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Notes from the Director…

Dear Families and Staff,

Now that we have completed our programs’ mandated screenings in vision & hearing, behavioral and developmental areas, we can dedicate 100 percent of our time on the implementation of the rest of our plans for getting our Head Start children READY for Kindergarten. Getting children ready for kindergarten is not a task that we can achieve alone. We need our staff, par-ents, families, and our community partners working together in harmony. As the Leadership Team of the Program, we are not foreign to the concept of “working together”. On the contrary, we are committed, pulling everyone in and working together in partnership to create supportive learning environ-ments for our children, families, and our staff at all seven Head Start centers, with the goal of sustaining and building on what is already achieved, which we hope to continuously cultivate in order to ensure learning and positive outcomes for all.

Achieving the program’s Kindergarten Readiness Goals doesn’t hap-pen by accident. It requires that all content areas – such as health, nutrition, safety, mental health, education, disabilities, and family services - as well as program design/management, and the governing body of Head Start, work in collaboration and in partnership to promote and achieve the optimal desired child outcomes. One way that we can assess and measure how SCS Head Start is progressing with meeting the benchmarks of this overarching goal of “SCHOOL READINESS” is through completing a comprehensive Self Assess-ment, conducted annually.

We are currently in the process of planning the Program Self-Assessment for this program year, which is an in-depth, comprehensive eval-uation of the program in all content areas including systems for service deliv-ery, systems for program governance, monitoring, communication, and more… This process allows us to collect data that helps us to self-identify program strengths as well as areas of improvement. Completing the Self As-sessment is also another task that we cannot achieve alone. We need your help.

We hope that you will help us to complete the Self Assessment and take part in the process for developing long and short term Program Goals for improvement. This will be worth your time and involvement in your pro-gram’s quest to make things better for you and your children. I guarantee that you will learn so much about what Head Start is all about and appreciate how much is required to become & remain a quality program.

Thank you and I hope you have a great year.

Bagdat

SCS Head Start Newsletter

November 2018

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Kindergarten Readiness

Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Family Activities. . . . . . 2

Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Thankful Tree . . . . . . . 3

Ashuelot News . . . . . . 4

Claremont News. . . . . 4

Drewsville News. . . . . 5

Jaffrey News. . . . . . . . . 6

Keene News . . . . . . . . 6

Newport News . . . . . 7

Swanzey News. . . . . . . 7

The Nutrition Page . . . 8

NO SCHOOL

Monday November

12th

for Veteran’s Day

Thurs. & Fri. November

22 & 23 for

Thanksgiving

REMINDER

Daylight Savings Time

ends Sunday, Nov. 4th

Set clocks back one

hour.

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KINDERGARTEN READINESS CORNER

LET’S TALK ABOUT APPROACHES TO LEARNING

How do we help children to be eager learners?

Encourage children’s natural inclination to ask questions and to wonder.

Be flexible enough to change plans if your child initiates a more interesting idea or experience.

Play games that build on and extend your child’s curiosity, such as, “I Spy” or “Mystery Bag.”

When children quit or give up too easily, gently encourage them by saying, “try one more time” or

“Think of something else you could try.”

Model open-mindedness and creativity, demonstrating that there may be more than one way to do

things or to solve problems, and let them know that they are loved.

~Early Childhood Early Learning and Knowledge Center (eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov)

SCS HEAD START KINDERGARTEN READINESS GOALS: APPROACHES TO LEARNING

Children will show eagerness, curiosity, flexibility, and will become independent learners.

Children will begin to complete activities with attention and persistence.

FAMILY ACTIVITIES

TEACH ME - Share a special skill

Materials: Any required materials for chosen skills (see below)

Directions: Help your children find their own special skills, and show them how they can share them with others.

Identify a skill: Help your children think of a skill they possess, or something they like to do that can be

taught to others. Perhaps they know how to braid yarn, recite from a favorite book, or count in a

foreign language. (If children have difficulty thinking of a skill or favorite pastime, you can teach them

each a task or song that they can teach to others.)

Teach a skill: Let your children teach their skills to you, to family members, or to friends. Encourage

them to think about how they can make it easy for their “students” to understand.

Take it further: Help children keep their own “I Can Do It!” journals in which they can list or draw

new skills they learn.

