Newsletter - March 2012

Kindergarten Tea:

We will hold a Kindergarten Tea for the parents who children will be moving onto Kindergarten this Fall. The tea is Wednesday, March 28th, 4:00-5:15. Preschool Area Coordinators and the Education Coordinator will discuss past experiences of transitioning children from the center to Kindergarten. We have also invited Center parents who will share their experiences with this transition. Information will be in Parent mailboxes soon. Last day of attendance at UMCDC for children who will be going to Kindergarten in the Fall is Friday, August 17th.

Kindness Week:

Thank you for all the donations during Kindness Week. The Crisis Nursery was very excited and thankful for all the donations. We had a car load of just diapers and another car full of supplies.

Week of the Young Child

WOYC is an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus on young children and their families, and to recognize the early childhood programs that provide education and support for them. Week of the Young Child (WOYC):

This year Week of the Young Child is held April 23-27 and the theme for 2012 is “The Early Years Are Learning Years”. The UMCDC staff parent committee is currently planning the events for that week. More information to come and let us know if you can help!

2012-2013 - Days Closed Calendar:

UMCDC puts out the next fiscal year “Days Closed Calendar 2012-2013” in late May (so that you will have it before summer vacations). To help families plan summer vacations, UMCDC will be having Staff Development Days on August on the 16th and 17th.

Please Welcome our New Staff Members

New associate administrator/enrollment coordinator, Troy Schlener. He begins on March 7th. Troy is a graduate of North Dakota State University and comes to us with experience in working with children and families, most recently with the Wilder Foundation. Look for his picture in the hallway on the photo boards.

Bungalow B, area coordinator/teacher supervisor, Christina Schwartz has a Masters in Early Childhood and Sp. Ed with an emphasis in Emotional Behavior Disorder. She served on the MNAEYC Board. She has worked for MN Resource & Referral. Most recently she supervised student teachers for Walden University. She is the mother of two boys, ages 6 and 8 yrs.

On Call Sub Teacher, Emily Benz is a graduate of Columbia University, MFA and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She and her husband have moved to the area from Los Angeles and have a toddler. In CA she worked and interned at the Reggio inspired school, The Growing Place. She is very interested in incorporating her art and studio experience(s) from there.

— Ann Edgerton, UMCCC Director