without your continued support. Our recent Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success thanks to your support. I would like to thank Julie Hinson and Lindsey Perkins for chairing this event, and all the other volunteers who helped set up, work the fair, and pack up at the end of the week. It takes many helping hands to make events like this one a success. We greatly appreciate the parents who donated books to individual classrooms, and to our wonderful Parent’s Club who provided each classroom with additional books for the children and teachers to enjoy. Thank you so much!! As we look forward to next year, I would like to encourage each of you to consider being an active member of the Parent’s Club. There are several events throughout the year that need volunteers. Even if you can help for just a couple of hours, your contribution will be welcomed! Please join the Parent’s Club for their last meeting of the year on Wednesday, May 11th at 1:30 p.m. They recently sent out a survey to help them plan for next year. If you haven’t had a chance to complete that yet, please take a few minutes to give them some feedback regarding their activities from this year. Your support and feedback will be appreciated! I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to our Parent’s Club Board President Mary-Kathryn D’Agostino, and Board Members Shannon de la Paz, Elizabeth Reno, Catherine Preddy, Julie Hinson, and Gina Lee for their continued love and support for ICDC. Their hard work and dedication made our school events and fundraisers successful and enjoyable. We are truly grateful for all you have done this year! A big thank you goes to all of our Room Parents this year as well. Your help has been invaluable as you planned parties and supported classroom endeavors throughout the year. We appreciate your support of the children, teachers, and our school. Thank you for serving as Room Parent this year! As we head into summer, we wish you and your family many happy moments filled with smiles, laughter, and love. We will see many of you here this summer as your children participate in our camps or full day program. For those of you who will be gone over the summer, we wish you a safe and happy summer. We will look forward to your return in the fall. From all of us at Interfaith Child Development Center, thank you for sharing your children with us this year!
Warmest regards,
Lisa Whittle, Director ICDC Newsletter
IMPORTANT DATES See Page 4 for this months important dates.
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Curriculum Corner Rainbow Week
Literacy In the library this month we will read books about insects, books about colors, and books just for fun to start out the summer! Some of these books include: The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle The Very Lazy Ladybug by Isabel Finn and Jack Tickle The Chameleon Colors Book by Gene Yates My Crayons Talk by Patricia Hubbard Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean How Do You Make a Bubble by William H. Hooks
Rainbow Week is May 9th – 13th. Please have your child dress with the “fun” color of the day: Red on Monday Orange on Tuesday Green on Wednesday Blue on Thursday All colors of the Rainbow on Friday!
Science Lab Our little scientists will be experimenting with colors this month in the Science Lab. They will make hypotheses and investigate color mixing with fizz tabs. The light table will provide an opportunity to explore colors and light. Our scientists will have the opportunity to revisit some of their favorite science activities this month in the Science Lab. Some books to be shared are: A Color of His Own by Leo Leoni Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Leoni Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh
Scholarship applications for the 2016 – 2017 school year are now available in the front office.
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People of ICDC
Each month our Parent’s Club will be highlighting some of our teachers in the newsletter. This will give you a chance to get to know our staff a little better. Hi! My name is Maria Patino, and I am one of the teachers in A – 15. I was born in Mexico City, and I have three children – two daughters and a son. My oldest daughter is an attorney for American Express in Mexico City, my youngest daughter works in Houston politics and is currently working for the Dean of the Senate, and my son has an architecture degree and is finishing up his M.B.A. at TCU. I earned a Nutritionist, dietician degree from the National Education System in Mexico City. After that, I finished my dental degree D.D.S. with a specialization in Odontology and Endodontics from the University of Mexico. I worked in a hospital for 20 years, and later I opened up my own dental clinic and taught dentistry at the University of Mexico. In Texas, I worked at Conroe High School for two years, and then worked at Lone Star College as an advisor for a year and a half. I have been teaching at Interfaith Child Development Center since 2007, and I truly enjoy working with the children in my class.