PRETEND PICNIC

Materials: Art supplies, child-safe scissors, glue, magazines containing pictures of food, paper plates

Directions: Picnics are wonderful opportunities for families to spend time together and, of course, eat great food!

Illustrate: Have your children draw pictures on paper plates of what they would like to bring to a picnic. (You

draw your favorite food, too.) Older children can cut pictures from magazines and paste them onto the plates.

Enjoy: Have a pretend picnic with your children. Role-play picnic behavior, like setting up a blanket, en-

joying the weather, and talking about the great food.

Take it further: Organize a real picnic with family and friends. See if adults might be willing to contrib-

ute a dish for everyone to enjoy. (With adult help, kids can contribute simple snacks, too.)

Remember, you are your child’s first and most important teacher, and your home is a primary learning

place! Their learning will depend on the opportunities and support that you offer them at home and

in their surroundings. (pbs.org)

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BIRTHDAYS AND OTHER EVENTS

Special birthday wishes to the Head Start children celebrating November birthdays.

We wish you a wonderful year of growth, health, and happiness!

THANKFUL TREE

This project makes a wonderful annual tradition that your family can really grow into.

Prep time is under one hour.

JAFFREY

Dale Swords

11/16/2014

Swanzey

Conner Hosmer

11/03/2014

Lilyanna Lake

11/19/2014

Keene

Hannah Parks

11/7/2013

Jayce Borden

11/12/2014

CLAREMONT

Xzander Mas

11/16/2014

Eli Flood

11/19/2013

NEWPORT

Aysia Torres

11/07/2014

Myles Pratt

11/10/2014

Brooklyn Richardson

11/16/2013

What you need:

Flowerpot

Art Sand (sold at craft supply stores)

Bare tree branch

Colored craft foam

Scissors

Permanent marker

Large ornament hanger or straight-

ened paper clip

Instructions:

1. Fill a flowerpot with sand and set in a

shapely bare tree branch.

2. Next, cut a pile of leaf shapes from colored craft foam.

3. As your guests arrive, have them take a leaf and, with a permanent marker, write their name and the date on

one side and something they’re grateful for on the other.

4. To decorate your tree, push a large ornament hanger or

straightened paper clip through the stem of each leaf and

hang it in place.

ASHUELOT

Benjamin Achilles

11/30/2014

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CENTER NEWS

Ashuelot Center

This past month has been busy here at Ashuelot, with many exciting changes. We have wel-comed Miss Zoe, the new lead teacher, as well as our new cook, Miss Sierra! We are excited to have a full team of teachers and staff and a classroom filled with 17 wonderful children. The kids have been loving our curriculum of signs, recognizing them inside and outside of the classroom. They have even been making some of their own signs, such as “Daddy Long Legs Crossing.” We have displayed signs on the walls, through books, and set up a sign making station so their art can be displayed in the class-room as well.

As October comes to a close we will be starting our parent-teacher conferences that will run from Monday, October 29th - Friday November 9th. There is a sign-up sheet available during drop off and pick up and if there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask any of us! The parent as-sociation has come together and is working on fundraising. If any-one is still wanting to join, we would be happy to have you! Thank you to the parents that have helped with the first fundraiser and the start of our parent association. We appreciate everyone’s pa-tience with all the changes that have occurred during this past month.

Please remember as the weather is getting colder, to send your children with more layers, such as hats, gloves and coats.

We are looking forward to the month of November, as we will be introducing our new curriculum… Recycling!

CLAREMONT CENTER

Wow! Who knew there was so much to learn about trees! From the amazing treats we receive, to the peculiar animals that live in them. Even learning about the people in our community that work with trees every day. It has all been so fascinating and fun! We also had the Claremont Fire Department come for a fire safety visit, while also showing off their super cool fire truck! Fun fact, the ladder on the fire truck is 100 feet tall!

We also welcomed back Sandy from Nutrition Connection who comes once a month to talk about healthy nutrition with not only the children but also the Parents and Guardians as well. We are lucky to have her!

Another exciting event that has happened at our center is that the Granny’s came! They gifted each child a knitted hat and mittens. It was so thoughtful of them to think of all the children, especially with the colder months ahead of us. It also transitions so perfectly with our exciting new topic coming up...Clothing! What fun!! A reminder that our Turkey Raffle drawing will be the 19th of November and our last day before our Thanksgiving break is the 21st. We will return back that following Monday, the 26th. Stay warm everyone!

