Tri-Valley November Newsletter (2022)

hopefully soon to come. With this being the November

it means we are in the middle of the Holiday Season. I will everyone my best wishes for a restful and peaceful time spent with those you most care about. I also ask that you spend a little extra time in the coming weeks thinking about those who may not have what you do and if there is something you can do about it.

Because I do not know the beliefs and traditions of all readers, I will close with Happy Holidays. I will also say Merry Christmas so you are knowledgeable about my beliefs and traditions.

Bethel Open House

On Thursday, November 10, the Bethel Migrant & Seasonal Head Start center hosted their Open House, welcoming staff, parents, and the community. The Bethel center had an amazing turnout, with 70 guests! Bethel hosted classroom kid activities, food & beverages, and had booths set up for their sponsors to provide resources and information about their organizations to the families and the community. The Bethel center also did a food drive, where they collected lots of food and non-food items for their families in need. They had a drawing for a movie night gift basket and community members Mike & Tina Rivera won the movie basket! Center Manager Vanessa Escamilla partnered with HACER, where 21 COVID-19 vaccines were provided and administered to the Bethel community! Vanessa and her Bethel team, want to give a special thanks to Julie Braastad, the Anoka County Commissioner, and to the sponsors HACER, Mickman Brothers Greenhouse, St Paul Consulado de Mexico, Anoka County Child & Teen Checkups, and everyone from Tri-Valley who came and supported them, on this special day.

Parent Meeting in Danube

The Danube Head Start center held its last parent meeting for the season in early November. Parents enjoyed a pasta bar for supper catered by Max’s Grill in Olivia. They listened to the reports from the different departments at the center to hear the latest news about the center. A guest speaker from the Agricultural Worker Project, Anna Martinez Pachecho, shared the services and resources their organization has for agricultural workers. Clarissa (Recruiter & Family Advocate) presented a Conscious Discipline training about “Consequences” for children. DeeDee Vos (Education Disabilities Specialist) shared some information and resources about Typical and Atypical Behaviors for children. Each family received a bag with resources inside, including a Developmental Wheel and a story book for each age level of children with developmental milestones featured in the book. DeeDee showed the Help Me Grow website where even more resources can be found. The evening ended with some door prizes and a chance for families to take some free donated items home with them.

Home Delivered Meals in Crookston

Current and former Tri-Valley staff volunteered their time on Thursday, November 3 to deliver Home Delivered Meals in Crookston. It was cold and windy, but the meals were delivered hot and on time! Home Delivered Meals programs prepare and deliver nutritious meals to older adults and people with disabilities who are unable to prepare the food for themselves or travel to a site where a meal is being served. Pictured L-R is: Marcia (RTC Program Manager), Amy (Fiscal Generalist), Marley (Senior Programs Director), and Mike (former driver for T.H.E. Bus).

“Great Apple Crunch” in Sleepy Eye

On October 13, the Sleepy Eye center participated in the “Great Apple Crunch”. Each classroom did activities to explore apples and learned about how they grow on trees. Staff and children wore tie-dyed shirts and crunched into apples together by our center apple tree. The infant classroom read a book about apples, compared colors of apples and did a taste test. They went on a nature walk and found apples that had fallen off an apple tree. Then they crunched into a delicious apple. The toddler classroom also read books about apples and had a taste test. They recorded which apple they liked and made a graph to show others. They made apple prints, played apple bowling, and helped the center manager prep apples and bananas to make an apple salad for a snack. The preschool classroom read books about apples and apple trees. They learned how farmers grew apple trees and how they picked the apples. The class visited a nearby apple tree and practiced their apple picking skills. They also did an apple taste test and made a graph to see which apple was liked the most. Then they set up an apple factory and practiced the apple packing process. There were farmers that picked apples and brought them to the factory, apple washers, apple weighing, apple sorting, counting, and packing. At the end of the day, the preschoolers also helped the center manager prep apples and bananas to make an apple salad for snack.