Hi! I am Laura Arrizola. I am currently teaching two year olds in A-15 with Ms. Maria and Ms. Diana. We make a terrific team and enjoy our children so much. Prior to teaching in A-15 I taught three year olds with Ms. Pat in A-7 for six years and worked at the Interfaith childcare facility at Lone Star College. That was great fun as well. I truly love being able to make a difference in the lives of all my school children. I also enjoy creating the bulletin board each month outside our classroom. I particularly like the one outside our door this month. Be sure and check it out!! I have lived in Texas my whole life. My husband of 37 years and I have two beautiful daughters and one amazing son, not to mention the most adorable granddaughter ever!! We also helped to raise our niece whom we are very proud of. After the birth of my first child I chose to be a stay-at-home Mom. I always enjoyed being with children, my own, their friends, and the neighbors. I also love to bake for all our family gatherings, which are a very important part of my life. Members of my family and I have a friendly competition with our fit bits (currently I can get more steps in than anyone! Ha-ha.)
A special “Thank You” to the children and families of ICDC for your recent donations to the Food Pantry at Interfaith of The Woodlands. Thanks to your donations, we were able to collect approximately 1000 pounds of food! With the recent flooding that affected so many in our community, your donations helped feed those who lost so much. Thank you for showing your children the importance of giving to others.
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Health & Safety Spring has sprung and summer has begun! The American Academy of Pediatrics has provided helpful “fun in the sun” safety tips. • Dress your child in lightweight clothes, and have your child wear a hat and sunglasses with at least 99% UV protection. Avoid going outside between the hours of 10:00am and 4:00pm when UV rays are strongest. • Apply sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 thirty minutes before going outside. You should use sunscreen even on cloudy days. Be sure to apply enough sunscreen and reapply sunscreen every two hours or sooner after swimming or sweating. Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand as they reflect UV rays and may result in sunburn more quickly. • If your child does sunburn you can soothe the sunburn by giving your child 100% fruit juice or water to replace lost fluids and use cool water to soothe the skin. Acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be given for pain. Also keep your child out of the sun until the sunburn is fully healed. You should call your child’s doctor if there is blistering, pain, or fever. • Set a good example by practicing sun safety yourself. Have a fun and safe summer!
IMPORTANT DATES
ICDC Newsletter
All Thursdays & Fridays
Spirit Days – wear your ICDC t-shirts
May 2-6
Staff Appreciation Week
May 9-13
Rainbow Week
May 26
Last Day for T/TH MDO, Partial, and School Day Classes
May 27
Last Day for M/W/F and M-F MDO, Partial, and School Day Classes
May 30
ICDC Closed - Memorial Day
June 2
Last Day for Full Day Program
June 3
ICDC Closed – Teacher Work Day
June 6
First Day of Summer Program (Camps and Full Day)
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Preschool Psychology Corner By Angie Hays, Ph.D. & Anise Flowers, Ph.D. SUMMERTIME BEHAVIOR It’s almost here – School’s out for summer! When inquiring about summertime plans, parents often describe vacations and days of sleeping in.… then about mid-June the problems start to arise: problems listening, following mom or dad’s directions, not getting dressed in a timely manner, rooms in disarray, and the list goes on and on. So what can a parent do to prevent these summertime behavior blues? Get a Game Plan –Think about it, how many of us would get to work on time if the boss didn’t care what time we got there? The same principle goes for kids. They will adapt to the parameters set in place. So think about what your expectations will be for the summer. What about bedtime routines – Will bedtime be more lax or do you want to stick with the same nighttime routine that was in place during the school year? You need to plan ahead because it’s difficult to change course mid-stream, or in this case midsummer. You’ll be far more successful if you have a game plan on the first week off than if you try to change your expectations mid-July. Start off with a good idea of your expectations and go from there. Get Out of the House – While summer relaxing is important, you don’t want your little munchkins in front the TV all summer, so get out the house! Having a little something planned each day outside of the home makes the days more entertaining and keeps little ones from complaining of boredom. There are tons of free activities in our area. Explore resources at your local library, parks, and malls/stores. If there is something like a special story hour at the library on Mondays, make Mondays “Library day”. As another example, Whole Foods Market and Barnes and Nobles both have a weekly story time for preschoolers. If your kids are interested in nature, then make Tuesdays “Nature day” and go for an adventure at the park or in your neighborhood. Educational activities are important for little minds to continue fostering creative thinking and learning during the summer months. Get a Routine – Routines are important for adults and kids alike. Why? Because they take the guesswork and thinking out of daily activities. This frees up our minds to focus on other things, like decision making and planning. In little kids, the benefits of routines are no different and they can decrease behavior problems. When a child can transition from activity to activity easily, it frees up mental resources for discovering new concepts and integrating new information into what they already understand about the world around them. Of course, you don’t need to structure every moment of your kids’ summer – that’s not what summer is about. Rather, have an idea of what your days will mostly consist of and make it reasonably predictable. So, if Monday is Library Day, then your kids know to have their books ready to return the night before. Or if Wednesday is Swimming Day, then packing their swimsuits can be part of their morning routine. Also think about which activities work for your days and your schedule. Is there a certain time of the day that is better for playing outside at a friend’s house while other times are better for the library? Having routines in place will remove the headache of “What do we have to do today and what do I have to organize?” that parents so often have. By planning ahead, knowing your expectations, and establishing consistent routines, you can prevent the behavior blues in the dog days of summer and help your little one continue to grow and flourish!