Dates to Remember CLOSED

November 12th Veterans Day November 22/23 Thanksgiving

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CENTER NEWS

DREWSVILLE CENTER

In October we learned about some of our Communi-ty Helpers. We talked about fire safety and the im-portance of having smoke detectors in our homes and schools. The Walpole Fire Department came and visited us, showed the children what a firefighter looks like when they are in their gear and to not be afraid and nev-er hide from them. They talked about how everyone should practice fire drills at home and to have a safe place to always go to in case of an emergency. They brought two fire trucks for the children to explore. On the ladder truck they put the ladder all the way out - it was higher than our

school!

The Walpole Police Chief came and visited us during our Police week. He talked about Police Officers - the tools they use, how they help keep people safe. He shared some important safety tips! Some of the tips were: always wear a helmet when riding a bike, always find an adult if a ball or toy goes in the road, never play in the road, and children should never ever touch or play with a gun.

We wrapped up our Community Helper discussion with construction

workers. We spent a lot of time building with different materials, exploring sand, and discussing the equipment construction workers use.

The cold weather is here! Please remember to dress your child in appropriate clothing for outside play.

We are closed Monday 11/12, Thursday 11/22 and Friday 11/23.

GROWING HEALTHY

There are lots of ways to

grow healthy, but you

don’t have to do them all

at once.

Here are some ideas for

living a healthy active life:

Eat at least 5 fruits and vegetables a day.

Keep screen time (like TV, video games, computer) down to 2 hours

or less per day.

Get 1 hour or more of physical activity every day.

Drink 0 sugar-sweetened drinks. Replace soda pop, sports drinks,

and even 100% fruit juice with milk or water.

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CENTER NEWS

JAFFREY CENTER We have so many things to be thankful this month! The most important of which are

the people we surround ourselves with. The people in our everyday lives are the people who

love us for who we are, teach us what we want to be, and lift us up in times of need. Hu-

man interactions is one of the most valuable of experiences we can have. At the Jaffrey

Head Start we are so thankful for all of the wonderful children whose lives we get to be a

part of every single day and their families. This holiday season, think about the people in

your life whom you are most thankful for and tell them, you never know when someone

might just need to hear how much they are loved and appreciated!

Next month we will be learning about Buildings. I can’t wait to see what the children

come up with. We will also be having our Harvest Dinner on November 8th to celebrate all

the wonderful foods that have grown over the summer and fall that are being harvested. We

hope that everyone will be able to join us.

Enjoy the month of November and remember to thank someone for being in your life.

We were visited by the Jaffrey Fire Depart-

ment and the children were able to explore

the truck.

We also made homemade applesauce in the

classroom and it was SO delicious.

KEENE CENTER

First we would like to take a moment and welcome our two newest staff members to our team: Miss Ivy in classroom #2, and Miss Laura, the Family Advocate for classroom #1. Last month we started using creative curriculum. The children really enjoyed our first topic of study about buildings. This month we are going to expand on our prior learning by

introducing tunnels and tubes as the November topic of study.

Thank you to the families that have been partaking in our family engagement activities. Also, we would like to thank the parents that have been involved with our Parent Association meetings. We are excited to have parents help our teachers with preparing curriculum items for the classroom through our new COFFEE & CUTTING meetings!

Please join us for our Parent Association meeting on November 2nd, and Coffee & Cutting on November 9th. Parent Association meetings and Coffee & Cutting will be

held on alternating Fridays on a weekly basis. We hope to see you all there!

The cold weather is here! Please remember to dress your child in appropriate clothing for outside play. Also, we will be closed Mon-day, November 12th and Thursday & Friday, November 22 & 23rd.

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CENTER NEWS

NEWPORT CENTER

October was a busy month with many visitors! Since October is safety awareness month, we welcomed firefighters & EMTs to our center. They taught us how to stay safe in a variety of different situations. We hosted a Home Depot Daddy-and-me building event. They are always lots of fun! Our Parent Association held a pumpkin carving afternoon and we ended it all with Spirit Week.

In early October, we took a field trip to Wellwood’s Orchard. The children were able to pick apples, watch how cider is made, and have a hayride.