“Super Hero / Princess Day” in Elgin

On Friday, October 28, the Elgin center had a “Super Hero/Princess Day”. The children wore their cute outfits and did a small parade to celebrate the end of “Great Apple Crunch Month”. Wonderful costumes, everybody!

Father Figure Challenge in Danube

The Danube center had a special challenge this season at the center. The center asked father figures in the child’s life to complete take home activities with the children and return them to school. This project was called “Men at Work”. The goal was to get 100 projects returned. These projects were put on display at the entrance of the center for all families to see as they came and dropped off their children. This project was a huge success! The amount of creativity in the projects was so amazing to see on display. The families loved to see their projects up and the children wanted to know when they could take them home again. We are proud to say our families reached the goal and had just over 100 projects total turned in! Way to go, families! All projects are returned to the families with a certificate of participation for all the great work families did. The center wants to thank the parents for being so involved with their children. “The attitude you have as a parent is what your kids will learn from more than what you tell them. They don’t remember what you try to teach them. They remember what you are.”- Jim Henson. Dynamite job, Danube “Men at Work”.

Exploration in Elgin

On Thursday, October 27, the Toddler 1 Classroom at the Elgin center went on their daily walk. The children explored the different colored leaves and talked about the change of weather. While they were out exploring, they collected their favorite leaves and pine cones to take inside to do some art. The children did leaf and foil painting and matched paints to the leaves on their paper. They picked and stamped their own choice of paper and created their own changing fall tree!

“Katia Day” in St. Cloud

On November 3, the St. Cloud center celebrated “Katia Day”! Katia Pimentel is the Health Assistant at the St. Cloud center. Children and staff celebrated and recognized her with a personalized first aid box, thank you cards, and posters made by the children at the center. Thank you for everything you do, Katia!

Having a Gourd Time in Danube

What is a gourd? Did you know that a pumpkin is a kind of gourd? At the Danube center, they have been learning about gourds this fall. Children painted gourds and cooked pumpkins and squash too. The children learned how to take the seeds out of a pumpkin and squash. The squash was cut up by the children and cooked up for a vegetable at lunchtime. Then, the children cut up the pumpkin to cook into a filling for muffins. The children love to make muffins! They stirred the muffin mix and filled muffin cups. For snack time, they enjoyed the pumpkin muffins they made. They were so delicious there were no crumbs left on anyone’s plates! The children loved to share their stories with the staff about making muffins and how they got to eat the muffins they just made. There is such wonderful learning going on while cooking, thanks to our Food Service Manager Deb and Assistant Cook Irma. Great job everyone!

Grafton Center Says, Thank You

Grafton center staff would like to say, thank you, to everyone for all of their dedication toward in-kind. Everyone did a wonderful job. The center had two winners for highest in-kind received for the season, Sandra and Courtney. Congratulations, and thank you to everyone and we will see you all next season!

Elgin Parent Meeting

On November 11, the Elgin center hosted their last parent meeting for the season. Patricia Martinez and Johanna Barrientos (Recruiter & Family Advocates) talked to the families about hygiene and budgeting. The families discussed the importance of good hygiene and suggested tips on how to save money. Each family received a basket with hygiene products. The families also were able to engage with their child on an art activity. Thank you, families, for your participation!

Thank You, Danube Staff

The Danube center has closed for the season. Staff are full of gratitude and satisfaction for the wonderful 2022 program year. So many children received services including educational programming, health screenings, transportation to and from the center, family services, and nutritious meals daily. All of these services could not be possible without the wonderful staff who worked here this season. Danube would like to acknowledge those staff who had perfect attendance in October pictured here. There were also three children who had perfect attendance in October- Brian, Noelle, and Alyana. Thank you, families for sending your child to the center each and every day. As Danube ends programming for 2022, a quote by William Shakespeare comes to mind- “I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks….”. Thank you to all families, staff, and others who helped the Danube center be successful again this season!

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