ECE Connection
March 22, 2024
What's Inside?
Inside this edition you will find:
- Director's Message
- Revised 23-24 School Calendar
- Check us out on Facebook!
- What's Happening In Early Childhood?
- Directories for Mile Square, HOPES, and Wallace Preschool Wildcats
- PIRS Corner
- Nurses Nook
- Communication Flow Chart
- Ms. Mara's Book of the Week
- Upcoming Fun District Events
Dear Early Childhood Families,
Spring is officially here! The last bit of winter chill seems to be on its way out and we are ready to welcome the warmth of spring! Springtime in Pre-K brings lots of wonderful outdoor activities and joy. We are all looking forward to the warmth and getting more time outside in the sunshine. Just a reminder that Thursday, March 28th there will be a 1:00 PM dismissal. There will be no WRAP services this day. Friday, March 29th through Friday, April 5th the Hoboken Public School District will be closed for Spring Break. There will be no school on these days. School will resume on Monday, April 8th.
I wanted to share a few important dates with you to put on your radar:
Friday, May 24th there will be a 1:00 PM dismissal. There will be no WRAP services this day.
Monday, May 27th the Hoboken Public School District will be closed for Memorial Day. There will be no school on thi day. School will resume on Tuesday, May 28th.
Our 23-24 School Year calendar has been updated. June 13th and June 14th are now full school days. There will be WRAP services on these days
The following June days there will be a 1:00 PM dismissal: June 17th and 18th. There will be no WRAP services on these days.
The last day of school is Tuesday, June 18th.
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Remember, our HOPES and MSELC school day starts at 8:30 and dismissal is at 2:30. These drop off and pickup times do not apply for students in morning or afternoon WRAP programs. If you are going to be late dropping off in the morning or picking up in the afternoon, please make sure to call or email your family advocate. Their information can be found in the directories below.
As a friendly reminder, please remember to call your family advocate and let them know the reason for your child being absent no later than 9:15 am. If you can not call your family advocate, please email dbrookes@hoboken.k12.nj.us. In your email, please state:
- your child's name
- provider
- site
- teacher
- reason for absence
- when we can expect them back in school
There are so many wonderful things happening in our Pre-K classrooms! Please continue reading below to see updates from each site and more.
Kind regards,
Kimberly Mara
Director of Early Childhood Education
Revised 23-24 School Calendar
Check us out on Facebook!
What's Happening In Early Childhood?
Wallace Preschool Wildcats
770
Room 109 has been completing various science experiments as a class and with other classrooms this month. The class placed celery stalks into three different colored water— red, blue, and green. They also left one piece in regular water as a control, so students could remember how each piece had started. The class watched throughout the week how the color slowly started to move from the water onto the leaves of the celery! How did this happen?
The class had some hypotheses including that the color must have jumped from the water right on to the leaves! After 4 days, Ms. Allie used scissors to cut the bottoms of the stalks to show the little dots that were across the ends. These dots were like little straws that sucked up the colored water and brought it to the leaves.
The class spent a couple of days completing scientific observational drawings of the celery. Students knew they could only draw what they saw and carefully selected appropriate colors to display the changes they had observed! Students are super proud of their drawings that are now hanging in the classroom!
Brandt
Calabro
Ms. Vera’s class participated in a fun and exciting class with Happy Feet. They learned about basic soccer concepts like dribbling (running with the ball at their feet), passing (kicking the ball to a teammate), and shooting (kicking the ball toward the goal). It was a positive and inclusive experience for all.
Connors
Ms. Sophia's class has enjoyed drawing simple pictures of faces that show, happy, sad, excited, silly, embarrassed, mad, shy, and confused. They glued them to a popsicle stick and acted out with the popsicle sticks according to the different feelings!
Jubilee
Rue
St. Francis
In Room 402 at the St. Francis site, students observed Women's History Month with a special focus on Helen Keller. They learned about her life through Anne Benjamin's book "Young Helen Keller: Woman of Courage," which chronicles Keller's remarkable achievements despite her lack of sight and hearing. Following the reading, the class explored braille. Each student had the opportunity to 'write' their names in braille using a key sheet.
To deepen their understanding, students took part a painting activity while being blindfolded. This challenge made them realize the complexities faced by the blind, raising questions like, “What color is this paint?” “Have I painted here already?” and incidents of accidentally painting on the table. These exercises gave the students a window into Helen Keller's world, emphasizing the value of being aware of our senses and developing empathy.
Wallace
March is Women’s History Month, which was created to recognize, honor, and celebrate the many contributions women have made! To celebrate, Room 002 recognized Dolly Parton! The class read "Coat of Many Colors" written by Dolly Parton. This story helped to share the importance of accepting others regardless of what they look like or what they wear. The class recognized how thankful they are to be able to have coats that keep us warm. Students also discussed all of Dolly’s achievements as a woman like being a singer, author, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She even created her own literacy program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. After the discussion students listened to Dolly sing her “Coat of Many Colors” song as they colored their own coat of many colors! Check out all of these beautiful and unique coats!
Directories
PIRS Corner
When Children Worry
Nervousness or worry is a normal emotion. Oftentimes, preschool children have not developed enough language skills to be able to articulate what they are nervous about. Some of the common fears we see in 3 and 4 year olds are separation from loved ones, noises, animals, and of course being fearful of the dark.
Children are just like adults, in that they can experience physical symptoms when they are nervous or worried. Their tummies might get a “butterfly” feeling or they might have a racing heartbeat. Although some fears might not seem rational to parents, they are very real to the children who are experiencing them. So, how can you help your little one manage his or her worries?
Help your child get used to being around things that cause their nervousness.
Parents are encouraged to do this in small doses, while using a slow and gentle approach. E.g. If your child is afraid of going down the slide at the park, take them to watch others until they are ready to try going down themself.
Talk them through.
Helping to explain what is going to happen in a situation and just hearing a soothing/familiar voice will help calm your child’s nerves.
It is also important to model that you are not worried. This is extremely reassuring to children.
Reassure them that they are safe and validate feelings. E.g. “You are safe, even though you don’t like that noise—it sounds loud and scary,” gives children words they’ll eventually learn to use to express their fears.
Be proactive with books, games, songs, etc.
Wemberly Worried - online book
Nurses Nook
Physicals and Immunizations
Preschool students need a new physical every year. Physicals will expire one year from the date on the Universal Health Record (Ex. If your child’s Universal Health Record is dated 10/15/2021, it will expire on 10/15/2022). Please be prompt in scheduling yearly physicals and give all updated physical/immunization forms to family advocates.
Communication
Ms. Mara's Book of the Week
I recently found this story, thanks to my niece Olivia, and we both love reading it. When I was her age, I loved to play with Barbie's just like she does right now. In "The Story of Barbie and the Woman Who Made Her" by Cindy Egan the author invites us to take a look into how Ruth Handler created and dreamed up all the wonderful ideas that made Barbie who she is today. I hope you enjoy this book as much as Olivia and I do reading it together!
Potions & Pasta, March 27th
Senior Class Walk-A-Thon, April 10th
Hoboken HS Class of 2024 Senior Walk a Thon
Come out, walk, and support the Senior Class.
Saturday, April 20, 2024-10am to 2pm
Louis M. Taglieri Jr. Stadium
To register, all members of the public can scan this flyer or click the link below
There is a $25.00 donation to participate.