Newport is an active center. Within the next month we are planning many different activities. We will hold an International Day highlighting Mexico. We will serve a traditional Mexican meal and expose the children to several different aspects of their culture. Other upcoming activities include discussing different ways of giving thanks and beginning our new topic of study, Balls!

We want to recognize and send a thank you to all our families and community volunteers for all your cooperation and help in making the first 45 days of screenings and meetings and paper signing get accomplished successfully!! Your Family Advocate-Darcy J

It will be another busy month here in Newport! We wish you all a fabulous month full of Giving Thanks!

Swanzey Center October was a fun month here at Swanzey Head Start! We learned all about balls

and all the exciting & fun things we can do with them! We bounced them, rolled them,

kicked them, made ramps out of different materials, learned about the letters in the word

ball! It was fun. We welcomed 4 new students to our class Kaleb, Logan,

Raelyn and Riley! Swanzey Fire department came to visit and showed us their truck and all

their gear so we won’t be scared of them in an emergency. Thank you to all the families

who came to our pumpkin carving! We carved 17 pumpkins! Be on the lookout for parent

teacher conference times!

Miss Sierra moved to Ashuelot Head Start! We will miss you so much! Come visit! Miss Kayla

(who is Rusty’s mom) will now be our cook! Welcome to our Swanzey family!!!

We will be learning all about trees this month. We also have some fun family activities planned!

Calendar Reminders:

November 6th Harvest Lunch 12:00pm

November 9th Picture Day

November 12th No School Veterans day

November 21st Sibling Breakfast 9:00am

November 22nd & 23rd No School

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HEALTH AND NUTRITION PAGE

MOVING INTO COLD WEATHER FUN

As we move into the winter months, it becomes

more difficult to find ways to stay active and

healthy. It is important to find new ways of spend-

ing time with your family, play together, and move,

move, move! Listed below are some simple ideas

for moving when you are inside during the colder

months and for when you are outside. Also, there

is room for you and your family to explore your

own activities.

Have fun and enjoy!

Things to Do When Outdoors...

1. Play with autumn leaves

With your family, rake the

leaves in the yard into a big

pile, then have fun jumping in

them!

2. Take a nature hike

Look for different birds or squir-

rels, autumn leaves of different

shapes and colors, animal tracks, and

maybe even snow!

3. Take a neighborhood walk

Bundle up and take a leisurely walk af-ter dinner or during a Sunday afternoon.

Things to Do When Indoors...

1. Create an obstacle course

Kids love making homemade forts with pillows,

empty boxes, and sheets!

2. Make a healthy homemade pizza

Grab some whole-wheat dough and make

homemade pizza or pretzels with your family.

3. Turn up the music and dance

Move to the music, act out different charac-

ters, and have fun!

Make a List of Your Family’s Fun Ideas Here...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

SAFE HOLIDAY COOKING

Are you planning to serve a turkey dinner? The safest meth-

od to defrost a frozen turkey is in the refrigerator, allowing

one day for each five pounds. For instance, a 20 pound tur-

key would need four days of thawing in the fridge until the

morning of the feast. Then roast for the recommended

amount of time (see chart).

Short on thawing time? You can safely defrost a turkey us-

ing the cold-water method, but it still takes time, and it uses

a lot of water. Submerge the wrapped turkey in cold water,

changing the water every 30 minutes. Estimate minimum

thawing time to be 30 minutes per pound for the whole tur-

key. If you’ve defrosted it earlier than needed, it will be safe

in the fridge for one to two days.

Here are safe cooking times for turkeys roasted

at 325 degrees on a flat rack in a shallow open

pan. This is only a guideline. Start checking done-

ness 1/2 hour before recommended end times.*

Net Weight

(in pounds)

Unstuffed

(in hours)

Stuffed

(in hours)

10 to 18 3 to 3-1/2 3-3/4 to 4 1/2

18 to 20 3-1/2 to 4 4-1/2 to 5

22-24 4 to 4-1/2 5 to 5-1/2

24 to 29 4-1/2 to 5 5-1/2 to 6-1/4

*Use a meat thermometer and take the guesswork out

of cooking! Whole turkeys should register 180 degrees

to be safe. (Pop-up thermometers are usually reliable

to within 1 to 2 degrees.)