WOW! What a great start to our school year! Thank you parents for all of your support in making the start of our school year so successful! Students are working hard on their procedures for school and learning to be more independent every day! Our days are looking more and more like business as usual in our classrooms and it is so exciting to see!! Our students are so inspiring and are adapting wonderfully to their new routines.

Our students are working hard everyday learning! We are so proud of them! You can help support your child's learning progress by incorporating their learning goals into activities at home. Have them cut coupons, write their name on the sidewalk with chalk and always read every day with them. Help your child explore the new things he or she learned at school by encouraging practice in alternate ways!

We are excited to be spotlighting bus safety with our students the week of August 30th. This a fun week raising awareness for bus safety and teaching proper procedures to our students. We have planned bus safety lessons in library with SRO Joe and Mrs. Fraze. We will be discussing how to approach and behave on the bus and your child will be bringing home a bus safety coloring book and letter from SRO Joe you can see below for things you can talk about with your child at home as well. We will also be enjoying “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” in library!

The ELC works hard on character education for all of our students. We are beginning the school year this month with a lesson on bullying and hitting. Mrs. Gutierrez and Miss Brittney will be visiting classrooms and presenting the story, "No More Hitting For Little Hamster" to demonstrate appropriate behavior and talk about why we don't hit others, ever. The book does a great job at illustrating the feelings and consequences from hitting; it's concept can be applied to all bullying behaviors.

Dear Early Learning Center Families,

This week, Mrs. Gutierrez, the principal, and myself are going into classrooms to read the book, “No More Hitting for Little Hamster”, by Bernette Ford and Sam Williams. We will differentiate between being MEAN, being RUDE, and BULLYING behavior by role playing. We also teach the students what they can do when they are angry, and what they can do when someone is not being nice. We encourage all students to tell an adult if they think it is bullying.

Bullying, as defined by the state of Indiana (per IC 20-33-8-.2) as overt, unwanted, repeated acts or gestures, including verbal or written communications or images transmitted in any manner (including digitally or electronically), physical acts committed, aggression, or any other behaviors, that are committed by a student or group of students against another student with the intent to harass, ridicule, humiliate, intimidate, or harm the other targeted student and create for the targeted student and objectively hostile school environment that:

Places the targeted student in reasonable fear of harm to the targeted student’s person or property;

Has a substantially detrimental effect on the targeted student’s physical or mental health;

Has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student’s academic performance;

Has the effect of substantially interfering with the targeted student’s ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, and privileges provided by the school.

Many behaviors five year olds engage in are developmentally appropriate for children who are learning how to share, take turns, and use words to express themselves for the first time. If you have any concerns, please let us know.

If your student comes to you with a bullying situation, there are ways you too can help! Below are the four easy ways you can report a bullying situation. This information can also be found on the School City of Hobart’s website: http://hobart.schoolwires.com/Page/7154

Report it! 4 Easy Ways:

Phone: 1-855-4ALERT1, ext. 1190 OR 942-TIPS (code 1190)

Text: Text to ALERT1 OR 253781 and type #1190 with the message

Email: 1190@alert1.us

Web: http://1190.alert1.us

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Brittney Schmidt, M.S. Ed

Home School Coordinator/School Counselor

Early Learning Center

219-942-7263 ext. 8804

Some fun facts about Nurse Jill as well as some very important notes from her desk!

Hello, I’m Jillian Bober, the new school nurse at the ELC . Some fun facts about me are that

• I was a volunteer firefighter. That's how I met my husband.
• I have 4 cats (George, Elton, Christian and Ringo) and 1 dog (Roxy).
• I enjoy gardening and crocheting.

And now on to the important reminders...

Please keep a set of clean clothes with under garments in your child’s book bag. This is not just for bathroom accidents, but for a lot of reasons in kindergarten. You never know when chocolate milk might attack.

Also, I kindly discourage students wearing crocs or flip flops. I’ve seen so many kids get injuries running in them.

PLEASE NOTIFY SCHOOL NURSE OF ANY PENDING COVID TESTS IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD AND DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL UNTIL YOU HAVE SPOKEN WITH ME!!

942-7263 ext 8806!

If your child is experiencing any of the following symptoms, please call me at 942-7263 ext 8806 before sending them to school.

*cough

*stomachache

*diarrhea

*headache

*bodyaches

*fever of 100.4 and higher

*loss of taste of smell

*congestion

*fatigue

*sore throat

Vaccinations-

STUDENTS MUST be up to date on their vaccinations BY SEPTEMBER 7TH. Indiana state law requires you to have up to date immunizations. If you have any questions or concerns about the new school year 2021-22 requirements, please contact your school nurse.

NEW 2021-2022 IMMUNIZATION REQUIREMENTS: Indiana State Department of Health Immunization requirements for the 2021-2022 school year Two (2) Hepatitis A vaccinations are now required for ALL grade levels for the upcoming school year. The Hepatitis A immunization consists of two (2) doses with a minimum interval of 6 calendar months between the first and second dose.

Health Conditions-

If your student has a specific health condition or needs special care during the school day such as medication, treatments, or monitoring, please inform your school nurse and provide your nurse with a care plan. Individual health care plans help keep your student safe and healthy. All care plans need to be updated every school year!

Sick students-

PLEASE KEEP ALL SICK OR SUSPECTED SICK STUDENTS HOME FROM SCHOOL. PLEASE MARK THEM OFF IN SKYWARD. SYMPTOMS INCLUDE: fever greater than 100.4 degrees, CHILLS, SORE THROAT, COUGH( especially new onset, uncontrolled cough), DIARRHEA, VOMITING, HEADACHE( particularly new onset of severe headache, especially with a fever) , NEW LOSS OF TASTE OR SMELL, MUSCLE OR BODY ACHES OR FATIGUE, CONGESTION OR RUNNY NOSE, SHORTNESS OF BREATH OR DIFFICULTY BREATHING. If you are unsure, please call your healthcare provider or school nurse for advice. Please do not send your student to school and instruct them to go directly to the nurse before the school day begins. Again, if you have any questions or concerns please contact your school nurse.

SKYWARD INFORMATION FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS

ABSENT REQUESTS IN SKYWARD FOR PARENT/GUARDIANS- SEE VIDEO BELOW

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UVUSq5USyAh-AwDoDXVhZl-nP83REUqB/view?usp=sharing

COVID-19 INFORMATION- SYMPTOMS/SICK AND RETURN SCHOOL POLICY Notify your school immediately of COVID-19 symptoms or any exposure.

https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/webmenus2/#/view?id=612e5231534a133b0d8b465a&siteCode=771

https://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/webmenus2/#/view?id=612cfdff534a13203b8b456a&siteCode=771

Each year, the ELC proudly presents this program to our kindergarten students to help them plan for their future! The program is a partnership with the School City of Hobart, Marilyn's Bakery and the Legacy Foundation to help establish and contribute to each kindergartner's 529 program. We will walk parents through the process of establishing the account and through selling pies, contributions will be made to their fund. Already have a fund? NO problem, by participating in the pie sale, you will also be able to receive the contributions from the pies sold to that account. A big thanks to our PTO for their organization of this project! Stay tuned for more details and dates regarding this wonderful opportunity!

We are always looking for fantastic parents with fantastic ideas to help with our PTO. If this is something that interests you, please reach out on Facebook at The Early Learning Center PTO 2021-2022 | Facebook .