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ICDC Parent’s Club From The President
TEACHER & STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK May brings Staff Appreciation Week - our annual way to honor our fantastic teachers and staff! They work so hard for our children and families. This is our opportunity to show them how much we appreciate all that they do! Staff Appreciation Week will take place Monday, May 2 - Friday, May 6. There are many opportunities for all - you may bring in a brunch or dessert item, volunteer your time on brunch day or dessert day or donate an item to be raffled off at our staff appreciation dinner. To participate please type the following url’s into the search bar on your internet browser: www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094FADAF2FAAF85-teacher1 www.signupgenius.com/go/30E094FADAF2FAAF85-teacher2 A follow up e-mail will be sent out to those who have provided Parent’s Club with an email address. Thank you in advance for your participation! BOOK FAIR – PEACE, LOVE AND BOOKS! Thank you to everyone who participated in our book fair! It was such a success! We brought in a little over $9,500 for our school. We could not have done it without our wonderful co-chairs Julie Hinson and Lindsey Perkins and our amazing volunteers: Shannon de la Paz, Barbara McKee-Cleary, Elizabeth Acker, Catherine Preddy, Hoa Vu, Shanna Edge, Laura Bedaw, Wenqing Wang, Mille Fitzpatrick, Mai Amer, Kelly Kulkarni, Ashley Williams, Dana Basconi, Priya Pinto, Maria Tarasenko, Kate Dell’Osso, Dianna Aylesworth and Linda Pena. Amazing job!! GET INVOLVED If you have an interest in participating in the ICDC Parent's Club Board or chairing an event or simply learning more about our school and ways to be involved for the 2016-2017 school year, please let me know or join us at our last meeting for this school year on Wednesday, May 11th at 1:30 pm in Room P-18 at the school. We would love to have you! MANY THANKS As the school year closes, I would like to extend a special thank you to the incredible group of mom’s that have made up the ICDC Parent’s Club Board. They have gone above and beyond dedicating their time and special talents to leading amazing events and raising money for our school, and making the ICDC staff and teachers feel so special. I honestly couldn’t do it without each one of these remarkable, giving, super sweet and talented ladies. Shannon de la Paz, Julie Hinson, Gina Lee, Lindsey Perkins, Catherine Preddy, Elizabeth Reno, Shanna Edge A big heartfelt THANK YOU also to our room mom’s and each one of our families for supporting Parent’s Club and our school in so many positive ways. You help make our school great! Through your participation in our events and fundraisers allows Parent’s Club to provide so much back to our school – teacher scholarships for continuing education, magazines for the staff lounge, field trip t-shirts for summer students, cookie socials, books for each classroom from the book fair, classroom supplies, quarterly teacher appreciation meals, a teacher and staff appreciation dinner held at a local restaurant, gift cards purchased as raffle items for luncheon and dinner, $50 gift cards for each teacher at the end of the year, additional wish list items to be fulfilled before the end of the year, and so much more… ! So each and everything that you contribute helps a whole lot and we thank you! Have a fun, safe and blessed summer! Mary-Kathryn D’Agostino mkdagostino@sbcglobal.net ICDC Parent’s Club- President
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